Author: Mike Hassur
Before
proceeding, check out a map of this area at the following link (start at the
top of the map on Hwy 12 à road #26 à road #99 to Windy
Ridge Viewpoint à back on road #99 à road #25 à
back to Randle)(Hint: minimize the map three clicks to see it better): http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5160314.pdf
.
7:00
AM in Randle, WA and everyone was there and ready to go. We had a good group (Conor Collins, Jim
Wilcher, Chris Fox, Les Becker, Jurgen Becker, David Garate, David Crawford,
Mark Delrosario, Kurt Maute, Gabe Scott, and me (Mike H).
As usual, Conor was gone almost as soon as the ride commenced (accompanied by Jurgen and David Crawford). The road was flat for the first mile or two; and, then, we climbed for awhile to get to the top of a plateau. We rode on the plateau until about mile “8” when we caught a single lane road
(hwy 26). That's the point
where we really started to climb. We
climbed about 6500 feet on this ride and most of it was from mile “8”
to the Windy Ridge Viewpoint at mile “32.5”.
 |
| Mark, Mike, David C, David G, Jim, Gabe, Jurgen, Conor, Kurt, & Les |
As usual, Conor was gone almost as soon as the ride commenced (accompanied by Jurgen and David Crawford). The road was flat for the first mile or two; and, then, we climbed for awhile to get to the top of a plateau. We rode on the plateau until about mile “8” when we caught a single lane road
 |
| Starting to climb on single lane (road #26) |
Once
we started climbing, our group separated some, but we managed to re-group along
the way up. Before long, we found Jurgen
waiting for us. The single lane road
that we climbed on for about sixteen miles was really great – rough in
spots, but no traffic and really awesome sights. It had some potholes that might swallow you,
some gravel patches that might wreck you and two very steep grades (ugh); but
it was a great road for cycling (at least for us).
 |
| Told you it was steep... |
Once
we finished with the single lane road and got on the main road to Windy Ridge
(hwy 99), we began to get glimpses of Mt St Helens (and Mt Adams and Mt
Hood). The climb on this main road was
pretty consistent but without the excruciatingly steep grades that we
encountered while on the single lane. We
cruised up to a couple of viewpoints overlooking Spirit Lake (where we met up
with Conor and David C who had already been to Windy Ridge Viewpoint and had
come back to meet us – very humbling).
We, then, all rode the final mile or two to the Windy Ridge Viewpoint
where you have a very “up close and personal” view of Mt St Helens.
After
some photos and recoup time at the top, we headed back. On the route back, we did not take the single
lane road. Instead we stayed on the main
road (hwy 99) until it met hwy 25 which took us back to Randle. The descent down hwy 99 was curvy and fast
and fun. The road was in pretty good
shape; so, mostly, all you had to worry about was taking the corners
smoothly. This was not the case for the
last part of the ride (hwy 25). It was
curvy and fast (just like hwy 99), but the road surface was in poor condition
and the shadows from the trees made it hard to see the cracks and bumps in the
surface. Fortunately, we all made it
through this section safely.
This was a great ride. The weather was perfect, the ride was challenging, and the group of guys was great.
To see photos of this ride click on the following link:
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