northbend 

My neighborhood borders the Snoqualmie Valley Regional Trail. This morning I rode down a couple of blocks from my home and accessed the trail. This time I turned right,

And rode on up to Rattlesnake lake where I turned left onto the John Wayne Trail and headed East twords Snoqualmie Pass. The trail skirts the hillside above Interstate 90 heading to Snoqualmie Pass.

There were a lot of hikers and horseback riders on the trail but few bike riders. The farther east I went the less crowded it got. Maybe I’d see someone every 15 minutes or so. I stopped at one point just because this tiny waterfall looked so beautiful.

This has been an “El Nino” year here in the PNW which means we get very little snow. So little this yea, that I was able to ride all the way to the Snoqualmie tunnel which runs underneath Snoqualmie Pass. This is highly unusual, dry as a bone. there should be 5 or 6 feet of snow here at this time of the year.

In all, a very nice ride. over 50 miles all gravel, no cars.

mountaindave 

Will they ever refurb the tunnel for bikes?

gomango

So jealous.

I can't imagine a prettier place.

FWIW We did a quick 22 miles today, all on dry streets.

That's a miracle this time of the year in the Twin Cities.

Let's just call it the "Microbrewery Tour" for slow old guys.

What a great day.

northbend 

It's open every summer, Dave. You need to bring lights. Over 2 miles underground. Pretty cool place

JJScaliger

Great pics as usual northbend!

Treacherous here; everything super cold and roads iced over. Snow tomorrow night...

northbend 

I need to plan one of those. That would be fun ( in warmer westher)

Lascauxcaveman 

Well, if you East Coasters aren't jealous enough, buried under snow and ice as you are, I guess I'll just pile on here.

Yesterday I took the day off and did about the same ride I did last year for my $100 clunker challenge miles, this time 66 miles on my Velo Cheapo contest entry. Forks to Port Angeles, via the Spruce Railroad Trail around Lake Crescent. Not a ton of climbing involved, but fat tires required. I borrowed the Pasela 32s from my Peugeot tourer and hopped on the 7:45am bus to Forks.

Pretty foggy, 34 degrees F when I pulled the bike off the rack, but it burned off and warmed up while I sort of just cruised the backstreets of town. I guess they're all backstreets, except for Highway 101. Lawns and rooftops heavily frosted, I put on my balaclava for the first 10 miles or so.



Hmmm... there was definitely something fishy about this intersection, but I couldn't put my finger on it.



Highway 101 crosses the Sol Duc river five times between Forks and Lake Crescent. I had to look at a map and check that; I'd lost count after awhile.


I stopped in at the Mount Muller trailhead (where @WNG and I started ascending on a MTB adventure last September). The idea was, I could get an extra couple miles of singletrack in if I picked up the lower trailhead that goes to the Spruce Trail from here, but it was ankle-deep in mud the first 100 yards, so I gave it a pass. It was mostly dry last August when I first rode it. January; that's a different story.


So, back down to 101 and then exiting at the super-secret old logging road at milepost 218, which gives you a nice and dry mile of this...


Before it dumps you onto an even nicer newly paved MUP, giving you a looong gradual descent to the singletrack that goes the rest of the way around the lake. That paved part is so sweet; you can roll continuously for five miles at 25+ with hardly any effort. Whee!


(Cont.)

Lascauxcaveman 

Back around the Lake. (I think I probably have a photo of this spot with about a half dozen different bikes).


This spot, too. While I was lunching down on a tuna sandwich here, I had this conversation with a hiker as he passed by:

Me: "Beautiful day, huh?"
Him: "Not bad, for May."

In the low 50's by this time, and I'm overdressed in my khakis and long-sleeved T-shirt.


Another photogenic spot, the footbridge at Devil's Washbasin:


As is the bridge at the Lyre River, the sole outlet for Lake Crescent:


Then I stopped at my mom's place on the north shore of the lake, where she made me lunch. Can you guess? That's right, another tuna sandwich, lol.


Here's another river I cross a lot, the Elwha, which has been recently un-dammed. This is just about a quarter mile downstream of the Hiway 101 bridge crossing


Anther 10 miles back to town, for a well-earned pint at the Twin Peaks brewery, out by the airport. I had a dry-hopped IPA, a little overhopped, maybe, with a little too much grassy-tangy hop notes burying the malt, but it still went down pretty well.

gomango

There are so many breweries popping up in the Twin Cities, it could be a two day tour.

Chrome Molly

You PNW guys are making me very jealous. I managed 35 miles today, but with the mid 20's for temps and wearing boots, heavy mittens, ski helmet, wool jersey, and a wind jacket, it sure wasn't fast. Courses I manage 19-20 on with the road bikes are done in the 13-14mph range with all that gear and lightly inflated 40c gravel tires. If we had snow, my skiing would probably be faster.

mountaindave 

Yeah, I'm pretty jealous. I have often wondered how people survive winter wthout snow... now I know. Between the gym, work, kids on two different hockey teams, board meetings and the 8 hours of sunlight we get at this time of year, I'm reduced to living vicariously through this thread. Good thing you guys take nice photos.

NB, that trail sounds fantastic - I love tunnels. We have done Hiawtha Trail on the border of ID and MT. It's beautiful and gentle enough that our kids went from bottom to top and back down on trail-a-bikes with us. The top treats you to a mile+ tunnel - very cool!

MD

verktyg 

Short 16 mile moonlight ride on a bike trail in Walnut Creek, CA.

It was in the low 70s this evening. Gloat!

I was on my 1987 Centurion Ironman.



verktyg

Chas.

jimmuller 

Ride? We rode x-c skis yesterday. Bretton Woods. I think the thermometer might have hit 4F. Maybe not. It is supposed to be warmer today, still in single digits.

Vonruden

Some very nice pics added recently, especially NB's BG.

First ride for me in a week, was going stir crazy.

mountaindave 

All those Gitanes AND a Miami Vice Centurion? What else lurks in your stable? Now I'm uber jealous. Clouds and snow-covered shoulders and trails around here... Need to try a fat bike.

EBH

This page is a good one...

spiker

No riding since the blizzard hit, main roads are barely 2 lanes, side streets single lane. Main roads clear to pavement, side streets a patchwork of pavement and ice.

That said, & here comes the vintage angle, I broke out my 30+ year old x/c skis & hit the links. Haven't been on then since the mid-80's. Doing loops of a couple of holes when I blew out a shoe! Had maybe a 100 yard walk back to the car. So any of you x/c skiers think it's repairable? These are size 14. So finding a replacement pair isn't easy. Suggestions appreciated....

mountaindave 

Take them to a good cobbler, or check ebay. You'd be surprised what people dig up. I myself blew the clip off of my left 35+ year old Karhu ski.

whatwolf

We've had some pretty epic sunsets lately. Here's two pictures from yesterday.



@gomango here's that bag you were wondering about. I took it for a test ride on some rocky stuff and it did just fine.



I was trying to get home before dark but kept having to stop to take pictures.

gomango

Looks great!

May be just the ticket for the Della Santa!

The stock color they have looks super as well.

pcb 

Did a slow, cold 20mi to the river today, in advance of yet more snow. We were spared most of the 2'+ blizzard that CT/MA/etc got last week, so the streets are pretty clear. Lotsa snow everywhere else, and a fair amount of ice near shore. Just fendered a Kirk Terraplane I snagged a coupla months back. Nice to keep all the road salt and melt-slush off the bike. Pretty wide band of snow incoming, so there's not much blue in the sky....

JTTDF

To a Super Bowl Party...

seatech

First ride ever in Alaska today. No snow in Kodiak this year. Clear skies and temps in the high 30's so I took advantage. I managed about 20 miles before sunset. Great ride!

djkashuba 

40 miles on the local m.u.p. then on to a favorite cafe'. Mid 60's and dry dry dry.

Chai/ Colnago by djk762, on Flickr

JJScaliger

I finally managed to get a ride in for the first time in a month. Weather wasn't great this morning; mid 20s with light sleet. The forecast is for more snow this tonight and tomorrow.

32 miles in Scituate and Cranston on the Kelly.






North Scitiate