Ride Report - Hood Canal Washington State

Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum

Help Support Yamaha FJR Motorcycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Fontanaman

Robin Trower
Joined
Oct 29, 2009
Messages
2,007
Reaction score
1,060
Location
Spokane, Wa
Due to family obligations, fall house and yard chores, Christmas lights and working too much overtime at the airplane factory near Seattle, not to mention the usual crummy fall Northwet weather I have not been riding much lately. That changed on Sunday.

The weekend weather for Western Washington was for fog, freezing fog with temps in the low 30 to near 41 and nearly no afternoon clearing. Yuck.

Much to my surprise the weather on Sunday morning was clear. I also found clear skies on the Washington State web cam system and above freezing temps on my route. Excellent!

So around 8:30 on Sunday morning the wife said have fun. Yeah a free pass! Air in tires check, get the winter gear - where is that stuff I have not wore for 10 months. Cameras in hand check, get sundries needed check. As you can see it took a while to depart.

The route is the Hood Canal on of my favorite winter rides in Western Washington. The pavement is smooth along US Hwy 101 and there is virtually no traffic along the in the winter. Hood Canal was created during the last ice age with the rest of the Puget sound. For motorcyclist that means interesting terrain and good riding!

The ride begins by crossing the Tacoma Narrows Bridge the site of Galloping Gertie the failed bridge all first year Engineering students study. It went splash in 1940. Recently the state completed a second bridge.

After the bridge the weather got cloudy and cooler. I was riding with my heated jacket, pants and electric grips all turned to medium to keep me toasty and warm. I was hoping to get a photo of the Olympic Mountain near Union Washington but clouds obscured the view. The temps during the ride where between 39 and 45 degrees. Not bad for the Northwest.

Below is a photo taken March 2011.

IMG_7192.JPG


The parking lot at Alderbrook Resort was full. Alderbrook is a nice place to stay for a weekend and the Alderbrook golf course is nearby.

Onward to Skokomish, Potlatch State Park and northward I ride. Riding this route from south to north is highly recommended because you don't have to ride into the low angle winter sun and the highway site lines are better along Hwy 101. I usually stop at the Hama Hama Seafood store in Lilliwaup to get some yummie oysters. Chuck those suckers in the saddle bag in 3 bags with ice, get a New Year strip steak on the way home at a local meat market and the evening is set. Not today though.

Here is a photo of a plate of fresh shucked oysters from a ride earlier in 2011.

IMG_0252.JPG


Had to skip the oysters today for I was going to meet my son at the University of Washington after my ride.

The clouds started to break up north and the scenery improved. I really enjoy winter photography with the low angle of the sun. It provide for some great photo ops even for hacks like me.

Here is one of those photos. Blue sky to the north clouds and a partly obscured sun to the south. The shadows are great. The entire day I left my DSLR in the saddle bag and shot all these photos with a Canon S95 - a pocket camera.

IMG_8160.JPG


This is shot from the same spot, but includes the highway which is right along the water.

IMG_8161.JPG


Here is another shot along the road with the river and mountains in the background.

IMG_8166.JPG


Or this:

IMG_8167fixed.JPG


Looking south in to the sun. Now you can see why it is best to ride this north bound not sound bound.

IMG_8168.JPG


I leave US Hwy 101 at Quilcene and head to Dabob Bay along Coyle and Thordyke Road. These are county road rougher and technically more difficult in comparison to US Hwy 101. The road surfaces are more interesting with vegetation, loose gravel on a chip sealed surface. I go this way because I like the view from Admiral's Row just south west of the Hood Canal Bridge. I also like the challenge of the roads. There are some nice twisties here.

Here is a stitch shot of the view near Admiral's Row. The thin line in the background is the Hood Canal Bridge. Where is that confounded bridge.....

AdmiralsRowSmall.jpg


I go across Hood Canal Bridge, happy it is still there. In 1979 the western half the bridge sunk during a storm. Kinda spoiled motorcycling in the area for a till it reopened in 1982.

I motor through Port Gamble hoping for a nice photo but there are advertisement signs on all the Victorian architecture. The town has is Victorian theme and some nice older homes from it's Mill Town origins. On this day it is National Historic Registered tourist trap. I quickly ride on through to the Kingston Ferry.

Here is my ride back across the sound to the "main land".

IMG_8175.JPG


I motored on to the UW to visit with my son. We walk around campus and end up have dinner together.

Here is a photo I shot at the UW Campus.

IMG_8183.JPG


It was a great day to go for ride and spend time with my son.

The End.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I should have gone west on Sunday. The fog never lifted in the foothills and the highest temp I saw was 39... :blink:

Thanks for the pics and RR Jim!

--G

 
Nice shots, Jim. I love the Hood Canal run, next time be sure you head out along SeaBeck and the great twisty roads on the east side of the Canal.

 
Nice shots, Jim. I love the Hood Canal run, next time be sure you head out along SeaBeck and the great twisty roads on the east side of the Canal.
Thanks for the compliments. My next ride might be to Dewatto Bay. Every time I ride to Dewatto Bay I swear Leprechauns live there and GPS's get confused around Tee Lake. The latter is certainly true.

 
Thanks for sharing Jim, Friday I decided that the Cigar Factory up in Everett could do without me. Went up to Sekiu from Kingston via 112 then down to Forks back up to Port Angles passing Crescent Lake then up to Hurricane Ridge.

It was a great ride with good views, always nice to get away to the Peninsula!

 
Nice RR. I love that area. I got a chance to hike the Hoh rainforest in the Olympics before and it's just so beautiful out there. I want to take my wife to Seattle some day and show her that area.

It is much easier to take pictures with a compact camera while on a bike ride than setting up all the DSLR stuff.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
This is shot from the same spot, but includes the highway which is right along the water.

IMG_8161.JPG
Is this 101? So it turns into a two lane up in your parts? We were going to head that way in October but thought we'd be caught by snow in the passes on the way home (turns out to have been correct).

On our list for possibly next Spring. When's a good time to go?

 
Good to see the wheels keep turning for you Jim. :clapping: It was a beautiful day to be on the bike for sure, and a very good way to end your day...

These late starts give the roads a chance to warm up just enough and the sunny days and comfortable evenings work together for some great riding. The only thing missing are the bugs. :yahoo:

Very Nice! Thanks for sharing....

Keep Going!

 
This is shot from the same spot, but includes the highway which is right along the water.

IMG_8161.JPG
Is this 101? So it turns into a two lane up in your parts? We were going to head that way in October but thought we'd be caught by snow in the passes on the way home (turns out to have been correct).

On our list for possibly next Spring. When's a good time to go?

Well Hwy 101 is just the beginning of a motorcyclist play ground on the Olympic Peninsula. May and early June are excellent times to go - you may get a bit of rain but I will take that as opposed to the summer hoards, especially the weekend fisherman with RV's attached to boat trailers on two lane roads - argh....

If you come up this way ride up to Hurricane Ridge, ride State Hwy 112 all the way to Neah Bay and go to Cape Flattery. This will take two entire days at a relaxed and enjoyable pace - including the 3/4 mile walk to see the Cape. (The road to the Cape was recently paved). If day hiking is your thing don't miss Ozette Lake to the coast - spectacular scenery awaits and it is a 3 mile or so hike with no elevation gain or loss. Another day can spent there. Off bike opportunities are always enjoyable. If you miss these explorations you miss a wonderful experience.

Other things to see include Sol Duc Hot Springs and Lake Cushman. An out of stater could spend a week up this way and have a blast. Yes we can ride around the Peninsula in one day and I have, but we miss a lot when we do. The Olympic National Park web site is a good point to start for trip planning.

Tip: I stay away from Port Townshend - it is a artsy town, a tourist trap with pretty Victorian homes and a lot of Bed and Breakfast establishments.

On my bucket list is a ride on Vancouver Island on the east side on up to Campbell River.

PS Hwy 112 is a known sport bike paradise. The road is challenge, is made of asphalt (not chip seal) and more fun than a barrel of monkeys. It is also well patrolled.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Outstanding! Thanks for the tips, I've saved this thread for next years planning.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
It's beautiful up there. Gone through there in October one year to as far as Port Angeles for the ferry to Victoria. The scenery along the stretch of 101 leading north from Olympia had me thinking "I will have to come back here again." Definitely picked up a few road tips here. Thanks!

 
Top