Motorist Mentality

Day’s Verse:
Those who pursue us are at our heels;
we are weary and find no rest.

Lamentations 5:5

The Seattle Times has an interesting article on transportation called “Hell on Wheels: Is there no end to the stream of traffic insults?” Here are some interesting, random things that popped out at me from the article:

  • Seattle police have written 7,000 more tickets than five years ago for speeding and inattention.
  • SUV drivers do talk on phones more.
  • Generally, more people drive at 1 p.m. Saturday than during typical rush hours.
  • Sidewalks cost about a million bucks per mile.
  • …now as Seattle has started installing on-road bikeways and “sharrows,” the initial shock is strong. Drivers think they’re losing something.
  • Seattle has the 4th worst traffic in the nation.

This one gets its own special call out:

“Before we blame the mayor*, illegal immigrants or smug cyclists for our coagulating streets, we should look in the mirror. It’s pretty obvious drivers are the chief problem.” Continue Reading >>

Elevation, Elusive Elevation

Day’s Verse:
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:30-31

Have you noticed how it’s impossible to pin down the actual temperature? You put a thermometer outside (on the north side of the house, under cover, as recommended by people in the know) and it tells you a number. Then you check online, and your local weather station says something perhaps 5° off from your thermometer. Then you get in your car and drive away, and your car tells you a temperature — which is immediately contradicted by the bank’s thermometer and the thermometer in the health club across the street, neither of which agree with your car, the Internet, or your home thermometer. So what is the real temperature? Continue Reading >>

Riding Sweep

Day’s Verse:
‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.
Zechariah 4:6b

Here’s a really dorky picture of me. The point isn’t my expression or my crazy hair, but the T-shirt. It’s a Fat Cyclist T-shirt (that I ordered last week, not knowing that this week they’d go on sale — d’oh!), and I love what it says:
Fat Cyclist T-Shirt
(“No, you go on. I’m riding sweep today.”)

Why is this funny? Because in bicycling, “riding sweep” means intentionally riding at the back of the group to make sure everybody makes it to the destination. A person riding sweep knows the route, is a skilled bicyclist, can deal with minor emergencies, and is responsible for ensuring nobody gets left behind. You’re the very last person in the group, by choice. At least, that’s what they claim. Ian has all sorts of black T-shirts with funny things on them. I haven’t indulged in that trend so far, but this shirt made me laugh aloud, so it’s worth it. Continue Reading >>

Mostly a Bike Ride Report

Day’s Verse:
And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
Genesis 7:12

Yesterday evening Dad, Ian, and I watched Salt. Frankly, I’m astonished it got 61% on Rotten Tomatoes. I’ve rarely been more bored in an action movie, and I like action movies. The whole “Russians are the bad guys” thing felt so 30 years ago. That aside, they just tried to do too darn much in an hour and a half. The first half is a mistaken identity/quest to save her husband story and I kept watching because I wanted to see what happened to her husband. They devoted several minutes to their relationship, so you figure it’s going to be important. Then her husband is summarily shot and vanishes without anybody batting an eye, and the movie turns into a double agent/agent vs. agent scramble. For all that, it was predictable enough that we were able to call out all the twists before they happened. The only redeeming features were the Haagen-Dasz bar I ate partway through and the fact we didn’t pay for it. True Grit was way better. Continue Reading >>

As It Should Be

Day’s Verse:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
Acts 2:42

This is what our garage looks like right now, after I spent the morning cleaning it.

Garage Bike Space

Notice how the car occupies 50% of the space and the bikes occupy 50% of the space? This is the way garages should be organized. Forget hanging your bikes from the ceiling to be taken down a couple nice days in the summer, or burying your bike way in the back behind so much stuff you can hardly get it out. No, bikes as vehicles should be easy in-and-out access the same way a car does. And of course if you have to choose between parking a car in a garage and parking a bike in a garage, the bike should always win. After all, cars withstand the elements much better than bikes do. Continue Reading >>

Pros and Cons

Day’s Verse:
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Reasons I like biking alone:

  1. I get to do whatever I want.

Reasons I like biking with other people:

  1. Somebody to be company on the long miles.
  2. Somebody to help if I get a flat.
  3. Somebody to help if we get lost.
  4. Somebody to help pull when I get tired.
  5. Somebody to motivate me to finish.

Pretty easy arithmetic there, huh? However, despite this arithmetic, I ended up riding by myself today. Name a hill in the Kirkland/Kenmore/Woodinville region; I rode up it. Sometimes twice. I stopped only at stoplights, ate as I rode, and went my own pace up and down the hills. No waiting, no pausing, no worrying about getting left behind or leaving behind. But you know, it just didn’t feel as fun somehow, not having somebody besides Fast Bike to share those 45 miles with. Continue Reading >>

Goals

Day’s Verse:
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Habakkuk 3:17-18

More biking in today’s post. Skip it if you don’t want bike buzz.

Today I test rode a Jamis Xenith (or here…hmm…). I didn’t know bikes came with rocket boosters, but I’m telling you, compared to my loaded commuter bike, that Jamis flew. It was incredibly fun riding up hills on a bike that weighed significantly less than 20 lbs. The next step is to try out some comparable models from other brands and see what suits me. Then I lurk around Craigslist and wait for a bike of the model I like and the size I need to come available at a price I can afford. Fortunately I have until July. It could very well take that long to have all the stars align. So if any women readers want to get rid of a 51 cm carbon fiber bike, let me know, OK? Continue Reading >>