I decided to go enjoy the weather on our side of the mountains and head south into northwest Oregon to collect a few stops for some rallies I am (kind of) participating in this year. I have a new bike now - a 2023 Triumph Tiger 1200 GT Pro - and am working to get used to the different riding style. So far I like the feeling of being more connected to the road on this bike, but a new seat is needed as this ride stretched the limits of my tolerance!
564 miles on a mostly sunny day with OK traffic on a Saturday - perfect! I enjoyed some "alone time" near Mt St Helens. The Johnston Ridge Visitor's Center is still closed because of a huge landslide a few years ago, thus traffic is pretty minimal all the way up and back. Just some people headed back and forth to campsites. The mountain was out but hazy conditions persisted, likely caused by nearby fire smoke.
After Mt St Helens and a brief stop for lunch, I was off to explore WA-4 west of Longview. This is a fun section of road that doesn't see too much traffic because US-30 is on the other side of the river in Oregon and is more used. I wanted to enjoy the little ferry that crosses the Columbia River from Cathlamet, WA as I headed south into Oregon. It is a cash-only, small car ferry with hourly service. The crossing takes roughly 15 minutes. I am not sure it saved me any time, but it was fun to get off the bike and enjoy the scenery.
My first obstacle of the day - the shortcut I wanted to use was closed through Timber, Oregon and I had to backtrack a bit to get down to OR-6 for my final stop of the day. The trip down through Vernon, Oregon was just as entertaining as I remembered and it gave me a good chance to feel the new bike in some tighter corners. For those who haven't enjoyed OR-47 from US-30 down through Vernon to US-26, give it a try!
A good day! Bike behaved well, weather was good and I stopped several times to enjoy the day :)
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| Mt St Helens was out - as seen from the Castle Lake Viewpoint. |
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| My new bike! |
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| One of my PNWGT checkpoints - a covered bridge near the Columbia River. |
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| The little Cathlamet car ferry :) |
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| My last PNWGT checkpoint along OR-6 in northwest Oregon. |
