Northwest Mystery Ride Revealed
 Come
Celebrate 10 years of Sound RIDER!
In the January issue. we promised we'd put on a mystery ride in
April. Here it is. For those of you who wait until spring to ride,
make this your first long ride of the year. For those of you who
ride year around, enjoy this leisurely ride to a place few have ever
been.
The Wild Horse Wind Farm sits atop Whiskey Dick Mountain just
east of Ellensburg. The elaborate visitors center had a very quiet
opening in 2008 and we stumbled into it by chance last November
heading back to Seattle from Walla Walla. Sitting at 3500 feet high
on a clear day you will see Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams and Mt, Rainier to
the west. To the south lie the ridges leading to the Yakima Valley floor, and to the east
lies the Moses Lake and Potholes areas. What a sight! A new
destination worth making the trip to. Paved access to this
location did not exist two years ago.
 Knowing
that the Sound RIDER! 10th anniversary was just around the corner, we
began to hatch a plan. Invite all the readers to this special place
and enjoy some time where few have ever ridden. During the day we'll
do hourly group photos, run several seminars and have door prizes.
The time has come. You may arrive at your leisure and depart at your
leisure. The cost is FREE!
The schedule goes like this:
Saturday April 4, 2009
- 9:00 am - Wind Farm visitors center opens for self-guided
touring
- 10:15 - SR! Slideshow Presentation - Dualsport Rides through
Western Washington
- 11:00 - Door prizes & group shot in front of facility
- 11:15 - SR! Slideshow Presentation - Motorcycle Touring in
the Columbia River Gorge
- 12:00 - Door prizes & group shot in front of facility
- 12:15 - Lunch break (Bring your own lunch to the facility,
food is not available onsite.)
- 1:00 - Door prizes & group shot in front of facility
- 1:15 - SR! Slideshow Presentation - Dualsport Rides through
Western Washington
- 2:00 - Door prizes & group shot in front of facility
- 2:15 - Wrap up and departure
 The
slideshows last 25 minutes each and are followed by a book signing.
They revolve around our two travel guides for the Northwest. Sit in
on one or both if you like.
So what are the door prizes we're doing? Several each hour
including books, tire repair kits and other goodies from the Sound
RIDER! store. We will also be giving away SR! Rally in the Gorge
discounts as part of the door prize offerings.
Make it a group outing. Grab a few friends and ride out for the
festivities.
Take a nice ride afterward. Ride the back roads of the Thorpe
Prairie back to Seattle; take Yakima Canyon back to the Yakima area;
if you came on a dual sport, head home via Reecer Creek and Table
Mountain, then take a late afternoon ride up to Red Top and down to
the Teanaway area, weather permitting.
What if it rains? Check the weather before you go. At this time
of year it can be raining on one side of the Cascades and not on the
other. If the weather looks ugly on the Ellensburg side, you can
always print the directions below and do the ride another day.
Directions to the Wild Horse Wind Farm:
From the West
- Travel eastbound on Interstate 90
to Ellensburg, take exit 106.
- Follow the exit around and across
the overpass, straight through the 4-way stop. This road becomes
University Way.
- Travel east on University Way
through town. University Way becomes Vantage Highway after
passing Dairy Queen and crossing the rise.
- Follow Vantage Highway for 16.5
miles. Wild Horse is on the left. Ride through the PSE gates and
up the hill.
 From
the East
- Travel west on I-90 to Vantage, take exit 136.
- Follow the Vantage Highway east for 11.5 miles. Wild Horse
is on your right. Ride through the
PSE gates and up the hill.
So pack a sack lunch and join us Saturday April 4th from 10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
We want to thank
Puget Sound Energy, Kittitas County and the
Cle
Elum/Roslyn Chamber of Commerce for making this FREE event
possible. |
