Leaving Redmond, Oregon - Day 11

Total Miles = 258

I had planned to sleep in today, but nature called and I needed to use the facilities. I guess I'm up at 5:30 am again today. Turned out to be a good thing because it took me six hours to get out of there between a shower, breaking down camp, packing, Jerry putting my new grips on my bike, losing my keys, saying goodbye to the Bob's BMW crew, saying goodbye to Nancy Foote and Walt Fulton of Streetmasters Motorcycle Workshop, saying goodbye to Scott and the Canadians, running to Walgreen's for Jonny, and lastly, getting gas. Whew! I finally got out of there around 11:30. I wasn't feeling all that well, so I took it easy through the windy roads of Oregon. My route was 97 N, 293 E, 218 E, 19 N, 84 E, 730 E, 12 E to Walla Walla, Washington.

It really was beautiful throughout. 293 and 218 were especially fun with some twists and turns. 84 is scenic along the Hood River. On 730, I crossed in to Washington and began to follow the Columbia River. Walla Walla is a nice tourist town with many wineries. The best hotel rate was at La Quinta. A nice place with all of the necessary amenities.

Scott from Neenah, Wi and me - We met Scott last year at the MOA rally in Johnson City, TN.

Jerry putting on my Grab On grip covers. Grip covers extend the life of your expensive grips and reduce vibration. Jerry was proud of me for getting a bunch of free stuff - a new ZTechnik windscreen, ZTechnik headlight cover, ZTechnik GPS mount (I guess I better get a GPS now), microfiber cloth, the grip covers, a book by Mary Lou Dobbs (I will interview her on Side Stand Up); and a great deal on a new Airhawk seat cover and a PIAA headlamp. I also bought new cooling sleeves from LD Comfort. They are dual purpose - cover my wrists so I don't get sunburn due to my too short sleeves on my riding jackets and you can soak them in water and feel cool on your ride.

Mike with his 3rd place ribbon from the GS contest. Go Mikey!

Jerry and Sharon with the medal and 1st place ribbon from the GS contest. They got two extra points because Sharon was wearing a VaVaVroom shirt that matched the yellow bike!

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.

Streetmasters Motorcycle Workshop - Part 2

Streetmasters Motorcycle Workshop is owned and run by Walt Fulton (pictured above) and Nancy Foote. Walt is a former motorcycle racer, winning three times at Daytona, and Nancy, an experienced rider in her own right, is known as the Queen of the Backroads. I had the wonderful opportunity to take their workshop today. We started our day at the Hampton Inn conference room in Lancaster, CA. Early on, Walt emphasized the need for head turns and to "look where you want to go". He stated, "If your neck isn't sore by the end of today, I'm going to be disappointed!" The course also teaches a delayed apex in a corner for street riding. The delayed apex gives you a better look into the turn before committing to it. It also helps you stay clear of the center line (and potential center lane crossers) and sets you up for the next corner. It should be noted that this is very different than how you would approach a corner on the race track. The idea of the "tipping point" was also discussed. One comment I found to be very helpful is that your tipping point (the moment you "tip" or "lean" into your turn) should happen once you can see through the turn, allowing you to make a more informed decision about how to approach it.

After our short instruction in the classroom, we all rode over to the Willow Springs Raceway in nearby Rosamond. The course primarily takes place on the Horse Thief Mile track, which is set up like canyon road, but without any pesky oncoming traffic. You may recognize this course from numerous car commercials. We worked on our newly learned techniques and received constant feedback on our progress. I was lucky to have Walt as my track instructor. Actually, the entire staff is great all around. The other instructors are also extremely experienced and "the moms", Peggy and Liz, were there to make sure we ate a good lunch, drank enough water, and to answer any logistical questions. In addition to the "track time" we also worked on "precision exercises" on the practice pad, such as U-turns from a stop and emergency braking. Our graduation exercises consisted of a figure eight and offset weave course and another chance at the Horse Thief Mile, but this time in the reverse direction. I appreciated this final exercise as it allowed me to get a sense for the real progress I had achieved that day. The progress came in steps throughout the day, with a deeper understanding of the concepts as I went along.

In this course, I learned a lot and improved my skills, but I also met some great people - instructors and course participants alike. I had the opportunity to get to know some fellow BMW riders from the BMW Owners Club of San Diego and riders that follow pashnit.com. Oh yeah, and my neck was sore at the end of the day, just like Walt had promised.

I am anxious to practice my newly-learned techniques. I can only hope that the Chicago weather affords me the opportunity....

Note: Special thanks to fellow-student, Kevin Wilson, for use of his photos for this blog.