[tbeemer]

Oh well, all was not lost. The weather cooperated for most of the weekend, as we either outran rain or showed up after the roads had dried already. Definitely need to do this when the weather's more cooperative.

Stevens pass was chilly, with a thick mist that kept the roads pretty moist, just around the summit area. But once we cleared the other side going down to Leavenworth, it was gorgeous. Met a BMW rider at the rest area who was bragging about her heated grips... Props to the incredibly friendly folks from Dryden running the coffee stand, awesome cookies! From then on it was beautiful sunshine, with some gusty winds, all the way to Winthrop.

Early morning departure from Winthrop was looking good, at least until we neared the summit of Washington Pass. Temperatures dropped and the sun disappeared behind some nasty clouds. Needless to say, we got in lots of rain riding practice! Thumbs up to the Pirelli's on the 929, they held up awsome in the wet, with plenty of grip. The only moments came while traversing a muddy stream on the road and a little slippage on the center line under acceleration during an overtake.

We got so focused on the ride, we forgot our promise to stop and take lots of pics. So we only got a handful at a stop just prior to the transit over Washington Pass (we were adding layers and raingear ). Here's a few, enjoy. That's the wife and her new Daytona, three weeks old and 1200 miles on the clock already. Should log another 600 or so this weekend.

Tom

[Chain]

Nice photos, thanks for sharing! That second pic though, that looks cold. Brrr.

Cool Daytona too. From everything you read, it sounds like the Brits have finally closed the gap (if not actually caught) the Japanese in the 600 class.

[ratter]

sounds like heated grips were needed

[tbeemer]

Originally Posted by Chain

Nice photos, thanks for sharing! That second pic though, that looks cold. Brrr.

Cool Daytona too. From everything you read, it sounds like the Brits have finally closed the gap (if not actually caught) the Japanese in the 600 class.

That's actually a 955i, not the 600. It's down on power, but the power band of that triple is freakin' sweet. The handling is pretty damn sharp for a supposedly "soft" sportbike. It feels like the harder you ride it, the better it handles. Front end feedback isn't on par with the 929, but it's still damn good.

Tom

[Holeshot]

Yeah that's one fine ribbon of highway up there.. Ya know.. I heard that FR25 is open to Hood River now.. FR99 can't be far behind!!! Yeah baby, YEAH!

[xscape2me]

You rode to Stevens Pass all the way from Olympia? I live in Oak Harbor, and that ride is freakin long in itself.