Nice trip! JimD On Jul 9, 2012, at 12:54 AM, Brian Hanson wrote: > I have been waiting for the opportunity to get the Hunqapillar into the > mountains for a ride. My wife and daughter went to MN to see family, so I > had a few days to get out of dodge. I wanted to do some sort of S24X, but it > was out of the question as I have a dog that isn't one to run alongside me > (first squirrel that shows up starts wild goose chase). I figured I would > drive up to an old favorite haunt of some 10 years ago, and bike around the > area. It seemed like a good time and place to get lost. The good part is > that I would not have to fight the crowds at the campgrounds. This place is > in the back country in the Central Cascades. > > The first night was just spent setting up camp, and concluded with a short > bike ride down to discover the old road was overgrown. After breakfast the > next day, I did a 10 mile out and back to a rock formation that was north of > my camp. I had seen goats up there in the past (white specks in binoculars), > and I wasn't really sure I would get all the way up there. After exploring a > few dead-ends, I really started climbing. It was probably 85, so the shady > spots on the ride were nice! There were quite a few overlooks where I had > great views of Mt. Rainier to the south, and the North/Central Cascades to > the north. When I reached the end of the trail, I figured I was only a short > hop to the top, so I left the bike, and started hoofing it up. I surprised > (myself and them) a herd of mountain goats that were lounging on the rocks. > Coolest thing ever - even saw a kid in the group! The ride back down was a > trip! The Marathon Duremes worked like a champ at hanging on to the gravel > roads at 15-30mph, and the Hunqapillar was smooth as silk. The front is at > about 20psi, and the back at 35ish. The only rough parts were the washboard > sections on the main road. My arms got a workout hanging on. No problems > going up-hill with the balanced load. I've never had the bike try to wander > off trail. I may go back to a triple crank if I do more of these rides. > Those Cascade grades are steep! The 32 front, 36 rear combo got me up the > worst of it, though. > > That night, after charging my phone, I realized I had drained my truck > battery. I had accidentally left the lights on. After the initial panic of > being in the middle of nowhere, I called an old friend who was about the only > person in Seattle who knew how to get where I was. I told him to come up and > get me if I didn't call him by 4pm the next night. Sunday morning, I rode > down from my camp to the main road on the alternate route. This road had > really become overgrown in the past 10 years, and was barely passable on > bike. I had to walk 2 sections through alder tunnels that were growing over > the road from both sides. Amazing how quick nature takes over! The amazing > thing was how this bike just barreled through the brush, though. I took a > few branches at speed on upper and lower wheel, and the bike just blew > through with nary a hiccup. Solid! > > Within 5 minutes of getting to the road, I flagged down a pickup, explained > my predicament, and asked if they could give me a jump start. Long story > short - they did. Lucky too. This was the only other car I saw on that road > the rest of the day. Yikes! > > Pics of record: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjAwmxY7 > > Brian Hanson (and tired Brittany Spaniel, Cupcake) > Seattle, WA > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
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