Crown Jewels - September 2007

The route: Five days and 850 miles of some of the most beautiful scenery and awesome riding in Oregon’s high desert and Cascade Mountains.

The crew: Eleven riders and one truck including Mark sometimes from Sunriver on an XR650, Greg (me) from Prineville on a WR450, John from Bellingham on an XR600, Joe also from B-ham on a brand spankin 3 week new TE 610, James from the SFO area on a KTM 520, Eddie from PDX on a DR 650 with a Corbin recliner for a seat, Doug from the Bay area on a KDX 220, and the Voss boys from the PDX area (Butch, Andy, Pat, and Roger) on a nice collection of Honda 250/450s and a KTM EXC, and Ed, also from the Bay area, that was to experience the OBDR from the comfort of an F250.

The ride: This is one of the most epic rides in Central Oregon as it encompasses both the high desert and mountain terrain; everything from flat, wide open sage covered desert to fir lined mountain logging roads.

OBDR 6 - September 2006
coming soon

OBDR 5 - June 2006

The route: 650 mile loop from Prineville east to Unity then back west to Seneca, Yellowjacket Lake, Riley, Christmas Valley, and return to Prineville.
Eight of us started the ride with the plan that 3 others would meet the group en route for the last two days riding. It is good to have plans but rarely does everything go as expected, especially on the OBDR. But that's part of the adventure.

We packed all our gear (tents, sleeping bags, JetBoil, etc.) and planned to mostly camp along the way. Right away it became evident that this was not going to happen.

As we left Prineville and headed north and east into the Ochocos the sky grew darker and the threat of rain grew greater. We've ridden in the rain, snow and wind and were prepared but we got soaked. As the day went on the hope of the weather breaking and us being able to set up a dry camp faded. We made the decision to cut from the route and head into Mitchell. On arrival in Mitchell the runoff from the mountains had covered the streets with inches of silt. First stop was the café in Mitchell for a cup of hot coffee. We were soaked and cold and it felt good to get out of the weather. Right next door is a great little hotel with tons of history, the Hotel Oregon. Like the café, they were very accommodating. We spent the rest of that day sitting on the porch smoking cigars, reviewing the events of the morning, and hoping for better weather.

Day two we awoke to clear skies and fresh air. The original route had us at Flagtail Mountain and riding to Unity today but we were nowhere near Flagtail and even further from Unity. Change in plans. We decided to reroute through Seneca and camp at Yellowjacket Lake.

On arrival in Seneca the skies to the southeast (toward Yellowjacket) were dark and threatening. Now if you haven't been to Seneca there isn't much there but the people are great. The fellow that helped us with fuel said we could pitch our tents in the city park which we decided to do as the thought of the potential of "wet" camp at Yellowjacket was still too fresh in our minds from the day before. Plus, there was bar across the street where we could eat. Fuel, a place to sleep, and a place to eat ... good thing that's all we needed because that was the extent of options in Seneca. If you are in that neck of the woods be sure to stop through. There is interesting history in Seneca, particularly around the logging industry. One of the locals took some time to explain it to us. They also have an oyster feed (yes, oysters) annually in July. We all wondered where the "oysters" came from.

Day three all fueled up and after a delightful breakfast (in a bag) we were off. The modified plan was to ride a short day and camp at Delintment Lake, a spectacular camp ground. We couldn't go much further than that because we were meeting the other three riders the next morning not too far from Delintment. Since we'd been on the trail now three days and there were no showers, some of the group decided to "freshen up" in the lake (see pictures), some decided it wasn't worth the risk of cardiac arrest. The rest of that evening was spent around the campfire grateful to be warm and dry and telling partial truths.

Day four we departed Delintment with plans to meet the other three riders at Baby's Grave, refuel in Riley and ride on together to Christmas Valley. The weather was fabulous. Nice to have a full day of riding ahead where you weren't concerned about the weather. The other three riders were dual-sporting from Prineville that morning. We arrived at the agreed upon time and waited, and waited, and waited. Unfortunately cell coverage was non-existent and two-way radio was limited by the mountains. We left a large note saying we had headed to Riley, which they never saw.

Somehow two of them met us in Riley. The third rider was stranded back near Delintment with a worsening slow leak on his rear tire. Two of us, with a can of flat fix, hot throttled it back to lend a hand. I think our arrival woke him from a nap as he had been out there alone in the warm sun for hours. The rest of the group had moved ahead towards Christmas Valley where we agreed to meet later.

So, Brad and Kerry (father and son) and I make the trek back to Riley and on to Christmas Valley. I have been on this portion of the OBDR many times. It is mostly two track littered with a maze of lava rack just big enough to provide some sport to the ride until after many miles when it just becomes a pain in the neck. This is where the combination of high speed, non heavy duty tubes, and low tire pressure will delay the trip while you fix a pinch flat. As the sun was getting lower in the sky and we were traveling west, it became more of a challenge to negotiate the rocks. Around one up hill section there was an unexpected large rock at the top that you wouldn't see or be able to react to until right on top of it. I was first through the section and stopped a hundred feet away to wait for the other two. Kerry (son) made the approach but did not clear the rock. He punctured a hole in his clutch cover and sheared off the left foot peg. We quickly switched to problem solving mode. Laying the bike over we applied a touch of MSR steel putty to the hole and wired up the footpeg as best we could. Brad (father), an experienced rider, switched bikes with his son (both KLRs) and babied it out of the rock mine.

Once out of the rock strewn mess you arrive at the Lost Forest which was a joy to ride. Nice open sandy rolling trail through a forest that is literally lost in the sand dunes. It was now a nice cruise all the way to Christmas Valley where we were had rooms reserved at the Desert Inn. Toward the end of the Lost Forest there was an aid car and as I approached noticed someone was loaded in to be transported. My first thought was someone got hurt on a quad running around the sand dunes. But I soon found out that wasn't the case. As we departed the Lost Forest we came upon two of the riders from the group that had gone on ahead earlier in the day. I thought they must have been waiting for us but came to find out that the person in the aid car was one of the group. He had apparently not seen a small out cropping on the other side of a rise in the trail and hit it at excess speed. Long story short he was transported via Life Flight to Bend where he was treated for a broken hand, broken ribs and a broken collarbone. We called him to make sure he was okay. All he wanted to know was when the next ride was.

Day five. We rented a u-haul and transported two of the riders and three of the bikes back to Prineville. The rest of us had a great ride. We left our bags with the truck and since it was warm, rode mostly with just jerseys on. We were beat but we finished the ride with a nice whoop section on trail 12 in the Millican OHV area.

Baja Uno - February 2006
coming soon

OBDR 4 - September 2005
coming soon

OBDR 3 - June 2005
coming soon

OBDR 2 - September 2004
coming soon

OBDR 1 - June 2004

The plan: Riley to Lakeview and back on Route 5 of the OBDR in 4 days.
The results: Riley to the forest just south of Paisley and back to Christmas Valley for most of the group and back to Riley for 3 of us.

This was the inaugural adventure for most of us. Here's what we found out:

• Getting seven of us moving in a timely fashion was nearly impossible, like herding cats.
• The GPS units weren't working and when they were we didn't know how to use them.
• We brought too much gear.
• We didn't bring the right gear.
• We didn't secure the wrong gear correctly.
• We got cold.
• One of the riders tried to give up caffeine on the ride.
• The bikes broke down.
• Brand new bikes got dirty and banged up.
• Some quit early.

But we had the ADVENTURE OF A LIFETIME!

The one question from everyone at the end of the ride was,
"when do we get to do this again?!!!"