My wife is out of town on business this weekend, so I wake up and the house is dead quiet. I'm bored so I grab a cup of coffee and check the weather - it's already 70 degrees and forecast to be mid-80s on the West side of the mountains and mid-90s on the East side. Hmmmm....
10 minutes later I'm geared up and on the road.
I head out Hwy 169 and a few minutes later I see my destination ahead in the distance - Mt. Rainier
I took Hwy 410 east out of Enumclaw and rode up to the Sunrise lookout (80 miles so far).
After I walked around Sunrise for a bit I headed down the mountain, back to the main highway, and head South to Packwood (43 miles) on 410, 123, and 12. In Packwood I topped off on gas and grabbed a bottle of water and got back on the road. I then followed Hwy 12 east about 60 miles into Naches.
I stopped off for a couple minutes along Rimrock Lake
Naches
In Naches I only stopped long enough to top off on gas and grab another bottle of water, and then headed 125 miles home; West on 410, with a photo stop at Chinook Pass.
Mandatory bike shot while stopped at Chinook Pass!
It was a fantastic 7.5 hour, 300 mile cure for a boring Sunday morning!
Sure, go ahead and rub it in, you live in one of the most beautiful places in the world!
Not gonna rub it in, but... I have to agree!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Toast
I want your suspension. I did some riding today as well. Knocked out 500 miles with some people I just met. Man I am sore.
500 miles?!?! You're much more of a man than I am. My ass was getting sore around 200 miles, and I was more than ready to get off the bike when I got home after 300 miles... I might have felt better if I would have stopped for an hour for lunch and for dinner, but I only stopped for a couple minutes at a time to take a couple photos, or to get gas or water. Not the smart way to do it.
Great shots MD and a great lookin bike too! I've never gone over 410 to Naches, always went to Packwood for gas and turned back for 123 up to Paradise. Looks like something I'll have to check out next time I do Rainier!
Great shots MD and a great lookin bike too! I've never gone over 410 to Naches, always went to Packwood for gas and turned back for 123 up to Paradise. Looks like something I'll have to check out next time I do Rainier!
Which way do you ride Rainier? I usually start at the NW corner in Enumclaw and ride it clockwise, but I've been thinking about changing it up next time and riding down to Eatonville and starting at the SW corner and riding it counter-clockwise. Heading east along the southern edge of the mountain, past Paradise, and taking 123 north, and 410 east through Chinook pass to Naches, and then come back west on 12 to Packwood and take 123 north again to 410, and then head west to Enumclaw. Basically a 300+ mile figure-8.
Hopefully I'll own a GoPro video camera in the near future. You can't fully capture how great the ride is with just a few still images.
I usually just take this route and don't venture out to Naches. For the ride back, I just turn around and do it all over again.
That last bit going up to Paradise is pretty amazing stuff. The tunnels, vistas, lakes, and waterfalls. I get chills every time I head up that road and that's not because of the 15-20* drop in temps. We really are spoiled around here
There's really not much in Naches, but the loop you create when you connect hwy 410 and 12 to either end of the 123, makes for a great ride in either direction. If you are already in Packwood and looking for a longer day, instead of heading back home I highly recommend adding that extra 115 miles. The roads are twisty and fun the entire way, and the views along Chinook pass alone are worth the ride.
I haven't been up to Paradise since I was a kid, i'm sure it's been about 30 years. I need to get back up there!
When you turn off 123 heading towards Paradise, have you ever followed that road further west to Elbe? I've been looking at the map, planning new rides, and wondered what that entire road is like. All but about 10 miles of it looks great on the map!
Anything east of Longmire (to Elbe to Tacoma) is a snooze with mostly straights. The first time I made my way to Rainier on a motorcycle I took that route back home, never went that way again. But I'll have to try that 410 next time around, always went right onto 123 instead of 410. Does look to be a good ride and scenic as well.
I've been to the Naches area of 410 where it hugs the river but that was from wheelin over from Ellensberg to Naches in a Samurai with no windshield, mid November with snow. Now that was something else...
I haven't been up the Johnson Ridge side of Mt. St. Helens yet - mostly because there seems to be so much superslab time to and from there! A few weekends ago we rode up to the Windy Ridge viewpoint on the NE edge of St. Helens. It's 35 miles out of Randle up to the viewpoint, but most of the road is beat to hell! I rode up there about 5 years ago and it was bad, but they haven't done anything to it and i'ts about 20 miles of it will have you bouncing out of your seat. I won't go back unless they fix it.
My brother lives in Olympia and just got an FZ1. He contacted me last night about doing a 2 or 3-day ride around the Olympic peninsula and checking out Hurricane ridge, the Olympic rain forest, the Pacific Ocean beaches, and the Olympic mountain range. Yet another huge portion of the state that I haven't been to since I was a kid, and need to check out on a motorcycle.
Peninsula is a great ride! No matter what you do, do not miss 112 from Port Angeles to Neah Bay! Pure motorcycle bliss, lots and lots of twists and turns. And it'll take you to Port Angeles (going clockwise) where you can head up to Hurricane Ridge. Just go easy around the little towns, specially Joyce, the LEOs have no tolerance around them.
Yep - 112 to Neah Bay and Hurricane Ridge are at the top of the 'to-do' list for that ride!
I always stick to the speed limit when going through small towns, but I have a bad habit of opening it up when cruising throught the mountain highways. On Sunday I was surprised to find quite a few winding sections where there was no other traffic, so I had it at 75-80 for quite a while. There were a few sweeping sections where the bike 'somehow' got up to 95...
Where the heck where you? 
On Sunday I was surprised to find quite a few winding sections where there was no other traffic, so I had it at 75-80 for quite a while. There were a few sweeping sections where the bike 'somehow' got up to 95... 
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