The summer Cascade Mountain bike riding has been excellent with great weather. It has been on the warm side for the Cascades and a bit dusty, but the weather will be changing quickly here in the mountains as summer ends and the long PacNW winter shows up all too soon.
There was a bit of rain, not enough to turn the dust into mint trail conditions, but enough to cool things down for a day or two.
It had been clear blues skies for a couple weeks, the clouds and rain were a break from the hotter than normal mountain weather.
The following day was a mix of clouds and sun, a great day for riding.
It takes a while to ride up to the higher elevations with the climbs being miles long at times. It makes for a great downhill ride back to camp.
This section of Forest Service road goes through a burn area of the forest.
Early morning forest shadows with clearing clouds.
The skies are clear and blue except for a lenticular cloud clinging to the summit of Mt. Adams.
This is an ancient lava flow near Mt. Adams. There are many lava flows like this between the smaller volcanic peaks.
It’s not all fun and games here in the mountains. Thankfully, we haven’t had much trouble with mice or other wildlife, just some free range cattle blocking the road and these nasty bald faced hornets. They are very aggressive. When they attack, they go straight for your face.
The weather changes quickly and often here, but it has stayed mostly nice. A partly cloudy day is just about right for mountain riding.
When the weather is hot and dry, the trails turn to dust. With hooved wild animals and livestock, the ground is pulverized to various grades of dust.
The days are getting shorter, the shadows are longer and the sun is barely making it above some of the tall forest trees.
Another few weeks and it will be cold and rainy here, so dusty or not, we ride every chance we get.
With all the riding, I fried one of the bearings in my rear hub. Thankfully, I have a spare wheel that I can use until a new bearing comes. Can’t miss a single day of riding because the summer is quickly coming to an end. Check back soon!