In keeping with the season, I have a tale to share. It relates to the reason no 2-wheeled adventures were on the docket for the weekend. Ron had oral surgery this week. Our dentist appears to be a nice enough fellow, but I have to wonder at his motives. Ron needed a skin graft on a portion of his gums, and our Dentist recommended...
...dead skin.
EEEEEW!
Creepy! The dentist has some crazy story that skin from a cadaver is sterile, has no dna or whatever, so there are no rejection issues and so on. Yeah, right! I suspect the real story is that our dentist is secretly turning his patients into zombies piece by cadaver-skin piece. There goes the neighborhood.
To allow the zombie skin to heal, Ron was told to avoid exertion, so no bicycling. A swollen face and no desire to slip into a helmet left motorcycling out as well. Guess that leaves the transportation of last resort for us zombies - the car.
We have two objectives this weekend. Drive the old McKenzie highway and check out the McKenzie River Trail. With low snow levels in the forecast I imagine the highway will be closing for the year. This weekend is probably our last opportunity to travel the route. For those familiar with the area, you know this is one of the premium motorcycle routes in the state. This time of year it is stunningly gorgeous. Today we only see two sport bikes moving at a rather sedate speed. The road often has rock debris in the curves, but one can still travel briskly if you keep a sharp eye out for debris. Today it has the rocks, along with a wet surface, and leaves and needles added to the mix. Let's just say it's a good day to enjoy views at an unhurried pace rather than enjoy the curves.
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| Alder Springs |
On top of the pass I stop for two panoramic views of the lava field. They didn't turn out as I'd hoped, but that's how it goes sometimes.
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| Windy Point |
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| Ron and Cookie near Dee Wright Observatory |
McKenzie River Trail
Ron and I have a goal to mountain bike the McKenzie River Trail next year. 26 miles of beautiful single track with some rather technical sections. Our mountain biking consists of very non-technical easy stuff, so I'm thinking it's a good idea to go take a peek at what kind of mess we'll be getting into.
Lunch was at Carmen Reservoir.
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| The view at lunch. |
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| Best seat in the house. |
Afterwords we stopped at various trail heads to take a peek at the trail . We didn't find much technical stuff, but we did find some lovely views. The Cascades are beautiful this time of year.
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| McKenzie River |
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| Sahalie Falls |
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| Path at Sahalie Falls |
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| Bridge across the McKenzie River - McKenzie River Trail |
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| McKenzie River Trail |
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| McKenzie River |
The road home wasn't bad either...
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| Highway 20 - Santiam Pass. |
Not a bad weekend for Zombies.
Happy Halloween!
Wow, I've seen Ron look better! : )
ReplyDeleteNice set of pictures, though obtained from a cage, still nice.
dom
Redleg's Rides
Colorado Motorcycle Travel Examiner
That thought is gross. Not sure if I could do that especially thank to the first picture provided...
ReplyDeleteLovely outing though, a nice glimpse of the fall and the falls.
Trying to ignore the first picture...
ReplyDeleteNice pictures of the falls and the trail. What is meant by "technical" when describing mountain bike trails?
Richard
Bluekat:
ReplyDeletegood to see Ron patched up and heeling. will be all better in time for next riding season. Really nice photos, perhaps we will be able to see those lava fields when we come down next time. Is that hwy 242 from Sisters ? We tried to drive it a few years ago, we went about 10-20 miles in the forest then came to the place where they closed the road, we had to turn around and go back to Sisters.
bob
Riding the Wet Coast
I hope Ron heals quick. Doesn't sound like fun surgery at all.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures of your 4-wheel adventure. Those hiking trails look great.
I noticed you guys are rocking the Jetboil. Did you make some tea to have with lunch?
lol Dom :)
ReplyDeleteThanks. It wasn't too bad of a day, even being in the car. The pretty views, and a little bit of hiking kind of made up for it.
Hi Sonja,
lol - yeah if I think about it too much, ick! But I'm dramatizing just a little. It's not much different than a cornea transplant. The picture grosses me out as well. :)
Hi Richard
ReplyDeleteTechnical: The stuff that I walk.
Narrow, steep, twisty, rooty, and/or rocky trails. For some, riding down the side of a cliff or jumping off of boulders is technical. The crazy downhills at Whistler up by Bobskoot? Technical. In my case rolling over a curb is technical! I have a long way to go with my mountain biking technique. :)
Hi Bobskoot,
ReplyDeleteHe'll be back on (all) bikes in a few days. The surgery was very minor - office visit only. Yes, highway 242 out of Sisters. Like Going to the Sun, it has to be plowed and opens later in the year, usually in June so plan accordingly :) It is a fantastic little ride! The lava fields are pretty cool to see as well.
Hi Trobairitz
Thanks. He's doing well. Little to no pain and healing quickly. It was the first time we brought the jetboil on a picnic. Ron had hot cocoa and I had a fat-free carmel latte. Yummy treat by the lake!
I nearly had a ligament from a cadaver placed in my right knee, but dodged that bullet . . . for the time being. It was icky thinking about it. Ah, but what works works and then there is no need to think about it, but just be grateful. May that time come soon. Very nice twist of tying in the oral surgery with Halloween.
ReplyDeleteI like the leaf.
Best wishes to Ron for swift uneventful post procedure progress.
Best wishes to Ron for a quick recovery. I guess the cadaver thing is catching on. One of my coworkers had some neck bones fused. The surgeon used cadaver bone. That was a year ago and things have been great for him.
ReplyDeleteOk. I have to get to work. Your photos are now leaps and bounds ahead of mine!
BlueKat,
ReplyDeleteSorry, but the first rule of the zombie apocolypse is to kill before they turn - hope you made it out alive.
Beautiful photos and beautiful fall. In Germany the view from the city hasn't compared to what I had in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and these pictures take me right to those memories. I'll bet I would be out for a couple of rides if I lived there yet. Ah, the South could be a bear, but fall was an amazing time.
Brady
Behind Bars - motorcycles and Life
www.behindbarsmotorcycle.com
Nice pictures, except one of course. You seem to have the outdoor lifestyle that many of us aspire to, but cannot summon the energy to do it. Note to self - get out more and walk!
ReplyDeleteWow, you two are much more active than I, even while healing. Great pictures, I've only ridden by those stops and usually at a high rate of speed in a full lean. We may have to take the car, tent and canoe up there next year. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Keith,
ReplyDeleteI agree, if it works, it works. :)
I hope you continue dodging that bullet! Knee surgeries aren't' much fun.
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Hi Dan
And the coworker's doing okay? No weird hunger pangs for human flesh? :) Frankly I'm amazed at what Doctors can do these days. btw, Makes me sick to hear about the theft. Hope they catch the ones involved.
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Hi Brady,
Yep, still here :)
Thank you. It has been a pretty fall. I didn't realize how much color was out there until I headed up into the mountains.
Hi Gary,
ReplyDeleteI love being outdoors as long as I stay warm.
I have a desk job and I get antsy if I can't do something at least on the weekend. I get kind of grumpy. Ron will tell you. :)
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Hi Troubadour,
Rate of speed and lean angle is the best response on those roads. We tried, but the car just wouldn't lean!
I hope Ron is feeling better. Love your new header. The "Dee Wright Observatory", I was there in 2010, loved that area but kind of scary if you go off the road. Beautiful pictures of the lake and river. I need to do more outdoors.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice looking day! Only worry about Ron and his zombie gums if he starts getting a taste for necrotic flesh. ;) I have a friend that had knee replacement and was given a cadaver knee. And yes, she is called Zombie Leg now.
ReplyDeleteAs for those trails and not much technical, I found that along the Appalachian Trail out here, the trail was worn and easy within one mile of roads and parking areas. Get outside of that limit and the trail became cleaner and more difficult. :)
Hope healing goes well.
Hi George,
ReplyDeleteI've hiked a small paved trail at the observatory, but that's as much exploring I've done there. It's quite a desolate landscape.
Hi Lori,
Zombie leg - lol
He's all healed up and good to go :)
I bet you have some beautiful trails to hike!