Triumph Sprint ST & GSX650f by Chris

Ok, so I made up a reason to see my Mom , who lives in Beaverton, Oregon, last week just so I could go ride Apiary road. Well, that’s not totally true.

I read about this road on Motorcycle Roads Northwest. It sounded great, and besides, I just wanted to get out and ride.

First things first.

What route did I want to take? Well, I’ve not done anything major before, four hours is around my longest ride, and I was pretty beat. Granted that was mostly pushing it and working hard, not cruising or anything. My thought would be to go down, conserve as much of myself as possible, spend the night and then “hit it” on the way back.

Google it.

If you’ve not played with Google’s mapping feature, you might want to. It’s very cool. I spent some time looking at roads and ways to connect them up. Being that I was a cyclist for years when I live down there, I knew of a number of roads that would be something else (Skyline, Rocky Point, Germantown, McNamee to name a few). So, I found the roads I wanted to hit and mapped it out. (This map is not 100% accurate as I took two slightly different routes to and fro, but it gets the main bits).

So, ok, a couple hours of I-5 southbound to Mom’s. Hmmm. My hand started hurting just thinking about it. What to do? Take lots of breaks? Could do. Live with it, could do.

Or, go to Cycle Gear and get a “throttle rocker”. It’s called a Cramp Buster. It “clips/slips” onto your throttle grip and sticks out the back. The idea being that you can loosen your grip and rest your hand/wrist on the paddle and keep your throttle on.

NOTE: All you cruise control people out there, shut up.

And we’re back…

So, i had the route and the gear. Being that I was going solo, i just put on the clothes I would wear to and fro and that was it. Far better than when we plan trips with the whole family! Sorry hon. I had an extra turtle neck bungied to my seat and that was it.

Full tank of gas and $10.00 cash and my throttle rocker.

Oh, and my insurance card, just in case; Them Oregon cops love checking.

Sunday morning spent watching Barcelona destroy Athetico Mardid (some replay from 2008), and when the basic chill had left the air, I was off (around 11am).

This was my first extended highway trip. In case you’re wondering, it IS as boring as it sounds. But, I was staying in touch, playing with my grip, position and making sure the cars knew they had no chance

350 horse power per ton, come on!

Fast forward….I made my first stop in Kelso. I was feeling a bit stiff and cold. I hand to remind my body how to actually operate the motorcycle. I felt like a noob coming off the exit

Chomping some fries and a diet coke (wanted the caffeine, but hated having to take nature breaks), I warmed up nicely and made a major change to my original plan. Instead of staying I-5 all the way in, i was feeling good and my hand felt great, so what’s a guy to do?

Quick check using my Blackberry to find the exit I’d need from this side and I was in business. I put on my turtle neck, wondering why I even brought that bungie net, gassed up (might as well), and I was off. Meandered around to find the Lewis and Clark bridge and away I went.

First thing, that bridge shoots straight up. Wowzers. Gotta say, was a little worried about the wind, but didn’t need to be.

Second thing, I got a little sureal feeling seeing all the wood chips. We were way the heck up in the air, how did crap from that lumber mill get up here? Later I figured it was probably from the trucks, but that didn’t occur to me, so I was having a fit.

Far side, loop around and off to find the first road.

i found it, and while it IS the best twisty action i’ve seen, the road surface was a total nightmare. I recommend avoiding it. Next time, Im going around.

So, a couple turns later and there it was, the famed road I’d come to see; Apiary.

Well, nothing for it, let’s see what this Motorcycle can do.

NOTE: To be clear, my Suzuki GSX650f is basically bored the whole time with me aboard. I feel like I just carved or cranked, and my bike it wondering if it could be traded to somebody with a bigger set, if ya know what I mean

Anyway, this road is fantastic. It’s not “twisties” as I would define them, but isn’t just “sweepers” either. It’s kinda a combo. A tweepers or swisties or something. I wished the whole time that I could spend a bunch of time really getting to know the road. Every corner that came I blinked far to early. But I cranked up the exit speed to help my ego feel better.

I will say that the longest straight is like 200 yards, so you won’t be finding out how fast your bike can go. This bummed me out a little bit.

Tree lined made the contrast a little sketchy. I just hoped/assume the road surface was fine, because all that shadow sunlight patchiness made is unreadable. When in doubt, throttle up, right? That is a rule isn’t it?

Ok, bored yet?

Fine. So, the other two notes are really the same thing that just applies to both roads (Rocky Point, which I took heading in, and McNamee, heading out). These roads have some of the tightest twistiest sections I’ve seen. Hairpins wrapping back onto themselves, left, right, straight, crap! I even missed one (that is to say that my eyes didn’t track it turning left on top of itself). I stomped the breaks and was glad my bike could dig itself out of 2mph in second gear! It just got to be too much; My brain said, naw.

Love those roads!

Keep you awake, oh my goodness.

Anyway, not sure if I missed anything important. Sorry if I did.

Hey so, if you want to go, let me know. My mom will put us up (two extra rooms), so it’ll only cost you gas and maybe a lunch break. Can’t beat that.