"Ride Oregon First" Dual Sport M/C Tours: The Cascade Discovery Route

[Apple Jam]

Originally Posted by cjracer

Looks Great Jeff.

We had a blast riding with you and so will any other adventure rider that takes you up on this offer.

Good luck and Safe travels.
cj

it sure was great having you and Jeff with us for that ride,
and the on-site warranty repairs?? Priceless !!

For those ADVRiders that don't know these two guys....
Craig is CJ Racer, the dude behind CJDesigns LLC.
Jeff is his buddy that rode to Oregon from Wisconsin with him on the way to the KTM Rally.

The night before a long two-day ride, I was just returning from doing the WABDR, when we meet them in the Forest!
... Craig tells me he has the spare parts to fix my Recluse EXP (packed on his bike!!) I had purchased from him last February. And while I try to reinstall my rear subframe (welded back together after broken), Craig proceeds to actually do the warranty repairs for me, while his buddy Jeff helps me with my subframe and rack, and bleeds my brakes for me!!

Beyond the call of duty, I tell ya!!
If any of you need 950/990 parts, email Craig at his sig-line address, he'll set you up with the best products, and most importantly, the best advice you can get about these bikes.

Originally Posted by Brtp4

Just enough rocks to piss you off, not enough to get up on top of.

BP

Then there's Brian, at Atomic Moto.
At one point, about a half mile past those pictures, I got myself stuck.
At the edge of Wilderness, without any more water, and at 5pm.
Well, what do I do now??

I have Brian's phone #, and I call with limited reception,
and he offers to come and help, even though he is still a couple of hours away.
I didn't know what else to do, but within the next hour, I got myself out,
and likely fried that Rekluse in the process.
When I call him back, he was already halfway out to get me.
Then, next time I see him, he gives me some free "Hammer" electrolyte products,
to give me some energy next time that happens.

Above the call of duty, again.
You all need to buy from Atomic Moto. You'll get personal advice if you need it,
just email Brian and ask.

Where else do you get that level of personal service from a Vendor, except those that are part of ADV?
ADVers are the BEST!!

[BigDave75]

Originally Posted by Brtp4

Just enough rocks to piss you off, not enough to get up on top of.

BP

Looks like a great place for me to loose both mirrors and turn signals!

[catalina38]

Had a great time riding a small part of it on the way to the KTM rally this year.
Thanks Jeff.

[Apple Jam]

Originally Posted by BigDave75

Looks like a great place for me to loose both mirrors and turn signals!

It'll be OK you won't need 'em on the Cascade Discovery Route, we won't see much traffic....

You saw the part where I abandoned this section, right?
But not until I found a maybe 150 year old piece of a steel wagon wheel on this ancient-by-american-standards Santiam Wagon Rd.....

Originally Posted by catalina38

Had a great time riding a small part of it on the way to the KTM rally this year.
Thanks Jeff.

Thanks for coming!!! VERY glad you enjoyed it!!
Did you enjoy feeling like a Guinea Pig ??

Oh yeah, and thanks for helping me get my bike off of that Wilderness Tree

Another Picture from another ancient road. This is an abandoned section of Grasshopper Rd.
While it was still quite the obstacle course, this one was FUN!!
Do you remember losing that pannier here, Cyclops Motorsport??

[Brtp4]

Originally Posted by Apple Jam

"road". LOL.

BP

[killowatt]

I was fortunate enough to ride this with AJ last august. Man can that fugger ride. apparently no one explained to him that its not a MX bike.
It never ceased to amaze me just how much stuff fits on a 990. Is it really camping when you have ice in your cocktails every night? and the grub was delicious. No freeze dried meals for that guy, we were eating fajitas for dinner!

I truly hope I have the chance to spend a few days on the trail with AJ again this year!

some pics from our ride in august:

AJ's well equipped orange crush. here you can just spy the top of the cooler...


yes, bike to occasionally break down on the trail. notice the blinker?



looks like three cans and a box. and it was damn tasty!

that guy is always smiling!

this is my kind of road


Thanks again AJ for showing us a great time!

[Apple Jam]

Originally Posted by Brtp4

"road". LOL.

BP

Maybe "troad" is a better description: trail + road
Actually, the roadBED was in good shape, just a bit overgrown and some treefall.
Makes for good stories

Originally Posted by killowatt

I was fortunate enough to ride this with AJ last august. Man can that fugger ride. apparently no one explained to him that its not a MX bike.
It never ceased to amaze me just how much stuff fits on a 990. Is it really camping when you have ice in your cocktails every night? and the grub was delicious. No freeze dried meals for that guy, we were eating fajitas for dinner!
....
Thanks again AJ for showing us a great time!

Thanks for the kind words!!
and thanks even more for enjoying your ride
Very glad to help you and TJ start out your tour of Oregon

I just can't let go of what a fun week that was!!
Is it June, yet?

[Ladukebob]

Me and my bike got to do some things on that "troad" we had never done before. Like getting over a few downed trees on the fully loaded Adventure that were way bigger then the clearance on the bike. I found myself in a place I'd never been and was excited and nervous at the same time. With the gentle slap on the back by others and a little motivational encouragement I got over those obstacles with little problem. I now know I can do that

You can ride and play it safe and never push the limits or you can ride with guys/galls that will push you just that little bit that turns you into a better rider.

Had a blast on that ride

[Apple Jam]

Originally Posted by Ladukebob

Me and my bike got to do some things on that "troad" we had never done before. Like getting over a few downed trees on the fully loaded Adventure that were way bigger then the clearance on the bike. I found myself in a place I'd never been and was excited and nervous at the same time. With the gentle slap on the back by others and a little motivational encouragement I got over those obstacles with little problem. I now know I can do that

You can ride and play it safe and never push the limits or you can ride with guys/galls that will push you just that little bit that turns you into a better rider.

Had a blast on that ride

I searched very hard to find the roads & troads that were very much like the best sections of the OBCDR (Oregon BackCountry Discovery Route),
and to skip it's sometimes longish pavement connectors and replace them with more dirty & fun roads.
I'm thinking that is the reason most of you are looking at this thread,...TO BE CHALLENGED !!

I also wanted ALL types/sizes of bikes to have FUN.
I was a bit apprehensive about sending SIXTEEN riders on KTM 950/990 Adventures (and one on a 690) through the original sections of some of these old roads.

I knew we would have riders of all different abilities, and all on loaded-for-camping fully laden bikes.
NOT ONE of these KTMs fell down in this section of the Old Grasshopper Road pictured above.
I rode Sweep, at the end to collect any mishaps, and there were NONE!!!
(excepting the one pannier knocked off by a downed tree )

I know there was at least a couple of those riders that admitted being new to Big Bike ADV-Type riding,....
....and they all MADE IT, and they all had FUN!!

[Apple Jam]

Originally Posted by killowatt

I was fortunate enough to ride this with AJ last august.......
.......Thanks again AJ for showing us a great time!

Last August's premier paid tour of the Cascade Discovery Route included two smaller bikes,
a KTM 530EXC (killowatt, quoted above), and PigPen's plated XR650R.
I'm pretty damn sure they never felt cheated by this Route being officially "Big Bike Friendly",
and I know they were never bored....

The Cascade Discovery Route ends (when started in Hood River) at the beginning of the OBCDR's Route 3 and Route 4,
very near Sisters, Oregon, one of very few towns located WITHIN a National Forest.
Having ridden Route 4 two years ago, I opted to take Route 3 South with these two thumper riders,
down to Crescent Lake area, where we headed East on the OBCDR Route 2.
I had to stop short, and get back to my life, while these two had another week off.
They continued East on OBCDR Route 2 to connect it with OBCDR Route 5,
they then rode that North up to Walla Walla, WA, the end of the OBCDR.

The Cascade Discovery Route gave them an opportunity to get on dirt just an hour out of Portland, Oregon,
....and allowed them to stay on dirt for the rest of their vacation
No SuperSlab to get to the start of some far-away ride

Originally Posted by killowatt

looks like three cans and a box. and it was damn tasty!

And BTW, it is officially called "Four Cans and a Box....on a Tortilla"
...and most that I've fed it to would agree that it's some of the best multi-day camp food they've ever eaten.
Blows away freeze-dried on the trail, AND even beats a Burger Joint in the city!

[Cyclops Motorsports]

Originally Posted by Apple Jam

It'll be OK you won't need 'em on the Cascade Discovery Route, we won't see much traffic....

You saw the part where I abandoned this section, right?
But not until I found a maybe 150 year old piece of a steel wagon wheel on this ancient-by-american-standards Santiam Wagon Rd.....



Thanks for coming!!! VERY glad you enjoyed it!!
Did you enjoy feeling like a Guinea Pig ??

Oh yeah, and thanks for helping me get my bike off of that Wilderness Tree

Another Picture from another ancient road. This is an abandoned section of Grasshopper Rd.
While it was still quite the obstacle course, this one was FUN!!
Do you remember losing that pannier here, Cyclops Motorsport??

I sure do.. Thanks for saving my bacon. I might have been in Bend before even realizing it was gone
I thought the route we took was just right for ADV Bikes, You could make it as hard or easy as you wanted to.
Myself,Radek and Ian had a great time flogging threw the wagon road at high speed, Then side by side sliding around corners at triple digits on the red gravel was something that I will remember for years to come.

[MrBracket]

Jeff, I want in please!

I played around up on those old wagon roads this past summer and loved it. I would love to join in on your tours! I'll check out your links for dates and such.

This is really cool, I can't wait!

[Apple Jam]

Originally Posted by MrBracket

Jeff, I want in please!

I played around up on those old wagon roads this past summer and loved it. I would love to join in on your tours! I'll check out your links for dates and such.

This is really cool, I can't wait!

Excellent, MrBracket !! Thanks for jumping on board

I feel that it's just a bit too early for me to set exact dates,
I don't wish to hinder potential attendees at this point.
.....I was looking forward to suggestions from you
I'm flexible and ready to ride & guide,...and cook

The 1857 Santiam Wagon Road is just one of many old troads (trail/road) on this tour
that border the edges of Oregon's great Wilderness areas,
and some very special troads that are actually still legal to ride INSIDE Wilderness areas
(in & back only, optional/alternate excursions, quiet pipes only, please).

For these roads, the maps say...."Four Wheel Drive Required"
Heh.
They don't know what we can do with ONE WHEEL DRIVE

[MrBracket]

When do you think the weather will allow the first tour this year??

[mtbdemon]

WOW, I just might have to take this in...I haven't looked but will there be another KTM Ralley this year in Bend?