Seattle loves bikes

This morning started off like many. Cars acting like bikes didn't belong or were non-existent. Even with gas prices creeping back up, they drive like there's no tomorrow. Last week was kind of nice. UW was on spring break. I guess the public schools were too. One morning I rode to work in what was almost a ghost town. And this was on a weekday! It was pretty strange.

So, anyway, today was the usual dicing with cars. Careless or malicious, who knows? As I roll up to the shop, I notice road work going on where the Burke-Gilman Trail crosses Blakeley. They were installing trail crossing signs and painting the curbs around the island in the street a nice fluorescent yellow.
Wow! Non-car oriented transportation dollars being spent! It was like a beautiful dream. I've been calling the appropriate city agencies about all the near misses and bad behavior I've witnessed over the past year and a half. And now, something is done about it. Government in action, I guess it really happens. I would like to give a big Riding and Ranting thank you to Carol Wittig of Seattle DOT for coming out and listening to my concerns. She was very helpful and seemed to really care about what I was talking about. It remains to be seen if any of these changes help with the problems but it's a start.

1000 Miles

I hit 1000 miles for the year on my ride today. I just kind of meandered around town. Nothing interesting happened until I got down to the waterfront. The crowds and cars were thick under the Viaduct (HWY 99). I figured it must by a game or something as there were a lot of kids in the cars. Then I started noticing a lot of punk rockers and skinhead looking people around. Curious. I turned up Main into Pioneer Square. First I noticed the construction at Occidental Square, then I noticed the battalion of cops and the large groups of punk rockers and skinhead looking people. I rode over to some bike cops intent on getting some info. They had a kid cuffed. He was asking if his was a felony arrest. The answer was "Yes". I didn't hear what he was arrested for.

I asked the nearest cop what was going on. He said it was a combined crowd of St. Patrick's Day Parade attendees and war protesters. Oh yeah, today is the 3 year anniversary of President Smirking Monkey's invasion. I wish I'd been paying attention. I would have participated. I rode off as things seemed a bit tense. Cyclists in lycra are not ready for protest action. The rest of the ride was routine but, I had a nice ride. Routine or not.

It felt like Spring out. I'm more than ready for some warmer weather. Even with the incredibly lousy weather we had in February, I'm 70 miles ahead of the same day last year. WooHoo! Karla was not as excited by that news as I was. She mentioned how I said I wouldn't be riding as many miles this year as I did last year. Damn! That'll learn me to keep my mouth shut!

New Blog

This link will take you to my bike parts for sale blog.
http://bike-parts4sale.blogspot.com/
Buy early, buy often.

South Wind, Black Sky

South Wind, Clear Sky (Red Fuji) by Katsushika Hokusai

I had two rides in one today. I rolled out around 12:30 or so. A pretty morning and early afternoon. The sun was shining, a few clouds, it felt like Spring. I took a meandering route to the shop. On Interlaken , I met a guy named John riding a nice looking Rivendell Atlantis. We talked for 10 minutes or so and I was off again. I'm always surprised when I meet another Rivendell rider I don't know or have never heard of. I just assume they all know about the online Rivendell community. He does now.

Behind Husky Stadium I encountered a guy carrying a turtle. He said it was crawling across the dirt parking lot we were on the edge of. He carried it to the edge of the water and set it down. Another wild animal saved from being road kill. Hooray!

I arrived at the shop around 1:30, where I found my check waiting. A pleasant surprise. They're usually later than that. I headed north on the trail, aiming for the Washington Mutual at Lake Forest Park Center, about 8 miles from the shop. Still sunny, people smiling when you passed. Nice. I got to the bank and deposited my king's ransom of a paycheck and turned around to head home.
Surprise! The sky to the south was black with swirling clouds. The kind that have more than rain in them. The temperature dropped and I got snowed and hailed on. No big deal. I was dressed right and it was a novelty I don't get to ride in very often. There wasn't enough to change the surface conditions so it was just kind of fun. I totaled 40 miles for the day and had a good time.

The Weather

Man, the weather this week has been craptastic. Driving wind and rain, unseasonably cold, just crappy. Mixed snow and rain possible tomorrow. I know it's still winter. Around here winter is usually over by February 20th. And the last couple have been really mild. You get spoiled after a while. I'm off tomorrow and Saturday. Know what I'm gonna do? Yep, ride my bike.

Pictured above: Some guy riding in the snow.

The Monkey is Abroad

Isn't this a great image? It's the project of some people at this website:

http://www.spectropolis.info/projects.php

They have rigged a computer control to spray paint cans. Any message can be programmed in and sprayed as you roll. Amazing! I haven't seen this here in Seattle. Yet.

So, President Smirking Monkey is in Pakistan right now. Awfully brave of him, I have to admit. I wonder where Osama is. Wouldn't that be something if Osama was in Peshawar too? They could get together and talk about oil. Or maybe they could just duke it out. Dubya would kick his ass, I'm sure. All that clean livin', ya know. Plus, God is on his side. Osama looks wiry, though. I imagine living on the run toughens a guy up. And living in caves would piss anyone off.

Now, on to more pleasant things.

The weather around here has cleared up nicely. Yesterday the mountains looked like they were laser etched against the sky. Just beautiful. On yesterday's ride I must have seen 10 friends of mine all out on rides of their own. I think stopping and talking got me home an hour later than I'd figured on. No matter, it's always good running into friends. What's funny is that I almost always ride by myself. Solitary Man, that's what I am.

We've gotten to that part of the year where it's hard to dress properly for a ride. I usually end up overdressing. Layer, always layer. Today I'll go a little lighter weight. Hopefully I won't cook myself.

The Ti bike project is stalled currently. We are re-financing the house and don't want to embark on anything spendy until we see how it all plays out.

Here is my new tagline:
Lots of happy thoughts here
Ride bikes, drink beer.

See you out there.