Is that Black Mountain Road near Pozo?

This was really unnerving. All that flat!

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2857/...34b6a9_o_d.jpg

Here's Black Mountain Road near Pozo from the SLO Ride to Hell last Saturday:

The Highwood Pass is >50 km of paved road that is closed to motor traffic every year between December 15 and June 15. It's a cycling paradise the last few weeks before the gates open. Sometimes there's still snow at the top so you have to walk part of the way (even in June!). Keep an eye out for bears and mountain goats.

Icicle Road, Leavenworth WA

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2863/...7d6d64_o_d.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4gpq4z1m9s...01.sm.jpg?dl=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3v5re76jt4...01.sm.jpg?dl=1

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fninim213v...06.sm.jpg?dl=1

very nice!

Power access road in Pilchuck Tree Farm.

http://i.imgur.com/mCLYXJu.jpg

It's sort of a road. Probably. It's clearly empty ahead, at any rate.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...psqenzemfh.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...pstmzvtsls.jpg

Beautiful pic. And those citrus (orange?) trees are in bloom right now, aren't they, so the ride was a feast for the senses. It is nice to see that all the citrus groves in southern California have not been torn down to make way for apartment buildings. Is that near Riverside?

From there, Riverside is about 20 miles southwest. The orange groves are lining Florida St. in Mentone, Ca. There are still some decent sized groves in Mentone and Redlands, in spots where they didn't rip them all out to build more warehouses. Also occasionally groves of grapefruit and avocado. Now if I could just stop having run-ins with bees every other time I ride through there.

Thanks. I'll have to keep this area in mind for next Spring. The irony is that when I was in my late teens I used to backpack in the San Jacinto Wilderness and would go, generally, through the Inland Empire but had never really explored that area. It looks absolutely beautiful.

Here are our stereo barns straddling the road. You can see the blue house behind the upper barn.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xf...w1618-h1214-no

The could have been taken here in Tennessee.

I visited Knoxville on business in 2009. It's beautiful there.

New York State will surprise you with beauty. We have many kinds. There is a lot more to it than The City.

[MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION]

I feel like I recognize that road. It's probably just that I grew up in Connecticut.

Yes, but it's easy to only think NYC when New York comes to mind. Same with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia when thinking about Pennsylvania. I have a good friend who moved here from Pennsylvania who was happy to be in a less rural area, go figure. FWIW, I'm about an hour north east of Knoxville.

I plan to remember a lot of the roads you post pictures of, eventually. Your pictures have a motivating factor to them, makes me want to see the PNW more than you cold know.

Yup. We are very lucky in that we have places in the city and the country. Maybe we'll retire to the country.

I invite you to follow me (noglider) on ridewithgps. I take a few pictures of the scenery. I'm not a great photographer, but you might get the idea.

Thanks! :)

If you ever come out here, get in touch. I'll try to ride with you. If that doesn't work with your plans or whatever, I'll recommend some great routes, you can tell me how much distance and elevation and what kind of scenery and whatnot, I'll make sure you have great options. Might be able to recommend hotels, hiking trails, and swimming holes too. :D

Thanks, it's not in the cards anytime soon but you've put some things on my list.