Our Motorcycle Travel Activities in 2013
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Our motorcycle travel goal each year is to travel at least 5,000 miles
(as opposed to running errands by motorcycle, trips to the post office or
grocery store - which can often be the MOST challenging riding for me). We
also want to go on at least two camping trips. And I also like to get out
of the USA at least once, even if it's without my motorcycle.
But 2013 was a tough year for travel:
- we bought a house
- we had tons of things we had to do on the house
- we moved from one city to another
- family visited from overseas for six weeks
- my husband started the volunteer firefighting academy
- I actually had paid work this year
Altogether, it ate up almost all of our time. And while I did get to
Belgium, it was without a motorcycle - and was a horrible trip.
So, two-week trip, no weekend trips, no camping, no rallies in 2013. Big
ugh.
But worst of all for us in 2013 was the death of Eric Haws, a legendary
motorcycle traveler and our very dear friend. He passed away May, due to
cancer. The loss of our dear friend and, of course, cancellation of his
annual Burning
Moto Man rally in Westfir, Oregon, put dark cloud over us all
year. We
miss Eric terribly.
We will always refer to 2013 as the Year We Didn't Really Travel by
Motorcycle. Ugh. In fact, I didn't ride even 1000 miles on my bike in 2013.
That's shameful.
Some things we did get to do via motorcycle - all day
trips in Oregon:
- Three times we went to Tillamook and back to Forest Grove on all day
trips. Two trips were through Yamhill and Carlton, then along
the Nestucca River in the Siuslaw National Forest. Another was Willamina
Creek Road, past Blackwell County Park, to SW Coast Creek Road to
Gilbert Greek Road which becomes Bible Creek Access Road as well, to
Upper Nestucca River Road. These are my favorite local roads for
motorcycle travel - scenic, twisty, and not a lot of traffic. Almost all
of it is paved.
- Forest Grove through Vernonia and
Birkenfeld to Jewell, Oregon, about 100 miles from Portland, and
from there, you have several options to either go back to Portland or to
go on to the coast. This is my favorite day trip via motorcycle in all
of Northern Oregon, East or West. Make it even longer and go all the way
to Astoria or Seaside, and can be combined with some other trips on this
page.
- Three or four times on the twisties
to Vernonia & a week bit of gravel: Forest Grove to Vernonia
to Scappoose to North Plains & back to Forest Grove (Oregon) - 96
miles, including 16
miles of gravel. And sometimes just from North Plains to Scappoose
and back, so I could get practice on gravel and a nice lunch - this is a
terrific road if you need to practice on gravel.
- A ride in Tillamook State Forest in Oregon, from Cochran Road and the
town of Timber. It's a wonderful loop inside the forest - easy in terms
of road conditions, as long as it's dry and hasn't been raining too much
previously (packed gravel and dirt, very gentle inclines) but not in
terms of staying to the main gravel roads - things aren't marked very
well. There are OHV trails all around here, but we stayed off of them -
we don't have permits, because neither of us have the bikes for those
kinds of conditions, and I certainly don't have the abilities.
I have a list of suggested motorcycle day
trips from Portland, Oregon. Many can be linked together to create
longer trips). If you know of any relatively easy gravel or dirt roads near
Portland (low traffic, no steep hills, packed gravel or packed dirt, if I
fall, I probably won't die), please contact me!
The theme in 2013 for motorcycle riding for me was: get more experience on
gravel. I was going for 100 miles. I'm not sure if I made it - but my
husband has said that my skills improved dramatically this year. So, while I
didn't get to do much travel, I did accomplish something. Yeah, me.
Things changed for the better after 2013.
Since then:
In 2018, we went around Steens Mountain, and
toured Great Basin National Park and Rachel, Nevada, and more. We
spent 13 days, going over 2657 miles / 4276 kilometers, mostly in
Nevada. It was a terrific, but incredibly hot and smokey, trip.
In 2017, we traveled for 10 days in Washington
State on a Smokey Motorcycle Adventure in August. Yes, it was
ridiculously hot. But it was still a terrific trip.
In 2016, we went to the exotic land of Idaho.
Included at least 120 miles of gravel. Hells Canyon, Silver City, Idaho,
Bruneau Dunes State Park, City of Rocks National Reserve, Sawtooth
Scenic Byway, Salmon River Scenic Byway, Custer, Idaho, Ft. Missoula,
Montana, historic Wallace, Idaho, Lake Coeur d'Alene, White Pine Scenic
Byway, Hell's Canyon Overlook, Oregon, Joseph, Painted Hills, and Little
Crater Lake in Mt. Hood National Forest. It has been one of our favorite
trips to date - nothing in North America has been more beautiful and
interesting as this trip.
In 2015, our motorcycle trips included two
weeks mostly in British Columbia, but including Hydar, Alaska
(Stewart-Cassiar Highway and the Alaska Highway). We went all the way up
to the Yukon and back. Lots of bears, which was awesome. The wind almost
ruined the trip at the end.
For our Motorcycle Travel & Rally Activities
for 2014, we went to Moab, Arches National Park, Canyonlands
National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Goblin Valley, Farewell Bend
Oregon State Park, Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry, Sheldon National
Wildlife Refuge, and Camping in a cow pasture in the deserts of Nevada.
And I had my first motorcycle wreck!
Our Motorcycle Travel & Rally Activities in
2012, including camping in Antelope amid the ghosts of the
Rajneesh colony, seeing the Alvord Desert for the first time, amd a big
Motorcycle
Journey in Northern California, Nevada & Southeastern Oregon.
In 2011, we went to Yellowstone,
Western Montana, Wyoming & more in June 2011. 15 days, 2680
miles. The trip ended at the legendary Burning
Moto Man 2011, in Westfir, Oregon. We also spent
one week in Washington state, September 2011 to celebrate my
husband's 40th birthday, visiting Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, Ape Cave,
ice cave and lava tubes, Gifford Pinchot National Forest and a bit of
Mt. Hood.
Our Motorcycle Travel & Rally Activities in
2010, my first long-distance motorcycle trips! Acutally, we took
two! One to the "Lost Coast" of California, and another to Canada
(Alberta and British Columbia, Jasper, Banff & Kootenay National
Parks) and Glacier National Park.
Before I started riding my own bike, and before we moved to the USA, I
went on a few trips on the back of my soon-to-be husband's bike.
- 2008 Motorcycle Travel (pillion):
Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania,
Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia
- 2007 Motorcycle Travel (pillion):
Northern France
- 2006 Motorcycle Travel (pillion):
Scotland
- 2005 Motorcycle Travel (pillion):
Bruges, Belgium
- 2004 Motorcycle Travel (pillion):
Norway & Sweden (my first motorcycle trip)
Adventure Motorcycle Luggage &
Accessories
www.coyotetrips.com
Aluminum Panniers and Top Cases,
Top Case Adapter Plates,
Tough Motorcycle Fuel Containers, & More
Designed or Curated by an experienced adventure motorcycle world
traveler
Based in Oregon
You won't find these exact products anywhere else;
these are available only from Coyotetrips
(my husband)
My other motorcycle resources:
Also see:
Tips for Women: Getting Started as a
Motorcycle Rider (just to ride, not necessarily to travel as well)
For Women Who Travel By Motorcycle (or want to)
Advice for Women Motorcycle Travelers:
Transportation and Accommodations Choices
Advice for Women Motorcycle Travelers: Suggested
Books and Web Sites
From Oregon to the "Lost Coast" of Northern
California (Horizons Unlimited 2010 California meeting) - August
2010
Oh, Canada...Two-Week Canada/USA Tour by
Motorcycles (Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, Montana,
Idaho) - September 2010
Oregon, Idaho, Yellowstone, &
More - June 2011
Crater
Lake, Oregon 2011 (photos only)
International trips by motorcycle
Albania,
Austria, Belgium,
Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Canada,
Croatia,
Northern
England & Scotland, France,
Hungary,
Italy,
Luxembourg, Macedonia
(the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), Montenegro,
Norway,
Poland,
Romania,
Serbia,
Slovakia,
Slovenia,
Sweden
Trips riding my own motorcycle
California ("Lost
Coast" and gold
country), Idaho,
Montana
(Glacier NP), Nevada,
Oregon,
Washington
(state), Wyoming
(Yellowstone), Canada
(Alberta and British Columbia, Jasper, Banff & Kootenay).
Disclaimer
Any activity incurs risk. The author assumes no responsibility for the use
of information contained within this document.
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Quick Links
Index of resources for women travelers
(how to get started, health & safety considerations,
packing suggestions, transportation options, etc.
Advice for camping
with your dogs in the USA
Saving
Money with Park Passes in the USA
Advice for women motorcycle
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transire
benefaciendo: "to travel along while doing good." advice
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Suggestions
for Women Aid Workers where the culture is more
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Where I've
been
A list of all of the states in the USA and all of the
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This includes all of the places I have traveled to and through
via motorcycle.
Some
of
my favorite photos from my travels. Very hard to
pick favorites.
Advice
for Hotels, Hostels & Campgrounds in Transitional &
Developing Countries: the Qualities of Great, Cheap
Accommodations
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