Honking constantly won't make you feel better

About once a month during rush hour downtown, someone driving behind me honks steadily. They don't just honk once, but they tap the horn again and again. Honk....Honk...Honk....Honk. This goes on for several blocks. When they get to a spot where they can pass me, they do so with one long honnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnk all the way until they get in front of me. Traffic only gets lite enough for cars to pass north of Pike, so they could be honking for several blocks. While trying to stay focused on the road, I ponder what's going on in the driver's mind. The first time this happened, I worried they were trying to alert me to something- my bag is open, my keys are dangling, my underwear are on outside of my pants. But no, this is never the case. It could be they hate all cyclists and spend their time honking at every one in their path. That seems unlikely. I conclude they must disagree with the legality of my behavior somehow. Most recently, rain fell with a heaviness unusual to the northwest. It was the sort of rain that completely saturated my pants and shoes before I even got across the street to start my commute. Needless to say, concern for my safety dominated my every decision. I understand that this could conflict with rush hour drivers, who main concern is to get home as quickly as possible. I rode in the center of the second lane out of four. IT couldn't be that I was riding slower than cars drive, because in rush hour I am just behind the car in front of me. Maybe they were angry because I wasn't riding in the lane with the designated "sharrows" on it. Problem is, that is the far left lane, which for 7 blocks is completely backed up with cars wanting to turn left at every block and having to wait for pedestrians to cross. It could be that I wasn't behaving like most cyclists behave downtown. Most cyclists, ride on the line between lanes. I've heard this called "white lining" and "midlining". It is a fast way for cyclists to pass cars. The biggest problem with that behavior is that it isn't safe. No one can predict what others are going to do. I will share a lane with a car, but only if all cars I'd pass are stopped at a red light and my and their next moves are predictable, or my lane becomes a turn-only lane and don't want to turn and can't keep up the pace with the cars in the next lane. Needless to say, while I am getting used to the honking, it is still aggravating to listen to when you are trying to concentrate on being safe.

Fremont Bridge count: 200

People, people everywhere

I saw so many other cyclists out there with me this morning. All it takes is a break in the weather and the numbers triple, quadruple, and then some. It’s still dark, cold, early, and raining. The record-breaking flood-inducing rains finally subsided, but the weather certainly isn’t ideal. I wonder what summer will look like. How congested will the bike lanes be when the weather is good and the sun is out? I didn’t start my rush-hour commute until the tail end of summer this year, so I don’t really know what I am in for. I grew up in a small town and lived in extremely rural areas for many years as an adult. The number of people bustling about in the downtown of a major American city can overwhelm. I tire from the number of people who gasp at my willingness to confront THE WEATHER on my bike. No one seems impressed by their own willingness to confront PEOPLE on the bus. PEOPLE spread disease. PEOPLE cause me great sadness, especially in the city where the full spectrum of human suffering is right out there, visible for us to absorb. Sure, I’d rather ride in good weather. But I’ll take dealing with the weather over people any day!

Familiar faces, familiar places

I am beginning to recognize the regular riders on my new commute. I only recognize the more distinctive riders. There’s “orange rafting bag” that I mentioned earlier. I also see “lady with embroidered jacket and light up traffic vest”. She and I share the same commute for at least 6 miles. I also see “tall sprinting guy with flappy green jacket”, “2 panniers and swift industries saddle bag”, “lady on cruiser who loves purple”, “tiny speed demon in tights” and “sprinting guy all in black”. There are more that I can’t think of right now.

I don’t see them all every day, but it is impressive the regularity that I see so many. Of course, I wouldn’t recognize any of them at all if they changed outfits or bikes. I assume to them I am “orange handlebars and monkey light.” It makes me wonder how many of the same cars we see every day, driving around. It’s harder for cars to look distinctive, so I may very well see the same 50 cars every day and not know it. One advantage to recognition I have on a bike, however, is that cyclists go a variety of different speeds. The guy going 10 miles an hour will be passed by everyone going 20 miles an hour even if their start times vary by minutes every day. Also, traffic lights are great equalizers. Fast people and slow people and people who left the same location minutes apart all bunch up at the same traffic light. It is on a stretch of 3 heavily congested traffic lights that I see most of the people I recognize. In a car, you may drive the same route at the same time as someone else, but if they are 5 cars ahead of you may never see them. These are the things I think about in those moments of boredom waiting for lights to change.

Rain, Rain

This picture captures the experience of everyone bike commuting in Seattle today. That is all.

Riding bikes in the rain like everyone should

Cascade Bicycle Club Made a riding in the rain specific playlist for all us crazy cyclists. Check it out! 

I won! I won!

The other night I attended Cascade Bicycle Club's Ride in the Rain Finale celebration. I sat with some work buddies and one of them won an individual membership to Cascade Bike Club. They were really hoping that they would win the family membership so their whole family could be members. I am glad they told me about the raffle, so I ran up to the ticket takers and entered my name into the final drawing. They called my name (even pronouncing it correctly! That's a big deal!). I ran up to the stage to collect my award, take a bow (on the stage no one was looking at), shake hands with the important people (handing out chips) and pose for the photographers (who were taking selfies).

I won a family membership! I offered to switch with my friends- I am happy to be a member, but there is no one else in my household who'd benefit from a membership. It turned out so perfectly! Thank you, Cascade!

massages and muscles

“Cycling is a unique sport in that it fundamentally relies on power from the abdominals and lower back, but does virtually nothing to build or maintain it. In fact, cycling can sap your core strength and actually create problems, says Patty Tomlin, an exercise physiologist certified in Pilates at Colorado’s Boulder Center for Sports Medicine. Many of the cyclists she sees have overdeveloped quadriceps muscles and weak hamstrings, a classic problem that is a result of pedaling. Even off the bike, those powerful quads pull the hips forward and down, and the weaker hamstrings can’t pull back enough. This leads to poor posture and weak lower-back and abdominal muscles, says Tomlin.”

— http://www.bicycling.com/training/fitness/improve-power-and-balance

Muscles used in cycling. Artwork from the tenth volume (second period of 1892) of the French popular science weekly 'La Science Illustree'.

My physician gave me a massage therapy referral. I can’t just lay down and get a massage though, with a medical massage half the time is spent trying to figure out what is wrong. I am asked to rank how difficult the tasks of daily life are. This process fills me with guilt, making me feel like I am not qualified to be getting massage. I remember those times the arthritis in my lower back acted up, sending lightning bolts of pain through all corners of my body with every movement. I remember swollen throbbings of my wrists waking me up in the middle of the night;  an immobilizing dull ache that dominated my hands for years after repetitive fishery work. I remember when the tension in my neck immobilized my entire jaw, rendering the simple act of eating a slice of bread physically impossible. The pain I am dealing with now doesn’t come close to comparing to those. I wish with longing I had the amazing insurance benefits then that I have now. I assume the pain I have is to be expected. I assume it’s the pain of being alive and working and commuting to work every day and not having a robust fitness routine to keep me balanced and limber. The pain wanders. One week, my knees take all the attention. The next week it’s my elbows, then the back, then the neck, and on in on in some sort of rotation.

However, I think the massage therapists might be on to something.  I might have a legitimate issue that can be treated. It all started when a therapist pointed out that my quads are “ripped”. Another said they were “incredibly overdeveloped.” Before I could feel pride, however, they pointed out that the rest of me is “underdeveloped, especially by comparison. My health club recently offered a free fitness test. I knocked the squats out like nobody’s business. The personal trainer said I was a top performer. But, the rest of me performed at below average. How can any part of me be…below average? I bike every day! I belong to a health club! I should at least be average! But, it’s all coming together.

The massage therapists explained that, because muscles work in pairs, my knee is taking on significant pressures due to the severe unbalancing of my hamstrings and quadriceps. A brief web search gave it a name: patellofemoral pain.

“The pedaling movement puts more stress on the fronts of your thighs than the backs, which can lead to powerful quads and lesser developed hamstrings and glutes. If your quads overpower your hamstrings, they’ll drag your hips forward and down. Your hamstrings are unable to counteract that tug, resulting in compromised posture and weakened core muscles. You’ll tire more quickly on the bike as well as face an increased risk of back strain and injury.

In Brian Halpern’s book “The Knee Crisis Handbook,” a seasoned amateur cyclist complained of patellofemoral pain, or pain in the front of and around his kneecap. The pain stemmed from an imbalance in the strength of his inner thighs in comparison to his outer thighs. Although his quads were well developed, his outer thighs were overpowering his inner thighs and pulling his kneecaps toward the sides of his legs. The muscular imbalance between his abductors and adductors was planting the seeds for a knee-related injury.”

— http://www.livestrong.com/article/515186-imbalances-in-cycling-leg-strength/

It is coming clear to me that I may soon be developing a medical reason to start the strengthening program I’ve been waiting to start for years. I have been trying to find something convenient, easy to commit to. The more the massage therapists treat me, the more I think that convenience may no longer be relevant.

Attack of the killer shower head! And other commuter foibles...

After my quiet, cold, rainy, dark and (oops!) spacey ride into work, I turned on the shower in the locker room like I do every morning. I follow a routine, where I turn on the water before I undress so the temperature gets warm by the rime I am ready. Much to my surprise, someone wedged the hanging shower head into the ADA bar such that water sprayed directly out of the shower stall. Water showered all over me, my pile of clean clothes, the rack of towels, chairs, shoes and floor. I woke up quickly, pulling everything away from the stream and peeling my own clothes off to minimize soaking them when I turned off the spigot. I don’t have a decent place to dry of my rainy day outerwear much less my inner layers! Luckily, I managed the whole situation with minimal damage and everything turned out well. Expect the floor. The entire floor of the small room looked like it had flooded. I will now check the showerhead every morning!

Bridge bike count: 125

Bike ride display and showcase

I am a nostalgic person, and I like to save things that are important to me. I am the person that saved my academic fitness award from 6th grade, my varsity letters from high school, and every thank you I've gotten for every volunteer project. It was only fitting that once I started participating in big athletic events that I save mementos from them, too. 

At some point I realized that my bike riding became so significant and the numbers from rides I've done so large that they needed to be showcased somehow. I had a few friends and relatives scrap booked their way into showcasing things they were proud of. A dear friend set me up with everything I needed to make a beautiful biking scrapbook; paper, cutters, and the like. I spent some time on it, but it just didn't feel right. I imagined this giant scrapbook sitting on the coffee table. A house guest picks it up and leafs through the pages. After 5 pages of rectangles of paper with big numbers printed on them, they get bored. I got bored just trying to make the scrapbook. I wanted to save these things and showcase them, but a scrapbook just wasn't right. That was back in 2008.

Enter 2015. I am still biking. I still need to showcase all the big rides I am proud of. I came across an Etsy seller who made a display case and shelf. My partner volunteered to make one for me. I made it longer than the one's being sold, though the design is otherwise very similar. TrendyDisplay has a patent pending on the design, so I hope they are not bothered by my making my own. It is really a brilliant design. And, as you can see, it is already incredibly full!

To make the memories more rich, I pasted the backs of the ride numbers with photos, maps, and fliers from the ride. Some of the fronts have buttons or century patches. I hope to eventually clean up the top shelf so it looks less busy, but overall, I am more than happy with the result!

Bike parking at work

The US Green Building Council LEED certification requires some sort of bike parking and shower space for regular users in all LEED-certified buildings. Since the option for bike commuting was a condition of employment for me, I can thank this certification for the reason I work where I do. 

A parking garage takes up the lower level of the building I work in. When I first started working here, I had the option to park in the parking garage, but all cyclists had to lock up at a bar next to the handicapped parking spots, right next to the motorcycles. I loved the speediness of this option when no one was around. But most of the time, I'd be trying to lock my bike on a over-full bar while people in wheelchairs and motorcycles had to navigate around my fumbling. I don't like having to adjust another person's bike just to get mine to lock, so I cheered for joy when I found out construction started on a portion of the garage just to commuting staff. The result, seen above, allows for nearly all commuters to have a caged, locked space to park. I ended up paying more money than I felt comfortable loosing to a thief for my commuter, so I welcomed the added security. The cage fills up every May during Bike Month, but sits mostly empty the rest of the year. I have a few co-workers far more dedicated to commuting than myself, but they are only a few.

The cage disappoints me for 1 reason: All bikes have to be lifted off the ground and turned sideways to store. The city is working on setting up mini-repair stations in their parking areas, including pumps and multi-tools. While I think this is a great idea and could encourage new riders, this cage would better be improved by changing how the bikes are stored.  The inability to store bikes without lifting them means that the space can't serve:

• Employees with chronic pain, physical issues, or who are simply less strong. Physical exercise can really help people feel better but having to lift a big heavy bike at the end can be a deterrent. Already at least one regular commuter fits in this category. She parks her bike in the "old" spot by the motorcycles. Most employees in my work place are female desk workers; not a subset likely to have the upper body strength required for lifting a bike. The average age of workers is older than most companies as well. This storage option may be a great idea for a lot of workplaces, but doesn't serve most of the staff here.
• Employees with financial barriers. The cheaper the bike, the more it weighs. This is a rule. New riders or riders without financial resources could benefit from the cost savings of commuting, but may get discouraged when they realize how heavy their bike is.
• Employees riding electric bikes. Electric bikes start at 50 pounds. Seattle can be very hilly and an electric bike is a great option for people who live in hilly areas get to work in an affordable, environmentally responsible way. Electric bikes are also a great option for those who have a long commute and I would like to see their use encouraged.

I wish everyone could be helped by the bike storage, but recognize that it's mere existence is something to relish. Most employees don't have an option nearly half as good. I am lucky, and grateful that I am one of the few able to benefit from the cage. I think even if the storage detracts many riders, anyone who uses the garage can see it, and every little thing like this helps to normalize commuting. Ultimately, this is a great feat and a huge step in the right direction.

A bad day for encounters with trucks

A small Toyota pickup pulled out in front of me without using a turn signal or even lights (this was in the dark of morning). It pulled out from its street-side parking spot into the road, crossing my path on the bike lane. I don't think the driver ever saw me. It was a perfect opportunity to use my horn, but when the horn lever competes for my hand with the brake lever, the brake always wins. My brakes squelched in the rain, braking just in time for me to feel safe. I hoped the driver would eventually see me, but I think he had other things on his mind. His turn signal going the other way lit up as soon as he got in the road (still no lights) and he drove like that at least a half mile before turning. Later a large white truck waiting to turn right from a smaller cross-street pulled out in front of me. I saw the driver looking in my direction, so I braked with the hope they would eventually see me. I practically came to a stop by the time the driver noticed me. This happened when the truck bed crossed the bike lane and the cab was well into the road. They stopped anyway. I veered out into the road to pass. As I passed, I stuck my arm out with the "stop" hand sign. I do this to remind drivers when I have the right of way. It is something I do with some regularity at 2-way stops. I have no idea if the drivers realize I have the right of way, or if they just think I am being an ass.

When not riding the bike to work

Occasionally I don’t ride my bike in to work. Sometimes I ride the bus. The bus I ride services a long stretch of hardened Seattle, including many stops for shelters, pawn shops, the needle exchange, the free clinic, Department of Health and Human Services, and more. Usually as many people have to stand as get to sit, all hours of the day. And given by the number of services along my route, It’s safe to say many people on my route are not having a good day. It seems most people aren’t having a good day in general, but I think the case is especially so on the bus.

Decreases in empathy, compassion, and respect in our country are a talking point of most everyone I talk to over age 35. I see data supporting these assumptions in positive psychology research, generational studies, studies looking the sociology of social media, texting behaviors, palliative and eldercare, and the like. As I rode the bus, I considered how the bus appears to be a sanctuary for these values. Everyone unanimously gives up seating for elders, the disabled and mothers. Even the loudest of mouths sensor their words when a young child is nearby. When someone misbehaves, the bus riders around them try to soften the situation. People crowd and cut and rush when trying to enter the bus, but once they are on, doors are held open, and accommodations are made. I wonder, what is it about the bus that makes this captive audience of stressed out, rushed, and generally grumpy people treat each other with kindness? How can we extend the way we treat each other on the bus to other situations? Don’t get me wrong, I see plenty of people on the bus deliberately elbow others, pick fights, eat cartons of smelly onions, urinate, or take up extra seats with luggage while 30 others have to stand, but they are easily the minority.

Today on my ride in, the bus suddenly stopped at a jerk at an intersection. I couldn’t see what happened, but presumably a pedestrian jumped out against the light or something like that. The bus stopped so hard and fast that the wheels squelched and people fell out of their seats. Pretty much everyone seated toppled out (over half the seats on my bus face the sides of the bus, so there is nothing to stop someone from falling forward except another person).  People in the isles toppled on top of each other. I was one of the lucky few who happened to be standing behind a pole. My arms happened to be looped around the pole so when the bus stopped, I merely spun around, but didn’t fall. Several grasped on to me, however, instinctively grabbing whatever was around them that was upright. In the aftermath, several people groaned and hollered “OUCH!” which caused a chorus of, “Are you ok?” comments. The people around me apologized for grabbing onto me. There is a taboo against touching strangers, but I responded that I was glad to be a grabbing post since my positons was one of the few stable ones on the bus. 

Ride the Rain Challenge update

For the month of November, I am participating in the Ride the Rain Challenge. Historically, most rain falls in November in Seattle, and Seattle is known worldwide as a rainy city (even though you see far higher precipitation levels in cities in Florida and others, but I digress). It only makes sense that Cascade Bicycle Club sponsor a bike commute challenge during this rainy season. It does seem the average participant in this smaller challenge is more hardcore than the nationally celebrated May Bike Month. Bike month focuses on attracting new cyclists. While the Ride the Rain Challenge wants that, too, I am guessing most of these participants are seasoned riders. Still, by comparison, I am a super-commuter. I don’t feel like I am a “hardcore” cyclist, which makes me feel even more proud of my stats thus far.

Only 8 lives left

I pedaled breathlessly up the steep Fremont hill in the dark and din of rush hour. Before I could think or react, a scruffy Siamese cat dashed in front of my wheel at full speed. I turned my head in shock, taking a beat to register what was going on. It ran across the lane next to me. It crossed the center line. I saw the oncoming jeep. The jeep wasn't speeding, but going too fast for breaking to make any difference. I watched the cat bolt toward inevitable collision with the jeep's tire. I'm guessing the jeep saw the cat, but it was one of those moments where nothing could be done. An involuntary gasp pushed its way out of my lungs at full volume. Time stood still. In that moment that lasted forever, I had time to consider, "I am going to watch a cat get smashed. This is terrible, but I can't look away. I can't look away. What was that noise? Oh my god I just screamed a little, wait what's that other noise?" At that moment, the cat stopped still in its tracks, likely with whiskers brushing rubber, paused for a split second, then bolted in reverse back towards me. I will never know if I actually heard it's little claws scraping against the pavement, or if that other noise was just the grating guttural scrape of my own fevered gasps.

Requesting traffic signal maintenance from Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT)

I wanted to send a request last month, the first time the issue occurred. Then it went away, and I forgot all about it. Then it came back, and I considered making a request, an then I got distracted. I couldn't take it any more after today, so I submitted the following request to SDOT this morning from the SDOT link: https://seattle-csrprodcwi.motorolasolutions.com/Home.mvc/Index

"The traffic signal at N46th ST & Fremont AVE North is intermittently skipping traffic turns. For the past several years, the signal at this intersection always followed the same pattern: green light for westbound, then green light for eastbound, then green light for north/south bound (except when the lights respond to sensors during weekends). However, the signaling has intermittently, and increasingly changed to: green light for eastbound, green light for westbound, then green eastbound, green westbound, then green light for north/south bound. I have also experienced 3 cycles for east/west traffic before one for north/south: (green light for eastbound, green light for westbound, then green light for eastbound, green light for westbound, green light for eastbound, green light for westbound, then green light for north/south bound). The traffic signals used these new unbalanced patterns today, 11/17, 11/12 (or close to that day, can't remember for sure), and for 4 days in a row the last week of October. During rush hour this creates a backup over 4 blocks in the north/south directions (past the zoo to the north and past Uneeda Burger to the south) as well as pedestrian congestion at the cross walks. Cars several blocks down honk when they realized they haven't moved in several minutes. This change also endangers cars, pedestrians and cyclists who anticipate circular light patterns and start moving when the cross traffic light turns red. If this is a permanent change, please post signage or other communication so travelers can predict and understand the change. If this is a malfunction, please address as the incidences seem to be increasing."

Other than that, this morning's ride treated me well. The trees are bare now, and the roads are clogged with fallen leaves. I think this may be the last of them this year. I also enjoyed the unusual smell of woodstove burning in the brisk morning air. I thought about how, when I ride to work just an hour later, my nose is bombarded by the distinct smell of frying bacon at the Red Mill Burger curve. However, at 7am, there is no smell along that curve at all.

Upside down and outside right

Not even the minor annoyance of wearing my ear-warmer headband upside down could sway this amazing morning ride. The tapered fleece band created a brim of sorts that sunk over my eyebrows when upside down. My lazy morning stupor didn't care to set it right.

The cloudless sky predicted a sunny day. The downright cold air meant I wouldn't get too hot once I entered the heated canopy of downtown. I must not have been the only one who thought it was a good day for riding, I was number 236 at the bridge counter.

I counted 5 blocks of traffic stopped at Mercer (busy road) that extended into a construction area. Construction sites make a habit of closing off bike lanes so cyclists have to merge with traffic. Ahead of me, 2 cyclists rode past the stopped cars by sharing the single lane with them. One car sat out of alignment from the others, hugging the construction cones. His position made it difficult for the cyclists to pass, and when they did, he hammered on his horn. I sat behind, parked in line like a car. There are many cases where cyclists dangerously ride the lines, but this is not one of them. With traffic clearly stopped, cyclists can pass safely. It's one of the times a cyclist has an advantage of a vehicle, when in nearly all other cases a vehicle is faster. I continue to be baffled by people who spread anger onto others just for anger's sake. As a community and a society, we would all benefit from consistent and ongoing transportation training. Perhaps the driver wouldn't have felt angry if all parties agreed on the rules. In the meantime, honking a horn won't change a cyclist's behavior, risks endangering them by the sheer shock of loud noise, and spreads the feeling of anger to all who hear it. This will be something I write a lot about as this blog develops.

amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyzing!

As I pedaled past a bus stop I heard a kid yell, "Your wheels are amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyzing!" It wasn't until the elongated second syllable that I registered he was talking to me. I have a Monkey Light on my front wheel. It is a string of blinking LED's along a spoke that I can set to display a variety of images as the wheel turns. Right now it's set to a flaming comet. I think it looks kind of like a hot teardrop, however. I waved back at the kid and smiled. I am always so happy to be a part of positive interactions between strangers. I didn't see any other cyclists until 5 miles into my commute. That's when "orange rafting bag" (I gave names to all the regulars I'm beginning to recognize on my route, but that's for another post) said to me, "We must be crazy to be riding in this weather!" He must have been right, because I was only number 131 to cross the bridge counter. The weather service warned of gale force winds again. At one point a truck paralleled me going the same speed, making me anxious. I slowed down so we weren't going the same speed, and he swerved into the bike line forcing me to brake. He quickly swerved out, then kindly put on his blinker before swerving back into the lane and turning. I am not sure if he was focused on finding his way and it happened to work to my benefit, or if he saw me and decided to signal. Either way, I was glad for his swerving out so I didn't have to make a full stop. Downtown, a lane-parked chauffeur tried to inch forward when he saw me stropped behind him. He stopped to pick up his riders, and apologized to me and suggested I pass him. I shook my head, not wanting to "ride the white line" as so many speed-hungry cyclists do. Never in 3 years have I encountered such a kind professional driver downtown. I hope to secure the multiple kindnesses of today in my memory banks for later when things do not go so well.

The past came so fast

Today the crisp, dry air brought a cold we've yet to see this fall. The song of ice scrapers hastily run across windshields filled my ears as I rolled through residential streets. I struggled to stay focused through the sleepiness of Monday morning. I observed the mural on the Mason's building on Greenwood. I always took it as an artist's collage of sorts, but today I realized it must be a geographically accurate view of the Seattle Cityscape, shortly after the space needle was built. Trees and greenery filled the areas around the needles and the few skyscrapers of downtown before opening up to the mountains and sunrise behind. This must have been what Seattle actually looked like 50 years ago. The mural looked great. Was it a new mural of an old scene, or had the mural just been well-maintained all these years?

A gas can lay in the bike lane. The sight overwhelmed me with gratitude; gratitude that it wasn't obscured by darkness or leaves and I didn't run into it. Typing about it now, I am regretful I didn't take the 5 seconds to pick it up and toss it somewhere less obstructive.

Photo courtesy of @City_Arts's Tweet: https://twitter.com/City_Arts/status/512703110007889920?s=09 

Parks for free

I just found out that for 1 day next year, anyone can bike to a national or state park for no entrance fee. What a great gimmick for the Adventure Cycling Association! I am tempted to do this.

Today, in Seattle, there is a gale warning in effect

 ....that's what the weather forecast has been saying for days. The wind must have started just before my commute because debree hadn't covered the roads yet. But the wind came in full force. The wind terrified me, to be frank. It didn't continue into the evening, however, and I am relieved that I decided to ride home. Had I not ridden home, the terror of the ride into work may have stayed with me all weekend, causing me to dread the commute Monday. Luckily, the ride home revitalized me in ways only a wet, speedy work out can do.