Our ride with Star Touring & Riding's Northwest Chapter 154, Burlington, Washington to Leavenworth, Washington...
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Jackie and I joined some of the members of Star Touring & Riding's Northwest Cascades Chapter 154 on the "AzzBurner 400" ride sponsored by Skagit Powersports in Burlington, Washington. There were 22 bikes gathered for this ride. Three of the bikes were demo bikes kindly provided by Skagit Powersports for anyone to test ride during this event. We just purchased our Vstar 1300 this year so didn't take advantage of this kind offer. |
| We gathered at Skagit Powersports in Burlington to register and visit before the ride. Looks like Roy's ready to go right now!. The ride consists of a tour around the Cascade Scenic Loop. Burlington to Leavenworth is the first leg. The second leg is Leavenworth to Winthrop and the final leg is Winthrop to home. Many of us, due to time constraints, will only ride as far as Leavenworth, Washington and return.. |
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Audrey is Sargeant at Arms for Chapter 154 and a very fine rider... |
| On the left is John Davis - Editor & Publisher of Northwest Cycle News. Breakfast goodies were provided by Skagit Powersports. Jon, on the right, is the Chapter 154 Vice-President. |
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Skagit Powersports also provided t-shirts for ride participants. These would turn out to be very predictive of the state of our seats.. |
| Gloria, on the right, is Roy's wife and will be riding with Roy on this trip. Wendy, on the left, is another new Chapter member (along with her husband) and will be riding her own bike. Jackie's enjoying her visit with them.. |
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There's some fine looking bikes here. I think Jackie could fall asleep in the easy chair on the back of this one. Hmmmm, I wonder where the wet bar is located on it... |
| The day may be starting out gray but all the faces seem to be smiling and glad to be here.... |
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There's a pre-ride meeting to discuss routes, stops, riding signals and other items of interest... |
| John (in the gray, two toned jacket) is the President of Chapter 154 and goes over all of the pertinent info for this ride... |
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Some more last minute preparations as people check gear. Some of the riders are from a Star Touring and Riding Chapter in British Columbia and have come south to join this ride.. |
| We're staged and ready to go. There are enough bikes that we'll be riding as two groups this trip. We're second bike back in the line to the right so we'll ride in the first group out. This is only our second group ride.. |
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Our first stop is in Sultan, Washington about 70 miles from the start. Here we can fuel up before the mountain pass, if needed, get coffee, and take a rest break.. |
| This is also another opportunity to visit with fellow riders and Chapter members... |
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Jeez, I love a woman in leather! Fortunately, I'm married to this one so I shouldn't get into too much trouble... |
| More stories to tell while everyone relaxes.. |
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And more... |
| Our VStar 1300 proved itself able to run with the big dogs and carried Jackie and I easily... |
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There's enough leather here to drive PETA insane... |
| Soon enough it's time to mount up and head out. Next stop is a rest area on the other side of Steven's Pass. About 65 miles away... |
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The weather has improved tremendously on the other side of the pass. We took a break and removed some clothing. Our bike is second from the right and the sun's bright enough that Jackie is putting on a hat while we relax. Only another 15 miles or so to Leavenworth... |
| In Leavenworth, we all met at King Ludwig's for lunch. It's around 2 PM and everyone's hungry. Lunch was provided by Skagit Powersports. Thanks again! |
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Lots of intense menu decision making going on here... |
| But there's time for story swapping as well. Notice that there's no alcohol on the tables. Star Touring and Riding rules prohibit alcohol consumption during group rides. A mighty fine rule, in my book... |
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Roy seems pretty dang happy for a guy who's not drinking! Gloria is next to him on his right and Wendy and her husband are on his left... |
| After a great lunch some of the riders headed out for Winthrop, the next leg of their loop. Those of us heading back from here wandered around Leavenworth for a while. If you've never been here it's worth a stop... |
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Leavenworth is a town that was dying many years ago. They somehow hit upon the idea of recreating the town as a Barvarian village and business has been booming ever since... |
| Riding around town in a flower draped, horse drawn carriage looks like fun... |
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We spotted this nice, old pickup truck pulling a small trailer through town on Highway 2... |
| And right behind it was another one... |
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Nice visit but it's time to get ready to go home. It's about 4:30 PM and a long ride ahead... |
| We head out thataway up the valley and back over the pass. Jackie and I rode with the group as far as Sultan. We turned North on Highway 9 at Monroe and the rest headed west back to I-5. We got home at 8 PM, a bit saddle sore but really glad we went. Out total mileage was around 335 for the day. Thanks, folks, for a great ride!... |
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