On the Road: A Trip to the Oregon Sand Dunes

Work doesn't have to suck.
  
Work is especially more bearable when you get to travel to places like Coos Bay in Oregon for the massive UTV Takeover event.

As most of my friends know I took a "corporate" position early in 2022 that put me right back where I belong - squarely in the powersports industry surrounded by like minded folks that speak the same language as I do. While a large portion of my career is behind a desk (either in the office, or working remotely) I often have the chance to travel to pretty spectacular places and brush shoulders with some very rad people.

This past week I spent five days in the beautiful Coos Bay of Oregon. Huge sand dunes, massive crowds, and perfect weather brought home a solid reminder of just how fortunate I am.

There were differing reports on just how many riders showed up for this event, from thousands to "upwards of 80,000". If I could take a wager I would say it was somewhere in between.

With this being my first time out to Coos Bay, and doubly so since it was for a work trip, I was unable to bring my own motorcycle/atv/or UTV. BUT if you know me you know that's not going to stop an adrenaline addict from getting a fix! That's where Mr. Wes Miller comes in... Wes, a multiple time winner of the Baja 1000 UTV classes was on hand at Coos Bay testing his new factory Polaris UTV on the beautiful coastal dunes.

For full disclosure's sake hitting the dunes with Wes was actually my third ride-along for the weekend. The first was with an older customer of ours, the second with Rich from Raceline wheels. Both opening rides were fairly calm and at a lower tempo.

That rapidly changed when I hopped in the car with Wes. While it was far from his usual "race pace" Wes was able to open up the throttle of his 200+ horsepower machine to give me an idea what it's like to race in the desert. I was extremely thankful he had the "cool air" setup dumping cold air into the helmet or it would have been a rough ride.

In the future I plan on taking a GoPro or three out on these work trips to try and capture a bit more media outside of photos.

Moments like this really make me appreciate how many spectacular moments I get to have day after day continually chasing the next adrenaline fix.

- James East