March 21- Latus to Brightwood Tavern and then Eagle Creek
What a great day! Met up with a bunch of friends at Latus to go on a store ride out past Barton to the Brightwood Tavern. Mitch Leo Rice and Jeff Jennerjohn led over 20 of us here, there and everywhere through some amazing curves in a surprisingly rain-free afternoon. We headed east to Barton, Troutdale, Corbet, Bull Run, Marmot, Mt Hood Village, Alder Creek, and then Brightwood. I think my favorite part of the group ride was the stretch on Evan’s road leaving Corbett. There were several technically challenging curves with 10 mile per hour speed limits that made me feel like I was gearing up for summer. We stopped to eat at the Brightwood Tavern for a great burger and some good conversation. Then Grant Myers led me and Teresa and Mark Silva out past Eagle Creek on Clackamas River Highway. I had hoped to go further on that beautiful road but most of it was closed to through traffic due to fire damage as well as destruction from the recent ice storm. We were still able to see some stunning views of the Clackamas river just past Estacada before we were turned around. I did another loop to Vancouver and back, just to get in a few more miles with my new Arai Ram-X helmet.
I have been very happy with my Harley Davidson three-quarters Helmet (made by HJC). It is pretty lightweight and very comfortable. Unfortunately, the first such helmet that I had experienced mechanical failure after 15,000 miles. The shield started flipping up when I went over 80 miles per hour in parts of the country with interstate travel and flow of traffic at 90 miles per hour or higher. To me it was a huge safety concern to be driving down the road at almost 90 miles an hour and have to repeatedly remove a hand from the handlebars to close my visor. Harley Davidson replaced the first helmet and I had hoped that the mechanical failure was just bad luck. But then the second helmet failed again in the same way after another 15,000 miles and the dealership was not willing to replace that one.
I decided to get an Arai Ram-X helmet instead. I figured it made more sense to invest in a safer helmet that had a latch preventing the face shield from flipping up rather than keep buying a cheaper helmet every year. The exciting thing about this new helmet is that it has a much higher safety rating and weighs exactly the same amount as the Harley Helmet. I also love the fact I can adjust it in so many ways. I already rearranged some straps on the inside of the helmet so that it sits on my head better. It is pretty snug around my face but from what I understand it will give a little in the first few weeks. If not, I can always have smaller cheek pads put in. It gives me a lot of peace of mind to know I am more protected with this helmet and that I won’t have to flip the face shield down while going 90.
The dealership agreed to give me $50 towards the price of a new helmet with their buy back program – I turned in an old Bell half helmet of mine (see photo above) so that I could keep my Harley helmet as a back up. The poor half helmet had seen better days. It had been dropped several times and was covered with scratches. Although I knew I would never wear it again I was still a little sad to see it go- it had been my companion on trips through all 48 contiguous states. Time to make more new memories though!
