So TG and I are taking two weeks starting today to go ride our motorcycles to Canada.
Connectivity will obviously be low - I'm not taking a laptop, because she flatly said she'd shoot me and bury the body in an unmarked grave alongside the road the first time I booted it up - but enjoyment ought to be proportionally high.
We're doing this trip in the "where do we feel like going today?" style, so we're not completely sure where we'll go or exactly when we'll get there. There are a few folks we'll make sure to see if we can...
So if you've got any suggestions for roads to ride, things to see, or - most of all - places to eat along the small roads between Los Angeles and Vancouver, this is the place to post them. I'll peek at the site from time to time on my Treo when she's not watching.
If you see two riders with bright yellow Aerostiches on an orange KTM and a black Kawasaki, wave as we go by...
And, as always, please try not to kill each other or blow anything up while we're away. See you all on the 18th.
OK. I'm expectedly jealous. Very jealous.
But hope you have a ball (no pun intended).
I have not been to the Northwest area, but my dad has - quite a few times. He has told me more than once that I-5 into Canada from Oregon and Washington is the prettiest rode (Interstate wise) that he's ever been on. And he's been on a lot of them.
Good luck.
I-5 up past Redding is gorgeous -- even more so coming the other way. That whole area around northern CA and southern OR is just awe-inspiring.
Must do Sonoma. Great restaurants there. The coastal route is good too! Also driving the Sierras ain't so bad. Actually, I don't think there is any way you can screw this up. If you get on your bikes and ride north, you're going to have a blast.
Gee, food in Seattle, that's a toughie. What cuisine?
LoLo Pass is my idea of motorcycle heaven, US12 Lewis & Clark Trail between Clarkston/Lewiston on the Snake on to Missoula MT. Pass winds along the K? river, many extremely tall wavy pines. Seems like a forever set of sweeping turns with little traffic - do watch for logging trucks.
Pack a lunch, it's about 200mi and used to have a sign warning no gas for 150mi.
Of course you might not want to wander that far in from the coast. But it would bring you in near the south end of Glacier NP and the famous Going to the Sun road.
I do miss my biking days.
If you make it to Marin on the way up or back, I suggest visits to:
Wild Flour Bread in Freestone and Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station.
Combine purchases in the presence of fresh air and a good view of the Pacific.
If you can, you might want to check out Mount Lassen and/or Burney Falls ... I find both rather remarkable. The former is a still-active volcano that last erupted in 1915, with an amazing sideways blow-out -- and the smowpack sometimes lasts through Fall. The latter is a double watherfall that splashes into a heart-shaped basin and was dived into (multiple takes, leading to hypothermia requiring a run to the hospital) by Buster Crabbe in the early Tarzan silent film days.
If our paths cross in the wine country I can extol you with tales about both. :) .
And if I read it right, Burney Falls now has WiFi. :) ;D
+1 on the Mt. Lassen recommend. There's a trail to the top that's about a 2000 foot climb. Nothing technical, just a grind up through subalpine terrain, but you're rewarded with a stunning view of the surrounding territory, including Mt. Shasta in the distance. Allow a half day.
Also check out 'Bumpass H*ll' in the same park; hot springs and mud pots that look like a little piece of Yellowstone.
In '03 I rode the Alkan highway. In June. Not September. We went through Banff park in Alberta on the way up. It snowed. So, if you venture into the wilds expect some bad weather.
My goal was to ride up the 'haul road' from Fairbanks, AK to Prudhoe bay but we only made it to Fairbanks. Nine days from Austin, TX. But made it back in six.
Anyhow, Whitehorse, Yukon is great as was every other place we visited. It is just good to put some new road behind you, expand the horizons. Watch out of "frost heaves". And, oh yes, the occasional bull moose....they OWN the road, never forget. Then there are the bears...and the wolves. They own the rest of the terrain.
I wanted to go again this year but ended up two weeks ago settling for a ride over some Colorado mountain passes. Cottonwood pass. 12,125 feet. That was the highest. Not far from Mt. Elbert.
Have a great time and bring us some anecdotal news about how the Canadians like their new conservative PM, Stephen Harper. Also, don't forget to tell them thanks for their support in the Afghan theatre of operations.
Methinks it's time for a followup. ROAD TRIP REPOOOORRRT!!! ;)