I posted a story a short while ago about Justin Merle who on Wednesday set the record for the fastest climb from Paradise to the summit of Mount Rainier and back.

The 29-year-old guide from Ashford on Wednesday broke the record set by Chad Kellogg in 2004.

It took Merle 4 hours, 49 minutes and 35 seconds to go from Paradise at 5,400 feet to the summit at 14,411 feet and back down.

Click here to read the complete story.

Gifford Pinchot National Forest Forest officials will reopen Road 25 Saturday. This road provides key north/south access from Randle and Packwood to Swift Reservoir and other areas on the south end, and also on the east side of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, according to a U.S. Forest news release.

Drivers should use caution on Forest Road 25 as some road areas may have settled, and rocks and other debris may be on the road bed.

At the north end of Forest Road 25, a bridge project will enable coho salmon to access additional habitat in Woods Creek. A temporary bridge bypass allows drivers to access Forest Road 25 with only minor delays at milepost 4, south of Randle. This project will begin later this month.

Here is more from the release:

Forest Road 99 which provides access to Windy Ridge Interpretive Site is not open. Forest road crews are assessing the heavy snow pack and winter storm damage effect on this higher elevation Forest Road.

Forest Road 23, a major cross-Forest route between Randle and Trout Lake remains closed by snow. A washout 0.8 miles north of the junction
with Forest Road 90 will only allow access to Takhlakh Lake Campground by traveling south from Randle, on Forest Road 23. Construction to repair this section of road will begin later this summer.

Due to flood damage, Forest Road 81 remains closed between Kalama Horse Camp and Forest Road 830 leading to Climbers Bivouac (Forest Road 830). Construction to repair this section of road is scheduled for the summer of 2009.

Access to the Climbers Bivouac remains limited due to snow, the closest access point is currently the junction of Forest Roads 81 and 830.

Forest Road 83 is open to the Marble Mountain Sno-Park. But Road 83 is closed to all motorized traffic east of the Marble Mountain Sno-Park, due to flood damage. This has closed access to the Lahar and Lava canyons on the south side of Mount St. Helens. Construction to repair this section of road is scheduled begin in late summer of 2008.

Click here for more information about accessing the forest.

Here we go again.

The Adventure Guys will once again be tagging along with the 9,500 participants in this weekend’s Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic.

Jeff, who hasn’t been on a bike since Nixon was in office, has trained nearly as much as me for the STP but he’s decided I’ll be doing the ride again this year.

It could get really ugly this year. I’m about 15-20 pounds overweight (not pretty in spandex and a bike jersey) so I’m planning on doing the ride in two days. Last year I did it in one day. I only have 900 training miles and my bike broke after 60 miles on my only century training ride.

I’ll be riding from Seattle to Kelso on Saturday (about 150 miles) and finishing up Sunday with a leisurely 50-mile roll into Portland.

I hope to talk to many riders along the way and I’ll post some of their stories here during the ride. Also check Monday morning’s News Tribune for coverage of this year’s event.