Oregon or Bust 2 ride report

Monica A

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So we did it. 4 days, 1411 miles. It was exhausting, but we had a blast! Found some good roads. Unfortunately, it seems like in Oregon you have to pay a penance of long boring roads to get to the good roads, but it is worth it when you get there.

Here goes...

We left Reno Thursday morning. Clear blue skies and cool temps. We headed North on 395 to Susanville. We saw 3 CHP and 1 Susanville police in and around Susanville. Not another cop until we were almost to Oregon border on I-5. At Susanville we diverted to ride past Eagle Lake (Highway 139. It was depressing low on water. This a fun road with little traffic. At one point you get the most glorious view of Mt. Shasta. If you've never seen it, it worth the trip up there. My hubby and son hiked to the top for our sons Senior graduation trip. Our daughter and I went to West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada (largest mall in North America) - we might have "hiked" (5 days of shopping) more total miles on our trip, but they definitely had more of an elevation climb. Anyway...

We were going to ride through Lava Beds National Monument for the scenic views, but the road was closed for construction, so we looked at GPS on my phone and decided to take a random road to Medicine Lake and ended up on Highway 89 just East of Shasta City. We had lunch there at a cute little coffee shop with yummy sandwiches and homemade gigantic cookies. While waiting for our lunch, I decided to take off my boots because my feet were hot. While removing my left boot, the heel portion of the boot came lose from the sole. Great! Luckily, it didn't come all the way off. Rich (AKA-MacGyver) said we would stop somewhere to get shoe-goo and he would fix it. OK, off we go North on I-5 to Medford. I've driven I-5 South to LA a million tons. Boring, dry grass, and straight. I've driven this part a few times and I forgot how twisty it was. The flow of traffic is 75-80 mph+++ We stayed with the flow to not attract attention, but it was still fun especially when you get into Oregon. There are a couple of huge passes with 5-6% downgrades on the other side. Yippeee!!!!!!!!!!! This is when I love my big 1050cc triple. We made it to Medford (where it was pretty hot), walked next door to the Fred Meyers and got the shoe-goo. Rich put it on before we walked to dinner and it was good to go by morning. 375 Miles for the day



In the morning we were heading to Eugene, but not up I-5. We headed up Highway 62 to Crater Lake. It is an amazing color of blue. It is so blue and bright it almost hurts your eyes. We got a couple sandwiches at the café and rode around the lake until we found a good spot to sit and eat and look at the lake. It was so peaceful.

We then headed out of the park towards Bend, OR. We took highway 38 to highway 97. We rode 97 last year on our way to Canada. Long, boring, heavy traffic, and many deer just waiting to jump out in front of a moving object. We jumped off at La Pine (Highway 46) and took the scenic route around Three Sisters and Mt. Bachelor before ending up in Bend. At Bend we got on Highway 20 West, then took highway 242 over Mackenzie Pass. More beautiful views of The Three Sisters, Mt. Hood, and a few other peaks. Minimal traffic and some fun twisties. The only close call we had on the trip was on the highway leading into Eugene. We were getting tired and ready to be done. Rich and I were on the intercoms discussing if we wanted to stop for a break or if we just wanted to keep riding on to get to our hotel. All of a sudden Rich said "he's turning left". We are riding staggered with him in the lead. I didn't register what he meant right away. He slowed way down and I ended up shooting just past him on his right. I stopped pretty quickly after that (Thank God for ABS). All of a sudden the car right in front of us swerved to the left into oncoming traffic. The car in front of it had it's left turn indicator on but didn't turn (luckily). The car in front of us was tailgating and didn't see the car in front of him was slowing to turn left. Luckily there wasn't a car coming at us at that point. The car turned left and we proceeded down the road. We ended up next the car a few miles down the road a stoplight. Two young men that almost didn't see another day. It would have been a rear-end at 60+ MPH if he had waited another second to react or a head-on at 60+ MPH if a car was coming at us. I still don't know how he didn't roll the car. We probably would have been involved in some way. At least we would have had flying debris coming at us if not ended up involved in the collision. Someone was looking out for us for sure. We somehow ended up in Eugene. Our hotel was a block from Oregon University (Ducks) and we had a Dutch Bros. coffee place in the parking lot. Yippee!! I'm in heaven. We walked to dinner and has some really good beer. Too much to remember what it was so I appreciated the coffee in the morning. We did a total of 345 this day.

Next, we headed South on I-5. We saw a Oregon trooper just north of Grants Pass. It was the only one we saw in Oregon Lucky us. This time we jumped off a few times and took the old highway (99) through some scenic areas and got away from the trucks for a bit. We headed west on Highway 96 outside Yreka, CA. We cut over to Highway 3 at Scott Bar. Scott Bar is on a goat road, but there was little traffic. This was the hottest day we had on the trip. Broke out the cooling vests but we were still over heating. These roads are a bit slower paced so the bikes were getting hot too. We found a beach access area with a paved parking area. We pulled over, changed into our swimsuits and took a dip in the river. It was refreshing and I was ready to get back on the bike. The bikes cooled down a bit too. We put our gear on over our swimsuits and headed on down the road. We saw 2 CHP outside of Weaverville about a half-mile apart. Luckily, Rich's radar saw them before we did and we slowed down. We were lucky to find a room for the night. We had a great steak dinner just up the road from our hotel. It was an old fashion hotel and we were able to park the bikes right in front of our room. It was great! I didn't have to shlep my saddle bags a long way to the room. We rode a total of 415 miles this day.

In the morning, we stopped at Starbucks in town to get some coffee and a pastry. Two CHP officers were sitting outside having coffee & pastries too. We chatted a bit with them. My hubby says "we are heading down highway 3 to highway 36 to head home". I was thinking to myself. Shut up. Don't tell them the way were are going, they might radio ahead to be on the lookout for us. But they were really nice guys. One is coming to Reno in a few weeks and wanted a good steakhouse recommendation, so I told him our favorite place. They wished us a safe trip and we were off. highway 3 from Weaverville is a fun road. It want to do that one again soon. Highway 36 never disappoints either. Of course the coffee hit my bladder during this part. The rollercoaster part (as I call it). Lots of ups and downs. Fun road, but not when you have to pee. No place for a lady to take care of business so I sucked it up and kept on riding. We got gas in Red Bluff before heading East on Highway 36 to Lake Almanor. We had lunch at Carol's in Prattville (on Lake Almanor) Great homemade salad dressings. We took Highway 70 to Highway 395 home. We rode a total of 276 miles this day.

It seemed like a whirlwind trip. I guess it was, but nothing beats being in the wind even if it's just a short trip. I wish it was a longer trip, but I guess my trip to England and Scotland in April was my big fun trip for the year. Last night Rich said I did a good job riding and keeping up with him. I'm in my fourth season of riding and getting pretty confident but I still respect the dangers that are very apparent in this hobby of mine.
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VEGASRIDER

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Great trip report Monica. I'm glad you had a chance to ride through the Mckenziie Pass in Central Oregon, those lava flows are amazing. Lol on having to pee. Remember it's important that your comfortable so can focus on your ride and not your bladder. I rode up to Virginia City this Sunday, the road reminded me of The Old Spiral Highway in Northern Idaho. What a tourist trap. I had a great lunch up there.
 

Monica A

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Great trip report Monica. I'm glad you had a chance to ride through the Mckenziie Pass in Central Oregon, those lava flows are amazing. Lol on having to pee. Remember it's important that your comfortable so can focus on your ride and not your bladder. I rode up to Virginia City this Sunday, the road reminded me of The Old Spiral Highway in Northern Idaho. What a tourist trap. I had a great lunch up there.

Did you try Virginia City Jerky Co? Sometimes Rich & I will just gear up and ride up there for lunch on the weekend. lol The road is fun, but be careful. Lots of m/c accidents.

I'm a teacher. I'm use to "holding it" for hours. We never get a break. I think twice in 10 years I called the office for an "emergency" potty break. It isn't like I can tell my 2nd graders to entertain themselves while I go down the hall. lol Besides, it's not like I'm going to go behind a tree and take care of business like you guys can. On my Memorial Day ride with SSA, the guys kept stopping to pee. I kept going. Of course they always caught up to me and I knew the route so I wasn't afraid I'd miss a turn.

We really did enjoy the views on Mackenzie Pass. The lava flows were incredible. The peaks were too. Light traffic was a bonus too. We didn't see to many other bikes which I was surprised about. It was a Friday so maybe that is why. We definitely want to go back and do some more exploring.
 

VEGASRIDER

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2nd grade teacher huh? I would be afraid that I would pee in front of the class if I really needed to go. I saw the jerky store but I didn't go in, I love spicy jerky, maybe next time. Crazy, they closed the freeway to California due to snow, in July?
 

Monica A

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I've seen snow all 12 months of the year up here. lol

The VC Jerky Co has jerky but they have the best smoked meat sandwiches around. The owner rides a Ducati up there most days. He's a cool guy. The Tri-Tip sandwich is our favorite. The bread is super soft but doesn't get soggy. You have to try it.

Message Rich on the SSA site if you want to go to Bike Night tomorrow. I'm not sure if we are going yet. Not looking good. Rich might have to work in Sacramento tomorrow.
 

Red Wazp

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Nice report, thanks! Have you ever ridden Titlow Hill rd. between 299 and Mad River on 36? Bit of a goat trail but great views up on the ridge between the two Highways. Allow at least 2 hours to go 54 miles. I was up there and other tasty roads on the coast last weekend. Always nice to cool off at the ocean.
 

Monica A

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Nice report, thanks! Have you ever ridden Titlow Hill rd. between 299 and Mad River on 36? Bit of a goat trail but great views up on the ridge between the two Highways. Allow at least 2 hours to go 54 miles. I was up there and other tasty roads on the coast last weekend. Always nice to cool off at the ocean.

No we haven't ridden Titlow Hill rd. I went highway 3 between 299 & 36. We will have to try that one next time. Thanks for the tip. Always love hearing about new roads to try.
 

Monica A

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Nice report, thanks! Have you ever ridden Titlow Hill rd. between 299 and Mad River on 36? Bit of a goat trail but great views up on the ridge between the two Highways. Allow at least 2 hours to go 54 miles. I was up there and other tasty roads on the coast last weekend. Always nice to cool off at the ocean.

I just checked it out on Google Maps. Looks like fun! Looks like it comes in by Mad River on Highway 36, right?
 
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