Seattle to San Francisco 1/28 - 1/29

[MarkFJR]

I am leaving the Seattle area and relocating to San Francisco. Currently planning to ride down over the weekend of January 28/29th. I plan to take the scenic coastal route as the I5 (done it before) is too cold this time of year. Seattle to Portland, then Lincoln City and take the 101 to San Francisco. Stop Saturday night somewhere in the middle.

 

[markjenn]

I'd make a last minute decision on the route based on weather. If it's preciping, you definitely want to take the coast to avoid high-snowy passes in S. Oregon, but if it's pleasant/warm, the inland route might be dry whereas the coastal route is pouring rain.

In any event, have a backup plan. At this time of year there can be weather patterns - albeit not common - that make a such a trip really really nasty, if not downright foolhardy.

- Mark

 

[FJR_pig]

Honk when you go thru Portland. I'm about 3 minutes from the freeway, just south of downtown.

Happy trails.

 

[throttlejockeyTJ]

I'd make a last minute decision on the route based on weather. If it's preciping, you definitely want to take the coast to avoid high-snowy passes in S. Oregon, but if it's pleasant/warm, the inland route might be dry whereas the coastal route is pouring rain.

In any event, have a backup plan. At this time of year there can be weather patterns - albeit not common - that make a such a trip really really nasty, if not downright foolhardy.

- Mark

+1

Let us know how your trip went. Good Luck in Frisco!

 

[MarkFJR]

Feedback on the trip -

Ok, so nobody wanted to joing this crazy biker.

I left Seattle at 5:25am Saturday morning, plenty of rain proof/warm gear on. Headed South on I5, the weather was playing along, few showers and no wind. I did the first 200 miles in 3 hours and based on that started to have some expectations of an easy trip. I made the poor decision after Portland to go straight down the I5, FJR was eating the miles and occasional sunshine through the clouds gave me expectations of an easy ride all the way.

Hitting the mountains in Southern Oregon was interesting, snow ploughs and banks of snow all over but just light rain, I was stilll lucky, no ice. Halfway through the pass the rain started and from there to my final destination I rode in rain.

All was well until Sacramento but after that it turned dark and the final ride to Sunnyvale was in pouring rain. I made a mistake to try to cut over the 92 bridge from 880 to 101 and ended up taking 30 minutes to get through the toll gate, my left hand was already tired and 30 minutes of stop start driving was painfull.

I pulled into Sunnyvale at 8:30 pm. Not bad, 15 hours to cover 850 miles with stops every 200 miles or so for gas and food.

Things that are a definite plus on a trip like this:

Vista Cruise - relieves the numb right hand

Garmin iQue 3600 - a GPS running Palm OS, doubles as my MP3 player (1Gb SIM)

Autocom - music and cell-phone hookup (take calls on the road with autoanswer), also good for radar detector (I have a Valentine 1 - no good in the rain though)

Hope to see you at some of this years rides

Mark

 

[zzkenoman]

I posted a similar ride on my trip from Orange County CA to SF in the rain. Most of the rain I encounted was at hwy 580 and hwy 5, but it was raining so hard I was hydroplaning at 35mph. In place of your vista cruise, my throttle rocket was great, and I used my chatterbox for my cell and ipod tunes. Luckily my stop approx 100 miles before the bayarea my parents said it was raining hard, which was hard to believe because it was clear as a bell. Having a great waterproof frank thomas jacket and pants was a god sent, only thing that froze was my fingers. Great news you made it safely, hope to visit you when I go up there sometime in the next few weeks.

 

[MarkFJR]

Another Farkel that I have to stop the cold finger problem is the Suzuki Hand Guards from the V-Strom.