Early last summer, or late last spring, Ben D and I voyaged up to the northern Washington town of Darrington to ride Rat Trap Pass. On the drive up we noticed a trail alongside Highway 530 that we later learned was the Whitehorse Trail. Further research revealed that the trail runs twenty seven miles linking […]
Author: MikeMcGuffin
Seattle Eastside Mixed Media
The nice thing about owning a capable “all-road” bicycle is the ability to ride all roads. And trails too. For the past year and a half I’ve been exploring the unpaved roads and trails in and around Seattle. I recently used a bit of what I learned to sew together a mixed media route starting […]
Palouse-to-Cascades Trail, South Cle Elum to Renslow Bridge
Since hearing about the much-anticipated opening of the Renslow Bridge I’ve been eager to give it a crossing. When Michael P contacted me about doing a ride in central Washington I suggested riding the Palouse-to-Cascade trail up to and over the freshly opened bridge. The Renslow Bridge, a former Milwaukee Road railroad trestle, spans Interstate […]
Willapa Hills
One aspect that I enjoy about exploration and adventure is that one project often leads to another. While researching an upcoming trip a door typically opens to a new undiscovered opportunity. While doing some casual online research on Troy Hopwood’s XWA (Cross Washington) route I stumbled onto a map of the Willapa Hills Trail: a […]
Bivies, Tarps and Tents
I come to bikepacking from a climbing background and thus I see shelter from the lens and history of a mountaineer. One difference between the climbing and bikepacking culture seems to be that bikepackers tend to prefer solo sleeping systems. This makes sense as solo technical mountaineering is dangerous and rare whereas solo bikepacking is […]
Bremerton Guerilla Grind Part Deux
Forgive the lack of photos in this post; it was all I could do to stay attached. On the penultimate day of February my partners in gravel crime – Mike R, Ryan H and Mykenna I – joined up with Seattle strongwoman and 2020 CX National Champ Julie Robertson Zivin for a second helping of […]
Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad
When Trevor, Paul, Larry and I rode from Rattlesnake Lake to Tekoa on the Ironhorse and what was then known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trial we encountered half a dozen obstacles: three minor and three major. The three major obstacles were detouring around the closed Renslow Bridge which crosses I-90 east of Ellensburg, crossing […]
A Fella Can Dream
I recently learned two new words: vindskydd and raststugor. Both are Swedish words for a type of backcountry shelter. A vindskydd is a three-walled, roofed lean-to style structure, while a raststugor is a fully enclosed hut. A vindskydd can either be floored or bare earth, the former suitable for sleeping the later being simply a […]
Money Talks
The following three news stories caught my attention this week. Biden’s new conservation corps stirs hopes of nature-focused hiring spree | Conservation | The Guardian Key ODT link gets go-ahead | Peninsula Daily News West Virginia Has Everyone’s Attention. What Does It Really Need? – The New York Times (nytimes.com) At first blush these may […]
Gun Lube?
I’ve learned that if you’re gonna ride here in the Pacific Northwest you’re gonna have to adopt a regular bicycle chain maintenance program. Few things in the cycling life are as irritating as a crunchy chain. Chain lubrication does two things: reduces friction between moving parts and prevents corrosion, neither of which require large amounts […]