Oregon 100
Over the last few years, interest had been building for the Oregon 100. The days of getting drunk and riding bar to bar are long gone for many scooterists. While TDC has hosted some fun parties over the years, TDC rallies are always about the big ride. Afterall, pick a direction: north, south, east or west and you’ll find dozens of ride options on some of the best roads around, showcasing spectacular views.
The 2020 ride was a challenge. It challenged planners, it challenged volunteer staff and it challenged the riders. Most of the 2020 ride was in, or very close to, the Siuslaw National Forest, where Wolf Creek Rd and Siuslaw River Rd run, about 25 miles south-southwest of Eugene. These two roads are a couple of the most epic roads to experience on 2 or 4 wheels with countless turns and hills. It’s been called “Little Alps” of Lane County. That fits as the 2020 rally was the “Alpine Edition”.
While planning the ride, we realized after countless adjustments to the route, gasoline stop choices are very slim. Basically Lorane and Cottage Grove. Once you get into the Siuslaw forest, the route options are endless, but fuel stops are not.
Since the route forced us into Cottage Grove, it seemed logical for a lunch stop. It’s actually almost impossible for a group of 40 people with parking, fuel location and communicating it in the route instructions. Throw in the ever changing Covid-19 mitigation policies and rules regarding groups and restaurant/bar capacities, your options vanish fast. Luckily, Bartolotti’s Pizza opened a new location on our route on Main St. the week before. The scooter line-up was impressive on the old ‘Animal House’ parade route.
After fueling up the riders with pizza and petrol, the rally continued out of Cottage Grove, through farmland and wine country back into Eugene for end-of-the-ride beverages and BBQ at Oakshire Brewing.
Day 2 of the Oregon 100 saw rally goers meetup downtown for coffee then a group ride east, along the McKenzie River to Deerhorn for a Tommy’s chili burgers and rally awards, hosted by Stephen and Julie.
Somehow, in a global pandemic, we were able to pull-off the 2020 Oregon 100, despite rescheduling from May. Thankfully Covid case counts for Lane County were at their lowest since the pandemic started.
Run From The Sun 22
Well, if scheduling the Oregon 100 three times wasn’t enough, while not Run? Haha, we did. Originally set to return to Pacific City in early September as a way to “get back to where it started” we decided to book 2-3 motels as Covid rules had shut down group camping. Our options for a beach bonfire were limited to two locations. Then 10 days before, in the western Cascade foothills, multiple wildfires broke out in Clackamas, Marion, Linn, Lane and Douglas counties. A wildfire also broke out just south of Pacific City, near our riding route. This major fire event was devastating for many communities and most of Western Oregon succumbed to hazardous air quality for several weeks. A week before our Pacific City rally, we opted to reschedule for Newport, three weeks later.
With cleaner air and a fire-free route to the coast, Run From The Sun 23 took place in October in Newport under sunny skies. The evening’s entertainment was a beach party where 25 rally goers gathered for clam chowder, beverages, birthday cupcakes around a bonfire that took some engineering to get the wood to the beach ha ha.
Yes, it took us six attempts to plan 2 rallies. Pretty remarkable considering everything thrown at us in 2020. But we pulled it off and not a single case of Covid. See everyone in 2021!