| Motorcycle rides and riders in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia | |||||||
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07-30-2012, 10:10 PM
| #22 |
| Defiler of Threads   Joined: Apr 2007 From: Arlington I Ride: for OPRT with an 06 ZX-tenaaaaargh Fighter and an 07 SXV550 (The Darkness) | Nah dude.... I've got the luxury of a fire schedule. I never ride destination roads on weekends. |
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08-07-2012, 09:51 PM
| #23 |
| Defiler of Threads Joined: Apr 2007 From: Arlington I Ride: for OPRT with an 06 ZX-tenaaaaargh Fighter and an 07 SXV550 (The Darkness) | So, Rainier. From Eatonville we took the Alder Cutoff Rd to 7. Fun, smooth pavement, a few good corners. Once we were on the National Park Rd, the entire route was rife with construction. Chipsealing, lane closures, pilot cars, light controlled stops... Pretty bad. The spots that didn't have road work were patchy and uneven, making for a rather interesting ride. While the corners and general planning of the road were great, the surface conditions were poor. Amazing views to be had all the way up to Paradise. At the top we took the Paradise Loop a couple times. While congested, it was clean and ha some great corners. Obviously Paradise had some amazing photo ops. Continuing east, we took Stevens Canyon Rd to 123. Again with tons of construction and shitty pavement. Got a few good turns in, but sliding around on freshly laid chipseal and cut pavement isn't fun. Bummer too, since Stevens Canyon had some serious potential with those hairpins. Tons of amazing views along the roadway as it descended from the pass. Once on 123 and 12 things were pretty standard, boring and wide. We slabbed 12 back to 7 and Eatonville. Overall I was impressed by the park itself, and even the road design to a certain extent, but the pavement quality was subpar at best. Maybe a fun ride on something like a Multistrada with a little suspension give, but I wasn't enjoying myself with the track prepped 10R bouncing all over the place. Maybe I'm just spoiled by Highway 20. :/ Last edited by TRAIL BOSS; 08-07-2012 at 09:54 PM.. |
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08-07-2012, 09:55 PM
| #24 | |
| Peg Dragger  Joined: Jan 2010 From: Everett, WA I Ride: '67 CT90 | 
Thanks for the report! Glad to hear I'm not missing much down there, saves me from a wasted trip. | |
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08-07-2012, 10:12 PM
| #25 | |
| Shredder  Joined: May 2011 From: Everett. WA I Ride: GS1150 Rat bike, NSR(G)500cc two stroke,CBR 900rr |
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08-07-2012, 10:25 PM
| #26 |
| Licensed  Joined: Aug 2011 From: Seattle, Wa. | If all Ya want is quick corners and "perfect" roads... Go to the track..... Rainier is a great ride IMO..... and if this report has you believing you're not missing anything,.... well then  |
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08-07-2012, 10:38 PM
| #27 | |
| Defiler of Threads Joined: Apr 2007 From: Arlington I Ride: for OPRT with an 06 ZX-tenaaaaargh Fighter and an 07 SXV550 (The Darkness) |
I never said it was a bad ride... I simply said that the pavement is shit. Which it is. I did say, however, that it'd be fun on something with a bit more relaxed suspension to float the nasty stuff. Rainier is an epic ride, if you're willing to take it a little easier than normal to account for the available traction. Contrary to what you might think, there are roads with track level grip and consistency. With that in mind I feel it's within reason to hope to find that level of quality when I'm exploring new roads. Rainier falls short of my expectations and my review reflects that. | |
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08-07-2012, 10:48 PM
| #28 | |
| Shredder Joined: May 2011 From: Everett. WA I Ride: GS1150 Rat bike, NSR(G)500cc two stroke,CBR 900rr |
If I were riding with friends that know how to stop here and there? It would be a nice ride. I have a hard time stopping and seeing after I get going. Hate to have a great place spoiled by crapy road conditions. P.S. I was considering asking/tagging along on that ride to test out my new seat. But after looking at the map to get there from Everett. I didn't see a very interesting route. Once down there it would be a nice side trip? Maybe I'll hit it from the Tacoma end sometime soon. Me gots friends and familys down there. Last edited by nsrg500; 08-07-2012 at 10:53 PM.. | |
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08-07-2012, 10:55 PM
| #29 |
| Licensed Joined: Aug 2011 From: Seattle, Wa. | I've been around those roads a few times already this year and to hear someone discount them as shit and a waste of time is just laughable.... Yeah if you're trying to hit the curves you might have issues. (came across some of that on my Helens ride) but the ride its self is well worth the slow parts... Trust me... I can appreciate the "sport bike" ride.. and understand the frustration with road work and gravel crap... I hate it also... |
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08-07-2012, 11:46 PM
| #30 |
| Shredder Joined: May 2011 From: Everett. WA I Ride: GS1150 Rat bike, NSR(G)500cc two stroke,CBR 900rr | It's not even the "sport bike pace". It's just the never ending slow downs around the constriction areas. Today I took a short ride because of the pure boredom of it all. I bypassed High Bridge and still ran into more hold ups and detours. I know, I know. I'm being a whinny girl (no offense to whinny girls) but just trying to side skirt the heavier traffic put me in more heavy traffic. Like I said. I'd like to get up there atop the hill. Just didn't want to start the trip from here. Kinda slab'ish. I might make a loop from Mount Baker, Rainier & St Helens sometime soon. P.S. I didn't say they were shit, just not the best choice for a day trip right now for me. |
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08-24-2012, 09:43 AM
| #32 |
| Peg Dragger  Joined: Mar 2012 From: Gig Harbor, WA I Ride: 2002 Honda VFR800 | |
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