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Posted to r.m.h on July 20, 1999
I was planning to leave for Slimefest by noon Friday, solo, however, as we all know most best laid plans etc. So, when I read dp's first post from the mountain indicating that there were several SO's there, I asked my lovely SO Brenda whether she wanted to come with me seeing as how the best weather forecasts showed the same sun that we had outside for the weekend. She said sure, and started packing. We couldn't find a second sleep pad, so off to Canadian Tire to buy a cheap ($2.97) air mattress. Got packed, loaded the bike, and there we were on the road at 4:00 PM. Get caught in rush hour traffic, but with some creative use of the "bus lane" and lane splitting, we get through "the tunnel", and head for the border. Long line up at the Douglas Crossing, so we check the "truck" crossing, still very long, so shoot over to the "Aldergrove" crossing. Fair line there, but see a couple of bikes about 10 cars from the front, so split some lanes and pull in with them. It was a guy and a girl on a Soft-tail and a Sportster who were heading to the Winthrop Blues Festival. We rode together down to Bellingham and down I5 to 20 where they split off to Winthrop, and we stayed on the slab heading south at a pretty steady 75-80. We actually used our shadow to check the T-Bag going through Mount Vernon. Then BAM! just as we get to Everett the sky opens up with a torrential thunderstorm. Get off the slab quickly at the next exit and pull under the canopy at an Arco (need gas anyway). By the time we get our rain gear on (Brenda now looking like a totally fashionable Banana Slug) the cloudburst eases and we head south hoping to outrun the main storm. Head through Seattle on I405 on almost dry roads, till we get to Renton, when the rain hits again with a vengeance. Get onto 169 which is a nice 2 lane and ride carefully through the rain for the next 30 miles. In Maple Corners shifting becomes to say the least very difficult. I thought that it was just the large volume of water jamming up my forward controls, but, it turns out we snapped the detent spring. So we proceed very carefully adjusting the shift lever back to center between shifts with my toe, for the remaining very dark 20 miles to the campground. Arrive at slug central about 9:15 to very quickly meet Hoppy and Patti, Slowhand, Lucky, dp, MaGGie, Snarl and Jeanne, and Heekster Barb (sorry if I missed anyone), as we had already decided we would go to the Motel in Enumclaw, rather than try to set up a tent in the pouring rain. We then had to leave very quickly, as Ranger Rick and the Ranger Chick were coming to lock the gate. Dashed the 10 miles to the Motel which was very co-operative about giving us a ground floor room, and let me ride through the back yard so I could park the Porkster on the patio under a deck, right next to the patiodoor in the room. Got all our gear off and drying. Went next door to catch last call at the restaurant to finally get some dinner at 10:30 PM. Got up at 7:00 AM, it was grey and drizzly, so we decided to play it by ear and head back up to the campsite. Upon arrival, we put all our rain gear back on. We then found that Randy and Sandra Scurr had showed up, and da MadMan rolled in shortly thereafter followed by Barry(AH#36), his SO, and MadMan's wife Candace. After a minimal number of lies being swapped we took off for breakfast in Black Diamond. En-route I discovered that the rain the night before had melted the hairspray holding my left handlebar grip on, as it came off in my hand, so, I put it in my pocket, and carried on. Breakfast was great, many lies were swapped and much food consumed. Rode back to the campsite where we dried out the grip with the hand drier in the washroom, and crazy glued it on using Patti's umbrella as a shelter. Hung out and swapped lies for a while till the Ranger Chick came by at 1:00 PM to try to collect for additional stays, at which point several people started breaking camp. Brenda and I wished a great group of new friends farewell, got back on the Porkster, and rode off into the drizzle. The weather improved by the time we got to Renton, the raingear came off shortly thereafter, and we blasted up the slab with only a gas-stop in Bellingham, to be home by 4:30PM. Overall, a terrific time was had by one and all - if we could only wash off this persistent slime which seems to be everywhere.
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