Are you renting and returning the bike form the same location? We have done that in the past, this is how we handle the "gear".
I pack all the bag liners from my Roadie the same way I would if I was riding out from my home, saddle bags, tour pak bag and luggage rack bag. Then I put them inside a suit case or two. When we got to the dealership after the plane, we just took everything out and put it were it was supposed to go as if it was my bike. Then we left the empty suitcases at the dealership. When we got back after our trip, do the same in reverse and go back to airport. Works real well and makes things less stressful.
So based on this advise you want to call your rental company and discuss leaving suitcases with them and how your bike is setup. We rented a Road King on one trip that had no tour pak, so we brought our older luggage rack bag.
Also talk to them about helmets, I had a jack *** in Florida make me take his DOT helmet even though Florida is a free state. Stupid thing was hanging off the side of the bike all week in my way. Also had someone else make me take their DOT helmet because they didn't like my helmet. PITA for sure. Good luck, have fun, plan ahead.
I have done a portion of this ride. I live in the Seattle area.
Suggestion: Take the Ferry from Edmonds, WA to Kingston,Wa, then head West (check map/gps) to Port Angeles, from there West to Hwy 101, and then down the coast.
Rain gear is necessary, as you will probably get some rain.
I would suggest making motel reservations a day or two in advance. That way if you cannot stay where planned, you can go to the next town. Not that far between towns.
You will have an outstanding trip - ride safe, enjoy the seafood.
Balloo
The Edmonds ferry gets my vote. Unless you want to see the USS Tuner in Bremerton. You can head out across the Sound on different ones but that Ferry out of Edmonds is only about a half hour trip, the Bremerton one is about 3 times that. When you get there you don't need to get in line like everyone else if you're on a bike. It's going to be a little confusing as to how it's set up since they put the standard ferry traffic off to the side of the main road and to be a part of it you have to join it way back... so this will help you out a whole bunch:
Like I said, the Edmonds ferry has different rules for motorcyclists. The end of their Main street becomes the ferry. Just take that and pull over right at the very start of of the pier. To your left (south) there is a station where you can buy a ticket if you walk over to it. Then once you have that you can ride to the end of the ferry loading dock and wait to be ushered on. Motorcycles go on first and get off first. It's awesome. Do not wait in the normal traffic, it sucks, you'll miss the boat you were planning for and it's more stressful. It's expected that you "cut", bikes have their own waiting area at every Ferry, at Edmonds it's on the Pier. At other stations they wave you ahead of the traffic to get you through it (and it's hilarious to see the look on the faces on people waiting in their cars), Fort Casey is the only ferry where this was an issue and that's because they get way more bikes than the others.
Port Gamble is a neat little town, it's stuck in 1890 so to speak. There are a lot of Ports out there, some really cool history too.
Stop in Bada NW Coffee Shop in Port Angeles and get a Mocha. If you're going to be out here you need to understand coffee... lol.
See La Push.
The section west of Port Angeles... once you hit get past Lake Crescent be prepared for rain. Might be perfect, might be less water in the ocean. It's like a heavy mist out there when it hits but with rain drops instead of little mist drops. Forks gets over ten FEET of rain a year.
Also, I don't know what it is about Prius drivers out here but they are out to get you. Every story I hear or have seen with my own eyes has a Prius in it. Expect them to try to murder you. Try to avoid doing this on a Saturday, there are way more people, and if it's really nice you'll have a lot more traffic going to the Mountains and what not. Catch it without people on it and you'll remember it forever.
When you get to Oregon stop at Cannon Beach and especially Tillamook cheese factory. Get a milkshake and some cheese. It's awesome.
Where are you planning on renting your bikes from?
Last edited by CaptainAwesome; 01-29-2018 at 01:56 PM.
Hwy 101 south is a great ride.
Longbeach ,WA great stop. Adrift Motel w/Picked Fish Restaurant on top is on the beach.
Depoe Bay,Or whale watching on Hwy 101.
Florence ,Oregon usually stay at the Old Town Inn. Right on the HWY in old town Florence. Dinner at the Zebra Bar 2 blocks away.
You will want to stop at The Heceta Head Lighthouse 10 miles north of Florence.
Also really cool is Cape Arago just on the Coast from Coos Bay,OR
Look out for Elk he
101 looking south towards Florence,OR
No joke about Elk on road from Bandon,Or to California.
Fantastic Views. Defiantly check out Avenue of the Giants in Cali. Awesome!
Elk on Hwy 101 Brookings,OR Avenue of the Giants
Are you riding through on your first day or spending a day or so in Seattle? There is a lot to see but you could easily spend a couple weeks doing it.
If you're riding through, my suggestion of a route to see a few things a long the way:
Take the 509 Highway north, it will merge with Highway 99. If you stay on Highway 99 it will take you past the football and baseball stadium. Then it will ride above the piers. If you're lucky there will be a battleship out there, it's a crazy thing to see one just hanging around.
You can catch a glimps of the Space Needle on this road, but it won't be a proper driveby. Taking the exit for Western Ave and then right onto Broad street will drive you right past the Space Needle, they're currently putting in glass floors for it, hopefully it will be done by the time you're out here.
Heading North... there are 6 bridges that cross over, each one has something cool about it. Ballard bridge has a lot of boats tightly together and it looks like a forest with no branches. Fremont Bridge goes under Highway 99, you can check out the Fremont Troll just a block or two off. Aurora Bridge (Highway 99, this road has like 10 names) is a pretty cool "above it all" route. the i5 Bridge has double layers to it, and if you're going south on it you get a really good look at Seattle and the Space Needle. Not so much going north. The Small bridge under that is neat to go over with the massive i5 overhead. And the Montlake bridge is cool because it looks Victorian... might actually be.
Anyways.
If you got off to check the Needle, you can take Mercer St. to get to the i5, you can get back onto Highway 99 but I suggest GPS for your first time with it. Do not try to get to the i5 on Mercer Street if it's past 2pm. It's probably the most congested area in Seattle anywhere near rush hour. If not it's a straight shot, lol. You can take the HOV lane if you're on a Motorcycle, the Express lane too if it's open.
If it was me and I got off at the Space Needle and was sight seeing. I would turn West on Mercer Street, go down to 2nd Ave W and get a Danish at Nielsens. Don't mess around with parking and be mindful that that stretch of Mercer St is full of people doing stupid things and it's a bit chaotic. Keep to the inside lane, the outside one turns into parking at one point. Expect people to walk out into traffic without looking.
Back onto Mercer St. going West still. The road will curve and connect to Elliott Ave W, curve right (north) onto it, watch for stupid people. Continue north on it, the Ballard Bridge is pretty neat with all the boats. Continue north, you could turn right when you hit NW 65 st then left on Phinney Ave N which puts you right at Red Mill Burgers. They have amazing onion rings.
From there I'd head north, Phinney becomes Greenwood Ave N after Red Mill Burgers. If you're in the mood for coffee then look for a Chocolati, by N 84th St, there is one at Green Lake that I like quite a bit but that area is mostly chaos when it comes to parking.
From there there isn't too much to see, a couple good roads and parks but might be worth while just to get north quicker and get to Edmonds for the ferry.
Since you're stating at Burien you could just go south around the Sound, or use a different ferry. But not seeing the Space Needle when you come to Seattle is like not checking out the Statue of Liberty when you go to New York. You can use Google Maps to see what it would look like from Highway 99 or such if you didn't want to get off the main road.
The west side of the Sound also has some attractions from the Twilight book series. Belle Italia in Port Angeles was in it, and a good place to eat. Forks itself has a lot of Easter Eggs left in the town, so does La Push. If nothing else stop by the Forks Chamber of Commerce on the way out and see the maps that show just how many people came out there and imagine what that must have been like to a town of less than 4,000 people.
Last edited by CaptainAwesome; 01-31-2018 at 12:16 PM.
Tillamook Cheese on North Oregon Coast, Seal Cave, the redwoods and there is a nice and reasonably priced resort called the heritage house just south of Mendocino (about 130 miles for the Golden gate bridge) that is worth the stay for the views. We enjoyed several light houses along the PCH. it took us 4 days to ride from Portland to SF at a nice relaxed pace.
01-22-2018, 06:23 AM
