Newport – Page 5 – Not Your Average Engineer

August 1, 2011

Motorcycle Dinner Ride to Newport with Ashley

Yesterday evening Ashley and I rode out to Newport for dinner. Here you can see a meeting of the metric motorcycles.

After having dinner at Rogue Public House, we stopped for a photo near the old Newport lighthouse. The weather on the coast was ideal for riding but inland it was rather hot.

For a Ninja 250, that little bike can really haul.

The sun was about to be extinguished in the Pacific Ocean as we left Newport.

One of the NOAA research vessels was leaving the protection of the harbor and jetty. It is visible just behind the couple by the railing. Having NOAA relocate fleet operations to Newport has been a huge boost to the local economy and is a real source of pride for the town.

The Yaquina Bay Bridge behind some trees.

One last view before we headed back to Corvallis.

April 3, 2011July 1, 2020

Cape Perpetua and the Coast with Kendra and Co.

Yesterday I received a surprise text from Kendra saying she was in town for the Beaver Freezer Triathlon. She and two of her work mates had driven out from Tri Cities to compete in the event. One thing led to another and we ended up on the coast, checking out Cape Perpetua.

Before we went to Cape Perpetua, we stopped in Newport at the old light house on the north side of the bridge. North and South jetties were pretty rough. I doubt anyone was going over the Newport bar yesterday.

One of the first lighthouses built on the Pacific Northwest coast.

The Yaquina Bay Bridge.

Looking out toward Japan.

On top of Cape Perpetua looking south toward Florence.

The verdant forests of the Oregon Coast Range stretching far inland.

Devil’s Churn far below.

Rebekah, Fiona, and Kendra.

The West Rock Shelter with Fiona and Kendra peaking around the corner. Rebekah is in the window.

Yachats through the trees.

The rain forest at the top of Cape Perpetua is very lush.

Big spruce and fir trees.

Devil’s Churn at the base of Cape Perepetua.

Sean going over to get an up-close view of the churn.

Kendra and Sean at some point did get wet.

Sea grass or moss or something similar in a tide pool.

Setting up for a group photo with the whole gang.

Slime on a vertical earth bank.

At a beach further up the coast.

Cartwheel time.

Foam from the sea.

On the bay front in Newport. We went to the Rogue Alehouse where we won a few bucks at trivia.

A sea lion on the dock doing his thing.

January 31, 2010July 1, 2020

Back roads of the Coast Range

Today I blew off work for a few hours to go have fun on my motorcycle in the central Oregon coast range mountains. Out of the 150 miles I drove, I only hit really sketchy gravel and mud for about a mile total. FYI to all the sport bikes: don’t take Highway 411. Well, you can… but only if you want to have fun going up and over a tight windy pass in mud and gravel.

I filled up twice during the ride. The first fuel up I took 3.02 gallons and had driven 134.3 miles. At this fill-up I topped it off as high as I could for the coming ride. Even so, I still averaged 44.7 mpg.

The second fill-up happed about 85 miles later. I didn’t push the trip meter until about 10 miles after the first fill-up so I’m not 100% positive on the distance but it was something like 85 miles. Another top-off brought me to 1.66 gallons. That makes for 51.2 mpg. That’s not bad considering I was going slow along some sketchy back country roads.

Every time I go out and ride my PC800, named The Tardis, it’s like falling in love with the bike all over again. The Tardis might have a few nagging issues (need new clutch plates soon, back tire will need to be replaced sooner rather than later due to old rubber rot, underpowered stator, etc) but it sure is fun to ride.

In other news, I was having some trouble keeping my heated gear working throughout the ride. One of the outlets kept cutting out. I’m not sure if it’s an issue with the Heat Troller, the outlet, or the plug. Until I get some right-angle plugs for my heated gear I won’t be able to tell for sure.

My Route Map