Moto Trip Report: SF to Seattle and back
(the beer and cheese tour of the Pacific Northwest)
This year we decided to do a slightly different family vacation: ride motorcycles up to Seattle and then back. Our daughter was in camp for 2 weeks and would fly up and meet us iin Seattle and ride back with us on my husband’s Buell. I rode my Monster 696.
Route: We went up 101 to Garberville, then cut over to tour the Unknown coast on some very back roads (one of which ended up being quite a bit of dirt - actually MUD, which was a bit sketchy). After Eureka it was up the coast (Hwy 101) through Oregon, around the Olympic Peninsula and a ferry to Seattle. From Seattle, we went a bit east around Mts. Rainier, St. Helens and Hood. Then to Bend and down along the Umpqua River (or as close as we could as a forest fire required us to take some WAY back roads out of our friend’s Inn at Steamboat). Down Hwy 5 (the WORST 2 hours of the whole trip), cut over at Grant’s Pass back to the coast and home.
Day 1: 285 miles. the long way to Eureka. very scenic, though I could have done without the very steep section of mud road (!). We stayed in Eureka and had a lovely time at the Lost Coast Brewery....
Day 1 in Healdsburg:
The Lost Coast:
In Petrolia in the middle of BFE:
Day 2: 325 miles, up the coast ending in Newport, Oregon - home of Rogue brewery!! Lovely coast route today - a bit of dirt road, lots of wind.
Newport OR:
Day 3: 217 miles from Oregon to Washington: we saw grey whales, had cheese in Tilamook, went to an air museum and were treated to beautiful scenery. We stayed at a cousin’s house for the evening, overlooking the sea.
Tilamook air museum - The blimp hanger is the world’s largest wooden structure:
Day 4: 293 miles. We had the best cheese EVER at the Estrella Family Creamery in aberdeen, WA. Toured the Olympic peninsula, had an amazing ferry ride, and stayed the next 3 days with friends on Mercer Island. Our daughter flew into Seattle and would travel the rest of the way with us. Of course Seattle was having a heat wave, which is wonderful in motorcycle clothes...
Lodge at Lake Quinault:
Bikes on ferry:
Seattle:
Return trip, day 1: 303 miles - turning toward home. We ended in Hood River Oregon. Due to slight GPS interpretation malfunction by the ride leader, I was required to make my motorcycle go 175 miles on 3 gallons of gas. Good thing I have the aero thing down.
Mt. St. Helens.
Mt. Hood:
Return trip day 2 162 miles to Bend to stay with friends. We got to see the Road national bike race!
Return trip day 3 was 202 miles: We took the scenic route to see the lakes out of Bend, Crater Lake and then went into the fire zone (literally) for a wonderful stay at the Steamboat Inn on the Umpqua River.
Crater lake:
Steamboat:
Umpqua River:
Return trip day 4 was a long one: 306 miles through the small roads to avoid the forest fire, through the heat and to the ocean - a 45 degree temp difference, (103 to 58). back to Eureka! and almost home.
Last day, 261 miles from Eureka to home!!
Total: 2354 miles
Doing a ride this long on the Monster was actually ok. One of my real goals for the trip was to work on becoming a smoother, better rider, and the long miles bonding with the bike really facilitated that. I learned that my seat bag would probably be enough to get by for even a longer trip, though the unseasonable heat required doing a bit of laundry en route.
I learned a lot in a short time:
• You should bring several baselayers and forget the extra T shirts and after ride clothes,
• Try out every combination of clothes before the trip (pairing old pants with new boots required different baselayers than I actually brought with me. Duh).
• We brought tools, but never used them, but of course I would bring them again.
• Traveling with a kid on a motorcycle is a lot like going on a ski trip with a kid: they complain bitterly about having to put on all the gear but once they’re out there they have a blast.
• It never fails that once you clean your visor you will be hit by a HUGE bug in the next 5 minutes.
• When riding with someone else, it is critical to have the bluetooth headsets unless you are really good at interpreting one armed semaphore. Communication is key and you can’t get the “I’m stopping because ____”; “I need to pee now;” etc. without a headset.
• 2 pairs of gloves (warm and not warm) was a really good idea. It was hot as hell inland but cold and foggy on the coast.
I think I would really like to do a longer moto tour now - I think this would be a GREAT way to explore Europe.
When I returned home and had to drive my car after riding just the motorcycle for over a week and a half, the car felt HUGE even though it is a Honda Fit subcompact!!!
