Here's the general route, minus detours at just under 400 miles...

http://maps.yahoo.com/beta/index.php...7.99176&mag=10

More pics and stories to follow... I actually brought my camera... though I spent more time riding than taking pictures. It was one hell of a ride... Though I feel guilty for not having more twisties... There were definately some good ones, but was more long highway stretches than I prefer... I just hope I don't start wearing a flat spot in my tires... Hmm, when's time to get new ones? I've now got about 3800 miles on them so far

[IMG]local://upfiles/288/DEBDBB6537134888A17B7DC74E609DB0.jpg[/IMG]

 

now that's a nice ride...I bet it's hard to get a lot of riding done there with all the rain..My brother is stationed in the Naval base there..Rains all the time!!

Pretty cool route...

 

It's not usually "Rain" like in most places. I was born/raised in Hawaii... and there we had real "Rain". Here it's more of a drizzle or shower, you just have to get used to it. It was surprisingly dry out for the forecast (30% chance of rain).

I've got some pics, again, not as many as I would've liked, but I'll start posting them up..

 

Sounds like a good ride, looking forward to seing the pics.

 

Here's the pics.. And oh yeah, correction, it's not the Mountain Loop Hwy, that was closed... I did the Cascade Loop.

DAMN! er... Dam, at Diablo Lake. I went kayak camping there & up through Ross Lake a few times. Very cool place.


Again, but w/my bike


It started to get really cold up on the pass... Lots of fog, and my hands started to get really chilly, but no ice on the roadway... well except for the huge snow banks on the sides of the roads.


I stopped w/a group of other bikers to say hi, took a pic of them w/their camera, and they were kind enough to return the favor. I look a bit stiff, because I'm cold and I've got monkey butt, but I still had a grin on my face...


A truck came down this road and said HEY GUYS, THERE'S A BEAR OVER THERE... Only we didn't see where he was pointing, so ... at least we didn't get eaten.


Hmm, aptly named "Rainy Pass", but lucky for me, no rain today. Elevation 4855 feet.


A little view of small lake just over the snow burm where my bike was parked.


And finally, once I got to Eastern Washington, it's beautiful out. I stopped a small town and ate lunch at this great pub w/a beautiful beer garden on the river.


Again, sorry there's no more pictures... after lunch I figured out that it was about 5pm, the sun sets around 9, and I figured I had about 4-5 hours left if I continued on, or about 3-1/2 hours if I turned back.... Decided to ride on and finish the loop, but didn't get home till about 10 at night. More stories to come...

 

Cool, looks like you still have a little snow up there

 

Nice pics Gerg! Sounds like you had a good time - but that snow, gives me the creeps!

 

thats some cool pics....

 

It was a bit freaky up there... but they kept the road REALLY clean... if it was raining I might've turned back, but as you can see, the roads are bone dry, just the big piles on the sides.. There were a few spots where ice was melting, and water was running across the roadway, but I just made sure to ride smooth, straight, and easy over them, just in case...

 

I was amazed at how clear the road looked! I just really hate seeing snow at the moment - it was a long winter!!