I'll be riding with a group from Seattle to Seaside on Friday 7/20, and thought of riding to Washougal to watch the MX races. I'm looking for a route that will be interesting, not crowded and with good asphalt. It should also be around 3-4 hours ride so we can get in time for the races. From looking at Google maps, I thought about the following route: Saddle mountain road -> OR 202/Nehalem HWY -> Scappoose Vernonia Hwy -> HWY 30 to Portland and WA 14 to Washougal. I'm riding on a Husky SM610, and may have some other riders with me with mixed types of bikes - Sport, Touring, Cruisers etc. Would appreciate any other route suggestions as I'm not familiar with this area at all.
Lewis & Clark Road to just south of Astoria, 202, 47, Scappoose Vernonia Hwy. Try it. You'll like it.
E on 26, then go south on 53 (must do!). Turn around when the twisties are over and go back to 26. Go east then do 103>202>scap/vern. 53 is definitely worth checking out
Thanks for the routes we will be traveling Lewis & Clark going south so I think I'll go with crippy's advise. It seems that I'll be the only one from my group going to Washougal, so anyone want to join the ride there?
202 has had two seduction slides on it, and the county has been dropping a ton of gravel over them. I had a ride that was going to go over it on the 4th, and it was flat impassable for motorcycles. Hwy 4 over the Lewis and Clark bridge to hwy 30.
Where are the slides? on the 202 section between 103 & 47 ? I would rather enjoy the ride, so if there is any other interesting route, feel free to suggest :mrgreen:
Mile post 21 and 18, ODOT said there engineering team is working on a plan do a proper fix, and there were scheduled for this week to start.
So I'm not sure what a seduction slide is, but are you saying even a dual-sport couldn't get through either. I've got to go the opposite direction on Saturday and was going to take 202 out there.
I road up to it, and I wouldn't take my bike over it. A duelsport, well if you go like 5mph, maybe. But the rest of 202 is pretty rough as well. Go over it if like like, personally I would avoid it.
Washougal area is totally fugged due to construction. The main road to the track is closed. http://www.racerxonline.com/2012/07/17/alternate-route-for-washougal-national alternate route map So.... when you get to Scappoose, head north on Hwy 30 to Rainier, cross over to Washington, I-5 south to 503, east to Cougar (gas up), south on Wind River Rd to Carson, then west on SR14 to Salmon Falls Rd.
still haven't figured out the route are you certain I can't take 202 between 103 & 47? I couldn't find anything on the ODOT site and can't figure out where exactly mile posts 18 & 21 are. Would really like to try Crippy's suggestion, but if 202 is blocked, how about 26 -> NW Vernonia Rd -> 47 -> scappoose vernonia hwy? is it a good ride?
I don't know about 202. All I can find is this: http://bit.ly/NnIGBj From what I can tell, that location should be west of where 103 connects to 202 so not on Crippy's suggested route.
Bringing this back up for a quick Saddle Mountain Road question -- what's the road like coming from the North (if that's even possible)? That is, joining it near Hwy 202 at Young's River Road, then down past the park entrance and onto 26. Thanks in advance!
Rode 202 from Astoria to 47 last week. Some sections were rough with poorly done asphalt repairs, one short section about 300 feet was packed gravel. All was rideable on my Triumph Street Triple with stock Pirelli Diablo Rosso tires. The rough road made the ride less relaxed due to being bounced around a lot, and slower speed required. Road is nice and smooth at beginning near Astoria, and at end near Birkenfeld. Great scenery.
^^^ This We rode out to Bowpickers on Saturday to get some fish and chips (yum). Be sure to stop in the General Store at Brikenfeld and say hi to the owners (Mike and Wendy) awesome folks who treat us bikers well.
