First time washougal tips

Pgd09yz450
Flying across the country to visit family and hit the washougal national, any tips on bars, restaurants mountain biking or other stuff to do thanks!!
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BLAHBLAH
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BLAHBLAH 7/25/2019 1:56pm
7/25/2019 1:56pm Edited Date/Time 7/25/2019 1:56pm
I'm heading to the Shoug for my first time too... where is the best place(s) for viewing? Any other insider tips for the actual race?
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CarlinoJoeVideo
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CarlinoJoeVideo 7/26/2019 12:01am
7/26/2019 12:01am
Check out the big single jump into the sand and horsepower hill! The upper road jump section 180 then jump down is awesome to watch.

Mountain biking is Sandy oregon. Look up Sandy Ridge.

Too many great places to eat in Portland!
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WheelieNelson 7/26/2019 12:37am
7/26/2019 12:37am
Most places on the hill you can see a good portion of the track even if it's crowded. It's worth walking the whole infield though as there's some really good spots.

Don't expect to leave right after the race. You'll be stuck in traffic on river road so you might as well stay and relax for a few after the race. I'm here now camped til Sunday
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Pgd09yz450 7/26/2019 2:39am
7/26/2019 2:39am
CarlinoJoeVideo wrote:
Check out the big single jump into the sand and horsepower hill! The upper road jump section 180 then jump down is awesome to watch. Mountain...
Check out the big single jump into the sand and horsepower hill! The upper road jump section 180 then jump down is awesome to watch.

Mountain biking is Sandy oregon. Look up Sandy Ridge.

Too many great places to eat in Portland!
Thanks for the tip were gonna check out sandy ridge on Sunday 👍
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Crossup
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Crossup 7/26/2019 4:22am
7/26/2019 4:22am
WheelieNelson wrote:
Most places on the hill you can see a good portion of the track even if it's crowded. It's worth walking the whole infield though as...
Most places on the hill you can see a good portion of the track even if it's crowded. It's worth walking the whole infield though as there's some really good spots.

Don't expect to leave right after the race. You'll be stuck in traffic on river road so you might as well stay and relax for a few after the race. I'm here now camped til Sunday
What ^^ he said. The ride in isn't so bad. The ride out can be two hours to get to the town/highway. If you aren't camping up near the track, you might consider biking up from the town if you are up for it. There are also some good spots on the river that you can swim. I used to bring my dual sport on the back of my truck, park in town, and use it to shuttle up and back.

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motomike137
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motomike137 7/26/2019 6:03am
7/26/2019 6:03am
BLAHBLAH wrote:
I'm heading to the Shoug for my first time too... where is the best place(s) for viewing? Any other insider tips for the actual race?
I've only been once (2016) but my feeling is that in order to really take it in you need to be prepared to move around to multiple locations during the day. As one poster said the big jump into the sand is pretty awesome to stand near for at least a few laps. The year I was there one of the "beer gardens" was next to that jump so you could enjoy a nice cold IPA while watching Eli send it and then crack the whip on his KX going up the hill. Seriously though you need to explore the whole track. Standing at the top of horsepower hill is a pretty awesome feeling, it is much steeper than it looks on the tube. I've been to my share of nationals over the years and in person Washougal is my favorite ever.
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cwtoyota
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cwtoyota 7/26/2019 8:35am
7/26/2019 8:35am
slidingsideways15x wrote:
Anyone know of any dealer signings tonight?
Not a dealer signing, but there's a live PulpMX show in Portland at the Alberta Rose theater.
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cwtoyota
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cwtoyota 7/26/2019 8:38am
7/26/2019 8:38am
CarlinoJoeVideo wrote:
Check out the big single jump into the sand and horsepower hill! The upper road jump section 180 then jump down is awesome to watch. Mountain...
Check out the big single jump into the sand and horsepower hill! The upper road jump section 180 then jump down is awesome to watch.

Mountain biking is Sandy oregon. Look up Sandy Ridge.

Too many great places to eat in Portland!
Here's that Katapult jump into the sand... The biggest send under race conditions was Bagget a few years ago.
Bret Cue hucked it in there pretty far on his two smoke as well.

https://youtu.be/r8_SGD2KaWM
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motomike137
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motomike137 7/26/2019 8:54am
7/26/2019 8:54am
CarlinoJoeVideo wrote:
Check out the big single jump into the sand and horsepower hill! The upper road jump section 180 then jump down is awesome to watch. Mountain...
Check out the big single jump into the sand and horsepower hill! The upper road jump section 180 then jump down is awesome to watch.

Mountain biking is Sandy oregon. Look up Sandy Ridge.

Too many great places to eat in Portland!
cwtoyota wrote:
Here's that Katapult jump into the sand... The biggest send under race conditions was Bagget a few years ago. Bret Cue hucked it in there pretty...
Here's that Katapult jump into the sand... The biggest send under race conditions was Bagget a few years ago.
Bret Cue hucked it in there pretty far on his two smoke as well.

https://youtu.be/r8_SGD2KaWM
Seeing the bike/rider compression in slo mo is crazy!
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slidingsideways15x 7/26/2019 8:56am
7/26/2019 8:56am
slidingsideways15x wrote:
Anyone know of any dealer signings tonight?
cwtoyota wrote:
Not a dealer signing, but there's a live PulpMX show in Portland at the Alberta Rose theater.
Yeah typically we would go and do the Pulp deal, but I have my 3 year old with me (we are taking him to his first national) and don’t have anywhere he could stay while my wife and I went. That’s why I was hoping to find a signing so he could go see a few riders. Thanks for the info though!
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Rupert X
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Rupert X 7/26/2019 9:12am
7/26/2019 9:12am
I only went once. 2012. Extensive car search upon entering the track parking area. Everybody out of car went thru everything, even under hood. 'Twas weird as hell. Like i was back at a Euro border crossing in Romania in 1968....

We had nothing to hide, but i didnt like it, Communist bastards, Anyway, loved the track, hated having to be in a caged-in area to drink expensive beer.....

Hopefully they;ve changed all that....Make sure you walk all the way up on the hill....Down by the base of the hill, second start corner is fun for early laps, roam about tho,,,,''

Lots of diverse ethnic food offerings by vendors...

Downtown Portland is fun and safe, Check out the food truck zone,,,, lot of cool brewpubs,,,

Take the train from downtown out to PIR....Enjoy ! Cheers
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Hammer 663s
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Hammer 663s 7/26/2019 10:41am
7/26/2019 10:41am
Downtown Portland is now a homeless camp full of bums, most whacked out on one drug or another. I don't go there, don't take my family there. Pearl District on the West side is decent enough tho. Lots of good food and beer there. 10 Barrel Brewing is always a fav.

Tip on getting in - go early. Go past Washougal and down to Salmon Falls road and come in the back way. Make sure to stop and buy donuts from the young kids at the stand in front of there house right before you hit the track. There's one more secret way in but I'm not sharing it here.

They don't search anymore. At least not the last few years. Unless you show up already drunk with your ears tucked under your hat. Then you deserve it. Wink

Tips on getting out. Stay and hang out till 7. It's chaos until at least then anyway. Or, show up in a tank and make your own road out.
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mx617
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mx617 7/26/2019 10:45am
7/26/2019 10:45am
Im considering driving through the night to go. If I leave here at 2 am I should arrive around 10. Is that going to put me in the middle of a three hour wait to get in or is that early enough?
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BigDaddyG
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BigDaddyG 7/26/2019 10:55am
7/26/2019 10:55am
Stay hydrated, wear good shoes, lots of walking on hills and uneven ground. Have an ice chest with food and drinks back in the rig to snack on while you are waiting to get out at the end of the day. Still haven't made my mind up about going.
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ctbale
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ctbale 7/26/2019 11:15am
7/26/2019 11:15am
Used to live 6 miles from the track. They let me take a right leaving but the exit time is extensive. Going this year and not even going to try to leave for a few hrs
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cwtoyota
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cwtoyota 7/26/2019 11:35am
7/26/2019 11:35am
BigDaddyG wrote:
Stay hydrated, wear good shoes, lots of walking on hills and uneven ground. Have an ice chest with food and drinks back in the rig to...
Stay hydrated, wear good shoes, lots of walking on hills and uneven ground. Have an ice chest with food and drinks back in the rig to snack on while you are waiting to get out at the end of the day. Still haven't made my mind up about going.
Good shoes is good advice. The infield is a mixture of grass and orange clay dust. Your socks will be coated in that orange clay from walking around if you wear some vented sneakers.

I wear some light combat boots made by Oakley to the nationals.
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Spudnut
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Spudnut 7/26/2019 12:14pm
7/26/2019 12:14pm
slidingsideways15x wrote:
Yeah typically we would go and do the Pulp deal, but I have my 3 year old with me (we are taking him to his first...
Yeah typically we would go and do the Pulp deal, but I have my 3 year old with me (we are taking him to his first national) and don’t have anywhere he could stay while my wife and I went. That’s why I was hoping to find a signing so he could go see a few riders. Thanks for the info though!
I heard there’s a signing at pro caliber in Vancouver
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cwtoyota
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cwtoyota 7/26/2019 12:20pm
7/26/2019 12:20pm
mx617 wrote:
Im considering driving through the night to go. If I leave here at 2 am I should arrive around 10. Is that going to put me...
Im considering driving through the night to go. If I leave here at 2 am I should arrive around 10. Is that going to put me in the middle of a three hour wait to get in or is that early enough?
It's not a three hour wait from town to the track, but it can be over an hour to get from highway 14 up to the track on the years with accidents or detours.

Targeting 10am arriving to town is risking missing the 125 race, maybe moto 1 if there is an accident.
I think racing starts at noon most years.
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mx617
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mx617 7/26/2019 12:27pm
7/26/2019 12:27pm
cwtoyota wrote:
It's not a three hour wait from town to the track, but it can be over an hour to get from highway 14 up to the...
It's not a three hour wait from town to the track, but it can be over an hour to get from highway 14 up to the track on the years with accidents or detours.

Targeting 10am arriving to town is risking missing the 125 race, maybe moto 1 if there is an accident.
I think racing starts at noon most years.
Thanks, good to know. I was aiming for 10 to catch last practices, doesn't sound like that's realistic though. First motos are at 1:10, I would think for surebid be in by then
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visser62
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visser62 7/26/2019 4:38pm
7/26/2019 4:38pm
If any Vital folks are interested in a Sunday MTB ride I'm planning on heading out to Mt. Hood. I was planning on the Timberline-to-town trail but if folks prefer Sandy Ridge I'd be down for that as well. It'd be fun to get a forum group together.
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racerx24
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racerx24 7/26/2019 8:33pm
7/26/2019 8:33pm
I will be at Sandy Ridge sunday morning..Driving 19 Grey Lifted 4runner carrying a Tan Pivot.
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