I'm leaving from Seattle tomorrow and will hopefully arrive in Boise on Friday. Doing motels/hotels and going real light with the new Topeak trunk/mini-pannier set-up.
I'll post some pix and a short resume when I'm back.

sounds like a nice trip. bring on the pix.

I'm leaving from Seattle tomorrow and will hopefully arrive in Boise on Friday. Doing motels/hotels and going real light with the new Topeak trunk/mini-pannier set-up.
I'll post some pix and a short resume when I'm back.


I have driven that several times, so I'm curious to learn what route you took. Surely there is a way to avoid the hilly Blue Mountains. Good luck!

I have driven that several times, so I'm curious to learn what route you took. Surely there is a way to avoid the hilly Blue Mountains. Good luck!
Blue Mts and they were pretty tame. Compared to France where I usually tour, this was a piece of cake. The big difference here is that the distance between towns can be very big.
We went south from Seattle to Vancouver then through the Gorge to Biggs and Fossil and John Day and Unity before pulling into Boise on day 6. 620 miles and 22000 ft of climbing.

Fossil, John Day, Unity (Ironside & Vale) are all great places. Wide-open scenery.

Did you find the petroglyphs on Petroglyph Hill? See the wagon ruts left-over from the Oregon trail? Even the ride from Seattle to Vancouver can be nice. The Blues are a nice place to ride. The road past Anthony Lakes might have been more fitting with your French touring... if the road is open. You are right. You can be very, very alone out there between towns... even IN some of those towns...

Fossil, John Day, Unity (Ironside & Vale) are all great places. Wide-open scenery.

Did you find the petroglyphs on Petroglyph Hill? See the wagon ruts left-over from the Oregon trail? Even the ride from Seattle to Vancouver can be nice. The Blues are a nice place to ride. The road past Anthony Lakes might have been more fitting with your French touring... if the road is open. You are right. You can be very, very alone out there between towns... even IN some of those towns...

PdxMark,

Sounds as though you've been through this area. It was my first time and I used the miles primarily for spring fitness as opposed to sightseeing. I learned a lot about Eastern Oregon and will plan a little differently next Spring. Like NOT spending the night at the Unity Motel and Trailer Park!!!! How this hole can pass Oregon State Sanitation regs is beyond me. But it was all part of the adventure. Next time, I'd like to head east from Seattle over the Cascades and then down to the Columbia through eastern Washington and do the trip in 4 days instead of 6. That would be 150 miles/day. Perhaps this fall, I will plan a trip with my wife from, say, Biggs Juction to Boise so that we can do a more liesurely and fun trip that would include more time in the Blues and Anthony Lakes.
If you have any other suggestions, I'd like to hear (read) them.