Staying in Redmond, Oregon - Day 9

Total Miles = 0

So my good buddy, Fred, let me in on a little secret. In the RV park at the rally site, there are showers that are barely used because most of the RV's have their own. So, no wait for showers this morning! Yay! Even though the band played until midnight the night before and kept me up longer than I would have liked, I felt less tired today. Here's a picture to give an idea of our tent area.

My first stop of the morning was to visit the LD Comfort booth. I am a big fan of their products - long distance riding underwear. I have the shorts, tights, and long sleeve shirt. I decided on my ride out that I needed to buy the cooling sleeves - for two reasons. One, if you wet the cooling sleeves and put them on your ride they really will keep you cool! Two, because I have long arms, there is agap between my glove and jacket sleeve. The cooling sleeves covers that gaps and helps ward off dehydration and sunburn.

We had brisk sales again at the booth today. I did take a little break from selling in the afternoon to give a seminar on women's motorcycle apparel. It was well attended and I was pleased to hear that many participants found it helpful.

That evening, I had dinner with VaVaVroom's new sales rep in Arizona, Lisa Malachowsky. We chatted about strategy and plan to take Arizona by storm when we return home. I then went to visit my friend, Jonny. Jonny had torn a muscle a few days earlier at the rally and had been in the hospital. He was recovering well and won't need surgery, but in our discussions about riding home, he came to the correct conclusion that he should not ride home. It is just too risky. He will ship his bike back and fly home. Although we were very disappointed, I know it is the right thing to do. After that settled, I chatted with Sandra, Scott and the Canadians. They are a funny bunch!

Staying in Redmond, Oregon - Day 8

Total Miles = 0

While the BMW MOA rally is a ton of fun, it is also exhausting! I decided to get up at 6:00 am or earlier every day to ensure a timely shower. (The lack of showers this year at the rally is frustrating!). Today reminded me how being on your feet for ten hours straight can be wearing.

However, we had a lot of fun working the Bob's BMW vendor booth today and we sold a lot of stuff. And I do think the booth looks great!

For dinner, I was invited to the BMW ON Magazine contributors dinner. I invited a Chicago Region BMW MOA club member, Mike. It was interesting to hear a BMW Motorrad executive speak about the future of BMW (it looks bright!).

This is Vince Winkel, the editor of the magazine. Vince had tried to play a joke on me in front of everyone, but didn't have the right prop. The prop in question was a thong. Hmmm. I'm glad he couldn't find the prop.

After dinner, Mike and I hung out with the other Chicago club members in our gathering tent. It was nice to see our friend Scott from Neenah, Wisconsin. We met him last year and adopted him as an honorary Chicago member.

Staying in Redmond, Oregon - Day 7

Total Miles = 45

Now, the business part of my trip begins. Today, at the BMW MOA rally in Redmond, Oregon, I will be selling VaVaVroom through the Bob's BMW booth. We spent the better part of the day setting all of this up. The best part of the day was receiving a new, free windscreen for my motorcycle - a ZTechnik brand - much needed. Since my bike was used as the demo bike at the vendor booth, I get to keep it! That is awesome because I was going to buy one anyway! In the evening, I joined Bob Henig of Bob's BMW and Sam Henig (his son) and Fred Oppido (my fellow booth workers) for the BMW MOA Ambassador's dinner. Here is a picture of Sam and Fred.

I also ran into my old friends, Walt Fulton and Nancy Foote, of Streetmasters Motorcycle Workshops (pictured here in their Streetmasters red!).

After the dinner, Bob, Fred, Sam and I took a really quick ride to Smith Rock. We stopped to see "the rock" over looking a beautiful stream with hikers below and rock climbers above.

This trip has been full of beautiful and inspiring geography.

Riding to Redmond, Oregon - Day 6

Total Miles = 320

Days like today make days like yesterday all worth it.

The highlight of the day was riding Hwy 26 in Oregon through a mountainous, cavernous, gorgeous (gorges!) landscape. Roads just technical enough to engage us but not tiring. I highly recommend this route to any riders or travelers. On our first gas stop, we encountered some fellow BMW travelers (see our helmets all lined up together?) and the inside of the gas station had a bison head hanging as well as other local game.

It also had funny signs up all over - reminding customers not to pee on the seat in the washroom, etc. We arrived in Redmond around 5:00 pm at the BMW MOA International Rally site. We found a place next to some Canadians that quickly become friends. Mike from Trenton, Ontario and Jerry and Sharon from Niagara Falls. They are a ton of fun and we enjoyed dinner with them at Coyote Ranch. A good time was had by all, ay.

Riding to Redmond, Oregon - Day 4

Total Miles = 108

After breakfast in the Canyon Lodge cafeteria, we headed for Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park. Along the way, we encountered hordes of bison. We stopped to take pictures and came very close to some of them. Too close for my liking! I couldn't believe how many people walked really close to these bison to take pictures. Bison weigh up to 2,000 pounds and can travel at 40 mph. Every year, park visitors are injured by bison.

We also took pictures by Yellowstone Lake in many spots. We stopped at one of the many sulfur springs, which was cool, but the highlight was seeing a bear down below from a small cliff. It was fun to take a picture at the Continental Divide, but watching the famous Old Faithful erupt was even more fun. Our final destination for the evening was the Mammoth Hot Springs, which are in the northwest corner of the park. The Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel was built in the 30s and quite nice. After dinner, there was the most vivid rainbow I have ever seen.

We then enjoyed a challengingwalk to visit the many locations of hot springs in that area. Below Sandra contemplates the meaning of life watching over Cleopatra's Table.

Riding to Redmond, Oregon - Day 2

Total Miles = 442

The motel in Osmond, Nebraska was very nice and new! The nearby mini-mart ladies were also very nice. We left Osmond around 10:00 am - too late in my book, but we were on our way. As we continued on U.S. 20 west, we went through many small towns, including Eli with a population of 2.

I've never seen the sky look so beautiful with the wide open spaces, big blue sky with fluffy clouds dotted across the landscape.





Our favorite stop of the day was in Merriman, where we stopped to rest and eat at the Sand Cafe. An old fashioned diner with pictures of customers on the wall, shakes and malts with fresh ingredients, and the best club sandwiches ever - fresh ham cut from the bone. It makes a difference!

When we went out to our bikes, Sandra and I discovered ants in our helmets! Lesson not to put your helmet on the ground!



This little guy hitched a ride on Sandra's bike.



After we crossed the border into Wyoming, we say many longhorn sheep and bison. We passed through a town called Lusk - known for the only legal cathouse in Wyoming at one time. They are no longer in service but there is a monument to prostitutes on the outskirts of town. We settled on Douglas as our resting place for the evening. There was a little league convention in town, so we were lucky to find a room at the Super 8!