2015 sound Rider Rally in the Gorge on RX3
 

A few weeks back I was able to go to one of my favorite rallies in the Columbia River Gorge area at Hood River. I will give a little report on my new Redverz Solo tent, fabricated kickstand pad along with various rally pics and places visited, etc. I think this is the 8 or 9 year I've gone and find it a very relaxing time riding on some of the best mc roads Wash/OR has to offer.
Last year I spent the whole rally starting with my first ambulance ride , and first ever over nighter in the ER at the Hood River hospital. Very nice. Then the rest of the rally watching everyone else have a great time while I was on drugs, pain relievers and drinking buckets of water. All for a lowly kidney stone. They will bring you to your knees believe you me. Scratch that of the old bucket list. So this was an anniversary for me.
I have a few movies of riders on the Mary Hill twisties that will give you a taste of the first paved road west of the Mississippi and is a National Historic sight. Other places I visited this trip were Larch Mountain, great view and ride up and back, Vista House overlook, spectacular. Grass Valley race track, awsume and we'll meet up with old Herman then see a stern wheeler paddle wheel boat. And see some cool fishing places the local Natives ply their trade. Rode along the old Oregon highway 30 past Multnomah Falls and saw pristine views and roads. Then we'll see the aliens departing Mt Baker when they heard who all was running for president.
The RX3 ran great though I wish I had the 14T counter shaft sprocket installed instead of the 13T. The liter bikes were hard to keep up with on the interstate, but we gave it a go and the RX3 ran at 7500-8500 rpms for hours on end at 60-65 GPS mph. MPG sank to 52 with the 13T running those RPMs. Then I got lost on LOLO pass (Oregon one, not the Idaho one) and found myself loving the 13T going down the rocky fire and power line roads in 2nd and 3rd gears. And with a Garmin GPS. No worries.
I'll probably have to post photos in several segments as I have a life and not real fast at this stuff so bare with me. rj

Thanks for starting the nice ride report. We eagerly await your photos. :)

Based upon the riding you prefer, perhaps you would enjoy a 14T/46T, or 13T/42T sprocket combination. ;) I think it might be beneficial for you to choose your preferred counter shaft (C/S) sprocket, and then buy a spare sprocket carrier. Then you can easily switch between two sprocket carriers with different size sprockets for the rear wheel. :) Swapping the sprocket carriers is easier than removing the C/S sprocket, and less troublesome/expensive than bending a lot of safety washers during the C/S sprocket changes. ;)

First the tent. Redverz Solo around $450. Ouchy caboodles. Sleep area on the RH side, middle portion for bike, LH side for everything else.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psqjwjfp1a.jpg
Back door into the sleeping suite. Notice the little hold open vent thingy. Nice. I never used this door and always came in from the other side. Just cause I could.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psw3ljrzze.jpg
Convention center and general throw your stuff in area. I could stand up in here fine at 5'6".
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psnm7edgyt.jpg
Sleeping area. Had room for cot and able to throw in mc pants , jacket in corner. It rained pretty hard a few times and never got wet inside this part. Very comfy
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psqbtgka1r.jpg
The guide strings have reflective stuff in them like the one next door on RH side. Notice the tents on the left that don't have reflective stuff. You can't . This is a nice feature when stumbling in late at night from a tiring ride. with a flashlight. Notice tent is larger then the normal size of tents people use for mc camping. I'll post a pic later of it packed on the bike and it was not any worse then anything I've carried before.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psqx9m1kon.jpg
more later, rj

That's a nice tent. :tup:

Very cool tent! I'd love to spend some time riding in the area.

First night out I chose to sleep under the stars at a campground across the river from where the rally would be held. To lazy to setup the tent for a 1 nighter. Here's a pic of the Redverz tent packed on the bike for size comparison. I ended up putting the cot up on the picnic table. Cot is very light weight and small size when in it's carry case. Fits in the back of my trunk. rj

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...pst9bqqfug.jpg

Nice cot.
Nice chair.
Nice high-visibility riding gear.
Nice motorcycle. :tup:

Day before rally preview of scenery. Road up and down this canyon road several times. Twisties galore and not much traffic. The old train bridge has been converted to people traffic. That gorge is where brave natives catch their fiish.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...pstlcyd50r.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...pscwbh7t9l.jpg
One slip and your a goner.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psh2t2ur37.jpg
View from upstream. All that water converges into the narrow channel in pics above.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psmvch4p4k.jpg
Down where this Klickitat river enters the Columbia River.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...pstdznnkhr.jpg
Vintage ADV llama.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...pswkmpfbtp.jpg
Washington side of Col. River. Taking the older roads in the area.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psdrjfizdb.jpg
Some of the old roads have been converted to hiking trails.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psphyemftc.jpg
Looking east towards .................................................. ................the east
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psnngkvblh.jpg
Looking west towards Portland
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psfu2dfwcq.jpg
kayakers
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psrf6tqzjw.jpg
Time warp shot. Looking where I'll be tomorrow on opposite side of river and looking back where I was been.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/g...psxgksihpy.jpg
2BC (to be continued) rj

It never occurred to me to carry a cot and a chair. I would have packed a self-inflating mat and sat on the ground. I'm quite a neophyte. I plan to get into adventure camping soon.

At my age , one has to do such things , enjoy the mat and sit on the ground while you can Weld, rj

I didn't say it would be enjoyable. That's exactly the reason that Mrs. Weldangrind and I bought a trailer last year. We tented for several years, and I can't get comfortable on a self-inflating mat anymore.

I'm taking your guidance seriously. I would definitely invest in a cot and a chair like that. Can you provide links?

Gladly Weld, the $76 BRS cot I got from Amazon here.

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...l_40zjcvojet_e

it's a copy or misbranded copy of a Therm-A-Rest that costs 3x more available same place.

And the $79 Joey chair from Sound Rider here. You'll notice that the SR one has larger feet to help keep it from sinking into soft ground. The less expensive ones have just regular feet that can sink in the grass easier.

http://store.soundrider.com/collecti...by-travelchair

They both take down to small enough to fit in my trunk, rj

Thanks for the good tip on the BRS Folding Bed. :tup: I considered getting one of those cots, but I am a side sleeper, and I heard cots are best for back sleepers. ;) Indeed, that is an exceptional price. :)

Please tell me more about your pillow. Is it inflatable?

Also, what sleeping bag do you own? I own a down mummy bag I used when I was a mountaineer. However, I now feel confined in the mummy bag, and I would like to consider other, wider sleeping bags, which still compress into a relatively small volume. ;)

ExPed air Pillow lg is inflatable Spud and rolls up to a big salt shaker size .Like this one on the Bay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Exped-Air-Pi...item3ab1a8754c
Hi-Tech sleeping bag is a cheaper 40-50 deg bag that I've spend many a nigh freezing in. So I also bring a fleece liner to put inside that makes me snug as a bug. rj