Most NorthWest Ride 07 kinda long...

ccriderXX · 10-31-2007, 3:43 AM

The most NorthWest Ride 07

This weekend I got away for a much needed stress relieving ride.
I only took 1 long trip this year and the rainy season has started.
But this last weekend we had a forecast of no rain and mild
temperatures. OK, mild for Washington in the fall. I watched the
forecasts closely and saw it would be about 5 degrees warmer on the
coast; 50-60F and sunny. I kind of sprung this idea on my wife, and
she was all for some peace and quiet. She understood my sanity was at
risk if I didn't go. I decided to take a in-Washington State ride.

Overall route map:
Most NW Ride 07 overall map pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots

I hastily packed and loaded the bike. I oiled the chain and
checked the pressure in the tires. The bike had been ready to go as
it had sat for about a month. I had fully prepped it before my long
ride to Alberta.
So my plan was to head for the coast. I have always wanted to
get to the very northwest corner of the state to Cape Flattery, WA. I
have been close twice, once with a friend on the Ninja list. We had
ridden out past Neah Bay and turned around when we hit gravel. And my
mother said we had taken a trip out there when I was about 2. She
said we drove in a 1930's Plymouth that they had packed everything up
in the back seat to make a platform for me to crawl around. And they
say motorcycles are dangerous. My goal was to get to the end of the
road and NW as you can get in the continental United States. Then I
thought I would head down the coast and turn inland towards Mt.
Rainier.
I headed south from my place in Marysville to the Edmonds Ferry.
I was running low on fuel, but wanted to hit the first ferry I could.
Motorcycles go to the front of the line on all Washington Ferries. I
was able to go into a building and use a kiosk to get a self-service
ticket. There I met several motorcyclists that commute on the ferry
each day, mostly Harleys, one guy operated a tall crane another said
he just replaces his hard hat with a helmet each evening. The ferry
ride was fun, with nice views of the Puget Sound and mountains in the
distance.

Picture taken on ferry:
Washington State ferry heading to Kingston pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots

After we got to the other side, all us ferry bikers rode in a big
pack. I passed a few gas stations even though I was on reserve. I was
in the pack and worried about peer pressure and the tons of cars that
got off the ferry behind us. I was confident I would find some gas up
the road away. (uh huh, eye roll)

So my bike usually needs gas around the 200 mile mark when I am
cruising and getting 40 mpg. I use 20 miles of range on my 1 gallon
of reserve to be safe. Well I was past that and now and there were no
gas stations in sight. Surely there will be gas along this major
Highway 104. (have you heard this before) I was even searching for
fuel on my GPS, and it was telling me the truth that the only gas was
about 7 miles to my west. But that wasn't the direction I was
heading so I continued on. At 242 miles my bike sputtered to a stop.
I put it on its side stand and sloshed fuel around. The bike did fire
again and I was able to go up the rode a mile to the 7 Ceaders Casino.
I got lucky as a nice woman security guard gave me bit of gas from a
can she keeps in her car. We had to walk in to the casino to get
permission from her manager; the casino reminded me of Vegas inside.
She put just under a gallon in for me, but refused my attempt to pay
her for the gas. It turns out I ran out of gas about 7 miles from the
nearest gas station in Sequim. I got gas at a Shell and found a motel
for the night.

71 Miles

The next morning, Saturday, I checked the Weather Channel for
temps in the area. Some were high 30's, so I waited until late morning
to leave. I went through downtown Port Angeles and turned south to
go up Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Forest. It is a nice
climb of twisty road to a great view. Along the way there were
sections of road that were still damp. At first I thought it was from
morning fog. Most moisture was in shaded areas. The road was twisty
and most corners were not shaded so I was able to rail. Very fun!
When you pay to get into the park you are paying for an amusement ride
of a road. At higher elevations there was this white stuff on the
side of the road. On the weather report I had seen a flash of pink on
the Doppler radar. At the time I thought it must have erroneous
display as it was a cold dry night. I guess it snowed a little over
night. The snow was only on the side of the road thankfully. Up at the
top of the ridge there was some ice in the parking lot in the shade of
the Lodge. It was crisp and cool, but my extra sweatshirt and gerbing
jacket and electric grips were keeping me warm under my leather coat
and First Gear pants. The long-johns were helping too. I stopped and
took a couple pictures of the mountains. The ride back down was fun
too. Years ago my Dad and I had ridden our '83 V45 Sabres here when
they were new. I remember we had a coasting race down the hill; he won
because his bike had a Hondaline fairing and bags so it was heavier.
I couldn't resist trying this with my Blackbird, wow the bike
accelerates when coasting. It is a very nice road and I really
enjoyed it.

Picture at motel and Hurricane Ridge:
Motel in Sequim pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots
Hurricane Ridge Road pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots

My next destination was Neah Bay. I took the route that runs along
the north coast of Washington, Highway 112. This is a great road too
as it has lots of lazy sweepers as it follows the coastline. And in
some areas the road gets even tighter. At one point I had passed a
pickup and got behind a white '80s Olds Cutlass. The young guy seemed
to be trying to outrun my motorcycle, driving briskly sometimes
cutting corners. It made me think of a T-shirt I saw recently, it
said "Paddle faster, I hear banjos".  He was more familiar with this
road than I but was still holding me up. The corners were tight
enough that I couldn't pass. This wasn't a problem as we were moving
along; I was a little concerned with his driving and thought about
backing off. But he wasn't squealing tires and seemed somewhat in
control. Finally after a few miles a straight passing area came up.
I downshifted to I think was third. I really didn't need to do that
as I probably was in a low enough gear already. Well I really showed
this cage driver how much faster a motorcycle is. Man, after the
shift I nailed the throttle and my biker rocketed forward. The front
end even came up a bit which I wasn't expecting. It was like the XX
tried to throw me off. I have lost a bit of weight and the bike
performs better than the last time I did this. It was like I was
shot out of a cannon, blasting by and at the next corner I was gone.
Once in a while you need to school these cagers.

I got to Neah Bay which is in the Macah Indian reservation. This
tribe traditionally hunts whales. It is a kind of a surreal place,
typical res, mixed with some nice looking buildings and restaurants,
also lots of fishing boats. You pass through town to get to Cape
Flattery the most northwest corner of Washington and the continental
United States. The road heads west out to the coast, last time the
last bit of road was gravel, but that had been recently paved. It is
a very nice road that ends up in a parking lot at the end. It is kind
of weird you expect some kind of view, but instead you are surrounded
by trees. To see the view you have to hike down a ½ mile to the
overlook. At first I was going to pass on this as it would take some
time. Then 3 bikes rode up, a couple Harleys and a VStrom, I talked
to these guys and they convinced me we should do the hike as it might
be awhile until we get back this way. Also since I had lost weight I
figured this would be cake right? Going down wasn't bad but I was
concerned about coming back up as it was pretty steep. Wow was the
hike worth it though. The trail went through some awesome rain
forest, and the sandstone cliffs were cool along the coast. They have
washed away and there are big cave like formations that the tide
washes in and out of. This was a really cool place and I am glad I
took the time to visit it. So now for the hike back, I made it but I
did have to stop a couple times. I really need to improve my muscle
strength; I can still feel it in my calves. Still it was worth it.

Pictures from Cape Flattery:
Trail to Cape Flattery point pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots
Cape Flattery sandstone caves pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots
Cape Flattery looking north to Vancouver Island pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots

I got back on the bike and headed to Forks. I had talked to some
folks along the Cape trail that lived in Forks; I had asked if they
knew of Bubba, Jimmy Bolin's brother. They said they didn't at first
but when I mentioned that he repaired lawnmowers they thought they
knew who it was. They told me to turn at the flashing light in town
and then turn on Merchant Street. Well I went back there and found a
small engine repair sign, but I wasn't confident it was the right
place. I didn't see any motorcycles around. I was in a bit of a rush
to get further south before dark so I carried on.

I headed south and hit the portion of Highway 101 that runs along
the ocean coast. I got to Kalaloch beach right at Sunset. There is a
lodge and campground at Kalaloch. It has a long flat beach that many
folks were walking along. I have camped here a few times it is one of
the coolest places on the Washington coast. My Grandpa liked to fish
for smelt here with a big net and used to find the green glass floats
that were used by Japanese fishermen across the ocean. I checked to
see if the Lodge had a room, but it was full.

Kalaloch Lodge, Olympic National Park, WA
Pictures of coast:
http://home.comcast.net/~ccriderxx/blackbirdatsunset07.jpg
Sunset at Kalaloch pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots

My stop for the night was Hoquiam, which was about an hour down
the road. This is where Curt Cobain (Nirvana) is from. There is
statue of him somewhere in town. I found an Econo Lodge on the main
drag in town. There was a sign that said "Mushroom Buyer". Hmm...
Curt Cobain and mushrooms, that explains a lot. I saw another of
these buyers at another motel in town too. Too bad I didn't pick some
mushrooms along the trail; I could have made some money. After
unpacking I walked down the street to a Chinese restaurant and had the
best eggdrop soup I have ever had. Boy was it good to have some warm
soup after being out in the dark and cold. Passing by a bar next door
I noticed that everyone was dressed in their Halloween best, kind of
freaky though.

290 Miles
Day 2 route map:
Most NW Ride 07 Day 2 pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots

On Sunday I left late morning again due to low temps. I plugged
in a route in my GPS that took me south down to Raymond, then Highway
6 through Pe Ell, heading due east to Mt. Rainier. Highway 6 is a
road that winds through the countryside. This area has lots of
farming and once had a large logging industry. Several times I would
see gas stations or restaurants that were closed denoting less money
in the local economy. I think it was the spotted owl's fault. I saw
an older woman sitting on her front porch enjoying the sun. Ah the
country life! I stopped for gas in Pe Ell. As I headed east from the
coast I could see Mt. Rainier in the distance. It was cool to see the
mountain get closer and closer.

I had planned to loop around Mt. Rainier, but was informed at the
toll booth that a portion of the road in the park was still closed due
to some flooding last year. So I headed up the mountain toward
Paradise looking for a good picture of the mountain. The road is
tight and twisty and had light traffic going in. I could see that many
folks had traveled to the mountain on this clear day; many were going
out past me on their way home. I got to an overlook and got and
awesome picture of Mt. Rainier. That is what I was after; it is
usually cloudy when I go to the mountain. Since I couldn't loop the
mountain I told my GPS I wanted to go home. Along the way I passed by
a couple cool lakes. Off to my right I could get quick views of the
mountain as I sped away from it.

On the way home I noticed that I was getting great mileage
probably around 44 mpg. I kept calculated that I might be able to
stretch the remaining fuel to make it home. I plan to check my valves
this winter so it wouldn't hurt to have an empty tank. I kept going
until I realized I didn't have much room for error. I chickened out
and splashed a half gallon into the tank to get the final 20 miles. I
got home about 7pm.
I really enjoyed this in state ride. I didn't put on uber miles
or cross multiple states, but I did find awesome scenery and neat
locations. Heck I'll even do this route again. I recommend the
Olympic Peninsula and also the must see Mt. Rainier.

Mt. Rainier:
Mt. Rainier pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots

301 Miles
Day 3 route map:
Most NW Ride 07 Day 3 Sunday pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots

Webshots Album of trip (pictures can be made larger by clicking on
"Full Size" in upper right corner of page):
Most NW Ride 07 pictures from motorcycles photos on webshots

97Bird · 11-01-2007, 2:56 PM

Nice report

We sure live in a beautiful state, makes putting up with all the rain worth it!