Thanks Blues....
Cont....
I'll call this post:
A dam, a lake, some rock and 10 VFRs
One funny thing stuck with me after watching "The Long Way Around" with Ewan McGregor and it wasn't the massive support team they used in the spirit of adventure. At one point in the movie Ewan said
"with everyone of of these bike trips I return home with hundreds of pictures of my motorcycle". I had to laugh as I do the same damned thing and it has never been as obvious as in this very post ....
Heading west in to the Northern Cascades is a near religious experience on a motorcycle. If you have been down this road before, your heartbeat picks up in anticipation of the nearly perfect pavement, the constant tight turns, and the rapid elevation changes. If you've read about riding here, you hope that your expectations aren't overblown due to the hype that has been built up by the many riders who write about this magical road. Either way you know you are in for something special, and as it turns out, you will not be disappointed.
A flowing spill-way reminds me that the on-again-off-again weather is never far from full-on rain despite the sunshine at this moment....
There are only a few roads that seem to allow a rider to come to complete terms with a motorcycle when they clear their mind and push it to their own practical limits. This place is where that happened many years ago on my Ninja and later on with my VTR1000 and VFR750 to different degrees. The weather and traffic all play a part, and it was here that I remember my old VTR1000 was almost perfect in the way that it could transition from tire edge to tire edge, and torque through the corners at a 98% pace, all while feeling like there would be no better motorcycle to be aboard at that moment. There are minimal tar snakes to consider, and on
one of the perfect days, the wild-life, traffic and lack of police presence lure you in to a false sense of nirvana. Today I was almost there, with the weather not fully cooperating, but still letting the sun break through intermittently to allow a few moments where all was perfect. If I was ever going to find the sweet spot with the new Viffer, this would be the time and place....
One of the nearly-perfect moments at the right place with the right view, but not quite the right weather...
Along the edges of the pass there are many reminders that the season is still young
I run the big V-four in to it's sweet spot, using the mid-range and shift and accelerate smoothly as I seek the best body position to work the bike quickly through the turns. The traction issues that I mentioned on my previous ride quickly resurface making it all the more critical to be smooth above all else. Perhaps it's too much weight in the tail trunk, or not enough pre-load in the rear but bike bike begins to resist the push and starts to push back. Finding the sweet spot today would not be so easy.... It's only after several minutes of hard cornering that I arrive at the conclusion that the Honda needed a slight pause at TDC when transitioning from side to side to sort itself out. Just like a wet dog winding up to shake itself out, the Viff felt like it needed to un-twist momentarily before being pushed in the opposite direction. So with that I change my style to allow for these slight pauses between hard turns and the VFR rewards with a faster pace with less effort.
Slow-down to go faster is the way to really make this bike sing...
There is great satisfaction when I can finally feel like I am riding a bike to it's limit, no matter what the limit is as long as it resides within my own comfort zone. The constant slip and twist of the VFR though is a bit of a wet blanket on the fun however and I spend some time thinking of how to redistribute my luggage weight and make a few adjustments that might magically get me "there". Not too much time however as this place is fantastic and as long as I keep it in the zone that I am riding in - all will be good:)
Despite the snow in the pictures this day is turning out to be alright, it hasn't rained for a while and the road has fully dried. It's almost eerie how little traffic there is, given how close this (relatively) is to Vancouver and Seattle, but it must be down to the fact that I am mid-week and still a little ahead of the peak season. Another great reason to tour in June (rain be damned)!
Hangin' near the summit - the summit of the pass anyway....
After reaching the summit the fun is just getting started. Again I have to slightly modify how I take the corners as there seems to be a substantial difference in how the bike can handle the corners under a down-hill suspension load. As I stop to take some pictures I notice how the Bridgestone tires (yes both ends) on my nearly new, low mileage bike are starting to show noticeable wear. A quick check of the pressure shows everything to be OK, but this is definitely not helping the ride of the bike. I decide to turf the tires when I get back home whether they are worn-out are not, and remember all of the previous Bridgestones that I owned that were OEM, and how strange the handling was with a good portion of them. I can honestly say that I have never bought any Bridgestones as replacement tires for any of my bikes yet, and with my luck with these that is not about to change.
All downhill from here......at least until I come back the other way..... 
There really are countless places that deserve a stop to take pictures along this road. Allow extra time to take it all in if you get down this way.
The little bit of remaining weather does not do this viewpoint justice - what the hell, I'll post the pic anyway
And finally the steep downward grade ceases as I blast along this beautiful lake along the way. Without any boring scenery to allow me to take a breath, I move immediately from the incredible mountain pass to the impeccable beauty of the lake below...
If you come out here for no other reason, the beautiful things you can see right from the highway would be enough to make it all worthwhile.
To be cont....
