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On Saturday September 14th, I headed out on the ZZR for a ride around Mount Saint Helens. Earlier in the week I had connected with another ZZR rider from Portland, and he and I had agreed to meet at the Windy Ridge Viewpoint on the eastern side of Mount Saint Helens. The weather was looking good, so at 8 AM, I headed out. I made quick stops for gas, ATM, and breakfast. Heading south on Highway 7, I passed a bunch of cars in preparation for the twisties coming up. If you've never ridden Highway 7 between Tacoma and Elbe, you should definitely put it on your list. Lots of fun, but nothing like what I would experience later in the day. I was able to negotiate the curves at my "twice the posted" rule without any issues, and ended up passing a guy on a CBR600 F4i stopped on the side of the road. He looked like everything was OK, so I continued on. Once I arrived in Elbe, I stopped at Scaleburger for the requisite photo op with the ZZR in front of Scaleburger. I highly recommend the burgers at Scaleburger, and you'll often times find a few other bikes there enjoying some food as well. However, it was 9AM, Scaleburger was closed, and I was full!

Continuing South on 7 from Elbe, I noticed a set of headlights coming up behind me. The CBR. Cool, my first riding partner of the day. However, he wasn't as up to passing cars as I was, and he quickly faded into the distance. Through some pretty mild twisties on 7, and on to Morton. At highway 12, I hung a left and headed East. East on highway 12 to Randle, where I took a right heading south on Highway 25. Now, if you ride, and you like the corners better than the straight, you will absolutely LOVE highway 25. Between Highway 25 and later, Highway 99, I had about 75 miles of good solid twisties. Anywhere between 15 and 35 MPH as the posted speed. AWESOME! Lots of fun! A few miles into the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, I headed West on Highway 99 towards the Windy Ridge Viewpoint. Again, this road is pretty cool. Lots of twisties, but be very careful as there is a drop-off on one side, and many of the turns have fallen gravel and rock across them. (Con't)

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RAMSHOD Route North to the right. Click for PDF of route.

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ZZR In front of Scaleburger, Highway 7, Elbe, WA

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Mount Saint Helens from
Highway 99

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Windy Ridge Viewpoint, Mount Saint Helens, Highway 99

ZZR With Mount Saint Helens in the background.

Honda S2000 Rally at Windy Ridge Viewpoint

I arrived at the Windy Ridge Viewpoint around 10:30. I took the opportunity for some photos, and not soon after who should arrive but the guy on the CBR600 F4i. I talked with him for a bit about where he was from, how he liked the bike, where he was going, etc. Beyond just the casual wave, it's cool how friendly other riders are to each other. Everyone should own a bike! Shortly after that, three Honda S2000 convertibles showed up. They were apparently meeting a bunch of drivers from Oregon as well. Neat little cars. I was just about to give up on John (the other ZZR rider) at 11:15 and had just donned my helmet when he pulled in. We spent a few minutes chatting about the bikes, and our love of our little silver bullets. A guy from Louisiana came over to admire the bikes and chat with us about them. He told us of the Valkyrie he had owned. Seems as every current or former rider has a story to tell. I was looking through the glass of a Ford Excursion when I saw a few more S2000's pull in and amongst them, I saw a silver motorcycle with sexy headlights. ANOTHER ZZR was pulling in! (Con't)

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Mount Saint Helens, Windy Ridge Viewpoint.

Spirit Lake from Windy Ridge

Mount Saint Helens in the distance

Well we HAD to get some photos with all three of our bikes! I'd say this is the first ZZR Rally in the states! We were all talking about how we had seen very few, or in my case NO, other ZZR's on the road, and here 3 of us were in the same place at the same time. Granted two of us planned it, but to have a 3rd show up was just too weird! We'll have to make this an annual event I think. After some photos, John and I headed back down. He has a video camera mounted on his bike, and was going to capture some footage of me riding down. Unfortunately when he thought he turned on the camera, he actually turned it off. Oh well. Maybe next time. We continued down 99 back to 25 and South on 25. John passed me at one point, and did a GREAT job of showing me the line to pick through the corners. He's a pretty awesome rider, and I know my riding improved after that! We got the big thumbs up from a group of sport bike riders as we were leaned over through one corner. We headed West on 90 to 503. We encountered a Harley rider that thought he could lead us through the corners. He did pretty well for being on a cruiser, but when he got a little squirly on a couple corners, we thought it'd be better for all our sakes if we just passed him. We stopped for a quick bite to eat at Burgerville in Woodland and John headed South and I headed North. NOTE to John: It was great riding with you! I had a blast! Hope to do it again sometime! NOTE to Paul: Hope to see you again and get some riding in! (Con't)

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Mount Adams from Windy Ridge

3 ZZR's in a Row! Paul, John (me), and John with their steeds.

Another Angle.

The rest of the ride was pretty uneventful. Just I-5 riding to Centralia, and then 507 riding to 7 back home. All in all it was a GREAT day! Good times, Great people, and some great weather made for a truly unforgettable day! 300 miles in all. Looking forward to being able to order my Corbin seat!

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Paul and John stowing gear.

And from the rear.