Central OR and up OR Coast..

[JeffersonRider]

Welp.. a few weeks overdue.. but back in March I had texted my brother who lives in WA (I live in southern OR) a pic of a 2020 Tracer 900 GT I was buying. I sold my Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 late last year and had been eyeing the Tracer for some time. He had a BMW 1200 RT. Long story short and he texted right back and said he was eyeing the same bike! True brothers! He sold the BMW and now we have identical bikes

Anyway, I've trailered my bike up there a couple of times for some short, local rides but we were finally able to spend a long weekend together in late August and planned a route down through Central OR and up the coast..

He rode down through John Day and says the roads that way are phenomenal. I road up from Klamath Falls around Crater Lake and into Bend, we had rented an Airbnb, hit up some (a lot) of breweries and tap houses, ate some great food, and got a good night's rest. We woke up the next morning and rode down around Diamond Lake/Crater Lake and down Hwy 62 (Crater Lake Hwy). We cut over to Gold Hill and up 99 (avoided I-5) to Grants Pass where we went across on 199 to the coast.

We stayed at my parent's house just north of Crescent City and the next morning made our way up 101 up to Lincoln City. We veered off 101 to stay close to the coast a few times. My brother spent quite a few years in Coos Bay and knew some great side roads. We ended the day at a hotel in Lincoln City (but had I known then what I know now we would have stayed in Newport). The next morning we drove up 101, toured the creamery in Tillamook, ate lunch and had a pint at Buoy Beer Co., and off across the bridge over the Columbia and took the WA side over to Battleground where we stayed with a friend. The next day found us along Hwy 30 enjoying the Columbia River Gorge. We had a hearty meal and a pint at Pfreim before we said our tearful goodbyes. He rode across the river to Hwy 14 and east to Walla Walla as I rode down Hwy 35 around Mt. Hood and south down 97.

Here's some highlight photos. It was a much needed "guy's trip" and luckily we have spouses that support us and our time on the bikes. Next year we may have the spouses follow chase and do their own thing but through Montana/Wyoming..

[koth442]

6 hours ago, JeffersonRider said:

We stayed at my parent's house just north of Crescent City

What a beautiful place to live!!

[betoney]

9 hours ago, JeffersonRider said:

He rode down through John Day and says the roads that way are phenomenal.

Next year we may have the spouses follow chase and do their own thing but through Montana/Wyoming..

If you or your brother are unfamiliar with that region, there is PHENOMENAL riding in every direction from John Day.  If you look at a map and draw a rectangle from Mt. Hood down to Bend and then East to the Idaho Border, ALL of that is a motorcyclists paradise.  You owe it to yourselves to plan other bike trips in that area, just the Hell's Canyon area alone on the Oregon/Idaho border is worth a road trip.

If you plan on riding to Montana you simply must ride Lolo Pass from Lewiston to Missoula. No exceptions.  And while in Montana definitely do not miss Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph Highway from Red Lodge Montana to Cody, Wyoming, at 11,000 feet you are literally on top of the world.

[wanderer]

On 9/15/2021 at 9:52 PM, JeffersonRider said:

We ended the day at a hotel in Lincoln City (but had I known then what I know now we would have stayed in Newport).

What did you learn!?

[JeffersonRider]

4 hours ago, wanderer said:

What did you learn!?

Well Lincoln City is a fine place, but Newport only being 20 minutes or so away seemed to have a lot more options in regards to lodging and restaurants. By the time we made it into Lincoln City (having ridden through Newport) it was near 7pm and we couldn't find any food options, the town seemed to roll up the carpet after 6pm and of course the staffing shortages every place is experiencing didn't help.. we did manage to find some okay-ish pizza minutes before they closed.

No knock on Lincoln City, but we did like Newport better, especially with it being as close as it was. They had some great restaurants/pubs we would have liked to visit but of course didn't want to find ourselves in a pub with some riding left to do.

[JeffersonRider]

19 hours ago, betoney said:

If you or your brother are unfamiliar with that region, there is PHENOMENAL riding in every direction from John Day.  If you look at a map and draw a rectangle from Mt. Hood down to Bend and then East to the Idaho Border, ALL of that is a motorcyclists paradise.  You owe it to yourselves to plan other bike trips in that area, just the Hell's Canyon area alone on the Oregon/Idaho border is worth a road trip.

If you plan on riding to Montana you simply must ride Lolo Pass from Lewiston to Missoula. No exceptions.  And while in Montana definitely do not miss Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph Highway from Red Lodge Montana to Cody, Wyoming, at 11,000 feet you are literally on top of the world.

I am very familiar with central OR, but mostly just west of Hwy 97. I do plan to ride with a group next month who are riding some of that area over a weekend. I am looking forward to it. My brother and I have hopped from his place a bit down into the northern parts of eastern OR but I agree it is definitely worth the time to explore and I'm looking forward to seeing some of it next month.

And thanks for the MT advice!! We will definitely keep those areas on our radar.

[wanderer]

5 hours ago, JeffersonRider said:

They had some great restaurants/pubs we would have liked to visit but of course didn't want to find ourselves in a pub with some riding left to do.

Makes sense! I follow a zero tolerance policy on riding after drinking, so yeah, always good to put down the side stand for the night within walking distance of the pub.

Edited September 17, 2021 by wanderer

[keithu]

I spend a lot of time on the Oregon coast amd yeah, I'd stay in Newport over Lincoln City any day.