Travel Log Archive

November 29th, 2008 Thanksgiving Leftovers RIDE!

The 2008 edition of the Leftovers RIDE! went off very well. There were only two of us but that is not unusual for this time of year, especially when the weather forecasts are so wrong. Undaunted by a little cold drizzle, Rod and I left Covington about 10:20 AM and headed out to Covington-Sawyer Rd., turning right onto Thomas Rd. Thomas ends abruptly at Auburn-Black Diamond Rd and we went left, towards Black Diamond. After managing to make it through town without a speeding ticket, (25 mph zones and VERY active LEO's), we headed towards Ravensdale on Ravensdale-Black Diamond Rd. Then it was a short stint on Kent-Kangley and a quick right onto Retreat-Kanasket Rd. This took us through the town of Cumberland, home of the City Hall Saloon. On Thursday nights all summer they have $1.00 taco Thursdays and it's a great place to hang out and people watch. After clearing town we turned right onto SE 392nd which intersects with WA-169 at Krain's Corner. WA-169 is closed for about a mile due to the Green River bridge being damaged by flood waters a little while back. The southern road block is just past Enumclaw-Franklin Rd., where we turned right to cross the Green on the old one-lane bridge just outside of Black Diamond. After the bridge, we found ourselves back in Black Diamond where we turned left onto WA-169, heading towards the northern road block. Just before the road closure we turned right onto Green Valley Rd. and twisted our way down the hill and past Flaming Geyser State Park. Green Valley is a real motorcylcing treat and should be on every local rider's list of places to ride. On this day we rode it end to end and hung a right onto Auburn-Black Diamond Rd, approaching Thomas Rd. from the opposite side from where we left it an hour or so earlier. This short section of Thomas is the only bit of tarmac that we rode on twice all day. At the other end, we turned right onto Covington-Sawyer Rd., which terminates at Lake Sawyer Blvd. and our destination for the day, Rooter's BBQ. Rooter's is actually less than 4 miles from where we left Covington a couple of hours prior but our serpentine route covered nearly 60 miles. The weather was just wet enough to deter any photo taking today but I do have a map image posted below. The BBQ at Rooter's is very good but I greatly enjoy their burgers. They have the 1/2 pound Lake Sawyer burger which adds deli sliced ham to an already filling cheeseburger. They also have the Barnyard which has cheese, ham, bacon and a fried egg. As tempting as that may sound, I've never tried the Barnyard because I'm a bit of a purist and the deli sliced ham is about as far from a traditional burger as I usually stray. All in all, it was a very enjoyable ride. I definitely want to revisit some of the areas we rode through today when the weather will allow for photos. The gorge that the one lane bridge spans is particularly scenic.