Beaten up, but not broken...

Wow... The northwest rocks! To bring you up to speed, Bruce and I are doing fine despite the fact that I have been over the bars and sliding down mountains the past few days. Beaten up but not broken is how I am feeling but hey chicks dig scars, or so they say, so hopefully I have a cutie waiting for me as I head to BC today because I am looking rough. The good part is that I feel like I have gotten the crashing out of the way so I am taking my cuts and bruises to the mecca of bike parks, Whister. My great friend Stobin has not only been kind enough to take in Bruce and I and show us around Seattle but has loaned Bruce his 6 in travel bike for the next few days and took us to two of the finest trails that Washington State has to offer over the weekend. I haven't updated the blog since the N. Umpqua and the following day we hit the legendary McKenzie River. Bruce and I got a late start so we decided to ride the road up and take the trail down. Twenty fives miles up on the road meant 28 miles of trail that runs beside the river thru lava flows and majestic water falls. All is going well and once again I am freaking out as we pass turquoise colored lakes filled with Glacier water streams clearer than any naturally running water I have ever seen. Ten miles into the ride you encounter a lava flow that makes for some awesome technical riding. We stop for another waterfall and when I got back on my bike I immediately go over the bars as the result from starting with one foot clipped in surrounded by giant lava rocks. The bike comes over and lands right on top of me and my thumb was bent into a postion that was far from normal but we kept it rolling with my gimp hand and finished the ride at night riding thru the thick canopy of trees with one good hand and virtually no light to speak of. This one was truly the epic of trip so far with over 50 miles of riding and about 8 hours on the bike.

Needing some r&r, we got the call from Stobin and the next day hit the road to Seattle. We made it just in time for a late night bike ride to one of the local spots for food and beers and called it a night. The following day got caught up on laundry and whatnot's and caught up with Stobin after work for a ride on one of Settles greenways and hit Redhook Brewing Company for Pints and finished it off with some great Mexican food. Well rested we hit the road on Saturday for some more five star river trails and volcano riding. Our tour guide Stobin lead us to one of the choicest river trails in Washington, The Lewis River Trail. On Sunday we hit Mt Saint Helens and were treated to views of Mt Baker, Rainer, Hood and of course the big one Mt Saint Helens.

The Lewis River trail was smooth and fast with winding trails through mossy green dense forest with some sweet soil that hooked up more than any ground our tires have touched so far. It also had plenty of shot and sweet climbs that almost lead to disaster as I found my self sliding down the side of a mountain backwards after slipping out at the top of the climb. Fortunately I got some tree love and came to a stop upside down with my bike with me and didn't have to experience the pain of going end over end for the 60 ft that would have taken me thru dead fall to a rushing river. A busted helmet and little brusied (see above pic) but with no holes in me or parts hanging loose we headed back to camp and called it a day.

The Saint Helens ride was over the top and started with a good 6 miles of climbing through one of the only stands of trees that made it through the blast up to the upper base of the mountain littered with nothing but a tree skeletons, small plants, pumice stone and additional aftermath of volcanic eruption. Words can't really do the landscape justice so you can check out a few pictures above. On the way back we were treated to one of the best descents on record with smooth flowing trails with a few tight switchbacks along the way with exposure just to keep you on your toes. Somebody pinch me, I think I may be dreaming...