hey all,
thought this might be a good place to post and ask for some advice. i'm planning a moto trip on the 250 from san jose, ca to seattle, wa and back on april 10-19 (with 3 days spent in seattle). i'm planning 5 days to get there and about 2 days to get back. the dates that i am spending to get there are basically firm.
here's my planned route:
san jose to seattle:
http://tinyurl.com/yk4bvvb
seattle to san jose:
http://tinyurl.com/yc5hsnn
(ignore the winthrop/vancouver/port angeles loop, as it will be left out due to time constraints)
one of my concerns is the weather. as we all know the pacific northwest is known for its rain, and i have limited experience in the rain (basically one hour in light rain). a bigger concern is that the places i really want to visit (crater lake national park, klamath falls, mt. hood, mt. rainier national park) will still be covered in snow in mid-april. doing some research on the national parks website, there are some major roads that are open through these areas (smaller roads are closed until late may/june). my main question is, how rideable are these major roads for the ninjette in mid-april? (i.e. main road to crater lake is plowed daily during this time)
some questions:
1. am i correct that these conditions will be horrible in these areas?
2. is riding through snow plowed (possibly icy) roads any fun, or do you basically have to tip-toe through them (especially if they are mountain roads)? any riding tips/technique when tackling these types of roads?
3. should i avoid these roads altogether?
i have experience doing several 3-day 1000+ mile trips, so distance isn't that much of a worry for me.
if anyone has any experience riding up in the pacific northwest in these areas during this time, any advice is greatly appreciated!