Trip days: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8-9 | 10-12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20
We all snorted to life at 6:45am or so as the sun started to cook us in our sleeping bags. Camping and travelling with other people definitely changes the way a person does things, that's for sure. We kicked it in the early morning sun and lazily packed up our gear and yacked about where and when we would ride to today. The three of us got moving at 8:30am or so and rode east into Okanagon where we gassed up and stopped for breakfast at the Caribou Inn. It was your typical middle america greasy spoon with mediocre service at best and okay food. After the carb hit of pancakes, pancakes, more pancakes, and some bread we rode west on highway 20 to Winthrop. The stretch of highway 20 from Okanogan to Winthrop has some especially nice sections and minus one close call with a cop it was a veritable roller coaster ride. The speed limit was 55mph and luckily I was doing that, though fully leaned over and in a 30mph recommended speed zone, when I was startled by a state trooper going to other way. Luckily he didn't hesitate and kept on his way. We stopped in Winthrop and I refreshed myself with a lime shaved ice dish. After people watching and listening to the countless Harley-Davidson's rumble by, we mounted up and began the wonderful ride that is highway 20 over the Cascade mountain range. We promptly cleared the high point of Washington Pass and stopped for a couple photos on the west side of it. Then onward passing cars, Harley-Davidsons, and R.V.s in droves. We again stopped for a bit at the Ross Lake Dam overlook and basked in the afternoon heat and beauty of our surroundings. Then down through Diablo, Newhalem, and into Marblemount where we fuelled and stopped for lunch at "Good Food". I couldn't resist and ordered a 'Mountain Burger' that consists of 3 patties, cheese, and all the toppings, a homemade lemonade, and a large seasoned curly frie. Mmm, mmm, mmm. And I finished the glut of food as too! We headed east out of Marblemount and then immediately south and west again on Rockport-something Rd which eventually became South Skagit Highway that runs parallel to highway 20 but is on the southern side of the Skagit River. South Skagit is a great alternative to the drag of highway 20 from Marblemount west which pretty becomes straight and is plagued by traffic and cops. Though it's a little bumpy, South Skagit is traffic free and has a bunch of nice curves to keep things interesting. We decided on riding up to Bellingham for the night as Beau had to get some work done and I wanted clean up and drop off my gear before Tyson and I go to his place in Port Angeles and ride the peninsula tomorrow. The three of us rode west on Cook Rd. out of Sedro-Woolley to the famed Chuckanut Drive on which this whole trip started. What a welcome home... A high speed run up Chuckanut Drive. What a great road and a wonderful way to finish my trip. Back in Bellingham, Beau's roommate was having a dinner feeding at his place and invited Tyson and I over. We gladly accepted the offer of free food and, with six pack in hand, took part in consuming the tasty grub. I remembered that my friend Reiner had bought a bike a few weeks ago and so I called him to see if he wanted to stop by to show us his new machine. He had purchased a KTM LC4 640 Supermoto bike that is the king of the pavement in the world of single cylinder motorcycles. It is made for flat tracking on pavement and has more guts, and vibration, than you can shake a stick at. It does wheelies like no other and after a quick spin around the block I became very excited about the prospect of a dirt bike for the street.
Total Mileage for Day: 251 |
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©2003 John Meloy <jam@nas.com>