Riding the Rectangle: A Photo Journal

Of all the trips I led this summer, my favorite was the informal overnighter that I organized with friends along The Rectangle.

You may recall me mentioning The Rectangle Ride before. In my Bloated Fish & Butt Raisins post from 2013, I wrote about the perfect autumnal ride around The Rectangle. In my Backpacking in Hell's Canyon post from 2015, I mentioned my mid-winter ride around The Rectangle, in which I first saw the aftermath of the Oso landslide. Needless to say, The Rectangle Ride is my favorite close-to-home overnight bike trip.

In mid-September of this year, I rode The Rectangle for the sixth time. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing the ride with six friends. This is a photo journal of our trip.

The Gang (from l to r):
Brad, me, Yonina, David, Faisal, Eric, and El Mecánico.

Happy 4th Re-Birthday to Me!

Happy 4th Re-Birthday to Me!

Four years ago today, I quit my job and was thereby born again into a new life. Since my re-birth, I have luxuriated in the freedoms afforded by unstructured time and financial independence. Wow, what a joy ride it has been!

Backpacking in Hell's Canyon

This, my friends, is Hell...

Hell.
(Photo courtesy of Paul's camera.)

Well, to be more exact, this is technically "Hell's Canyon." Maybe you're thinking what I'm thinking. "If this is Hell, I wonder what Heaven looks like!"

We'll come back to Hell in a second. For now, let's rewind a few months...

Bloated Fish & Butt Raisins

It was a perfect, autumnal weekend for a rectangular ride with spectacular company.

The company, enjoying the autumnal spectacularness.
From left to right: Whitney, Phil, Me, Rich, Jason, and Claudia.

The ride, in all of its rectangular glory.

"The Rectangle Ride" is a 110-mile route that starts in Arlington, WA, heads east to Darrington, north to Rockport, west to Sedro-Wooley, and then loops back south to Arlington.

This is the fourth time I've done this route, and only now has it earned the name "The Rectangle Ride." It's safe to say that this is my favorite local overnight route, and so I was super-duper happy to share the route with five friends.