Studio711.com – Ben Martens

I’ve driven the road from Bellingham to Mt. Baker a few times, but it has always been in the winter with skis on top of my car. On Saturday, I did it on the motorcycle.

BenH and I met up at Denny’s for breakfast. Tyla joined us too since it was right by her apartment and then headed off for a day of shopping. Ben and I pounded the pavement all the way up I-5 and then headed east on 542. It’s a fantastic drive and a great motorcycle road. Once you get up to the Heather Meadows base area, you can continue past up to Artists Point. Skiing there in the winter, I had no idea there was a road there. A mile or two through some incredibly tight switchbacks (don’t take your RV) take you up to the top of Artists Point where you are greeted with a 360 degree view of the surrounding mountains.

This is the earliest that the road has opened in a while. It usually takes them until later in the year to clear out all the snow, but due to the low snowfall last winter and the hot weather this year, it went faster than normal. You could still see spots where the plows had carved through drifts 6-7 feet high.

We hung around for a while at the top, took some pictures, watched kids sledding, and wished we had brought skis. You could get in a football field or two with about 100-200 foot drop. Nothing serious but not bad for July and August.

On the way back, we made a minor deviation and cut down US 9 to US 20 and then back down I5. It’s about 10 miles shorter than going through Bellingham and I think it’s a little quicker.

At a gas station in Burlington, we met a couple guys who were traveling the country on their bikes. They have been gone for a couple months and one of them was from Kokomo, IN (the Indiana license plate sparked the conversation.)

All in all, it was another great ride. I love the feeling you get after a long ride when you feel completely in tune with the bike. It really makes me want to take a long multi-day trip.

I was also reminded how much safer it is to ride with another biker beside you. We rode almost 250 miles together and then split up for the last 10 miles. In that 10 miles, I was almost hit three times. Two people on the highway merged halfway into my lane before they saw me and then somebody tried to make a left turn into me coming off a side street. I know we’re small and hard to see, but it’s summer. Please double check those blind spots. And if you see a motorcycle approaching in your rear view mirror, make sure you know where they are before you change lanes. If you don’t see them, don’t assume they turned off.

Photos are available in the photo gallery.

On Sunday, I hopped back on the bike for another ride. I recovered surprisingly quickly from the 440 miles on Friday. This ride took Tyla and I down to Mt. Rainier. It’s a very nice ride covering mostly two lane roads and then a very nice windy road up to Sunrise lookout. There was heavy traffic, but not as much as I was expecting considering the holiday. Plus, traffic always seems lighter on the motorcycle since it is much easier to pass.

The view from the top was outstanding. We took our time at the top having lunch, a snowball fight, and a walk through the nature center.

It was a great day for the ride, and I hope that it’s just the start of our Mt. Rainier adventures for the year. I want to take the car back next time and do some hiking either from Sunrise or one of the other entrances.

That wrapped up a 600 mile weekend on the motorcycle for me. On those two rides, I went from sea level to above 5000 feet twice, saw three different active volcanoes and numerous alpine lakes, watched roaring rapids with rafters and a 100+ ft waterfall, had a snowball fight and sweated in near-100 degree weather. Seattle positively rocks. The more time I spend here, the more confused I am about why the entire country doesn’t live here.

Photos are available in the photo gallery.

Not only did I survive the ride on Friday, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! I took almost the exact route that I talked about in the post on Friday. The only deviation was that I took US 97 Alt right through Chelan to check out the lake. Impressions from the ride:

• I have now been through all four east/west mountain passes in Washington over the Cascades. Highway 20 (the northernmost pass) has the best scenery. It’s absolutely gorgeous and I can’t wait to go through again! The pictures do not do it justice. You could easily spend a whole day stopping at each lake (there are lots of dams along the river) and relaxing.
• It was HOT (upper 90s) on the east side of the Cascades. I tried riding with no coat for a while, but that didn’t last long. I think it was cooler with the coat on because it kept me in the shade. At some temperature, the increased wind speed actually makes you hotter instead of cooling you off. It’s a giant convection oven. That’s my theory anyway.
• This motorcycle is awesome. I got a number of compliments/questions when I stopped for gas. In particular, I get a lot of questions from taller riders who are curious what modifications I made to the bike for comfort.
• I was able to go about 100 miles per run (that number decreased toward the end of the run.) I was able to stretch out my knees fairly well, but there was no rest for the butt. I think I might try biker shorts next time to see if that makes any difference.
• I got great gas mileage. Normally I get in the very low 30s around town but I averaged over 40 for this ride.
• The AutoCom system I put on the bike is marvelous. I had music for the whole ride. It was an eclectic mix of Jason Mraz, Little Big Town, Flobots, The Hush Sound, and a few others. The audio highlight was listening to Preston and Steve’s Drunk Day podcast from last Thursday. Best morning show ever.
• The audio system performed well even with the ear plugs that I wore for the entire trip. I had to turn up the volume, but in the end, I think I heard the sound better than without the earplugs. The plugs took out much of the wind noise and the audio made it through nicely.

The total ride was 440 miles and I covered it in exactly 10 hours. I don’t think I could have done it much faster as I kept all my breaks to a minimum.

I can’t recommend this ride enough! However, take two days to do it if you have the time and it will be even more enjoyable. There is so much to see!

Photos are available in the photo gallery.

Ever since I arrived in Seattle with a motorcycle, I’ve been told about the Cascade Loop. It covers some of the most beautiful roads in Washington, but it’s also a big trip for one day. Today, I set out to conquer the loop.

You can see my basic route below. The actual Cascade Loops includes a run down Whidbey Island, but that would make a big day even bigger and I’ve traveled that road many times anyway. The highlight of this ride is going to be the northern stretch along Highway 20. That 5500 foot high pass is closed all winter long, and I’ve never been there.

The route is about 450 miles. I average about 50mph on long trips due to the need for frequent stops so that puts me at 9 hours. Factor in some extra sore muscles from a full day on the bike and I’m hoping to tackle this in 12 hours. I’m planning to Twitter my progress along the way so you can watch for updates on my feed.

I’m still undecided about whether I will come back through Stevens Pass or Snoqualmie Pass. Stevens is more scenic and gets me out of the hot weather on the east side of the mountains. Snoqualmie is 70mph interstate. I’ll make the call when I get near Cashmere. Interestingly it’s only 1 mile extra to go through Stevens than Snoqualmie, but I expect it’s about 15-30 minutes longer.

If you live in the Seattle area, it’s probably not too hard to figure out that I love my motorcycle. I’ve been riding it every time I get the chance, and thanks to our incredible weather, I’ve had a lot of chances. Numbers always help to draw comparisons though. I had my first motorcycle for four years and I put 10,000 miles on it. The brainiacs among you will realize that I averaged 2500 miles/year. I bought this new bike in mid-Feburary. The odometer already reads 2700 miles and we’re not even halfway through the calendar year!

I found myself with a relatively free Saturday morning. It was such a gorgeous day that it would have been a crime to sit on the couch. I fired up the bike and left the house at about 8:15AM.

My ride took me up north on 203, east on 2, south on 97, and west on 90 for a 240 mile loop. Along the way I flew through Stevens, Blewett, Stampede and Snoqualmie passes. I’ve done this ride once before on the old bike but in the opposite direction. I love seeing how quickly the scenery changes as you head over the mountains. The west side is very lush and green. The east side is more brown and dry. The tops of the passes still have five or six feet of snow in places. On Saturday it was between 75-80 for the whole ride which is just about perfect.

This was the first long ride I have taken with the new bike. While I did need to make a stop every 60-75 miles to stretch, I think I could handle a 400 mile day which is good because I’d like to tackle the Cascade Loop this year.

Here’s a little tip if you make the same ride, skip downtown Monroe and look for Ben Howard Rd. It’s a beautiful ride! Tyla and I found it while trying to avoid some traffic. It’s longer when there is no traffic, but it’s worth a few extra minutes for a lot of extra smiles.

There are four photos in the gallery. I snapped them about 10 miles west of Leavenworth along the Wenatchee River. All the rivers are very full with all the melting snow and this one was no exception.

I was back home by 12:30. For the rest of the day I kept reminding myself of the things I had already seen that day!