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May Valley and Beyond
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Ahh, May Valley. That soon-to-be-sullied, for-now-unspoiled little piece of heaven between the crowded Eastside and Tiger Mountain. The Cycle Barn Women's Motorcycle Club rode all over that bad boy this last Saturday.
Our ride began at the Factoria Starbucks, of which there are two. The first arrivals picked the sunnier one - good call! Five riders in all participated (if I have the bike models wrong, forgive me!):
Denita - Triumph Tiger
Elsa - Shadow VLX
Karen - Yamaha Majesty
Lisa - Honda Nighthawk
Wanda - Heritage Softail
We headed south-ish on Coal Creek Parkway, then southeast on May Valley Road. This road winds through farmland and several 1960s-era housing developments before meeting up with the Issaquah-Hobart Road. The speed limit varies between 25 and 40, but we managed to get behind two cars out for a Sunday drive on a Saturday, much to our vexation! The tasty curves out here beg to be taken at around 50, and that's if your among the timid. But of course, our group, being the law abiders that we are, assiduously remained at the speed limit. Who just cleared their throat?
At Issaquah-Hobart Road, we hung a south and then turned left on Tiger Mountain Road. Lots of tree cover on this loop, with winding uphills and downhills. It was more of a residential area than anticipated, and not a great place to open her up and see what she could do, if you get my drift.
Where Tiger Mountain Road met up again with I-H Road, I stopped and polled the group about where to go next. You see, I had planned this ride using Google Earth, and hadn't realized that, in the real world, the ride would take all of 45 minutes. Not exactly what you want to deliver for people who already rode from mid-Snohomish County to Factoria just to meet up for the ride. The group said, "Whatever you want," so we did a little up-and-over around Tiger Mountain on Highway 18, then some clear-your-system 70mph action back down to Issaquah.
There were lots of cops out. But we were not to be among the catch of the day! The Issaquah cops have nice, shiny, clean bikes. Didn't catch what make or model, but they looked snappy and just out of winter mothballs.
We forged our way south on I-H Road again, this time missing the turn to Tiger Mountain Road for a backtrack. A quick turn around at a gas station put us back on our route, and we reversed the first part of the ride: Tiger Mountain Road, SE May Valley Road, Coal Creek Parkway, Factoria Boulevard.
And then, Thai food.
No breakdowns, no boo-boos, no tickets. But I did make an appointment for a new rear tire this Tuesday. 17,000 miles on the current one is just a tad too much, don'tcha think?
-----------------------
Total mileage: 63 miles
Total time: 1 hour, 40 minutes (not long enough!)
Total sunshine: Righteous amounts
Our ride began at the Factoria Starbucks, of which there are two. The first arrivals picked the sunnier one - good call! Five riders in all participated (if I have the bike models wrong, forgive me!):
Denita - Triumph Tiger
Elsa - Shadow VLX
Karen - Yamaha Majesty
Lisa - Honda Nighthawk
Wanda - Heritage Softail
We headed south-ish on Coal Creek Parkway, then southeast on May Valley Road. This road winds through farmland and several 1960s-era housing developments before meeting up with the Issaquah-Hobart Road. The speed limit varies between 25 and 40, but we managed to get behind two cars out for a Sunday drive on a Saturday, much to our vexation! The tasty curves out here beg to be taken at around 50, and that's if your among the timid. But of course, our group, being the law abiders that we are, assiduously remained at the speed limit. Who just cleared their throat?
At Issaquah-Hobart Road, we hung a south and then turned left on Tiger Mountain Road. Lots of tree cover on this loop, with winding uphills and downhills. It was more of a residential area than anticipated, and not a great place to open her up and see what she could do, if you get my drift.
Where Tiger Mountain Road met up again with I-H Road, I stopped and polled the group about where to go next. You see, I had planned this ride using Google Earth, and hadn't realized that, in the real world, the ride would take all of 45 minutes. Not exactly what you want to deliver for people who already rode from mid-Snohomish County to Factoria just to meet up for the ride. The group said, "Whatever you want," so we did a little up-and-over around Tiger Mountain on Highway 18, then some clear-your-system 70mph action back down to Issaquah.
There were lots of cops out. But we were not to be among the catch of the day! The Issaquah cops have nice, shiny, clean bikes. Didn't catch what make or model, but they looked snappy and just out of winter mothballs.
We forged our way south on I-H Road again, this time missing the turn to Tiger Mountain Road for a backtrack. A quick turn around at a gas station put us back on our route, and we reversed the first part of the ride: Tiger Mountain Road, SE May Valley Road, Coal Creek Parkway, Factoria Boulevard.
And then, Thai food.
No breakdowns, no boo-boos, no tickets. But I did make an appointment for a new rear tire this Tuesday. 17,000 miles on the current one is just a tad too much, don'tcha think?
-----------------------
Total mileage: 63 miles
Total time: 1 hour, 40 minutes (not long enough!)
Total sunshine: Righteous amounts
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