This year’s Tulip Ride was an even bigger success than last year. Things were looking doubtful weatherwise: yesterday, the weather dropped into the mid-30’s and we had snow for about an hour on the eastside in Redmond and on the Sammamish Plateau. For today, all of the forecasts aligned on sunshine, and for once they were right! Since we had already postponed once, it as a good thing that we got one nice day of riding weather today.

Since digital photography has made it possible for people to snap thousands of photos on a ride like this, I’ve created a flickr group called Tulip Ride 2006 that everyone can post their photos to! I’ll include just a few example photos below; click any of them to visit the group photo pool. In the flickr photo pool, you can even draw on the photos to leave notes to others. Please feel free to add names and captions, as I can’t possibly cover all of these photos myself.

Click here for a slideshow of everyone’s pictures from the ride.

We all met up as Microsoft’s Millennium campus as planned. Willow Bay Manufacturing, one of this year’s sponsors, had hot Starbuck’s coffee and Krispy Kreme doughnuts on hand for everyone. With it being a bit chilly out, this really started the day off on a good foot. Everyone seemed happy at the starting point:

   

Based upon feedback from riders on last year’s Tulip Ride, we took the first leg a bit slower. It’s a good thing, as the construction in Kirkland and Everett has the road surfaces in rough shape. We arrived at the Tulalip Casion right on time, and met up with several more bikes. The eventual line-up of motorcycles was impressive, to say the least…

We took a brief break to gas up at the usual Shell station north of Stanwood. People were beginning to look hungry.

Unfortunately, the only tulips that we saw were at flower stands or in people’s gardens. The fields were apparently mowed the previous week. Same story as last year: too late in the month to see the flowers. The ride was still well worth it. We cruised through the Skagit Valley and landed in LaConner for lunch at Palmer’s, where they are always nice to large groups of bikers. Everyone had a good meal and was ready to hit the road again.

One more stop along the way down Whidbey Island: Deception Pass. Here is a shot along the way to the pass, as well as a few pictures of the incredible views from the bridge.

The ferry ride home was downright funny. Motorcycles get priority loading, and we have a pack of 35 bikes that all managed to get onto the ferry - much to the dismay of many cagers. But waiting for us aboard the boat was a state patrol car! We managed to completely surround him.

Overall it was a pretty wonderful day. We got chilly, but we stayed dry. Most importantly, everyone was safe and came home ready for another group ride. In fact, most everyone suggested that we do these types of rides more often. We have suggestions for a Mt. St. Helens run, as well as a trip to Mt. Rainier. Both are great ideas, and we want to do them this summer. Keep your eye here on The Hog Blog for announcements!

Thanks to all of our riders, passengers, and sponsors for making today so much fun for all.

Jeff

PS: A few folks have asked how they can get original-sized versions of these photos. It’s easy: Just create a free account on Flickr, and log in. Once you’ve done that, any picture that you’re looking at can be viewed at different sizes, including the original version. They’re big, though: about 4.3MB each. Enjoy!

                     

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