Wow! I last posted here in March. Pardon the dust.

Since then a whole riding season has came and went. I got a little riding in, but not as much as I thought I would back in March. I wanted to do a portion of the Washington Backcountry Discovery Route. That never happened. I wanted to do some riding up around Twin Lakes and Mount Baker. Don't think I made it north of Sedro on two wheels.

Why? Hiking, or, more accurately, mine exploration. It's been my new passion. I've...

Daylight Savings Time is here? √
Snow is melting from the mountains? √
Parked Motorcycle Syndrome is intolerable? √
Motorcycle is ready to go? √
Weather has shaped up?

Almost there...

Next sunny day... I'm gonna wreck that biatch!

(It's been far too long since I've ridden. Just saying.)

I went for a cruise after work last night and ended up at the ORV park south of Lake Bosworth. It seems the DNR folks have been busy removing and/or replacing culverts in the park. Here's what I ran into about mid-park:


(This is the stream draining from the beaver ponds.)

If I could make a request of my dirt bike and quad riding friends. Can you guys...

Enough already with your slow-motion commercials of motorcycles crashing into things. You're killing me smashing up all those perfectly fine riding machines.

I don't know about you, but I'm not a superstitious person ...normally. However, since I started riding I pay close attention to the "cosmic signs". And when those signs seem to point to potential danger, I heed their warnings.

Their signs appeared last Saturday. I got my gear on and went out to fire up the KLR for work. Pulling out of the drive I immidiately felt something "off" with the bike. After turning the corner I felt the ass-end wobble a bit. I pulled...

One word: WOW!

I had a blast! I'm feeling it this morning, though. A little sore from yesterday's escapades, but man, what a ride.

Just recently, I was tipped off to the location of an ORV park just south of Granite Falls by a customer of mine. After some poking around in people's backyards, I finally found a way in and discovered a little slice of heaven on Earth. The park is criss-crossed with tons of single track trails with most of them in the woods...

MVUM? What the hell does that stand for?!? Well, let me tell ya... Motor Vehicle Use Map. And you better have one with you the next time you decide to set a motorized tire on the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. That's right. Much like going fishing and hunting in this state, you'll need to have your lawyer on speed dial so you can consult with him before you turn down that gravel road or turn up that overgrown path. Is it really all that bad? Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill? Grab...

I ended up with just shy of 200 miles on the clock and I'm feeling it.

Rider Alert: If you're riding the gravel part of the Mt. Loop Highway be aware they filled in the potholes with marbles. This means every corner must be taken with caution: Pucker Factor 3.7.

Here's a rough map of where I went...


Here's the pics...

...

Here we are seven months into the new year and I totally flogged the dog on the Mileage Survey. So, out it went. (It was on the left-hand sidebar) In it's place I put a link to my Facebook page.