The weather would be perfect for this second Saturday in September. The skies were opening up to a brilliant blue, no wind and low 70s for a starting temperature. The riders assembled at Bob’s for a 9 am departure. Lenny led us through a riders’ meeting. Those attending included: Lenny, Jerry, Zippo & Jax, Jack, Perry, John G & Jamie, Jim. Our ride formation assembled behind Lenny in that order. We headed through Sedro-Woolley while following the road construction detours. Looks like they will be getting a new round-a-bout. We headed east on Highway 20, North Cascades Highway. Traffic was light and the road surface was clear. Our first stop was for fuel in Marblemount. The station was swarming with motorcycles as we arrived. We topped off and headed on down the road. We stopped off at the Diablo Lake overlook. This is one of those postcard shot stops where we all remark about how we should do this ride more often. Due to the lack of rain this summer the lake is a bit low, but still has that beautiful green/blue color for the minerals carried down stream from the melting mountain snow. As we travel east from Diablo Lake, it’s clear why the area has the nickname of the “North American Alps”. The mountain vistas, waterfalls, river gorge and evergreen landscape make me smile every time. We cross over Rainy Pass at 4875’ and then Washington Pass at 5477’ and begin our downhill leg. As we approach this huge 180 degree downhill curve we all realize that it was recently covered with chip seal (see photos). We approach cautiously and discover that the loose gravel is now in the center lane and at the edges only. We hear a little bit of the gravel dancing between our tires and fenders as we clear the curve.
We arrive in Winthrop and pull in to park at the red barn and city park area just west of town. By now the temperature has climbed into the 80s. The coats come off and the cameras come out. Today is the 34th annual Winthrop Auto Rally. There are two AC Cobras parked at the red barn with us. We make the short walk to town while grabbing photos along the way. The group has secured a table for all 9 of us at Three Fingered Jack’s. The service was terrific and so was the food. Zippo & Jax let everyone know that they would head off to complete the Cascade Loop Ride by heading to Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Monroe and back to Burlington. The rest of the group went outside for photos of the town, cars and some browsing through the shops. We all reconnected by the outdoor ice cream area. Since we were still full from lunch, we agreed to head back West and stop for ice cream at Cascadia Farms just west of Marblemount. We gassed up and said bye to Perry. He had a hotel at the Winthrop Inn. The remaining group headed out of town. Lenny led us to the beautiful vista point at Washington Pass. It overlooks the 180 degree downhill curve and has panoramic views of the area. We were all good for fuel so we headed off to Rainy Pass and our next vista point that overlooks a segment of the Skagit River between Ross Lake and Diablo Lake. It’s another picture postcard stop. We continue on to Cascadia Farms where they make their own organic ice cream, yum. I selected single scoop of raspberry with dark chocolate chunks in a waffle cone. Other flavors included blueberry, strawberry, marionberry, blackberry and many more. We share our intentions for where we would each peel off. Jamie and I would ride back to Bob’s with Jerry. Oh, that’s right, Jamie’s battery may be dead. Before we left Bob’s in the morning Jamie discovered she had left the lights on in her car. The battery was very weak when we left and we had hoped it would magically be recharged when we returned. It was not. We found her jumper cables and John found some nice guys in a pickup to provide the jump. Jamie’s car started right up. Jerry and John headed North to Bellingham while Jamie headed East. As Jerry and John cleared the rise on Yew Street Road in Bellingham, we could see the snow covered Canadian Coastal Range peaks of Golden Ears Provincial Park just to the North. We headed home for dinner. We will have to save that ride for another time.
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