Riding the Devils Tail

After a night of good food and conversation we departed the Oregon Trail Motel at 8:30 AM and made our way down main street. After a quick stop for fuel in Baker City we were on our way to Hells Canyop. The fuel station gave all riders 10 cents off each gallon. This was a nice surprise. We rode east bound up I-86 for 41 miles to the small town of Richland where we parked the bikes and headed into to Annie's cafe for breakfast. We ate at this cafe last year and nothing had changed. The service was quick and the food was really good. I had an amazing country fried steak and two eggs easy over with hash browns and allot of Tabasco. The breakfast of champions! Again, Annie's gets a big "Thumbs Up" from Road-Quest.com!

After some great conversation and food we got our gear and saddled up for the ride. Leaving Richland we rode another 27 miles east on I-86 through rolling hills, twists and turns with a river to our right. The sun was out in force which was greatly welcomed by all the riders I'm sure. At the end of the 26 miles we came to to Scotty's an outpost and fuel supply shop. This is the last stop for fuel on the way to Hells Canyon. The terrain along the way was just beautiful. We rode through turn after turn and some straits across rolling hills that were still green due to adequate rain. The presence of sage brush told me this will not be the case in a few weeks. Scotty's was a decent short stop and we all fueled our bikes. There were allot of bikes in the lot as others had the same thing in mind. Once fueled we rode 2.4 mile east on I-86 to the Oxbow reservoir crossing near the Oxbow Dam which was the state line where we crossed into Idaho on NF-454. It was warming up to the mid 70's. Again welcomed by all riders. Once on NF-454 things got really cool. The next 16.4 miles of road, known as "The Devils Tail" was loaded with twists and turns as we carved our way into Hells Canyon. To most riders this is pure bliss! Some of the turns are quite tight and in some, rock debris was present on the road way. These are two lane roads with no shoulder and most of the way no guard rails. This is not a novice ride so you may want to consider this when riding it. Definitely ride it just use caution. I always recommend riders ride their own ride. Don't worry about keeping up with others. This is not the place to be riding beyond your comfort zone and or ability. This year two rider lost their lives in this Canyon. I talked with a guy who was looking at the Snake River and blew his turn. He had to put his Harley into the ditch to avoid going in the river. He went over the bars and was pretty banged up as was his bike. This rider was extremely lucky to say the least. If you make a mistake and blow one of these turns you may be heading off a extremely steep canyon wall. I should also point out you have to be looking out for cars or bikes that round a turn and may be a bit over the center lane.

Soon we were riding just above the water level. There was allot of greenery in the canyon from recent rains. This will not be the case in July. In fact I'm told the deeper you go the hotter it gets in Hells Canyon. It can reach triple digits in the canyon. Bring allot of liquids when riding out here. We made several stops for photos and to take in the scenery. The upper wider body of water is the Hells Canyon Reservoir that buts up against the back side of the Hells Canyon Dam. Just on the other side, the Snake River. We spent quite some time at the visitors center just below the dam.  I couldn't resist riding my wing down the ramp to the river. It was marked "Do Not Enter" but I couldn't pass up a money shot for camera footage. After we grabbed all our photo we saddled up and rode the 16.4 miles back out of the canyon. The ride out was just as scenic as the ride in as it gave us a different perspective of the canyon as we rode in the opposite direction. This gave me the idea to shoot some video footage through my mirror looking back. It worked out quite well. There were not allot of bikes or cars on the road so I had some fun riding through the canyon turns. The ride back I-86 was sunny and 81 degrees. This year we didn't make one the stop at the Oregon Trail Interpretive center. If you have not experienced this I highly recommend it. The center has a couple observation points over looking the Oregon Trail. They have a set time interval where they fire a big copper canon with real black powder. It makes quite a boom and allot of smoke. In the center they have exhibits and a 30 minute show where an actor plays the part of the French guide that did great things to help Lewis and Clark complete the expedition but as luck would have it in the final days there was a hunting accident and he shot Lewis in the ass forcing him to have to lay down in the boat for a couple weeks to heal on the return trip. I can't remember his exact name but I know he shot Lewis in the ass. From the Interpretive center it's a short 9.2 miles back to Baker City. Once back in town it was time to get to main street and get our pizza on at the Baker City Cafe! The cafe has new owners and I was pleasantly surprised. I loved the pizza last year. They have a new cook of Indian decent who spent four months perfecting what he thought was the ultimate pizza crust. He hit the ball out of the park and across the parking lot with  his recipe. The pizza was better then last year. Our next stop was Geyser Grand a brew pub that I really enjoyed. Last year it was Mirror Pond Pale Ale. This year I was in the mood for Jack & Coke. Man did it go down smooth after a day in the sun. I enjoyed spending time meeting other riders. One of which was Billie Jean an officer of the Rose City Motorcycle Club. Billie has two BMW's and rides 20,000 miles a year. Billie Jean is the proud owner of a slightly used ST1300 which she had got a smoking deal on.

Since I didn't read the schedule I missed the awards ceremony held at the Hells Canyon Rally information center up town. Which means I also missed the bike show and the rest of the hoopla going on at that end of town. There were still allot of folks in the main end of town whooping it up and dining.

It wasn't long and it was time to hit the hay. We had planned to ride the "Gold Rush Course" the following day and wanted to be well rested.

Don't forget to stop in and tell them Rob from Road-Quest.com sent you.
 

Day 3
 

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