April and I are headed down to the Ape Caves at Mt. St. Helens this coming weekend. If you're not familiar with the Ape Caves:
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The group I rode with in the morning. It was a great ride.

No accidents. No injuries.

April and I went on an expedition to check out the Bornite Mine off of FSR2060 outside of Darrington. We're planning on going back later in the year when the creek levels are much lower. This will make getting to the mineshaft much easier.

I put together a expedition map that has pictures pinned along the route as well as GPS coordinates for various landmarks. You can view the map by going here. You can also view all the photos by visiting the Bornite Mine Ride web album.

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April and I decided to spend Mother's Day this year riding our dual sports on the dirt off the Mountain Loop Highway. The weather was awesome and made for some great scenery. Thank god film is cheap 'cuz we took a ton of pictures. Here are a few I put together in a video slide show. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEL7lU3Pseg

The photo album can be viewed here.

So I'm on my way home tonight from work and, as I'm coming through Granite Falls, I see a fellow motorcyclist sitting in front of the Nelson Petroleum station. He's kneeling down next to a pretty nice looking Yamaha XJ550, black in color. It looks just like mine, only chain driven. I can tell he's having problems so I pull in next to him.

Sure enough, his chain has come off and he has no clue on how to fix it. I examine the situation and quickly figure out the chain is balled up at...

...before work!



This was taken right before heading to work yesterday morning. It was about quarter to seven and around 36°F. Let me just say, "Brrrrrr!!!"

( The payoff was had in the ride home after work. It was awesome! ...And warm! )

There's probably nothing worse [for me] than to be riding on an unfamiliar dirt road and realizing that you're pretty much lost. Too many switchbacks and too many Y's in the road lead to this predicament.

That's what I was faced with when I last went riding off road April 16th. I had planned a ride for the north side of Highway 530 up by Darrington. I was intending on riding Forest Service Road 18 up from Swede Heaven Road to Forest Service Road 17 and then over to the Concrete area...

And, now, for something completely different: a photo collage...

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Yep, without going into the details, I have some hours in community service to do...yaaaa!

Like my Wife said, you play, you pay!

So, being the animal person that I am, I decide to do my time for the Seattle Humane Society.

WOW!

I gotta say, this was an experience, almost spiritual I guess.

As I was cleaning kennels, I reflected on why these Animals were there.

I think it is great that we have an organization...

The day started out well enough. Woke up pretty early and I was too excited about getting on with it to fall back asleep. April and I decided to get up and go after some breakfast.


Jeff (jdpesz) was scheduled later that day for a visit. He was bringing with him a new master cylinder and front brake pads. We were going to install both and then go for a ride. Well, that's...