Monday, 2nd of May. A beaut morning has dawned bright and clear. I don't work on Mondays. A ride is in order. I consult Google maps and then grab a
real map for details. I can cover 300 sweet, back road and two-lane state highway miles without having to touch the 'Interstate' highway known as I-5.
In less than an hour from home I'm looking at this, the south side of Mt Rainier from Skate Creek Road, which has just opened for the season and is pot-holey as hell!
![A K1200R has bitten me, hard. Imag1811](https://i.servimg.com/u/f86/17/17/52/92/imag1811.jpg)
I manage the ruts then head West on State Route 12 through Packwood and onto Randle, gateway to Mt St Helens, where I stop for brekkie at the Mt Adams Café. I've got the roads to myself except for a few commuters and log trucks. It's still early.
In another hour or so I'm wending my way up State Route 505 and then 504 into the site of the blast which occurred thirty six years ago, Mt St Helens' from Loowit lookout. I check out the state's rest stop and interpretive centre. From there I have a most awesome view of what's to come.
![A K1200R has bitten me, hard. Imag1812](https://i.servimg.com/u/f86/17/17/52/92/imag1812.jpg)
In the end the lookout is closed for the season still - it was a helluva Winter round here - but I manage a close-up from a viewpoint called Hoffstadt Bluff. My tank was running low and I headed towards Toutle or Castle Rock for petrol.
![A K1200R has bitten me, hard. Imag1813](https://i.servimg.com/u/f86/17/17/52/92/imag1813.jpg)
I follow the West Side highway North towards Vader and Boistfort, then through the deep, dark rainforest (getting clearcut like a bad hair day!) to Oakville and back on Highway 12 to 507, onto Yelm and into Puyallup. Home is around the corner. I've covered just under 300 miles and enjoyed the roads immensely. The R is
aggressive & unforgiving compared to my other Ks, it begs to be driven hard into corners, tho' easily accelerating out of them with urge, and my wrists are sore from the 'bars angle, but it's my face that hurts the most, from smiling.
I managed 41 mpg (US) overall and cracked 135mph on a 2 mile straightaway in the forest until I reminded myself of deer playing nearby - I'd seen a few earlier in the day. The temp got up to 29 by mid-arvo. For the most part it was sedate cruise on country roads. In August I'm heading to Sturgis and this ride was a sorting out, a measure of whether I want to ride the R there instead of some of my more sedate bikes. I need another go at it to decide.