Mt Baker
The trip to Mount Baker is a very good ride, no doubt. I especially like the way the curves flow and how they’re slightly banked. On the other hand, two things need to be pointed out about this ride: firstly, the closer you get to the mountain, the poorer the road surface is: corrugation, stutter bumps, ripples, uneven paving, and even a big groove between the lanes. It’s frustrating having such a great route but not being able to ride hard because of the pavement quality, especially if your suspension is set up hard. I didn’t hit the curves too hard because I wasn’t confident in the grip of the front tire. Secondly, after I passed the Hell Station in Maple Falls, I had lots of gas worries. There’s basically no gas until you come back. I didn’t have enough to return from the peak. This meant I was forced to purchase some of the 87 octane stuff used in snow equipment. Next time, I’d buy gas in Sumas, but what’s with the five or so gas stations not open/out of business there? Another positive: there was little traffic (but tons on Canada 1). Oh, and the only cop I saw was in the great white north; he was very busy sitting in his car not noticing non-speeding infractions.
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