Not quite to Barlow Pass, but definitely a beautiful ride!
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After getting sunburned on my previous long ride, my partner pushed the idea of sunscreen and I listened this time.
More after the break…
Part 1: To Bus
I started at about 5:00 and headed over to the University District freeway station as I'd done for the past few rides. Due to it being the middle of Spring, the sky was so bright at that hour!
Heading north once more. (@ University District North Bound Freeway Bus Station) https://t.co/r2rfwWILxd
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
It sure is light out!
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
Part 2: Outbound
As soon as I got off the bus, I noticed one of Lime's new electric scooters, which I'd never seen in the area before. I did see them in Portland when my partner and I visited the previous weekend.
It begins. #limescooter @ Everett Station https://t.co/4twnRruzgX
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
Off I go. (@ Everett Station - @everettcity in Everett, WA) https://t.co/sdi1T56lvE
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
When I planned this, I used last time's route, and was under the assumption that I was going out via Snohomish and returning via SR-204. Accordingly, I headed for Snohomish along my usual route north of the river.
Didn't see a single car when I was riding along the Snohomish River! #cycling #seabikes
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
There were a couple of random dogs walking along Riverview Drive with no sign of an owner. The bigger of the two barked at me a few times, but thankfully neither gave chase.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
Only when I arrived to Snohomish did I realize that my route went out on SR-204 and returned via Snohomish. At this point, it didn't really matter, so I took the normal route through Machias.
Got some serious #cottonwood! #cycling @ Machias, Washington https://t.co/0gY10qPVhO
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
And then I left the Centennial Trail to take SR-92 out to Granite Falls, which was still as nice as always. Once I got into town, I noticed something that I found amusing: a combination McDonald's and Shell station!
Signs of #smalltownlife . #smalltown @ Granite Falls, Washington https://t.co/rQQFl9EEz1
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
I knew in my head that the real adventure would begin as soon as I started the descent to the South Fork Stillaguamish River. The climb up from the bridge crossing the river was easy enough at first, but then I eventually got to the real bear of a climb shortly after. Not a single car was on the highway when I made my ascent, which was a nice change of pace.
While this hill will never be easy, I felt especially out of shape after this climb. I also forgot there was a false flat between the two climbs up it.
What's crazy is that there were no cars while I was climbing that hill.
After that came the next significant descent into the quaint little town of Robe. I made a quick stop at the local general store to get a soda since I was still pretty hot after that climb.
There weren't any more major climbs heading east, though the road east of Robe doesn't have much in the way of consistent shoulders. Thankfully, traffic wasn't too heavy as I entered the national forest.
When I entered robe, I saw much more activity than last time.
Everybody's looking for Discover/Forest Passes. I'm sure glad I don't need them, as I don't have a car!
From there, it was just beautiful mountain valley highway all the way out to Silverton.
The gravel section was still there, though shorter than I remembered.
It wasn't much longer until I finally arrived to Silverton, which was the same as I remembered: a bridge and some cabins. This time, however, the cottonwood trees were throwing out tons of seeds.
The cottonwoods are going insane up here.
Shortly before leaving Silverton, I saw a bunch of roadies who were headed back down from Barlow Pass. Alas, that wouldn't be my turning back point this time.
There was a group of roadies headed back from Barlow Pass when I was in Silverton. #cycling
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
Part 3: Inbound
I was hoping for a nice, speedy descent back down to Robe, but the winds had a better idea: random wind directions every few minutes.
Surprised it took this long for someone to roll coal at me.
Once back in Robe, I got another soda. A young guy on a motorcycle asked me about where I was headed while I drank it, and later the store owner's cat came up to say hello. The owner came out to say that the cat was asking to be let in before doing so.
The cat belonging to the owner of the Mountain Loop General Store came up to me for attention (food).
The climb back over the big hill was still a challenge, but it was still easier in this direction. I kept telling myself to stay in traffic after the big descent and into the climb, but I pulled off at the bridge anyway due to the number of cars I was holding up. Thankfully, there weren't many up the climb into Granite Falls.
Forgot that I don't get service east of Granite Falls. Silverton was nice to visit.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
The heat really started hitting me as I cruised southwest on SR-92, and I had to stop to eat in the shade by the time I got to Lochsloy. My legs here absolutely filthy at this point due to the sunscreen trapping a lot more dust than my sweat normally would have.
Heat exhaustion isn't fun. I'm just glad I don't have caffeine making it worse. #cycling
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
Not the first #generalstore of the day, but uploading is hard without data service. #cycling #bicycletouring @ Lochsloy, Washington https://t.co/XNKcYjUKjs
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
It's so dusty today. #cycling #tattoo @ Lochsloy, Washington https://t.co/KkeZVh2Z65
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
Sunscreen traps a lot more road dust than sweat does on its own. #cycling
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 28, 2019
At that point, I had a decision to make:
- Use the same SR-204 route as a recent ride.
- Go through Snohomish.
I ended up going south to Snohomish via the Centennial Trail, as my legs were pretty beat from earlier. Along the way, I saw a woman learning how to ride a bike the hard way:
Saw a man teaching a woman how to ride a bicycle…on a full-on road racing bike. #hardmode #cycling
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 27, 2019
When I got to Snohomish, I decided that I really didn't want to do the junk miles along the south side of the river, mainly due to the wind, so I made my way to the bus stop. It was here where I saw some of the worst overhead lines I'd ever seen.
Taking the bus to Everett. The Mountain Loop Highway was pretty ambitious, but definitely worth it. #cycling
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 28, 2019
Part 4: Return Home
Once back in Seattle, I took the usual route down to the Burke–Gilman Trail, then headed home. FreeRange Cycles hadn't been open on the day I did the ride, and would've closed by this point anyway.
Smells like smoke down here.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) May 28, 2019
This ride reminded me of why I would consider a 100-mile version of this a full day, when 130-150 miles was more typical of my rides: it's a lot of climbing!
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