April 29, Sean and I had a spectacular ride up the North Cascades Highway before it opened for cars. We enjoyed the clear skies, warm weather and no traffic as we pedaled from the gate at the Ross Lake Overlook to the end of the plowed road, just short of Rainy Pass. Round trip the ride measured 29 miles with 2,275 feet of climbing. We brought extra clothes for the descent, but they weren’t needed on this warm day.

This is a fantastic ride that would be great schedule as a short-notice club ride. There might even be one more weekend this year to ride this road without cars. WSDOT clears the snow from Monday to Thursday, leaving the road available for recreation from Friday to Sunday. To repeat this ride in the future, we will have to monitor WSDOT's updates and hope for good weather.