We met at the Pierce County Sheriff’s substation in Puyallup WA (try and pronounce
that name non-Washingtonians). Ken Board, our Road Captain, is a sheriff and this
was a great meeting place. Ken even opened up the restrooms, a nice treat for us
older riders. We rode with a local club called the Headless Horsemen and we were
headed for Miners Burgers in Yakima to what was reported to be the best hamburgers
in the State.
The month of blue skies we have had in Western Washington for the last three weeks
was replaced with our typical gray overcast and the temps were 15 degrees lower
but this is the Pacific NW and we do get use to whatever the weather Gods throw
at us.
We went past the Crystal Ski area and over Chinook Pass. This ride may be one of
the top ten rides for beauty in the US as you glide past Mt. Rainier and the national
wilderness area. At the top of the pass there were still several feet of snow on
the ground. We stopped to meet Bill Lynn and his wife who were waiting for us; they
came up a different direction. It was noted that the temperature was 38 degrees,
colder with the wind chill factor. On our descent down the east side of the Cascades
the skies cleared and the temps were in the mid 70s, great riding and as you guessed
we all had smiles.
We found Miner's Burgers in Yakima and were treated to a burger the size of the
after battery exit hatch plus enough fries in one order to feed the engine crew
on a diesel boat but we all managed to finish and headed back over Snoqualmie Pass
via the Yakima Valley river and Ellensburg to Cle Elum valley roads. Both are very
beautiful parts of the State and the warmer weather east of the Cascades saw us
all remove our cold riding gear so we could take advantage of the sun and warm weather.
In total I did 340 miles, it was a fun ride and enjoyed by all who were there. The
Silent Service vests looked great and we did have a lot of very favorable comments.
One mother was going to tell her recently retired Subvet son about the club. “I
want my boy riding with this group” she said.
Thanks to Ken for leading us on a great ride. Remember NW riders…we are doing parade
duty on the 4th in Kirkland, WA.
Bob Opple
The pre-ride gathering of some of the troops.
At last, we get the four National Officers in the same place at the same time!
It got down to 32F going over Chinook Pass on Hwy 410
The sun did come out on the east side of the Cascades!
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