Second Annual Summer Ride

We had such a great time last year and couldn't wait to get back out there this year. It's clear this will become an annual summer trip with our very good friends Kevin and BJ from Deer Park. (BJ was our neighbor in Davenport for over 20 years).

Last year we barely finished our final leg home from our Canada Hot Springs ride, and we were already planning this years trip through the Washington Cascade Mountains.

A little early morning coffee at the home pad while we were waiting for Kevin and BJ.

We enjoy riding the 650 BMW "Maxi-Scooter" and certainly have no issues keeping up with the full size bikes we've ridden with. At just around 600lbs Sheila can still handle riding on her own, and we both appreciate the automatic transmission and nimble handling in small towns. So far, on four day trips we've not run into storage issues either. With that said, I've been having thoughts about moving to a full size bike, and have had my eye on the new BMW 1600's.

The upgrade (pictured above) would give us longer travel range with a much higher level of comfort (especially for Sheila). It's really too expensive at around 30K. We are beginning to ride longer distances, more frequently, and fatigue sets in pretty quickly. It's still only a conversation right now : )



DAY ONE

...started out just a little sloppy but ended in a downpour as we pulled into our first nights stop in Winthrop. Eventually the weather cleared enough for us to venture into the tiny tourist town for dinner and laughs.

The hotel was a little expensive, but very nice with private balcony views of the river beneath us.

 DAY TWO


...was all about the ride through the cascade mountains. This was the reason for the trip. The air was a tad chilly, but the views were incredible. Nothing like doing this ON a bike instead of IN a car.

200 miles later, the much dryer day ended in Oak Harbor after crossing the Deception Pass bridge.

We ventured into Deception Pass National Park, strolled the beach and took in the view of the bridge from below. The rest of the evening was spent quietly relaxing and conversing with our friends.

 DAY THREE


...took us over Stevens Pass and just outside Leavenworth for our last overnite stay. Our cheapest "Motel" of the trip and probably the most interesting of them. Let's just say, our room felt like staying in your Dad's cement block basement and the ice maker was coin operated! The Asian couple that ran the second of two hotel options in Cashmere were a hoot and offered us free bottled water and fed the ice machine with coins : ) The only eatery still open happened to be an oriental place that served fantastic food and multiple flavors of Saki. We tried them all out of curiosity of course.
It was a wonderful final evening.

 

After a quick morning tour of the Applets and Cotlets facility and breakfast in a very cool 50's themed diner, we hit the road one last time.

DAY FOUR


...wound us through the burned areas near Leavenworth. A short walk down to the rivers edge  proved there was still beauty to be found just about everywhere. Mother Nature can be brutally harsh on us humans at times...but she takes care of herself and doesn't ask for permission to do so.

Hitting our 800th mile in four days took it's toll on both us and the bike (blown front fork shocks). So the final ride was a little more bumpy that it should have been : ) But the sun was out, and for the most part it was a beautiful final day.

Of course we've already begun plans for next years 3rd Annual Ride.

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I'll close with this piece of beach art. Thanks for reading!