Hi there, riding season. It's good to see you again...

The past few months have seen very sporadic riding from me. I did manage to ride a bit this past winter, but I've decided that if I need to wear a balaclava in order to stay warm, I probably don't want to go on a long ride. And the balaclava has this nasty tendency to fuck up my hair (it gives me the worst cowlick!). That, and I didn't have any decent riding pants until a few weeks ago. Lemme tell ya, riding in jeans with thermals underneath in snow was NOT fun back in January! :-)

What a change today was, then; 65 degrees, filtered sunshine, and mostly dry roads. I even got to use the tinted face shield and my summer gloves today. I recently bought a pair of Icon Super Duty 2 boots. The hiking boots I had were not keeping my feet warm, and these have helped tremendously.

I had no plan for a ride today. I just knew I needed to take advantage of this nice weather - it can change so quickly here. I managed to make it out of the house at 3pm after having gotten a nap after my girlfriend left at 11:30am. It was a bit late to head out on a ride, but it was nice, and now that the days are longer, I knew I'd have enough time. I rode up 99 into downtown Seattle, admiring both the blue water to the west and the city to the east. I rode in downtown past my company's new building (we just moved this weekend) and then down 2nd avenue until I hit 4th Ave. South. I got on I-90 east and just started riding.

My friend Maureen works in Issaquah and I thought to myself - should I stop in and see her at work, or just keep going? I opted for the latter and eventually ended up taking the Snoqualmie Parkway exit. I headed toward Snoqualmie Falls, and then made a sharp right onto this little road right before the falls. I've taken the road before, so I was fully expecting some good twisties. And I was not disappointed. While the road conditions were dry to slightly wet, I had to use caution with the amount of dirt and gravel there were on the roads. It hasn't quite dried out yet.

Still, I rode around those roads for a bit, and then worked my way back to the falls. The road north from the falls is quite fast, with sweeping downhill turns, a little treat for me. I then worked my way back to Fall City and finally found the Last Frontier Saloon. This is a place that my coworker had recommended going to. I didn't stop, but I do know where it is now, and I saw quite a few bikes parked out front. From Fall City, it was north through Carnation and then over Tolt Hill up towards Remlinger Farms. Then back south down WA-203. I eventually ended up going through Preston and back out to I-90.

By now, my butt's sore and I'm ready for a break. So I stop in Issaquah at Maureen's work. As soon as I hop off the bike, I see I have 3 voicemails - two from Maureen. How convenient! Into her store I went, and then we ended up having dinner at the Red Robin across the street. After dinner, sunset has started (it's about 7pm), and I've realized that I will soon be illegal with my tinted visor in the dark. It's time for me to go.

So, back on I-90 I go. As usual, an uneventful ride up I-90. But I did hit some good stretches of road today and it was a good refresher of my skillz. I'm really looking forward to experiencing a full riding season now that I've got almost 4400 miles behind me on the bike. Hooray for spring!