VELOCETTE OWNER'S CLUB RALLY, COLUMBIA RIVER, DAY 3

The very picture of appeal; 1965 Thruxton, the 44th built.  This is the first Thruxton I ever saw in the metal, ridden to a bike show by former owner Randy Eley back in 1984.  I knew then that I had to, had to have one. 

Rally organizer John Stanley on his Clymer-made Indian Velocette; a Venom engine in Tartarini frame, Ceriani forks, Grimeca hubs.  The Indian Velo handles beautifully - if a little stiffly - with street-scrambler style.

The Dalles bridge over the Columbia river; painted to match the landscape...

The Dalles hydroelectric dam.  Between the dams and the wind farms, there's plenty of current in these parts.  The first dam on the Columbia was built to power the Alcoa aluminum plant.  Its taken generations to restore the salmon runs.

Ah, the unexpected joys of the sudden seizure.  Jim's piston, after much labor with files and scrapers during the day, was replaced in the bore.  Muriatic acid from the motel pool dissolved the aluminum in the cylinder barrel!

Bridge of the Gods, Stevenson, Washington, is an all-metal structure...

...which is see-thru!  That's the Columbia below; some riders were spooked by heights, some by squirrely handling over the steel grid.  Treacherous when wet.

Studebaker slowly returning to moss...

Lots of these; an Osprey under glass.

The high desert of eastern Oregon gives way to damp greenness as we move west towards Mt. Hood, hidden under clouds today, as the skies drizzled and spat.  Rolling farmlands spread across the flats, with forest and canyons between.

Bridge of the Gods; plenty of Thruxtons on this rally, as they're excellent touring machines, even with clipons and rearsets.  Plenty of power, gentle as pussycats, immaculate handling.

Paul Zell's monstrous Zellocette, the MeSS.  800cc of fast.

The family which rides together... Kim and Pete Young with their '38 MSS, and sidecar for little Atticus

The high desert canyonlands and the Deschutes river

A favored fishing and whitewater rafting spot on the Deschutes

John Ray at Multnomah Falls

High desert, big sky...

...where the sagebrush dots the tawny grass...

...and the roads snake up canyons while crossing over, under, and around the railroad lines.

Jesse, of the Warm Springs tribe, works his platform on the Columbia, while his family camps nearby...

...waiting to eat the sturgeon he caught earlier that day.

While Jesse offered to sell the sturgeon, we had no way to cook it, so settled for Italian.