Category: Motorcycles

Caution: Low Flying Ducs

Nick and dad on the Twisp-Carleton Road

With two free days and gasoline burning holes in our pockets, Nick, my Dad and I finally took the Ducs to Hwy 20 - the grand daddy of motorcycle touring roads.

Hoping to beat the Memorial Day RV rush, we left on Thursday afternoon. The trip up I-5 didn’t set the stage well (too many cars on narrow, chewed up roads), but we found Hwy 530 in Arlington soon enough. Cars were non-existant on this road, but side winds buffeted us all the way to Rockport, causing otherwise perfect lines in corners to look a little crooked as gusts pushed us over.

The worst of the ride over, we stopped at the roadside park just outside of Rockport for a cookie break - fortification for the non-stop fun ahead.

View of the N. Cascades from the roadside park

After gassing up in Marblemount (last chance for 90 miles) we were off for the ride of our lives. The twisties started just outside of Newhalem and didn’t stop until the far side of Washington Pass. We paced a dark green Miata until it couldn’t keep to the speed limit anymore. I roared past it, the Miata sped up to keep pace, Nick said he could smell burning rubber.

The descent from Washington Pass was nothing to write home about - straight, dry and ... well ... boring. We found ourselves in Winthrop soon enough though - three tired puppies.

Dinner was at the Winthrop Brewing Company where they were offering $2 pints and $2 tacos. Yum! It wasn’t long after that though that we collapsed at the Duck Brand for many hours of deep sleep.

Friday dawned clear. After a big breakfast of eggs, oatmeal, beans, bacon and coffee we set off on the side roads, paralleling Hwy 153 south to Lake Chelan.

In Chelan, we stopped off to visit Gary Rittenmeyer - a friend from the “old neighborhood” - at his gorgeous south-facing house on the lake. Unfortunately, we missed seeing Diane who was out of town.

We continued on to Leavenworth where we stopped for a brat and lemonade. Another gas up and we were off on the final stretch home. The roads just outside of Leavenworth in Tumwater Canyon are excellent. Unfortunately, they straighten out somewhere around Skykomish - long before home.

We were right about the traffic: Cars lined up at a near standstill from Gold Bar back almost to Monroe. Fortunately for us, we were going the other direction with free and clear roads ahead of us.

Will we do it again? Most definitely.

Tiptoes in the tulips

Photo by Lessli Putney | copyright 2007, all rights reserved

Last weekend, we met Ken and Lessli in the northern shopping mall of La Conner. They were supposed to join us on Ken’s purple Harley for a ride through the tulips, but a mountain biking accident forced them to take the Jeep instead. They took the top off out of solidarity, though. (Don’t tell them, but I imagine we were more comfortable bundled up on the bikes, especially with heated clothing.)

Photo by Lessli Putney | copyright 2007, all rights reserved

After a walk around town and a quick lunch at the patio of the La Conner Tavern, we hopped in the Jeep and drove out to Roozengaarde. It’s a little known fact that even without the seats in the back of a Jeep, you can still buckle the seatbelts adequately. At Roozengaarde, we oohhed and aahhed over the flowers and snapped a few pictures before heading back to La Conner to pick up the bikes.

The tight corners just outside of La Conner made for fun riding.

Photo by Lessli Putney | copyright 2007, all rights reserved

Spring Voodoo

How I start the Ducati Monster:

Push the start button.

How Nick coaxes the Ducati 900 Supersport to life:

Charge battery.
Fill tank with fresh fuel.
Wire brush spark plugs.
Become Catholic.
Confess.
Kneel facing Bologna.
Drink three espressos, heavily sugared.
Say three Hail Marys.
Hold breath.
Hit the start button.
Listen carefully for signs of bogging down or flooding while on the choke.
Switch off choke and finesse the throttle for a minute until it holds a steady idle.
Ride, ride, ride and get seriously depressed when it’s time to stop!

Better than sex

“You know what I’m afraid of? That riding a Ducati 1098 would be better than sex...Would you feel threatened if that was the case?”

“Of course not. They come in yellow. I’d get one too.”

Nostaligic

The National Park Service is still assessing damage in Mount Rainier National Park. There is another round of pictures on Mike’s site, highlighting the damage at Ohanapecosh and the Grove of the Patriarchs. Combine this with the cold temps and rain, keeping us off the bikes, and I’m nostalgic for our ride this fall to Sunrise. Sigh!