TDC 1.9

The crew hit Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park on May 31, 2026 for a full day of acoustic MTB action. Weather was perfect. Spirits were high. The non-motorized machines performed flawlessly.

Getting to the trailhead via the service road, it became apparent that we were among the few riders not aboard electrified bicycles. This was logged. Then forgotten, as the eMTB crowd was simply passing us and we had trails to find.

What we did not expect to find was an entire race event. Up at the jump lines, a "Hot Laps" competition had taken over, complete with food trucks, merch stands, free Red Bull, and Ozzy Osbourne rattling out of a PA system at volumes typically reserved for actual concerts. We appreciated the unexpected spectacle and wanted little of it, so we disappeared into the woods.

Out there, we found our own lines, a first for TDC at Port Gamble. One trail of note was Twisted Sister, where we actually located the namesake pair of trees, two trunks corkscrewing around each other like they had been arguing since the Pleistocene. After lunch, we did briefly hit the jump lines. The riding was too good to stop for photos. Next time.

TDC 1.9 on MTBs.

The Twisted Sister!

MotoBum rocked Twisted Sister.

Buzzcut.

MotoBum and the valley.

Fifteen miles. Fifteen hundred smiles. A grand day by any measure. The acoustic bikes did everything asked of them, no batteries required. Whether the next outing looks similar, or whether the fleet quietly evolves, is a question for another trailhead.

15 miles, 1500 smiles.

Ocean Shores September 2025

This trip started on a Friday night, immediately after Last Minute Ryan exited his work office space. As we fueled up before heading out of the city, he said "can we just do this every weekend?"

The plan was to ride the highways directly to a reserved AirBnB; a perfect weekend hangout for a backcountry biker gang wanting a more civilized home base to switch things up. And the plan worked. It was a late dinner, yet we made it to the "Groovy '70s Pad" double-wide with a little excitement navigating unfamiliar paved twisties in the dark with fog. It was type two fun.

Late dinner went off without a hitch at a great dive called Copalis Cove Pub & Eatery. That was before we saw the Ocean Shores Sasquatch in the wild. Good stuff.

Copalis Cove Pub & Eatery

Ocean Shores Sasquatch art installation

The next morning had us enjoying the pad, complete with a table video game and a jukebox. That was before a walk out in the town to brunch.

Last Minute Ryan and E-rock in the pad hall

E-rock on the Pac-Man Tabletop

MotoBum -- Love with Wild Abandon

In the afternoon, we took a highway ride up to Moclips and Taholah to ride on the beach and see the Quinault River. Mission success.

Ride the beach, yes

The crew at the beach

E-rock and Last Minute Ryan -- Welcome to Moclips

The Quinault River meets the Pacific Ocean at Taholah

Last Minute Ryan at Moclips

Once back in Ocean Shores, we took in the jetty sights before the pub.

The Jetty

Last Minute Ryan, MotoBum, and three birds

MotoBum and E-rock with a big stick

Later, the only media captured at The Garage Gastropub & Social were these of MotoBum and E-rock with a nice custom Washington state specialty design license plate, a Washington State University edition, with the letters "DC" on it, making it look like the plate says Washington DC. Well done. Also, we took some photos of a good looking wood-to-metal joint for big woods beams. We thought, perhaps, that Ghostface KLR would find them interesting.

MotoBum and E-rock with the "Washington (state) DC" plate

The Washington state DC WSU licence plate -- pure crimson

The Garage wood-to-metal joint

After a restful night, we packed up, said "thank you" to the pad, and hit Aberdeen for the all famous Taqueria San Jose. Great tacos. Then, we took the scenic route along the south side of the Hood Canal before swinging north to see Swamp Monster at his Tahuya property.

Groovy '70s Pad in Ocean Shores, WA

Taqueria San Jose in Aberdeen

The Hood Canal

Swamp Monster's place was looking a bit wild and free. That's just the way he likes it.

The Yurt

The Goat

The Swamp Monster

In the end, crew data showed that a good time was had and a nice break from the routine occurred. It was the only moto outing for us in 2025. The trip was a reminder to not always seek the backcountry (which was Plan A before wildfire smoke set in). Instead, a classic road ride can be great.

Map of the tour

E-rock's Honda Transalp dash shows 433.7 miles traveled

TDC Mini ADV July 2024 (with video)

LMR and MotoBum hit the Cascades again for another two-night ADV, July 6-8, 2024. E-rock joined on the first day for a day ride loop with fish tacos and a brief sampling of CFMOTO motorbikes.

Here is the documentation unvideo:

The crew enjoyed fish tacos at Monroe Fish and Chips. E-rock is loving his fresh Honda Transalp 750. The CFMOTO Ibex 450 looks and feels amazing. Wow.

LMR's known secret backcountry adventure camp spot above Blewett Pass at 4,863 feet (1,482 meters) is absolutely perfect.

Favorite spots in Cle Elum and Roslyn were hit.  These places were Pioneer Coffee (Altitude) and Village Pizza. 

Camping happened at Cle Elum River Campground on the second night to cool off before the 3rd day of riding in uncomfortably hot weather. 

We will get out there again. We're not dead yet.

E-rock Transalp

E-rock picked-up a fresh 2024 Honda Transalp on this day.

TDC Mini ADV July 2023 (with video)

LMR, E-rock, and MotoBum loaded-up and hit the Cascades for a two-night ADV, July 7-9, 2023. 

Here is the documentation / experimental video:

GhostfaceKLR was seen by MotoBum for approximately five minutes. The occasion was celebrated with a bubbly water and the return of a beloved handkerchief.

Chumstick Mountain was achieved.

The TDC subset was in good form at the summit

When we were high, we rode slowly. When we were low, we hauled.

Last Minute Ryan got famous on the Internet again.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by MotoBum (@motobum101)