A Ride with Views

I love living in the Pacific Northwest. The natural beauty is as great as any place in the country. I especially love clear days when I can get out on my bike. Here are some pictures of my ride this afternoon over one of my favorite routes which has lots of gorgeous sights and some very tough hills to climb.

Each pedal on this ride brings a new view of beauty. The name of our street is Mud Mountain Road which upon hearing brings images of deep brown mud. Nothing could be further from the truth. Like most everything in this area Mud Mountain Road is very green as you can see from this picture. Giant trees line both sides of the road to form what is almost a tunnel of trees.

I like to get off the main roads and ride the small, quiet country roads. This road is about five miles from our house and winds up some fairly steep hills.
This road has a very unlikely terminus. Right in the middle of these thick forests the road ends at a beautiful grass airstrip where they do glider rides. In the foreground of this picture you can see what is perhaps my favorite material posession -- The Red Rocket. (Many men my age have a mid life crisis that involves a red sports car. Mine involves a red bicycle) In the background is the airstrip, a lead plane and an attached glider plane.
I waited a couple of minutes and watched them take off. Once they reach a high elevation the cord is cut loose and the glider is on its own. Watching this (it was the first time I had ever been up there when the planes were flying as it appears they only do it on Saturday afternoons) gave me something new to add to my list of things I want to do before I die.
The first big hill on this ride is Lake Walker Road. It is a half mile climb with a few switchbacks and a fairly steep grade. I have to get out of my seat and work hard to get up this series of hills. Below you can see one of the switchbacks.
Last year Outside Magazine said the Green River Gorge was one of the 50 best escape places in the country. It is a stunningly beautiful place -- if you are not afraid of heights. And it is only about a 15 minute ride from Lake Walker Road. Here is the one lane bridge that spans the Gorge.
If you stop in the middle of the bridge and peer over the side you get a view that is truly spectacular and a little dizzying. The bridge is at least 200 feet above the river. It is a breathtaking sight. Here is the view looking North.
And here is the view from the bridge looking south. Note the gorgeous waterfalls on the left side of the river. A little way beyond this point is where Paul, Marc and their friends used to ignore the "NO TRESPASSING" signs and go cliff jumping/diving. There are a number of cliffs with heights ranging from 10-50 feet for the brave, daring and/or stupid.
Many places along this ride the trees are so high that you can't see much around you. Then all of a sudden majestic Mount Rainier will pop out from a clearing or above the trees. It is hard to watch the road -- whether you are driving or biking when the mountain is out.The last big obstacle on this ride is called, "The Wall" by the local bikers. It is not a long climb but the grade is very steep. If I die of a heart attack it will be climbing this hill. It takes everything I have to get up it. The Red Rocket's cycle computer has a heart rate monitor so I can watch how hard I am working. My theoretical maximum heart rate is 168 (calculated by taking 220 - your age -- 220 -52=168). Usually when I climb this hill it goes above 170. This picture does not give the full effect of how steep it is.

A short ride from "The Wall" you are greeted with this glorious view of the hills of Enumclaw and Mount Rainier. The dark green mountain on the right is our beloved Mount Peak. Rosie and I, along with many other people in the area, climb this mountain several times each week. The climb is only 1,000 feet but the many trails to the summit wind through beautiful forests and give great views of the surrounding area.
One more view of Enumclaw and Rainier -- a sight I never grow tired of (I wish we could see it more often as clouds cover the mountain most days this time of year).
Hopefully, you can see why I love this place -- especially on sunny days. Those are just a few of the sights and hills on this ride of about thirty miles. I wish you could all join me on this fabulous ride. Come visit and we'll take on "The Wall".