Jack and Gene Went Up the Hill
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Gene Fessenbecker and Jack Holthaus stopped by my place on the way to the Gorge Rendezvous BMW Rally on the Deschutes River.
Gene had asked if they might drop by and pick my brains about dualsport sidecars. I invited them over for lunch and a short ride in the woods. They showed up at the house about 11:30, riding a very nice pair of GS Airheads. My friend, Vince Goltz, joined us with his Ural Patrol. We all sat down to eat and talked gear head for a bit.
After lunch Jack climbed aboard my Sputnik sidecar and Gene hopped in Vince's Patrol and we headed up the ridge behind my house for a little demonstration of what dualsport sidecars are all about.
I'd chosen an abandoned road that switchbacked up the rock face from Neal Creek canyon to the top of Fir Mountain.
The track narrows at a washout where it crosses a creek before turning up the rocky, overgrown roadbed. Brush slapped our helmets as we dodged boulders and crashed over downed trees and debris. About halfway up the first section a small stream ran down the road and over the edge. Then, suddenly we were out of the trees. We traversed an old rockslide and doubled back, clawing our way up the mountain.
This section was extremely rocky. At one point the road was blocked by rockfall; I had Jack get out of the sidecar and I stood on the left passenger peg. Giving the Triumph some throttle, I was able to bounce the hack over a small boulder and we could continue up the hill.
After another water crossing we were again pushing our way through the brush, waterfalls cascading down the rock face on our left and dense forest rising from the steep drop to our right.
Rounding the final switchback put us on another steep, rocky section. Waterbars, deep ditches with a berm piled up on the downhill side, were cut across the old roadbed. The trail was so steep as we approached these barriers we couldn't see what lay on the other side of the berm. A huge waterbar with a six foot berm followed by an extremely steep mud slope topped the grade. The trick was to carry enough speed over the berm to continue up the mud slope, but not so much speed you folded up your rig or careened into obstacles hidden behind the berm.
I almost managed it, but spun out just short of the summit. Once again, Jack climbed out of the sidecar. This time I put him on the back of the bike. With the added weight over the rear wheel we had enough traction to make the final ascent, rear tire spinning like a seventeen inch mud saw and painting Vince and Gene behind us.
The 650 Ural chugged right up, demonstrating the utility of the Russian two wheel drive system.
There was a small landing up on top in a stand of tall firs. We took a short break, stretching our legs and looking for morel mushrooms. It wasn't too long before we had found a half dozen of the delectable fungi.. Packing the morels in a saddlebag, we mounted the bikes once more and continued through the maze of logging roads which lace the wooded mountains.
I honestly tried to keep Jack dry, but some of the waterbars were full and when I hit them they filled the sidecar with water. Jack was a real trooper and emerged from these baths blowing bubbles but still smiling.
A little further up the road we again stopped to forage for mushrooms. Vince had never picked morels - we had a hard time getting him to go back to the bikes! It seemed like every few yards he would spy another one, finding them even as we climbed back aboard our machines.
Gene and Jack still had to make it to the BMW rally at the Deschutes and set up camp, so we pointed the rigs towards home and headed back down the hill. We were following Vince when he decided to give Gene a thrill. He put the sidecar in the air and flew it for twenty yards, dangling Gene three feet above the muddy road.
Back home we said our good byes and the Beemer Boyz headed off to the rendezvous. I suspect they will be adding a sidecar to the stable in the not too distant future.
Vince rode his Ural back over the ridge to Mosier and I made a nice rabbit and wild mushroom pot pie for dinner. Just another Saturday in paradise.
All photos and articles Copyright© Vernon Wade 2005 unless otherwise noted