Modern Vespa

First off I live in Bend which means every day feels like vacation but not everyday feels like summer vacation and you are blissed out all day long.

I started off from my house with my girlfriend on the back of the GTS. We traveled from Bend to Oakridge through the Cascade mountains and past Mount Bachelor. There is nothing like the morning air to clear the cobwebs away and refresh the soul. We had a big snow year and some areas are still melting out which is surprising for mid July.

We stopped to fuel up and grab lunch in Oakridge which was around a two hour ride from Bend. If you ever make it to Oakridge I would advise eating at "The Trailhead" restaurant. The owners are a mix of eclectic folks that make Oakridge have its charm. Think of it as a mix of Berkeley hippies mixed with mountain bikers that like motorcycles too.

This is where the true riding begins. The Aufderheide Memorial Drive (now called Western Cascades Scenic Drive) is a 58 mile long ribbon of undulating road that follows the drainage of the North fork of the Willamette river. Along the way you pass numerous swimming holes and waterfalls that you have to stop at to appreciate fully. There is a great swimming hole at mile post 11. The ride tops out at Box Canyon from there it is a downhill with 15 mph twisties that are true to their posted speed. In fact you can see where people have lost it in the corner and they have widened the road to the outside to eliminate (mostly) the boulder filled ledge you would fall off of. I think you get my point. If you thought the road was smooth before this is where it is like a race track. Up and down and twisty and treed . Eventually it opens up to the Cougar Reservoir that is totally full of water this time of year. In true Oregon style it had a hippie yacht floating along with a naked family sitting in the sun having a great time. Although we did not join them we did take a swim in and the water was warm (75-80F) and sans suits we felt like teenagers trying not to get caught.

The ride from McKenzie Bridge to Bend was easy and overall I am much more impressed with the GTS than I used to be. I have never ridden two up for so long and with the cargo box installed my girlfriend could lean back and relax and enjoy the views. We averaged almost 70 mpg even with the mountains thrown in and a lot of wide open throttle cruising. I just got out of peoples way if they were aggressive and that was only a couple of times the whole ride.

The total mileage for the day was 267.4 miles. What a day!

Enjoy the photos!

Really nice pics! Sounds like a great trip.

Great pictures! I love that area.

Beautiful! We were just on the west side of the mountain yesterday. We did a ride through Sandy and the Estacada area, out on the road about 5 hours. We had a few hitches (one break down, one crash in the gravel, unpaved roads, one slow ass Lambretta), but it was an amazing ride. We're so lucky to have this at our disposal every day (except in the winter, wouldn't want to ride my scooter to the mountain.)

Congrats for not dying of dysentery.

Very cool! Thanks for sharin'.

You have a beautiful state! After starting the Cannonball in 06 from Pacific City, and heading to AmeriVespa in your corner of the land last year, I really miss not getting to Oregon this summer. I miss your peeps and Dutch Brothers too. You can have the winter though.

Sounds like a great trip and beautiful scenery!
Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the post and the pics! I can't wait to feel OK enough on the highways to get out on that ride. Maybe I'll get up enough to ride to elk lake this august

Saturday I rode support for TdC, 120 total miles and I was tired out at the end of the day. I managed 3 miles on Hwy 20 at 55mph...only just a bit scary. At speed the GT was smoooooooth and felt great!

I saw a guy wearing that shirt the other day and it totally cracked me up. I want a girl's version to wear when we go to Manzanita in a couple weeks.

Very nice pictures! We went to Bend a couple years ago and has a great time.

Thanks for sharing this trip. Did that route almost exactly last Summer...but was not on my scoot.

Whats this! Another Bend person on the board! Welcome to MV.

I thought about doing a rolling SAG for TdC this past weekend but the hills were calling my name. If you see me around say hello, I ride a silver GTS with a Italian stripe down the middle and chrome wheels. Hard to miss really.

Beautiful...thanks from an Oregonian in exile.

I overnighted in Bend a few weeks ago and thoroughly enoyed it--if memory serves me there is a restaurant built around a big tree?

I would have to go around oahu FOUR times to go that far Sounds like a great trip.

Nice itinerary, beautiful pix-- What have you done! Now everyone will want to immigrate!!

Thanks for your wonderful write-up-- Now everyone else, listen up: you wouldn't believe how many months of rain we get here. 8)

--Deborah

I'll keep an eye out for ya. I'm on the black GT, light blue corrazzo 5.0 and white shoei.

Is the stripe down the front???

Come sag next year, it's a blast! Just stop by the shop and talk to Gary or Susan.

PS - yesterday's rain made for sweet AM riding - get out now if you can, trails are buffed out!!

That "yacht" is hilarious - I'd like to see a bigger pic (and no, I don't need to see the nude hippies I've seen plenty in my day).

Sounds like a great ride, the one part about SoFla I really dislike is the lack of interesting roads to drive. I miss the trees and hills of New England for sure. Just not the cold