WA State: White Pass-Yakima Canyon-Snoqualmie Pass Loop-390 miles

[Salish1000]

Boy I needed this ride today. Scratched many an itch and was truly awesome. Such a classic and epic ride here in the PNW of WA State. Crossing the Cascades in two places and soaking up the gorgeous Yakima Canyon on the backside. For those not from here, our State is divided between the wet side and dry sides. Storms track in off the Pacific and drop their rain on the West side. So the East side of the Cascades are dry. It's a quick and lovely way to change the weather! Today it was raining when I left and returned to the Puget Sound area, and was sunny and dry in Yakima.

My XR is the best all around bike I've ever had. For me, it's all day comfortable, quicker than lightning to go or stop, and smooth as butter whether going 30, 60, 90 or 120. Spring is sprung and the hills are green. If you want to cruise at 100 mph, not that anyone does:-), I90 from Ellensburg up to and over Snoqualmie Pass is a race track for the cages, so you can cruise along in the flow and not draw attention. Whole 390 took me about two tanks of gas and about 6 hours of riding time. The Cascades are small by Western North American standards, and the passes are only 3,000-5,000 feet. Passes in the Sierra are 9-11,000 feet by comparison! But latitude mimics altitude, and the passes here are in the alpine zone because we are 48 north.

I would add photos but the file size restriction is from 1998