Day 20

Last night we assessed our timeline and confirmed that we are running ahead of schedule by a couple of days. As a result, looking at setting up the next few days routes, one of which is to include a run up to Mt St. Helens, we decided that we would make today's route a shorter one, allowing us to get set up to go up to Mt. St Helens the following day. As a result, we had "only" 240 miles to run today. Most of that would be two lane roads along with something special Larry had been smiling about for the last several days.

Day 20 Track

Since we had so few miles to go, we decided to sleep in until 6:30 AM today and then got breakfast, loaded the bikes and got on the road at 8:08 - about an hour later than normal. As we were heading out of town we came up to a road construction site that ended up holding us up for about 10 minutes. Once we got through that, we were rolling northeast on Marcola Rd paralleling the Mohawk River. It then turned into Brush Creek Rd, and finally OR-228.  Then we merge onto US-20 and  come into a town named Sweet Home. Larry recalls a diner here from a previous visit and there we find the Skyline Inn Restaurant. We decide to stop for coffee to further burn some time on our short day. There we meet a waitress named Trina who is very friendly and welcoming. During the course of ordering and chit chat she learns of our trip and is thrilled to hear bout it. Larry wants a cinnamon roll (he likes the Cinnabons at Burger King) and we something on the menu - Caramel Cinnamon roll. Trina checks with the kitchen and there is one left so Larry orders it if I'll help him. Here is what came out:

Cinnamon Roll - Already cut in half and separated onto 2 plates!

The roll was just as yummy as it was huge! The coffee was very good, the ambiance outstanding and the prices reasonable. All in all it added up the be the very best restaurant experience we've had on the whole trip so far. After spending 40 minutes it was time to head out again.

Just as we exit town we turn onto Quartzville Rd, crossing over the Foster Lake Dam and then heading up along a series of rivers and lakes waterways including in order - Foster Lake, Middle Santiam River, Green Peter Lake, and finally Quartzville Creek. This whole distance was some 28 miles. The entire length was quite twisty, although the first dozen miles had a lot of road defects that made for slower going. After that, the surface improved and we had a nice run along the waterways. I would catch the following photo along the way of Green Peter Lake from the Rocky Top Rd Bridge.

Green Peter Lake

We continued on along the Quartzite Creek until we get to the border of the Willamette National Forest where we turn onto NF-11. The first thing I notice is the sign stating "One lane road with turnouts". I do not believe I have ever been on such a narrow road. I made Larry slow down so I could snap the following photo while riding because I didn't think anyone would believe how narrow this road was.

Start of NF-11

The length of this road is 25 miles, and we ran it in 56 minutes (including a 6 minute stop along the way) so we averaged 26 mph. That may sound slow, but there was a lot of road hazards, from fallen rocks, gravel, sunken sections of pavement, and oh yeah - we climbed 2548 ft of elevation in 14 miles! Despite all of this it was a lot of fun. When we stopped near the top, I decided to mount my GoPro camera and got some video.

Break stop near the top of NF-11

The following is one short section of video. I have more but its too difficult to load over WiFi. Watch closely for the road conditions and the twists and turns!

These 55 miles were definitely what we ride motorcycles for. I am still grinning hours later :-)

The best 55 miles!

After we exit NF-11, we turn northward on OR-22 which then turns westward towards Detroit Lake State Park. It is the town of Detroit that we were aiming for. It was for our Team Strange GT.

The "D" in "Team Strange AirheaDs"

From here we continue on 22, which is much straighter now and has more traffic on it as well. Along the way we make a short detour into Stayton OR to grab lunch at a local sandwich shop. Then we go north on the Cascade Highway and then 213 towards Oregon City. Along the way we get a nice glimpse of the top of Mt Hood.

Mt Hood in the distance

Soon after we are getting onto I-205 and make pretty good time until we get up by Happy Valley and from there up to the Columbia River the traffic is heavy and sluggish to near stop and go for a bit. We never did have to stop though and then it opens up and we get back to normal speed until we got off up in Longview WA. We crossed the state border when we crossed the Columbia River.

Today's Stats: 256.6 miles in 7:31 elapsed time, 5:40 saddle time