Fall Ride

The weather was perfect here in Portland this weekend. The smoke and ash from the nearby Columbia Gorge fires had cleared; so I decided to head out on my bike for a couple of motorcycle events.

Saturday, I headed over to Cycle Heaps annual fall swap meet. I'd been looking for a couple parts for my Honda CBX. Though I didn't find what I was looking for, I did come across this old 1965 Yamaha 80 80 that I liked. I ended up leaving empty-handed

On Sunday, I joined my friend Glen for a ride over to the Lighthouse Inn. We ended up in Linnton to join the Sang Froid Riding Club for its annual fall ride. The Sang Froid Club is a two-stroke motorcycle club, but this year they allowed a few of us four-strokers to join in on the ride too. There was a good mix of bikes. All-in-all, about three dozen bikes showed up. The ride took us on the old Vernonia Highway and along the Nehalem River. I met some great people and had a blast on the ride.

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YVR Food

One of the most beautiful cities in North America is Vancouver, Canada. I'm always surprised how many people have never visited this amazing city. It's just a couple hundred miles to the north of Seattle! Vancouver, much like Portland, is known for its food and coffee culture. I think Portland may have a bit of an edge when it comes to coffee. When it comes to food though; especially fresh seafood, Vancouver has us beat. I have to have my favorites when I'm in town. On that long list are ramen, sushi and ocean-to-table shellfish!

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A Quick Trip

If you have been following my blog, you have already seen and read about the 1983 Kawasaki GPZ that I had purchased earlier this year. I'm happy to say I've covered over 4,000 miles without a problem. It's a really fun bike to ride!

A few weekends ago, I decided to take a trip up to see my parents. They still live in my hometown of Spokane, Washington. From Portland, Oregon; it's around 800 miles round-trip. The first four hours were smooth, but the last two got tough. It happened to be another really hot weekend, which makes for a really uncomfortable ride. But I made it and it was wonderful to spend some quality time with my parents. On my way back to Portland, I took the back roads as much as possible. So I got to travel through the rolling wheat fields of the Palouse, which is some of the most beautiful scenery.

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First Peach Pie

Second to my love of all things two and four-wheeled, is my love of pie!

I felt like I had mastered my apple pie, so this year I decided to try my hand at peach.

My daughter and I headed out to Sauvie Island, just about fifteen minutes west of downtown Portland, to our favorite U-pick farm. We picked our peaches right off the tree.

I'm big into tradition, so I decided to start with my mom's tried and true recipes. Both of her pie pastry and peach filling resulted in the most outstanding first ever peach pie for me.

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Summertime

I hope everyone is having a great summer and getting a chance to enjoy the great outdoors!

I have been busy working and traveling this summer. Last week I took my bi-monthly trip from Riverside to Las Vegas. Driving across the Mojave Desert made me really wonder how people can live in that kind of heat. When we went through Baker, California; it was an extremely balmy 112 degrees. I know it's a dry heat, but that's still too hot for me!

Last weekend, I hopped on my motorcycle and took a 500-mile roundtrip through Central Oregon. I came across some beautiful country. I hadn't been to the upper part of the John Day River, nor Painted Hills, and the Fossil Beds. It was a super fun trip. I saw lots of other riders traveling on the same roads, where I believe are some of the best parts of our state. I would highly suggest anyone's getting out and about this summer to enjoy some of what Oregon's got to offer. She's a beauty.

#SummertimeandtheRidingIsEasy

La La Land

We've been busy with the end of yet another school year and the start of summer vacation. So far; we already have under our belt a girls' trip to Los Angeles, a couple of rides out to Eastern Oregon, our annual Fourth of July block party and fireworks, Sauvie Island berry-picking, and lots and lots of ice cream cones! I hope that you too, have been enjoying this glorious Portland sunshine!

Here's a video, made by my daughter Jo, of our SoCal trip with her BFF. I think she did a great job. Enjoy!

https://www.facebook.com/steverdorsey/videos/10156236559177656/

Traveling Man

Last week was my busiest travel so far this year. I covered a lot of miles in a very short amount of time.

It started here in Portland after my weekly Wednesday Crosspoint auction gig. From there, I headed to the airport for my 3pm flight to California; a quick stop in Oakland and by 930pm, I had landed in Ontario. An early get-up Thursday morning to catch my shuttle ride to Riverside got me to the Highline Sale. From there, I caught a ride with my friend Rod for the four-hour drive to Vegas. I happened to be staying at the same hotel where the Mecum Motorcycle Auction was held, so I caught a glimpse of that. As luck would have it; three of the best professional motorcycle racers from the 70's and 80's, Gene Romero, Jay Springsteen, and Don Castroon were all on-hand for a VIP Q&A session. It. Was. Awesome!

I was up early again Friday morning to work the Manheim Nevada auction. My lane started at 9am sharp. I had 150 Kia's to sell. I sold 100% of them. By 1045am, I was jumping back on the airport shuttle to McCarran Airport, where I caught the 1230pm departure back to Portland. My plane touched down at 230pm; from there, I headed home to do a quick repack. My next stop was Rosalia, Washington; where I am a judge for my long-time friend, Jay's annual hot rod bash. So I took off from Portland again and did the six-hour drive up to Spokane, Washington. I made it to my parents' house at 10pm and pretty much, went straight to bed. An early get-up Saturday morning, so I could join my parents for their weekly breakfast meet-up at Denny's. I took the long way around Spokane to Rosalia, driving the old highway which winds through the Palouse. Once in Rosalia, I judged 70 cars to come up with the best in the bunch. It sure was hard to pick a winner. After the show and a quick bit of socializing, I headed back to Spokane to have a visit with my parents and to spend the night. I was up very early Sunday morning for my six-hour drive back to Portland.

What a whirlwind of a week - 4 states in 72 hours!

My Other Job

This weekend marks the end of the traditional fundraising season. This autumn through spring, each of the not-for-profit groups that I worked with saw another solid year of growth. But I didn't do it all on my own.

We have to thank all the volunteers who work tirelessly throughout the year for these schools and committees; so that when I show up on the day of the big event, the audience shows up and is ready to do its part by giving. It really does take a huge team, most of which are your steadfast volunteers, to make sure that your fundraising auction is successful. So when it comes time; before, during, and post-event, make sure that you recognize how much you appreciate the help of your event staff!

I have some exciting auctions coming up, with a bit of a break in July and August. So I'm looking forward to enjoying some warm weather this summer and then to branching outside the Portland area this coming fall.

Ms. Gina Z

Hi everyone! It's Ali here. Steve's made me his guest writer this week; so via photo blog, I'm going to share with you a little bit more about the other girl in his life.

As many of you may already know, Steve has recently rekindled with one of his old flames. He spends a lot of time with her, and who can blame the guy? She's red hot! Whenever I can't reach him on the phone, I know he's with her. After hanging up, I'll text him. "You're with Gina again, aren't you?" Usually, he'll just respond back with a photo. Here are some from their latest roadtrip to The Gorge:   

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Loving Every Minute

I'm one of those types of people who tends to bottle things up inside of me. I know that's not a good thing, but I'm working on it. I've struggled to be open, even around my closest friend. I find it hard to share what I'm thinking, but eventually I sort out what life throws at me.

So what do I find is the best thing for clearing the mind of life's stickiness? For me, it's getting on my bike. Heading east out of Portland for a good half day ride into the Columbia Gorge is, in my opinion, one most spectacular landscapes in the Pacific Northwest. There is nothing more grand than carving a day out of your week along the roads through the Gorge. Riding takes your full attention and focus. It forces you to get out of your head and onto the task of keeping yourself alive while barreling down a freeway or a narrow two-lane road. You have to be completely present. You notice everything when you're riding - the smells in the air, the noises, the brightness of the sun. It's one of best feelings. That's why I searched for so long to find another GPZ. The first 50K miles I put on the old bike were all fun, all "smile miles",  all good times. I'm already well on my way to the next 50K miles with my new old bike and loving every minute of it.

A Hometown Visit

Last week was busy full of travel for me.

It started with an overnight trip to my hometown of Spokane, Washington with my daughter, Jo. We went up to attend to my aunt's memorial and got to say hi to a couple of old friends along the way. The trip from Portland to Spokane takes about six hours. When we crossed into the state of Washington, we decided to take the back roads to enjoy the scenery of eastern Washington; which in my daughter's view, was... Bo-ring! At least I can take a decent selfie. We took a detour to stop at Palouse Falls - lots of water this year.

I enjoyed the company. It was nice to be able just to have some one-on-one time with my favorite daughter. Okay, she's my only daughter. But still... We ate junk food, went for ice cream, and had a great big greasy Denny's breakfast.

It was a fun couple days of travel, connecting with with my relatives, and enjoying the beauty of the state of Washington.

Have a wonderful Easter Weekend.

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Family

This morning, my sister sent me a text that one of my aunts had passed away.

I was lucky to grow up with a mother who had eight other siblings. As kids, we always enjoyed family camp-outs together in the summer and big celebrations during the holiday seasons. We would have to rent out a hall big enough to hold everyone. It was a wonderful experience to reconnect with my extended family a couple times a year. Maybe my time filter seems a little distorted; but those days with my cousins, uncles, and aunts made the days seem longer and the sun that much brighter.

Those were fun times to be a kid. 

My mom is the baby being held by one of her siblings. My Aunt Mary is the little blonde with the sun in her eyes, standing front and center of everyone.

My mom is the baby being held by one of her siblings. My Aunt Mary is the little blonde with the sun in her eyes, standing front and center of everyone.

The One Moto Show

One of my favorite Portland motorcycle events was back again this year. In its eighth year, The One Moto Show was at its biggest and best yet. I went to my first Moto Show six years ago. Back then; it was a just a gathering of a few custom, restored and original bikes in a small warehouse space in SE Portland. This year though; over 80 builders and their custom bikes were out on display in a big, old warehouse that used to be a working factory in North Portland. Over three days, more than 15,000 people came to check out all the metal masterpieces. Can't wait for next year's show!

A Very Special Delivery

Life is always changing.

Whether good or bad, things are always happening. In other words, things never stay the same. Otherwise, life would just get plain boring. Throughout the past 35+ years of my life; I have had some good times, bad times, and sometimes challenging times. But the fun times always outnumber the bad.

Some of the most fun I have ever had was on my first real high-performance motorcycle. In the spring of 1984, I bought my 1983 Kawasaki GPZ 750. Going on trips across the country, riding through the back roads here in the PNW, and best of all riding with my pack of long-time biker buddies. We had a great six years together before I sold it in 1990.

So a couple years ago, I started looking for another one. Maybe I was caught up in the fog of nostalgia. But I would always find myself checking out Ebay and occasionally traveling to motorcycle auctions and always coming home empty-handed.

A couple of weeks ago; though, my luck turned around. I found one on Craigslist, took one look at it, and I bought it. A one-owner bike with just 10K miles on it, it hadn't really been ridden much in the past ten years. Dirty and dusty, languishing in the corner of a garage of the original owner's son; it was a true barn find. Perfect!

It was all there, sitting in waiting for me. Now, all it needs is a little TLC. I can't wait to get it up and running, so I can take it for a real ride. More good times ahead.

Bourbon Bonanza

We got into a little bit of bourbon over the holidays. While I'm not a huge spirits guy, I don't mind a good cocktail once in awhile. My co-writer for this piece, Al, enjoys a scotch on the rocks every now and again. So we tried a couple of new bottles and discovered a few gems.

Portland's own Burnside Bourbon paired perfectly with homemade Bananas Foster, continuing along with our steakhouse-themed Christmas dinner. Then we prematurely popped the cork on the Jefferson's Reserve a night before our official New Year's Eve toast. It was an amazing bottle; still lingering on the palette nearly an hour after our last sips.

A summer sipper that we have also enjoyed is Long Table Distillery's Bourbon Barrel Aged Gin. While not whiskey-based; with a hint of caramel and smoke, it's a great alternative for those who prefer clear spirits, but are open to a little more depth and complexity. It's only available at the downtown distillery in Vancouver, Canada. I would say well-worth the trek.

Arizona Bound

Last week marked my first return to Arizona for collector car week in over a decade. I went to work for my old boss, Mitch Silver, to help him sell some of the six hundred plus cars he was offering over his four day auction. It had been thirteen years since I had last worked at the Silver Auctions annual collector car auction in Fountain Hills, Arizona. It sure felt good to be back amongst old friends and on familiar ground.

If you're not familiar with what auction week is in Arizona, it's basically when the whole of the Scottsdale area gets turned into a huge week of collector car auctions. There were seven different auction companies in Scottsdale this year offering over two thousand collector cars for sale! It started on Monday, January 16th and continued the entire week right through to Sunday, January 22nd.

Our days would start at 10am. Each day would go on for about ten hours. That's what it would take to run two hundred collector cars across the auction block. I worked with three other auctioneers each day. We worked in shifts, each selling ten to fifteen cars before rotating out. When we weren't on the auction block, we would work in the auction ring to spot bids and to assist the auctioneer who was onstage selling. By the end of the three days, my feet and legs were killing me. I must be getting old!

The collector car business is forever changing. Cars go in and out of favor, depending on market conditions. But as always; the best quality, most rare and uniquely interesting ones, never have a problem finding a new owner.

Everyone has an opinion of the health of the collector car market. From my perspective, it looks pretty darn healthy. It was really great to work with my old mentor, Mitch, and to see all of my old friends who have been some of my best supporters throughout my career as an auctioneer.

This impressive 1960 Chevrolet Bubble Top, sold for $50,000.

This impressive 1960 Chevrolet Bubble Top, sold for $50,000.

This nice 1934 Ford Roadster sold for $34,500.

This nice 1934 Ford Roadster sold for $34,500.

Who doesn't love an E-Type Jaguar?

Who doesn't love an E-Type Jaguar?

Back On the Run

Within the first week of January, I have already been to Canada, California, and Las Vegas. It's good to be busy!

While the fundraising part of the auction business doesn't get rolling until February, January is chock-a-block full of collector car and vintage motorcycle auctions.

First up is Scottsdale, where a week-long collector car feast made up of seven auction companies competing for the business of car enthusiasts world-wide. It also happens to be a multi-million dollar week! Barrett-Jackson alone, is expecting to sell in excess of $100 million in cars; with the rest of the auction houses coming close to match that same amount too. You're playing with the big boys here.

Next up in the week immediately following, the focus shifts from cars to motorcycles in Las Vegas; where hundreds of motorcycles will cross the combined auction blocks of Mecum and Bonhams auction companies. At Bonhams (www.bonhams.com), a rare Crocker motorcycle is expected to go for $500 to $600 thousand. Over at Mecum (www.mecum.com), it is offering a fantastic selection of motorcycles at no-reserve. It's sure to be an excitement-filled week. I'll be there, so I hope to run into some of you. Drop me a line on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter; or just swing by to say hello.

Happy New Year everyone and happy bidding and browsing to those of you heading down to Arizona and Nevada!

Happy Holidays

With Thanksgiving turkey in the rearview mirror, it's a quick countdown to Christmas only three weeks down the road.

Waterwatch wrapped up this year's fundraising with a bang. Thanks to Nina Johnson for sharing her photography skills. Next year is already looking to be a Happy New Year filled with fun fundraisers. Good to have our loyal repeat customers back and a warm welcome to new clients joining our team. We look forward to starting the 2017 fundraising season right with a new-to srdorsey auctioneering not-for-profit group. Revving up in February and gearing down in November, there is still lots of availability remaining in the first and last months of next year's auction calendar. If you have a specific date in mind, best to get on the stick!

A couple of notable upcoming events is auction week in Arizona, January 18 to 22. You will see a record number of cars consigned this week in 2017, with seven auctions competing for your business. Even I have been eyeing a few auctions I may head down to. There are some worthwhile cars to bid on. Of course, don't forget to check out the first motorcycle auction of the year too.  Mecum returns to Las Vegas January 27 to 29. I'm planning to make it down there for at least one of those days.

So happy holidays to you and your families. Thanks for a tremendous 2016! I wish you all the best in the new year and am excited to see what 2017 has in-store for us all.

Cars

Silver Auctions was back in the Portland area this past October for its annual fall collector car auction!

As many of you may know, I started my career as an auctioneer with Mitch Silver. So it's always fun to get together again to sell cars with Mitch at one of his auctions. This particular auction, we offered up around a hundred cars and ended up selling, close to half of them. There was something for everyone. There were muscle cars, street rods, classics, trucks, late models and even motorcycles. Two of the cars that we offered early on in the auction included a 1916 Willy Knight's Touring as well as a 1922 Franklin Touring. The Franklin was my favorite of the show. With its air-cooled in-line six cylinder and rock-solid construction, it was a beauty. While we came ever so close, neither of these cars sold that day.

Pictured here is a snapshot of underneath the hood of the Franklin, followed by the Willy Knight on the auction block.

Thanks for a Great Year!

This past weekend, the srdorsey auction team finished up another successful fundraising auction season. In 2016, I'm proud to say that we helped over 20 non-profit societies, public and private schools, and charitable foundations reach their fundraising goals! Overall giving was up this year; but the auctions that took place during the uncertainty of election week, may have suffered a bit of pull-back. Despite 2016's being an election year, each and every one of our returning clients saw an increase in what they had raised from the year before.

I'm very excited to welcome four new clients who will be joining the srdorsey auctioneering team in 2017! I'm really looking forward to 2017's turning into another great fundraising year too. Please also join me in welcoming Dave Colson to our team. You may have already seen him around on the ballroom floor. In the new year, he will be making regular appearances as ringman and lending his hand as auctioneer too.

Our 2017 event calendar is filling up fast! If you're looking to bringing us back again in the coming year or considering holding your very first fundraising auction; the srdorsey auctioneering team would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thanks everybody, for a great year!