Upcoming Road Trip through Pacific NW

My boyfriend's sister is getting married in Seattle in June, so we decided to make it a road trip on the bikes. Me on the VFR and he on his Tiger 955. These are more roadworthy than my DR650 or WR250 or his KLR650! So far our plan is to leave in the afternoon of June 19 and just make it as far as Hawthorne, NV. From there our schedule so far is as follows:

Thursday June 20 - visit Crater Lake then head to Bend, OR where we will stay the night and hopefully meetup with my friend Genene and her hubby for dinner.

Friday June 21- make it to Seattle, have dinner with my friend Rick and his wife Nadine, then wedding at 8pm.

Saturday, June 22 - visit Mt. St. Helens National Park, then head to Portland, OR for the night. Can't wait to hit Tennessee Red's BBQ and the Rimsky Korsakoffee House... Two of my favorite places when I lived in Vancouver, WA. I hope to meet up with my friend, Jason who is a VFR rider.

Sunday, June 23 - head east along 84 to hit the scenic route along the Columbia Gorge and visit all of the waterfalls, then at Pendleton, OR start heading south through some of the National Forests. Stop somewhere for the night...

Monday, June 24 - Pick up wherever we left off and make it home from there.


If anyone here is along our route, please let me know. We will stay in touch and try to meet up with you along the way!! When we take off, we will take pictures and post updates... Either as we go, or we will do a complete ride report when we get back.

 

op2:
Bon Vogage Chicky

 

Really too bad you weren't coming a bit earlier or staying a bit later. Seattle is just three hours away. Who knows. If you will be in Seattle Saturday for lunch or late breakfast, I can make it for that just the same.

 

You're avoiding the nicest part of the Pacific Northwest entirely....

 

Why not try and include Olympic National park if time permits?

 

Oregon cell phones & texting laws | Hands Free Info

 

Was in a hurry or I'd have been more explicit.

The ride out to the peninsula is worth it from either direction (i.e. from Oregon or Seattle). Depending on your time constraints I would suggest either: coming up through the peninsula on the way to Seattle, which will take all day; OR (also takes all day) taking the ferry from Seattle over to Bremerton and taking 104 to 101 to 112 and riding up to the northwest point of the U.S., Cape Flattery, and walking down to the cliffs (hour walk, round trip). The ride out to Cape Flattery is just beautiful, and the view from the cliffs is stunning. Everything else in the northwest pales in comparison to the Olympic Peninsula, with the exception of a few spots on the Oregon Coast. The latter has about 100x (not an exaggeration) as many people however because Americans freak the fuck out when they're not near a giant 4 lane highway.

There are other great spots. I'm not trying to be a downer, but your currently planned route misses most of the best parts of the Northwest for riding. I suggest looking at: the highways between 101 and I-5 in Oregon; Highway 20 through North Cascade National Park; taking the ferry to one ore more of the San Juans north of Seattle; taking the ferry to Whidbey Island. Even if you can't get to them this time, hopefully you'll get a taste and want to come back. Good luck and enjoy!

 

mmmmm Neah Bay and the North Cascades. it's been a few years for me now, but both are planned rides this year.

 

Well, this trip is a bust. :sad::sad:

Last week, as I pulled away from the motorcycle shop where I sometimes work, I got about 50 feet and the VFR died. And, she wouldn't start. When turning the key (yes, the kill switch was alive), there was no fuel pump sound. We pushed her back into the shop, and all major components tested fine. I got a ride home from one of the guys.

This week, they figured it was the fuse blowing out on the VFRness, so replaced it and the bike started. It blew out again after getting a little further than I did. I contacted Joshua, who makes the VFRness and he said he has seen this a few times, so suggested replacing the 20 amp fuse that the VFRness comes with, with a 30 amp fuse. This was done on Wednesday and seems to have solved the problem. The test ride lasted more than 30 minutes so that's a good sign. However, the plan was to leave Thursday morning and with no time on the bike after the breakdown, I didn't want to chance finding out that there was still an underlying issue while on the road. So... I'm not going to be riding up in the Pacific NW over the weekend.... Will have to schedule this for another time....

 

Thank you to all for your suggestions and comments and places to see. We had chosen our route based on time constraints and the "bang for your buck" aspect. I have already been to all the places on the route, since I used to live in Vancouver, but my boyfriend hadn't. I will keep all of this in mind when I plan a trip up there... hopefully with no other plan than to get to see all these places, sightsee and enjoy the ride.

 

So the trip is on again ?

 

It is on but for an undetermined time in the future. I need to spend some time riding the VFR making sure all is fixed, then I can figure out a good time to go. You want to go with me Long? Have you been to Pacific NW?

 

just saw this thread. sorry to hear about your "fusing problems". at the last R3, one of the contestants had a fusey kind of problem as well. his involved a tow truck and a sh!tload of harassment. can't help wonder if the two events might be related......
Seems a "bigger fuse" may not be the most farsighted solution....kinda like the solution for a roof leak isn't a bucket.
ride safely. text well.

 

So, Will Long and La Chica run off together? Will we read that the pair were last seen with Randy giving them sage advice on how to ride in the rain?

 

:wave: Chicky I would love too but I cannot ride for a while. That is Doc order I do have a big trip coming in November :wink:

 

If you really want to do the PNW Cascades up right, here's your route.

I-5 S to Crater Lake National Park - Google Maps

It will take a few days though. The entire route is chock full of spectacular views. Be sure to have a liner for your gear - you'll be at 6,000 foot altitude on some stretches. Some highlights

Mt Rainier - from the East side you'll look right up on the mountain

Windy Ridge - Mt. St Helens (point D on the map). This is the closest you can get to the crater - from the parking lot you look right up the mouth of the volcano and over Spirit Lake, which was obliterated in the eruption but has since re-filled. The road is narrow and very windy but good pavement. It will challenge your riding skills, with no guardrails and thousand foot drops - watch for rockfall in your lane. Very well worth it once you get to the parking area. This section usually doesn't open until July when the snow melts. Check with the Randle Ranger station to get road conditions.

http://blog.pacificnorthwestphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/33.jpg

Cascade Locks / Bridge of the Gods. Cross the Columbia on the retro bridge - great views. The deck of the bridge is metal grate, so if you get vertigo, do not look down. M/C toll = $.50.

http://www.menupix.com/town_img/CascadeLocksORHP.jpg


Timberline Lodge, Mt. Hood. This is at 6,000 feet, F on the map. Fantastic place to stay overnight. Built in the 1930's.

http://www.timberlinelodge.com/

https://s5-us3.ixquick-proxy.com/do...ADdYN4irAFY/s/750/750/timberline-lodge001.jpg

Highway 242 in to Sisters, OR. Very twisty road through the lava beds and came out of Belknap crater about 10,000 years ago. Very scenic - mountains all around.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._County,_Oregon_scenic_images)_(desD0010).jpg

Then finally on down to Crater Lake.

You'll spend at least half your time on the side of the tire, and the rest of the time you'll have great scenery to look at. It will add a day to two to get from Seattle to LV, but it's a great ride.

One other area attraction that would detour you off this route in the Portland area is the Evergreen Aviation Musuem in McMinnville. It has the Spruce Goose and many other aircraft historic aircraft on display. If you want to play, they've placed a 747 on top of one of the buildings which is a water slide down in to a swimming pool. McMinnville is wine country and it's a good way to get to the Oregon Coast if you would rather go down 101.

Plan a Visit | Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum | Wings & Waves Waterpark | McMinnville Oregon

 

Cogswell, thanks for the great suggestions and links!! I will take some of these suggestions for sure!! I went skiing at Timberline a few times when I lived in Vancouver. Most people don't realize the outside view of the lodge was the one in The Shining. And I attempted Bridge of the Gods once, shortly after I started riding. I got part way onto the grate and.... Traffic had to stop both ways as I slowly straddle-walked my bike to trun it around!! I think I could do it now with much more experience under my belt!! Now I really want to do this sooner than later, with your additional suggestions!!

 

I forgot to add, when you come south from St Helens, if you follow the route, on the way south to the Gorge on Curly Creek road you'll come to McClellan overlook. On a sunny Saturday it will be absolutely jammed with bikes for a photo op with Mt St Helens. I was lucky the day I snapped the pic - it was deserted.


I-5 S to Crater Lake National Park - Google Maps

 

I used to live in Vancouver also, but live a little more to the dry side of the state now. I could recommend some great roads in Washington, Oregon and Idaho, having just come back from a 5 day tour of those states. We did a road in Oregon we nicknamed "The Little Dragon", which has like 188 curves in 18 miles or something stupid like that. After doing it, I pulled over with my buddies and all we could smell was brake fumes and the faint whiff of heated tires. However, we keep it's location on the down low. So, just saying, don't overlook eastern Oregon. Some epic roads there. The VFR was the perfect tool.

 

I think somebody beat ya to renaming the Dooly Mountain Highway by a tad or two. Pretty well known too. Oregon State Route 245 between Salisbury and Unity. That area is pretty much desert and can be warm as toast in mid-summer.

Basic stuff:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_Route_245