2012 West Coast Discovery

There is nothing quite like a sequestered little town anywhere in the sticks populated by a bunch of AARP hippies. The guys with the grey beards and moth-eaten tie-dyed shirts, and the woman with the long braids of grey hair and little whiskers! Free spirits who hate government, but are happy to collect their disability and social security checks! Like Ayn Rand did!

Woodstock in NY is like that. You almost feel like you have just stepped out of a time machine, except the people are all wrinkled and limping from arthritis! And they don't believe in deodorant!

Long live the Haight!

Thanks for the RR!! , I,m from NorCal and lived in OR and WA, brought me back to to the fun and sites, I have rode a lot of what you all rode, Thanks for the ride!!!!!!!!!!!
Keith.

DP and crew does it again. One of best ride reports. You guys continue to raise the bar when it come to finding interesting routes to explore and you are in simpatico with the weather gods for sure. The scenery and camera work is simply stunning. Well done and thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Now I really know I live on the wrong coast.

Hey DP,
I'm just tuning in for the first time(so don't anyone tell me how it ends) and absolutely love all the different bikes on this trip. I own two of them,and the other two I've always wanted to ride so it'll be nice to read how they all did.
I always enjoy your reports, I'm sure this one won't disappoint .

Did I mention rocks?

During the last days of this trip I was wishing for sand. I went so far as to say to my colleagues that I would kiss the South Jersey Pine Barrens sand when we got home.

This trip was all about rocks. Rocks in the morning, rocks at mid-day, rocks late in the day. Long long stretches of rocks. Only two sections that were really difficult where I think we all felt lucky to get through with no drops or damage. (Well maybe not Bruce, pretty much everything is effortless for him). I don't mind the rocks so much. But day after day after day in Washington and Oregon it was just endless rocks. Probably didnt help that at one section in Washington I went off course a bit and had a difficult uphill rock climb when I knew noone was coming behind me and they didnt know where I was. Remember, we ride untethered. I somehow missed a turn and realized after a few minutes I was off course. I consulted the GPS and saw that if I continued on my current heading I would reconnect with the planned route after a couple of miles. What I didn't know when I made the decision to continue rather than doubling back was I faced this difficult section. When I came to the uphill rock climb I was too far into it to double back.

The purpose of this little excpert is just to warn anyone considering following our route or riding the WABDR or ORBDR to be prepared for the rocks.

JB

If you get a chance, I'd still like to get your thoughts..
Thanks
Jeff

What a Great trip.. Im late to the party only on Day 10 but wow.. Another Great trip Frank

Thanks for sharing your trip guys. Great ride report, really enjoyed reading this.

nice report - hope to do similar soon/

You are right about Ruby Grade, its a thrill even in a FWD pickup. Used to live the Okanogan and would ride this route 4 or 5 times a summer. The fire (Tripod Complex) happened in 2006 and was the largest fire in the nation that year, it took most of the summer to control it. COOL report.

awesome trip, DP! you guys always put together fantastic rides through amazing parts of the country. Someday I hope to do the same. kudos on the great report.

Hi Brian, these guys do it right!

Gotta give the ladies at Happy's Coffee another plug here.

If you are anywhere near Granite Falls in the morning stop at Happy's and have a cuppa. They got our trip off on the right foot. I think we were laughing the whole time we were there.

This was another epic journey, typical of your team. No doubt a physical workout. Given the daily pounding you guys and your bikes apparently took, many may be wondering: Was it too long? If so, how would you have shortened it?

Too short, I need more vacation time!

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Agree with Mike. Never enough time for these trips. If I had more vacation time available the trips would be three or four weeks.

We should have done something a bit different for the last day. Mike probably made the right choice getting across the valley. That day was a real slog. Even better we probably should have finished in San Fran or Sacramento.

Riding through the burn areas was very cool and sobering. Lots of thoughts running through my mind in those areas.

What was it like in here when it was on fire/
How long does it take to regenerate?
Kinda glad for the burn as it provides a spectacular view. If the trees were alive and green I'd be riding in a corridor with a view of.....trees.
Burns are the natural course of things.


Getting a refreshing swim in Lake Chelan at the end of the day was prety much freakin fantastic. 'Course we coulda been camping somewhere out in the woods / on the trail. But a swim in that cool clear lake followed by a dunk in the hot tub, a great meal with no clean up and a comfy bed makes for a great finish to a great day and allows you to wake the next day fully refreshed.

What would I Change?

I would change the route to swing by Windy Ridge/ Mt St Helens. I had a alternate route to do so, but the group decided to stick to the WABDR. Having been there, I opted to do the same. Definitely a mistake! The first part of NF-21 out of Packwood was just a boring , washboarded gravel road. Visiting Mt St. Helens, then reconnecting to the WABDR on NF-90 along the Lewis River would have been far more rewarding ​

Bemiiten ... How did you cross CA's central valley? What a let-down that must have been.