Seattle/Vancouver

[specialk_34]

Hey all,

I wanted to see if anyone had any experiences riding/road-tripping in the Seattle/Vancouver area, and could give me any advice? I'm planning on a late summer ride that direction, and would like to see if anyone has any "must see/do" stuff up that way?

Thanks!
Kang

[rybo]

Kang,

I lived in that area for about 6 years and the best advice I can give you is to take rain gear. There is plenty to see and it's really a beautiful area, but the pacific northwest is wet. If you make the whole trip without doing some riding in the rain count yourself lucky.

s

[asp_125]

I grew up in Vancouver and city traffic can be a nighmare, same can be said about Seattle esp the I-5/405 area. If you can get out of town there are some really great rides in the Cascade mtns.

Chukanut (sp?) drive between Bellingham and Mt Vernon is a nice road, hanging on the side of a hill with nothing between you and the water. Hwy 99 in Vanc to Whistler used to be a great technical twisty road, but improvements for the 2010 Olympics has emasculated it.

[elf]

+1 on what RYBO said about the raingear! I've got lots of family and friends in that area. They don't refer to it as the "Pacific NorthWET" for nothing! It's seriously beautiful, though!

When were you thinking about going? There's this in August: http://www.soundrider.com/sbnw/index.htm
They open up the Maryhill Loops Road for that one! (Google it!)

Chuckanut Drive is scenic and fun, but can get crowded with tourist traffic. Also check out the roads around Mist/Vernonia Oregon (NW of Portland - Hwys. 47 and 202). Here's a link (download the video):
http://www.drsardonicus.com/vp-ul-dragon.html

[King Nothing]

The Buchart (sp) Gardens on Victoria Island are pretty nice to look at. It's always fun to take a car (or bike in your case) with CO plates on the ferry to the island. You get some looks for sure.

[pilot]

I second the islands. Plan well ahead as the ferries book up well in advance. Bikes cost extra. You can sleep next to your bike, in your bag on some of the overnight ferries. No handguns in Canada- just in case you have a CC permit.

On rain gear, don't, I repeat, don't go with standard 30-75 dollar rain gear for motorcycling. While it is fine for riding through that occasional rain storm in Colorado (where the humidity is generally low). It is like wearing a vinyl bag in high humidity.

Much better to invest some cash in a light weight rain jacket made by a quality manufacturer. I just spent some time picking out a North Face jacket for MC journeys. It has waterproof zippers and vapor breathable material. Huge pockets as well. $150 but worth it.

[asp_125]

If you're not looking for technical twisties, island hopping the San Juans from Seattle can be fun. You can link it up to the Olympic penninsula (Olympic Natl Park) where there are some lonely roads with lots of curves, and definitely rain. Just don't break down out there, not too many towns in between gas stops.

[Nick_Ninja]

Tofino on the West coast of the island is waaaay cool.

[denverbusa]

I have a Nieces wedding on Sept 1st in Seattle and will be spending the following week exploring Puget Sound with my Daughters. I grew up right between Portland and Seattle in a little logging town (Winlock, Wa). I am looking forward to this trip but alas, no sport riding for me on another trip to the N.W. I didn't ride on the street when I did live there so there are a lot of area's I would love to experience on a bike. I can't wait until I get to go back there with my bike. I even looked into sport bike rentals and was unable to find anything except Harleys or the odd BMW cruiser.

Ditto on the rain gear. If you spend the money it will be nice and dry and the best money you ever spent to not use. If you don't it will rain for the entire week and you'll wish you had better gear. Wasington State Rain Festival is Jan 1st through Dec 31st!

Hope you have a great time, and don't forget to get your fill on the fresh sea food.

[Sheddy1]

You're in for a great trip! I have grown up, and continue to live in Seattle; while it's true raingear is a good call for about 10 months a year on the West side- you're pretty safe August through September.

The East side of the state is near desert (300+ days of sun a year), and actually holds much of the best riding - less traffic, less LEO's and great mountain roads getting to and from.

I made the trip from Seattle to Denver and back in '02 on my first 929RR and actually am heading to Denver this Saturday to pick up another 929 and ride it back. Some of the best riding I had was in CO, but MUST RIDE roads between here and there are:

Sun Valley north over Galena Pass to Stanley ID, then head West to McCaul and up 95 to Lolo Pass and over to Missoula. From Missoula you can go North to Flathead Lake and connect with Hwy 2 at Kalispell and go West into WA - if your pressed for time, Missoula West on I-90 through N. Idaho is a flat out ripper with big 100 mph+ sweepers merging with Hwy 2 in Spokane. From there head to the North Cascades Hwy (Hwy 20) through Wintrop and into Burlington (I-5 about 50 miles south of border).

I won't bore all with myriad other rides, but reach out for me if you are interested...I actually joined this forum to find more about rides around Western CO for the upcoming trip

EHB

[specialk_34]

Thanks for the great tips/advice/routes people- I'm kind of worried about all the talk of rain/wet weather, but having done a trip along Hwy 1 in California a couple years ago, I'm really itching for another trip on the coast. I'm hoping to go sometime in August so we'll see if the weather cooperates and maybe I can get some decent mileage in. I'm thinking about taking a week off and just going as far as I can and seeing where I end up, with the general idea being Seattle/Vancouver, but not necessarily having to make it all the way there. In any case, I'm anxious to get out of town for a bit, and I think this would be exactly what I need to get my mind back in the right place....Thanks again for all the advice!!!

-Kang

[sank]

I lived in seattle for 25 years, and don't worry about the rain if you'll be there end of July through mid September, it just doesn't rain much at all then. If you're in November or March or something, then totally you'll want rain gear, but 3 mos. in the summer it stays very very nice.

North Cascades Highway (SR20) is the best motorcycle road in the state. Also, I agree with the others, to check out the San Juan Islands. The ferries are great for motorcycles. You always load first, no matter how late you were to the ferry dock, and you always get off first, so there are no slow cars in front of you! (but watch for cops, the like to get you a few miles after you get off the ferry).

There is a great book that is available in most of the local MC shops, something like the top 100 roads in Washington. There is also one that is the top roads in BC. Their recommendations are excellent most of the time. Ah, here it is: http://www.destinationhighways.com/

Drive around Mt Rainier or Mt St Helens (that's the volcanic one). Drive out around the Olympic Peninsula, and head to the top of Olympic National Park. Head out to the Hood Canal.

Of course, traffic downtown seattle sucks, I-5 bottlenecks to just two lanes each direction, right downtown seattle. If you know more specifically what areas you'll be going to, I (or the others) can give more specific suggestions.

[rforsythe]

Buy a dual sport and come back via the Trans-America Trail. I think I may have to ride at least some of that in the next year or two. Not sure I can swing the 2-4 weeks it takes to do the whole thing (4000 miles of virtually zero pavement, connecting Tennessee to Washington).