After a much needed straight 8 hours of sleep, I was up at 8am, in time to chat with A.J. before he headed off to work. So we talked about it, and Jason and I would stop by the shop, and I would get a chance to test ride the new Ducati Multistrada 1200 (with the 1198 motor in it). Sweet. Jason and I cooked up some food, got our things together, and headed out the door. After getting lost a bit, we made it to Motocorsa in Portland.
The new Multi is something else. It is super fun to ride, and with the on-the-fly electronic adjustment between multiple settings, such as "Enduro", "Sport", "Urban"...the bike electronically adjusts the Horsepower, Traction Control and Suspension. Enduro has 100hp, and I switched to the Sport version and gained an instant 50 hp. A nice kick in the pants, and got the front wheel up just a bit. :D It was a fun test ride. I just can't walk out of a dealership at the moment with a 21k bike (OTD). Sigh, I'd have to do with the test ride for now.
First me....the bridge is near the mouth of the Columbia River that feeds into the inland, from the Pacific Ocean.
...then Jason.
We rode across the 6.5 kilometer long bridge and stopped for a quick photo. The weather is amazing and warm, actually hot in some places....and Portland was to be having a heat wave this weekend, in the 90's.
The new Multi is something else. It is super fun to ride, and with the on-the-fly electronic adjustment between multiple settings, such as "Enduro", "Sport", "Urban"...the bike electronically adjusts the Horsepower, Traction Control and Suspension. Enduro has 100hp, and I switched to the Sport version and gained an instant 50 hp. A nice kick in the pants, and got the front wheel up just a bit. :D It was a fun test ride. I just can't walk out of a dealership at the moment with a 21k bike (OTD). Sigh, I'd have to do with the test ride for now.
A few shots while at Motocorsa. On the left, is a table that A.J. made from spare parts for the cafe in the shop. It is probably one of the top Ducati shops in the USA, and I don't trust my bike fully to anyone but A.J. The center photo is of a nice Desmosedici, and also when someone purchases a new bike, this is the photo room. :) last photo is of a trick full exhaust system for the new Ducati Superbikes.
After talking it over with Jason, and going over the Oregon motorcycle specific state map (free at your local Oregon motorcycle dealerships), we decided we'd go to Astoria, Or. for lunch and then ride back via Washington, while A.J. finished up his work day.
We rode up to Astoria, first by getting out of Portland on hwy 26 westbound, and cut off at Hwy 47 north. This would be a phenomenal road. I have a lengthy video of it, and will try and edit it down to a good 10 min video for some good on the fly scenery.
We turned west on hwy 242 directly into Astoria, which is also known for a few of the movies that have been filmed here, maybe you've heard of them (Kindergarde Cop, The Goonies)
We stopped by the cannery, and had a Salmon burger, with a wasabi mayo side and som chips. I have to say that this was the juiciest, tenderest salmon I'd eaten in forever. So freaking good. It didn't help that we'd been on the road for about 2.5 hours already. But it went down perfect.
After letting lunch settle, and grabbing an espresso to avoid the ill-fated food coma, we decided to make our way back to Portland for tonights bbq. First a stop and a photo at the Astoria Bridge on the Oregon side. [A few quick facts about the Astoria bridge: Completed in 1966, it is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. No pedestrians are allowed on the bridge except for the annual "Great Columbia Crossing" October 3rd, 2010 this year. The bridge was the last segment of hwy 101 to be built to connect Olympia, Washington with Los Angeles, Ca.] We'd decided to go over the Columbia River to Washington state, and ride back to the IH-5 on the Lewis and Clark trail.
After letting lunch settle, and grabbing an espresso to avoid the ill-fated food coma, we decided to make our way back to Portland for tonights bbq. First a stop and a photo at the Astoria Bridge on the Oregon side. [A few quick facts about the Astoria bridge: Completed in 1966, it is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America. No pedestrians are allowed on the bridge except for the annual "Great Columbia Crossing" October 3rd, 2010 this year. The bridge was the last segment of hwy 101 to be built to connect Olympia, Washington with Los Angeles, Ca.] We'd decided to go over the Columbia River to Washington state, and ride back to the IH-5 on the Lewis and Clark trail.
First me....the bridge is near the mouth of the Columbia River that feeds into the inland, from the Pacific Ocean.
...then Jason.
We rode across the 6.5 kilometer long bridge and stopped for a quick photo. The weather is amazing and warm, actually hot in some places....and Portland was to be having a heat wave this weekend, in the 90's.
The section of hwy we rode on back to the IH-5 was about 65 miles long, and an absolute treat to ride on. At a quick pace we made ground quickly, while at the same time enjoying the amazing scenery that was our background for this spirited run back to the city.
We arrived back at A.J.'s house about a half hour after him, and busted out the PBR. After making our way to the supermarket, we purchased some of the thickest ribeyes I've seen, and slowly cooked them up with some of A.J.'s friends over for a great barbecue. Another succesful day, and our mileage today was 245 miles total.
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