Finally hit the dirt

My big Saturday plan was to get my drivers license and car title changed over first thing in the morning and then go ride at a park some 40 miles or so East of here. After burning a couple of hours getting my drivers license and a couple more getting the title dealt with I was no longer feeling like making the drive up to the trail. I felt I would be pushing it to get back in time for dinner with Kate and her dude, Jeff.

This morning I decided that I would not be deterred. I loaded up the loaner and headed out to Saint Edward State Park. On the map it looks like the closest place to home for a ride, just on the North east side of Lake Washington. I met a couple of guys in the parking lot that were new to riding and since none of us knew the trails we headed out together. We covered every bike legal trail in the park(some of them twice) in a pretty short amount of time. The GPS didn't track very well at all through the thick canopy, it came back with 5.5 miles and 1600 feet. There was not near that much climbing but there were a couple of decently steep bits. I'm not yet sure how indicative these trails are of the rest of the area but they were pretty tame. If this park is all you've ever known than it would make Pemberton seem extreme. Steep in a couple places but no real tech to speak of.







Saw this little number the way back to town. Those that truly know my nerdom know that I've got a bit of obsession with the AE86 series Toyota Corolla. Its a real, honest to goodness car ready for tearing up twisty roads. Much like the Datsun 510 it's lightweight rear drive car with a near perfect weight balance and an already capable suspension design. Breaks my heart to see a dumb kid paint it up like a cartoon and then wreck it. Turns out it's only an AE85, nothing special even though it looks almost identical.


For those of you out there that thought I was just bike obsessed, I'm sorry. I've always had a passion for cars, but usually I can keep it in check.