As I confessed already, I played hooky Wednesday afternoon and headed off to meet up with one of my regular riding partners, Jim. We have a spot up north on Highway 9 we normally meet at so I hopped on the bike and waded into traffic. The problem with Seattle is getting *out* of the city sometimes.  Took me an hour and twenty minutes to ride roughly 40 miles. Oh joy. Fortunately the rest of the ride made up for that.

It was fairly warm today, in the 80s but comfortable on the bike as long as you’re moving. I wore my mesh gear anyway for maximum air flow and my hydration pack also. Our goal was to ride Highway 9, a nice twisty stretch of road north of Arlington, WA.  The problem is that Highway 9 is straight as an arrow south of Arlington.  Fortunately Jim knows an alternate route via roads through farming country. The roads are still mostly straight, but with frequent 90 degree bends so it’s still a fun ride.  And generally, no traffic to mention.

The ride up was great. As we often do, we stopped at a favorite restaurant near Big Lake, WA. I don’t even know the name of the place, but it’s right on our route so we stop there. They have great burgers! After a relaxing dinner, we mounted up and rode our route in reverse. The ride back was even better. The sun had dipped behind the hills to the west and the temperatures had cooled off a little. This made for perfect riding conditions. Far too soon, we were back at our meeting point and it was time to split up and head for home.