Mt. St. Helens ride

[Salish900]

So a while back @betoney commented that he loved to ride Mt. St. Helens and I thought to myself, self, you should too! So last weekend that was so gorgeous around the PNW, I hopped on my bike and rode down 5 from Olympia to Hwy 504. I knew I was doing the right thing when right off the the slab there was a nice gathering of non-HD bikes, with a nice smattering of things from a ZX-14 to a whole bunch of liter bikes and 650's. A few Tracer like bikes thrown in. I went by them and waved, there must have been 60 or more. The road winds through rural Western Washington and slowly climbs toward the great volcano.

Let me just stop and say the road itself, even if there were no views, is fun. Lots of sweeping curves and really awesome bridges. If you are less careful and more skilled than I am, you could carry some serious speed through these beautifully designed curves. It's a newer road so not some thing that was laid out for wagons and now used by cars. 

But you throw in the scenery and on this day, well, it was truly incredible. The volcano is right in your face, the snow was still on the ground up high, the trees were leafing out, and the creeks and lakes sparkled. The road was closed before you reached the Johnston Observatory but not far from it. I stopped at Coldwater Lake and enjoyed a nice lunch and a little stroll. Can't wait to go back with my family and hike around Coldwater. 

It was a truly special ride on a perfect day. Thank you @betoney for the tip! 

[betoney]

6 minutes ago, Salish900 said:

Let me just stop and say the road itself, even if there were no views, is fun. Lots of sweeping curves and really awesome bridges. If you are less careful and more skilled than I am, you could carry some serious speed through these beautifully designed curves. It's a newer road so not some thing that was laid out for wagons and now used by cars.

It was a truly special ride on a perfect day. Thank you @betoney for the tip!

When ever I go up there I am fortunate to see maybe 5 cars the entire trip up and back.  On a sunny day it is truly a spectacular ride.  We are truly blessed to live so close and be able to get up there many times a year.

You aren't joking about serious speed through the sweeping curves, I went up one morning with a small group, one guy on an FJR, another on a C14 and the last guy on a ZX-14, it was completely deserted all the way up, - I was by far the slowest guy in the group, they were GONE, even at triple digits I couldn't even come close to keeping up.   My buddy just got a Tracer a few weeks ago and had the same experience, he went up there with a guy on a MT10, another on a Super Duke 1290 and the last on a BMW K1300...  You can guess how that went.

Glad you enjoyed it. 👍

[knyte]

Great photos.  So jelly

[Salish900]

12 hours ago, betoney said:

You aren't joking about serious speed through the sweeping curves, I went up one morning with a small group, one guy on an FJR, another on a C14 and the last guy on a ZX-14, it was completely deserted all the way up, - I was by far the slowest guy in the group, they were GONE, even at triple digits I couldn't even come close to keeping up.   My buddy just got a Tracer a few weeks ago and had the same experience, he went up there with a guy on a MT10, another on a Super Duke 1290 and the last on a BMW K1300...  You can guess how that went.

I have to admit there are times when I miss my C14, and have to talk myself out of getting a second bike to match a ZX-14 or Busa with my Tracer. I love the versatility of the Tracer as my go anywhere do anything have a lot of fun bike. But there are times when a pure burst of acceleration from a 1400 cc bike is just in order. Clearly I'm the kind of rider who leans toward sport bikes. But it's not only my wallet that keeps me from adding a bike to the stable, but my recognition that the only reason I would have one would be to do things I really shouldn't be doing at this age and style of life I have. So I just lust after those ZX-14's, and Busa's, and satisfy myself that 95% of the time I am happier on my 900 and more comfortable. Oh the hard choices we have right? 

[Waldo Jeffers]

When the road is in good shape, this is one of the best roads I’ve ever ridden. 
 

NFD-25

[betoney]

If they repaved sections or even bothered to maintain that road, I would be down there on a regular basis, phenomenal road but in its current condition, I'll pass, unfortunately.

[Waldo Jeffers]

Agreed. Last time I road it, I got a pinch flat on my tubed Africa Twin in a heave in the road. Of course I didn’t have the tools or skills to fix it. I ended up getting my bike and I towed to my brother’s place near Portland. Not cheap!

 

[Salish900]

6 hours ago, Waldo Jeffers said:

Agreed. Last time I road it, I got a pinch flat on my tubed Africa Twin in a heave in the road. Of course I didn’t have the tools or skills to fix it. I ended up getting my bike and I towed to my brother’s place near Portland. Not cheap!

 

Well I'm sorry to hear this as I was looking at my map and planning to do that very ride this summer. 

[Waldo Jeffers]

It’s been 4ish years since I was on that road. Maybe they’ve improved it. My guess is probably not. 

[keithu]

19 hours ago, Waldo Jeffers said:

It’s been 4ish years since I was on that road. Maybe they’ve improved it. My guess is probably not. 

I rode it about four years ago and the condition was so bad I consider it dangerous. I won't ride the back side of Mt. St. Helens again until they redo the road. It's a real shame because 15+ years ago it was one of the best rides in the PNW.

[daboo]

I've ridden out to Mt. St. Helens using NFR-25 and NFR-99 numerous times.  The temptation is to ride it fast...but the potential for wrecking your bike is huge.

But once you get there, the views are great.  It's a different perspective and you get closer to the crater than you do from Johnson Observatory.  Plus, there are stops along the way for small lakes that aren't on the west side entrance.

Here's a picture that shocked me when I was there the first time.  I was riding along on NFR-99 and all around me were green trees.  Then I turned to the right and saw the blast zone.  This is what it looked like 30 years after the eruption.

[keithu]

I first rode up there in 1996, just 16 years after the eruption, and the devastation still looked pretty fresh. It's been interesting to revisit over the years and see how quickly the forest recovers. I imagine in another 30-40 years it will be difficult to identify the edge of the blast zone.

[Jfundo]

A couple years ago there was a national geographic story about the recovery of the area around the volcano, and how it is a one giant science experiment conducted by nature.  They are learning a ton from it. 

I wish I lived less than 3,000 miles from there. Wait, I do, I just looked it up.  2,863 miles over 43 hours.  I can handle that on my bike.  

[Kevin R]

On 4/24/2021 at 8:38 AM, Salish900 said:

I have to admit there are times when I miss my C14, and have to talk myself out of getting a second bike to match a ZX-14 or Busa with my Tracer. I love the versatility of the Tracer as my go anywhere do anything have a lot of fun bike. But there are times when a pure burst of acceleration from a 1400 cc bike is just in order. Clearly I'm the kind of rider who leans toward sport bikes. But it's not only my wallet that keeps me from adding a bike to the stable, but my recognition that the only reason I would have one would be to do things I really shouldn't be doing at this age and style of life I have. So I just lust after those ZX-14's, and Busa's, and satisfy myself that 95% of the time I am happier on my 900 and more comfortable. Oh the hard choices we have right? 

LOL. Real first world "problems"! The highlighted portion above is one of the reasons why I moved on from my FZ1 some years ago. It was a surprisingly good sport tourer but the motor on that thing only started to come alive at 5k rpm - then quickly moved to tearing your arms out at the shoulder at 7k and up. So, it was becoming a battle to not ride irresponsibly every time I hopped on.  😲  I ultimately decided to be more prudent with an FJR and now Tracer 900 - but still enjoy lapses of reason on a fairly regular basis (just not every time I ride).  😁

Getting back to your original post, I was near there in October (Columbia River gorge) but didn't push up into WA. Maybe this year.