October Weather in WA,BC

[00SS]

I'm currently planning an alternate route in case the baja/mexico trip get's postponed until Mar09. If the ride to points south of the border falls through I'm going to be going on a 2-3 week ride from Dallas to Rapid City SD by way of Huntington Beach CA, up to Seattle (Lacey), then Vancouver BC, and then to the black hills of SD (and finally home to dallas).

I have been struggling on which bike to ride, but for the amount of hiway miles and the mere comfort of it.. i'll probably be taking the 1800 cruiser.

That being said, what can i expect for weather (on average) for the first 3 weeks of October in Seattle and Vancouver. I know it rains a lot.. but how about temps in BC and just in general for the area around that time of year.

any insight is much appreciated

[Hammer]

Higher altitudes can have frost (say 4,000 and up, and that unusual)
But October has some beautiful days.
It also has some soggy ones.
Easy choice- just come on the beautiful ones. Leave the soggy ones for us web-feet.

[DantesDame]

Overall, I'd expect cold and damp. And then be pleasantly surprised if you get anything else. Well, at least that's how I plan my rides. It works out well

[Tempo]

Crisp is the word that comes to mind.

[00SS]

thanks for the comments guys.. so i'll take raingear and heavy coat.. but more than likely won't need electrics then.

I'm more and more thinking of actually taking the DR for this trip due to the fact that my friend house in South Dakota has a mile drivway that he said it would be tuf to get a cruiser through.

[Bobo1167]

it's the law up here. Especially if you get above 2000ft elevation, before noon. I was using mine last weekend, in the morning.

Oct can be anything from perfect 70 daytime, 45 at night, at sea level, to 55 daytime, 40 night, and rain. Subtract 5 degrees per 1000 ft of elevation for the mountain conditions. Northern CA, Washington, Oregon and BC, clear off to eastern Montana.

it's a beautiful time to be here, if it is. Rogue 1 came through the first week of Oct last year and spent about four days hibernating from the rain trying to get to Oregon dry. And that means snow is possible in the mountains (but not much).

Come prepared, or come with money to buy new stuff. This being Wa$hington, come with lots of money, spend it here, then go home.

bobo

[00SS]

Originally Posted by Bobo1167

it's the law up here. Especially if you get above 2000ft elevation, before noon. I was using mine last weekend, in the morning.

Oct can be anything from perfect 70 daytime, 45 at night, at sea level, to 55 daytime, 40 night, and rain. Subtract 5 degrees per 1000 ft of elevation for the mountain conditions. Northern CA, Washington, Oregon and BC, clear off to eastern Montana.

it's a beautiful time to be here, if it is. Rogue 1 came through the first week of Oct last year and spent about four days hibernating from the rain trying to get to Oregon dry. And that means snow is possible in the mountains (but not much).

Come prepared, or come with money to buy new stuff. This being Wa$hington, come with lots of money, spend it here, then go home.

bobo

Duely noted.. - new liners for the gloves on order, oh, and i'm sure i'll buy my quota of beer from your fine state

[logging road rider]

October is transition time. It can be really nice, or really bad, or both. At times I've wished for rain so the blacktails couldn't hear me coming. At other times I've had salmon swimming across the road when I head for my hunting spot. Generally, temps in the lowlands aren't too bad in October. Maybe a freeze here and there but not extreme. Rain? Yeah, at times. In the mountains everything is more extreme.

[HighwayChile]

bc is getting expensive but has some of the most incredible riding anywhere. best place for certain.

if its dry head to the coastal areas, if they get rain head to eastern wa or okanogan bc, totally different weather, the desert extends 200 mi north of the border, but its getting colder that time pf yr, you wont see crowds. if staying in a big city, hotwire works well, not so much in the outback.

get yer beer and ales in but avoid the babyback bbq, lame, you will punch out the cook, wont compare to tejas

[NortwestRider]

RAIN,RAIN and maybe some RAIN...Just the way we like it..

heheheheehehe

[Beerslayer]

Originally Posted by logging road rider

At times I've wished for rain so the blacktails couldn't hear me coming. At other times I've had salmon swimming across the road when I head for my hunting spot.

That pretty well sums it up. If you want to go hunting, it is beautiful, sunny, and dry with nice fall colors and the deer can hear you from a half mile away. If you want to ride it is raining, wet, and cold. Or maybe not.

The uncertainty is part of the thrill!

[thetourist]

The Inland Northwest is much dryer in the fall than the coast. The Cascades block the small storms. So east of the mountains is more stable. The weather forcasts are quite accurate.

Early Oct is grand riding weather east of the Cascades. Cool mornings with warm afternoons. First snow on Halloween. By the end of Oct it's freezing at night and warmer during the day. Still sunny days.

Electrics...absolutely. I'm a big advocate of Hippo Hands.

[Live2Ride]

And if you need a place to stay while passing through Spokane, we have a spare bedroom for ya.

[00SS]

Beerslayer -

The uncertainty is part of the thrill!

couldn't agree more.. (but i was a boyscoutt many moons ago.. and I like to be prepared for all occasions)

thetourist -

The Inland Northwest is much dryer in the fall than the coast. The Cascades block the small storms. So east of the mountains is more stable. The weather forcasts are quite accurate.

Great info.. many thanks.

Live2Ride -

And if you need a place to stay while passing through Spokane, we have a spare bedroom for ya.

Many thanks for the offer, I may take you up on it.. matter of fact I was just about to peruse the tent space thread.

Also, i'm not much of GPS guy.. and really haven't planned the route down to the exact places I will camp/end up. I pretty much have 3 places that I intend on making.. but the route is mostly me looking at my compass and making sure i'm heading in the right general direction. In such, any places that are a MUST see (other than Big Sir, Giant Redwwoods). I will have a fair amount of time to get from Huntington Beach, CA to Seattle, WA and want to soak up as much of the Pacific North that I can. After that, i'll head to Vancouver, as a friend of mine is turning 50 and I will spend a few days there for his party. After that, I had planned (weather permitting) to head to Glacier then back down to South Dakots' black hills to see mount Rushmore (I just turned 40 and have never seen it).

Really appreciate the comments, keep them coming.