[RBW] Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions?

[Mark Reimer]

Hi friends,

So I've mentioned in other posts that I plan to ride the Oregon Outback 
this year, May 22-24. As luck would have it, I've managed to secure the 
full week prior off from work, as well as a day or two after. So now I'm 
looking to fly out to Portland on May 16th, and leave on the 26th. That's 
lots of time for riding!

My friends will be landing in Portland on May 20th and plan to take the 
train to Klamath Falls on the 21st, which I'll accompany them on. We'll 
ride the O.O., then ride from the finish back to Portland on the 25th and 
fly home the next morning. 

So that leaves me with May 16th (afternoon) to the evening of May 20 to do 
some touring. 

For those in Oregon, what would you suggest I ride with five days? 

For what it's worth, I would love to be able to...:
- See/camp by the ocean. I live in the dead centre of the continent. The 
ocean is a real treat for me.
- Get at least a couple nice climbs in. Again, it's flat here. I'd like to 
see some elevation (but not 'too' much hah, I'm a prairie boy)
- Spend as much time as possible off the major highways. I'll be on the 
Atlantis with 2.1" tires and a light setup. Gravel, trails, fire roads, 
whatever. I'm game for all of that. I'll have a GPS with me.
- I also love bridges and ferries. Always take the opportunity to ride a 
ferry if you can. It just adds that 'certain something' to a trip in my 
opinion.

I've considered riding to Astoria and doing a Northern loop. Also thought 
about taking the train South on the 16th, riding closer to Klamath and 
meeting the guys there instead. It's all open to discussion. Thanks!

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Re: [RBW] Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions?

[Robert Kirkpatrick]

Yeah I wouldn’t go that way in WA at all.  Here’s a link to a Google Map with 
my preferred route:

https://goo.gl/maps/zVT8U 

This has some great riding along Hood Canal, through the woods and small little 
towns and is pretty much more direct. I’ve done that in two-three days, staying 
in Shelton (slightly off the route) or camping at Potlatch State park. I’d 
personally do it over three days staying at Potlatch, then Lake Sylvia and 
finally Long Beach.

Good luck, lots of great riding on your route.

-Robert

> On Feb 25, 2015, at 8:18 PM, Shawn Granton  
> wrote:
> 
> Mark, that route looks like it could be a good one. I have no experience with 
> the routing you chose from around Olympia to the coast, but I'm guessing it 
> will be lightly trafficked, maybe forest/gravel roads, maybe not even 
> passable in some spots (if you're relying on Google Maps in "bicycle" mode to 
> give you directions.) Robert Kirkpatrick/Rootless in Place may have a little 
> experience here. My only tip right now: rather than ride south from Seattle 
> through suburbia (which, if you stick to the Interurban trail, will be flat), 
> ferry from SW Seattle (Fauntleroy) over to Vashon Island then ferry over to 
> Tacoma. While not as flat, will be a lot more scenic and different, and 
> you'll get two ferry rides in!
> -Shawn
> 
> No one actually looks at email signatures anymore, but here goes nothing:
> http://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/ 
> 
> http://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/ 
> 
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanadventureleaguepdx/ 
>  
> http://bikesspottedpdx.tumblr.com/ 
> Un-electronic mail goes here: P O Box 14185, Portland OR 97293-0185
> 
> 
> 
> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 2:46 PM, Mark Reimer  > wrote:
> I've also been toying with the idea of flying to Seattle instead and riding 
> to Portland over that time frame. I put together a quick route, 525km over 
> four days and one evening. Seems a bit much, but I'm sure there are ways to 
> trim that down. 
> 
> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 3:19 PM, Mark Reimer  > wrote:
> Thanks so much! That is very helpful. 
> 
> I should have mentioned, I've been to Portland before. Just once. I was on a 
> motorcycle tour and stopped at a friends house. I stayed for the day and he 
> took me around. It's a lovely place, definitely need to visit for longer some 
> time!
> 
> Your route seems pretty good. Distances are varied and never too long. I 
> don't mind riding the 101 - it is a beautiful road and I can deal with 
> pavement when the ocean is right beside me :)
> 
> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 2:57 PM, Shawn Granton 
> mailto:urbanadventurelea...@gmail.com>> 
> wrote:
> Hey Mark-
> 
> Welcome to Oregon! But I noticed that your plans don't seem to give any time 
> for, y'know, exploring Portland itself. I can tell you from experience that 
> Portland is slightly different than Winnipeg. ;-)
> 
> Anyways, I think that a North Coast Loop would be good option to get ocean 
> and climbs. Though you'll have to use US 101 on the coast itself for a good 
> part which would go against your wish for avoiding the busy. But the scenery 
> makes up for it! This would be a mostly paved route. There are gravel options 
> over the Coast Range, but they can/will be steep and a GPS unit is needed as 
> most of those roads are un/poorly marked timber company roads.
> 
> It could look something like this:
> Sat May 16: Get into PDX, take MAX light rail to Hillsboro, ride 20ish miles 
> to Stub Stewart State Park.
> Sun May 17: Ride Banks/Vernonia Trail, OR 47 and OR 202 to Astoria (80 
> miles.) No camping in Astoria but hotels/motels, closest camping would be at 
> Ft. Stevens, another 10 miles away.
> Mon May 18: Ride 101 and some alternates to Nehalem Bay State Park (40 miles)
> Tues May 19: Ride 101 and some alternates to Cape Lookout State park (40 
> miles)
> Wed May 20: Back to Hillsboro MAX via Nestucca River Road (a smidge of 
> gravel) (80 miles)
> It's a bit ambitious, esp. with the coast range climbs, but you can 
> shorten/ease it by taking a bus on one of the portions, either the Point bus 
> that goes out to Astoria, or the Tillamook Wave bus back from Lookout-ish to 
> Portland.
> 
> As for bridge/ferry, there is the Westport Ferry west of Astoria that crosses 
> the Columbia. Then you'd have to get back to Astoria via the Astoria/Megler 
> Bridge. At 4.1 miles (6.6 km) long, it's not everyone's cup o' tea. And it 
> would also increase the overall length of this tour by a significant margin, 
> maybe another 40 miles or so.
> 
> Hope this helps!
> 
> yours,
> Shawn
> 
> On Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 8:46:59 AM UTC-8, Mark Reimer wrote:
> Hi friends,
> 
> So I've mentioned in other posts that I plan to rid

Re: [RBW] Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions?

[Robert Kirkpatrick]

Whoops, double checking that map, it looks like it got a bit messed up. THIS is 
my preferred route from Seattle to the Coast:

https://goo.gl/maps/YAhj0 

-RjK

> On Feb 25, 2015, at 9:14 PM, Robert Kirkpatrick  wrote:
> 
> Yeah I wouldn’t go that way in WA at all.  Here’s a link to a Google Map with 
> my preferred route:
> 
> https://goo.gl/maps/zVT8U 
> 
> This has some great riding along Hood Canal, through the woods and small 
> little towns and is pretty much more direct. I’ve done that in two-three 
> days, staying in Shelton (slightly off the route) or camping at Potlatch 
> State park. I’d personally do it over three days staying at Potlatch, then 
> Lake Sylvia and finally Long Beach.
> 
> Good luck, lots of great riding on your route.
> 
> -Robert
> 
>> On Feb 25, 2015, at 8:18 PM, Shawn Granton > > wrote:
>> 
>> Mark, that route looks like it could be a good one. I have no experience 
>> with the routing you chose from around Olympia to the coast, but I'm 
>> guessing it will be lightly trafficked, maybe forest/gravel roads, maybe not 
>> even passable in some spots (if you're relying on Google Maps in "bicycle" 
>> mode to give you directions.) Robert Kirkpatrick/Rootless in Place may have 
>> a little experience here. My only tip right now: rather than ride south from 
>> Seattle through suburbia (which, if you stick to the Interurban trail, will 
>> be flat), ferry from SW Seattle (Fauntleroy) over to Vashon Island then 
>> ferry over to Tacoma. While not as flat, will be a lot more scenic and 
>> different, and you'll get two ferry rides in!
>> -Shawn
>> 
>> No one actually looks at email signatures anymore, but here goes nothing:
>> http://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/ 
>> 
>> http://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/ 
>> 
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanadventureleaguepdx/ 
>>  
>> http://bikesspottedpdx.tumblr.com/ 
>> Un-electronic mail goes here: P O Box 14185, Portland OR 97293-0185
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 2:46 PM, Mark Reimer > > wrote:
>> I've also been toying with the idea of flying to Seattle instead and riding 
>> to Portland over that time frame. I put together a quick route, 525km over 
>> four days and one evening. Seems a bit much, but I'm sure there are ways to 
>> trim that down. 
>> 
>> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 3:19 PM, Mark Reimer > > wrote:
>> Thanks so much! That is very helpful. 
>> 
>> I should have mentioned, I've been to Portland before. Just once. I was on a 
>> motorcycle tour and stopped at a friends house. I stayed for the day and he 
>> took me around. It's a lovely place, definitely need to visit for longer 
>> some time!
>> 
>> Your route seems pretty good. Distances are varied and never too long. I 
>> don't mind riding the 101 - it is a beautiful road and I can deal with 
>> pavement when the ocean is right beside me :)
>> 
>> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 2:57 PM, Shawn Granton 
>> mailto:urbanadventurelea...@gmail.com>> 
>> wrote:
>> Hey Mark-
>> 
>> Welcome to Oregon! But I noticed that your plans don't seem to give any time 
>> for, y'know, exploring Portland itself. I can tell you from experience that 
>> Portland is slightly different than Winnipeg. ;-)
>> 
>> Anyways, I think that a North Coast Loop would be good option to get ocean 
>> and climbs. Though you'll have to use US 101 on the coast itself for a good 
>> part which would go against your wish for avoiding the busy. But the scenery 
>> makes up for it! This would be a mostly paved route. There are gravel 
>> options over the Coast Range, but they can/will be steep and a GPS unit is 
>> needed as most of those roads are un/poorly marked timber company roads.
>> 
>> It could look something like this:
>> Sat May 16: Get into PDX, take MAX light rail to Hillsboro, ride 20ish miles 
>> to Stub Stewart State Park.
>> Sun May 17: Ride Banks/Vernonia Trail, OR 47 and OR 202 to Astoria (80 
>> miles.) No camping in Astoria but hotels/motels, closest camping would be at 
>> Ft. Stevens, another 10 miles away.
>> Mon May 18: Ride 101 and some alternates to Nehalem Bay State Park (40 miles)
>> Tues May 19: Ride 101 and some alternates to Cape Lookout State park (40 
>> miles)
>> Wed May 20: Back to Hillsboro MAX via Nestucca River Road (a smidge of 
>> gravel) (80 miles)
>> It's a bit ambitious, esp. with the coast range climbs, but you can 
>> shorten/ease it by taking a bus on one of the portions, either the Point bus 
>> that goes out to Astoria, or the Tillamook Wave bus back from Lookout-ish to 
>> Portland.
>> 
>> As for bridge/ferry, there is the Westport Ferry west of Astoria that 
>> crosses the Columbia. Then you'd have to get back to Astoria via 

Re: [RBW] Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions?

[shawn m.]

+1 on Robert's route. I would note, however, that the stretch of Highway 
101 north of Raymond to the Highway 107 junction is (or was when I rode it 
in 2012) logging truck hell. I've also taken Highway 6 over the Coast Range 
between Raymond and Chehalis and wouldn't hesitate to go that way again, 
especially since taking the Amtrak to Centralia puts it in pretty easy 
reach from Seattle.

On Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 9:16:40 PM UTC-8, SpiralCage wrote:
>
> Whoops, double checking that map, it looks like it got a bit messed up. 
> THIS is my preferred route from Seattle to the Coast:
>
> https://goo.gl/maps/YAhj0
>
> -RjK
>
> On Feb 25, 2015, at 9:14 PM, Robert Kirkpatrick  > wrote:
>
> Yeah I wouldn’t go that way in WA at all.  Here’s a link to a Google Map 
> with my preferred route:
>
> https://goo.gl/maps/zVT8U
>
> This has some great riding along Hood Canal, through the woods and small 
> little towns and is pretty much more direct. I’ve done that in two-three 
> days, staying in Shelton (slightly off the route) or camping at Potlatch 
> State park. I’d personally do it over three days staying at Potlatch, then 
> Lake Sylvia and finally Long Beach.
>
> Good luck, lots of great riding on your route.
>
> -Robert
>
> On Feb 25, 2015, at 8:18 PM, Shawn Granton  > wrote:
>
> Mark, that route looks like it could be a good one. I have no experience 
> with the routing you chose from around Olympia to the coast, but I'm 
> guessing it will be lightly trafficked, maybe forest/gravel roads, maybe 
> not even passable in some spots (if you're relying on Google Maps in 
> "bicycle" mode to give you directions.) Robert Kirkpatrick/Rootless in 
> Place may have a little experience here. My only tip right now: rather than 
> ride south from Seattle through suburbia (which, if you stick to the 
> Interurban trail, will be flat), ferry from SW Seattle (Fauntleroy) over to 
> Vashon Island then ferry over to Tacoma. While not as flat, will be a lot 
> more scenic and different, and you'll get two ferry rides in!
> -Shawn
>
> No one actually looks at email signatures anymore, but here goes nothing:
> http://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/
> http://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanadventureleaguepdx/ 
> http://bikesspottedpdx.tumblr.com/
> Un-electronic mail goes here: P O Box 14185, Portland OR 97293-0185
>
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 2:46 PM, Mark Reimer  > wrote:
>
>> I've also been toying with the idea of flying to Seattle instead and 
>> riding to Portland over that time frame. I put together a quick route, 
>> 525km over four days and one evening. Seems a bit much, but I'm sure there 
>> are ways to trim that down. 
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 3:19 PM, Mark Reimer > > wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks so much! That is very helpful. 
>>>
>>> I should have mentioned, I've been to Portland before. Just once. I was 
>>> on a motorcycle tour and stopped at a friends house. I stayed for the day 
>>> and he took me around. It's a lovely place, definitely need to visit for 
>>> longer some time!
>>>
>>> Your route seems pretty good. Distances are varied and never too long. I 
>>> don't mind riding the 101 - it is a beautiful road and I can deal with 
>>> pavement when the ocean is right beside me :)
>>>
>>> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 2:57 PM, Shawn Granton >> > wrote:
>>>
 Hey Mark-

 Welcome to Oregon! But I noticed that your plans don't seem to give any 
 time for, y'know, exploring Portland itself. I can tell you from 
 experience 
 that Portland is slightly different than Winnipeg. ;-)

 Anyways, I think that a North Coast Loop would be good option to get 
 ocean and climbs. Though you'll have to use US 101 on the coast itself for 
 a good part which would go against your wish for avoiding the busy. But 
 the 
 scenery makes up for it! This would be a mostly paved route. There are 
 gravel options over the Coast Range, but they can/will be steep and a GPS 
 unit is needed as most of those roads are un/poorly marked timber company 
 roads.

 It could look something like this:

- Sat May 16: Get into PDX, take MAX light rail to Hillsboro, ride 
20ish miles to Stub Stewart State Park.
- Sun May 17: Ride Banks/Vernonia Trail, OR 47 and OR 202 to 
Astoria (80 miles.) No camping in Astoria but hotels/motels, closest 
camping would be at Ft. Stevens, another 10 miles away.
- Mon May 18: Ride 101 and some alternates to Nehalem Bay State 
Park (40 miles)
- Tues May 19: Ride 101 and some alternates to Cape Lookout State 
park (40 miles)
- Wed May 20: Back to Hillsboro MAX via Nestucca River Road (a 
smidge of gravel) (80 miles)

 It's a bit ambitious, esp. with the coast range climbs, but you can 
 shorten/ease it by taking a bus on one of the portions, either the Point 
 bus that goes out to Astoria, or the Tillamook

Re: [RBW] Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions?

[Shawn Granton]

On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 9:28 PM, shawn m.  wrote:

> +1 on Robert's route. I would note, however, that the stretch of Highway
> 101 north of Raymond to the Highway 107 junction is (or was when I rode it
> in 2012) logging truck hell. I've also taken Highway 6 over the Coast Range
> between Raymond and Chehalis and wouldn't hesitate to go that way again,
> especially since taking the Amtrak to Centralia puts it in pretty easy
> reach from Seattle.
>
> +1 to SR 6. Pretty quiet and a very low pass (700 feet?) over the Willapa
Hills (Coast Range), almost doesn't feel like you're summiting. There's a
state park, Rainbow Falls, about 20 miles outside of Chehalis. Nice park,
has a hiker/biker site.
-Shawn


No one actually looks at email signatures anymore, but here goes nothing:
http://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/
http://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanadventureleaguepdx/
http://bikesspottedpdx.tumblr.com/
Un-electronic mail goes here: P O Box 14185, Portland OR 97293-0185

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Re: [RBW] Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions?

[SpiralCage]

Yeah, personally I'd ride 101 to Cosmpolois (just skirting Aberdeen) and 
then 105 down to the coast. Some great riding along the coast there and the 
section into Raymond right above the water is fantastic. Plus you go by the 
Cranberry Road Winery which also has a new brewpub associated with it.

SR 6 is good times as far as it goes, but then you are in Centralia. I've 
got a good route from there to Olympia if one was dead set on going to Oly, 
but I think if I was on the train I'd just stick with it to P-Town.  

So given lesser time constraints this is the route I'd actually take:

https://goo.gl/maps/KhWp8

note on this one I moved a section from my previous route on hwy 12 to a 
frontage road, which one should do regardless of which of these variations 
one utilizes.

On Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 9:31:45 PM UTC-8, Shawn Granton wrote:
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 9:28 PM, shawn m. 
> > wrote:
>
>> +1 on Robert's route. I would note, however, that the stretch of Highway 
>> 101 north of Raymond to the Highway 107 junction is (or was when I rode it 
>> in 2012) logging truck hell. I've also taken Highway 6 over the Coast Range 
>> between Raymond and Chehalis and wouldn't hesitate to go that way again, 
>> especially since taking the Amtrak to Centralia puts it in pretty easy 
>> reach from Seattle.
>>
>> +1 to SR 6. Pretty quiet and a very low pass (700 feet?) over the Willapa 
> Hills (Coast Range), almost doesn't feel like you're summiting. There's a 
> state park, Rainbow Falls, about 20 miles outside of Chehalis. Nice park, 
> has a hiker/biker site.
> -Shawn
>
>
> No one actually looks at email signatures anymore, but here goes nothing:
> http://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/
> http://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanadventureleaguepdx/ 
> http://bikesspottedpdx.tumblr.com/
> Un-electronic mail goes here: P O Box 14185, Portland OR 97293-0185 
>
>

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Re: [RBW] Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions?

[Mark Reimer]

Cool, thanks guys!

I've been toying with another idea, which was recommended to me by a local
Seattle friend. There is no ocean or ferries, which is really too bad, but
it does have some spectacular climbs and gravel roads.

http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5639292

I'm hoping to finalize my dates and rough route tonight. Thanks for the
input!

On Fri, Feb 27, 2015 at 12:06 AM, SpiralCage  wrote:

> Yeah, personally I'd ride 101 to Cosmpolois (just skirting Aberdeen) and
> then 105 down to the coast. Some great riding along the coast there and the
> section into Raymond right above the water is fantastic. Plus you go by the
> Cranberry Road Winery which also has a new brewpub associated with it.
>
> SR 6 is good times as far as it goes, but then you are in Centralia. I've
> got a good route from there to Olympia if one was dead set on going to Oly,
> but I think if I was on the train I'd just stick with it to P-Town.
>
> So given lesser time constraints this is the route I'd actually take:
>
> https://goo.gl/maps/KhWp8
>
> note on this one I moved a section from my previous route on hwy 12 to a
> frontage road, which one should do regardless of which of these variations
> one utilizes.
>
> On Thursday, February 26, 2015 at 9:31:45 PM UTC-8, Shawn Granton wrote:
>
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 9:28 PM, shawn m.  wrote:
>>
>>> +1 on Robert's route. I would note, however, that the stretch of Highway
>>> 101 north of Raymond to the Highway 107 junction is (or was when I rode it
>>> in 2012) logging truck hell. I've also taken Highway 6 over the Coast Range
>>> between Raymond and Chehalis and wouldn't hesitate to go that way again,
>>> especially since taking the Amtrak to Centralia puts it in pretty easy
>>> reach from Seattle.
>>>
>>> +1 to SR 6. Pretty quiet and a very low pass (700 feet?) over the
>> Willapa Hills (Coast Range), almost doesn't feel like you're summiting.
>> There's a state park, Rainbow Falls, about 20 miles outside of Chehalis.
>> Nice park, has a hiker/biker site.
>> -Shawn
>>
>>
>> No one actually looks at email signatures anymore, but here goes nothing:
>> http://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/
>> http://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanadventureleaguepdx/
>> http://bikesspottedpdx.tumblr.com/
>> Un-electronic mail goes here: P O Box 14185, Portland OR 97293-0185
>>
>>  --
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Re: [RBW] Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions?

[Robert Kirkpatrick]

Yeah Jan's backdoor is something I've wanted to do as well. However the Seattle 
to Puyallup bits leave a lot to be desired. Some nice views of Mt. Rainier. May 
isn't an amazing time, though this year there isn't likely to be any snow. Of 
course the coast could be plenty wet as well. Could go either way.

Anyway all the routes have a lot of good stuff in it. I would maybe suggest 
ferry to Vashon Island and on the edge of the sound to Olympia and then cut 
over to intersect the route. I have a great Vashon to Oly route on my computer 
at home if you'd want that.

-Robert

Sent from my iPad

> On Feb 27, 2015, at 9:15 AM, rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com wrote:
> 
> 
>  Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions? 
> 
> Mark Reimer : Feb 27 10:34AM -0600 
> 
> Cool, thanks guys!
>  
> I've been toying with another idea, which was recommended to me by a local
> Seattle friend. There is no ocean or ferries, which is really too bad, but
> it does have some spectacular climbs and gravel roads.
>  
> http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5639292
>  
> I'm hoping to finalize my dates and rough route tonight. Thanks for the
> input!
>  
> Back to to
> You received this digest because you're subscribed to updates for this group. 
> You can change your settings on the group membership page.
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Re: [RBW] Planning first longish bike tour in Oregon. Suggestions?

[Chris Chen]

>From Raymond to Aberdeen I took the route out to Tokeland and along the
coast, back along Gray's Harbor. Far nicer!

On Thu, Feb 26, 2015 at 9:28 PM, shawn m.  wrote:

> +1 on Robert's route. I would note, however, that the stretch of Highway
> 101 north of Raymond to the Highway 107 junction is (or was when I rode it
> in 2012) logging truck hell. I've also taken Highway 6 over the Coast Range
> between Raymond and Chehalis and wouldn't hesitate to go that way again,
> especially since taking the Amtrak to Centralia puts it in pretty easy
> reach from Seattle.
>
> On Wednesday, February 25, 2015 at 9:16:40 PM UTC-8, SpiralCage wrote:
>>
>> Whoops, double checking that map, it looks like it got a bit messed up.
>> THIS is my preferred route from Seattle to the Coast:
>>
>> https://goo.gl/maps/YAhj0
>>
>> -RjK
>>
>> On Feb 25, 2015, at 9:14 PM, Robert Kirkpatrick 
>> wrote:
>>
>> Yeah I wouldn’t go that way in WA at all.  Here’s a link to a Google Map
>> with my preferred route:
>>
>> https://goo.gl/maps/zVT8U
>>
>> This has some great riding along Hood Canal, through the woods and small
>> little towns and is pretty much more direct. I’ve done that in two-three
>> days, staying in Shelton (slightly off the route) or camping at Potlatch
>> State park. I’d personally do it over three days staying at Potlatch, then
>> Lake Sylvia and finally Long Beach.
>>
>> Good luck, lots of great riding on your route.
>>
>> -Robert
>>
>> On Feb 25, 2015, at 8:18 PM, Shawn Granton 
>> wrote:
>>
>> Mark, that route looks like it could be a good one. I have no experience
>> with the routing you chose from around Olympia to the coast, but I'm
>> guessing it will be lightly trafficked, maybe forest/gravel roads, maybe
>> not even passable in some spots (if you're relying on Google Maps in
>> "bicycle" mode to give you directions.) Robert Kirkpatrick/Rootless in
>> Place may have a little experience here. My only tip right now: rather than
>> ride south from Seattle through suburbia (which, if you stick to the
>> Interurban trail, will be flat), ferry from SW Seattle (Fauntleroy) over to
>> Vashon Island then ferry over to Tacoma. While not as flat, will be a lot
>> more scenic and different, and you'll get two ferry rides in!
>> -Shawn
>>
>> No one actually looks at email signatures anymore, but here goes nothing:
>> http://urbanadventureleague.wordpress.com/
>> http://societyofthreespeeds.wordpress.com/
>> http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanadventureleaguepdx/
>> http://bikesspottedpdx.tumblr.com/
>> Un-electronic mail goes here: P O Box 14185, Portland OR 97293-0185
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 2:46 PM, Mark Reimer  wrote:
>>
>>> I've also been toying with the idea of flying to Seattle instead and
>>> riding to Portland over that time frame. I put together a quick route,
>>> 525km over four days and one evening. Seems a bit much, but I'm sure there
>>> are ways to trim that down. 
>>>
>>> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 3:19 PM, Mark Reimer  wrote:
>>>
 Thanks so much! That is very helpful.

 I should have mentioned, I've been to Portland before. Just once. I was
 on a motorcycle tour and stopped at a friends house. I stayed for the day
 and he took me around. It's a lovely place, definitely need to visit for
 longer some time!

 Your route seems pretty good. Distances are varied and never too long.
 I don't mind riding the 101 - it is a beautiful road and I can deal with
 pavement when the ocean is right beside me :)

 On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 2:57 PM, Shawn Granton >>> > wrote:

 Hey Mark-
>
> Welcome to Oregon! But I noticed that your plans don't seem to give
> any time for, y'know, exploring Portland itself. I can tell you from
> experience that Portland is slightly different than Winnipeg. ;-)
>
> Anyways, I think that a North Coast Loop would be good option to get
> ocean and climbs. Though you'll have to use US 101 on the coast itself for
> a good part which would go against your wish for avoiding the busy. But 
> the
> scenery makes up for it! This would be a mostly paved route. There are
> gravel options over the Coast Range, but they can/will be steep and a GPS
> unit is needed as most of those roads are un/poorly marked timber company
> roads.
>
> It could look something like this:
>
>- Sat May 16: Get into PDX, take MAX light rail to Hillsboro, ride
>20ish miles to Stub Stewart State Park.
>- Sun May 17: Ride Banks/Vernonia Trail, OR 47 and OR 202 to
>Astoria (80 miles.) No camping in Astoria but hotels/motels, closest
>camping would be at Ft. Stevens, another 10 miles away.
>- Mon May 18: Ride 101 and some alternates to Nehalem Bay State
>Park (40 miles)
>- Tues May 19: Ride 101 and some alternates to Cape Lookout State
>park (40 miles)
>- Wed May 20: Back to Hillsboro MAX via Nestucca River Road (a
>smidge of