Skagit River

It turns out the loop from Arlington, up to the Skagit River and east to Concrete, up the Sauk River to Darrington, and then back down the Stillaguamish to Arlington, is just over 100 miles. And while there are some hills, none are terribly long or steep. That's why I had been eyeing this for awhile, thinking it might be a good place to try riding a century.

And I made it, albeit a little slower than I had hoped. The first half went remarkably fast, which may be why the second half went a lot slower. Of course the headwind and all the gravel on the shoulder of SR530 on the last 25 mile leg sure didn't help.

The bike worked well. The legs worked well, though they're still sore four days later. And the seat and the neck and the wrists all made it relatively unscathed. I had two bee stings. And the two dogs (yes, I believe they were pit bulls, but I didn't slow down to ask them) who chased me down on Route 9 north of Big Lake made contact, and scared the hell out of me, but didn't actually bite (or if they did, they missed).

This was the first time I'd ridden more than 100 miles on my bike since high school - one of those long loops in central Maine or the first day of that four day trip to the White Mountains? But I don't need to do it again for a little while.