July 21, 2011

VELOCETTE OWNER'S CLUB RALLY, COLUMBIA RIVER, THE FINISH

Taking the inside line along the winding road up Mt.St.Helens...maybe a bit too inside!
1938 KSS in the rain forest
One of many tunnels along Hwy 14, the north side of the Columbia river
Picturesque railroad bridge across from the heights of Oregon
One of many small bridges in rural Washington
Gary McCaw of Toronto, who has in the past ridden his Velo to the West, on the Venom Clubman he's owned since new.
Fishtails at the salmon hatchery
Vancouver Thruxton crests a hill, as we explore waterfalls and byways
A picturesque viewpoint high over the Columbia and the town of Hood River
A Venom from Montana
The indefatigably cheery Jim Abbott, even when sorting out a seizure.  Piston issues were the #1 source of trouble during the rally, although air temperatures were quite mild.  Unpredictable concentrations of alcohol in fuel were thought to play a part.
BSA A10, a faithful partner to a Venom
The man of the meeting; Jim Day of Australia rode from Los Angeles, and put in a startling 640 miles one day on his way north.  That's a long ride on a 50 year old motorcycle.  Jim is 24 years older than his bike.  Jim is my hero.
The pink hippie bus with failed brakes, halfway into a sand bank...
No excuses necessary; the ride was sheer pleasure.
Taking a break from the family sidecar and KSS; the Youngs explore tad-pools near Lucia Falls, WA.
When I met Oliver Blow, he was Atticus Young's age; this year he rode his RD350LC Yamaha, with father Russ
The two-owner 1950 Triumph Thunderbird.  The first owner was 'Mac' of Yakima WA, hence the number plate.  Mac bobbed the rear mudguard when new, and asked the factory for a paint match...which was available only in Seattle, 140 miles away.  So he painted both mudguards black, a simpler solution, and thus it has remained for 60 years.
Mac's new owner, Dennis
Near-original and unrestored.
We are not who we were, but who we are; Jeff and a 1996 pic of himself with his '38 Royal Enfield KX 1150...
...which Kim finds outrageously funny...
...while Jeff finds Kim funny!
The evening's entertainment in a small town out West; the Rough and Wild Fort Dalles Days Rodeo
Rodeo clowns need love too
Ready for her rope tricks
The ladies of the ticket booth
The boys of the Heifer Dust Cafe
The local rodeo IS the dating scene for the under-21s
The men and women sat their horses for hours at times, watching, sometimes breaking away for their event, moving in all seriousness with great skill and aplomb, taking victory or defeat equally, only a smile marking the difference
This is not a Velocette.  But the horses were uniformly beautiful.
For a breast cancer fundraising evening, 'Real Men Wore Pink'
Sweethearts of the Rodeo

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