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PNW 2003 After rally rides!
The attack on Mt. St. Helens
The last ride I have to write-up is really two rides. I liked it so much the first time I went back and did it again the next day!
Jeremy Sells and I left Portland in perfect weather. Jeremy lives on a local twisty motorcycle road (Skyline BLVD.) and wasted no time allowing me to get my tires warmed up. Lets see, 5 minutes into the ride and I am already scraping my boots on the road……Hmmm this is going to be a great day!
We proceeded out of Portland and drove up the Columbia River gorge; this had some nice sweepers with a great view all around. We were on the Lewis and Clark Hwy and it is designated as a national scenic highway.
But from here the riding only got better……we stopped in Carson for gas, since Jeremy was on a special this was a one way trip, the next stop was 117 miles away in Randle. We also had breakfast in a local diner there and they piled the food so high I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to get up to leave, best of all they had 4 kinds of hot sauce!!
Anyway we saddled up and rode up the mostly straight Wind River Road , this would be the last straight piece of road I would see for the next 100+ miles. Once we turned of this road, Jeremy stopped and looked over at me and said “You’re gonna love this” and blasted off onto a nice twisty road through the Gilford Pinchot National Forest. Mile after mile after mile of 15, 20 and 30 MPH signed corners greeted us as we wound our way towards the turn off for Windy Ridge.
The only thing that slowed us down was a group of 3 Goldwings, 2 were 1800’s and one 1500. These guys were SLOW, I mean 1st gear slow! I thought my bike was going to fall over, I was going so slow. As I watched these guys wobble trough the corners, all I could think of was a Weeble wobbling…..I just hoped they didn’t fall down.
Once a long enough ‘straight’ section presented itself we dispatched the Weeble Wings with ease and proceeded on our way. The views of Mount St. Helens on this section of road were grand, even though the ol’ girl was still 40 or 50 miles away.
Close-up still 40 miles away!
Once we made the turn up Windy Ridge road (FS99) the pavement was all brand new and the road really got twisty. This was an up hill charge with out equal, the views were amazing! This road winds up the back side and is right in the blast zone, thousands of trees still lay down like match sticks, while others stand with all the branches burned off, it’s hard to believe this volcano erupted 23 years ago and not last week.
About the only traffic we encountered were a couple of Ducati’s that were racing on the way down. Every turn provided a view of several different mountains visible on the horizon. Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, and Mt, Rainer were all visible (as well as Mt. St. Helens).
This road is probably the most fun road I have ever been on. I have been on Deal’s Gap, The Blue Ridge Highway and the Cabot Trail, so that is saying something. None provided the speed, views, and fun this one did.
Nice twisties!
Once we got to the top we took a short hike to the very top viewing platform for some spectacular views into the crater. If we really wanted a hike you can actually hike up and stand on the rim and look down into the crater. Jeremy has done it before so I have to take his word for it.
Close-up of crater.
This place still looks like the surface of the moon in places, it is awesome!
Oh well time to blast back down the mountain (Darn!) and head to Randle for some lunch. Fast bikes, great roads, great weather and great company, it just doesn’t get any better than this!!
Since Jeremy had to work later that night he took off for Portland and I decided to try going up the front side of Mt. St. Helens. This is the main road that most people go up since it connects to the Interstate. It had a moderate amount of traffic, and all the corners were nice high speed sweepers, too bad everything was posted at 45 and later 35 MPH. I was still is fun ride if you just ignored the cars and rode at brisk pace, but defiantly a letdown compared to the back side. This side does have a visitor’s center if you want to learn more about the eruption and what has happened since.
Veiw from the other side.
As I drove away, I couldn’t help but think that building a visitors center right in the blast zone does not seem too smart.
I was on my own for the first time since I got here and needed a computer to download all my photos…..too bad I left the cable at Denny’s! So after I left, I headed up to Olympia to retrieve it. Once there, Denny and Glenna invited me to stay another night and help them eat up the chili, chicken, hamburger, beer etc. left over from the party. This seemed like a good idea since I had almost 400 miles on the Bandit at this point.
The next morning (my last full day in WA) I decided to go back and ride these roads again, I figured that since I had rode some of them only one way, and I knew they were good, it was better to go out on a high then drive around all day looking for good roads to ride. To my delight Denny decided to go with me and check out this section of roads since he had not been on them yet.
Denny's XS
To make a long story short we had a blast! We rode over 300 miles but 147 was non-stop twisties! Denny let me lead and I hit the road a little harder than the day before since I was not taking pictures or worried about the stunning views. I told Denny to just pass me if I wasn’t going fast enough, but he told me I was going fast enough that he wasn’t falling asleep……..here is a picture of Denny checking out the scrapes on his engine guards and collector……luckily he didn’t fall asleep!
After we stopped for gas and a rest break, Denny said “If a motorcycle won’t do that, I am just not interested in it.” Funny, I was thinking the same thing. The perfect end to a perfect trip. I’ll say it again………It just don’t get any better than this!
The last ride I have to write-up is really two rides. I liked it so much the first time I went back and did it again the next day!
Jeremy Sells and I left Portland in perfect weather. Jeremy lives on a local twisty motorcycle road (Skyline BLVD.) and wasted no time allowing me to get my tires warmed up. Lets see, 5 minutes into the ride and I am already scraping my boots on the road……Hmmm this is going to be a great day!
We proceeded out of Portland and drove up the Columbia River gorge; this had some nice sweepers with a great view all around. We were on the Lewis and Clark Hwy and it is designated as a national scenic highway.
But from here the riding only got better……we stopped in Carson for gas, since Jeremy was on a special this was a one way trip, the next stop was 117 miles away in Randle. We also had breakfast in a local diner there and they piled the food so high I wasn’t sure we were going to be able to get up to leave, best of all they had 4 kinds of hot sauce!!
Anyway we saddled up and rode up the mostly straight Wind River Road , this would be the last straight piece of road I would see for the next 100+ miles. Once we turned of this road, Jeremy stopped and looked over at me and said “You’re gonna love this” and blasted off onto a nice twisty road through the Gilford Pinchot National Forest. Mile after mile after mile of 15, 20 and 30 MPH signed corners greeted us as we wound our way towards the turn off for Windy Ridge.
The only thing that slowed us down was a group of 3 Goldwings, 2 were 1800’s and one 1500. These guys were SLOW, I mean 1st gear slow! I thought my bike was going to fall over, I was going so slow. As I watched these guys wobble trough the corners, all I could think of was a Weeble wobbling…..I just hoped they didn’t fall down.
Once a long enough ‘straight’ section presented itself we dispatched the Weeble Wings with ease and proceeded on our way. The views of Mount St. Helens on this section of road were grand, even though the ol’ girl was still 40 or 50 miles away.
Close-up still 40 miles away!
Once we made the turn up Windy Ridge road (FS99) the pavement was all brand new and the road really got twisty. This was an up hill charge with out equal, the views were amazing! This road winds up the back side and is right in the blast zone, thousands of trees still lay down like match sticks, while others stand with all the branches burned off, it’s hard to believe this volcano erupted 23 years ago and not last week.
About the only traffic we encountered were a couple of Ducati’s that were racing on the way down. Every turn provided a view of several different mountains visible on the horizon. Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, and Mt, Rainer were all visible (as well as Mt. St. Helens).
This road is probably the most fun road I have ever been on. I have been on Deal’s Gap, The Blue Ridge Highway and the Cabot Trail, so that is saying something. None provided the speed, views, and fun this one did.
Nice twisties!
Once we got to the top we took a short hike to the very top viewing platform for some spectacular views into the crater. If we really wanted a hike you can actually hike up and stand on the rim and look down into the crater. Jeremy has done it before so I have to take his word for it.
Close-up of crater.
This place still looks like the surface of the moon in places, it is awesome!
Oh well time to blast back down the mountain (Darn!) and head to Randle for some lunch. Fast bikes, great roads, great weather and great company, it just doesn’t get any better than this!!
Since Jeremy had to work later that night he took off for Portland and I decided to try going up the front side of Mt. St. Helens. This is the main road that most people go up since it connects to the Interstate. It had a moderate amount of traffic, and all the corners were nice high speed sweepers, too bad everything was posted at 45 and later 35 MPH. I was still is fun ride if you just ignored the cars and rode at brisk pace, but defiantly a letdown compared to the back side. This side does have a visitor’s center if you want to learn more about the eruption and what has happened since.
Veiw from the other side.
As I drove away, I couldn’t help but think that building a visitors center right in the blast zone does not seem too smart.
I was on my own for the first time since I got here and needed a computer to download all my photos…..too bad I left the cable at Denny’s! So after I left, I headed up to Olympia to retrieve it. Once there, Denny and Glenna invited me to stay another night and help them eat up the chili, chicken, hamburger, beer etc. left over from the party. This seemed like a good idea since I had almost 400 miles on the Bandit at this point.
The next morning (my last full day in WA) I decided to go back and ride these roads again, I figured that since I had rode some of them only one way, and I knew they were good, it was better to go out on a high then drive around all day looking for good roads to ride. To my delight Denny decided to go with me and check out this section of roads since he had not been on them yet.
Denny's XS
To make a long story short we had a blast! We rode over 300 miles but 147 was non-stop twisties! Denny let me lead and I hit the road a little harder than the day before since I was not taking pictures or worried about the stunning views. I told Denny to just pass me if I wasn’t going fast enough, but he told me I was going fast enough that he wasn’t falling asleep……..here is a picture of Denny checking out the scrapes on his engine guards and collector……luckily he didn’t fall asleep!
After we stopped for gas and a rest break, Denny said “If a motorcycle won’t do that, I am just not interested in it.” Funny, I was thinking the same thing. The perfect end to a perfect trip. I’ll say it again………It just don’t get any better than this!
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