I’ve heard of the “Trail of The Black Horse” motorcycle ride in the past, but never had the time to look up the information let alone determine if I could pull some time off work to make the ride.
I recently learned the ride is basically the McKenzie Highway from Sisters, Oregon to McKenzie Bridge on Hwy 242. The folks at Black Horse Saloon in Bend sponsor the ride and it all comes together on August 22nd. The Black Horse Saloon is a great biker friendly saloon in central Oregon and home to a number of motor head clubs.
The ride is a narrow road which is closed from November thru July every year due to snow pack. The route crosses a lava flow just west of Sisters and near the 5,325’ summit there is Clear Lake (head waters for the McKenzie River) a renowned location for fresh-water SCUBA diving.
This is one ride to add to the do list!
Photo courtesy of BHS.
Any rat bikers out there? Any comments on rat bikes?
blackdogrider, i cant speak for mac but i can say there are rat bikes starting to come out of the woodwork (thankfully) again here in NorCal.
mac, that sounds like a blast of a ride. hope you manage to make time available for it.
I’d strongly recommend going over McKenzie Pass while *eastbound* as it’s easier to navigate in that direction.
IOW, the tight twisties are easier when going uphill rather than downhill.
We liked the Ski Inn in Sisters for edible crud.
Agree with Grumbler. Eastbound is a sweet ride, but west is great too (I had to do an up and back since the road was closed after the pass). Whatever you do, go see the lava fields. There is a lookout made entirely of lava rock by the CCC in the pre-WWII era. Never seen anything like it.