Motorcycle Trip On The Pacific Coast Highway In May

[JJPage]

You have to come up to Washington to get to the rain forrest

Don't you mean "Restricted" Forrest? No logging/livelihood, no ATV's/motorcycles, no campfires including charcoal bbq's, soon to be "no hunting". Only nature lover hikers with bandana,backpack, and ipod bud in the ear allowed!

 

[Ram4Sam]

Don't you mean "Restricted" Forrest? No logging/livelihood, no ATV's/motorcycles, no campfires including charcoal bbq's, soon to be "no hunting". Only nature lover hikers with bandana,backpack, and ipod bud in the ear allowed!

Shoot, you don't have to go clear to Washington for all that..... you can get that here in Kalifornia!

Sam

 

[Mark31]

I did the Three Flags Classic (Tijuana to Vancouver) over Labor Day weekend in '79 on a Gold Wing. 8000 miles in 2 weeks 5 days. It rained like a cow peeing on a flat rock in Seattle. I'd love to go do it again, but no Wing, no cash! Mark

 

[HBarlow]

I did the Three Flags Classic (Tijuana to Vancouver) over Labor Day weekend in '79 on a Gold Wing. 8000 miles in 2 weeks 5 days. It rained like a cow peeing on a flat rock in Seattle. I'd love to go do it again, but no Wing, no cash! Mark

Mark,

That trip didn't leave much time for seeing the sites. Did you ride the PCH or I-5?

 

[NIsaacs]

I did the Three Flags Classic (Tijuana to Vancouver) I'd love to go do it again, but no Wing, no cash! Mark

Harvey, do you have a side car Mark could ride in?



Nick

 

[HBarlow]

Harvey, do you have a side car Mark could ride in?

Nick

How about if I just tell him about the ride when I get home?

I've actually had a couple of well-intentioned friends suggest I should buy a side car for my female GSD companions to ride with me. I wouldn't want to ride a motorcycle with side car or tricycle wheels. When I get too old and feeble to hold a Goldwing up when stopped I'll sell the GW. Three wheels would take all the fun out of it.

 

[BoeingDiesel]

Mr. Barlow, if you decide to make the trip and have the time, shoot me a PM and I'll jump in the Decathlon and meet you wherever... not as though I have a lot on my plate these days. Someone mentioned Astoria Oregon; there used to be (maybe still is) a great little restaurant near the wharf and if memory serves the name was Arlees... killer omelets.

gregg

 

[HBarlow]

I appreciate the offer but I may not ride the OR and WA coast and I'm not sure you want to travel that far south.

After reading all the suggestions and reports posted here I'm going to wait until mid-May to leave home. TDR member Dick Trombley will be coming by on his way back home to VT after May Madness. He'll be hauling his Hardley in his fifthwheel toy box. He'll set his trailer up out back by my barn and we'll ride down through the central Texas Hill Country to Leakey and spend a couple of days riding "The Three Sisters. " After we return home and Dick leaves for VT I'll load up and head west. Dick was my New England tour guide last May when I rode to the northeast so I owe him some good motorcycle riding in TX.

I haven't made a travel plan yet but some of the posts here and on the Goldwing forum where another member asked the same question suggested riding from north to south on the PCH because obviously the scenery is on the west side of the highway as are the turnouts. I think I'll pass through NV on my way west and start at the north end of KA and ride south on the PCH in KA only.

My plans may change again later but for now that seems best. I appreciate all the helpful information and advice I received.

 

[Mark31]

Harvey, Kawasakis (John Deere mower engine and string trimmer) and Husqvarna chain saws have been dealing harshly with me this week and interfering with my TDR time. The 3 Flags in'79 ran 101 up to San Jose, then swung inland thru Weed and Madras and Seattle on to Vancouver. One extra ordinary memory from the ride came late Sunday night at a check point at an old baseball field with a covered area around the infield. Fog thicker than duck soup suddenly rolled in (I don't do fog) and I asked directions to a motel. One of the men said he was going to be up all night checking people in, so I could use his sleeping bag, which was laid out with his family--wife and two kids. He told me about daylight his (10ish) daughter would wake up and call him and just tell her he said I could sleep in his bag and that everything was alright. It happened just like he said and when I told her she very calmly said "Oh", and went back to sleep. Nick, if you see me in a sidecar of any description hooked to any brand of bike with any driver, I am either dead or somebody has drugged the snot out of me and put a straight jacket on me. Please call the police. Mark

 

[RAton]

Hey RAton,

Is Qualman Oyster Farm still in Coos Bay? Had the best oysters of my life from them. Ate them on the coast with beers while watching the whales migrate.

Yes dresslered, Qualman is still in business. The Mill Casino's seafood buffet had Oysters cooked in several different ways all delicious.

 

[TJJEEPER]

For the California section it's going to really depend on the inland weather. When it's hot it pulls the marine layer in (reads fog). May shouldn't be too bad yet. The problem is you never know. It can be in the 80's or as low as the 50s. Also you're going to go through San Francisco surface streets for a few miles. Not too bad but it is city traffic. I'm my experience I've roasted in some sections and damn near froze in others. Especially south of Tilamook Or. The highway goes inland and the temp jumped about 20 degrees until you get back on the coast. Just bring lots of clothes

 

[seafish]

For the California section it's going to really depend on the inland weather. When it's hot it pulls the marine layer in (reads fog). May shouldn't be too bad yet. The problem is you never know. It can be in the 80's or as low as the 50s. Also you're going to go through San Francisco surface streets for a few miles. Not too bad but it is city traffic. I'm my experience I've roasted in some sections and damn near froze in others. Especially south of Tilamook Or. The highway goes inland and the temp jumped about 20 degrees until you get back on the coast. Just bring lots of clothes

Exactly right!!!
Last few days were gorgeous, temps in the mid 70's here on the North Coast, but 90's inland, so today, and likely tomorrow, it is on the high 50's and the FOG is here to stay for awhile!!

 

[HBarlow]

As mentioned in an earlier post, the time I'll have available will limit me to the CA portion of the PCH this trip. The plan that is shaping now is to ride to LV, north through Reno and on to Susanville following US-395, then CA-44 west to Redding, then CA-299 to Eureka where I'll turn south to Leggett and join the PCH.

Does that route I've mentioned make sense to those of you who live in CA and travel that area? Will lingering snow in mid to late May be a potential concern in some of the higher elevations crossing west from Susanville to Eureka?

Any better route suggestions?

 

[TJJEEPER]

One of THE BEST roads for a motorcycle is HWY 36 from Red Bluff to Fortuna (I believe that's where it meets 101). Not a lot of traffic or anything else for that matter. Unless things change dramatically, snow will not be an issue. 299 is a fairly busy road with a lot of trucks. Once you hit 101 the ride is very nice. You'll know what your coastal weather will be like on the Leggett leg to the coast.

 

[HBarlow]

Greg,

After reading your suggestion I consulted a map. Looks like I could follow CA-36 from Susanville to Fortuna then south on 101 to Leggett. Maybe I'll follow that route since you recommended it.

 

[dresslered]

Yes dresslered, Qualman is still in business. The Mill Casino's seafood buffet had Oysters cooked in several different ways all delicious.

Time for another road trip! Just had an "Oyster Po' Boy" in Boston (Salem--Lobster Shanty) that was out of this world!!! What is it about these bivalve molluscs that drives me wild?

 

[TJJEEPER]

Greg,

After reading your suggestion I consulted a map. Looks like I could follow CA-36 from Susanville to Fortuna then south on 101 to Leggett. Maybe I'll follow that route since you recommended it.

That'll work fine. Make sure you fuel up in Red Bluff. Both yourself and your bike. Like I said there isn't much after Red Bluff until you get to the coast.

 

[HBarlow]

Greg,

Okay, thanks. That's the route I'll follow.

Do you have any recommendations for lodging for one or two nights along the route? I'll be traveling by myself and I always travel cheap if possible. I just need a bed and a shower, don't need fancy.

 

[TJJEEPER]

Greg,

Okay, thanks. That's the route I'll follow.

Do you have any recommendations for lodging for one or two nights along the route? I'll be traveling by myself and I always travel cheap if possible. I just need a bed and a shower, don't need fancy.

Not off hand. I've stayed in Eureka at the Best Western which happens to be about 2 blocks from the Lost coast Brewery. Typical Best Western (Humboldt Bay Lodge). When my folks were still alive I'd stay with them the first night in Paradise Ca and ride from there north. When I lived in the bay area Eureka was an easy days ride. I have camped in several places. Russian Gulch just south of Fort Bragg and in Bodega Bay at each of the State Parks, Wright's Beach and Bodega Dunes but that is camping and not real smart on the coast due to the moisture. There should be plenty of options since it'll be May and the summer travelers aren't on the road yet. Not sure any will be in the inexpensive class though. Cheap yes, inexpensive, no.

 

[HBarlow]

I appreciate all the helpful information and advice but have decided on a little longer and more interesting trip than the PCH.

My new plan is to leave next Tuesday, 6/11. I'll ride out to Sumas, WA, cross over into BC at Abbotsford, and ride east on the Trans-Canada Highway to Halifax, NS then back home via New England.

The trip will cover between 8,500 and 9,000 miles and take about a month.

Hope my old body can hold up on a trip that long.