2009 Mount Rainier Motorcycle Ride

Well, I’ve been down in Portland, Oregon this week and rode the latest motorcycle there as a “shake down cruise”. It’s about three hours down from Seattle, and I had a fantastic trip, with little traffic, clear skies, and amazing views. Coming home, well, that was another story. But the bike held up well, and I really liked the way it handled. I now trust it enough to take Marjorie or Christina on it.

So this Saturday, while Marjorie had to work, I offered to take Christina up to Mount Rainier. We’ve been up before, but it’s different on a bike. And I thought we might take a detour or two from our normal route, and see a little more of the mountain. We call the bike “the goat”, because of the extreme torque this bike has.

 

The day was predicted to be overcast and cold, but in Seattle you just never know. You just plan what you plan and deal with the weather as it comes. The morning dawned – surprise – overcast and cold. So we suited up anyway and headed through a couple of the smaller towns, stopping in Enumclaw, Washington for fuel, the food for picnic, and, well….

And then off to the mountain. We stopped from time to time to take a photo, but if we stopped for every stunning vista, we would have been there all day! As it turned out, the weather was absolutely stunning.

 

We met lots of other bikers on the way up, and became instant friends. Some of them had ridden all the way from California, hitting several mountains on their way to Vancouver, British Columbia. Nice trip indeed!

 

We stopped for lunch  by one of the many lakes on the mountain, and took a few shots while we were there.

 

And then on to Sunrise Point, where Christina met a few friends with four legs. A brief hike, and then back down the mountain, stopping for an ice cream on the way home. What a day!