Motorcycle ride through the Mist (Oregon) Part 1

Need to get those little knobby rubber pins off of the sides of your motorcycle tires? The turns on this short ride will begin to wear them down. On this motorcycle loop from Portland, Oregon ride through Longview (Washington), Clatskanie, Mist, and Vernonia, with more twists than a Stephen king novel.

Starting in Portland, ride I-5 North and cross over the Columbia River at Longview. US-30 West towards Astoria climbs steeply up the bluffs of the Columbia and into the forests of Oregon. Turn south on Highway 47 at Clatskanie and enjoy some of those turns...A good report on this stretch of the loop can be found at the Oregon Motorcyclist website. Finish off the ride by taking Cornelius Pass Road back towards Portland, but expect lots of traffic on sunny weekend days.

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Findings from the Hurt Report 1

The Hurt report is still the definitive study on motorcycle accidents, analyzing 900 motorcycle accidents and 3600 motorcycle traffic accident reports. Although completed in 1981, lessons can still be learned today from the findings.

1. Approximately three-fourths of these motorcycle accidents involved collision with another vehicle, which was most often a passenger automobile.

2. Approximately one-fourth of these motorcycle accidents were single vehicle accidents involving the motorcycle colliding with the roadway or some fixed object in the environment.

3. Vehicle failure accounted for less than 3% of these motorcycle accidents, and most of those were single vehicle accidents where control was lost due to a puncture flat.

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Sign of the times

Construction season is starting, and this sign is a frequent reminder that motorcycle riders have additional challenges to deal with on the road.

There are over 4 million motorcycles registered in the United States. The popularity of this mode of transportation is attributed to the low initial cost of a motorcycle, its use as a pleasure vehicle and, for some models, the good fuel efficiency. Motorcycle fatalities represent approximately five percent of all highway fatalities each year, yet motorcycles represent just two percent of all registered vehicles in the United States. Motorcycle Safety Foundation

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