Northwest Sport Touring

Fort Bragg to Half Moon Bay Sept 2012

2012-09-23T11:27:00.000-07:00

It was Sunday morning and just a touch foggy in Fort Bragg. Today would be our leg to Half Moon Bay just South West of San Francisco on the Coast. Today Dan was taking off towards Reno for his return to Seattle. Dean was planning on riding with us around half way then taking off to meet and old California friend of his. He would meet us later. That was the plan anyway. Dan took off before most of us were up. Dean and I had a good breakfast a couple blocks. Our route today was a modest 260 miles along California Hwy 1 with some parallel east side detours thu the coastal hills area.

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The coastal fog cleared pretty well almost right away. We were treated to some great riding on Hwy1 along the coast. So far on my Costal South bound California rides I have found light traffic in the morning. Today was about the same. We did hit a couple of construction stops and delays but they were minor.

We headed east on Hwy 128 thru the Navarro River Redwoods State Park. The road was pristine. Several places the trees were close in on both sides of the road forming a kind of tree tunnel. After a while we left the wooded area and found our selves winding thru the hill country. We turned back west on Mountain View road heading back to the coast. At Point Arena we again turn east for a run along Ten Mile Cuttoff road. Depending on what you want that offeres more wooded and hillside riding.

The map showed us a nice looking loop a little further down the coast. Annapolis Rd and Skaggs Springs roads. We soon found that these roads turned into what I call AT Adventure roads. Others might call them paved goat trails. They have to be pretty bad for me to term them Goat Trails but there were a spot or 2 of pretty goaty sections. It was along on of these that one of our riders Dean would have a little low side slide out on a dirty section. His left mirror was knocked off and his left handle bar was bent. Dean was going to break off from the ride soon to visit his friend then rejoin us. As it was there was enough unseen damage the he ended up riding home after his visit. So we went from 5 riders to 3 this day.

We had spent some time trying to adjust Deans left bar and a couple extra stops. One of our riders had also made a wrong turn so it took some time to regroup. We had lost some time so we decided to omit a couple of remaining side road and head straight for Half Moon bay. There were still come great sections of Hwy 1 and the roads that would take us back to highway 101.

The Golden Gate bridge was still ahead of us. I was hoping for a clear crossing but as we approached the wind picked up pretty high and again it was fogged in. I wonder on what day they have gotten all the clear blue sky photos? As we got in the California heavy freeway traffic John started to get in the lane splitting mood. In addition an attractive female rider passed us. I think John was chasing her. See was a local and the traffic was not slowing her down. It was a bit of a challenge to catch John.

John and I have each been over the bridge once but on different days. On his ride he was going into San Fran. I was not so I knew the turn to avoid down town was just after the bridge almost right away. I looked sadly at the turn as we went right by. I thought that perhaps John knew a different rout. No he did not. He slapped his head shortly after that and I knew he missed it. Oh well we had talked about riding thru San Fran anyway. The GPS would correct for us. Mine kept saying turn right but on we went. Johns was a different model and was rerouting something else. At first that was ok we were having fun. Finally John turned right and we seemed to be on the same track. But just as we would have reached the freeway there was a big rally going on down town, I said cool I could see the back of a stage and hear some music. I wonder who is playing. There are cops all around. Then I saw a sign on the back of the stage the said "Real Sex" with a picture of 2 guys in leather straps. Then I looked closer at the crowd. Holy crap get me out of here???

The Gps units were both trying to turn us around to the same route we just came on. The traffic was wall to wall. John was lane splitting. We were driving in bus lanes going the other way? I was splitting a lane an brushed a car just behind as I am cutting in. Crap now I have to pull over and trade insurance. But no he went right on. Finally we asked a cop how to get to the freeway. He did not seem in a hurry to help us but did point out were we had to go. You never saw motorcyclists so HAPPY to find a freeway. I will never want to ride in down town San Fran again.

We finally found Half Moon Bay and our Motel. We found Teresa there waiting for us. After some showers and clean up found a nice cafe on the Bay.

Grants Pass to Ft Brag CA Sept 2012

2012-09-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Its day 3 of our Sept 2012 California Ride. Today we will be riding from Grants Pass Oregon to Fort Bragg on the California Coast. It is pretty much a straight South West ride on 90% on Great California roads. We geared up and headed out from the Motel 6 in Grants Pass. Most of us were thinking about when we could begin to ditch our cool weather gear and heated vest. I think I left mine home but everyone else was plugged in.

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Grants Pass is always a favorite overnight for me on a southern run. There are several good low cost motels right off the freeway and a Sizzler. We do not have any Sizzlers close by were I live. But I like them for a reasonable small Steak with Baker and a great all types of food Salad Bar. It is a feast for me.

I always wonder about the sign as we pass thru town. 'Its The Climate"? Is it always nice there. It has been every time I have been there. The sky is always blue?

A few miles of scenic 199 and we were at Cave Junction. We would head south from there on Indian Creek Rd. That is better know to us as Happy Camp road. It belongs in one of the top roads in California. Some great twisties and quick sweepers as you head to the top and more on the other side. There is one rest stop at the top with a pretty good South view.

At Happy camp we stopped for a visit with Sasquatch. The guy never seems to move. He is just always standing on the corner. From here we would turn right and continue South on Hwy 96. For my money Hwy 96 is right at the top of the list of Great California roads. It is long, nicely paved, and has tons of nice twisties and fast sweepers. It runs along a river and passes over several curved bridges. At one time I wondered if they knew how to build a straight bridge in California.

It was a great ride down Hwy 96. The temps were rising and I think most of the electrics had been put away at the last rest stop. The group was pretty well spread out with the fast group and the slow group. We would regroup at Willow Creek on Hwy 299 for gas and a snack. The gas station was pretty busy with bikes coming and going from all directions.

We headed west from there on 299 towards Hwy 101 and the coast.

Hwy 299 is a major hwy but traffic was not bad. It is a great hwy road with lots of twisties and great mountain scenery. We headed south on Hwy 1 toward the Redwoods and Garberville. As we were approaching Garberville I was trying to get just a little south of there for the next break. There is a little few block long town right on Hwy 1 in the Richardson Grove Park, It is just a few miles past Garberville. I can go all day on my ST but the others were getting antsi and I could feel it. I was forced to stop at Garberville. Oh well it was time for my Ice Cream Bar.

After the rest stop it was a short ride down hwy 1 passed The Redwoods Run site location the the turn of west from Leggett to perhaps one of the best motorcycle roads in the country. The Dragon could not be any better the the 21 miles of twisties from hell to the coast.

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There are corners here were you will see the rear end of your bike. The traffic was very light. A couple of our speedsters took off. I was alone behind them with a couple of our more sane riders behind me. After 21 miles of the best road you will find we arrived at the California coast.

We stopped there to take in the fresh ocean air and some California Coast line views as we waited for the last group.

From there is was a fairly short ride down the scenic coast to our over night at Ft Brag. It was the best ride day to date. But we were to find that as good as this day was there would be much better to come.

We had one unplanned highlight to the day. Dan was a later rider to join our group. He had no reservation at Fort Brag. As it turned out he was the first at the motel and after getting a room he talk the man and woman at the front desk to tell us all that there had been a problem with the reservation and they had no rooms for use. The 4 of us wandered in over the next few minutes and they did a very good acting job on all of us.

Monmoth to Grants Pass 2013

2012-09-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

This was day 2 of our Sept California ride for 2012. Originally this ride was going to start from Grants Pass on Sunday. I was going to slab down Saturday. But in the the rest of the riders not liking slabs decided to take a couple extra days for a better Motorcycle ride to Grants Pass.

With everyone going early I decided why the heck not. John planned those 2 days of the ride with and over night in Monmoth Oregon. I am not a big fan of doing a bunch of very well know and ridden many times local back roads to start a long out of area ride.

For me lets just hit the freeway and get down the road to new places. That also allows you to add more out of area never ridden roads. I was still considering just slabing it to Monmoth and meet the guys there. But in the end I decided a slab or a ride with friends. There was not really any choice. So I joined in the the group for day one to Monmoth. It was a nice ride. The motel was good and right next to a good restaurant so day one was a good start.

Friday was a little gray but dry. Seems like on any ride south we are in clouds till almost to California. I often wonder about the sign in Grants Pass. It says "its the climate" or something like that. Is it nice there all the time? I had not payed very much attention to Johns route to Grants Pass. He did call it the Kitchen Sink route. I thought I had an idea but was soon to learn I did not.

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John lead us on a winding route south. Each road seemed to be better then the last. Some nice fun rural roads passing thru farm land. A couple stretches of no traffic Highways. Western Oregon has many great Forest Service paved roads thru some spectacular back woods areas. Popping out on another stretch of great low or no traffic hwy. Then all of a sudden if you do not know the route you take a turn and are now riding along a river on one side and a forest on the other. Then your ride up and over some low pass.

I know at one point as we stopped at an intersection of several roads with road signs pointing in many directions I commented. "Wow who needs California". Well we all know I would soon forget that statement.

I think about then the weather might have been getting a little brighter but it did not really matter as we were dry and on the first real day of our upcoming Sept adventure.

The day was to continue with one great twisty road after the other. Some wide and fast and some narrow and spectacular.

We stopped for a sit down break at the Lorraine Cafe. It looks like a small corner market but is really a Cafe. Next time in the area we need to stop for something to eat. On this day we had already had breakfast. But next time in the are we know to check it out. This is in the Cottage Grove area and it has always been and idea of mine to spend a day in the area. I think there are many great miles to explore here. Maybe in 2013

Blue skies were now out. There were many more miles of smile left to go.

Cow Creek and Wolf Creek roads were still on our list. A couple of the best roads in Oregon. But as strange as it would seem at the end of Cow Creek we were worn out. We decided to forgo the last loop on Wolf Creek and head to the barn. Something we would do almost every day for the whole ride. To many corners?????

Kelowna BC to Colville Wa

2012-07-13T17:44:00.001-07:00

Well my plan home got extended a little. I left Kelowna around 7:30 or so and headed south on 33. I found that to be a nice morning ride but the road was not ad much fun as the earlier ones. It was also a forest road so not much but trees to see. There were some fun parts but much less then the last 2 days. Doing that leg again I would go down 97 on the west side of the lake. It runs with the lake in view the whole way.

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East on Hwy 3. I was going to turn south and cross the boarder at Danville and return via those north west back roads to Omak and Hwy 20, But darn my bike would just not make that right hand turn? So I continued east passing a couple other border crossings to the one just south of Rossland. I re entered the US right around noon. The crossing guard asked me more then a few questions but let me back in.

I decided to head to Chewelah and ride the Flowery Trail. I though I might give the Nordig Motel a try. But there was a big farmers market and all the motels were full. After my run down and back on Flowery Trail I headed back to Colville and got a room at Bennies.

My GPS was very glad to get back to the US. In Canada if you plot a route from city a to city b it maps it out and during the journey never shows any alternates. Because there aren't any. I set Colville as my destination from the boarder thinking it would take me right down the river. But I also knew I could turn North at Northport and loop around but I did not. Part way down the road the GPS was telling me to turn left and not follow the river. So another route. That one seemed to be gravel or a dirty road so I skipped it. One or Two miles later it showed me another left route. This one looked good. Besides the route I took there were perhaps 4 other options. That is what the Canadians miss.

The Monashee

2012-07-12T17:52:00.000-07:00

The Monashee. Is that right Colin? The ride from Nakusp to the ferry was nice and relaxing. The road was straighter then yesterday and a little rougher but the scenery was nice. A few more relaxing miles after the ferry. The the curves started to kick in. Again miles of S curves and sweepers. The road was ok but a little rough here and there. After the summit on the west side the pavement again was fabulous. Saw 2 deer but well in advance. It seems most Canadians are not to worried about a speeding ticket. Seems like the speed limit posted that I saw was 80km or 50mph. Most cars were well above that. These twisties put Montana to shame but the posted speed limits are pathetic? If 70 like Montana would be heaven. Again these are the only thru roads in the area from one town or city to another. No other options. So not sure what we would find on the weekend. Any ride you do in this area is 100 miles one way and back. Sitting in Vernon at a Tim Hortons. Here is the great part of the road but the road all the way to Vernon is nice.

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BC 3A, Hwy 31, Hwy 6, Creston to Nakusp

2012-07-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

The full ride for this day would be around 317 miles from Whitefish Montana to Nakusb BC, Canada. Hwy 2 and Hwy 95 were a nice transition ride. Good scenery and some fun high speed Montana S curves and sweepers. After a few days in Montana I had become used to the 70 mph speed limit everywhere. It seems to me at one time Montana had no real speed limit. Not sure on that or if anyone gets a ticket today. I was feeling pretty good and ticket safe at a steady 80. I wonder if that has anything to do with all the high speed sweepers and S corners in Montana. Seems you do not need to slow for anything?

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But the real ride was to start in Creston BC. I was meeting Colin one of our Canadian riders there. He would lead me North West on 3 great Canadian roads. I have not in the past been in a hurry to ride in Canada. I had lived there for many years and did not remember many roads I would call good motorcycle roads. That was because they all seemed to be major or main roads to various population centers and full of traffic. Not sure how the traffic would be on these road on the weekend. But on this Wednesday traffic was pretty light. The only hold up was the wait for the Kootenay Ferry. Which is free by the way. I was to be surprised and very happy with the great ride today.

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Colin and I meet pretty much on time at around noon at a small cafe in Creston. A few minutes of motorcycle chat we headed north to make the 2pm ferry departure. It was only a few miles down the road and the lake water appeared on the left and the mountains on the right. In the middle was some great pavement and seemingly endless S curves and sweepers. We would encounter a few 180 degree or so switch backs but not many.

We did get behind a few cars now and then. The marked passing lanes were few and far between due I guess because of all the S curves. However there were many double yellow opportunities.

We passed thu a few small on the road type villages. Looked like some stop opportunities if you want. But is is hard to stop on a great road when you have no traffic or free air as I call it ahead of you.

We ended up just missing an earlier ferry. But that was ok since I like a little ferry break to look around. Colin showed me the Ice Cream store that was sort of hidden in the trees just off the parking area. So we walked over and had an Ice Cream break. The ferries in BC are not like the Washington ones as they do not group the bikes at the front. This one however did load all the bikes the one side so we only had to wait for a couple of cars to clear the deck then we were off.

It was interesting on docking at the west side. I am used to the large Washington ferries that approach the dock from straight on. As we were approaching the dock area we were proceeding parallel to the shoreline. I could not spot the dock. All of a sudden the ferry started a HARD right hand turn. It seemed to be healing over in a hard right. If you looked out the back of the ferry the trees were racing by. I could imagine we were evading a torpedo?
My stomach was also a little shaky and I was wobbling around a little. LOL. Colin said they have steering thrusters for fast turns.

After the ferryy we were treated to many more great twisties heading North to Kaslo. This time the water was on the right and the mountians on the left. We stopped at the Mountian King in Kaslo for some Lemonade.

Hwy 6 just continued the great pavement and endless twisties pretty much all the way to Nakusp.

It was a great day in Canada EH.

Glacier and Highway to the Sun 2012

2012-07-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

Glacier and the Highway to the Sun has been a goal for many years. It was suggested again this year and became a large ride that would have also included Beartooth, Yellowstone, Sawtooth, Hells Canyon and more. But the large ride turned out to be a little to ambitious for most. It was cancelled.

But it was suggested that perhaps we go back to the original 3 day or so Glacier ride. Larry and I decided to go ahead. He would be heading to his vacation condo after that. I decided while I could not afford the 8 day motel trip I could afford a 3 or 4 day trip. Throw in an overnight in Kelowna at my sisters I would stretch this out a little. I ended up with a 7 day Glacier and Canada loop requiring 4
motel days.We road to Whitefish Montana on Monday from the Quincy area around 480 miles or so.

We got to the park around mid morning after a great breakfast at the Buffalo Cafe right next to our motel. After a couple of pics at the entrance we headed east on Hwy 2 into the park. Glacier Route 1Rd heads North from Hwy 2 just before Lake McDonald. That is were the Hwy to the Sun ride begins.

The road is in very good contion with great views of the lake. I saw a couple of view points but did not react fast enough to stop. I soon noticed Larry and Kathleen were not behind so I pulled over at the first stop after that. When they caught up I confirmed the obvious. This was a scenic ride so stop if you want to. There is only one road and we can't get lost.

Some where after Lake McDonald and the rapids the road got a little rough. I had heard that the road was not well maintained and that this would be the rest of the ride. However very soon the road became very good. Most of the road has a small block wall the keep you from sliding off the edge. As we would find out the road was fantastic all the way over the top and down the other side.

Except for the one portion that was totally torn up and under full reconstruction. Not sure how much but it was several miles of a single lane pilot car. I had gotten a far distance ahead of Larry at this point.

After we got back to the pavement there was a lot of traffic ahead due to to stop and wait for the pilot car episode. I pulled over at the first opportunity to wait for Larry. Once he arrived we along with another motorcyclist waited to let the traffic get ahead with the promise of no new traffic due to the road closure. It worked great.

The ride was spectacular and the weather great. We had talked about simply turning around and riding it back but the potential of an hour or so involved in the construction wait lead us to continue with the loop and take Hwy2 back. That would become a speed run over the Montana high speed limit over endless twisties:}

For me I cannot think of a better high mountain pass ride. There are many Colorado Mountains that are higher which I have yet to see in summer weather so perhaps that could change but right now it was the
best.

There are to many pictures to post on this blog so there will be a picture video sometime in the near future. You will need to check back for that.

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Crescent Bar to Whitefish Montana

2012-07-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

This was the first day of our ride to Glacier National Park and the Highway to the Sun. We had ridden on Sunday to overnight at a friends condo at Crescent Bar in Washington State. It was a long leg at around 437 miles and we would add another 30 or 40 due to a mapping/GPS error.

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The meat (best part) of the ride was from the Sprauge Washington area to just South of Kalispell or the top end of Flathead Lake.

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The official route description according to Google is. Via Danekas Rd, Wa-23, Hume Rd, Topeka Oaksdale, ID-5, NFp7/Prospect Creek, Hwy 200, Hwy 93. Our mapping error also thru in NF503 or Old River Rd in Idaho.

The start of the ride was a slab of around 100 miles to Breakfast and fuel at Ritzville Wa. It would then be around 6 more miles of I90 until we started the good part of the ride. The temps were in the high 70s and there looked to be some possible showers to our right and Sun to our left. We skirted the shows sections most all of the day which gave us very nice temps in the low 80's annd high 70's most of the way.

The Danekas Rd, and Wa 23 provide us some great pavement in Wa 23 with nice twisties winding thru rocky formations and scatted small lakes. Some farming areas and a couple of interesting green small towns just visible off the hwy.

As we got into the the Hume Rd area we were entering the Wheat fields and farming area of the Palouse. The Palouse is rich in very nice roads traversing the farm lands. The farm trucks need good roads to get to the delivery points for the Wheat and other products. I think you could very easily spend several days in the area and not ride all the good roads. For me I like lots of S curves and fast sweepers. That is pretty much what this whole ride provides. This time of year in early summer the wheat fields are just changing from green to yellow. It is hilly country so the roads flow around the hillsides. The farmers need to have self leveling combines for harvesting these fields which are not seen in many areas of the country. I had just been watching some of the Tour De France the other day and a time or to I thought as riding thru the hilly green country side it looked a little like that.

As we entered Idaho we transitioned to twisty mountain roads. Looping around St Maries we headed north. Hwy 3 was great nice road winding along some lakes and great scenery. We did then have a very few miles on I90. The speed limits there were 75 so we made quick time of those 8 or so miles.

Heading north on NF5 or Coeu D'Alene River Rd. Again another good fun twisty road running along the river. It was along here that we would take our detour. In using Streets and Trips to set you gps file you need in some cases to zoom in close to the road to make sure no other roads in the area will be set at the route. In this case there was another road just across the river. I had mapped that one instead of the one we wanted. So part way along it directed us to cross the river and head up the road. I had the feeling right away that it was a mistake as the new road was paved but not in good condition. I stopped a few miles in and suggested to my riding partner that this appears to be a road that could go away or end. But it was really not that bad at that point and very scenic and fun. So we continued on. But after around 10 miles it became gravel. We debated continuing but not knowing for sure what was around the corner and able to see the good road on the other side of the river we returned to the main road. There were many beautiful looking rv and camp grounds along the river on both side. All grass fields and looked like many of the rv's were perhaps permanent residents.

Thompson pass was very nice again with a great road and very little if no traffic. We did come across on fairly long new paving project that had us down to one slow lane with a guide car. But did not diminish the fun ride we were on. I think it was around here that my ride partner who would be returning in one day on Wednesday from Whitefish decided they would simply reverse this route home.

The last section of hwy 93 was nice but we did start getting some high temps here and did see some 100 degree temps. As we hit Flathead Lake the temps did go down to high 80's which was good. However as we hit Kalispell it was back up to the mid 90's. Kalispell had the longest ride to get thru it with seemingly hundreds of stop lights. So stopping at all these lights in 95 degrees on a motorcycle is not so pleasant? Next time I will look harder for a road around??

A long but great ride.

Oregon Co Rd 20 The Agony & Ecstasy

2012-07-01T09:01:00.001-07:00

Oregon Co Rd 20, aka Old West Scenic Bikeway, or Middle Fork Rd. Entering on this road from the South end off Hwy 7 the first part of June 2012 in pretty good weather it looked to be a spectacular ride. Nice pavement, comfortable twisties, and some great scenery.

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I had never been on this road before and had no idea of what was coming next. But for the first half was nothing but grins on my face. The fast group was ahead of me and the slower group behind. I normally find my self in that position. I like a quick pace but also one I can easily enjoy the scenery. The road is around 40 miles long ending at the North end at Hwy 395. Around half way thru we entered into cattle country and began to find more then a few cattle guards. Some at odd angles on the edge of corners. Then the road started to turn green with cow poop. There were cattle every where. I felt like a cowboy a time or 2 herding cattle across the road.

The cow poop was all over and was wet so it was like ridding on grease piles. Several times I felt the rear slide out but would catch hold again. It seemed to go on for ever. So the Ecstasy part of the ride was over and the Agony or at least challenge part was on. I think the scenery was pretty good but you were very busy looking for a line thru the poop.

We all stopped at 395 to gather ourselves and talk about the road. Not sure if anyone had ridden that road before or not. There was no talk about seeing it without the cow crap. Someone later commented that perhaps it washes of later in the year. But I think that is a somewhat dry part of Oregon and not sure if the cow herds are ever not there to refresh the cow poop. At the stop we first notice Colins boots and bottom of his bike was covered in crap. We all laughed at that then looked at our own boots. Yuck. For now our group has named that road the Cow Sh!t road.

In looking at some other road sites with reviews on this road. They mention many cattle guards but no discussion of the cow poop. So perhaps it is seasonal??

Oregon Hwy 218

2012-06-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

Oregon Hwy 218 is one of the top motorcycle roads in Oregon. It runs East West around 41 miles from Shaniko to Fossil Oregon. The road is in good to excellent condition. It offers great areas of scenery with comfortable twisties most of the way. Run some open roads as well as carve some nice close canyons.

You can find gas and lunch in Fossil. There is a cafe in Antelope. The usual required stop for our group is Shaniko for some Ice Cream. Every year they say is the last for the Ice Cream shop but so far if you go by at a reasonable hour of the day they are open. Shaniko is pretty much a ghost town but there are interesting buildings and some artifacts there. There may be gas there sometimes but do not count on it.

You could spend some time checking out the fossil beds. There is a small park along the way that you can wonder thru

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The Banks Lake & Dry Falls exploration 05/05/12

2012-05-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

The meat of the Coulee Corridor runs along 50 miles of Hwy 17 from Soap Lake to the Grand Coulee Dam. It is a very nice scenic road running along 5 or more lakes. Soap Lake, Lenore, Alkali, Blue Lake, Park Lake, and Banks Lake. There are many more small lakes like Dry Falls in the area along with several State Parks. I have often thought it would be nice to spend some time exploring the area.

So why not now. This ride was to be a little of adventure bike with a little dirt thrown in along with some great twisty sport touring roads. The main objective on Saturday was to explore the Corridor area including Sun Lakes & Steamboat parks.

Marv, John, Dean and I departed from the Monroe area around 9am. We were to meet Doug who was coming from the south end at the Big Y Cafe in the Leavenworth area. The weather had been a little wet for the prior few days but the weekend was looking good. We did have Stevens Pass to go over. Stevens rises to around 4,000 ft and there had been some recent snow. The high area of the pass is relatively short at around 10 miles or so. The water on my windshield was icing up as we crossed over the summit but it had not frozen on the road so we had no real problems getting over the pass. Once on the East side it warmed up pretty fast as we entered what we call the dry and hot side of the state.

We turned off Hwy 2 at Coles corner to take the Chumstick Rd loop around Leavenworth. This is around 22 miles or so of very nice back roads twisties and a great alternate to that section of hwy 2. If you can catch the section of hwy 2 from Coles corner to Leavenworth it can be a very nice ride full of twisties along the river. But generally the traffic is heavy on that section with poor passing areas.

Doug was waiting for us at the Big Y and we were soon diving into a good breakfast. Most of us were pretty hungry so we dove right in. After Breakfast we continued east on Hwy 2. Crossing the river at Wenatchee we headed north to rejoin Hwy 2 at Orondo. The 6 miles or so heading east from Orondo is what I call the Orondo Ascent. It is a very nice fast twisty good pavement road climbing up the side of the canyon to the high and dry plains above. For me it is one of those seldom ridden short stretches of road that is just so much fun.

Hwy 2 on the east side however is one of the road to be avoided but it often is not possible and there are not a lot of options in this section of the state. At this point we were heading to Soap Lake which was the start point for the Coulee Corridor. From hwy 2 there was a road that I had never ridden heading South. Coulee Meadows and Sagebrush Flats rds had always looked like it might have some potential. But since we were always on the way somewhere else we never tried it. But today it was right on the route. If offered a nice road with some sections of twisties running along rock cliff sides and some farm land.

Arriving at Soap Lake which was the start of the Coulee Corridor run we stopped for a short bathroom and ice cream break. I forgot to take a picture of the ice cream :{ It was a pleasant ride along the canyon walls on one side and the lakes on the other to the main area of exploration Sun Lakes State Park. Whatever access we had to Dry Falls would be from there. The google map does not show all the dirt roads and the one we went on to Dry Falls Lake. You need to look at the satellite view to see those. This is were you need a true Adventure bike our ST's were not well suited for the road but for a short run we were ok. Our group was a little smaller since we found we needed to buy a state parks pass unless we wanted to risk a $99 ticket. With the large amount of Rangers we were seeing some of us bought the passes and a couple decided to forgo this portion of the ride and meet us at the motel.

This day of riding was almost done. We had reached my goal of seeing Dry Falls from the bottom. A little adventure riding and some dirt. A place no one else in our group has been to. At least I do not think they have? We headed back north for the second section of the Corridor and a quick run up the paved portion of Steamboat Park. There did not seem to be any open dirt roads available there but lots of great looking grass camping spots.

We rejoined our other riders at the motel in Electric City. The Sky Deck Motel in is a great little joint right on the lake. Nice rooms with lots of deck space to visit on. Day one was done and it was great this was the exploring and adventure section of the ride. Tomorrow we will do the Sport Touring twisty roads section home. But I did see several other adventure roads and legs that we did not do. Oh well more for another trip on another day.

That is it for now. But there should be a couple videos come along in the next days or weeks so check back later.

The Pelican Run 2012

2012-04-21T08:06:00.000-07:00

Could it be? Just a few days ago the weather for this weekend was looking very bad. One rider had cancelled his reservations. We had begun to plan an alternate ride to the east side of the state. But then a miracle happened and the forecast began to clear. Could it possibly happen? It was almost unbelievable to think it would hold. But our rider who cancelled was able to get his room back before the motel filled. As we found out later the motel owners were on pins and needles as well hoping we did not have to cancel as we had most of there Motel reserved. In the end this may have been the best weather we have seen in many years. I think I saw 79 on my thermometer once during the ride.

The start point of the ride was the 49er Cafe at Castle rock. We rode freeway to Centralia then took one of my favorite freeway alternates. Along the way we found a great new road as we cut back to the freeway from Vader. It was one of those short but great roads you would never find because it is not really on the way to anywhere. But it will be one to consider in the future. It does not look like much on the map but there are more curves then the map shows.

Everyone arrived pretty much on time at Castle Rock and we all gassed before the heading to the Cafe. Later we were to find one rider gassed just 5 miles to early. We found the 49er had a nice back room good for a group of 10 or more like ours and the Breakfast was very good. After breakfast we got all geared up. Several of us were wondering if we needed to plug in our heated gear. The sun was out the skies were blue and not a hint of rain anywhere. So we were off and from here would be pretty much all side roads to Pacific City.

We or I should say I have decided to spend more time this year smelling the roses so to speak. Instead of wearing out our butts and screaming all over the countryside I will take more time to stop and soak in the local country side. I think Marv has the wrong idea however on smelling the roses. He also may be confused about what a rose is?

We were taking a version of the Bald Mountian route this year. Bald Mountian is a narrow paved forest service road over the low mountain range just before the coast. We were not sure if it would be passable but wanted to give it a try. The ride to the Carlton area was very nice with not much traffic and some great Oregon rural roads. As we started up Bald Mountain I had John take the lead and I would take up the rear of the group. There are areas that you could make a wrong turn. But as it turned out a few miles up the road we did find snow.

So now we would need to ride around. It was also about then that the one rider who gassed just a little before the cafe indicated he was low on fuel. So checking the gps we were around 30 miles from Beaver to the west but the road that goes that way the Nestucca River Rd is not paved all the way. But the weather was great and we were feeling good so what is a little dirt any way and off we went.

The Nestucca River road is another of those Oregon puzzlements. It is a very nice road except for the 2 or 3 miles in the middle that is not paved? We hit the end of pavement sign and at first was looking like it would be nice hard pack. But soon in we found several spots of many many unavoidable potholes along with some areas that had a surface of grease like mud. But it was only a few spots and we all made it thru without incident. I think the grins on the faces tell a story about the ride to this point. It has been great and even a couple miles of bad road did not matter.

The road on the west side heading to Beaver is fantastic. Mostly silky smooth twisty pavement thru rural farmland the whole way. Well worth a little dirt getting to. We pulled into Beaver and found we were a couple riders short. A few minutes later one of the riders came in and let us know the low fuel rider had run out of gas around 5 miles back. Larry and I headed back and siphoned some gas out of Larrys tank to get him to the station.

After the gas rescue it was time for the mandatory Ice Cream break. It was getting a little late and we had spent some extra time on the reroute and gas issue. So I said I was going to ride straight down Hwy 101 to Pacific City and would save the Hwy 22 and 130 loop for Sunday. We did have 3 riders who got separated on the departure from Beaver and did the loop anyway. In hind site I now would have done it anyway since it is a great ride and did not really add an significant miles.

After we arrived and checked in we all parked and unpacked our bikes. A little clean up and into our street cloths and we were accros the street for a couple pre dinner cocktails at the Lounge. The Prime Rib at the Sportsmans Pub was great. Our group was a little big for one table but they took good care of us. After dinner it was back to the Lounge for and after dinner drink. After that a some went back to there rooms but 4 or 5 of us headed back to the pub for round 2. I am told we had a great time that night. I remember a few things from the pub but mostly just wakeing up Sunday morning in my bed. I fear there are pictures and videos??

Sunday morning I was moving slowly and later one or two others would indicate they felt a little slow as well. The weather was perfect with early morning sun and warmth. We spent some extra time lounging in lawn chairs in a semi circle around the bikes and reviewing the ride and last nights after hours activities. We had one youg lady join us whom we had meet last night. One of our riders had departed early as he wanted some solo time.

As we were gearing up to leave I told John to take the lead as I might be a little slow this moring and I would take up the rear. Some of the best roads (Hwy 103, 22, Miami River Rd, and Hwy 53) were right ahead of us before breakfast. I was lagging the main group a little.

During breakfast at Camp 18 I told the group I was planning on a straight hwy return as the twisties were not felling very good this morning. After breakfast I said good by and took off while the group was looking at some of the old logging equipment. But just a few miles down the road I realized the I was feeling much better now. Must have been the great bacon at breakfast. So I rejoined the original route and I was glad I did as it was a very nice ride on Fishhawk Rd and Hwy 202 to Birkenfeled. I waited there and rejoined the group. I would however leave the group after Kelso and slab it home.

It was perhaps the best Pelican Run ever. Certainly the weather could not have been better.

Here is Johns Video for the ride after Breakfast.

4/21/12 It is the beginning

2012-04-21T05:43:00.002-07:00

Today marks for me the beginning of the 2012 touring season. This is the Pelican Run which is pretty much our annual season kick off ride. We will ride to Pacific City Oregon a small town on the Oregon Coast. The ride was almost cancelled due to bad weather. But we may be blessed this year as the weather seems to have cleared and is looking very good for this weekend.

So for me today is the beginning. Many rides are ahead. The weather should be getting better from now on. I will try to savoir every great riding day and hope for many.

Click here for a history of the Pelican Run.

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North Cascades hwy 20 to the Closure

2012-04-20T08:35:00.000-07:00

Highway 20 over the North Cascades is closed during the winter months due to the Snowfall. The road to the closure is normally pretty bad with sand during the winter months. But as summer approaches the road begins to clear. At some point it must be swept as well and there is a brief period were it is clear and pristine right up the the road closure. From Marblemount to the closure is around 30 miles of a great twisty mountain road. Because of the time of year and the fact it is closed there is very little traffic except for some hikers. A perfect time for a great motorcycle ride.

I meet with Larry, Dean, and Doug at the meet point in Monroe. When Larry arrived he told us he had a flat tire the other day but his patch was holding. I guess Larry had jinxed himself now twice. He had bragged on the last ride while I was dealing with my flat that he had never had a flat. Well that streak is over now. We took some nice side roads north and joined Hwy 20 just east of Arlington and we were off heading East towards the mountains. It was not long from there that I saw that Larry was no were to be seen in the group. We pulled over an waited for a minute but he did not show. We turned around and found Larry parked at the side of the road with, yup another flat. His plug had blown out. I began to have flash backs of a couple weeks ago when I had to replug my tire 3 times.

This was to be a repeat. We replugged the tire and continued. It was only a few miles more and Larry was gone again. Turning around and back tracking we found him again on the side of the road with a flat. So the plugs were not holding. We double plugged this one and Larry decided to head home as there was no point of him continuing. We debated the whole group returning but Larry as I had told my group last week said for us to continue. If the plug failed again there would be no point in all of us there and a truck would be needed.
Larry turned around an we watched him till he was out of site and we continued towards the mountian. We were not a little behind schedule and just made the Clark Cabins Eatery in time to get breakfast.

Marbelmount is really the start of the ride. After a great breakfast we headed up the mountain. The traffic was pretty much noexistant. The weather was great and I think I even had my Gerbings (heated jacket) off but not really sure about that. Since no traffic we made a stop on the created bridge to take a look at the falls. The roads were very good for most of the ride up. Towards the top the last few miles had some sand so not quite perfect but pretty good. I will be watching for the opening day and do another ride up there before it opens.

We stopped for the photo at the gate and looked around. As every year we looked the gap in the left side of the gate. We could get our bikes thru there and we always throw out the idea of continuing pasted the closure but we as of now have not done that?

Heading back down we made a stop at the Ross overlook for a view of the top of the dam and the lake. It did not have its normal green color this year. Not sure if that means anything.

I had once stopped to go down the narrow road and ride across the dam. It is the only dam I know of right now that you can still drive across. None of the others had done that. So we took a side trip and rode the top of the dam. You are not supposed to stop on the dam but since no one there we did. Looking over the rail down the dry side it is quite a long and disorienting look down. The rail is not that high and I can visualize that if you could easily fall over. So I told everyone to stay away from me. I think Doug did as well.

After the dam it was pretty much a straight ride back home. We did make a gas stop at Marblemont where I had my mandatory ice cream bar. I did take a second look at every gas station and parking lot we passed in case Larry was there but did not see anything. We were to learn later however that Larry was still in Arlington. None of the plugs would hold and he found a spot to park and work on his bike. He removed the wheel and a friend picked him and his wheel up.

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The Galvin Corner Auto Junk Yard

2012-04-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

At the corner of Lincoln Creek an Galvin Rd just west of Centralia is and old antique gas station and garage. It is full of antiques and old cars and trucks. We have ridden by it many times. On our way to Raymond on Saturday (04/14/12) Doug and I took a few minutes to stop and take a look. Nothing was open and not sure if it ever is. Might be interesting however to look inside those buildings.

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Waking up in Kelso part II

2012-04-09T22:38:00.001-07:00

We meet at the Motel breakfast bar. Waffels, biscuts and gravy, cereal, toast and muffins, fruit, a pretty descent motel breakfast bar. John went out and started to setup his cameras. That used to be me running a couple on board video cameras but for now John has taken that over. He takes his time in setting up a forward and rear camera. He is new at the editing of a 2 camera setup so we will see how that works.

Our route today was to be around 230 miles North the more South Sound back roads to the Ferry at Kingston. From there it would be a 40 minute or so ferry crossing to the Edmonds area and home.

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By now the weather had warmed nicely. I removed the heat controller from my Gerbings jacket and put it in the top box. I would not be needing it today. Set the GPS and we rolled out of the motel parking lot. It was a short few blocks thru town to were we turned off to a nice looking town alternate to the main road. It was very nice scenic and mildly twisty residential road. Early in the morning had to take care to not let the throttle hand get out of control.

We began to roll out of the residential area and began to enter the rural residential area more twisties and less houses. Turning North we then headed up Woodside and Delamiter roads. These are some of the nicest rural residential roads you are going to find anywhere. There are some housed but the are does beg a little more twisting on the throttle in some very nice S curves and sweepers. The roads were dry and clear and the temps were getting warmer. All thoughts of a crappy winter were far from our minds I had begun to forget that I was riding on a plugged tire.

After Delamiter we continued North on the Westside Hwy. A calm but nice streach of road that is a good alternate to the freeway just a few miles east of here.

Hwy 504 was soon under our wheels. We had to slow down for the small town of Vader but right after that was time to wick it up a little for the 7 or so great fun twisty section of 504.

The rest of 504 north to Adana is a mix of scenic farm land with sections of a few curves. A little calm for some but a nice section to wind down a little and get ready for the Bunker, Lincoln Creek, and Garrard sections that were coming up.

So far it had been a great ride. But that was about to come to and end. As we were heading up south bank road I began to feel that squishy rear end feeling of a tire going flat. Yup I had another flat. The same plug from the Mt St Helen ride had come out. I have had many good plugs and known many more good plugs. But this one was to teach me not all plugs are good.

We pulled of to a drive way to a farm house and I got out my tools and began to apply plug number 4 to this hole. Marv who is one of the seasoned touring riders of this group supervised this plug application. It was the same as I would have done it.

So we were off again for around another 10 miles or so till that plug came out. Yikes do I have enough plugs to get 140 miles up the road? This time John got out his plugs which were of the self vulcanizing type as opposed to the tar strips that everyone else had. We jammed 2 in this time and those would end up taking us home. I was going to go straight home at that point but as we got many miles up the road to the Tahyua area I was feeling these plugs were holding. So I would finish the ride with the guys. At our gas stop in Belfair I was to enjoy with my first favorite on the road treat of the year.

We got to the ferry just in time to pay the toll and ride right on to the back of the boat. They were packing us in like sardines. I looked behind to see that John was not there. I thought crap we got on but he was held up. But no he had just been directed to park on the other side of the boat.

The first thing I did Monday morning was to order a new tire. This one has less the 900 miles on it but the one hole has been plugged 6 times. Not sure if the last ones would hold but having experience 5 rapid deflations at highway speed with out injury I think this tire may be telling me something.

Overall except for the tire plugging section this was a very nice ride. We did find a couple sections of road with sand on them in the Tahyua area but only a couple and they were ridden with out issue. This was is what summer is supposed to be like.

Copied from Johns Ride Report added 04/12/12

It was Easter Sunday. Our plan was to leave at 0900 for the ride home. The route was Randy’s, with a small contribution from me for a road to get out of Kelso. It turned out to be a surprisingly good road. I was very proud of finding it.

We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel. I knew I would need a few more minutes to get my cameras ready for the ride. I set up with one camera filming to the aft from the left fairing, and one facing forward right above it.

We had great weather and clean roads for the ride. We took Pacific way out of Kelso to Coal Creek Road. We rode on Coal Creek road north to Delameter Road. We continued on back roads and two-lane highways, winding our way north.

About 90 minutes after we left the hotel, we pulled over to the side of the road for a break. We were all having a blast on the ride. Randy decided to trim off a bit of his tire plug that was sticking out. He had had a flat on this tire two weeks prior, and he had plugged it. Clearly he thought there may be some problems with his tire, and it turned out he was right.

About 20 minutes after our first break, Randy got a flat. He pulled off the road into the driveway of a farm yard. Randy got busy on the repair while Marv cheered him on. I got busy changing out the spent batteries in my video cameras. Upon investigation, we discovered his plug had failed. He put a new single-strip plug in it and got it re-inflated. While Randy was pumping up the tire, two different farmers happened by and offered tools or assistance if we needed any.

We traveled along a very nice section of highway for about ten more miles before the tire plug failed again. This time we did the tire repair using two strips to plug it. Randy didn’t want to chance it any farther, and decided he would head directly for the ferry and home.

We stopped in McCleary for lunch. I don’t recall the name of the café, but there were two other sport-bikers there for lunch, so we thought that was a good sign. Marv and I lobbied Randy to continue the ride with us. He said he would continue on for a while, and then cut out and head for the ferry.

After we left McCleary, we continued north on winding two-lane roads. By the time we got to the point at which Randy had mentioned splitting off, he was more confident in his tire. He decided to continue the ride with us.

We rode though the Tahuya area on the Kitsap Peninsula. That was the only area where we noticed any significant debris in the roads. There were some corners and curves with sand and gravel in our lane. We all took notice and slowed a bit.

We arrived at the Kingston Ferry terminal just in time to squeeze onto the back of a ferry that was loaded and about to leave. We chatted as we crossed the sound and, after we docked, we each found our own way home.

I ended up with about 16 hours of video from the two cameras from the two days of riding. It’s hard to decide which sections are worthy of the effort of publishing.

This was our first overnight ride of the season and, if this is any indication of what the 2012 season has in store for us, we are going to have a great year.

Waking up in Kelso

2012-04-08T07:10:00.001-07:00

Finally on April 7th the weather has given us a couple of late spring summer like days. I am in the mode to be ready to go on any opportunity. So a few of us threw a quick semi local weekend ride plan together. It did not quite get off with out a hitch however. Saturday morning something came up I had to deal with. So I told John and Marv to head out I would meet them for dinner at the motel in Kelso.

They took off. I had hopes of taking a shorter route to mid point to catch up but I did not get clear till early after noon so and connection was not possible. They tell me the route I laid out for them was great and the roads were dry and clear. Marv thinks there were some new roads for him. Normally I would say no Marv you have ridden all those roads but I know there were a couple that were new to him this time:}

I got out of town around 2 and headed straight down I5. Getting thru Seattle was a pain as it normally is any time after 11am. But was not quite as bad as I thought it would be. A pretty quick run thru Tacoma and Olympia. At Centralia I left the freeway to take some of the very nice west side alternate roads. There are many options there and you could add many miles if you want. This portion of the ride was only 40 miles or so but oh they were such fun miles.

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I had a couple of favorites that I took then a bit of a GPS mystery ride as I made a couple turns to see were the GPS would take me. I really knew were I was all the time so not really much of a GPS ride. But again as I have many times before looking at all the roads I passed that I have not been down. I know however in this area they did not go far as I had looked at them many times before on the maps. But still I would like to wander them sometime.

It was pretty much pure joy at this time. Sunny, Warm, Dry and clear roads. Could it be that summer has arrived. I do know while there is still rain in the long range forecast there is also more sunny or semi sunny days also. So I will lean to the improving direction.

the morning here in Kelso is looking good. We have around a 230 mile return thru mostly nice to great motorcycle roads. Then in 2 weeks is the Pelican Run. Things are looking up:}

Click here to goto day 2.

Could the end be near??

2012-04-03T08:49:00.001-07:00

The End Of Winter (EOW) that is. Yikes it has been a long one. But the weather seems to be improving. All the local Weather Broadcasters are falling all over themselves to give us a good forecast for the weekend. Hopefully nothing is waiting in the wings to mess it up.

So I have thrown a quick weekend ride together. Something a little new in staying some what local. It is only to the Kelso Longview area. But we will cover many nice to good motorcycle roads with an overnight in Kelso and ending at Kinsgton for a ferry ride home.

I think for me this may have been the longest period of no riding I can remember. A few of our group have gotten a few day rides in but with the exception of one day the weather has been bad for everything.

The one good day for me was 3/24 and the EOW ride up Mt St Helens. That was pretty much perfect right up to the flat tire.

EOW (End Of Winter) 2012 Ride

2012-03-25T10:54:00.002-07:00

Morning broke with a little frost on the ground but it was forecast to be a good day and we would not be riding untill 9. By around 8 it was warming a little and I was on my way to the Lynnwood McDonalds to meet up with our local crew. The skies were clear and blue and it looked like a great day ahead. Bill was waiting and Dean, Larry, and Kathleen soon arrived. There was also a rather large group of bicyclist meeting as well for there own ride. So the little MCD was a bit crowded.

We headed down the freeway south to Castle Rock for the start. It would be a straight freeway slab to get there around 11:20. So no time for any backroads on this leg. Had the weather been warmer earlier we may have started early. But I really prefer just to get there and leave the good ride for the ride home. Little did I expect how tough the ride home would be. We made a short rest stop on the way down.

Just before the arrival at Castle Rock we saw a large group of Sport Biker Riders heading North. As we were turning off I5 at the exit we saw a large group of Crusiers heading South from the Exit. I was wondering if perhaps there was a problem or road may be the road was closed.

But as we arrived there were large groups of bikes parked in the back of the gas station. That was strange as we normally took the front and the front area was open. It seems as our groups were arriving the Sport Bikes and Cruiser of the other 2 groups had that area. But they were gone now so I parked in my normal spot on the side walk area right at the last exit. Over the next few minutes the other riders who normally looked to ride with our group filtered over.

I did some visiting with riders whom I may only see once a year at this ride. There were riders from the South Sound Riders Mettup, The Weekenders Meetup, The Coyotes Meetep, VTXOA, and Northwest Sport Touring. I would guess arount 70 or so bikes. This year because all the groups were spread out over the large parking lot the start was not very organized. So groups were starting on there own which was ok. We geared up and headed out.

I had told Larry to feel free to go ahead of the group if he wanted since he likes to go a little quicker then I do. Initially he said no he would hang back. But as we left I was riding a little slow to let everyone group up. Then here goes Larry passing me up. No problem until a mile or so up the road were we were to turn left onto Tower road. Not sure if Larry has gone that way but he continued on. I did try to signal him but he did not seem to catch it. So I headed up Tower Road.

Tower Road was great. Dry and pretty clear sand and other nasty stuff. There were a couple areas I was unsure so I slowed. Towards the end of Tower I did note Larry's big blue BMW. So he had seen us turned and turned around. We reached the intersection of 504 and I saw a large group of Cruisers approaching from my right. Darn we wanted to stay ahead but there were there and it was to late to get ahead. So we let them pass. Oh well it is kind of fun passing a large group and there were some pass lanes ahead.

This whole section of 504 is a very nice road with good pavement and lots of S turns and high speed sweepers. Throw is spectacular scenery and I think it is a great ride. We have had a lot of snow this year and lots of mountian snow in the last few weeks. We did get into snow around 2/3 of the way up. There was lots but based on the last week or so I had expected more. It was all new so added the brief period were the snow is clean, white, and not dirty. It was beautiful. The road was bare with a few places of a little water running across. The temps were rising and my Gerbings were turned down. Pretty much perfect for a great snow ride.

We arrived at the normal gate closure and were the first bikes in. The cruisers soon arrived with a thunder. It was about that time that major issues would come up for me. I was on call. I had checked my phone before we departed for the ride up the mountian. No calls at that point. But now I see I have had 2 calls from my office. Crap no cell phone coverage here. So I let my group know I had to head down the mountain right now to get to cell phone range and check in. We made some plans to regroup depending on my situation. So back down I went. This had happend to me last year as well so for several years I have not been able to enjoy the stop at the top.

I raced down the mountian and decided to try the view point over the high long bridge. So I pulled into the view point to check for a connection. Great I had a connection so I thought if they made it down here while I was here they would see me plus I should see them ride by. Made my call and took a couple calls to get it done. No one had come by I thought. So I got my camera out and took some pictures waiting for the group to come by.

Seemed like many bikes had gone by but not the ones I was looking for. I was taking pictures and most were waving at me. So I thought perhaps they made some other stops. Or maybe someone had and issue. Plus I had not taken and pictures on the way down. So I thought I would head back up the mountain thinking I would intercept them. Part way up I felt I must have missed them or they passed as I was talking on the phone. But I was far enough up I decided the weather was so great this would be a 2 for 1 portion of the ride I would do it twice.

Yes in reality they had passed and they even in hindsite thought they saw me. But they decided to continue to the regroup point we had talked about. They did wait for a while but then continued on. Part B of the regroup was that Larry has cell phone ability on his bike. I had called but his AT&T did not cover this area so he did not get it.

So after my detour to the top I headed back and to the Olympic Club in Centralia. After all that they had got there about and hour before I did. They had finished lunch so I would skip lunch. we had a couple more great roads to hit on the way home and it was about 3:30 or so. We headed out of town and ran the Big Hanford, Tono Rd loop to Bucoda. Then a short ride up 504 to Skookumchuck, Johnsnon Creek roads. These are both great twisty good pavement area roads.

At the junction of Skookumchuck and Johnson Creek as we were waiting for everyone a rider was pointing to my rear tire and it was very soft. Now the little wiggle I felt earlier made sense.

We park on the side of the road and I began my tire repair. Many or our group had never plugged a tire before so we had a little tire plunging training session. I also demonstrated why you should have a battery powered small air pump. Everything went well. At least that is what I thought.

We headed to Rainer as some needed gas and it was on the route. As we approached the gas station I felt the rear tire go flat again. The plug was gone. So I said a few good words and plugged it again. I was not totally comfortable with that plug and should have pulled it out and done it again. But it looked to be holding. Dean would check that it was there at every stop. I told the guys when we hit the freeway I would be going slow so they should take off if they wanted. Dean would stay with me since we lived very close. So most took of and 3 riders followed me. By the time we hit the Tacoma Mall area it was just dean and I and that was maybe 50 miles from the last plug. But all of a sudden Dean rides up beside me and points the shoulder.
About that time I could feel it. Flat again. This time the plug was stuck to the side of the tire like some chewed bubble gum. So we plugged it for the 3rd time.

We said maybe the 3rd time will be the charm. So around 70 miles later we pulled into my garage and the plug was still there. This is a new tire with under 500 miles on it. Arrrrggggg.

All in all it was a GREAT ride until the flat. I would say my lesson learned here is that if you are unsure of a plug you just put in pull it out and start over.

Like a kid on Christmas Eve.

2012-03-23T19:53:00.004-07:00

The weather was great today and high hopes along with a good forecast for a great spring/summer like Saturday. It also happens to be the day of the End Of Winter (EOW) ride. The bike is fueled and ready. Any GPS routes have been loaded.

I think it is a good sign however even at plus 60 years of age I am like a little kid before any good ride. It is 7:46 and I am just waiting until 9 so I can go to bed. The sooner I go to bed the sooner it will be tomorrow. I know already however that like christmas as a kid I will be up by 3 and ready to go. But still there is that kid like excitement. Please do not let me loose that.

Mt St Helens is always a spectacular ride in any weather. We have just had a bunch of mountain snow so there should be some great snow canyons along with spectacular scenery. There will be some high speed sweepers as well.

Click here for the 2010 report.

The Cowboy Dinner Tree.

2012-03-20T17:28:00.002-07:00

The Cowboy Dinner Tree is a shack in the middle of the Oregon Outback. Story has it that it was a midway stop for cattle drives. This was the spot that the chuck wagon setup to feed the cowboys. It is a ride to get there and not much in the way of good rides to get there. But once there it is an experience .

In 2010 I attended the BMW Owners Ralley in Bend Oregon. One of the events was a ride to the Dinner Tree. We had a pretty good group. Reservations had been made by the organizer. The ride there was pretty plain but this was about the destination. As you get close the ride gets a little better and it is on the north end of a pretty nice forest road heading South.

There is no menu you simply say Steak or Chicken. That is it. No temp, no dressings, no side selections. They will then start delivering Salad, Buns, Beans and Tea or Pink Lemonade. I don't remember if there was more then one type of dressing or not. After a while the main course comes. That would be one full chicken or a 30 oz steak. What a hunk of meat that is. I don't think anybody ate the whole thing. They do then come out with doggie bags and show you how to pick up the meat in the bag.

However we were all on bikes so not much in the way of coolers and camping in a city park with no bbq areas. So most of us left the leftovers:{
They said they had a bunch of dogs who ate very well. After dinner they there was some dessert.

No credit cards taken so make sure you have some cash and the dinner is $25 or so plus a tip of course.
They have a souvenir shop so we milled around a little before the evening ride back to the tent.

Pretty full and and pretty good dinner ride.

California 2010 Susanville to Santa Rosa

2012-03-18T21:02:00.001-07:00

The California 2010 Susanville to Santa Rosa ride was the first full California leg of the Summer 2010 ride. It was from Susanville to Santa Rosa around 300 miles. This was the start of a loop going South west to Santa Roasa and returning North on the coast.

It was also my first ride using my new GPS, along with Microsoft Streets and Trips and a laptop PC. Throw in the Destination Highways California maps and what more could I ask for. I had planned a slightly different start to this ride by using Hwy 36 and looping South at Lake Almanor. However the night before while looking at my route and the DH Map I saw a couple well rated motorcycle roads to the south. Jamseville Grade and Indian Creek Rd going by Antelope lake. So it was easy to remap in Streets & Trips and download to the GPS. What great tools.

View Larger Map

We got an early start in some great California sunshine and headed south on 395. I think I probably had the song California Dreaming going in my head. It is always a treat for me at least getting started on 4 or 5 days of straight good weather riding. The road quickly turned into some fun twisties and great scenery. There was no thought of work in my head. We stopped an one over look at Antelope lake.

California Janesville Grade to Antelope Lake. from NWBikers.Com on Vimeo.

From there we were looking for Indian Creek Rd south. I did manage to miss the turn heading towards Fruit Growers Rd. That would have ended up in the same place but I was unsure if it was paved so we turned around and stuck to the route. Indian Creek was another great ride. 2 great roads and we are just getting started. Life is good.

Indian Creek Rd, Ca. from NWBikers.Com on Vimeo.

We were now entering the winding canyon that would follow the Feather River as it headed South West towards Oroville. I have been looking at this road on a map forever. It seemed built for me. I love a high speed LONG twisty highway with no hairpins. Quick sweepers and S curves for me. That is my heaven and I would not be disappointed.

California hwy 70 from NWBikers.Com on Vimeo.

Scenery, high speed twisties, no switch backs, good pavement, and light traffic. What more could you ask for. Well maybe no flat tires. We were lucky however that it did not go down fast. Don was getting a flat tire. Which as it turned out would not be his only mechanical issues on this trip.

A little real world on road repair video. For most it is not if you are going to have a flat but when? We got the tire repaired and continued down the road.

California Hwy 70 Part 2 from NWBikers.Com on Vimeo.

We started to approach 99 and my original route was to bypass Oroville. But I did not see and was not sure we would be finding any gas stations. I was ok as my bike is super tanker by motorcycle standards. But Doug and Don may not have much more gas left. So we headed into Oroville. It was time to eat anyway so we grabbed some lunch as well.

The next leg of this ride was to get across the some what motorcycle desert of the I5 corridor. So there would be boring stretches of road for a few miles. Even for me who normally can enjoy the scenery there is not much to look at. We did however cross some kind of interesting farm land just before hwy 20.

Once we got to hwy 20 we were back to some better motorcycle roads. 20 is a hwy but for me does offer some twists along with the highway. Heading South in the clear lake area we were on our way to another great motorcycle road of Seigler Canyon Rd.

California Seigler Canyon Rd from NWBikers.Com on Vimeo.

Riding thru there was what I thought a typical great California motorcycle road was. Hwy 70 was a great hwy Seigler was a great road. There were many great looking roads on the map around here but there is limited time. I had selected Big Canyon road which was nice BUT it would turn out to be what I call an ST adventure road. It is not paved all the way and what is pave is not so hot. But most of it was fun.

California Big Canyon Rd from NWBikers.Com on Vimeo.

We are now closing in on Santa Rosa and the end of our day but Lake County Hwy 29 is still to go and it feature and huge set of S curves towards the bottom. We were however now getting into heavier California traffic. We would end up following traffic thru those curves. So while the look good you need to have a clear road ahead to truly enjoy. I think in the video ends around were the traffic started.

After Hwy 29 we would loop North for a loop around Chalk Hill. From memory it was a pleasant ride but was also rural residential and wine country so there was some traffic.

California Lake County Hwy 29 from NWBikers.Com on Vimeo.

It was a great day and we were to have many more. All without a drop of rain which is rather unusual for us.
Don would have some more bike issues. I think this may be the longest Blob post I have done. If you have watched all the videos you will have spent a long time here.

Thank You
Randy

Memories. Teresa we (I) miss you.

2012-03-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

Oh Teresa what a gal. I found Teresa in Spring 2009 (I think). I was leading a group of riders to Run 21 in Berkenfeld Oregon. We were gathering in Olympia Washington. My first site of Teresa was her riding by me to the end of the line on her Valk. The Valk is a huge Honda with a flat 6 cylinder engine. It is something special.
As she road by me my thought was "Man that is a big bike for such a little girl". LOL I was to be educated later. Teresa was tall and skinny. A very attractive lady. But on that bike at first sight she looked very small.

We road at Cruiser pace the Clatskanie Or and the start of Hwy 47. I told all the cruisers that this was a very nice road and very twisty. As I was riding Sport Touring I said I was going to ride a a quick (I never say fast) pace. They were welcome to follow at pace if they wanted but not to worry about getting lost I would wait at the other end and there was no were to turn off in the middle.

So off we went. I took off and soon lost the main group but I could see a couple riders behind me. There was at least one other ST rider. Then we hit the twisties and my attention was all ahead of me. Seems to me in hind sight I might have thought I heard something behind me. But it the tight twisties I did not look back.

As we were getting closer to the end I again heard something and this time I looked back. I was greeted with a rear view mirror full of a big red and white Honda Valkyrie. Holy crap that LITTLE girl was laying that valk on its side grinding metal on both sides. She was right on my rear. So I watched the rear view a little more on those last few corners.

When we got to the intersection I pulled into the parking area and got off. I could see way back the one other ST coming But Teresa and the Valk were right there. I ran back to her and said holy shit you can ride that bike. I was thinking of adding "will you marry me" . She had a huge grin on her face. We were to spend the next couple days riding just her and I. She never wanted to stop and no route was to long.

Teresa road with our group for the next year or so then all of a sudden she moved to Alaska. We have not seen or heard from her for a long time. Teresa if you see this drop me or us a line.

Here are the 3 Chasing The Valk Videos.

Miami River Rd and Hwy 53 Oregon 2009 from NWBikers.Com on Vimeo.

The Story Of The Pelican Run (from the start)

2012-03-17T13:25:00.001-07:00

With the Pelican Run just a few weeks away I was thinking about it and how it came about. I thought about writing up the story but it would be to long and I think these old nwbikers and blog ride reports would do a better job.

So in order here we go.

http://www.nwbikers.com/RDRW_PNWPelican07.html

http://nwbikers.blogspot.com/2008/11/pnw-road-riders-pelican-run.html

http://nwbikers.blogspot.com/2009/04/pnwrr-pelican-run-2009-0418-1909.html

http://nwbikers.blogspot.com/2010/04/pelican-run-day-one-saturday.html

http://nwbikers.blogspot.com/2010/04/plelican-run-ride-home-042510.html

Did not write anything up for 2011. Anybody have something for that.

Saturday Morning at the Shop and 1st Ride

2012-03-17T12:59:00.001-07:00

Hmm was this my first ride of the year? I really don't know? I cannot think of another ride yet in 2012. It was pouring down rain pretty good most the morning. Enough I though I may need to cancel my service appointment for today. I had even been snowing.

But I need to get my rear tire, brake pads, and I think it is time for new bearings at 87K. I don't want to get hung up if the sun comes out because my tire is bad. So I really need to get it done. I head out around 9:15 to the garage. The roads are wet but it is only misting a little. So I am off to Everett Power Sports. EPS is only around 5 miles away. So we will leave the Gerbings at home. It is around 45 degrees so a little cool but man it is nice to be on the bike going somewhere. I got there around 9:30 they open at 10. But as usual the door is open so I walk right in.

Normally one of the Gold Wing guys who are there every morning have the coffee on. Today one of them is just getting it going. It is around 9:50 when the service writer is behind the counter. He is new and I am afraid he does not know about my special pricing for tire mounting. He writes up my order and says "and they tell me you get the special pricing for mounting internet tires". I smiled and said yup I guess I spend enough money here.

I had some coffee and donuts with the Gold Wing guys and several trips around the store to sit on and look at bikes and the new Vstroms. From behind me I here someone say "Randy". A fellow is approaching me and asking are you Randy from the pnwst. I said yea. He informed me his name is Vinny. He is a friend of Marcus and a member of the group. He is taking a friend around you is looking for a bike and they are there to check out an 04 ST 1300 that is there. While we are talking Jim walks in the door. He is a Gold Wing rider who used to be a regular with us. Lots of traffic today. Vinny's Buddie took the ST for a ride then Vinny did as well. They were on there way to Skagit after that to look at a FJR. Vinny said he almost made the Pelican Run last year but could not. I reminded him that this years Pelican is just a few weeks away and he still had time to get on board.

While I was talking to someone the service guy came up to talk to me. That usually is never any good. But he says my brake pads are still around 40% good and the bearing s feel ok. We walk back to the shop and he shows me my pads and the new ones and yup looks like I have some miles left. I told him however at almost 90K to go ahead and do the bearings anyway. So I think this is a sample of the great service you get there. They could have just replace the pads but they let me know instead.

It did take longer then normal today and it was after 11 before they pulled my bike out. So as we were doing the bill they told me that the bearings took longer because one broke up on removal and they had to cut the race out. So looks like a good decision to replace as it felt ok but was also ready to break up.

Headed home and topped up the gas. Might have taken a longer ride but the streets were wet and new rear tire. Maybe we will see some sun tomorrow and now I am ready to ride.