The smoke cleared so R. and I decided to return to Hurricane Ridge for a full-day loop of the Grand and Badger Valleys. I had last been to the area in 2013 so I was looking forward to a return trip and seeing some trails I had never covered or didn’t see because eight years ago we covered the trail in a complete fog whiteout.

A group from Seattle I had toured around BI a year ago had been planning a ride of the Flying Wheels 100M route for a few months, being pushed off by a number of factors. Finally this weekend, albeit without perfect weather, we were able to ride the course. To mix it up, we opted to ride it backwards and, with inspiration from Jan from BQ, I rode two transport stages as well.

A nice morning loop around Icicle Creek with a variety of forest, hill, and water views.

With record breaking heat descending on the PNW, I sought relief in the mountains and took advantage of the snow melt to photograph wildflowers. I really enjoyed this loop and until recently it was not on my radar; nor others apparently because very few trip reports were available at the WTA.

A departure from my usual farm and logging road riding, this loop offered a lot more city riding along with bridges and islands I had never visited on bike.

I had signed up to ride GFL in 2020 but, like most events, it was cancelled so I eagerly awaited an opportunity to ride it when it was next scheduled.

Though this ride is short it packs a lot of awesome into its 20 miles. There are wildflowers, terrific gravel, great views, and abandon railroads. I was delighted with this loop.

A quiet roads ride with plenty of gravel options from Bainbridge to Port Gamble’s Stottlemeyer trail system.

I’ve climbed Bon Jon before and with the great weather decided to have a crack at it again.

Unseasonably warm weather encouraged a discovery ride through the Olympic National Forest and through the trails of Miller Peninsula State Park. I had a large gap on my personal heatmap for the Miller Peninsula and sought to fill it with this ride.