The Wooleaters played Bike Bingo this year and I got blackout! This game brought me to new neighborhoods and into new establishments I wouldn't have ventured into otherwise. 

Highlights include:

• I stopped at the Green Bean for drinks and Chaco Canyon for snacks when I biked to the Greenwood Car Show. The whole experience enlivened a love for my local neighborhood. It felt like a community, and I now feel the need to spend more time in the neighborhood itself. 
• Bryant and I went on an epic ride through south Seattle on a very hot summer day. Most memorable was the stop at Flying Lion Brewery. The cool drinks couldn’t have come at a better time. We were hot, tired, and thirsty! The drinks didn’t disappoint. I had some of the best ciders I’ve ever tasted!
• The clerk at Free Range Bicycles asked me to share a talent with them before stamping my card. I stammered, caught off guard. What talents? I thought for a moment and then share a photo of a picture I drew. He loved it!
• I followed another Bike Bingo contestant to several stores one day after work. We stopped at Theo Chocolates at the same time and bought chocolate. We also arrived at Greenwood Hardware at the same time. The hardware store is along my route home from work, so I didn’t think much of it. This stamp was essentially a freebie for me. The guy, however, had been biking all day long getting stamps. He was hot and tired. I didn’t expect the feeling of comradery and community from Bike Bingo. I ran into so many cyclists with their signature Bingo cards all month long. We all smiled, waved, and shared stories. We talked about the routes we took to various places, what we bought, and the weather. It’s all small talk, but so fun to connect. When we entered Greenwood Hardware, the associate told us we had to find the spider before we could get our stamp. Needless to say, both he and I looked right at it and didn’t see it. We wondered the whole store. I saw so many stuffed animals, mascots and trinkets hidden all around the store. I delighted in this sort of personality you can’t get in a big box chain. Finally, the associate took pity on me and showed me the inflated spider toy hanging from the ceiling. Right there where she pointed when I walked in! D’oh!
• I rode to Sunset Hill and Tangletown for stamps, both places that escaped my exploration before. I feel in love with both neighborhoods instantly. The Sunset Hill Green Market reminded me of a lovely neighborhood grocer I walked to while vacationing at an Air bnb in Vancouver, Canada. I didn’t believe such a cute neighborhood existed in my own hometown!
• I met the bf at Full Tilt in Ballard. This took some effort since I kept riding into Ballard amidst giant summer festivals that closed the roads. The guy loves himself some ice cream, however, so I had to treat him. The server there remarked how happy she was that we bought something. Apparently she had a rash of bingo players who just stamped and ran. Never had I felt so good about spending money! I tried spending money everywhere I went, but it wasn’t always easy. The cashier at Ride Bicycles had a very hard time ringing up the tube I tried to buy. I am not sure why, but it took several tries and 2 other cashiers to do it. I read the website for Mighty O wrong and got there right as they closed. They still stamped my card, but I felt bad that they couldn’t sell me any doughnuts! 
• I stopped at Tutta Bella for a late lunch. I filled about half my card at this point, but hadn’t yet started reaping the benefits. Getting to Tutta Bella by bike from work proved to be a hair-bending journey through construction, traffic and road closures. Construction noise filled the air and it took a while for me to find the restaurant. I sat down outside to relax before ordering. At that moment, my notebook flew open in the wind. My table sat several stories up and I watched my papers fly up and over the railing into the street below. My precious Bike Bingo card flew up with them! I grabbed for the card with all the reflexive speed I could muster. I caught it just in time. I have no idea what papers I lost. Surely pages with my deepest secrets and credit card info. But who cares, I saved the Bike Bingo card!
• I earned a free slice of Pizza at Ian’s Pizza, so I brought the bf there so I could also buy a slice. They had so many fun flavors! I got pizza with French fries and BBQ sauce on it! The location is not convenient for me to get to, but I want to try all their flavors now! The whole scene made both my bf and I nostalgic for college. 
• I concluded my game at Peddler Brewing, where my final blackout stamp earned me a free Growler, fill, and pint. I met Bryant and Kristen, and we enjoyed our spoils!

Bike Bingo proved to be challenging, rewarding, engaging, and delightful. It felt like work at times, but overall a time to indulge in the privilege of living in a robust city full of local businesses and bike-able streets. I'll keep my blacked-out bingo card forever. I imagine I'll laugh and chuckle remembering these humble adventures when I'm 83.