Two Davids, Two Rental Bikes, and Tillamook State Forest!

[Fencejumper09]

I know I have been MIA for a bit but life with two kids and work have limited my involvement in the forum but anyways... here's a story!

For the past probably 5 years my dad has been all in my ear about planning an epic ride. The Trans American Trail, a ride around the Grand Canyon, or even trial riding the Hatfield McCoy areas in West Virginia. My dad and I have been riding together since I was 8 years old but I really don't think I understood how special that was until recently. I am not sure if it is that I now have my own children or if I am finally starting to understand and comprehend that we have to take advantage of the time we have with each other NOW!!

Enough of the weird sobby deep thinking crap and let's get into the adventure.

I have followed Ready To Ride Rentals (RTR based out of Arizona) for several years after I met them at a Tennessee Knockout where they had rented bikes to several competitors for the event. This blew my mind that someone would rent a bike to someone knowing they were going to throw it down waterfalls and destroy the pipe in the rock gardens. I respected Beau's love of motorcycles and his desire to see people riding.

https://www.readytoriderentals.com/

Sometime in May or even at the beginning of June (2023) RTR posted that they would be in the Portland, OR area the week of June 12th with available rentals. I sent my dad a couple pictures of dirtbikes surrounded by ferns at moderately high altitudes along intermediate to advanced trails and asked if he was interested. He was a little apprehensive as he had his hip replaced at the beginning of the year but he was in. A couple of Instagram messages to Beau and some phone calls had us all squared away to rip up some gnarly trails in the PNW.

By dad is not a technological man so I organized flights, a rental truck, and an AirBNB for the trip. He just needed to get to Bham from Myrtle Beach, SC with all of his riding gear in a single piece of luggage.

Ready to go!

[Fencejumper09]

I know I am friends with a lot of you all on social media so you have probably seen these pictures but I am really writing this out for me!!

After a brief layover in Houston we arrived around lunch in Portland. The truck I rented through Toro was located in short term parking waiting for us so we grabbed our bags headed to the truck and made our way out of the airport.

Mt. Hood is a pretty sweet sight as you descend into Portland!



We were both pretty hungry so we went to a local brewery that I had found located on our way to meet Beau. The place was called Breakside Brewing and they had several really fresh West Coast IPAs plus the hazy stuff that is all the rage right now. We grabbed a couple delightful brews and I had a pretty fantastic seared tuna sandwich. I also grabbed a couple bombers of stouts to either drink at the AirBNB or take home.



Beau was super flexible and happened to be staying with one of his friends just west of Portland so we meandered over to pick up the bikes we had reserved.



We ended up with a 2022 Husky 300 and 2023 KTM 300. The bikes had recently been thrashed as RTR had a group ride throughout the Tillamook State Forest but Beau figured why replace the plastics if we were going to just thrash them some more! He was right, we didn't care if they looked like ragamuffins as that was less we had to worry about breaking. We did opt for some insurance on the bikes in case anything major occurred. We discussed our plans to ride the Tillamook State Forest which consists of many OHV areas. Beau invited us to tag along with a group of riders he had meeting Saturday morning to ride the Jordan Creek area. We told him we would feel things out and see how we were doing as Jordan Creek is known for having some of the more technical trails. We were off from Portland with bikes in the bed of the truck and smiles on our faces!



Portland is a unique place was very interesting places to see and experience. One thing that really stood out were the number of what appeared to be, broken down RVs just scattered along every road way. These appeared to be people who just drove their RVs until the engines died and then decided, this is home! Several occurrences we could see water and electricity being tapped into at nearby buildings. Some of these had pretty swanky setups with outdoor showers, tarp covered patios, and outdoor kitchens.

As we were leaving the city, I get a text from Beau and a refund notice on Paypal (which I had used to pay for the rentals). He had refunded me $100 with the note to take my dad to this fancy oyster restaurant on the bay!! Beau is a freaking solid dude!

It wasn't long and we were in the forest and the mountains began to amaze. The elevations in the area aren't staggering as they are similar to those nearby in east TN or west NC but the steepness was what really caught my eye.



Our AirBNB was located in the center of the Tillamook State Forest. We stopped to check-in but then decided to continue west to the coast to get dinner. It seemed the majority of the restaurants were slated to close early. We left the house and headed west toward Tillamook and then on toward Netarts Bay. We stopped and took some obligatory west coast photographs and headed on to get some oysters!



On Beau's recommendation we went to the Schooner Restaurant & Lounge right on the bay. It was a pretty casual vibe but the menu seemed a bit more like a fancy place!



It was a bit chilly so a nitro stout was by beverage of choice to start.



Beau also recommended we get the restaurant's take of Oysters Rockefeller which were called Oysters Rockoyaki which had a bit of asian flair but were delicious!



I can't get cooked oysters without also trying some of the local raw oysters!



The waitress thought this was our dinner but after informing her that this was just the appetizer we also got some shrimp and grits and trout sandwich to really fill us up.



We headed back to the house after a quick stop for some groceries. We passed a bunch of dairy cows we assumed were part of the Tillamook Creamery located just down the road.

[Fencejumper09]

The AirBNB we rented was right in the middle of all of the riding areas and consisted of a one bedroom apartment attached to the owner's shop.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/44434611?check_in=2023-12-07&check_out=2023-12-12&guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=0f0d0210-24a8-460c-a45c-12c951db56b6

The AirBNB listing showed the owner's picture as a person on a dirtbike so I knew they were good people. Upon arrival we met our host Crystal who is an avid rider who apparently enjoys some pretty technical trails. We told her our plans to start off pretty mild with a ride at Brown's Camp in the morning. Upon hearing this, she let out a polite chuckle and proceeded to completely judge us and assume we must be new riders. Ok, maybe she didn't completely judge us but definitely thought we we would get bored. She indicated it is mostly double track with a couple fun technical trails mixed in. It seemed to me like a perfect way to get our feet wet in the PNW. We ended up heading to bed fairly early to get a start at a decent time in the morning.

We utilized the state's georeferenced PDFs for trail maps and guidance and they worked wonderfully.

https://www.oregon.gov/odf/recreation/guides/tsf-ohv-georeferenced-trail-map.pdf

We ended up parking at Rogers Camp and headed out on a nice loop I put together in an attempt to do a full loop of this riding area.



We definitely had some nerves we needed to work out after the travels and it being both of our first times out west on two wheels. The day went great with some nice easy trials with a couple fun climbs thrown in.









Met these guys and this sweet and clean KX500



Dad had a great time but struggled and bit with a couple spots. I don't think we over did it so we called it a day and headed back to the house. On the way home we stopped at the Tillamook Visitor's Center. This place was fancy and full of crazy information. The forest fires that have occurred in this area are crazy, they had a map that would light up areas where certain fires were located. It was crazy to see the extents of the fires and the information on the devastation was unreal.





We showered up at the house and headed off for beer and dinner! I haven't finished my video from the 1st day but I have for the next two so that's something for y'all to look forward to!

[Fencejumper09]

When you look up the best breweries in Tillamook, OR you find some interesting places. One of those is named De Garde Brewing. This place is quite different than your typical brewery that is popular today. They don't have you standards like pale ales, hazy ipas, or blondes. What they do have are spontaneously fermented (fermented in open tanks to allow some of the native environment to affect and change the flavor of the beer) wild ales and sours. These things were funky with some very unique flavors. I loved every sip I took and was sad that I was limited to my one bag to carry this beer home with me. They are not mass produced or available outside of the area with just a few retailers carrying their products. I highly recommend this place if you are adventurous and have an open mind towards beer.







The only downside was the lack of food, and we were hungry. We moseyed on down the road a bit to Pelican Brewing Company and picked up some fish n' chips, cheese curds, and fish tacos. The beer here was mostly run of the mill but their stouts had some nice flavors.



We got back to the house before sunset so we explored the property and took in some sights.







We had a couple beers and had a nice conversation with Steve, Crystal's husband. He turned out to be really into bikes and snow bikes so we had a lot to talk about. He recommended some great trails located just to the north of the house. We would be able to leave from the house on the bikes so no need to even load up the truck! Sweet!

We headed off to bed in preparation for what promised to be a little more adventurous second day.

[Fencejumper09]

We woke up not too early and started prepping for our ride from the house. Gas in the bikes, tires had mousses so no need to air, and snacks and water in the packs.

Steve was about to roll out for work, I am pretty sure he rode a wheelie for more than a mile as he hit the main road!



The day started strong with a ride up in elevation up Cedar Butte Road. Dad was not feeling too confident after yesterdays ride so we made a plan to ride the easier trails together and I would peel off and hit the black diamonds and rejoin together down the trail. It actually worked out perfect as the trail system was very conducive for this. We were utilizing information from Steve and also Beau who had sent me some GPX tracks from his previous week in the area.

Off of the main trails were a lot of normally short hill climbs that were out and backs. Notice dad to the right of center below!



There was a lot of side hilling along clear cut areas that dad wasn't too fond of but the only really sketchy spots were the switchbacks.



I am always up for a little climb to get a better view!



Looking west, the ocean is somewhere over there under those clouds. This was taken at Triangulation Point



We worked our way back south, me hitting as many black diamonds as possible and dad enjoying the blues. We made it back in time to check out the river at a swimming hole near the house.



We cleaned up and headed out for one of the most anticipated stops on the entire trip....Tillamook Creamery!!



Cheese and Ice Cream can't be beat!!





Crab Rock Pizza in Garibaldi, OR was recommended so we headed north after the cheese and ice cream appetizer. The view of the bay was good and the pizza was pretty tasty as well!





We filled up on pizza and beer and headed back to the house. Steve was back at the house so we discussed riding together tomorrow. We convinced him to tag along with us and the crew from RTR to hit Jordan Creek. Dad planned to do his own thing and check out some of the jeep trails and easy stuff to cap a great trip.

[Fencejumper09]

Day two video

https://youtu.be/pt5BAfyepWk?si=CG5dEMGJxT9cRWEj

[Fencejumper09]

Day 3 started at the house with prepping for a day of riding. Steve came out of his house with sandwiches for the three of us, unrequested! We geared up and took off south toward Jordan Creek. We met up with Beau and group of riders ready to hit some gnarly singletrack. The group included three riders from northern California, one from Washington, Beau from Arizona, myself from Alabama and Steve (our local). My dad took off for some scenic double track miles.



As the group departed the staging area, everyone was giving it there all and probably pushing too much for the day we had planned in front of us. I was literally bouncing off every rock in the trail and just couldn't find my balance. The trails were very technical with climbs, loose rocks, overgrowth. They have some pretty unique names on these things that keep things interesting. One of the first trails we hit was called Purple Bug Stump.

It was dusty as somehow we were in the PNW without any rain!



We didn't really have much time to stop and take pictures but we did stop at the last Radio Shack!



It was a great group of guys and there were some really sketchy trails. We had some really steep and gnarly downhills and sketchy tight switchbacks that had my heart racing more than it ever has on a bike (even more than TKO).

I highly recommend a trip out to the Tillamook State Forest if you are looking for some amazing views coupled with some technical trails.

Here is a video of day 3.

Youtube isn't working so here is the link
https://youtu.be/rbKJ-Vcz2VM?si=eJ-ewnEHd_F8uGzQ

[Fencejumper09]

We finished the trip with some great burgers!



We woke up the final day to some rain for the drive back into Portland for the airport. The most intriguing part of the drive was trying to find an open gas station as you can't pump you own gas in Oregon (well you can now I believe). Well, no luck so we just stopped put the credit card in and pumped away without being arrested!

No real issues at the airport once drop of the truck was completed. With the additional beer that we were bringing home both of our bags were less than a pound below the 50lb limit! Worth it!

The haul was nice!



Once in Houston we found out our flight to BHM was delayed and eventually pushed to the morning. Just to let you know, this was Father's day so we missed that with my kids! After a late night getting to the hotel, we got a couple hours of sleep then handed back to the airport. Finally arrived home Monday around lunch  but overall it was an epic trip that I will remember forever!

[klaviator]

I think it is great that you were able to get out and ride a very different and interesting part of the country.  It's really great that you could do it with your dad!  I'm think you will be glad in the future that you wrote it up and posted it as a ride report.  There aren't that many people viewing this forum anymore but you can always look back and relive your adventure.

[Chuck & Susan]

Thank you and very interesting read. Looks like a wonderful trip for Fathers Day!!

[Fencejumper09]

It was definitely a fun trip with some great memories!

I can't wait for the next one!

[Guidedawg]

I do not check the forum as regular as I once did, but what a pleasure to find a trip report.  I will never be a trails rider, but I can certainly enjoy reading about the adventures of those who are.  And to have a father/son drinkin..err riding trip, is epic indeed.

Thank you for taking the time to write this up!

[Fencejumper09]

It was definitely an epic trip!