Sunday ride with Karen

Yesterday Karen B and I went out for a lovely Sunday ride on the Corvallis-Waldport-Florence-Monroe-Corvallis route.  The route was about 200 miles total.  Google Maps is glitching a little so the map below might not be completely accurate.

With the warm weather we both were in light jackets the entire time without problem.  The coast was a bit chilly but it wasn’t that bad as long as the sun was out.

We stopped for fuel twice.  The first stop was after 106.3 miles of driving.  I took on 2.421 gallons giving me 43.9 mpg.  The second time was after 90.5 miles where I got 1.90 gallons which gave a 47.63 mpg economy.  Also up in Newberg I bought gas after 130.5 miles for 2.978 gallons which equates to 43.82 mpg.  I’m not sure if I’m being heavier on the throttle (both of the 43mpgs were from solo riding), am riding in more city traffic conditions, or if there is something starting to go wrong with the bike.  However, the 47.63 was achieved with a passenger so who knows 🙂

The bike performed flawlessly on the trip.  It is such a pleasure to ride a Pacific Coast on the Pacific Coast!

I should also mention that I put about 230 miles on the bike with two other undocumented rides.  Last week I did a quick ride around town and up Lewsiburg saddle and I also rode my bike to my parent’s house and back with a detour through Perrydale.

Our Route Map

Picking up Heather’s bike and a ride along the coast

Today I took Heather down to Eugene to pick up her bike from its winter storage location.  After maneuvering it out from between another motorcycle and a boat, we were off and down the road toward the coast.  We stopped at Florence to check on Heather’s bike.  It had been wobbling funny but we decided it was probably just as a result of some strange ruts in the road.

A little further north we stopped for a bathroom and stretch break before continuing to Waldport where we got gas.  The ride up to Alsea was gorgeous as always although there was a little bit of traffic that got in the way.  Up at Mary’s Peak we decided to go toward the summit but only got as far as the graveled section.  Due to some poor communication on my part, Heather turned around and I sat just beyond the gravel section like an idiot expecting her to come around the bend at any moment.  It’s probably a good thing we didn’t go up to the top though as Heather’s jacket is partially mesh and she was quickly becoming a Popsicle.

In total the ride was 256 miles.  Or maybe less.  Google Maps seems to want to make our route go through the logging roads on the west side of Marys Peak.  Ignore that deviation…

I got gas twice.  The first stop in Eugene was 2.281 gallons at 108.7 miles for 47.67 mpg, half of which was with a passenger.  The second stop was in Waldport where I took on 1.653 gallons at 89.5 miles giving me a great average of 54.14mpg.  When I’m easier on the throttle and not pounding up the twisties I get MUCH better fuel economy.  Funny how that works 🙂

Our Route Map