November 3, 2011
Well, fall has arrived. Gone are our nice, warm, sunny summer days, temps in the 80’s, and riding with sleeveless shirts on. Instead, it’s layering up and heated gear. The nice thing is, in the Pacific Northwest, we have had, (so far) an awesome fall---crisp days, some mild temps, and sun … sun … sun. So I’ve had to use my heated gear. I don’t care. Rather the heated gear than the raingear!
Well, fall has arrived. Gone are our nice, warm, sunny summer days, temps in the 80’s, and riding with sleeveless shirts on. Instead, it’s layering up and heated gear. The nice thing is, in the Pacific Northwest, we have had, (so far) an awesome fall---crisp days, some mild temps, and sun … sun … sun. So I’ve had to use my heated gear. I don’t care. Rather the heated gear than the raingear!
FALL COLORS!
Unfortunately, since I essentially took the entire summer off to go riding around the country (literally, read some of the previous posts); I figured I should try to make some money so I can keep paying the rent and filling the gas tank on my Road King. Luckily, I was able to nail down a “consultant” type gig, so I can set my own schedule and hours, and work as much (or little) as I want. Yay for me! The nice thing about this is, I have to travel around the Tacoma/Puyallup/Auburn area, and when we have these nice dry, albeit cold, days, I naturally take the scoot.
In the absence of weekend road trips, overnighters, and long-distance riding, I have found some really gorgeous scenery just riding “around town” as it were. One recent day, my assignments took me up to Auburn, over to Federal Way, out along Dash Point and Brown’s Point, along the Tacoma Tideflats, and out to Spanaway and Puyallup. And, while it was next to impossible to grab some photos along most of the route (heavy gloves, twisty curves, lots of wet leaves on the road), let me just say that the ride from Dash Point State Park, around Brown’s Point and down to the Tacoma waterfront is amazingly beautiful--- vibrant colors, incredible views of Commencement Bay and Puget Sound, some stately old homes, and no traffic to get in your way! Coming down toward the Tideflats on Brown’s Point Boulevard, the canopy of trees showing off their almost fluorescent fall colors was damn near breathtaking.
In the absence of weekend road trips, overnighters, and long-distance riding, I have found some really gorgeous scenery just riding “around town” as it were. One recent day, my assignments took me up to Auburn, over to Federal Way, out along Dash Point and Brown’s Point, along the Tacoma Tideflats, and out to Spanaway and Puyallup. And, while it was next to impossible to grab some photos along most of the route (heavy gloves, twisty curves, lots of wet leaves on the road), let me just say that the ride from Dash Point State Park, around Brown’s Point and down to the Tacoma waterfront is amazingly beautiful--- vibrant colors, incredible views of Commencement Bay and Puget Sound, some stately old homes, and no traffic to get in your way! Coming down toward the Tideflats on Brown’s Point Boulevard, the canopy of trees showing off their almost fluorescent fall colors was damn near breathtaking.
MY 'WORK" ROUTE
Then I was in the city, the traffic, and the civilization. Not a big deal, because my route then took me out to rural Pierce County and the Spanaway/Puyallup area. After spending some time weaving through the major construction project on 176th Avenue, I crossed SR161 (Meridian St to us locals) and was on Sunrise Boulevard…and rounding a slow curve, found myself staring straight at a majestic, snow capped Mt. Rainier against a stunning blue sky.
My local readers (all 3 of ‘em!) know what I’m talking about---there is no limit to the number of places that Mt. Rainier suddenly pops into view after rounding a corner or coming over a hill; and that there are a million places to find some spectacular views even if you are riding in “the city”. To my out-of-town readers; all I can say is keep your eyes open.
My local readers (all 3 of ‘em!) know what I’m talking about---there is no limit to the number of places that Mt. Rainier suddenly pops into view after rounding a corner or coming over a hill; and that there are a million places to find some spectacular views even if you are riding in “the city”. To my out-of-town readers; all I can say is keep your eyes open.
As I said I rode all the way across this country and back this summer, and no matter if I was in the middle of Kansas or just outside Washington DC, I saw some amazing views. Get out there and ride. Or drive your cage. Doesn’t matter to me…just keep your eyes open. And when you DO come around that corner, or crest that hill---pull over and let that amazing view sink in.
In this part of the country, the seemingly unending grey, wet days are coming. We gotta have something to remind us that spring truly is just around the corner…just like Mt. Rainier.
In this part of the country, the seemingly unending grey, wet days are coming. We gotta have something to remind us that spring truly is just around the corner…just like Mt. Rainier.
MT RAINIER