April 22, 2006—The Teddy Bear Run, Dalles, Oregon

Upon pulling in to the Phoenix RV Park in Salem there were a couple of guys watching Marc park the fifth wheel, one of which was astride a Harley. We later introduced ourselves and after Glen, who is a member of Salem chapter of HOGS, found out we had a motorcycle with us, he invited us to ride along on a teddy bear run the following day. We were tired from our four day trip to get here from Yuma and needed to get the bike from its storage in Albany but decided we just couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. 

Salem had suddenly been enjoying incredible spring weather and Saturday was set to be sunny and nearly 70 degrees. The ride started at 8 a.m. from the Harley shop with about ten or twelve bikes and then there was a plan to meet up with another contingent of bikers at the rest stop along I-5 before Portland. We felt a little awkward being the odd man out so to speak (the only Wing amongst the now 20 or so Harleys), but we were graciously accepted to ride along by everyone. We hit the freeway with the hot Harleys leading the way at between 75-80 mph for the trip to the Dalles, along the mighty Columbia River Gorge. Harley riders seem to like to go like hell!

Once at The Dalles (rhymes with gals), we rolled to a stop with the Salem group and joined the bikes lining both sides of the street. It was incredible and like nothing we had ever experienced. We estimated the number of bikes at about 2,000, all of them toting stuffed animals for the charity drive. The animals are contributed to the police and social workers who work with children in a crisis situation to give a measure of comfort and solace.  

After a brief respite it was time to saddle up again for the parade. The parade was well attended by town’s people as the two thousand bikes and riders of every ilk roared at a stately 10 mph through the scenic downtown section. Incongruous though it may have been, we stayed with the Harley group as the only Winger. After the parade, all the bikers gathered to donate their stuffed animal.

Just as the group was preparing to go out to lunch and then on to a Poker Run, one of the  bikes lost its transmission. We stayed with him as a group for over an hour waiting for a tow truck and then Marc and I decided to call it quits with the group and go on alone. For one thing, we wanted to enjoy a more sedate ride back and experience the incredible gorge scenery and the old highway. One last picture of the Salem HOGS with the wounded bike—THANK YOU GUYS, YOU WERE WONDERFUL TO US!

A special joy of the Columbia River Gorge area is the preservation of a portion of the old original highway which dates from the 1930’s. Along this twenty mile stretch is a fantastic array of waterfalls; some like Multnomah Falls, rightly famous. We poked along at 20-30 mph and enjoyed the sunny day and the smells of the verdant, fresh air with the tree canopy overhead looking newly minted emerald green. The crowning glory so to speak, is Crown Point with its Vista House, currently undergoing renovation so closed to the public. The views are magnificent. A jump back onto the freeway at Troutdale put us back to Salem an hour later. At 250 miles, it was an eventful day that we enjoyed tremendously. We love this motorcycle!!!