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Whatcom and Skagit county backroads Sunday April 28

4K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  jeckyll 
#1 ·
Last weekend I went for an early season wander thru the lowlands west of I-5 from Blaine as far south as La Conner.
https://www.bcsportbikes.com/forum/showthread.php/207868-WA-flatlands-Sat-Apr-20
The weather was great and the roads were in surprisingly fine condition, so this weekend I intend to explore the neighbouring roads east of I-5, along WA 9 and environs. South Pass, Silver Lk Rd, Mosquito Lk Rd, Parson Crk Rd, Day Crk Rd, Beaver Lk Rd, Finn Settlement Rd, Norman Rd, etc on the agenda. Maybe lunch in Arlington - Bluebird Cafe?

Meet at Big Al's in Blaine for breakfast at 8am. Fully fuelled and ready to ride please, so a post-breakfast 9am start is not delayed - there's no rush, but it's good to be efficient, especially early in the season.

Moderate pace - early season, and likely some grit on some of the roads.

Cheers,
Don
 
#3 ·
^^^ company always welcome!
 
#7 ·
... and the ADV bike was waaaay faster on Mosquito Lake Road!
 
#8 ·
gorgeous day. a few more photos:

Badger Rd, eastbound outa Blaine; Baker in the background.

IMG_2493M by Don Serl, on Flickr


Norman Rd, near Stanwood WA - probably my favorite section of the day... MANY cyclists out too!

IMG_2497M by Don Serl, on Flickr


Dry Slough Rd, between Conway and La Conner WA. Baker in the background again, altho pretty gloomy in the afternoon clouds.

IMG_2500M by Don Serl, on Flickr
 
#9 ·
as for road conditions, typical early season I suppose is the best description. main routes are dry and not dusty, as Bobby blueflamegsxr mentioned in ride reports. but there's quite a bit of traffic on on main routes weekends, of course.

as for the side routes; in order: North Pass and South Pass are OK, but take great care at the 15 MPH posted curve on North Pass - there is a generous skiff of fine gravel between the car-tire tracks, and you could easily emulate Marc Marquez... at COTA... Silver Lake Rd - reasonable. Mosquito Crk Rd - really dusty mid-lane, but OK in the tire tracks. Park Drive - Parsons Crk Rd - Prairie Rd - Grip Rd - etc - reasonable. Old Day Crk Rd - fine. Beaver Lk Rd - good. Lake Cavanaugh Rd - Finn Settlement Rd - good. Norman Rd - excellent, but 'littered' with many cyclists and a few cruisers...
 
#10 ·
i stayed local, had to do some tuning on my chopper after the recent valve work. I noticed actual mpg suffered.
End result ( as suspected ) is AFR mixture was all over the place so i needed to stay close to a laptop.

i decided i'd let you guys do some scouting!! thanks for the update! please post up when you plan on heading back, i'll join yah :D
 
#15 ·
But the only turn that tightens, and can really surprise you, is north bound [emoji846]

mmmm. I seem to recall a BCSB outing quite a few years ago where someone failed to negotiate the downhill tight corner leading onto the bridge about halfway along, southbound...
 
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