The food is very good. If you’re going to open up a BBQ place in Kansas City, you need to be serious about the food. It wouldn’t be able to fly if it was just a theme-restaurant with chain-like BBQ. After reading some reviews and talking to some locals, I decided we should eat here, as oppose to just stop by. I’m glad we did. We enjoyed an assortment of ribs, chicken and sides.

I was a little disappointed in the display of bikes. More specifically the lack of OCC bikes on display. There were only two – both outside and both production models.

The bikes they did have inside the restaurant were very cool. One highlight was a before and after restoration of a 1935 Harley Davidson VLD (see above).

I also like Indian’s and the 1947 Indian Chief Roadmaster was a nice surprise (see below).

They had a nice bar that had a good selection of microbrews on tap and a pretty good house band cranking out some good blues and classic rock.

I’d recommend Backfire Barbeque for any motorcycle fan that enjoys good food it a fun atmosphere. Just don’t expect to see any real custom choppers…

My friend Ray and I headed out for another 275 mile ride. This time we headed east to Bend, Oregon. Our plan was a ride through the Santiam Pass, arrive in Bend, visit a Harley Davidson dealership, grab lunch downtown and head back to Salem in the late-afternoon.

We left the valley around 8:30am and made our way down Hwy 22. The morning was cool and crisp; however, is got really chilly as we entered the Santiam Pass and into Detroit Lake. As we passed HooDoo Ski Bowl it began to warm up again and was perfectly warm by the time we arrived in Sisters.

First, we stopped at the newly renamed Harley Davidson dealership, Wild Horse Harley Davidson. I had visited them on prior trips to Bend when they were called Cascade Harley Davidson. I like the new name… kind of cool.

After the dealership, we moved onto lunch in Downtown Bend. I decided to take Ray to my favorite place, Deschutes Pub on Bond Street. Like most quality breweries in Oregon, Deschutes has excellent food to accompany their beer. I kept it light and enjoyed just one small pint of Cascade Pale Ale. This restaurant is currently expanding and they’re scheduled to open a much larger location in 2012… I’ll be back!

We topped off the bikes with fuel and cruised west out-of-town. A great view of the Three Sisters mountain range to the south-west as we approached Sisters from the opposite direction…

As we passed HooDoo, we decided to add some miles, and a new road to our ride, by jumping on Hwy 20. This road is more technical than Hwy 22 and holds a lot less traffic. I also like the name of this scenic byway, “Over the Rivers and Through the Woods…”

During one of the straightaways I noticed a historical marker… you can click on the image below to read about the significance of this stretch of highway.

As we approached the small town of Sweet Home, another sign caught my eye. This time it was Sweet Home Choppers, a small motorcycle shop.

After looking at some bikes and chatting with the owner, we learned they’ve been around for about five years. They obviously started their business near the end of the “chopper craze” and just before the bottom fell out of the economy. It was good to see them still around and still passionate about motorcycles.

We arrived in Albany and took the I-5 freeway back home. Another perfect lunch-ride in the books!!

We have a coffee culture for sure. In fact, I didn’t even drink coffee until I moved to the Northwest over sixteen years ago. Over the years I’ve been sucked in and have grown to appreciate a fine cup of black coffee. Microbreweries abound in the Northwest, especially in Oregon. You can sample a great variety all over the state – from Portland to way down south in Ashland. Finally, the roads. Seems they’re custom-made for motorcycles. We have it all, the coast, the mountains and deep valleys.

Our ride today gave us a sample of some of the best roads, a local coffee roaster in Florence and a microbrewery in Newport. My friend Ray recently sold his Yamaha FJR and bought himself a Harley Davidson Softail Deuce. We started our ride just west of Salem and quickly headed south on the 99W. Before we made it to Eugene, we leaned west onto Route 36. This is a curvy alternative to some of the other options to get out to the coast. We cut through the Coastal Cascades and around Triangle Lake before dropping onto the 126 leading to Florence. I have grown to really like Florence as a coastal town. Less crowded, some good places to eat… and a great cup of coffee at Siuslaw River Coffee Roasters.

I discovered this roaster on a ride last year. Unfortunately, I hadn’t been back since. The cafe itself was formerly an outboard motor repair shop, and the atmosphere is still very much along those lines. They have a great deck overlooking the Siuslaw River. Along with a cup of their house blend, I took a pound of beans home with me.

After our coffee break we headed north on the 101. This portion of the 101 skirts the coastline and provides great views of the Pacific Ocean at every curve. The weather today was perfect… over 90 degrees in the valley, so the coast was a cool 65 degrees as we throttled our way fifty miles north to Newport.

This was actually the first time I’ve headed north along this stretch of coast, most the time I am heading south. As a result, this was like a new ride for me…

We arrived in Newport and headed to Rogue Brewery for lunch. Rogue is by far the largest brewery on the Oregon Coast.

Rogue Brewery has great atmosphere. You enter through the brewery, winding your way past barrels and fermentors before reaching the pub.

There’s a number of places to enjoy a pint and eat. We were seated along the window with a great view of Newport Bay.

After an excellent pint of Juniper Pale Ale and some Kobe Beef Tacos, we crossed the Yaquina Bay Bridge and jumped on the 20 heading east and back into the valley for home. As we left the coast it started to heat up and passed 90 degrees after only a short time.

It’s days like these I count myself lucky to live in Oregon. It’s also these same days that I’m kicking myself for not getting out on my Fat Boy more often… Thanks to Ray for another 270 miles of unforgettable roads.

We started out on Friday evening. Our destination was Palm Desert for the night before we headed out early on Saturday to Joshua Tree National Park. This was a first for me, as I had never been to Joshua Tree after several years of living in California and countless visits. The ride through the park was nice and relaxing. Lots of opportunities to stop, take pictures and drink water. It was warm and Tim planned our ride so we would hit Joshua Tree during the cooler part of the day.

Deeper into the park we started to see the “Joshua” Trees. Very cool.

After our visit to the park we made our way south heading toward San Diego. We had Mount Palomar on the agenda for tomorrow; however, we still had lots of day left to get down there. The highlight of the ride down was cruising through the San Jacinto Mountains. Great roads and cool views. We stopped in Idyllwild for lunch and were entertained by a blues musician as we enjoyed a couple of drinks on the patio. He even took my Jimmy Reed request without hesitation…

We arrived at out hotel in Escondido, checked-in and left quickly to make our reservation at Store Brewery World and Bistro. We relaxed and had dinner in their beer garden… an excellent way to wrap-up a great day of riding.

Sunday brought us to Palomar Mountain and all the great riding it’s famous roads have to offer. I’ve been to Palomar before, so I was looking forward to discovering some new roads and spending the whole day taking in the sights.

These roads are very popular with motorcycles. In fact, your can spot photographers at corners throughout the area snapping photos for sale on their websites.

It was a great day of riding before we headed back up to Riverside to return the bike. I thank Tim again for a great ride… and no rain this time!!

I can ride a good distance in 40 degree temperatures. Anything below 40 degrees gets a little rough without heated gear. We don’t get enough real cold weather in Oregon for me to invest in heated grips or gloves, so I am able to manage with just cold weather gloves, my leather jacket and thermals.

This is my first blog entry of 2011 and I’m enjoying a bit of a “staycation”. We had some dry weather this week, so I took advantage and went on a bike ride through some of my favorite local areas in the Willamette Valley. I decided to take off my “local hat” for a couple of hours and pay attention to the surroundings a little more. I think we sometimes take for granted the cool offerings our local surroundings can provide – we just need to pay attention.

I first headed to Mt. Angel for an early lunch at the Mt. Angel Sausage Company. Mt. Angel is located 20 miles northeast of Salem on Highway 214. This town has an Old World flavor which is heightened by the many Bavarian style storefronts. They celebrate their German heritage each year during the Oktoberfest, held in September. I like Mt. Angel because there’s at least three ways to get there from where I live. All make for great short rides.

After a bratwurst, a drink and some rope sausage to-go, I headed back into Salem. On the way I crossed the 45th parallel. I’ve long known that Salem is located on the 45th parallel; however, never thought to take a picture. Since I was playing “non-local” today, I took a picture for the blog.

Since I was close by, I decided to ride into my local Harley Davidson dealership. I purchased my Fat Boy a few years ago from Salem Harley Davidson. It’s a small dealership; however, they usually have a decent selection of bikes, apparel and parts to drool over. After trying on a few helmets and looking over some new gear I moved on with nothing more in my saddlebags.

Next, I headed across the street to Ashcroft Motorcycles. This small shop builds custom “hot rod” oriented motorcycles and custom automobiles. Ashcroft has won a number of awards and has been featured in several biker magazines, including Easy Riders, V-Twin and The Robb Report Motorcycling.

Some nice bikes and lots of eye candy on the walls. I was struck by how many different motors were represented among the small collection of bikes they had in their showroom. Without even looking I noticed an S and S engine and a Gilroy-era Indian bottle-cap engine.

It was fun experiencing my local riding territory from a different perspective today. I need to do this more often…

My brother-in-law, Tim, flew up from Southern California last Friday for a weekend of riding in the Northwest. The big attraction was a concert we were attending at White River Amphitheatre just outside of Seattle. The band was Rush, Tim’s favorite rock group, and they always deliver a great performance.

We headed out Saturday morning after picking up Tim’s rental bike at American Motorcycle Classics Harley Davidson in Albany, Oregon. Tim rented a Road King, a bike he’s long wanted to rack up some miles on.

Our first destination was Hood River on the Columbia River Gorge located at the base of Mt. Hood. We started our ride on Silver Falls Hwy through Silverton. This was a great warm-up as we headed northeast to Sandy, Oregon. From Sandy we began to climb up Mt. Hood, heading east around the south side of the mountain and onto Route 35 past Mount Hood Meadows and Government Camp. Fast curves and elevations changes kept us working the clutch and brake through this stretch of the Mount Hood Scenic Byway. Part of the fun of these roads is getting your speed and gear selection correct as you head into a corner so you can hold your speed and accelerate out of the curve with confidence.

We arrived in Hood River for a late lunch at Full Sail Brewing with views of the Columbia River Gorge from their deck.

Our late start put us behind a bit so it was interstate for the rest of the day. We blasted down the I-84 to the I-5 north. Soon after we crossed over into Washington it started to rain on us. This was the case for most of the ride until we reached the concert venue. Rain has also become a regular occurance on our rides together. It doesn’t matter when or where. Just this past November we had this happen on a ride in California!

As expected, Rush delivered a superb performance. The set list was the best I’ve heard and the sound was great. The band also put together an entirely new production with new stage props, lighting and videos.

We had a big day planned for Sunday, so it was straight to the hotel after the show. Over 400 miles ridden by the time we arrived in Renton, Washington. I also crossed a milestone on my 2008 Fat Boy, 20K miles!

Tim had never visited Seattle, so we started out on a wet Sunday morning by riding up the I-5 to Seattle. We hit Pikes Market and the Space Needle before returning to the I-5.

Our plan was to ride south via roads taking us around Mt. Rainier; however, the dark clouds warned us to stay west. I decided to take us to the 101 at Olympia. We headed north on Hwy 101, west on Route 8/12. We arrived in Montesano and jumped on Route 107 and back onto Hwy 101. This is a great ride past Willapa Bay on the Washington Coast. Water to the west and hills to the east…

Hwy 101 led us over the Astoria-Megler Bridge and into Oregon. The clouds started to burn off as we headed into the Beaver State.

We topped off the tanks in Astoria and heading east on Route 30 along the Columbia River Gorge. If you have a choice, Route 4 on the Washington side of the Columbia River is a better, more scenic road, when it comes to riding the gorge. That said, Route 30 has a lot to offer as well.

We arrived in Portland and met my family for dinner in the Pearl District…

Another great ride in the books with Tim! Over 800 miles in just two days… Not bad at all!

Crater Lake isn’t too far from Medford. The roads into Crater Lake are great, so the journey is just as rewarding as the destination. Route 62, or Crater Lake Highway, is a beautiful ride from the valley and into the cascades. Route 62 is also part of the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway, and scenic is an understatement.

This was my second time to Crater Lake on my bike. Last year, Tim (my brother-in-law) came up from Southern California for the Hells Canyon Motorcycle Rally. It was early June, it was cold and there was still snow on the ground.

For Lance and me it was much different. When we left Medford in the early morning it was warm and the roads were clear.

Amazing views surround you as you cruise east down the byway. Not many curves and a fairly easy ride; however, the views require you to remind yourself to keep your eyes on the road.

Late July was much nicer at the lake and there was no snow on the ground. Like most national parks, it’s more about the scenery then it is about the riding. Lots of cars and RV’s are soaking in the views and hold you up from time-to-time. No worries though, it was nice to take it easy and enjoy the views ourselves.

I consulted our ride atlas and we headed out of the park on Route 138, another stretch of the Rogue-Umpqua Scenic Byway.

We reached the I-5 and it was just two hours north to Salem!

Total miles today: 342

Total miles of the MotoGP Ride: 1,951

Another great adventure in the books for me and Lance. We’re already looking forward to the next opportunity to ride. Where? We’ll see…

Today was all about miles, big miles. All the days leading up to today had some form of riding experience. Even Sunday, race day, ended with us riding the Carmel Valley with my brother-in-law.

Our destination today was Medford, Oregon. This morning Tim headed back home to Southern California – 350 miles of freeway ahead of him. Lance and I also had interstate to look forward to: US-101, I-680, I-80 and the I-5. That’s about 450 miles of freeway for me and Lance.

Before we headed out, we stopped at Cherry Bean Gourmet Coffee for breakfast. It’s becoming a tradition to seek out a local coffee roaster before we start our rides. These small rosteries are fairly new on the coffee scene and are starting to sprout up all over the Northwest.

The interstate is what it is for a motorcycle. You find your lane, your place in the lane and just throttle to wherever you’re going. Not great, but at least you’re not in a car.

It gets a little more interesting on the I-5, just north of Redding, Ca. Almost immediately after leaving Redding you begin to climb into Shasta and start to enjoy better views. The freeway starts to twist a bit, making the ride a little more engaging.

Lance and I decided to detour off the I-5 and take Route 97 into Oregon. Route 97 enters Oregon just south of Klamath Falls. We spotted some lightening in the distance and it started to shower just south of the Oregon border. We decided to avoid the rain and cut over on Route 66.

Route 66 is a great motorcycle road between Klamath Falls and Ashland. It winds you through the South Oregon Cascades. It’s very scenic and you can smell the pine trees as you rocket along 4,000 ft mountain passes that lead you to Ashland.

Fairly technical in parts, Route 66 demands you remain focused on the road. It’s about sixty miles of twisties and fast rolling curves that take you up and down the face of the hills that make up this pass.

Our little detour added about 60 miles to our day…

Total Miles: 510

Tomorrow we head to Crater Lake and back home to Salem!

While the whole day was terrific, the racing alone exceeded my expectations. We watched an e-bike race (electric) and an AMA race leading up to the main event, MotoGP.

After following MotoGP for years, and watching the races on Speed TV, it was a real treat to see these amazing motorcycles and talented riders up close.

Our paddock passes gave us limited access to the riders paddock. We saw a number of famous MotoGP riders, including Jorge Lorenzo, the current points leader in the World Championship.

The electric bike winning team was Motoczysz. This company is based in Portland, Oregon and also won the Isle of Man TT Zero (Electric bike) race this year.

As I mentioned, the AMA Superbikes were also racing today. We had an opportunity to watch the races and explore the AMA paddock as well.

We departed Laguna Seca in the late afternoon and headed south. We decided not to ride Bug Sur as we had planned. Instead, Tim hosted a great ride through Carmel Valley. Highway G16/G17 takes you south from Monterey and back north to Carmel. Roads were tough at times, but it made the ride all the more interesting…

Total miles: 127

Tomorrow we part ways with Tim. Lance and I will head north and Tim will head south…