By Ralph Krogh

Arrived early for this one on the morning of the 25^th, as I had been forewarned about limited parking for RV’s. I had my pickup in tow with Ariel and Vincent aboard. After parking on a side street adjacent to the Ramada in Corvallis, I waited for any sign of other arrivals. About 4 PM, I heard the distinct sound of a Harley starting, and encountered the Hawkins father and son from Yuba City on their ’47 EL and FL respectively.

The next day brought many more arrivals – beginning to look like a road run. To name a few, the Graber brothers, Bill Brownell, Roy Burke, Pete Peterson and others. The event began with a poker run in the afternoon to Mary’s Peak. I made it about ¾ of the way, most of it on low speed limit roads, before fouling a plug. Got my tools out and discovered that I had the wrong set! A young fellow came along and asked if I needed help. In fact, two or three others happened by as well! Being old sure helps to attract sympathy. Anyway, he had a spark plug wrench and I removed and cleaned the plug before heading back for home base. Bought a new plug for extra assurance anyway. The weather was a bit hot and clear.

The second day offered a 148-mile round trip ride to the coast. It was quite scenic with twisty turns lots of greenery, rivers and lakes. The Vincent ran OK, but I should charge the state of Oregon for oiling their roads! Time to search for the leaks! Unfortunately, we had one mishap in the group this day. A fellow with a sidecar rig lost it in a turn and bent up the bike and sidecar, but escaped with only minor injury himself – a few minor scratches and bruises. He now joins me in the infamous “flopper” club!

The third day offered a lakeside run and lunch (box lunches for $14). Avis was in no mood to ride an oily bike with me, so I decided to follow the group in the pickup. It was about 100 miles over nice country side roads and a beautiful lake. No one needed me for trouble truck this time. As after each day’s run, there was a no-host bar in the parking lot with chips and snacks. That night concluded with a nice banquet and awards ceremony, featuring a very nice buffet dinner. I saw a lot of old, familiar faces and many others who have frequented our runs over the years. Peter Gagan was there with his Vincent, hailing from Canada and adding some international flair to the event! Last year this event was slated as a National and drew about 125 riders; this year was not a National and yielded only 30-35 riders. It may become a National again in the future.

There was a short run on Sunday morning to a local winery, but we decided to load up and head for home. Good trip home – no problems. Just as a reminder – Don’t ride your bike in Oregon without lights; it’s the law, and a couple fellows found out the hard way!