[darnold87]

Well Bagwell and I saw the sun come out and decided to jump on the bikes for a ride!

Our goal was the Monmouth area as we were college roomies at WOU over 10 years ago!

We rode out through the south Salem hills, over the top and down to South River Rd. Then out Riverdale Rd. (super curvy ups and downs) and eventually into Independence. We rode all over the riverfront area along the Willamette River getting some muddy trail time in. Just like back in the day when we'd wheel my Samurai and Bryan's Nissan down there! Then we made it to Monmouth for some Burgerville grub. A quick cruise through campus at WOU and then west out Church st. to our old secret wheeling trail at the end of Alsip Rd. This got closed off in 2001 but this time we were on bikes! We went around the road block (there were no 'no trespassing' signs) and got into some slimy terrain while exploring the trail that made us late to class on a number of occasions. It was about time to head back so we backtracked our way home. It was a chilly ride but tons of fun carving through the country roads!

Here are a few pics from the breaks we took to warm up and rest our butts: (No trail pics unfortunately... gotta try to take more when doing the fun stuff!)

















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[biglefti]

Is Monmoth still a dry town?

 

[bbagwell]

Is Monmoth still a dry town?

They sell beer and wine now. It is very strange to me to see bars in Monmouth! On my way home I spotted another TW 200 in Salem on State Street. You don't see too many so it is always cool to see one

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[darnold87]

It was dry when we went to WOU... 1997-2001. But yeah, like Bagwell said, they're selling beer & wine now. They even have one or two sports bars & do tailgating parties at football games. And there are LOTS more places to eat and such. Still is quite a small town though.

 

[peruano]

Good idea to do a heritage tour of the old stomping grounds. I had to note that you are traveling really loaded. One bike with a tractor tube and the other with a bungie cord. The photos made me stop and think how much stuff I carry that I really don't need. In bicycle terminology the term is riding naked (not taking anything along that you didn't need). Congratulations. Tom

 

[darnold87]

Peruano - I know what you mean about traveling light. In the 4wheel drive world, I'm known to carry more than enough tools and tools & parts to rebuild my Suzuki Samurai on the trail... but we get pretty extreme on stuff (and way away from home) so it makes sense to carry everything that you might need ( especially sense there's so much more room in a vehicle). However, hidden on my bike (the back & red TW) is a tool tube full of goodies: all OEM tools, a Leatherman wave, 2 tire spoons, some zip-ties, and a tire gauge. In my backpack was my camera, two bottles of water, a 2nd pair of gloves, and my Keltec PF-9. On longer trip on trails, we usually have a tube repair kit, hatchet, food, tow rope, etc, etc, etc, etc... But yes, whenever possible, we try to travel light on the bikes.