cord4530

I'm considering a ride tomorrow that's fairly long. Here is the route:
160 miles to Dent Bridge and Back

The route is from Moscow to Kendrick to Orofino, which according to Google takes almost 2 hours (does that seem right?). From Orofino take Wells Bench Rd to the Dent Bridge - I'm told this is paved, but I have no idea if it is good 2-wheel pavement or not. Any tips would be appreciated. From there, back-track to Orofino then west on Hwy 12 to Arrow. Up Hwy 99 to Juliaetta with a short out/back up the windy climb towards Genesse, then back on Hwy 99 to Troy, then on to Moscow again.

Are there any other roads worth checking out, or roads I should avoid? How about Gilbert Rd to the SW of Orofino?

Any of you ridden these roads these roads? I'm on a R6, so I'll probably want to take plenty of Advil with me. Id' be happy for anyone to come along, though it's fairly short notice, and in the middle of a weekday. If the forecast is close it should be 60°F by by 9-9:30 so I'd like to leave by then so I'm back in the late afternoon. Google is predicting 5+ hours...which is only averaging 30 mph. If the average was more like 45 mph it would be a 4 hour trip.
-Dan

koorbloh

holeeeeeey shit that road from orofino to dent is titties

do it....


give me a minute....gonna do some mapping of my own for you that you might enjoy...


ok...think about this route:

moscow->spiral->lewiston->12-> orofino->dent->orofino->Ashaka->kendrick->deary->(helmer cafe for burgers...cash only, no plastic)->bovill->santa->white pine road->potlatch->moscow

that should keep your ass busy.......if you think that's too short.....do this:
moscow->spiral->lewiston->asotin->antatone->rattlesnake->anatone->asotin->12-> orofino->dent->orofino->Ashaka->kendrick->deary->(helmer cafe for burgers...cash only, no plastic)->bovill->santa->white pine road->potlatch->moscow

Plummy

P1 is COVERED in gravel. it'll take a long time to go up it.

at least it was a few weeks ago. i'm pretty sure it still is cause they had huge piles of rocks in random parking areas on the side of the road and those rocks have probably commited suicide by now and jumped into the middle of the road with all their rock friends.

cord4530

Ya, when I heard the road to Dent was paved, I figured I *had* to try it out. Starts at 1000 ft, get up to 3200 ft, then back to 1500 ft over 15 miles.

Holy cow!! I'm going to need a lot more comfortable bike if I plan to try either of your routes....especially the second one! I'm either going to sell my bike and get something like a naked SV or Bandit, or do a naked conversion on my bike this year. I do plan to get out to Rattlesnake and Buford a few times this summer and I think the R6 seating position will need to be adjusted if I'm going to do many longer rides.

Congrads on the new naked SV650 too. That's a fantastic do-it-all bike. What do you think of it so far?

Oh ya....the road between Greer and Fraser looks pretty fantastic on the map too. I can't tell if it's paved, but it is labled as Route 11, so I'm guessing it is...but this is Idaho. If my back/neck can take it, I may explore that road as well.

cord4530

Thanks for the tip! I will probably have to reconsider the route then. Is it likely that the road to Dent is equally covered in gravel? If so, maybe I should look at a different route for tomorrow.

koorbloh

I hate my sv....all it does is make me hate work....


greer is supposedly paved....not sure though

dent is paved until the park on the other side of the bridge...decent pavement too....that road eats pickup brakes though....don't ask me how I know.....

Plummy

no idea. i've just been making pre-runs in the car looking for roads to go on before i go out on my own on the bike with no cell service.

there are a couple random, small potholes along 12 and the pavement is really torn up just getting into orofino too...just another heads up about that.

and honestly? i thought the route was rather boring except for the stint on P1. but the dam was cool.

cord4530

Very wise idea. I think I'll just take it slow this time around. For the most part, I'm slow even when I'm not trying to be. Thanks for the tips of hazards to look for. I'll give a road report when I get back.
-Dan

epond83

I've gone to dent bridge is a car to go camping, seemed like it would be a really fun road on a bike, if i wasn't heading to the west side of the state i might have joined you.

cord4530

I'm back from the ride. I had a great time. For the most part, you were spot-on about the road conditions.

P1 was great! Up out of Kendrick was nice, and even the road along the plateu wasn't very twisty it was still interesting, and the scenery was nice. Heading down the P1 grade towards Orofino was a fun ride. Speed drops to 35 mph, which is fine because there was the occasional gravel/dirt pile in the middle of the corner. Also, the road base had a lot of larbe bumps/undulations in it from where the road bed had probably shifted over time.

The road out to Dent Bridge is quite fun as well. The climb out of Orofino is pretty bad though....25 mph with a lot of settling bumps in the road. Also, there were several gravel trucks heading down the grade (I think there's a quary up there), so there was a lot of gravel on the climb. Once you're done climbing, the road is pretty nice, and speeds up to 35 mph. Dropping down to the bridge slows to 25, but it is still plenty of fun. The road is paved about 1 mile past the bridge.

I was feeling pretty good, so I though I'd go explore the other options. Hwy 7 is not good. I didn't even turn off. It looks like it was paved at one point, but not maintained. It has more gravel than pavement on it now.

The grade between Greer and Fraser was the best road of the whole trip! It's 8 miles and posted at 35 mph. There are plenty of 15 and 20 mph (posted) wide switchbacks and it was generally even curvier than it looked on the map. The road is wide (with lots of passing lanes) and the surface was fantastic. I would highly recommend this to anyone.

For those who have on/off road bikes, Greer Grade Rd looked pretty amazing (dirt/gravel). It's on the west side of the highway from Greer. Also, at the start of Greer Grade Rd. there is another road off to the right. I don't know if it's private property or not, or gated, but it climbs along a grassy ridge. From the other side of the valley it looked amazing. If I get a dual sport/motard, I will certainly take it down that direction. Amazing scenery, and great roads.

The ride back was uneventful. When I do the ride again, I will *not* head back on Hwy 12, but instead come back the same path as going out. The total trip was 200 miles, and took about 5 hours (including photo/fuel stops, a trip to the dam, etc.). I will certainly be doing this ride again. Maybe twice this summer if I can. It may make a great group ride as well for a Saturday or Sunday with nice weather.

Oh ya...definitely no cell service. Even in Orofino I didn't have anything (AT&T). Couldn't make a call until I was near Troy again.

My neck doesn't hurt as bad as I thought it would either. Though I may feel differently tomorrow. I just got a RF-1000 helmet, which was quieter and lighter than my previous HJC CL-SP, so that may have something to do with it.

-Dan

cord4530

You coming back in the Fall? Our bikes are practically twins, except for color.
-Dan

wadel

Thanks for the report. Was great weather for riding.