Had to make use of the beautiful weather by following some of my favorite roads!
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More after the break…
Outbound
I started a little after 7 AM, since that when it was starting to get light out, and headed south along SR-99 to avoid downtown. The main thing that was on my mind at the time was worry about the grated deck on the First Avenue South Bridge, which ended up not being relevant since it's only grated in the northbound direction on the old bridge. The other thing was a bit of a delay when starting because my bike wasn't showing that it was in first even though it was, which has been an infrequent problem with its indicator.
Traffic was light until I got to I-5, and continued to be moderate along SR-167, which made the freeway not so much fun. Being such a small road user surrounded by large steel boxes isn't very much fun, which is a common sentiment.
As I approached Kent, I was plunged into fog so thick I had to both crack open my visor and periodically wipe it off to prevent it from fogging up. With the fog came bitter cold, which, combined with wanting to scope out food in Sumner, persuaded me to exit SR-167 in favor of the West Valley Highway.
It didn't take long to find food once I hit downtown Sumner, thankfully.
I'm at Hometown Charm Cafe in Sumner, WA https://t.co/ErpPtvr2dc pic.twitter.com/OjufeKTlzF
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) February 12, 2022
I had a pancake combo and some decaf coffee, both of which were very good for my cold body. I do feel like the coffee left me a bit "off" for the rest of the day, though.
When I headed out, the fog had thinned out quite a bit, so I was a bit more comfortable as I headed along SR-162.
After stopping for gas in Orting, and figuring out that it was better to fill the tank with the nozzle held an inch or so up from "all the way" in the tank, I hung out around the park for a few minutes to snap photos. There was some sort of 5k/10k running event being run by the "AVA" along the trail, but aside from that, it was pretty quiet.
Before leaving town, I noted that the 
former Trailside Cyclery had changed hands yet again.
My ride along Oroville Road wasn't quite so nice, as I had a leadfoot driver on my rear along its twisty section despite me going over the speed limit. Once the road straightened out, they promptly started going 20 over the speed limit, passed me, and kept that pace up until I lost them. Crazy drivers, I tell ya!
After passing Lake Kapowsin, I kept an eye out for the place where I'd typically see bikers congregate, which I thought was on the north side of the road for some reason. In reality, it was the Kapowsin Ale House & Grill on the south side of the road, which I'll have to check out sometime.
Another sight I kept an eye out for was the public access boat ramp on Ohop Lake, which I only noticed after passing the entrance, prompting me to turn back.
After the quick break at the park, I resumed my route, along with the first car behind me since Lake Kapowsin.
Eatonville was another nice town to visit again, and it had even changed since I last visited! There was a new Shaken Bar Room and Bistro as well as the Center Street Junction Mercantile.
I left Orting via Alder Cutoff Road, which was a nice respite before the high speeds of SR-7 to Elbe. At this time, it was sunny and quite warm, which my partner would've enjoyed had she not been dissuaded by the chilly morning forecast. Sadly, the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad wasn't operating due to the pandemic, but I was able to get plenty of photos of Elbe.
Shame it's not open. (@ Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad in WA) https://t.co/ZB9zYPcesY pic.twitter.com/6MVGnjq5cX
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) February 12, 2022
While I was taking photos, a guy on a KLR650 rode into an adjacent gravel lot to stop. When I struck up a chat, he said he was headed for a few different trails, whichever didn't have too much snow on it. From Parkland near Tacoma, he wasn't too interested in riding in traffic anymore, and even sold his street bike to pay for his KLR. He was really into photography, which he made clear when he commented on my camera, but had sold his gear to pay for his bike as well.
Inbound
I headed back north via SR-7, which was very twisty! I was really looking forward to getting photos at the graffiti-covered rock wall, and promptly zipped by it, forcing me to turn back. Looking over the resulting panorama, it was really interesting to see 
how much it had changed since last time.
Continuing along the highway, I had a group of Harley riders behind me, so I had to keep up the pace. Unlike earlier, I had gained some confidence and was more willing to push it, using the same counterweighting technique at the apex as last time. However, in the same sweeping turn where I had turned around to head back to the rock wall, I got spooked and pulled in the clutch to coast like on a bicycle, which is not the best idea. Thankfully, it went smoothly after that. I even made use of my cruise control for the first time, which was very useful on the open highway.
As I approached Spanaway's heavy traffic, cruise control proved less useful. So many cars and motorcycles out with people enjoying the nice weather!
After trying to find food that wasn't fast food in the suburban wasteland, which strongly reminded me of Ohio, I stopped at Mary Mary's Cafe for a Reuben. One thing that stood out in my mind was how they charged 50¢ extra for freshly cut french fries, as opposed to frozen ones. The fresh fries were pretty soft, so I ended up eating them via fork so they wouldn't break when dipping in ketchup.
I'm at MaryMary's Cafe in Tacoma, WA https://t.co/lPWAbCkRfs pic.twitter.com/gOfq1ftGKP
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) February 12, 2022
After dealing with Spanaway traffic for a bit, I hit SR-512…and even more traffic. It thinned out a bit as I hit SR-410, but then became stop-and-go on SR-167, which prompted me to head to the West Valley Highway again. I stayed on that route until SR-599, which was a nice break from heavy freeway traffic. Since it had warmed up a lot since the morning, the grated bridge deck was plenty fine.
Like last time, I got gas again in Wallingford, before heading home, completing a very enjoyable ride.
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