My wife’s God children stayed with us for the weekend. I took Brian, age 12, for a ride on my V-Strom to Lolo Pass on the northwest slope of Mt. Hood. He had never ridden a motorcycle before. Fortunately my spare helmet fit him perfectly and my spare jacket was a little loose but got the job done as well. It was warmer at the pass than it was in Sandy, which was overcast.

My wife's God child Brian at Lolo Pass, Oregon

We took Marmot Road, which was a mistake. Despite being a fairly deserted route, there was a string of at least 30 cars crawling along at barely 25 mph all the way from Sandy to the junction with Barlow Trail Road. Many were vintage cars so it was probably some kind of cruise by blue-haired members of the ADL. At first I wondered if it was a funeral procession since it was so slow and no one was trying to pass.

We cut onto Highway 26 and boogied up to Zigzag, where we hit Lolo Pass Road up to the pass. Marmot was empty on the way back, fortunately.