The forecast predicts a return to wet and cold weather soon, but conditions tonight were as good as they get. It's definitely spring in Spokane - and though I could go on about things like the river, balsamroot and osprey, I'll just say it's amazing out there right now, and if you're not out enjoying it, you're really missing out.

With Alicia and Amy out another week, Rick and Brian hung out at Empyrean for few minutes, until something incredibly, audaciously pink pulled to a stop outside the café – a pink Stella scoot with matching pink sidecar! Her name is Kimi (like a guy could manage a pink Stella!), and after she pulled her (pink) helmet off, we spent a few moments introducing ourselves, and – unavoidably – asking questions about the Stella and sidecar. Seems even though Kimi plans to visit regularly, she couldn’t make our ride that evening and wanted to at least drop by. More to come, it seems. Perhaps the evening’s biggest disappointment was that we didn’t get a photo of Kimi’s bike to prove our story; perhaps it was just imagined.

Another long, scenic loop followed. Rick led north on Aubrey L. White to the Five-Mile Bridge, then up Four Mounds road, and eventually back down the long, fast descent on Sullivan to the river at Nine-Mile Dam. It’s a good year for river flows thus far, and anything that tops the dam looked particularly good to us. Seeing the Spokane here at its peak, tearing through its canyon below – certainly the second highlight of the ride.