Was up camping in Washington and found this...

To all you Washington riders, if you haven't been around the roads south of Mt. St. Helens leading from Stevenson around to Battleground or Woodland WA you are cheating yourself out of some absolutely gorgeous riding with a ton of twisties! Here is a link describing what I drove in my pickup after camping for the weekend and I wish to God I had had my bike.
MapMyRide.com | View 08/09/2009 Route Motorcycle Heaven in Vancouver, Washington

Freaking awesome.

 

I mean, perhaps we need to try and put together a meet and ride with guys from Oregon and Washington...

 

A lot of other great roads towards St. Helens, OR. *cough cough* :wink:

 

Ya'll just missed SportBikeNorthWest in Stevenson,WA. Even with the heat, there were over 400 bikes. Passed through Salem and through to Dallas to Newport on the way home.

Went riding with Reg Pridmore and some other guys. Reg's streetbike? Yep, a VFR. He is 70, was packing double and has what I call, "The Gift." Fast-smooth-effortless.

 

Reg Pridmore's CLASS

I did two CLASS sessions at Road Atlanta back when the bikes Reg used for his instructors were VFRs. I was lucky enough to get two laps on the back of Jason Pridmore's bike. It was the most educational event in my riding history. We were passing "fast" guys on the outside of turn 7, two up. The first lap I was scared to death and thought I was going to die. The second lap I couldn't stop smiling. Most fun I've ever had on a bike and I was a passenger!
My bike was a '93 VFR, but I was using the same tires as the instructors. Seeing what a virtually identical bike could do two-up gave me the confidence to trust that the bike and tires would handle just about anything, and I could concentrate on being smooth. The improvement was immediate.
A couple years later Honda quit supporting CLASS, but Reg liked the VFR enough to keep riding them I suppose!
Sorry for the hi-jack...

Cheers!
Craig :smile:

 

That is a regular ride for me...can do the loop in a couple of hours. Here's a link with some photos:

http://vfrworld.com/forums/usa-pacific-northwest/21990-little-mt-st-helens-preview-ride.html

-Kevin

 

Reg was a guest speaker at SBNW. Last year we brought in Nick Ienatch. Both conducted clinics. Also on hand was Dave Hough who is up for induction into the AMA Hall of Fame.

This year we had the KTM folks show with a thier line. On display was the new BMW 190+HP hot rod.

 

Yeah it's even prettier right now with all the maple trees still having their leaves- it will be stunning come fall when they change color- I have to find a fee weekend soon to go do that loop again

 

everyone has good roads but me:frown:

 

deepdish has not made any friends yet

 

We tried to do it earlier this year from Canada down but the roads were closed at the time. I'm assuming they are all healthy now...

If you plan a ride keep us CDN's in the loop. Maybe post it up on the Vancouver BC thread.

 

I think i may hit that next weekend- my wife wants to go camping up there again and if so I'm taking my bike...

 

I guess in East Timor there arent any good roads. You could change (your flag) to Vietnam, or Costa Rica. They probably have better roads there.

 

Yes, a great ride indeed! And, with a few more hours at the NE end of Swift Resevoir is NF25 heading straight north to Randle. I don't think there is a 1/4 mile of straight road! Last time I was on it, had great asphalt and is lightly traveled. There is a great side out 'n back to the east side viewpoint of St. Helens. If you're coming from PDX/Vancouver and have the time after getting to Randle, the "Go back, Jack, 'n do it again" is much more fun than Hwy 12 over and down I-5!

Been meaning to do the ride all summer long! Thanks for the reminder!

 

the lone wolf.......................................................

 

bikerpersonals.org - 100% FREE To Join!

 

How'd I miss this thread? Man that's the best of the best in WA. as far as riding sweet roads goes, love it down there, even Reg and SLOvfr came up last year and had the chance to try it on for size (check out August VFRW calender for the photo) a real hoot and that's only the half of it. Oh man those where great times.

Here's a Video..... Mt. St Helens FS99 on Vimeo

Damn, miss my bike all ready

 

Vicarious is the word RVFR. Thanks for the Video. No bike? There's got to be a story...

Nice pics, Hootch.

Badbilly, who sets up the SBNW? Love to get on a mailing list. That sounds awesome. Pridmore... Ianetsch... awesome.

HondaTech, let us know how it goes? Pix required. Be fun to put a train of VFRs through the trees up there this fall. Put me on your list if you put something bigger than you and the Mrs. together? Craig in Alabama should be invited. And our Canadian friends. RVFR can ride my DL650 (if he can stand it.) Deepdish might get lost.