August 2nd and 3rd

With less than a week's notice, Mike, Wade and Myself found ourselves with some time on our hands and the urge to get outta town. I've been reading up on my NW Motorcycle guide book and was pretty excited about doing a two day jaunt through Oregon. I've got my 1976 CB400/4 and my 1980 SR500 that were both itching for some road time. Mike had his CB350 and CB750/4, and Wade had his SL350- they were also itching for an adventure- so we put the word out to solicit other riding pals. With late notice, as expected, no one else could pull it off- so we decided to make the push ourselves.

We had originally planned on doing a 539 mile ride outlined in the book. Seemed like a long distance for three guys who have never done an over-night ride, not to mention all our bikes were multiple decades old...

The day after we talked about doing the ride, Mike actually found a 400/4 on craigslist. He's been looking obsessively for one since he first rode mine, and was constantly asking if I would sell mine to him... Anyhow- we both went to look at the bike and it was in terrific shape. Done deal, and Mike had a new bike for the ride!

Also- it turns out that the fella Mike bought the bike from is part of the Sang-Froid Riding Club
here in town. I was chatting him up while Mike was taking the 400 for a test and he told me they just got back from their annual "Gold Rush" ride out to Eastern Oregon. It was essentially the same ride we were planning, plus a few extra legs. He gave me his map and notes, complete with stopping points and gas stations- and we decided on the spot to try and duplicate their route.

Although we didn't quite make it the full route- we had a super good time. As I sit here and type, I'm so sore my back feels like it's gonna fold in half. But I want to put some photos up along with a description of each leg. I would have taken more pictures, but that would require me to get off the bike constantly. That's a tall order considering the amazing roads we were on...

Anyhow- here you go. Two days, 666.6 miles (no joke- that's what my tripometer reads)- I present to you the First Annual 3 Balls Ride.