Out of Seattle, into the open countryside.

Mount Rainier looms in the distance.

Not a bad place to have a farm.

A colorful sight indeed.

What lovely roads.

Riding was easy in all this beauty.

A perfect day.

Some of us could have used a break like this.

There were some great outfits.

Still more beauty.

See separate post for more on Piper The Dog.

Another irresistible bridge.

Shooting while riding is much easier while climbing.

Approaching the bridge between Longview, Wash., and Rainier, Ore.

Crossing Into Oregon!

Down the bend in our first pedal strokes in Oregon.

Welcome!

Just a few miles to go, heading over the Willamette River in Portland.

As seen by bus heading out of Portland.

As seen by bus en route back to Seattle.

Cascade Bicycle Club‘s annual STP – Seattle to Portland – ride was a 204-mile celebration of great roads and great people.

There were the highly fit though possibly insane types who did the ride in one day, the highly fit types who more reasonably stretched it out over two days, the reasonably fit types who did the ride in two days and took a lot of pictures along the way (that would be us), the getting fitter types for whom something like this was once an unimaginable accomplishment … and all sorts of others.

Seeing all the varieties of riders out on the road, and sharing the camaraderie, was one of the truly great things.  So was the scenery.