Ride West

So I planned a day (Friday) to shoot over to Seattle and put new shoes on Mistress (she always dances better with new shoes) and the morning looking west to the Cascades make me think the heavy skins are best suited for the ride today.  Having coffee and standing on my lawn at a comfortable 62°f  where the pool used to be while looking at the clouds form had me thinking it was going to be clear once I get near the summit.

Heh...

It is June, right?  Not just June, but June 25th... Summer, right?

How about 50°f and raining???





So the water is streaming off the windscreen, and the fog (at 4000 ft is it still fog or really high clouds?) slows me down to 40 mph and I decide to pull over and change my glasses to my night ones (it is Summer, Summer at 9:00 AM to boot!) and I realize that it isn't raining, it's just what happens when you are in the middle of a really wet cloud.

Ok, off I go, and pretty wet (now REALLY glad I wore my heavy waterproof skins) where it does turn into light rain and continues as such until the Monroe turn off.

I am the kind of rider that unless my wife is taking my attention to the right, I will wave at any rider I pass oncoming on the left, I must have passed 20 bikes coming over the pass before and after the pass and of the group, were roughly 2/3rds HD and the rest a couple of beemers and rice bikes.

Those HD purists were the high count today, and judging from the look on their half-helmet faces I know thay were looking forward to getting into Eastern Washington and the warmth.

Road maintenance in Bothell slowed things down (like traffic isn't bad enough, you have to do your arrow painting at 10:00 AM?) but I made it with 10 minutes to spare.  Dropping my bike off at the Ride West BMW service area, I wen't down to visit with my daughter Jacqueline who lives a couple blocks from the dealership (here is a photo on the left of her and her bike, a Suzuki Boulevard S40) and as we are talking I get a call from the shop that the bike is done!  Under 40 minutes to mount new rubber and valve stem, check the brake pads front and rear, quick safety inspection, and come get the bike!

WOW!

I had this shop rebuild a final drive for me last year that is currently on Mistress... I like their work, and never feel gouged when they recommend any work done.  I do all my routine maintenance and services except valves and clutch's, they can have that side of the German engineering until I retire and start my new life as a BMW mechanic (they have all the factory tools).

So I pick up the bike and Jacqueline and I head off to see her new place she is moving to and then down to the U-district for a bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup.

Wenatchee needs more restaurants...

Good time together, run her back up to her place and then head back before the traffic get's thick.  New tire gets worked a bit before hitting the pass and then as I am leaving Startup heading East I hit it... the caravans.  45mph a good bit, pass when it's safe biding my time until the passing lanes come and when the passing lanes open what do they do?  Every time a lane opened up the caravan (travel trailer) doing 45 mph was passed by the caravan doing 47 mph.  What is wrong with these people, it like a retired Death Race 2010!!!  Why they can't just stay in their convoy lane is beyond me, must be a guy thing. At the climb to the summit where it is a constant 2 lane climbing all the full size SUVs now want to race to see who can empty their tank first, and I let them plow the road until I get my shot to wind up the pass at 65 mph and pass them again, low banking now that the tires are broken in and roads are dry, nothing like sparking off the pegs to keep the kids in the car's you're passing entertained! Coming down the Tumwater Canyon and Wenatchee River is gorgeous, one of my favorite places to ride year round. Still in my heavy skins, 58° at the summit eastbound, 86° in Leavenworth at the lights.  Sheesh... NOW it decides to be summer!

Home as quickly as I can and it's Miller time after I doff the gear and give Mistress a loving caress.

She is such a good bike, I guess good looks and sex-appeal can get you far in life after all... and she's all mine.