Pathetic

 I used to ride 300 miles a week.  This month I didn't get 300 miles all month!  I started off today riding a few miles down Queen Ann in Seattle to the train station where I hopped on a bus. (makes sense, right?) As we made our way down I-5 big puffy clouds grew and darkened.  50 miles out from Portland it poured rain, but then stopped again after about 20 minutes.  I had the route on my Garmin to ride back to Wilsonville from Portland and as we arrived in Portland I still figured I'd make that 21 mile ride.  Before I could get prepared to ride, the rain started again!  Those big puffy clouds spelled unstable air....the kind that can give hard rain, often laced with hail.  I had my computer in my bag and it wasn't protected from hard rain.  I dodged rain showers taking refuge from bridge to bridge.  It took 45 minutes to get 3 miles.  But I did stay mostly dry.

I hitched a ride back to Wilsonville with Dave when he got off work.

My pansy ways meant I didn't even break 300 miles this month.  :-(

I'm turning into a non-cyclist

..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today............9...............0..............0...............0..............9 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
Sept............292................0...............0...............0.............292 Total..........4834...............0..............0...............0..........4834

Bob Mionske, Bicycle Lawyer interview

George Thomas interviews Bob Mionske, a noted bicycle attorney on Over the Top Radio.

Check Out Fitness Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with overthetop on BlogTalkRadio

Another 12 mile day

I'm still in Seattle, the weather is still nice. I still only rode bike for 12 miles

I rode to lunch. I rode to Sunday Market. I rode to Locks. I did happen across friend Brad, who had already biked 50 miles, and was now on a 5 mile run.
He's one of those Iron Man guys. Darn over achiever!





..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today...........12...............0..............0...............0.............12 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
Sept............283................0...............0...............0.............283 Total..........4825...............0..............0...............0..........4825

Riding Westlake Avenue

There is much political maneuvering in Seattle over the best way to fix a way for bicyclists to travel the route between South Lake Union and Fremont. All "solutions" involve alignments through a parking lot. 
There have been rumblings about having the new cycle track built with a design speed limit of 10 mph. Between pedestrians crossing, cars backing out of parking spaces, and poor sightlines, it is going to be a mess no matter how they decide to fix.........a problem that doesn't exist.

Julie and I were planning to ride to the Museum of History and Industry located in South Lake Union and decided to start at Gasworks Park to allow a flat ride since Julie is nursing an injured knee.  It was a perfect opportunity to pedal the section of road that many view with fear.

On the way out, slightly downhill, and with a brisk tailwind, we were moving along in the very high teens.  There wasn't enough traffic passing us to make a video worth watching.  After visiting the museum we traced our route back, this time slightly uphill and into that same wind.  Julie's frail knee kept us in the low teens.  Still we had no trouble taking our place as traffic in the lane.



After watching the above video, then take a look at the photo below of what conditions might have been like if we had taken the route through the parking lot (as a major bike club in Seattle would have us do)

Where would you prefer to ride?

By taking our legal position as traffic, in the center of the lane rather than hugging the edge we were more visible.  While not every car driver might have liked us there, they all saw us, and they all changed lanes to pass.  If we had hugged the gutter they may not have seen us as they focused on the vehicle ahead of them, and most would  have tried to squeeze by in the same lane.


..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today...........12...............0..............0...............0.............12 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept............271................0...............0...............0.............271 Total..........4813...............0..............0...............0..........4813

A night ride

With the shortening of daylight Arsen leads a dark ride.  Tonight 9 of us started from Gasworks Park at 7PM and pedaled off into the darkness.  It was a nice evening with comfortable temperatures.  Our leader bumped the pace up a bit from recent renditions.  We met back at The Dock for post ride libations.

..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today...........25...............0..............0...............0.............25 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept............259................0...............0...............0.............259 Total..........4801...............0..............0...............0..........4801

A non bike rider

I rode two bike rides today, 6 miles total.  At least there was about 500 ft of climbing.  I had afternoon plans in Bellevue but was hoping to ride back to Seattle following the event.  Alas, after a dry start in Portland this morning the rain started falling 30 miles south of Seattle.  After the wet ride a couple of days ago, I just didn't look forward to a repeat.


 ..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today...........6...............0..............0...............0..............6 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept............234................0...............0...............0.............234 Total..........4776...............0..............0...............0..........4776

Dodging raindrops

After the wet ride yesterday it was nice to see a little break in the weather.  It wasn't dry, but at least not raining by late morning.  I took a break from Silver State 508 map tweaks and biked to the bank and lunch. I took the fixie because I could ride the flat pedals with athletic shoes rather than the other bikes which require bike shoes.........which are still quite wet!

I couldn't put my hands on my clip on rear fender, (it may be sitting in a garage in Seattle!) so I rode slowly to avoid a rooster tail, and resulting skunk stripe up my back.

I took a little detour to check out the progress on a street improvement in the neighborhood.

I finished my banking, grabbed a quick bite to eat, and returned home. I was gone for about 90 minutes total, and managed not to get rained on.  :-)

 ..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today...........6...............0..............0...............0..............6 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept............228................0...............0...............0.............228 Total..........4770...............0..............0...............0..........4770

A rude awakening

Today was the first full day of Fall. After an August that had 0.01" of rain, and a summer with the warmest average temperature, today we had rain.........  nonstop rain.  I had a ride to Forest Grove planned, so took the rain bike. It was not cold, but it was wet, a lot wet.  I was running late and with 12 miles remaining and about just over 30 minutes left to do it in, I loaded my bike on a TriMet bus's rack and bussed it the remaining distance.  After my appointment I had a few other errands to attend to, including dinner with my sister and her husband, then started back.

I left Forest Grove at 6:30 PM, fully expecting to be using lights shortly.  I had a two watt blinky on front as well as my Stella 300.  I had two Planet Bike Ultra Flashes on back.  My rain bike has a huge amount of reflective material on it, and I had a reflective triangle on my backpack.

I arrived back in Wilsonville at 8:45 PM, looking every bit like a drowned rat.
It was not the most pleasant ride.  It continued to rain. Traffic was heavy but I had no problems with cars.

Bike rides in sunny warm weather seemed just like yesterday.......  oh wait, it was!

 ..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today..........52...............0..............0...............0.............52 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept............222................0...............0...............0.............222 Total..........4764...............0..............0...............0..........4764

Seattle to Portland- a one day ride

 I started off in Seattle just before noon and headed south. I biked down 2nd Ave S, the subject of a million dollar overhaul to put in a "protected" bike lane recently. I've never seen the use of this as 2nd is a one way street, mostly with a gentle down slope.  It is very easy to keep up with traffic.  There is a painted bike lane, of all things, on the left side of the road, in the door zone.

 Rather than put myself in that danger, I took the center of the right lane and followed a city bus through town. I was expecting a lot of stops, but the bus was out of service and just went through.  I followed about 40 feet back. As we approached the section where the new bi-directional protected bike lane has been installed I saw two motorcycle cops sitting in the shadows on side streets in two different locations. I would not have been surprised to have one of them roll out to ask me why I was not riding in the PBL.  They however let me pass. One even waved as I rolled by.  I waved back.  :-)

I arrived at the train station, also the location where the Bolt Bus boarded.  Today's STP would involve not only biking, but also a bus ride.  I loaded my bike and boarded the bus, and spent the next few hours in comfort watching the scenery roll by.

I arrived in Portland, unloaded the bike, and biked across the Willamette River.  I grabbed a bite to eat then met my brother-in-law as he got off work.  I loaded my bike into his vehicle and was transported back to Wilsonville.   It was one of the easiest STP's I've ever done.  ;-)

 ..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today...........8...............0..............0...............0..............8 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept............170................0...............0...............0.............170 Total..........4712...............0..............0...............0..........4712

A Night Ride

My friend Arsen led a ride for Cascade Bicycle Club tonight.  I thought I should take advantage of one of the last few days of summer weather and join him.  There were 5 of us total and we started pedaling at 7PM.  We followed our leader around Seattle for a bit.

There were several live music events going on.  Some sort of festival was going on along the Ship Canal with many people, many taps, and a lot of music.  Several of the adult beverage dispensaries that we pedaled by had music emanating from their patios.  It looked like the whole town was partying, and we didn't get invited!

After riding around for a bit we decided that we too would have a brew.

Tom, Adam, Mike, and Arsen

 ..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today...........26...............0..............0...............0.............26 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept............162................0...............0...............0.............162 Total..........4704...............0..............0...............0..........4704

A ride to a win

I attended Plant Amnesty Bingo for the second year, this time by bike.  The organizers encourage costumes so I carried my "80's rock star" costume and changed into it once I arrived. If you click on the link above you can see me in last year's Pirate costume in the rotating banner on the front page.  Last year I was a finalist in the costume contest but did not win.  This year I won!  I'll see if I can scrounge up a picture and post it here.

Not many miles, but I've been busy preparing for Silver State 508.

..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today...........6...............0..............0...............0.............6 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept............136................0...............0...............0.............136 Total..........4678...............0..............0...............0..........4678

Not biking, but talking about it.

Check Out Fitness Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with overthetop on BlogTalkRadio

Loaded Touring

I made the trip to Seattle today with the rain bike and loaded panniers.  The bike weighed over 50 lbs!  That's a lot of weight on 23c tires.  The bike handled a bit weird, it felt like it needed more weight on the front, especially when going down rough Seattle hills! Before you think I'm really hard core for biking all the way to Seattle with a loaded bike....... I only biked 11 miles.  The rest of the distance was accomplished by sitting in the air conditioned comfort of a Bolt Bus. This multi-modal transportation option wasn't bad at all!

..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today..........11...............0..............0...............0............11 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept............130................0...............0...............0.............130
Total..........4672...............0..............0...............0..........4672

A little fresh air

 I've been spending way too many hours in front of a computer monitor. I had hit a road block on my project and decided that the reason for the impasse must have been that I hadn't had a maple bar in months.  I took a break and pedaled the fixed gear bike to the local Thriftway's in store bakery and bought two. I figured that I couldn't go to all that trouble for just one. ;-)

The weather was nice.  I took the long way back.  The fresh air must have done the trick, or perhaps is was the maple bar, but while riding I figured out the problem with the file I had been working on.

I went back home and put it all together.

 ..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today..........27...............0..............0...............0............27 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept............119................0...............0...............0.............119
Total..........4661...............0..............0...............0..........4661

Close call

I was out on the fixed gear bike today.   I was northbound on SW 65th and rolled up to Boone's Ferry Rd near Tualatin and stopped in the center of the right lane waiting to make a left turn. The lane I was in was permitted to turn left, go straight, or turn right.  The lane to my left was left turn only. I was the fifth vehicle in line.  I signaled my left turn intention as a motor vehicle came in behind me.  As the light turned green we moved forward.  Counting the turn lanes, there are 4 lanes of traffic, plus one lane for bike traffic heading east. I made it to the third traffic lane (left through lane) before the traffic signal turned yellow.  On the slightly downhill run I was traveling about 20 mph. (My path is in yellow in the illustration below)

A cream colored 4 door sedan with a 65ish year old woman at the wheel  heading south into the intersection decided to make a right turn on red.  Allowed....IF the road is clear.

Click on photo for full size

What she also did that was not legal was to go completely across the lanes to access a left turn lane (much as the white SUV did in the photo above).  It is a common move, since the south bound freeway ramp is a left exit just a block away. What is supposed to happen..... for those who have forgotten their driver's education lessons.... after checking that there is no traffic, turn right, into the first right hand lane.  Signal, and move over to the next lane when it is clear.  Repeat until you are in the lane you need to be in.

Mitigating factors:  While I had signaled my left turn intention back when I was stopped waiting for a green light, I was not signaling as I moved into the intersection.  It is legal to do that (though not necessarily safe) since under acceleration from a stop I needed both hands on the bars of the fixed gear bike. There is a lot of traffic mixing, as most of the motor vehicles in my lane were continuing into the west bound right turn lane to access northbound I-5.  The car behind me acknowledged my signal and followed me rather than cut me off making the turn.

In any case, the 65ish year old woman wasn't watching and came across the intersection (path in red above).  We met at the black X. Luckily the weather was nice and she had her window down about half way.  I veered to the left as she was arcing across and let out a loud "hey!".  She was close enough to me that I slapped the driver's side rear door to get her attention.  That of course startled her, as she had no clue I was there. She jerked the wheel to the right, then started reading me the riot act for riding in the street instead of the sidewalk as she continued on her way (in orange above)

I just smiled and proceeded on my way (in green), glad that I was still alive and able to enjoy a sunny day.

 ..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today..........15...............0..............0...............0............15 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept.............92................0...............0...............0..............92
Total..........4634...............0..............0...............0..........4634

Helping the Urban Farmer

After most of the day working on programming waypoints into a TomTom GPS I took off on my fixie to do some banking, then rode out to the nearby Community Supported Agriculture operation managed be my nephew. He's long since graduated from Wilsonville High School, but his connections there helped him snag a part time job as "Farm Manager".   I guess that's right down his alley, since he's got a degree in Environmental Science.  I helped the effort by picking some apples for the folks that are coming tomorrow to pick up their shares.  This his organic farm is quite a shock to this country boy who spent his working life around herbicides and prided himself on bug and disease free fruit.  The Joni Mitchel song kept playing through my brain.



I'm not sure she'd be singing so happily if she saw the wheelbarrow of bug riddled apples I picked.

As I picked I was told to not worry about blemishes, "it's organic, people don't expect perfection". That may be true, but I'm not sure they expect that much protein in their apples either. ;-)

As the sun set I pedaled back home, with seven total miles for the day.

...but I did get the GPS project wrapped up finally!


 ..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today...........7...............0..............0...............0.............7 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept.............77................0...............0...............0..............77
Total..........4619...............0..............0...............0..........4619

Living the "Car Free" lifestyle

On my most recent trip back from Seattle a situation evolved where I now find myself without a vehicle, ........temporarily.  Today I adjusted to that reality by riding the fixed gear bike to the hardware store, and then back into town again later for lunch.  I've developed plans for a meeting 35 miles away next week, a trip back to Seattle, and a trip to the airport for a flight to Reno to crew the Silver State 508.  It's not at all as bad as it might seem.  I might even get back into bike shape by the time it's all over!   :-)

 ..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today...........6...............0..............0...............0.............6 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept.............70................0...............0...............0..............70
Total..........4612...............0..............0...............0..........4612

The Kralik Way

It was a perfect night for a Moonlight Meander.  Scott Kralik led this popular ride again, and I couldn't resist joining in and to have the opportunity to ride back up Queen Anne "The Kralik Way" with the namesake of the route.  Before doing that I had to ride to U of W to meet up with the other participants. There were 18 of us total out enjoying the evening.

We pedaled off into the night following our intrepid leader.  We rode along the shore of Green Lake and through the zoo.  We ended up on Phinney Ridge and our first viewpoint of the evening.

We rolled down Phinney Ridge, steeper than I'd like since I was on the fixed gear bike.  We got on the Burke Gilman Trail and followed it to the Fremont Bridge where we crossed and followed the Ship Canal Trail west for a short distance.  We turned up Queen Anne at Seattle Pacific University.  Scott had to smile when I told him that several of us refer to his route up this hill as "The Kralik Way".  Yup, he's famous!

We zig zagged our way up and came to a view point looking west. We stopped briefly.  We continued our way around the top of Queen Anne stopping at several view points.  One of the best ones was looking south.

The Fremont Bridge was going to close tonight at midnight for painting. Since it was 11:30 by the time the group started heading down I didn't figure I'd have time to join them back to U of W and still get back across the bridge before midnight.  I thanked Scott for leading the pack and stayed on top of the hill. He is one of the best ride leaders I've ever biked with.  He herded us safely through the darkness, made sure we all stopped at stop signs, kept track of even those in the back.  He even headed off a Seattle Pacific University security officer who followed us up a hill for a few blocks.  I'm not sure what the conversation was, but Scott came back smiling. When asked what the rent-a-cop wanted, he just said, "just wondered if we needed help, I told him not unless he had 18 tow ropes"  Fun times!

..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today..........17...............0..............0...............0............17 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept.............64................0...............0...............0..............64
Total..........4606...............0..............0...............0..........4606

Fit for a Queen

The weather is perfect for riding bike in Seattle. Julie and I rode to Queen Anne Ale House for happy hour, then to Menchies for frozen yogurt desert.  Following all that faffing around we rode a bit more around "The Crown of Queen Anne".

The view to the west from Queen Anne

The view to the south from Queen Anne

Queen Anne is a pretty steep hill in places.  Sometimes roads give way to stairs.

  \
With all the eating, and stopping for photos I didn't get many miles, but I guess I didn't really need to.  It was a good night for riding bike.

..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today..........3...............0..............0...............0.............3 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept.............47................0...............0...............0..............47
Total..........4589...............0..............0...............0..........4589

More fixed gear fun

I only have one bike with me in Seattle this visit, the fixed gear.  Arsen wouldn't accept that as an excuse for me to not join the ride today, so off I went.

I rode down Queen Anne and met him at the Nickerson Pub.  We took off without any set route or destination in mind. We ended up riding this:

 There are places to ride in Seattle that are flat. Arsen thought that would be boring and decided to put some hurt on me.  We rode up some 10% to 12% grades and I managed to keep the pedals turning. Arsen would roll down the back side, and I'd work my legs off trying to make my way down safely.  A fixed gear bike is harder to ride down a hill than to ride up.

We stopped to take a few photos as we crossed over the Chittenden Locks.

Not feeling that he had put enough hurt on me yet, Arsen led out to Magnolia where I was treated to a 16% climb. I got a good run at it, but soon was down to just grinding it out.  I was putting all I had into it, barely turning the pedals over.  A car came up behind me and did not pass. (we were nearing a stop sign)  I was afraid that I might tip over in front of the car, so with 30 ft to go I bailed.  I figured that a controlled exit from the bike was better than a uncontrolled crash.

We got back to Fremont and it was my turn to be ride leader.  Arsen had never biked up Queen Anne via "The Kralik Way" so up we went.  When we reached the top Arsen took a turn toward Safeway for a snack, I turned back toward Fremont. I had a route mapped from the Fremont Bridge to Bellvue where I had plans to join a Labor Day picnic.

 28.4 miles/1682 ft of climbing

 I rode this route:

I rode along Westlake Ave.  A large Seattle based bike club sees this section as problematic.  Cyclists ride through parking lots, pedestrian ways, driveways, etc. dodging cars backing out of parking spots, and pedestrians crossing without looking  It IS problematic and unsafe, .....unless...... you stay on the road and take the center of the right lane and pedal.

The cars all signaled and changed lanes well in advance.  No irate responses.  No problems at all. I'd love to take the advocacy dept of that bike club and take them for a bike ride.

After Westlake I crossed over Capital Hill then across the I-90 floating bridge across Lake Washington via Mercer Island.

I stopped at a convenience store once across the bridge for an ice cream bar and a Snickers bar. (gotta keep my energy reserves topped off!)

It was a good ride today.  The weather improved as I rolled along.

16.0 miles/967 ft of climbing


..........road bike..........rollers........mtb.........lifecycle....total Today.........44...............0..............0...............0............44 Jan............710................0..............0...............0...........710
Feb........... 578...............0..............0...............0............578
March ...........701.............0..............0...............0............701
April..........749.................0..............0...............0..........749
May...........613.................0..............0...............0...........613
June............309...............0..............0...............0...........309
July...............615...............0..............0...............0............615
August.........359................0..............0...............0.............359
 Sept.............44................0...............0...............0..............44
Total..........4586...............0..............0...............0..........4586