Tenchi
Well-known member
Ride around Mt. Rainier, Sunrise, down WA-410, US-12 & WA-123
Took advantage of National Park Service Day or whatever it was. Left early, as I wanted to beat the traffic in and hit Longmire around 9am.
Recommendation: Hwy 161 sucked arse, but it would have been worse later when it was busy. I was warned it would be bad, so I just took it easy, took it gentle and relaxed. I recommend against going down that route.
Fuel stops: Ashford was the last fuel stop for a while on the West side of Rainier, with Cliffdell being the closest on the east side, and Enumclaw on the north. Longest I went without fuel was below 200 mi so there was plenty left in the tank even with spirited riding.
Best thing I saw all trip: Mt. Rainier after deciding that riding through construction areas on a dual sport really wasn't that bad an idea.
Biggest regret: I didn't bring food with me. I was pretty hungry and just couldn't bring myself to eat at any of the restaurants (literally; the thought of doing so made me feel like retching. I'm sick of pub food). My first meal of the day ended up being dinner.
One thing I didn't want to see: My bike falling down the side of a cliff (see below).
One thing I wish I had brought with me: Tire inflation kit (see below)
Ride report:
Kick arse ride. Got a bit lost - was supposed to head around the eastern loop in an anti-clockwise direction (visit Sunrise first, then head round the loop instead of loop first), but ended up going in a clockwise direction after making a wrong turn at some construction work (intersection of 410 and WA-123). Headed down the scenic byway, which was pretty nice. Decided to try my hand at some off road riding. I couldn't do anything too crazy as I didn't have a tire inflation kit. First road was not that impressive. Second road, on the other hand, was 20 mi of up to 10% gradient over surface ranging from pea gravel over packed dirt to loose rocks bigger than golf balls, switchbacks, hairpins, etc. with a cliff on one side and a vertical drop off on the other. There's a photo of the SnailStrom and I on a packed dirt road - the view was totally worth it. After hooking a right to US-12 I headed down to the dam to take a photo, got in trouble with one of the people there for riding my bike down to the water's edge, but they forgave me when they realised all I really wanted to do was take a photo. Found some GSX-R600's on WA-123 up to Sunrise, followed them up, then down, before heading through to Enumclaw and home. Roads to Sunrise are definitely difficult and should not be overestimated - they're also very bumpy and there's debris all over the road.
Mini story with big scare: The GSX-R 600 riders were trying to lose me on the way up to Sunrise. After going through the twisty section they were pretty surprised to see me still there behind them (actually, I was wondering why they were going so damn slow; the SnailStrom is not a bike I would have thought could manage to keep up with lightweight sportbikes in a twisty section). When I got closer, I noticed the rear rider still had temporary plates - brand new bike. The way he was riding made me think he was a brand new rider too. I decided that it would be wise to not only ride my own ride, but give the middle rider an even wider berth than I normally would.
Got to the top, had a chat with them. Ends up they were two very surprised Marines to see that I was still there; I didn't say anything other than I was surprised too. Asked about the bikes and their experience - the guy that was riding on the temp plates had his license 4 days, and the lead rider was more experienced but was missing a frame slader after dropping his bike at a fuel station. While the first rider rode like he had experience and balls, the second one did not show any sign of doing rider training (isn't that mandatory for the US Army?). They were also running low on fuel and had an estimated DTE* of 35 mi when the closest fuel station was 34.9 mi away, according to the GPS. Overall, they were not leaving a good impression on me. Sunrise is not a place I would go 4 days after I got my license.
On the way down, we're heading through the hairpins. I've been making mental notes on the way up, and I know that there's several hairpins that really deserve 110% of my attention on a front-and-top-heavy bike like the V-Strom. I'm Sweeper/Charlie again, following the inexperienced guy. First rider goes through the right hander corner leaned right over. Second guy enters the corner maybe 1-2 mph faster than me but slower than the first guy, and I follow. I see the corner tighten up and my blood runs cold. I watch out of the corner of my eye as the inexperienced guy crosses the double yellows, then the white on the edge of the other side of the road, finally lining up with the road again about 8" from the edge of the very wide shoulder (as in, where the road stops and dirt to a 80º incline begins). I was literally getting ready to stop and pick up the pieces. I thought he was proper f*cked, either by an oncoming car, by running off the edge, or one of the billions of other reasons for things to go wrong. It was a proper, skipped a heartbeat, sphincter puckering, hair standing on end moment.
Anyway, I'm being kind and giving them an escort to the closest fuel station just in case they both run out of fuel. They're riding pretty sedately to conserve fuel and because of the earlier brush with death. We round the corner, and the more experienced rider's bike runs out gas about 600 ft from the station. I get off my strom, take off my helmet and jacket, and help push the guy the last 600 ft to the gas station. I'm not about to give up an opportunity to support the Marines when I can
Photos:
*DTE = Distance to empty
Took advantage of National Park Service Day or whatever it was. Left early, as I wanted to beat the traffic in and hit Longmire around 9am.
Recommendation: Hwy 161 sucked arse, but it would have been worse later when it was busy. I was warned it would be bad, so I just took it easy, took it gentle and relaxed. I recommend against going down that route.
Fuel stops: Ashford was the last fuel stop for a while on the West side of Rainier, with Cliffdell being the closest on the east side, and Enumclaw on the north. Longest I went without fuel was below 200 mi so there was plenty left in the tank even with spirited riding.
Best thing I saw all trip: Mt. Rainier after deciding that riding through construction areas on a dual sport really wasn't that bad an idea.
Biggest regret: I didn't bring food with me. I was pretty hungry and just couldn't bring myself to eat at any of the restaurants (literally; the thought of doing so made me feel like retching. I'm sick of pub food). My first meal of the day ended up being dinner.
One thing I didn't want to see: My bike falling down the side of a cliff (see below).
One thing I wish I had brought with me: Tire inflation kit (see below)
Ride report:
Kick arse ride. Got a bit lost - was supposed to head around the eastern loop in an anti-clockwise direction (visit Sunrise first, then head round the loop instead of loop first), but ended up going in a clockwise direction after making a wrong turn at some construction work (intersection of 410 and WA-123). Headed down the scenic byway, which was pretty nice. Decided to try my hand at some off road riding. I couldn't do anything too crazy as I didn't have a tire inflation kit. First road was not that impressive. Second road, on the other hand, was 20 mi of up to 10% gradient over surface ranging from pea gravel over packed dirt to loose rocks bigger than golf balls, switchbacks, hairpins, etc. with a cliff on one side and a vertical drop off on the other. There's a photo of the SnailStrom and I on a packed dirt road - the view was totally worth it. After hooking a right to US-12 I headed down to the dam to take a photo, got in trouble with one of the people there for riding my bike down to the water's edge, but they forgave me when they realised all I really wanted to do was take a photo. Found some GSX-R600's on WA-123 up to Sunrise, followed them up, then down, before heading through to Enumclaw and home. Roads to Sunrise are definitely difficult and should not be overestimated - they're also very bumpy and there's debris all over the road.
Mini story with big scare: The GSX-R 600 riders were trying to lose me on the way up to Sunrise. After going through the twisty section they were pretty surprised to see me still there behind them (actually, I was wondering why they were going so damn slow; the SnailStrom is not a bike I would have thought could manage to keep up with lightweight sportbikes in a twisty section). When I got closer, I noticed the rear rider still had temporary plates - brand new bike. The way he was riding made me think he was a brand new rider too. I decided that it would be wise to not only ride my own ride, but give the middle rider an even wider berth than I normally would.
Got to the top, had a chat with them. Ends up they were two very surprised Marines to see that I was still there; I didn't say anything other than I was surprised too. Asked about the bikes and their experience - the guy that was riding on the temp plates had his license 4 days, and the lead rider was more experienced but was missing a frame slader after dropping his bike at a fuel station. While the first rider rode like he had experience and balls, the second one did not show any sign of doing rider training (isn't that mandatory for the US Army?). They were also running low on fuel and had an estimated DTE* of 35 mi when the closest fuel station was 34.9 mi away, according to the GPS. Overall, they were not leaving a good impression on me. Sunrise is not a place I would go 4 days after I got my license.
On the way down, we're heading through the hairpins. I've been making mental notes on the way up, and I know that there's several hairpins that really deserve 110% of my attention on a front-and-top-heavy bike like the V-Strom. I'm Sweeper/Charlie again, following the inexperienced guy. First rider goes through the right hander corner leaned right over. Second guy enters the corner maybe 1-2 mph faster than me but slower than the first guy, and I follow. I see the corner tighten up and my blood runs cold. I watch out of the corner of my eye as the inexperienced guy crosses the double yellows, then the white on the edge of the other side of the road, finally lining up with the road again about 8" from the edge of the very wide shoulder (as in, where the road stops and dirt to a 80º incline begins). I was literally getting ready to stop and pick up the pieces. I thought he was proper f*cked, either by an oncoming car, by running off the edge, or one of the billions of other reasons for things to go wrong. It was a proper, skipped a heartbeat, sphincter puckering, hair standing on end moment.
Anyway, I'm being kind and giving them an escort to the closest fuel station just in case they both run out of fuel. They're riding pretty sedately to conserve fuel and because of the earlier brush with death. We round the corner, and the more experienced rider's bike runs out gas about 600 ft from the station. I get off my strom, take off my helmet and jacket, and help push the guy the last 600 ft to the gas station. I'm not about to give up an opportunity to support the Marines when I can
Photos:
*DTE = Distance to empty
