It’s tomorrow! I will riding a piece of Seattle’s history. This is a thing no cyclists after me will ever be able to do. I’m fine with rain, but I hope it’s not too cold. Fingers crossed for a great time!
The Tunnel Ride is Only a Carmageddon Away
source: Cascade Bicycle
It’s official! I’m registered for The Tunnel Ride this February. It seems like forever away, especially will so many downtown workers worried to death about the upcoming construction. It will be an unforgettable ride with the Wooleaster. I plant to take a lot of pictures. Crossing fingers now for a rain-free morning.
Tunnel Ride
Cascade Bicycle Club just announced this ride, and it sounds spectacular! The Alaskan Way Viaduct has been on the minds of every Seatteite for years. We spent a long time debating it’s safety, it’s future, and the replacement tunnel process. This bike ride, as part of a Grand Opening celebration, makes the whole toil fun! What an opportunity to be a part of Seattle’s history! At the same time, the ride costs $40 for just 12.5 miles. That sounds like highway robbery…literally. I have a few weeks to make a decision, but knowing me, I’m gonna go for it!
PSA: Cyclists might not be safe riding in the bike lanes! It's slippery leaf season!
I love fall leaves, they are a beautiful sign of the changing seasons. They are also terrifying for anyone on 2 wheels. A car pulled in front or me to turn ride on Greenwood avenue last night. I locked my brakes to avoid hitting them and skidded all the way out of the bike lane, into traffic. It had rained recently and wet leaves were under my tires. Wet leaves destroy traction and hide potholes, rocks, glass, and other hazards to cyclists. If you drive a car, please note that a cyclist might be riding in the road instead of the bike lane. Don't worry, that's legal in Washington state. Know that the Cyclist isn't trying to be an ass, the leaves are probably just too slick to ride on safely. Also note that braking distance is double what it is in dry weather, which may cause unpredictable behavior. Here's to hoping we all stay safe this fall and enjoy all the colors!!
Sharing the Road
Last night I had the pleasure of sharing the road with this particular cyclist. I’ve seen her riding downtown a few times. She carries a toddler-age boy in the back rack of her cargo bike. He sits on the platform, no belts or straps. She doesn’t ride ‘downtown fast’, but she rides with expert skill. She talks to him constantly, and they manage to have civil conversations among all the sounds of engines, horns, sirens, construction, buskers, etc. Some conversations I’ve overheard:
Cyclist: “Which way should we go, bud?”
Kid: “Dexter!”
C: “OK! Are you warm enough?”
K: “No I’m cold!”
C: “OK, let me get out your sweater. OK, put your arm through. I going to throw it at you if the light turns green. You’re going to have to hold onto it. Can you do that?”
K: “Yeah!”
C: “Other arm! Look we did it!”
K: “You are masterful!”
C: (giggles) “Aw, thank you!...Hold on! Here come the bumps!”
K: “Yay_y_y_y!”
C: “Did you get a drink? Is your tea still warm?”
K: “Got a drink, but it’s cold.”
C: “Wow, I’m surprised.”
K: “But it’s still tea!”
C: (chuckles) “That’s right! It’s still tea!”
It makes my day to listen to them having such a nice time. It’s also great to ride behind her, because the traffic parts like the red sea around her. Clearly no car wants to get anywhere near a bike holding a tiny bobbling helmet with little feet sticking out. Still, considering how terrified I am just trying to get myself home, I can’t imagine how she keeps so calm carrying such precious cargo.
RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party) 2018
I first heard about RSVP when I rode the STP (Seattle to Portland Ride) years ago. I decided then that I had to do it. I mean, it has the word "party" in it! Back then, the rider registration filled up early on. It was such a popular ride that a second one was offered. Even though there were 2 options, the dates didn't work in with my schedule year after year. This was my lucky year. The Wooleaters decided to do it again (several of them have done the ride before) and I jumped in. There's something better about finishing a ride that just happened to be on your 'bucket list'.
Distance: 189 (over 2 days)
Pace: enthusiastic tight riding team
Mechanicals: We had a list of strange, but not debilitating 'mechanicals'. I lost my gloves in the rest room at the Lynden rest area. After looking for them I assumed all was lost, but Jessi suggested I check the food table again. After that recommendation, I saw them at the mechanic's tent. Yay! Bryant left his sunglasses in his luggage and had to buy a cheesy gas station pair. They were fabulous. Jessi's fender decided to rub on her tire weirdly. She stopped at a mechanic and they fixed it. Bryant stepped on his fender flap and it fell off. I decided it was due as well, considering all he did was step on it. Abby's fender also made a weird noise for some reason. Then at the very end of her ride her bell fell off the bike and she had to loop around to look of it.
Flats: I got a flat riding out the gate. Literally 2 minutes in. A thorn. Guess I was due.
Wildlife: There was much, but most notable were the black squirrels of northern Washington and at the Canada border. Not much road kill to speak of.
Weather: Smoke from nearby fires made the air quality dangerously poor, with the index over 150 in places. News mentioned breathing Washington air was as unhealthy as smoking 7 cigarettes and that the air was worse then Beijing. But. It lifted Friday morning just before the ride started and sunk again in full force Sunday after the ride was long over. In fact, the drive home Sunday exposed me to some of the worst air I've ever breathed. The temperatures were cool. I wore my new little jacket all morning both days. I could have been more heavily dressed, but I was also fine as I was. I've been inordinately lucky in weather lately.
Snacks: ride stops early on treated us with delicious muffins, scones and hard-boiled eggs. Each stop had stuffed Cliff bars, some sort of dried fruit and fresh fruit option. One stop handed out entire sleeves of Oreo's. Water was aplenty, but some of the spigots ran very slow. Overly sweet Nuun was available at every stop; I took some for the last push of each day. The Canada stops boasted a cookie in a Kiwi box. I excitedly grabbed several, curious what a Kiwi cookie would taste like. Turns out they were ordinary chocolate chip cookies that happened to be packed in a Kiwi box. I grabbed a Rice Crispies treat to save for Bryan. But I ate it at the Chuckanut viewpoint and it was delicious. The best stop wasn't a sanctioned one. Hosted by a family as a fundraiser, perfectly poised that the top of the last hill on Chuckanut drive. Known near and far as the lemonade stand, signs preparing us for the stop started cheering us on miles early. "Clap! Clap! Clap!" they said, and other comments about how awesome we were and how much we needed lemonade. They were raising money for college. I guess in years past they raised money for various camps, back to having their kids, back to getting married, and then on. This family grew up with RSVP going by their house every year.
Meals: RSVP had a clever option for lunch on day 1. Several local businesses offered a "ride meal" that you could exchange with a coupon attached to your bib. You could also exchange the coupon for $7 of food inside the restaurant. We chose this option at the Stilly Diner. Kreg ordered pancakes. I ordered French toast. My meal appeared, a tiny pat of food on a gigantic plate. Kreg's order arrived, massive pancakes bigger than his head. It was not clear how to options priced the same could be so different, but Kreg kindly shared his. He gave me way too much. I drank several cups of coffee from the coffee pot. This is a new thing I never used to do. Once we arrived in Bellingham, we ate at the Brewery. I had a too-sweet cider and delicious poutine. The hotel we overnighted in offered a breakfast in the waiting room of the front desk. It was pretty good. I ate Trader Joe's style hash browns, an English muffin, sausage, and a hard boiled egg. I did not have enough caffeine. The party portion after the ride in Vancouver boasted a beer garden. We sat there for a spell, but they only offered beer so I drank nothing. After that we had another food ticket for the food trucks at the park. After waiting in line for a long time at the choice food truck, they ran out of food so we grabbed some corn on a stick at another, but they wouldn't accept the meal ticket so we grabbed some hot dogs too. After eating all that food, we ate more at a lavish Italian joint in downtown Vancouver.
Videos of the Ride
Photos of the Ride
Many photos credited to The Wooleaters
Ride Details
Note that a programming error from Garmin made day 1 appear to happen on Thursday evening when really it happened Friday morning.
Ode to My White Bicycle
A random search down Spotify lane connected me with this amazing song. I accepted the color of my bike. Sure, I'd had a lot of unintentional white forms of transportation in my life. My first car was white. My second car was white. My boyfriend's car is white. My vanerhome is white. It coordinates perfectly with the white bike rack and white car, but white is so, bland and....vanilla. Then I found this song. I don't think I'll ever be able to have a bike any other color from here on out. So here is an ode to my white bicycle for a feel good Friday.
The lyrics can speak to the Seattle experience:
“The rain comes down, but I don’t care
Wind is blowing in my hair
Seagulls flying in the air
My white bicyle
My white bicycle”
Minor mod and it's still Seattle Riding:
“Ridin’ all around the streets
Four o’clock and they’re all asleep*
I’m not tired and it’s so late
Movin’ fast everything looks great
My white bicycle
*replace with “traffic’s knee deep” to better capture the Seattle experience”
Uneeda Bike Ride (with Unicorns on the side)
An example of collaborative planning in the simplest sense. Abby suggested we ride on Saturday (rain was planned to saturate Sunday). Bryant picked the Green River Trail Route (the route proved to be low in wind and traffic). I picked the start time (rain started just as our ride came to a close). We had a delightful finish at Uneeda Burger where I enjoyed a tasty Rhubarb Seattle Cider.
The Bike Everywhere Challenge Recap
The Bike Everywhere challenge is over! Our team captain, Jessie (also a Wooleater) led our team of 10 riders to logging no less than 1550 miles! Between the 10 of us, we took 283 riding trips in one month. Not bad for a bunch of nerds! I personally rocked it. I usually ride about 65 miles a week, but I exceeded that this month somehow. No wonder I've been so tired!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
I earned all 8 tacos for Bike Everywhere Month in just 3 days! I set me goal next week for 12 tacos! Will I make it? Only taco will tell!
Tacos!
It's "Bike Everywhere Month" once again. Bike Month happens every May, and each time I feel bittersweet about it. This year I have a new goal. Tacos! Can I burn/earn 8 tacos in 1 week? I am new to the taco measurement system, so I am not sure what it takes. Needless to stay, I'm already 1.41 tacos down and it's the first day. Looking good!
Being a Tourist in Your Hometown
When I am looking for a pick-me-up, the easiest thing for me to do is pretend I am a tourist in my own home town. Oftentimes I find I am surrounded by amazing beauty, but the familiar pales behind the unusual. This week offered a rare tease of sunshine and blue sky, so I took the opportunity to take a long route home from work and enjoy some amazing scenery that I don't usually see.
Emerald City Bike Ride 2018
When you start riding at 5:30am in a heavy downpour with 30mph wind gusts...on a Sunday, you know you are going to an organized ride. When you see dozens of other riders on the streets with you, you know it's because they are going to the same ride as you...and that they are only going because they paid for it.
Beautiful start to #EmeraldCityRide! A little light rain isn’t gonna stop us! pic.twitter.com/UDQ0CrvpJq
— Cascade Bicycle Club (@CascadeBicycle) April 8, 2018
We started out wet and chilly. My Showers Pass jacket lost its waterproofing, so I layered another rain jacket underneath...that also lost it's waterproofing. My right arm has streams of water running down my sleeves within moments. I tried to prevent my Reynaud's fingers from acting up by lining my thick winter gloves with hand warmers, even though the 45 degree temp didn't call for that much warmth. It didn't work. Water soaked through to my hands and my precious shifting digits went numb before I even got to the start. Abby didn't have shoe booties and struggled having the same disappointing jacket as me. Bryant had a better jacket, but didn't seem to be any more comfortable. The cluster of a start line didn't know anything about our "souvenir" tickets and lacked the breakfast-y food options I planned for. What were we doing?
The the road started. Riding up the SR-99 viaduct opened up into quintessential Seattle; rain, ferries, the big wheel, The Space Needle (complete with construction), construction cranes as far as the eye could see, sea gulls, Elliott bay. We reveled in the glory of riding on a wide, smooth carless road. What would it be like to commute to downtown, safe from hazards and with views of the Olympic Mountains?
We rode up Aurora Avenue, crossing the Aurora Bridge. This infamous bridge is known for the tragic tour bus collision of 2015 and the bus driver shooting of 1998. Judging by it's outdated design, I can only assume many more died less sensationally over this bridge. On a bike, the bridge felt pleasant and delightful. The road seemed more accommodating on a bike than it does in a car.
Then, it was onto the I-5 express lanes. As we rode of the ramp during Emerald CIty's inaugural ride, I only felt tingling sensations of splendor with increasing magnitude. Today's express lane experience couldn't have felt more opposite. The cold wind howled. Water dumped in regular breaks from the breaks in the bridge above. The dismal view gave nothing to the spirit. And it just kept climbing. The deafening sound from cars on the freeway hurt to listen to.
Then we hopped into the tunnel. Fun again! Hoots and hollers, call and response, bells dinging. I even caught a guy writing graffiti in the soot of the tunnel walls. The day increasingly improved from here. The spirits of each Wooleater lifted. We crossed the finish line, and started the ride all over again. More people seemed to be starting the ride than when we started the first time. The sky got a little brighter, the air got a little warmer, and we started having a lot more fun.
Emerald City Bike Ride Sunday
The Wooleaters and I rode the first-ever Emerald City Bike Ride. It felt so epic being part of a first, that I felt no interest being part of the second. The route enticed me this year, however, and I feel compelled to do it again. We'll be riding over the Aurora bridge, which seems novel, especially since the bf once suggested it as a commute route. More exciting is the route taking us over the viaduct. The viaduct! Can a bike takeover in Seattle get any more epic than that? I don't think so.
Join me in getting pumped for this ride by revisiting posts I made about the first time. And for all of you non-cyclists in Seattle: don't get in a car on Sunday. Period. Especially if you have any interested in getting downtown, or out of town, or anywhere really.
Kids on the bike path!
Youngsters wandering willy-nilly all over the bike path? Adults readily round kids up to the sound of screeching brakes and seem to completely ignore dinging bells or "excuse me!" hollers. At least that's the case in Seattle. I've been running a quiet survey during my recent sunny rides on bike paths. Luckily, I can get a good loud squeal by lightly squeezing my disks just so.
Mind you, I never give the customary "On your left" to pass youngsters unless they clearly show they are path-trained before I approach. I'll happily wait, it often cheers me up to see how much fun one can have on a path. Oddly enough, adults seem to hover most closely around kids learning to ride a bike than on foot. What they don't know is that I can predict where a kid on a bike will go. They only have so many directions they can do, and they don't change pace quickly. I quit riding The Bridge Pedal ride in Portland because too many kids swerved left and right, without any awareness of the people around them, The Bridge Pedal was so saturated with riders that options were limited should you need to swerve on account of a kid swerving. A bike path though, there is room to bank wide around kids on bikes. And any tentative kid, just trying to get the hang of a bike gets an emphatic "Whoo hoo! You got it!" from me as I pass. Kids of foot, though, you can't guess where they are going. I won't pass kids on foot before their adult is alert.
Fair-weather Friends
The rain, the road and I, have been very tight over the winter. We’ve been there for each other through the thick and thin. With each passing day, a little more daylight creeps into my commute, and a few more fair-weather riders take on the road. This springtime, every springtime, I feel a little like a junior high kid losing a popularity contest. We’ve been so close, and now all these other folks are riding all around my road, like it’s nothing. They don’t know what we’ve been through. Pretty soon I’ll be a minority, passed every few seconds by all these fresh faces, legs quick and nimble from a winter without darkness.
Happy Holidays!
The commuter is all ready for the annual Wooleater Jingle Bell Ride. Totally getting into the holiday spirit. Even playing Christmas songs. It should be a great ride!
Drivers! Stop texting!
I approached the intersection at Bell and 5th avenue. One car sat behind a red light. A car parked along the street suddenly jutted it's front end out, so that it was partially in the lane. It didn't use a turn signal, but I guessed that it's goal was to get onto the street when the light turned green. I decided to be a nice citizen and let the car go in front of me, even though I was already next to it in the lane. It didn't matter, my next light will be red no matter how long it takes me to get through the intersection. I was in no rush. I positioned myself behind the car, which was a little weird since it was crooked, but I wanted to make clear I was letting it go first. The light turned green and the first car drove off. The crooked car didn't move. I waited. beat. wait. beat. wait. Well, maybe I totally misinterpreted the car and it was actually trying to park again or something. So, I slowly pedaled up to it's passenger window and peered in. The driver had her head buried into her phone. I guess she wasn't going after all. So, I proceeded forward to pass the car. The SECOND I got in front of the car she bolted and the car lurched forward. I swerved. It stopped. I leaned back and gave the driver the arms out, shoulder lifted, "What gives?" gesture, then went on my way. Granted, I was much closer to the car than I normally would have been, given that the car was half way in the lane and that I pulled up to look inside. I am CERTAIN the driver concluded that I was an asshole cyclist; she had a green light and I pulled in front of her! The nerve! I really hope that the light turned yellow before she got to go. That's my only hope for her to realize that she was the one in error.
Commuting in autumn
I absolutely love commuting this time of year. The rain has just started falling. Tourists are away, locals are back at work and school and have their noses to the grindstone. I have the roads (compared to summer) all to myself. The cyclists are few. The pedestrians are practically nonexistent. The sky smells clean and fresh. The temperatures are perfect to feel comfortable in long sleeves, and excess layers are not needed. I am not cold, nor am I sweaty. The low sunset casts a warm, red-brown glow on everything. Riding home, the whole world looked rosy and delightful, almost like the whole of outside was lit by a candle. Now is the the precious and brief moment when the nearly all the leaves have changed to vibrant hues of orange, red, yellow, and brown and are still on the trees. Winds have been low this month, and while the bike lanes are already colorful and light with fallen leaves, most tress still look full. Rain dapples down, and cools my warm, flushed cheeks. It sprinkles against my arms and bounces off the road. Part of the splendor of this time of year is that everything feels new. Nothing has overstayed it's welcome. Four months into the winter the rain gets tiresome. By the end of summer, the traffic gets tiresome. Now, we are in a delightful transition period. On my bike, I get to greet each day as though it were an old firend, "Hey, you. It's been a year. I missed you!"
Blackout Bike Bingo
Bicycle Benefits Bike Bingo Seattle 2017!
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.