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1/2 Iron Butt Wahoo!!!
Well, yesterday I kinda got a late start, but I had a urge to ride. I got my gear together and left the driveway at 10am. I didn't have a plan on where I was going to ride to yet. I stopped and fueled up and decided to head south.
So far this year I've put a lot of miles behind me already, but I've ridden a lot of the same routes. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of great choices on where to go for a day ride here in the OR, but I had the urge for something new. I've been toying with the idea of riding to Crater Lake Park for a day ride. It is just over 400 miles RT from my house in Albany. I knew if I wanted to do this ride in a day I would need to spend as many miles on the I-5 slab to get as many miles behind me as I could. So that's what I did. Traffic wasn't too bad for a Saturday. The good thing about the budget crisis here in OR is that the State Police patrols here have been cut way back. I was able the cruise right along at 75-80mph. Made a few stops for gas, stretch breaks, lunch, and made it to Roseburg around 1:30-2:00. Turned off the slab and headed east on Hwy 138. This was a very scenic ride into the Cascade Mtns. following the Umpqua River on the way east. Traffic was fairly light with several turnouts which the slower campers were very willing to use. There were a lot of groups of rafters/kayaker floating the river. I would have liked to have stopped and watch for awhile, but I knew my time was limited.
As I reached the summit the temps dropped about 15-20 degrees. Not bad, but much cooler than the mid-80's while riding up. The roads also really staightened out. Much different type of scenery. The trees changed from firs to mostly smaller, skinnier pines. The ferns, vines, and other ground cover mostly dissapeared. Stopped for fuel at Diamond Lake and took a short ride around part of it. It was now 4pm and I had several hours of ride time just to get home. I decided that next time I would just have to leave earlier, or make it an overnighter.
I not a fan of riding after dark, but I had my clear visor with me and knew I would be on the slab after the sun went down. Now I decided to see how many miles I could get in on this ride. I turned off Hwy 138 onto Hwy 230/62 and headed SW to Medford, OR. This was one of the straightest rodes I have ever ridden on through the mountains here in OR. A constant downhil grade with a few turns here and there for about the first 30 miles. Even with the lack turns the ride was great. The creeks and Rouge river along the way were absolutley beautiful. One creek, Muir creek, I think, had several spots were it wandered through small flat medows which were sometimes up to 100ft below the road. I could just picture the wildlife coming wandering down to the creek in the evenings. Farther down the road meets up with the upper Rouge river.
I stopped a few places to admire this beauty. This whole area is made up from the lava flows when Mt. Mazama erupted and sent lava and ash down the valleys. I stopped at a park where the Rouge rushes through a vary narrow gorge made up of collaped lava tubes. For about a hundred yards the river courses through a channel in the lava that is only about 10feet wide in some spots. In another it flows through small tunnels in the rock. Wish I could have stayed longer, but I needed to get back on the road.
The rest of the way into Medford was nice. The road started to twist and turn a little more as it followed the Rouge on it's way to the Pacific. Finally made it to I-5 around 6-6:30 and had another 200 miles to get home!! I-5 in the southern part of the state is nothing like it is from Portland to Eugene. The southern part winds through and over between the Siskiyou and Umpqua moutain ranges. If you gotta ride the slab, this is where you want to do it. The last 50 miles from Eugene to Albany is virtually straight as an arrow.
Finally pull into the driveway at 10pm. 12 hrs of great riding behind me. After I parked Twisted in the garage, I checked my trip distance on my BC800. 500.1miles!!!!!!!! "Twisted" purred like a kitten every mile of trip. Gas mileage averaged 35 to 40 on the trip. The only thing I can't figure out is, is that my ass never got sore the whole trip!!!! Usually I feel the need to stop before I need to refuel. I didn't change anything in my riding postition or anything else in the way I usually ride. I felt like I could have ridden another 500 if the day was longer.
Overall it was a fabulous day. I plan on making the trip later this season and getting all the way up to Crater Lk. I think I'll pack my tent with me just in case I decided to spend more time enjoying the sights.
So far this year I've put a lot of miles behind me already, but I've ridden a lot of the same routes. Don't get me wrong, I have a lot of great choices on where to go for a day ride here in the OR, but I had the urge for something new. I've been toying with the idea of riding to Crater Lake Park for a day ride. It is just over 400 miles RT from my house in Albany. I knew if I wanted to do this ride in a day I would need to spend as many miles on the I-5 slab to get as many miles behind me as I could. So that's what I did. Traffic wasn't too bad for a Saturday. The good thing about the budget crisis here in OR is that the State Police patrols here have been cut way back. I was able the cruise right along at 75-80mph. Made a few stops for gas, stretch breaks, lunch, and made it to Roseburg around 1:30-2:00. Turned off the slab and headed east on Hwy 138. This was a very scenic ride into the Cascade Mtns. following the Umpqua River on the way east. Traffic was fairly light with several turnouts which the slower campers were very willing to use. There were a lot of groups of rafters/kayaker floating the river. I would have liked to have stopped and watch for awhile, but I knew my time was limited.
As I reached the summit the temps dropped about 15-20 degrees. Not bad, but much cooler than the mid-80's while riding up. The roads also really staightened out. Much different type of scenery. The trees changed from firs to mostly smaller, skinnier pines. The ferns, vines, and other ground cover mostly dissapeared. Stopped for fuel at Diamond Lake and took a short ride around part of it. It was now 4pm and I had several hours of ride time just to get home. I decided that next time I would just have to leave earlier, or make it an overnighter.
I not a fan of riding after dark, but I had my clear visor with me and knew I would be on the slab after the sun went down. Now I decided to see how many miles I could get in on this ride. I turned off Hwy 138 onto Hwy 230/62 and headed SW to Medford, OR. This was one of the straightest rodes I have ever ridden on through the mountains here in OR. A constant downhil grade with a few turns here and there for about the first 30 miles. Even with the lack turns the ride was great. The creeks and Rouge river along the way were absolutley beautiful. One creek, Muir creek, I think, had several spots were it wandered through small flat medows which were sometimes up to 100ft below the road. I could just picture the wildlife coming wandering down to the creek in the evenings. Farther down the road meets up with the upper Rouge river.
I stopped a few places to admire this beauty. This whole area is made up from the lava flows when Mt. Mazama erupted and sent lava and ash down the valleys. I stopped at a park where the Rouge rushes through a vary narrow gorge made up of collaped lava tubes. For about a hundred yards the river courses through a channel in the lava that is only about 10feet wide in some spots. In another it flows through small tunnels in the rock. Wish I could have stayed longer, but I needed to get back on the road.
The rest of the way into Medford was nice. The road started to twist and turn a little more as it followed the Rouge on it's way to the Pacific. Finally made it to I-5 around 6-6:30 and had another 200 miles to get home!! I-5 in the southern part of the state is nothing like it is from Portland to Eugene. The southern part winds through and over between the Siskiyou and Umpqua moutain ranges. If you gotta ride the slab, this is where you want to do it. The last 50 miles from Eugene to Albany is virtually straight as an arrow.
Finally pull into the driveway at 10pm. 12 hrs of great riding behind me. After I parked Twisted in the garage, I checked my trip distance on my BC800. 500.1miles!!!!!!!! "Twisted" purred like a kitten every mile of trip. Gas mileage averaged 35 to 40 on the trip. The only thing I can't figure out is, is that my ass never got sore the whole trip!!!! Usually I feel the need to stop before I need to refuel. I didn't change anything in my riding postition or anything else in the way I usually ride. I felt like I could have ridden another 500 if the day was longer.
Overall it was a fabulous day. I plan on making the trip later this season and getting all the way up to Crater Lk. I think I'll pack my tent with me just in case I decided to spend more time enjoying the sights.
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