nofreeride
Well-known member
The Route
Google Map of the route, Washington loop counter-clockwise from Portland leaving Friday afternoon at 3:00. Arrived home about Midnight. Four hours of sleep and then back up for the Oregon loop. Counter-clockwise again, arriving home with an hour to spare.
The Plan
I get off work at 3:00pm on Friday, and I’m supposed to be somewhere on Saturday at 4:00pm. I worked up the route a few weeks earlier and penciled it in on the calendar. The I-5 North to South would be almost all at night, with a sleep break at home. I wasn’t sure the weather would cooperate, but looking at the forecast the day before, it would rain while I was at work and clear up for the rest of the ride.
The Story
It did rain most of the morning at work, but I was encouraged when the rain stopped before lunch. I got my start witness from a coworker, and then went to a gas station close by, to officially start at 3:10pm. The downpour started almost as soon as I got into Washington on state Hwy 14. I was drenched by passing cars a couple of times, losing visibility for about 3-4 seconds while the water splashed all over me. This was not starting well. I only went 35 miles in the first hour.
The rain stopped and the ride got better as I continued through the Columbia River Gorge. North through Goldendale and Yakima, then it got colder through Snoqualmie Pass. After stopping in North Bend, I got some tunes going on an internet radio station on my phone. It was all 80’s, bringing back memories of high school and college. This got me all the way to the final gas stop of the night, and a few minutes later I crashed in my own bed.
It was still dark when I got rolling again, finally turning off the freeway in Roseburg. As I twisted east along the Umpqua River, I wondered when it would start to warm up. My thermometer had been showing 30’s and 40’s all day, and I was cold. There was lots of red lava sand and gravel on the roads, but the snow and ice was mostly on the sides. A sign indicated my highest elevation as 5,925 feet. As I arrived at the southeast corner of my route, I thought it would be warmer the rest of the day.
Wrong. 30’s again all the way north to Bend. I was really starting to NOT enjoy this ride. The heated grips were on high and I was wearing every layer I brought with me. I recalled the night before, as I had heard John Mellencamp sing his hit tune, “Hurt So Good”. “Sometimes love don’t feel like it should, you make it hurt so good.” That’s how I was feeling on the long, cold, straight, 55-mph limit stretch of Hwy 97 on my way to Bend. The love-hate relationship with Feejer was deepening. Was there a point to going on this ride? I didn’t remember.
It warmed up through Bend and Sisters, but I had another mountain pass to go through. It was in the high 60’s back home, but it still took almost a half hour in the shower for my body to finally warm up.
Conclusion? I am definitely sending this ride in for certification, my first official Iron Butt ride. But I don’t have a desire to do it again anytime soon, although that is likely to change.
The Stats
1033 odometer miles, 1012 miles according to Google maps.
22 hours, 58 minutes total elapsed time.
55.84 average mph, not counting 4 ½ hours overnight stop.
42 mpg average
The Photos
The photos from my cell phone are worse than not having photos. I need to get another camera. Besides, I don’t have time to snap photos on a ride like this. I’m on a deadline!
Google Map of the route, Washington loop counter-clockwise from Portland leaving Friday afternoon at 3:00. Arrived home about Midnight. Four hours of sleep and then back up for the Oregon loop. Counter-clockwise again, arriving home with an hour to spare.
The Plan
I get off work at 3:00pm on Friday, and I’m supposed to be somewhere on Saturday at 4:00pm. I worked up the route a few weeks earlier and penciled it in on the calendar. The I-5 North to South would be almost all at night, with a sleep break at home. I wasn’t sure the weather would cooperate, but looking at the forecast the day before, it would rain while I was at work and clear up for the rest of the ride.
The Story
It did rain most of the morning at work, but I was encouraged when the rain stopped before lunch. I got my start witness from a coworker, and then went to a gas station close by, to officially start at 3:10pm. The downpour started almost as soon as I got into Washington on state Hwy 14. I was drenched by passing cars a couple of times, losing visibility for about 3-4 seconds while the water splashed all over me. This was not starting well. I only went 35 miles in the first hour.
The rain stopped and the ride got better as I continued through the Columbia River Gorge. North through Goldendale and Yakima, then it got colder through Snoqualmie Pass. After stopping in North Bend, I got some tunes going on an internet radio station on my phone. It was all 80’s, bringing back memories of high school and college. This got me all the way to the final gas stop of the night, and a few minutes later I crashed in my own bed.
It was still dark when I got rolling again, finally turning off the freeway in Roseburg. As I twisted east along the Umpqua River, I wondered when it would start to warm up. My thermometer had been showing 30’s and 40’s all day, and I was cold. There was lots of red lava sand and gravel on the roads, but the snow and ice was mostly on the sides. A sign indicated my highest elevation as 5,925 feet. As I arrived at the southeast corner of my route, I thought it would be warmer the rest of the day.
Wrong. 30’s again all the way north to Bend. I was really starting to NOT enjoy this ride. The heated grips were on high and I was wearing every layer I brought with me. I recalled the night before, as I had heard John Mellencamp sing his hit tune, “Hurt So Good”. “Sometimes love don’t feel like it should, you make it hurt so good.” That’s how I was feeling on the long, cold, straight, 55-mph limit stretch of Hwy 97 on my way to Bend. The love-hate relationship with Feejer was deepening. Was there a point to going on this ride? I didn’t remember.
It warmed up through Bend and Sisters, but I had another mountain pass to go through. It was in the high 60’s back home, but it still took almost a half hour in the shower for my body to finally warm up.
Conclusion? I am definitely sending this ride in for certification, my first official Iron Butt ride. But I don’t have a desire to do it again anytime soon, although that is likely to change.
The Stats
1033 odometer miles, 1012 miles according to Google maps.
22 hours, 58 minutes total elapsed time.
55.84 average mph, not counting 4 ½ hours overnight stop.
42 mpg average
The Photos
The photos from my cell phone are worse than not having photos. I need to get another camera. Besides, I don’t have time to snap photos on a ride like this. I’m on a deadline!
