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Re: [St] 410 and Idaho fuel additives



Scott and Fellow LiSTers,

If you want a long day trip, try a ride around Mt. Rainier.  It's probably
too late this year since the weather has turned.  There are probably a few
routes and I'm sure all of them are good.  Here's the one I took:

One Friday in August I decided that I needed to go for a ride.  I took off
from my place in Kent to Enumclaw on some back roads.  It was overcast and
around 60 degrees.  I stopped at Safeway on SR 410 and filled up.  This is
the last big gas station for quite a while.  There is a gas station in
Greenwater but I've never stopped there.

Anyway, I took SR 410 east toward Mt Rainier NP.  Mike discussed the road.
It's not really bad until you get to the park.  There are several places
that the tree canopy completely shades the road.  I saw a few State Patrol
on this section.  I kept my speeds reasonable (+5 to +10) because I wasn't
in a hurry.  There is a little pub at Crystal Mountain ski area that's open
in the summer.  The food was pretty good and they had a good selection of
beer (in case you drive the cage up there some day or ride a Harley).  I
didn't stop there that day but I went a few weeks ago.

Once you get inside the park the road isn't in great shape.  It's ridable
but watch for asphalt patches and bumps/dips.  The road is also narrow with
no shoulders.  Watch for oncoming RVs too.   Once you get a little higher up
and out of the trees a little the views are awesome.

I followed SR 410 over Chinook Pass to Naches.  At the pass it's like you go
into another state.  The road down the east side is wide and smooth.  The
temperature also seemed to go up 15 degrees.  The clouds also seemed to
disappear.  At this point I forgot about the crappy summer and the fact that
I only put 500 miles on my bike this year up to that point.

West of Naches SR 410 ends at US 12.  I headed southwest on US 12 toward
Packwood.  This road is great.  Not a bunch of tight corners but just a
deserted 2 lane road that winds around the hills paralleling a river with
very blue water.  I just rolled along at 60 enjoying the scenery and sun.
There are some twisty sections on both sides of White Pass.  I picked up the
pace a little and had a great time.  Until some crazy lady in an old Pontiac
Sunbird started tailgating me.  I let her pass and then tried to keep up.
She lost me.  She obviously knew the road and I'm a chicken.

When I reached Packwood the road changed.  It became very straight and very
boring.  Packwood is also a good place to gas up.  The shell station at the
east end of town has pumps that take cards.  To one at the west end doesn't.
Also, this is a big RV destination.  Watch out.

When I reached Morton I was mostly bored out of my mind.  I stopped for gas.
After 210 miles it was pretty empty.  Filled it up and calculated about 57
mpg.  Not bad but I doubt I filled it up to the same level each time.  I
headed north on SR 7.  Great road.  Just buzzing along in the country
through the hills.

There was construction on SR 7 and I had to detour to Eatonville so I took
SR 161 to Puyallup.  Not to far north of Eatonville the road becomes urban.
Being Friday afternoon, I was stuck in traffic all the way back home. (SR
161 to SR 512 to SR 167)  Total trip was 285 miles in 6.5 hours.  I was on a
mission.  Next time I'll take the camera and stop a few times.

I did learn something interesting on SR 167.  I can lock up the front brake
at 70 mph and not crash.  I think my next bike will have ABS for the
freeways around here.

You can look at pictures of State highways in Washington on the DOT web
site.  http://srview.wsdot.wa.gov/  SR 410 is in the Olympic Region (OR)
between Sumner and Buckley and in the Northwest Region (NW) from Enumclaw to
Chinook Pass and in South Central from Chinook Pass to US 12.  Click on the
region letters in the map at the top left.  Use the drop down on the left to
pick the highway.  Click the button "Show Highway Log".  Pick a milepost and
then you can use the arrows under the picture to move forward.  You can
almost drive the highway if you change the "jump" to 4 or 5.  The trick is
to type the number in the box but do not hit enter.  Just click the arrows
forward or back.

Some things I would do differently.  SR 123 between Chinook Pass and US 12
near Packwood was closed when I went.  It washed out last year and just
reopened a few weeks ago.  If it's open, this will cut about 95 miles off
the trip but you miss some nice roads and warmer temperatures.  One this I
would do for sure is take SR 706 through the south part on Mt. Rainier.  It
costs a few bucks to get in the park but the roads are great.  This will
also cut out the boring section between Packwood and Morton.  You will still
get a good part of SR 7 going north too.

If you decide to go next year and want some company, give me a shout.

RoB Brown
Kent, WA
rcode94@xxxxxxx
04 Triumph Sprint ST
01 Suzuki GS 500 (for sale)
83 Honda Ascot


-----Original Message-----
From: st-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:st-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of ScottS
Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 17:54
To: ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [St] 410 and Idaho fuel additives


Mike,

Thanks for the scouting report.  All good info.  The weather does look
to be wet into Monday (and beyond - Fall is here).  Maybe I'll save it
for next year.

-Scott
'06ABS Blue
Bainbridge Isl

Young, Mike wrote:
> The ST ran like a dream the whole trip. Never thought about the additive,
bu=
> t IIRC they only do it November through spring.
> I rode 410 in July '06. It was all torn up with a paving project east of
Par=
> adise, and a royal pain in the arse. Beautiful ride otherwise. I highly
reco=
> mmended it if you can beat the snow. (An iffy proposition as of today;
freez=
> ing levels tonight dropping to about 4000 feet in the Cascade passes, and
su=
> fficient moisture in the pipeline to make for a sloppy weekend.) Watch for
l=
> eaves falling on the roadway this time of year, it's pretty well sheltered
b=
> y the typical Cascade mix of Alder, Cottonwood, Maple, Cedar, Fir and
Spruce=
> . Watch for deer and elk this time of year, esp, at night. They are
starting=
>  to move down out of the high meadows. Slow down a few miles east of
Enumcla=
> w; the SP are known to range out that far.
>
> Mike
> '06 ST
> Seattle
> =A0
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: st-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:st-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx=
> m] On Behalf Of ScottS
> Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 12:07 PM
> To: ST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [St] Your fueling yourself (and road trip report..long)
>
> First, you are lucky your wife will put up with the solo driving while
> you have all the fun.
>
> Second, I recently heard that the gas in ID had an additive in it (maybe
> a blend of ethanol?) that was hard on gas mileage - you apparently
> didn't have that problem.  The report came from an HD rider and maybe
> their engines are not smart enough to handle the additive. Did you
> notice anything "funny" about the ID gas?
>
> Last, what do liSTers from the NorthWet know about SR410 on the West
> side of Rainer?  I might head out that way in a couple of days and see
> whats what (assuming it doesn't snow too much this weekend).
>
> Thanks for the report.
>
> -Scott
> '06ABS (Blue)
>
>
>
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