Calvary Chapel Motorcycle Fellowship

2006 Ride Calendar

September

Saturday, September 30: Middleton

Three of us gathered at Calvary Chapel this morning at 10am to enjoy a ride through the Idaho countryside on an absolutely beautiful day for motorcycling!! The smells of autumn were all around us as we cycled throughout rural Idaho, eventually making our way to Middleton where we enjoyed lunch before biking into Meridian and eventually home again via the Interstate. This was probably the last ride of the season, unless October brings unseasonably warm weather, in which case we will be ready to ride. God bless!

August

Saturday, August 19: Garden Valley/Crouch

Ten fearless travelers saddled up their trusty steeds (Harleys, Hondas, Kawasakis, Yamahas) and cruised up to Crouch, Idaho and the beautiful Garden Valley area today. We met at the church, discussed our plans and ride formation, prayed, and hit the road at about 10:30 AM. The skies were clear, the temperature moderate, and the scenery beautiful.

We had seven bikes in our group this morning, and the ride went smoothly. The traffic was light for most of the way, although Highway 55 to Banks was a little more heavy. We arrived in Crouch at about noon and enjoyed deli sandwiches at the "Coffee's and Cream" shop.

After lunch we split into two groups and returned home. One group went south on Highway 55 to Eagle, picking up Highway 44 back to the freeway...the other group went back the same way that we came in the morning: Black Canyon through New Plymouth.

A big thank you to all who rode with us. It was a great ride!

July

Too hot! No rides this month!

June

Saturday, June 17, 2006: Celebration Park-Melba, Idaho

Milt, Robin, Matt, and Randy left Ontario at about 10:15 AM and headed south on Highway 201. We passed through Nyssa and Adrian, crossed into Idaho near Homedale and stopped for gas at Marsing. We continued south on Highway 78, turning east at Walter's Ferry. A quick hop on Highway 45, then Ferry Road to Hill Road which became Warren Spur Road. South on Can-Ada, and a right on Victory Lane brought us to Celebration Park, about an hour and forty-five minutes after we started.

The weather was great...sunny, moderate, slight breeze to help keep us cool. Roads were nicely paved except for the final half-mile or so that is unimproved dirt, with lots of pot-holes! The park attendant told us that the Victory Lane entrance goes through BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land and the road cannot be paved or even smoothed out! We had to take it pretty slow.

Celebration Park is a unique area. Rugged cliffs, desert terrain, sagebrush, next to the Snake River, trees, wildflowers. The park is nicely accomodated, with drinking water, restrooms, picnic and camping areas, boat ramp. There is a trail that meanders through huge boulders, with many, many "pictographs", or pictures etched into the rock hundreds, perhaps thousands of years ago by the original inhabitants of the area. A good-sized lake can be found about a mile from the park, accessible only by foot or horseback, with great bass, crappie, and bluegill fishing.

We found a picnic table right by the river, in the shade, and ate our lunches. The interpretive center was open and we browsed through their exhibits of arrowheads, native tools, and pictures of a huge sturgeon, over 300 pounds, caught near here about fifty years ago! One of the park guides gave us a short lesson on throwing spears with an atalatl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atalatl).

We left the park a different way...two miles of dirt/gravel, but a lot smoother...however, we still had to go very slowly, and the gravel gave a "loose, squirrely" feel to the ride. My recommendation is to use the Victory Lane approach...it's shorter.

Our next ride will be July 15...I'm thinking about making it a "Riding Seminar". Randy and I have long wanted to set up a simple riding course on an empty parking lot and practice precision maneuvering. We could meet at 10:00 AM and have brunch and watch the "Motorman" video and then go to the Ontario DMV parking lot. Randy has permission for us to use it, and he has a source for a bunch of traffic cones.

One of the reasons we want to practice our riding skills, is because of something the "Motorman" says on his video. He says that he had ridden for over 20 years, and considered himself a skilled rider. He then took a riding course from a professional motorcycle policeman. After the course, Jerry "Motorman" Palladino realized that all he really had was one year of experience repeated 20 times! The Motorman video teaches three basic skills that can help ALL motorcycle riders become safer and more confident.

May

Saturday, May 27: Baker City/Unity Loop

Just two of us were able to make this ride. Matt and Milt met at the church at 10:00 AM and watched the first part of the "Motorman Video", a great training video lent to us by Randy. Jerry "Motorman" Palladino is truly an expert motorcyclist, and he's put together a sequence of exercises that help a rider develop three essential skills:

After the video we headed north on Highway 201, hitting I-84 at Farewell Bend, jumping off on the highway to Huntington. We rejoined I-84 near Lime, getting off at Durkee, and followed Old Highway 30 on into Baker City.

The weather was clear, but really windy...we bucked a headwind all the way to Baker, taking 90 minutes to go about 80 miles.

After a great breakfast at the Sumpter Junction restaurant, we decided to head back the same way we came. I had hoped to go back over "Dooley Pass", Highway 7, connecting up with Highway 26 at Unity, coming back through Vale, but...

...weather forecasts called for mixed snow and rain at 6000-feet elevation, which is close to what the pass reaches. It's a twisty road, with steep embankments, so I'd much prefer to do it in good weather. So we played it safe and headed home on familiar flatland.

We enjoyed the ride, especially coming back with the wind pushing us...I got close to 80 miles a gallon coming back! Matt's ride is a beautiful 1999 Shadow Spirit 1100, and it's smooth!

We'll plan another ride next month...hope to see you all there!

April

Saturday, April 22: Huntington

We met at Calvary Chapel Ontario at about 10:00 AM. We had a quick review of group riding guidelines and then headed to Huntington via Highway 201 North to Farewell Bend, then over the hill to Huntington for lunch and then back home. A nice, short ride for the first trip of the season!

The weather was sunny and mild, but quite windy. We had to push through a headwind the entire trip, but coming back, at least, the tailwind helped push us home! There were four bikes and five people in our group this time: Milt, Robin, Rob, Paul, and Tim. The roads were clean, traffic light...a good time by all was had!

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