When I was a lot younger, 1981, and without much prior knowledge, I rode the Oregon Coast south to north. Actually, it was part of a larger loop. I was tempted to bail over into the Willamette Valley a couple of times, but the valley temps were near the 100F mark; so I gutted it out up to Astoria, before turning east. The winds didn't sound too bad in comparison. Based on that experience my advice is don't do it! My wife and I have also ridden the Pacific Coast Route from Lund, BC to the Mexican Border, and that is the way to go. We would always feel sorry for those poor folks we met heading north.

We have explored a route from Visalia, CA to Oregon's Willamette Valley. We think it can be done with only a short stretch on I-5 near near Shasta Lake and the pass over the Siskiyous on the Oregon/California border. There might be a couple of other short sections until you get up to the Roseburg area where you might have to use the Interstate. From Eugene north there are a lot of options using secondary roads to get to Seattle. We've never ridden it but we have looked at several options when we head south to visit family. Someday we may just give it a shot to see if we can get from Visalia to Oregon without a lot of I-5 time.

Riding on I-5 is not fun, however, it is safe. Again, in my younger, read dumber, days, I rode from Portland to Roseburg on I-5. The plan was for my wife to pick me up on her way south after visiting relatives in Portland. However, she somehow missed me, turning a 4-5 hour ride into a 12 hour one Again, my advice is not to do it.