Eugene to Bandon via BLM

[j2x]

I left Eugene at 10am south to the town of Lorane via Lorane Hwy and Territorial Hwy.

















In Lorane I head west briefly on Lorane West Rd/ Siuslaw River Rd before turning south on tiny Carpenter Bypass Rd. I was trying to find a new route south to Umpqua Hwy/ 38 and tried BLM 20-5-14 1 Rd to BLM 5 1 Rd. Thankfully, I did find Upper Smith River Rd/ 37. Upper Smith River Rd is a great local road. Before I reached HW 99 north of Drain, I jumped on Compton Rd/ Hardscrabble Rd/ 65 because it's a bit more fun than the tame south end of Upper Smith River Rd.






























Soon, I made it to Elkton on Umpqua Hwy/ 38 and had a brief lunch and some coffee.


There was a lot of road construction on Hwy 38 and I was hoping to avoid as much of it as possible. I was traveling south to Bandon on Thursday and knew that the Hwy would be closed between Drain and Elkton over the weekend.

I left Elkton south on 138 for a second before turning west on Mehl Creek Rd for another second before turning north on Henderer Rd as it followed the Upqua River.




Soon I found Sawyer Creek Rd (which was a blast!) and turned south on a very gravely BLM 23-8-36 1 Rd.




I stopped to take a panoramic and happened to notice that my Odo was to 74 miles. Immediately I realized that I was supposed to fill up in Elkton since I wasn't sure when the next time was that I'd see a gas station. So, I turned around and hauled ass back to Elkton, got gas, and made it back. I think it took about :40, but running out of gas on BLM land would be awful. I do carry a gallon of gas with me these days, though, just in case.




BLM 23-8-36 1 Rd wound around in a southerly direction without any pavement to be seen. Lots of elevation & hairpins. Eventually it merges with BLM 25 7 5 1 Rd. Many miles later it reaches Tyee Access Rd as it crossed the Upqua River. Tyee Rd. swept gently as it followed the Upqua River all the way to the town of Upqua.


















Unfortunately, as I left the market in Upqua my super high-tech camera battery which had been sitting in it's charger perched on my headlight jostled free, bounced off my knee, and disappeared into the ditch on the side of the road. I stopped, cursed, and walked up and down that side of the road four times, but never found that stupid expensive battery. So, no further pictures could be taken until I reached Bandon that evening and bought new batteries.

I left Umpqua heading south on Garden Valley Rd. which is pretty boring, but empty of traffic and full of speed-trap sweepers. Garden Valley Rd. crossed the Umpqua River again just before reaching the town of Riversdale Rd. Just before I reached Roseburg I took Melrose Rd which soon merged with Flournoy Valley Rd which itself merged with Coos Bay Wagon Rd.

Things got a little confusing after that. I was supposed to find Burnt Mountain Rd or Burnt Mtn Tie, but missed the road. Last summer I rode Myrtle Point- Sitkum Rd. with Nate and Nate's dad, Riley, busted his ankle on Burnt Mtn road a few years ago. Apparently I was on Myrtle Point- Sitkum road, but its gravel was much firmer than the loose stuff that I saw with Nate last summer and I had a pretty good time on it.

When I reached the town of Fairview I turned south on Fairview Rd. I reached Coquille and Hwy 42 and took 42S all the way to Bandon. Great road condition, nice sweepers, but I'd hate to see a sheriff at 80mph. All in all 184 miles in about 5.5 hours. Hell of a good day.

Over the weekend I got some pix of Bandon:




Google Map Route

[nodaclu]

I always love the pics you post, especially since it's looking more and more like I'm going to relocate to the area by the end of the year.

I'm taking some time to consider what my next bike will be. And in half your pictures, I find myself thinking "self, those roads look perfect for a KLR".

Then I remember that you're riding the Valkyrie on all those goat trails.

I sit here in awe.

[bosozoku]

Thanks for the pics and info...it answers a few questions I've had about those same roads.

[Ally House]

James,
You impress me with your ability to take that Valk on those roads!! What beautiful pix, and an awesome ride.

Ally

[j2x]

Thanks for the praise, folks, it's very encouraging! I like recording all this info for posterity (and since my memory is so bad, it helps remind me where I've been), but it's nice to hear that you like it, too.

I forgot to mention that after I left Elkton and was on BLM 23-8-36 1 I dropped my Valkyrie at the top of a small hill while performing a very low-speed U-turn. It was one of those moments you have with a mammoth bike like this where it leans just too far and even though I posted my leg down and tried to pick it back up, it was just too far. Since I wasn't even moving forward at this juncture I basically just set the bike down softly. She really rested quite nicely on her engine guard and hard bag- I sure am nice that Honda did a good job designing the bike so the handlebars, tank, etc don't touch down in these unfortunate situations.

I stepped back, looking at the sad Valkyrie on her side, wondering if I was even going to be able to lift her since she was perpendicular to the road on the downhill side and I'd have to lift her up quite a bit. Thankfully, and I have to credit Honda again for the bike's geometry, I was able to lift her right up on my first try. With a snicker, I hopped on and went on my way.