Went up one of my favorite highways, this time by scooter! I'd been itching to head up this way again for a very long time.
More after the break…
Outbound
Starting sometime around 9:00, I headed up 15th Avenue NW to SR-99, then continued north along the latter. It was busier than I expected, and I wasn't a huge fan of being swarmed by so many cars. The strong and chilly headwinds only added to how little fun this leg of the ride was. The only good part was that it was clear enough for me to see Mount Baker for a lot of the way up.
After riding SR-99 for a while without my GPS showing any sign of a turn, I left it to find a place where I could take a short break. This brought me to a Walgreens, just in time for my GPS to signal that it needed new batteries and for me to realize that I'd forgotten to pack them.
SR-99 isn't very much fun.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 24, 2020
I rejoined SR-99 a little north of where I'd left it, and eventually found my turn, which was at an intersection with a huge police response on the other side. Thankfully, I was able to make my turn and head out on my way, which brought be to familiar roads approaching and along the Snohomish River. I'd ridden along the shoulder of Lowell–Snohomish River Road many times, but I had no idea the speed limit was 45 MPH!
The winds have been gnarly all day, but at least I'm away from the busy roads now.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 24, 2020
When I arrived in Snohomish, I discovered a lot of parking spaces replaced with outdoor seating tents for the restaurants, and wasn't able to find a space to park so I could take photos. I also wasn't able to use the public restroom downtown, so I had to look elsewhere. As I headed out of downtown, I saw a couple of political ralleys with the usual honking of horns before things quieted down further north on Maple Avenue.
In search of a restroom, I thought I'd find something towards the southern end of the Centennial Trail, only to have to go all the way to the park in Machias to find anything, which was a sight for sore eyes since I'd stopped there many times when cycling. This also brought me to the first muddle gravel parking lot I'd ridden through on a motorcycle or scooter. While stopped there, a huge Sprinter van with bicycle license plates like the one on my scooter rolled up, and a few older folks started getting ready to ride the trail.
Nice to get out here again! (@ Machias Station Park in Lake Stevens, WA) https://t.co/twRXS7J1Q2
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 24, 2020
Saw a few cars with bicycle plates, and even a Sprinter camper van with one!
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 24, 2020
The next leg on my route was OK Mill Road, which I'd gone cycling on in the past. It sure was a lot easier with a motor! The scenery was so beautiful, with trees all around. Some kids getting ready to ride dirt bikes also flashed me the "tubular" hand sign, and I saw some people riding rugged side-by-sides. I thought this route skirted around Lake Roesiger, but said lake was a bit further out.
Good number of motorcycles and ATVs out here.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 24, 2020
After going along this route for a while, I finally arrived in Granite Falls, the last city on the way out to Barlow Pass. Shortly after I'd arrived, an old couple driving through asked me for directions to the waterfall called Granite Falls, so I tried to be helpful. Only later did I realize that I was a bit turned around and sent them in the wrong direction.
While I continued to snap photos, a local walked up and asked me if that's what I was doing, and then started talking about the history of some of the buildings across the street. He told me that the current Cobalt Cycles motorcycle shop used to be a bar, and the abandoned building next to it used to be a popular Mexican restaurnt, complete with a dance hall behind it. You could order food from the Mexican restaurant at the bar, too. (My only real experience in town was eating at the Italian restaurant where I saw 
this after a friend took me to the Big Four Ice Caves years ago.)
Got a little history lesson from one of the locals.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 24, 2020
Wanting some lunch, I stopped by the local IGA for food. It was nice seeing yet another familiar site out here that I hadn't seen since the pandemic started.
I always enjoy stopping by this place. (@ Granite Falls IGA in Granite Falls, WA) https://t.co/oIHLBVPBgr
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 24, 2020
I left Granite Falls via the Mountain Loop Highway, which involed the infamous long and steep climb up from the South Fork Stillaguamish River Crossing. Some drivers didn't like that I didn't want to go 60 MPH out there and passed me, but I was able to barely hold 50 MPH up that climb with the throttle all the way open. This made me realize that this scooter really isn't powerful or fast enough for the kind of riding I wanted to do with it, but I pressed on for the day, but not after stopping by the Mountain Loop General Store for photos!
I next stoped at Verlot, only to discover that the ranger station and restrooms were closed because of the pandemic. While there, a large group of tourists asked me about trails there, but I wasn't able to provide any info since I wasn't familiar with the trail system. One of them had even an action camera at the end of a selfie stick.
Along the way to Silverton, I remembered the potholed gravel portion of the highway near a washout, but thankfully it was fine. At Silverton itself, I got the usual photos.
My next stop was the Big Four Mountain Trailhead again. Seeing it reminded me of when that friend of mine told me the history of the place, with the hotel that burned down with the only remnant being the stone fireplace.
And my last outbound stop was Barlow Pass itself, which even had some snowy remnants on the sides of the road! I noticed that it had been getting colder and colder as I climbed up from Granite Falls, and this certainly hammered that home. My entire body was equally cold, though I never lost the feeling in my fingers
Drinking hot water to warm up.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 25, 2020
It's pretty crazy how much hours on a #motorcycle can wear you out mentally. It's still fun, though.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 25, 2020
Today was an exploration of the limits of my 150cc #scooter. Hitting those limits so much really made me think a lot about getting a bigger #motorcycle.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 25, 2020
Television sure is hard to watch.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) October 25, 2020
Return Home
The next morning, I headed back home to Seattle. Unlike my big ride, my core was warm but I lost some feeling in my fingers. It sure was nice getting home to relax after all that!
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