Our most recent bike trip of note was two weekends ago. We rode around the circumference of the Olympic Peninsula, with a couple side trips.

On Saturday, we took the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston then rode up towards Port Angeles. About 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon, we made our way up to Hurricane Ridge. THAT was a fun road!! Reminiscent of the road to Paradise we rode back in July. The views from Hurricane Ridge are awesome. We saw several deer lingering near the visitor center:



We spent that night at a hotel in Port Angeles. The sunset view of Mt. Baker over the Strait was gorgeous:



Oddly, I stumbled across that rare, beautiful creature again which keeps showing up everywhere I go....



The next day we rode west to Neah Bay which is at the most northwestern point of the Olympic Peninsula. This tip of the peninsula is owned and operated by the Makah Nation. The only road which gets you to Neah Bay is highway 112 which is a VERY curvy road along the coast. Riding our bikes for 20 or 30 miles on this stretch of road absolutely exhausted me, but it was exciting nevertheless. I absolutely recommend it to any biker who has not yet ridden to Neah Bay. If you go, please don't tell the Makah Nation that I did not pay their "Reactional Use Fee" when I stopped at the Marina to go to the bathroom.



After we made our way back to 101 and stopped in Forks to get gas and de-layer (the temperature was considerably warmer away from the coast), we headed south to check out the Pacific Coast (Klaloch Beach, etc.). We stopped occasionally for views like this:




Eventually, we passed Lake Quinault, then found ourselves in Hoquiam and then Aberdeen -- where we stopped for dinner (I think I ate an ostrich burger). Then we retraced a route we have done a handful of times in the past several weeks: Elma, Shelton, then to Bremerton via route 3. We caught an evening ferry back to Seattle. What an absolutely gorgeous way to end a spectacular and exciting weekend trip.

The one Washington State road trip we have not yet done but which I am determined to knock off my list before snow falls: the ride up Windy Ridge on the east side of Mt. St. Helens. Stay tuned....

A couple weeks before our Labor Day trip (described below, in prior post), we took our bikes on a very long one-day trip over the North Cascades Highway and back home to Seattle on US-2 (Stevens). The trip took about 13 hours and we covered about 450 miles. It was the most spectacular trip of my summer, yet I have very little photodocumentation of the day. We were both so enthralled by the scenery that we mostly forgot to dig out Lorinda's camera. We didn't want to take our eyes off the stunning peaks, waterfalls, forests, lakes, and rivers. Here is a view from the Washington Pass viewpoint:



The most beautiful picture of the day, by far, was this stunning creature I captured in the parking lot at a rest area:



As we rode through the Methow Valley we were surrounded by tons of smoke from 3 different forest fires. It was a relief to get out of the valley and to the town of Pateros, where we stopped for a break and laid down in the cool, shady grass next to the river. The day was getting late and we realized we had a long way to go, so we cruised toward Wenatchee and Cashmere then stopped in Leavenworth at dusk to put on additional layers. The ride over Stevens Pass was very chilly and that experience taught me that I needed to buy a second pair of riding gloves (thicker, warmer), some sort of neck warmer (balaclava), and maybe even some warmer boots. I discovered the limits of my gear. This summer, I have ridden in temperatures ranging from about 100 degrees (F) down to about 50 degrees (F). Any more riding in the sub-65 range will require some re-thinking about gear. I bought new gloves and take them with me all the time now, just in case. The Labor Day trip we did along the Oregon Coast a couple weeks after this trip went well because I was prepared with warmer clothing.

Anyway, we made it back home about midnight and we were completely exhausted, but exhilarated, by our day trip. I was mostly happy that I completed this loop without crashing a motorcycle this time. I corner much more cautiously now than I did a few months ago.

Lorinda and I have been on several great motorcycle trips in the past 4 or 5 weeks and I've not blogged about any of them yet. Mostly this is because I don't own a digital camera and I can't just download pics instantly and start blogging; instead, I have to wait for her to get around to downloading them and then email them to me.

Let me see if I can briefly summarize the fun road trips we've done since Labor Day:

On the Saturday of Labor Day weekend we rode down to McMinnville, Oregon in the blistering heat. It was about 95 degrees in McMinnville where we stopped to watch Lorinda's friend Tom Varley sing and play with his band at the Oregon Vinter's Festival on the grounds of the Evergreen Aviation Museum. Apparently there is an SR71 Blackbird and some other famous winged contraptions (including "The Spruce Goose"?) in that museum, but we didn't even go inside. We wandered around outside, sampled some food, and listened to the music. Then we hit the road again in the late afternoon.

We rode towards the Oregon coast. The temperature dropped about 50 degrees very quickly and we had to pull over and add layers:



We rode to a town called Neskowin, just north of Lincoln City on the Oregon coast. Lorinda's friend Natalia was staying there at a friend's beach house for the weekend, so we spent the night with them and had a lovely time sharing dinner, laughs, and a few drinks with these fine people. We also enjoyed a refreshing walk along the beach in the near total darkness, with the sound of the large waves crashing into Proposal Rock.

The next morning (Sunday) we rode northward along Highway 101. The fog made for an interesting ride along the twisty highway. We stopped frequently at state parks for rest and pictures, but continued north with the Tillamook Cheese Factory as a primary destination for the day. My favorite little town we stopped in was Oceanside, Oregon:



Oceanside is a tiny town of a couple hundred people set up on the steep cliffs above a beautiful beach, west of the town of Tillamook. I'd like to go back to Oceanside. We met a fellow there (riding a very cool Suzuki V-Strom) who told us he'd relocated to the area after having lived in Portland for years. Now he telecommutes. He's a software developer. Hmmm... You can do that? Stay tuned.

The Tillamook cheese factory was a major disappointment because the factory floor is shut down during the weekends. The only thing we did at the factory was wait in line for 30 minutes to get a scoop of ice cream. The place was a total zoo; it reminded me of Disneyland. Not someplace I'd ever go back to, unless I suddenly decide I really like small touristy areas with large numbers of loud, bratty children.




We continued northward, passing through Cannon Beach, Seaside, etc., then crossed the Columbia River at the enormously long Astoria Bridge. That was fun! Then we rode up the Washington Coast for awhile, turned inland, and eventually stopped in a little town called South Bend which is near Raymond, not far from Aberdeen on Highway 101. We checked into a little roadside motel, found some food, and watched fireworks over the bay which apparently is an annual Labor Day event in this small town.

On Monday we continued north and east and stopped between Elma and Shelton where Lorinda's friends The Rowlands live. We visited for a bit, then rode towards Bremerton and caught a ferry back to Seattle.

All in all, it was a really great trip with lots of great views, fun, twisty roads, and good memories.