September 4, 2008
the ride into work
a photo by Bandita!
This morning, I rode over 10 miles.
That's the longest I've ridden in a really long time. And admittedly, that's not contiguous. I rode a little over three and a half miles from home to the Goose Hollow MAX station, and then six and a half miles from Quatama into downtown Hillsboro.
It felt great. I'm surprised at how great it feels to be riding so much.
At Quatama, I rode south on 205th to Baseline. Here in Washington County, the bike lanes start and stop at will, with no warning, and generally in the worst possible places, like after a curve crossing a bridge.
Sometimes there are bikes lanes. Sometimes there are sidewalks. Sometimes there are shoulders. Sometimes, I just take the lane. What's a girl to do?
I cross Beaverton Creek, and then another creek.
Right after I cross 231st Ave, I must be in Hillsboro, because suddenly the next street is 60th Ave. Noble Woods Park is across the street, full of very tall evergreens and looking very sylvan.
At that point, about 3 miles into that leg, I feel like I'm almost there.
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August 13, 2008
hello, all!
Hi, it's me. Sorry I've been so quiet, it's just there's been an awful lot that's happened and that's still happening. This is really my whirlwind year of change. Whether I like it or not.
I've been focusing more lately on what I'm eating and drinking, and the types of exercise I'm getting.
Maybe a month or two ago, I borrowed a folding bike from a friend, and I absolutely adored it. It rode great. It folded up tiny. It weighs next to nothing (or, 30#). So I took a couple of weeks to think about it, and finally went a few weeks and bought one. A folding bike of my own!
I'm loving riding it. Today I rode 2 miles into town, and then another 4.5 miles from a train stop to work. It really makes me feel good -- and it makes me sleep good, too.
And yesterday, for the first time in I don't know how long, I went to the gym. I did some upper-body strengthening that I'm still feeling. But it's a good feeling. I'm planning to go back in tomorrow.
_________
Sometimes, I think I'm really doing well, self-esteemwise. And then.... like yesterday, or the day before, I saw a picture taken in June. It's not flattering, at all! All I could see in the photo was my belly. Now, I'm not deluded. I know I have a belly, and I'll probably have a belly the rest of my life. Even when I got down to my post-college low of 160#, I had a belly. I doubt it's the first thing anyone notices about me. But for whatever reason, that's what I see on myself.
I want to love my body. But I want you to love my body as well. Is that too much to ask?
permalink August 13, 2008 | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 10, 2007
Hurrah for commuting!
I actually bike-commuted to work this morning! It was great! And about 37 degrees.
My sweetie and I transferred my battery-powered lights from one of the townies to the Oma last weekend, and I was looking so very forward to riding my bike. Then I got slammed with the flu, and bike-commuting, as well as leaving the house or getting out of my jammies, was not an option.
But this morning, I had a wonderful, life-affirming ride into work. I learned that my hub-generated back light works, but not my front (Todd, I know I opened it by mistake, and I hope you can wave your magic wand and make it right again).
permalink December 10, 2007 | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 11, 2007
Oma
So, I bought a bike, and I think it's the most beautiful bike in the world. It might also be the heaviest. I love it. I'm getting nowhere fast, but I'm doing it in style.
My euphoria of getting the new bike was shot down soon enough—my sweetie's father has had a series of small strokes over the last week, and he's lost some motion and control on the left side of his body. Sweetie flies down to see him tomorrow, while I'll stay here. I am so absolutely distracted by this, because of course, my father had a series of small strokes a few months before he died. I'm reminding myself that even though my father died a few months later, this doesn't mean Sweetie's dad will.
I have been thinking so much of my dad in the last couple days.
I rode into work this morning wearing a long skirt. With the skirt guard and the enclosed chain and the internal hub, I didn't have to worry about the bike biting my clothing or making it dirty. I love that. I feel so dignified on the Oma, so adult in an odd but very satisfying way. I love it.
permalink June 11, 2007 | Comments (1)
June 7, 2007
swans, omas, and the old Dutch
So, I did it. I bought a dutch city bike.
I got myself over to Clever Cycles to meet up with Martina as soon as I could. She had three city bikes ready and waiting for me to try: an 8-speed Swan, an 8-speed Oma (both made by Azor) and a Batavus 3-speed Old Dutch.
Oh, and I was wearing a dress.
The Swan is gorgeous. The lines on it are so elegant. After some initial butterflies, I climbed on and took it for a ride. The shifting is super smooth, and it's a newer Shimano shifter that is totally forgiving if you downshift while you're standing still. How cool is that?
Anyways, it rode beautifully, and I felt great riding it.
The Oma is also very elegant in an understated way. It also has the Shimano shifter, and it also rode like a dream.
The Batavus is flashy and gorgeous in a pin-up girl way. It rode fine. But it's a three speed with coaster brakes, and I already have a three speed with coaster brakes.
So, I really liked the Oma and the Swan. The Swan had the edge, because it was so pretty... but the Swan couldn't get a front rack, and I gotta say, the front rack is the coolest thing since sliced bread. It'll hold 50#! It's dorky and just so wonderful.
So, I bought the Oma. I pick it up on Friday!
~ * ~ *
So I rode my bike into work today. I rode Pinky the three speed, as I'm going to be part of the Pedalpalooza Kickass Kickoff Parade tonight, so I was completely festooned with pink and silver accessories to decorate the bike with.
As I was coming down the bike ramp to the waterfront, I saw the battleships docked. I saw the coast guard boats with automatic weapons. Oh, good.
So, of course, all human traffic is being directed away from the Waterfront Park. There's 12ft tall wire fencing around it, and there are military personnel, carrying automatic weapons, ready to shoot. So nice. I love this.
The city, however, did close off one lane of Naito Parkway so bicyclists, pedestrians, skateboarders, and people in golf carts can get from point A to point B. Of course, you're protected from the cars by orange cones, so it's hard to get excited about this.
permalink June 7, 2007 | Comments (3)
February 22, 2007
A haiku for Fritz
it's raining outside
bus will be a sardine can
I'm riding the bike
Fritz at Cyclicious likes the haikus, yep.
permalink February 22, 2007 | Comments (1)
December 18, 2006
have I been sent a sign?
So, I wrapped up my mom's christmas presents, and jumped on the bicycle to go to my beloved's work. It's only about a quarter mile, but I had other errands to run: buy stamps and send off a package, get lunch, etc.
Two blocks from work, I wait for the light to change. It does, and I cross, slowly, after checking that the traffic is stopping. Except, only the traffic in the near lane stopped. The guy in the far lane was hightailing through. Luckily, I saw him coming, but I couldn't entirely get out of the way, and he hit my front wheel. And then he just kept going.
I'm not sure what happened to the bike beyond the fact that the front brakes no longer work, the tire felt like it was going flat (but wasn't), and to go straight ahead, you have to turn the handlebars about 30 degrees. I rode it, sorta, to MBPOW, and after finding no bike racks at the front or rear of the building, I took it up into the parking structure. I was planning on looking for bike parking, but I saw my beloved's truck, so I decided I would just put the bike in the back of the truck. Which took some doing.
Meanwhile, I was being watched by a bunch of smokers. They all went inside, one by one, until one came over and offered to help me with the bike. He kept insisting that I needed to call my beloved, and I kept insisting there was no way I was going to call my beloved, I was fine, thank you very much.
I did go in, and I did call him, and la-ti-da.
Why did I trust a traffic control? Why wasn't I thinking about the fact that all cars are out to get me?
I was in shock then. I think I'm coming out of it now. And I'm freaking out.
permalink December 18, 2006 | Comments (4)
December 13, 2006
pay back is a bitch
My ride into work is generally serene. Generally.
If you check out the map on the side, that's part of my route, the treacherous part, in the orange. On Vancouver, there's a bike lane that goes south all the way to Broadway. At Broadway, there's nothing.
And so the two blocks on Vancouver south of Broadway, from Broadway to Weidler to N. Center Ct. Drive, are a little too exciting.
I ride in the rightmost lane, the lane that can't turn right at Weidler, and can only make a right at N. Center Ct. Now, if I were in a car, and I saw a bicycle in a lane, I could think, I'm not getting in that lane because the bicyclist will slow me down (even though I am going the prevaling speed of traffic through these intersections. But hey, someone could think that). Or, I have an engine, I'm just going to blow past that damn bike.
But I've found, more than once, that the automobiles get behind me, and as I pull into the crosswalk to let them go past me, that they will try to force me into the traffic or drive slow enough to force me into the sidewalk.
Obviously, I'm causing some animosity just by existing, just by thinking that I have a right to not be killed.
So this morning, I'm at the light at Vancouver & Weidler. I'm in the right most lane, in the groove where a car's right tire would be. I look, and right along the curb is a broken beer bottle. It's not just a pile of glass though; about a third of the bottle is left, the bottom third, sitting up on its flat bottom.
The light turns green, and I'm off, and into the crosswalk to let the cars behind me pass me. And seconds later, I hear a horrible noise— and a moment later, I realize it's the car behind me. They've driven over that partial beer bottle.
I know it's wrong to feel shadenfreude, to rejoice in someone else's misery, but as these people threaten to kill me with their automobiles, I just don't feel a lot of sympathy.
Why did they run over the bottle? Was it because they were planning on forcing me into the traffic on Weidler? Give the cyclist a good scare? I can only assume they were out to get me. Jeez, I'm just trying to get to work.
permalink December 13, 2006 | Comments (3)
December 4, 2006
Another ride
It was 34 degrees outside when I left the house this morning, or at least, that's what the thermometer said. I bundled up and biked in.
It was another pleasant ride. One of the things that I enjoy about the morning rides (and sometimes evenings too) is seeing all of my regulars. You probably have them on the way into work as well: the folks you see almost every day.
I usually see my across-the-street neighbor when I leave the house; he's a caterer, and is usually heading to his kitchen to start his day, too. Though this morning his house was shut up tight, with no lights on inside. Oh, I wish I was still in bed.
I passed the guys I see every morning, meth heads probably, but nice enough. They always greet me, ask how I'm doing.
I see the construction guys loading up their truck.
I see the moms and their kids, waiting for the bus.
I passed the packaging factory, where someone usually is sitting outside the big garage door, smoking a cigarette and reading a paperback. But the garage door is closed; I guess it's too cold to read outside.
I look for the usual crew of homeless folks who hang out outside an abandoned house generally, but they too must have sought warmer climes. But the guy who works the freeway offramp with his Homeless Vet sign is out. We wish each other to stay warm.
I see some of the regular waterfront homeless folks, but to a huge extent, the regulars aren't there. It must have been a popular night at the shelters.
I thought about a lot of things as I rode: thankful that I have a house and a bed and heat, curious why some cyclists are in such a hurry, wondering how the homeless get by in this sort of weather, and why we as a society let them rot outside. I don't want to get political about it, but why do we let people suffer?
I thought about a story I had read about calorie-restricted diets, and then I thought that perhaps it would be better to start with something less extreme. Like say, veganism.
'Think about when you've been on a long hike,' Schneider says. 'When you get to the top, or wherever you're hiking, and you're really hungry and sit down for a snack. How does the food taste? It tastes better—everything tastes better. That's how it is for me every time I sit down for a meal.'
And I thought about how delicious heat would feel.
I rode into the parking garage and the wall of heat hit me like bathwater. I had never noticed the parking garage was heated. I mentioned it to one of the attendents who said, yes, isn't it nice? Yes.
Later, when I was dressed like an office lady, I went to get some coffee, and damn, it was cold. It was so cold! I hadn't been nearly that cold when riding.
...
My weekend was spent doing homework. It's almost over. Almost.
I had to run over to Hollywood, about 3 miles away, and when it was too late, I realized it could be a bicycle trip. Could have, if I had thought of it earlier. I want to get in the habit of converting these solo scooter trips to bicycle, but I have to actually prepare for it. Bicycling really doesn't take that much longer... but it does mean I can't leave at the very last minute. I can't make up time on the road.
(crossposted on vj.vox.com)
permalink December 4, 2006 | Comments (1)
December 1, 2006
Is this really necessary?
So this morning I was determined to get back on the bike. Great. It was cold, in the thirties, so I piled on the layers
- breast-immobilizing tank top
- old tshirt
- special expensive thermal wicking top
- old faithful (cashmere sweater that goes on every ride)
- fleece vest
- yellowjacket
and stepped onto the back porch only to discover that it was raining. Sigh.
So I went back in, put my work pants into the bag with my work top, and put on running pants.
I then went outside... and it wasn't raining.
While I probably overdid it a bit, I was warm coming in, and that was what I was aiming for.
Other than someone trying to mow me down by the Rose Quarter, it was a nice ride. I don't understand why people in cars need to threaten me, when I already know they could dismember, handicap or kill me without really trying. I was wearing the yellow jacket which is flourescent yellow, with its giant retro-reflective stripe, I had my lights on. I can only conclude that she threatened me because she felt I shouldn't be on the road. Or maybe that I shouldn't be alive.
Man, this stuff gets old. Yes, I'm on the road. What else do you propose I do? The bike lane ended, and left me in this lane, that you only need to be in if you're turning into the Rose Quarter.
...
I did get a good laugh though when I read BikePortland this morning. Yesterday, Jonathan reported on a sticker he had seen on the back of a truck:
One Less Bike
which for those of you playing at home is a reference to the Bicycle Transportation Alliance's
One Less Car
I personally enjoyed the suggested:
One Less Pedestrian (for bicyclists)
One Less Fixed Gear
One Less Bike (for tandem riders)
It was interesting to hear the PC go against the goofsters against the literal bar partiers.
permalink December 1, 2006 | Comments (1)
September 13, 2006
my little triumphs
A couple of days ago, I got together for beers with the Texiles. Sweetie had loaned his bicycle to them while another Texan was in town. The Texiles had gone for a bike ride to Mount Tabor (which, is really a dormant volcano and very very small by mountain standards, if you could even call it a mountain at all).
One of them had ridden Sweetie's bike.
Sweetie: Isn't the townie great to ride?
Texile: Oh yeah, definitely. Though hills, any sort of hills, are a bitch.
Sweetie: Yeah. That's a drawback.
...
Anyways, I was thinking about this conversation when I was riding my townie home yesterday. Though I should begin this with: I had great triumphs, hurrah!
I had a hair appointment in the evening, and a tight window of time to get ready for it. So as I'm coming out of the building garage, I'm looking at the bike computer and thinking, can I really make it home in 30 minutes?
I hit the road. The waterfront is crowded with people strolling, running, other bicycles, and homeless people. I am practically ringing my bell non-stop. At several points, I have to come to a stop because people are oblivious and there is nowhere for me to go.
The sprinklers are running in the park, so even though it's in the 80s, people are all crowding into the dry half of the concrete. I slow way down, and then swing into the sprinkler zone, and have to swerve to miss more humans, and as I lean into the curve to head back to the extreme right of the pathway, I slip. First time on the bike. I corrected right away, but it was one of those gulp moments.
....
There are 4 hills on the way home. Some of them are steep, some of them less so, but they're still all hills, and they're still a test for me. They include
- The ramp from the Esplanade to the bluff above.
- From the ramp to the stoplight
- The Holladay-Weidler hill
- The Knott-Graham hill (aka, Matt Dishman's revenge)
I'm neither feeling strong nor cocky, so imagine my shock when I rode right up the Esplanade ramp. I mean, I am a long ways away from having to stop on the ramp, but usually it's a big struggle. Last night, for whatever reason, it wasn't.
Getting to the stoplight was still a struggle. As was the Holladay hill.
By the time I get to Dishman's revenge, I stop at the stop sign and try to recollect myself. Just this last hill. There's even a chance I might make it home under 30 minutes.
As i'm ready to get started, a guy blows past me, grunting, "damn hills, damn hills". I figure he's saying this as encouragement as he looks young and thin and fit and no one to be complaining about Dishman's revenge. But he struggles, rising from the saddle, hammering the peddles, leaning the bike right and left.
I follow, and to my suprise, without trying, I'm in his draft, almost effortlessly being pulled up the hill by his momentum. And the rest of the way home, he's blowing through stop signs while I'm stopping for them. And I'm keeping up. Dude, I'm keeping up!
I did get home in 27 minutes. On my townie 3speed. Admittedly, I was out of breath for quite awhile afterwards, but totally manic too.
permalink September 13, 2006 | Comments (6)
August 22, 2006
Slow, it's the new fast
So. It's been weird since I returned the Trek. For a couple days, I felt like I didn't have a bike to commute on.
When I'd think about the Townies, it wouldn't seem right. I can't ride the 24 because it's not mine (not that he would care, probably, but). And it doesn't have a front basket. I can't ride the 3speed because it's a 3speed.
But I finally got back in the saddle last Wednesday. I rode Pinky the three speed, mostly because it had the basket in front. I just love the basket. And the ride in was good.
But I had something happen at work that was bad, so on the ride home I was battling tears. Trying really hard to not be the fat lady on a bike who's crying. And I decided then and there that I was going to go very slow. Because things were bad enough as they were.
That night, I started thinking about it. I started really making progress walking when I slowed down. When I quit pretending each walk was a race. When I decided that each walk would be its own reward.
So, hey, as Misty says, Slow is the new fast. My goal is to not need to lay down at the end of the commute home.
So, I've been going slower. Trying to enjoy the ride, which is always easy in the morning and quite a bit more difficult in the afternoon.
And knowing, while I'm taunted with images of Dutch bikes, that somewhere, my ideal commuter waits. I just gotta find it.
permalink August 22, 2006 | Comments (2)
August 15, 2006
the Bike Gallery rocks
If you need to buy a bike in Portland, you could do much worse than the Bike Gallery. Much worse.
They're who I've bought my last couple bikes from. They've been generous with service and helpful with advice and just plain nice.
I returned the bike last night. I felt like a turd. I almost started crying at the register. I so love the idea of that bike, and yet the riding of it is so thoroughly awkward. I rode it to the store, and while starting up was fine, stopping was a nightmare. Ack.
The folks at the Bike Gallery were totally cool.
"That's why we have the 30 day guarantee. We want you to love your bike. There's no use buying a bike if you aren't going to love it."
I almost started crying (again).
While I was there, I ran into a old friend whose partner was buying a bike. A Townie, baby blue, all decked out with white fenders and a white bike bag—so lovely. It'll be a good bike for her—she wants to start cycling—and she was obviously tickled by the Townie.
permalink August 15, 2006 | Comments (2)
August 14, 2006
holding pattern
I had an entry all written up, but it's gone now, through the magic of cats. Gosh, I love cats. Did I mention we might get a new kitten? Because we don't already have enough cats?
I'm going to return the bike tonight. It makes me really sad, because this did seem like it would be a great bike, and I'm sure it is a great bike: for someone other than me. But it feels like a personal failing. I need to get over it. The world is full of bikes, there will be one for me. Someday.
The interesting part of all this is that I don't have a replacement. I've called and called and called the folks with the breezer, but I've never actually managed to get a hold of them, and they haven't taken down their cra1gsl1sting, and so I am going crazy, crazy, crazy. Oh well.
The thought of going back to the Townie for commuting seems, well, crazy. It seems like a big step back.
...
In other news, I was compulsively websurfing yesterday as I seem to frequently find myself doing, and suddenly I had this click. What the hell was I doing? Why am I doing this when important things, like reading and housecleaning and yarn work, and hanging with Sweetie, are here in the real world? Why is the interwebs so compelling?
So I shut the computer and I started cleaning. I didn't get a huge amount down, but I managed to throw out about a bag full, recycle another bag, and bring three bags out to the car. It felt really good.
permalink August 14, 2006 | Comments (1)
August 10, 2006
I am powerless before bikes
So.
I've had this thought going through my head since I bought the new bike, that I should have held out and bought the Breezer. I just kept thinking, well, this is better on the Breezer, and that is better. Sure the current bike is okay. But the generator thingee is wearing out the side of the tires and it makes this horrible hissing noise when I ride.
So hey, at some point in the future, I'll buy a Breezer.
Except, of course, there's a Breezer available right now. Used, right size, nice color. Oh crap.
To make matters worse, I'm still under the returning period -- I could return the new bike. And then I'd feel like a total and complete schmendrick schmuck. Hell, I feel like a schmuck even having these thoughts.
permalink August 10, 2006 | Comments (4)
August 7, 2006
He's so cute, he's like a little bee!
From Beedogs. This web site really makes me rethink my use of time. Like, I could be knitting dog bee costumes right now!
This is the sweetest RAGBRAI story ever. AJ seems to do well riding under the influence. But what a lionheart! He sees Lance, he makes the climb, all after 4 bloody marys. Whoa.
Going out of town was a bit of a brute with a long climb out of the river valley. On the way up the hill from behind me, I hear Uncle Terry yell “LANCE”. I look back to find Mr. 7 Time Tour de France champ chuggin’ up the hill with his crew in tow. FAST. As quickly as any mind floating in vodka and tomato juice could, I made the decision to pull over and grab the camera out of my pannier for another chase. Lance laughs as he passes me. He’s seen this before.http://2wheelcommute.blogspot.com/
(oh, and I found this in a new-to-me blog called bikehugger.com. Schweet!)
permalink August 7, 2006
July 24, 2006
This is *so* not me
permalink July 24, 2006 | Comments (1)
July 22, 2006
Spilling over
It's 9:30 in the morning, we have fans in the window, and the house is 83 degrees. Outside, it's 80 degrees, so it's not bloody likely that we'll actually cool the house down.
Yesterday, Hillsboro (a west suburb) got up to 108. It's not supposed to get that hot today, but it's still going to get hot. Ugh.
So, I bought a new bike this week. It's the Trek t80 mentioned in the last post. I'm absolutely thrilled, but there's a learning curve involved with it. It's super light, it's got everything I need to commute short of a computer and a front basket, and it feels agile and fast. It's got thin road tires! I luff it.
But as you can see by the photo below, it's ugly. It's very dutch utility bike (which I like, it's dorky), and it's got this awful paint job. If I were vain, and I kinda am, I'd get it repainted. Or repaint it myself.
I'm avoiding talking about the learning curve, but here goes: I'm used to being solidly in the saddle and able to touch the ground with my toes. That ain't going to happen with this bike. And so, at this particularly ungainly part of my life I need to learn the hop onto the seat and the hop off the seat.
The morning I bought the bike, I spent about 20 minutes in a parking lot starting and stopping. Hopping off the bike feels completely out of control, but I do it fine. No problem. Hopping on is a 50/50 proposition. My sense of balance is just not what it used to be.
So I would straddle the bike. Place left foot on pedal. Try to rise up onto the seat. About half the time I'd tip, almost going down, feeling that bit of adrenaline as I lose control.
Anyways, suffice to say, I have a bit more compassion for other bicyclists who don't stop at stop signs. I have been almost completely unlawful since getting this bike. I don't like it, but there it is.
permalink July 22, 2006 | Comments (2)
July 18, 2006
Commuter bike lust
The Trek T80 Navigator:
Great commuter bike?.... or greatest commuter bike?
Discuss :)
permalink July 18, 2006 | Comments (4)
June 22, 2006
Back on the bike
I rode my bicycle this morning! I rode my bicycle this morning!!
It felt so good to get back on it, and felt so good to be riding it. So far, this morning, I'm just having twinges of acheyness, which is a cue to get up and stretch. I figure this afternoon I can ride it home, or not, though if I do ride it home, I'll probably walk up the inclines, just cuz.
This just feels huge. I am so thrilled.
...
So, I've set a goal for myself: no beer, and no coffee drinks, until I fit into my old favorite jeans. It's not a huge commitment: I could button them when I put them in the other closet; they were just too snug to be comfortable. I had someone on the bus the other day ask if I was knitting for my grandchild, so I guess while I feel like I'm 27, I don't look it anymore—so, no tight jeans for you. The goal is that they will be comfortable again.
Last night I got home, and I was itchy for a beer. I thought about running up the stairs and trying on the jeans. And then I thought: it's not going to hurt me to wait til the weekend to try on the jeans.
...
Music today:
Gnarls Barkley: Crazy, Jamie Lidell: Multiply, Donner Party: Sickness
permalink June 22, 2006 | Comments (1)
June 5, 2006
Something good
I've been doing lots of cycling, and less walking, this week. The cycling has felt good—I feel like I'm getting stronger. And I've had lots of nice conversations while on the bike.
I did get a rain cape the other day, which has meant that it hasn't rained on my commute. Golden!!
As usual, the commute is the best part of my day. Even the ride home.
Lately, I've taking the bike lane on Williams back home. It's like a bike freeway, and the hills are more gradual than going through the neighborhood. The fact that I'm passed by tons of bicyclists who don't ever let me know they're passing bugs me, but hey. I still prefer riding through the neighborhood, I just need to get okay/better at tiny little hills.
I got a set of hex tools (I'm sure I already had a set, so this will allow me to find them) so I can tweak an old bike. Sweetie lent out his bike, so I'm going to be riding my old bike, most likely, during Pedalpalooza. I need to adjust the seat, and the shifting sucks on it... so I'll probably bring it by Bike Central and see if they can't make it better.
And then I've gotta do some training. Like tout suite. Pedalpalooza starts on Thursday, and my brew crawl is Friday!!
...
I've been obsessed about music over the last couple of days. I blame watching music videos from my youth. Anyways, I came across the video for the Talking Head's Nothing But Flowers.
I heard the song, or saw the video once. In 1988. I immediately went out and bought the album, and it's the only Talking Heads album I have. But I love the song, the golden rolling singing african-cameroonian guitars, and the infectious "you got it, you got it" bridge in the chorus.
After watching the video, I dunno, a dozen times, I noticed that Kirsty MacColl was in it. Oh my gosh!
But the next video was Kate Bush's Cloudbusting, not one of my favorite songs by her, but it has lodged itself into my head. Especially the line, I know that something good is going to happen.
Anyways, that's stuck in my head now.
permalink June 5, 2006 | Comments (1)
May 24, 2006
Zoom zoom zoom
I read Running in Place this morning, where Lara is being optimistic, positive, etc., about running the MCM, in spite of having a bona fide knee injury.
When she was in town, we did some talking about how to get back into a habit that you've lapsed out of. How do you move from disenchantment to falling in love again. I mean with walking, of course.
And as I was puttering around the house this morning, trying to spot clean, it came to me as clear as day. Fake it til you make it. Set some goals and work towards them.
I thought initially of the Helvetia Half, which is three weeks away. It's a nice hilly half, a test of not-starting too fast, not getting-too-gung-ho on the hills. And then I remembered that I committed to cohost (or host.... I'm not sure which) a pub crawl during Pedalpalooza... which of course is the night before.
So, I'm not sure what to do. It's clear I need to come up with a walking event to train for, and I could easily do the July 4th half, as I have for the last couple years. And maybe that's something I need to do, considering that I lost my lust for walking there last year.
Anyways, I'm on the look out. Thanks, Lara!!
...
Did I mention that I'm scared-$#@()*less about this pub crawl? Mind you, I have no problem with riding my bike to pubs, I've been known to do that sort of thing. I'm just afraid I'm gonna be riding with a bunch of speedies who will be leaving me in the dust. And hosting suggests perhaps leading?. Yikes.
Still, every time I do a group ride, I amaze myself at my ability to not be the slowest person in the group. Still, some training might be in order.
...
My sweetie works directly with a guy we call Snowball. Anyways, just found out that Snowball has Noro virus. It's not a big deal, just a highly contagious stomach virus that lasts a couple days that you'd rather be dead during.
Nausea, vomitting and diarrheoa are the main symptoms. The disease lasts for 1 to 2 days but victims can remain infectious for at least a week from the onset of illness. There are many strains of Norovirus and immunity to one strain does not protect against another. Therefore people can be infected again.
http://www.newgenn.com/microbes/virus-data/noro-virus.html)
Here's hoping we (and you) skip this one.
...
It only cost me $400 bucks to collect the car yesterday. My check engine light was caused by, get this, the bulb for the up-shift light being burnt out. I didn't even know I had an up-shift light. Another argument for less-complicated transportation.
As I sat in traffic last night waiting to get home, I watched the cyclists with envy. Here, they were moving freely, much faster than I was. Sure, I had a radio, and I could blast the Smiths, but they had freedom. Damn it!
...
So this morning, I cycled in. Yay!
As I was pulling the bike out of the shed, I saw a father-child combo cycling up the street. I've seen them before: usually, Dad is pedalling and child is hidden in the trailer. But this time the child was perched on Dad's shoulders, holding on to his helmet-ed head. My first reaction was, Dude, you can't do that! Your kid! You're endangering your kid!!
But the kid was clearly having the best time ever. It's gotta be great to be a kid and be up that high.
I made a detour through Irving Park. One of the things that marks this last six months of rabid guide writing is my following tangents. Oh so much fun. I have a yarn store page, and a farmers market page, both about 90% done. And then, there's my Better Know a Bridge series... and my public fountains you can let your kids play in page which I've just started on.
Anyways, you go to the Portland Parks page, and they have this feature search engine that is very cool, but you get to the results, and it's really unclear that you're at anything useful. Like, they claim there are Water Play features at all these neighborhood parks, but, then you get to the particular park page, and it's just not terribly convincing.
So, long story short, Irving Park supposably has a water feature, so I went looking for it.
They have asphalt paths going through the park, so I cycled past the covered and uncovered basketball courts, the softball field, the dog park, and way off in a hollow I could see playground equipment. And sure enough, there was this odd little water play thingee which of course was not running because it's 50-something degrees and drizzling, as well as being 8 am.
Now I just have to go back when it's actually running and take some pictures.
Did I mention that it was a wonderful ride in? I had all my stuff in my panniers, which seemed to just help the whole traction issue. I was feeling pretty good as I was cruising around, zoom zoom zoom. And then I'm down in the Rose Quarter crossing a busy street when I hear my panniers go splat.
It lands, naturally, in the middle of the busy street. So I jump off the bicycle, and, ta-da! My shoelace is untied.
I did manage to reassemble the bike/pannier combo, but not without getting a dirty look from another bicyclist. What was that about?
permalink May 24, 2006 | Comments (1)
May 9, 2006
happy camper
From the new Xtracycle promo by Ross Evans:
"My life is as much as 20% better because of this device. I was a happy camper before I got it, but now I am like the happy campground host. I am stoked."
http://xtracycle.com/slideshow.html
via Todd
permalink May 9, 2006 | Comments (1)
Commuting
It's been a beautiful couple of days, after a rainy weekend. Yesterday, I went out to the shed to get out my bike and was overcome by how wonderful, huge and stinky my lilac shrubs were. So I did the only reasonable thing: I filled the front basket with lilacs.
There's something especially fun about wearing girly clothing (a dramatic cut-on-the-bias skirt with a frilly frothy chiffon blouse), on a pink bicycle, with a basket of lilacs. I attract a lot of attention just with the bike itself, but I got smiles all around from everyone who looked my way.
...
I've been job hunting and strangely enough, it's been lots of fun. I still am full of the "I'm not worthy!" moments when I'm sending in my resume, but it's been strangely relaxing and enjoyable: talking to new people about their workplaces, etc, etc.
One of the big things that has come up has been the commute. This isn't a surprise, but I am surprised how much it's occupying my thoughts.
One of the jobs I'm most interested in is in Beaverton, and the car commute was a pure drag. It looks like the MAX portion of the commute would be about 35 minutes; I'm about a mile and a half from the MAX station, and then I'd have about 3/4 of a mile at the other end.
So easily, that could be walked. But of course, I'm bike-crazy and so I get caught up in all sorts of silliness.
Like, should I buy a folding bike? Then I could just carry it with me in the train, and bring it in and park it at my desk.
Or should I get an electric bike, that would allow me to bicycle there. It's only 12 miles away. So it would only take maybe a half hour to get out there. Though I have no clue what I'd use for a bike route.
Note to self: do they have bike parking?
...
I went to the local bike cooperative this weekend and enjoyed checking it out. They had an xtracycle there; a free radical attached to an old hybrid bike. I swooned.
My problem is that I want one of everything. But really, I need a garage if I am going to be collecting bicycles. Silly girl.
permalink May 9, 2006 | Comments (3)
May 2, 2006
On your right!
Yesterday, I was longing to ride my bike. As I rode the bus in across the Hawthorne bridge, the bridge was covered with bicycles and pedestrians, all looking like they were having a lot more fun than we were. And I just wanted to be riding. I was totally pining for the fjords.
But I couldn't ride, because I had an appointment in the afternoon.
I've been so caught up in preparing for these appointments that I just totally forgot about May Day. Yeah, I heard about the protests, and I remembered the true labor day, but I forgot about the Hal an Tow and the Maypole and all that. And really, usually, the labor day aspects and the maypole aspects are at the front of my mind. But I was preoccupied.
Sweetie and I had been chatting about it in the morning. When was I going to leave work? I, as usual, didn't want to make a decision about it, I just wanted to leave when the time was right. But he kept arguing that I should make a plan, and I should leave early.
So, I decided that I'd leave at 12:30. But in fact, I left at 12:45. Just as the march, or parade (as the cops were calling it) went by my building, bisecting my bus route.
As I was walking out of the building, I asked the cop who was redirecting traffic if the buses had been rerouted, or if they were staying on their same routes. "oh, they're on the same routes", he said "we're just going to try to squeeze them in here and there with the parade". The parade!
Anyhow, the parade was huge. I ended up walking halfway home before I caught a bus... an hour later. I was sure envious of the folks on bikes.
...
This morning, I wasn't in the greatest mood, so I decided to take preemptive action and ride the bike in. Which was an excellent idea. It was chilly and crisp and all together delightful. Except when I passed an erratically walking pedestrian. As usual, I gave him some warning, saying, on your right.
He began shouting at me, about how he hates bicycles and he hates bicyclists, though of course, he said it in a pretty nasty way. And then he told me to leave him alone.
The sad thing is that this guy looked totally normal. It was unnerving.
I understand being pissed about bicycles coming too close, not letting you know that they're going to pass, not giving any warning. But here I was, being respectful.
permalink May 2, 2006 | Comments (3)
February 6, 2006
it's sunny
It is absolutely gorgeous outside. I rode the bike in, and I was in such an excellent mood, until I got to work. But damn, it is beautiful.
I'm thinking about doing something crazy like bicycling into NW over lunch. Bicycling might be able to redeem my mood!
I have mixed feelings about the weekend. I had a lot of fun, but I didn't get much done, and it seems that I am all about quantifiable stuff. Pictures taken, places visited, notes taken, junk removed, areas cleaned.
But I did take a look at my bills, and it seems that I should have plenty of $$ leftover after paying bills. So, now all I have to do is to stop spending it all. (cue sound of hysterical laughter)
permalink February 6, 2006 | Comments (3)
December 16, 2005
Let it snow!
I know that every day I whine about how cold it is outside, and every day its worse than the last. Dunno what to tell you about that. It's true, damn it! When I left the house this morning, in my usual I'm-a-cyclist-incognito gear, it was in the 20s. Two-zero. Brrr!
I learned some things. N0rdstrom Rack makes these knee-highs, nylon/acrylic or some such, and they have amazing stretch—large enough to cover my ginormous calves. So I put them on this morning, with my newish thin leather boots, which meant I could feel my frozen and detached toes rolling around in my boots as I rode to work.
I also learned that if about half of the xmas presents for my mom are at work, I can fit the other half AND all 6 rolls of wrapping paper in my panier. Boy, I bet I looked festive pedalling like the worlds slowest slug.
Last night, and this morning, the Steel Bridge pedestrian bridge has been closed. A person invariably learns this when they are right on top of the damn thing. I know, lots of cyclists like the Eastside Esplanade better than the Tom McCall bicycle parkway, but I have one word for you, for what the Esplanade is not: F-L-A-T. So I huff and puff up and down the dorky little hills. Yeah, I should kept biking, I've lost all conditioning, I know, I know. Don't I know!
And then I'm crossing the Hawthorne Bridge. It got restriped recently, so peds and bikes have separate lanes. Sorta. So I'm trying to stay in the cycle lane, which seems ridiculous given that no pedestrians are crazy enough to be walking across the bridge, and Trimet buses are whisking by a mere foot away. And meanwhile, cyclists are calling out, on your left, and flying by me, and then moving entirely over to the right, to the pedestrian lane. So I started counting. There was exactly one other cyclist who stayed in the bike "lane". This whole obeying the law thing is a drag.
permalink December 16, 2005 | Comments (1)
December 15, 2005
a bit of a tiger
Oh, man, it's gotten cold here.
Yesterday, I had a ton of energy to burn off. Over lunch, a cow-orker and I went to the grocery and bought three bags of groceries for the Oregon Food Bank. I was so happy I practically danced the rest of the afternoon. And, for the first time in recorded history, my floor has brought in the most food. Incredible.
After laying in bed not able to sleep last night, I decided that I need to get more exercise. Didn't I decide that previously, recently? Oh, yeah, I did. So this morning in a show of, what, I'm not entirely sure of, I was out early, pumping up the tires on the bike, installing a new light (which tried to commit suicide, thank you very much, on 15th Street), and adding the tire sparx onto my tire valves.
Once everything was done and said, I turned on the battery-opped xmas lights on my bike basket and headed in. And damn, it was cold.
permalink December 15, 2005 | Comments (0)
December 7, 2005
Trees of many colors
A garland in SW in an expensive part of town
The Santaland monorail in action
Santaland used to be this big room that had a monorail for little kids. The kids glide above the room, above Santa and their families and the giant miniatures displays with train sets and the likes. And while Santa was most definitely there, it was a much more informal setting than most mall Santas.
Meier and Frank has been bought and has been declining rapidly, and I guess they had pulled out the flooring in the Santaland area when municipal government stepped in and put some sort of kybosh on further demolition. And so there is a Santaland again, for the last year, which is unlike it used to be.
There's still a monorail. There's still a miniature, albeit much miniaturer. But now, it's all about Santa, all about corralling your kids, having to stand next to a bunch of toys while waiting to talk to Santa, about paying for the priviledge of talking to Santa, blah blah blah.
What's amazing to me is: Meier & Frank doesn't sell toys. Or at least didn't.
...
Yesterday was a workday like I'd like to have more often. I was very productive. And then I got to attend a class which made me all excited about work again. It was great!
After work, we went out and tried a new (to us) Chinese-American dive. I'm such a sucker for a good neon sign, and Sweetie has been very willing to try these places out with me. To our great shock, the food was good, though the atmosphere was sorta surreal (note to self: never use blue translucent ceiling tiles).
permalink December 7, 2005 | Comments (2)
November 29, 2005
Nobody Bikes in L.A....But they'd be a lot happier if they did.
Instead of the major thoroughfares I use when driving, I cycled quiet back streets—the kind that infuriate me in a car because of all the stop signs and the impossibility of crossing major streets without a signal. I found my commute so easy that I soon started looking for other short trips I could make on the bike—picking up a few groceries, going to the gym, returning library books—then longer ones. I plotted new stealth routes no driver would ever take. (Tip: The satellite photos on Google Earth are much better for doing this than a road map, because you can see exactly what the streets look like.)
slate.com/id/2130978/
permalink November 29, 2005 | Comments (1)
November 23, 2005
And now we are two
Well, Thanksgiving is getting smaller and smaller.
Last year, we had no Thanksgiving dinner party, and it made me quite sad. I love having people over, I love cooking for a houseful. So this year, I was hoping to have a houseful... and then I learned that another friend had snagged all of our friends. Except Mela. That's okay. Mela and I and Sweetie can hang out and cook.
And now Mela has the flu. Poor thing, she sounds awful. We'll make her a care package tomorrow, but I am so bummed.
...
Anyways, tomorrow will be fun. We'll cook, we'll hang out. I'll be bringing a huge pile of work home, but I'm hoping to have some time to knit and read as well. And maybe if this wonderful weather holds, I can get in a walk or two.
I rode home last night, natch. I had expected it would have been warmer than it had been in the morning, so I wore one less layer. But it was windy, and it was plenty cold. Damn, I am so slow, and the ride was taxing. But I slept well last night.
This morning's ride was beautiful. Cold, sunny, not too much wind. Even when I'm annoyed on the bike, I am so happy. I'm so glad to be doing this again!
permalink November 23, 2005 | Comments (1)
November 22, 2005
37 degrees!
And I was actually a little too warm!
I could have used some wool around my head, face, and neck. I wore a buff as a balaclava, and even though it is bright pink, people looked at my like I had just robbed a convenience store.
Wait a second, back up, let's look at what I was wearing. Yellow BMX Bridgepedal helmet (read: seriously goofy), check. Pink buff as balaclava, check. Yellow wind jacket, check. Respectable black wool skirt, check. Respectable clogboots, check. On bright pink bike, check. And people were looking at me like I was armed and dangerous. Oh, the power!
On my torso, I wore a drifit t, a thermal running top, my wool v-neck, and then the yellowjacket. I think I coulda done okay with one layer less.
I wore my dorky is0toner driving gloves: they were okay. And the great thing about those: they match nothing that I own. This bothers me much more than it should.
On my legs, I wore long underwear, the wool skirt, smartw8l socks, and the clogboots. Perfectly toasty.
It was a nice ride. Cold, but insanely sunny. I could really tell I haven't been on the bike in a while—I was very happy to leave it in second gear for the vast majority of the ride. I was leisurely, which meant I got in about a minute later than usual. There were quite a few runners, but not so many bicyclists out.
I know I need to get more exercise. My stress levels have been so high, and I'm hoping this will make a dent. I tell you, I do feel fairly relaxed this morning. And, while my clothes still fit, we are coming into the season of overeating and overdrinking, and I'd like my clothes to continue to fit. Or fit looser. And, we're just a couple months out of prime job hunting—it would be nice to look athleticly zaftig rather than just zaftig.
permalink November 22, 2005 | Comments (4)
November 8, 2005
Michael de Jong and his bike promotion
Still feeling crummy. Wondering when I will ever get more exercise than slowly walking up the stairs or across the house to the washroom. So very far away!
Still, I am thinking of movement. Check out this great article from the New York Times: Proselytizer for Pedaling Acts on His Words.
But Mr. de Jong does more than take absurdly long cycling trips across large continents. Since 1995, when he gave up driving after a devastating car accident, he has used his custom-built folding bicycle to get to and from airports in 30 cities around the world, including New Delhi, London, Lagos and Rio de Janeiro. Once he finds the most sensible route, he posts it on the Internet for others to follow. In most cases, he said, biking from the airport to a city center is faster than traveling by car or taking public transportation.
I couldn't find any evidence of his bike routes to airports online. Sheesh.
permalink November 8, 2005
November 7, 2005
Dexter Ave N., in Seattle
Too cool. This is a fundraiser for Bicycle Alliance of Washington which unfortunately has no info on their site about how to legally get a copy of this (BAW: Help me help you! Please!). I found this via Fritz of cyclelicio.us, natch.
permalink November 7, 2005 | Comments (2)
October 27, 2005
Too many words
So, somedays, you can try to lift yourself out of your doldrums, and what do you end up with? Lying soaked in your doldrums.
Yesterday afternoon at work was just a good example. I took lunch late because I was trying to finish up a project. As I left, my cow-orker/officemate reminded me of the staff meeting taking place in 10 minutes. Oh good. So I get a sandwich, take a bite of it, and go up to the meeting.
The beginning was not auspicious, when the boss asked what we were all reading. So everyone goes around, mentioning high brow fiction, and high brow political non-fiction, and I am filled with panic. I have lots of books, and I'm a chapter into most of them. Saying that you're a chapter into Firefox Hacks or Ambient Findability or Web Mapping Illustrated or Geographic Information Systems and Science or the Portland Edge or even 2/3rds through the Art of Urban Cycling—none of these sound high brow or impressive. They just sound like I'm a spazz, which admittedly, I am.
So I decided to take the faux-populist, anti-intellectual George W. tack, as well as the class clown approach: I say I'm reading Alterknits, and the Portland Edge, though I'm having a hard time with the latter because there are so many words. This gets a good laugh out of people.
I do find this stuff rather distressing though. I used to be an avid book reader before my dad died. But afterwards, I still read, just mostly magazines and newspapers. And I've never regained that conspicious consumption of books that I once had. Mind you, I still buy books, and take them out of the library as if I were going through a couple a week. But I'm not even getting through a book a month now.
Sometime this year, someone mentioned the fact that they had all but abandoned books, and then they realized it was an issue of needing reading glasses. Well, reading glasses really help, but since I've been waking up with a headache from my TMJ most mornings, when I forget and look up from my book through the glasses, I get a fresh shock of head pain. It's all very encouraging.
Anyways, I'm still mentally sorting through my panic and emotional response as the meeting goes on, and then I hear that I will probably be getting a partial RIF (reduction in force, not reading is fundamental) in the next two weeks, which is to say, I'll be involuntarily going part-time. Oh. Do you think you could have mentioned that to me privately rather than just announcing it in a unit meeting?
Anyways, I'm the only one who'll be RIFed in the department, and there is a cut and dried reason—the huge concern as to if we get the contract that funds most of my position. And it's probably all for the good, but it still comes as a big shock.
And it turns out that my boss had as much notice as me. Love it, I love it!
...
I've been really working hard to change my approach to cycling and walking, to be more predictable to drivers. For cycling, this includes not riding the wrong way down one way streets, obeying traffic controls, not darting across parking lots or lanesplitting, not riding on the sidewalk. It takes a bit of courage to be on the road, far enough out in the lane to be out of the way of car doors, knowing that while I might be inconveniencing drivers, I'm safer, and downtown, we're all going the same speed anyways.
Sweetie called me yesterday morning to let me know that the community radio station had the bike show on, and the bike show had an urban planner on. So I tune in, and all the callers are talking about how unsafe it is to ride on the road, and that they all ride on the sidewalk. The guests would patiently try to explain the vehicular traffic idea, which went over like a big lead brick.
Then last night, I heard about a pedestrian who was hit a couple blocks from my house. In looking for news about it, I found stories about another pedestrian was hit twice and killed maybe a mile or so away, and a suburban Seattle high school student hit by a school bus. I couldn't find any "official" news about the pedestrian guy or his condition.
And then this morning, I saw that Fritz had posted about bicyclists on a UK university campus: they like to ride on the sidewalks overwhelmingly, and 24% of peds report being hit by bikes (via Cyclelicio.us). How sobering.
permalink October 27, 2005 | Comments (7)
October 26, 2005
Futility
All I really want to do is to knit and play with maps. I tried reading a book this morning—that sort of thing used to be way high on my list of fun things to do—but the words swam on the page. So many words.
Perhaps in a related note, I am obsessed with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Maps (though I've never heard the Yeah Yeah Yeahs—the version I have is by Arcade Fire)
...
Yesterday was pretty good, all things considered. I did the Salmon Street Death March, the three mile walk up and back down the Salmon Street hill, with the usual suspects. It felt good, though I appear to have deeply offended a cow-orker that I don't know very well. I'm not sure if I should get upset about that, but given that I'm on the fence about it, I think I should just give up the catholic guilt and not worry about it.
Of course, fifteen minutes before I could leave work, it began pouring. I thought about leaving Sweetie's bike in the garage—but it's not my bike, and what if it walked off? I thought about taking the train part of the way home, but I'd still end up soaked. A cow-orker offered to ferry me and the Black Hole home, but I was pretty certain that I'd end up soaked, and that the bike wouldn't fit into her car.
During the day, I had read Liz's recent entry about the not-so-recent beginning of her regular exercise, which involved following through on a promised walk, even in the pouring rain. And I thought, I could act like I'm made of soap and avoid the rain, or I could just ride home.
I chose the latter. I had my yellowjacket as my only raingear, which is water-resistant, so within about the first five minutes, I became soaked to the skin. Honestly, it's easier once you're soaked, because it just can't get any worse. Since I was riding the Black Hole, the ride home was pretty easy once I got past my ever complaining internal voice.
But I was soaked through. Sweetie met me at the door with a towel straight from the dryer. I began piling wet clothes on the floor, and was surprised to see water running away from the pile. Yikes. And my favorite red mary-janes - soaked through. Hopefully they'll survive this.
On my list of things to do today: buy rain gear. Seriously.
permalink October 26, 2005 | Comments (5)
October 25, 2005
Who are you, and how do you know my name?
Vicki, your tires! You need to inflate your tires!
Huh? I look over in disbelief. The voice doesn't sound like anyone's I know. The speaker then says:
I own a bike shop.
Huh?
I still have no idea who he was, or how he knew my name. But, thanks, unknown bike shop owner!
I get home, and Sweetie and I go to a new brewpub near by. We walk in, and there's one of my PFit coaches. So I go over to say hi, and she tells me that she found my blog, and what is a blog exactly anyways? We had a great conversation.
Once Sweetie and I have consumed a pitcher of Jubelale, I tell him about the Cask Ale Festival this weekend, and he reminds me that I was planning on walking a half on Sunday. I haven't been training at all for the half, so part of me is like - I have to rethink this. Another part is: you need to do a thirteen miler, why not just do the half. And then there's the ego that says, but I'm not going to PR on this race. I'm probably going to have a lousy slow race time, so I shouldn't sign up at all.
It's clear I need to make a decision. I've been drinking a lot of beer this summer, which I enjoy, but there is a cause and effect there. If I'm going to get serious about walking, I need to really cut back on the beer drinking. Sigh. At least there's still chocolate.
So I did pump up the tires on Sweetie's bike this morning, and had a really nice ride in. But I'm a bit scrambled. For example, I got all the way down the street before I realized that the breeze was going through my hair—damn, my helmet! It's still in the shed! Go back, get helmet. Pass by the church where Katie's funeral will be and start to cry. Start thinking about my other elderly neighbors...
permalink October 25, 2005 | Comments (2)
October 24, 2005
Big weekend
photo of me on Pinky by Jonathan Maus
It's been a big weekend. Jon has done his first marathon, the Detroit Marathon, that I hope to do if and when I ever get fast enough.
Friday, I made contact with the career counselor guy. I have an appointment this Friday. I'm tremendously excited!
Friday night, my beloved and I went to our favorite restauranteur, to see how he did on his first marathon. He finished in about the same amount of time as Jon, 4:47, and he also had a hard time, and felt like he was too slow. "Nothing went well that day. I hurt from the first mile". But he has the bug, and he's already thinking about Portland next year, and was asking if I was planning on doing it. Hell, yes!
Saturday, I went to the Urban Planning open house. There were a lot of people there. It was all very interesting. There are some big holes in my knowledge, like, would I like doing this for the next 10 years or so? Maybe. Dunno.
Sunday was Slug Velo's Fall Colors ride. There was a great turnout, and it was really cool to recognize people from previous rides. As I was chatting with someone, here comes Hollie, riding down the street. Turns out she has a broken leg, but she's a bit of a tiger (as you all know), so she's bicycling. Huh? I don't know how that works either, but it was lovely to see her and get to chat for awhile.
Jonathan from Bike Portland was also there, so we talked about our tremendous need for more mapping applications. I've been obsessed with the subject now for a couple of months, but have been a bit cowed about it. Talking about it made me want to get home and get right on it.
I fell into a big conversation about neighborhood activism with a St. John's neighborhood activist which continued from the ride through lunch at the Lucky Lab. Maybe it was just natural after spending part of the day thinking about planning the day before, but I was totally framing my arguments, and his, in planning.
The colors were gorgeous. It was fun to ride through Sellwood, which has some nice quirky gardens and houses, and as usual, it was gratifying to realize, wow, I biked from NE to Sellwood, and then to Yoko's, and then to the Lucky Lab! This is doable. This is fun!
...
Oh, and there's one of everything even without the internet: the Hummer LX Tactical Folding Bike. Bright black and safety yellow, of course.
The other day, walking around Portland, I saw a security guy on a, wait for it! Wait for it! A Smith and Wesson bike! So I asked him about it, and he said he gets asked about it ALL the time. Imagine!
...
I'm feeling a bit shell-shocked this morning—my next door neighbor died.
In some ways, it's not a huge surprise. She went to live with her daughter in late spring, and she had alzheimer's as well as a heart condition and sickle cell anemia. I lived next door to her for 11 years, which is 8 years longer than I've lived near anyone but my parents, and Katie was like a wonderful aunt to me. She chided me about the yard constantly, but was always there for me, seemingly always happy to see me. I'm really going to miss her.
permalink October 24, 2005 | Comments (3)
October 19, 2005
focus
Okay, I think I am in the midst of a full-fledged midlife crisis. See, and I thought I had gotten that crap over with, already.
I got some really good bike reading in via cyclelicio.us. Fritz always points to some interesting stuff, and in the last while there's been Fat Cyclist writing on winterizing, Danielo's 9 reasons to drive a car, Jim Carson on the economics of bike commuting, Cycledog on the irrationality of fear, and the Journal of Applied Physiology on moderate excercise preventing and even reversing the accumulation of deep abdominal fat, which is linked to type 2 diabetes, high cholestorol and heart disease.
If you only have time for one timewaster (and it's not really one), go to Cycledog's entry.
Riding a bicycle on the road requires awareness, alertness, good judgment, and a wary eye on traffic. But it doesn’t have to involve mind-numbing fear. Maybe that’s one advantage of regular commuting. I see the same motorists day after day. They come to expect a cyclist somewhere on the road each morning. This is no exaggeration – I rarely have problems with motorists – and I ride a mixture of 4-lane arterials and 2 lane roads in suburban, rural, and industrial areas. The daily commute is a relaxing part of my day, not a stressful dash between home and work.I was thinking a lot about that entry as I rode into work today, and I hit the points one by one as I was commuting. I used the bike lane when there was one, and I used lane positioning when there wasn't. I tried not to appear "unpredictable and dangerous". All in all, it was pretty pleasant.
— cycledog.blogspot.com/2005/10/fear.html
I've also been thinking, for days now, about Neal Stephenson's message on his home page: his 'ongoing struggle against "continuous partial attention"'. He has a real point here: our multitudinous distractions can keep us from achieving our goals. For example: my office door is open, and cow-orkers come and go, talking mostly about non-work stuff. The cow-orker that I share the office with talks frequently on her cellphone. My phone has wrung already a couple times in the last hour and half. And I have three different email accounts open now.
Why do I need all this communication? I don't have a cellphone for a reason—I don't want to be that accessible. Yet, I check my email like a maniac. Why aren't I getting any list mail? Or personal email? Or comments?
I was thinking, too, of the amount of time maintaining two blogs takes. The old rule of thumb useta be that online journals should update daily on weekdays because people were following their bookmarks and going directly to the journal. In this day of newsreaders and bloglines, I'm wondering, does it matter if I update daily? Some prolific blogs can be kinda overwhelming when I open bloglines and see that there are 18 entries that have turned up in the last two weeks. Anyways, weigh in on this please if you care to.
permalink October 19, 2005 | Comments (6)
October 18, 2005
Weekend in Bend
When I was asking folks for suggestions, I was surprised by how many people said that they would live there in a second. I'm still a little surprised, honestly.
In my uneducated opinion, there are three things to do in Central Oregon:
- Outdoor activities (mountain biking, rock climbing, hiking, skiing...)
- Brewpub visiting (Deschutes, Bend Brewing, Cascade Lakes, Silver Moon)
- and Volcano geeking (Newberry volcanic monument).
We did the last two.
What to tell? We drank too much beer. Or actually, not very much beer at all, but for some reason, I seemed to have lost any tolerance that I had. We first went to Deschutes and had a sampler tray of 6 of their 8 seasonals. The majority of which were fantastic. We had a hearty snack to tide us over, before walking around town and Mirror Pond (Oh yes, Deschutes does name all their regular beers after geographic features of the area). Once we were hungry again, we went to Bend Brewing (or BBC as it's called locally), and had another sampler tray, this time the $11 40-0uncer (10 4oz pours), along with dinner. I was less impressed with their beers, but I also kinda felt like my palate was tired (bear with me, I'm trying to give them the benefit of the doubt).
Otherwise, we tried to avoid doing things in the cutesy, touristy downtown, which was expensive. We went for drinks at a cute, goofy, space-aged bar, and then did a special, expensive birthday dinner (his, not mine) which was unimpressive. The best meal was certainly the breakfast at Alpenglow, which was full of really good waffles, english muffins and eggs, and locals—including one guy with fangs.
I hit an incredible yarn store, and demonstrated why I shouldn't be allowed in one with a credit card. Damn, the colors were so pretty. I'm a sucker for the colors. I walked out with several skeins of Koigu, a gorgeous sock yarn from Ontario, and Mountain Colors, from Montana, in colors like wilderness and ruby river.
In wandering around town, I was noticing all the bike lanes. Lots of them, including along Highway 97. Hardcore! They also had sidewalks along the highway. And I saw lots of bicycles downtown. Which I took pictures of. And then tourists would ask me why I was taking pictures of bicycles.
They of course have bike lane stencils, and they have wacky bike lane stencils. And here I thought Portland was special. And not short-bus special. Sigh!
We hit the High Desert Museum, where we saw a bobcat, a corn snake, and a vicious otter, as well as a really great collection of Paiute beadwork.
We hit the Newberry Volcanic Monument in several waves—a hike around Lava Lands, where the astronauts trained to walk the moon, the site closest to Bend. Then we spent a number of hours at Paulina (puh-lI-nuh). We drove up the steep gravel road to Paulina Peak (at almost 8000 feet - you can see into 3 states!), which was just incredible. Climbing the hill, practically straight up, we passed three mountain bikers. Whoa!
As we undid our safety belts, we saw an eagle soaring overhead. Damn! We got out of the car, standing in wonder at the Peak. We had an excellent view of the horseshoe of mountains that surround the caldera, the twin lakes below (Paulina and East), the obsidian flow, and bald, bare areas where nothing grows. About 5 or 10 minutes later, the cyclists made the peak, in high spirits and talking about puking. They had ridden all the way up from highway 97. Whoa!
Then we hiked around the Big Obsidian Flow, which was also really incredible. It bummed me out to see a father and his three kids hike out with huge pieces of obsidian, not even trying to hide that they were doing something illegal. Thanks for setting a good example, dude! But my anger was soon turned to wonder at this insane landscape of pumice and obsidian. We're walking on the path which is largely made of broken pumice and obsidian, with large and small chunks of obsidian everywhere. Incredible.
I took tons of pictures, and I tried very hard to edit them in such a way that there aren't three thousand pictures of obsidian (just, um, maybe 15 or so?).
...
So I'm sinking back into normal life. I seem to be getting in touch with some internal rage. We had a couple encounters with assholes in Bend that left me shaking angry. Like, oh my gosh, I'm a volcano angry, and you better watch out. This intensity of anger is really seeming new.
At work, I try hard to be a team player. But not everyone else tries. Some people are jerks.
I have tried to just live with it, because I need this guy to be an ally. But who am I kidding? He's not an ally.
I had to ask him about something this morning, and walked away and found myself seething. I know that men feel this all the time, but I generally don't, and the violence of the emotion is kinda frightening.
I had just gotten in from a nice bike ride, feeling like all was right in the world, and now I'm glad that no weapons are easily accessible as I wouldn't like the food in prison.
permalink October 18, 2005 | Comments (2)
October 17, 2005
Make way for bicycles!
Although bike commuters will never own the roads here, Portlanders need to start taking bicyclists seriously. Just as light rail and the Portland Streetcar preserve transportation options that most people don't take advantage of every day, facilitating bicycling preserves options for the future, too, and enhances our city. The South Waterfront is a great example. Everyone won't bike to work from there, but it would be foolish—a wasted opportunity—if this extension of downtown isn't built to maximize its “bike-ability.”
permalink October 17, 2005 | Comments (1)
October 13, 2005
Bike and the City
It's drizzly and grey outside, the perfect morning for a bike ride. I was thinking about how different the experience is, riding in the drizzly rain versus walking in the drizzly rain. It really requires a huge leap of faith, faith that I generally don't have, to enjoy walking in the rain. Yet, for whatever reason, bicycling is fun. I don't understand it, I just do it.
And because I was not thinking analytically this morning, I took sweetie's sweet super-geared bike. With no fenders. My butt is still wet, and I have a stripe up my backpack. I'm still grinning about it though.
Yesterday was good. I made some inquiries about school, and attended a geography-urban planning lecture. Esoteric language, but I was fascinated. I bought an Oregon topo atlas and went and took more pictures of Ira's Fountain (which, yes, I'm a bit obsessed with. Sooner or later I'll finish writing about it and then I can regain my sanity).
I biked from downtown to Alberta St to meet up with the librarians gone wild, so I got to cover a whole lot of new territory. Lots of interesting houses and gardens to look at. To my horror, the new building that the bar we were meeting at was in had no bicycle parking. Isn't that the law? Or am I being naïve? So I had to lock up Pinky across the street, where I couldn't obsessively watch it.
I had a wonderful time though. I think I have a touch of aspergers syndrome because crowd scenes make me crazy, and I usually can't hear in groups in a bar, which feeds into all sort of ridiculous and crazy thinking. But I had good beer and good food, and really good conversation, and I was shocked when I looked down at my watch and it was 8pm! How did that happen?
So I biked home in the dark. I only had my back light so I was be really careful. But it was exhilarating riding through the neighborhood at night. I loved it. Obviously, I need to ramp up the lighting on Pinky.
And then I got home, and there were BikePortland stickers in the mail from Jonathan! Too cool!
Sweetie and I are planning a trip to Bend soon, and I am so excited! I can barely focus today between the thought of a cartrip, and the thought of school.
...
Oh, and you might have been thinking, what is it that VJ needs? Me too. Here's the results, googling on [VJ needs *]
VJ needs advice on home improvements
VJ needs a real caddy to help him with the greens
VJ needs to return to its previous position of a border patrol force
VJ needs a dollop of charm, a helping of good looks, a serving of wit and a dash of 'difference' (ouch!)
VJ needs some professional-level equipment to do a traditional realtime set
vj needs to stop them effects!!!!
VJ needs to be removed!
vj needs new bikes. desperately.
VJ's need for a computer upgrade has risen quickly to the top of our wish list
VJ needs a good ass kickin' ;)
permalink October 13, 2005 | Comments (9)
October 10, 2005
Couch bike
http://www.bikeforest.com/cb/cb.php
link thanks to Michael Rasmussen
permalink October 10, 2005 | Comments (2)
October 6, 2005
bikes: don't do this, do this
artist's rendering
Really, I do appreciate the don't drink and bike sentiment. But doesn't our municipal government have more pressing issues to deal with? Everybody has to be so damn PC. Sheesh.
...
In other PC issues, I totally didn't recognize one of the Bike Commute Challengers outside of work. I never recover well with this sort of thing, and as usual, I didn't yesterday either. So embarrassing. And so crappy. Maybe it was because I was feeling crappy, maybe, hell, I don't know.
...
So, it's become somewhat commonplace for people here to move via bike. By commonplace, I mean, there have been multiple occurrences, so a person would be justified in asking 'which bike move?'.
Bike move, heh heh heh makes me think of that old Seger song. I'm revealing my advanced age now. Anyways, I digress.
Last weekend, there was such a big bike move that a reporter from the Oregonian was there. The story ended up in In Portland, an O insert, today with lots of pictures, none of which are online. Of course, now that I'm looking for the story, it appears to not be online—or if it is, it's thoroughly buried. Damn it!
Anyways, John Foyston wrote a nice article that I wish I could link to (damn it!), and there are some great descriptions and pics on Todd's blog, and Jonathan points to this great Shift (a local bike org) Move by Bike page.
...
Kipchoge made this excellent point in a comment, which I have to put right here:
I think to a certain degree clutter is a symptom. The disease itself is what needs addressing: our compulsion to accumulate any chance we get.
permalink October 6, 2005 | Comments (2)
September 28, 2005
my day of overdoing it
Then, I rode Sweetie's bike home. No news there. I luff his bike.
Then I went to pilates. On the way, I found two more bike lane stencils that were new to me! Then, I got to class, and my instructor tried to kill me. She was concentrating on glutes. Of course, pilates on Monday was all about glutes. And bicycling is all about glutes. And walking uphill. I tried chanting Nietzsche, like that did a lot of good. So after class, my hair is wet, my whole body is wet with sweat. I guess that worked.
Of course, this morning I woke up and every inch of me hurt. So I listened to one of Sheldon Brown's podcasts about English 3-speeds and the Oyster Band (I found this via Fritz at cyclelicio.us). Tszuj had mentioned Mr. Brown the other day when I was fumbling with bike-speak, but I had not visited his site. The podcast was totally too cool. I'm hooked. Last night I was a podcast virgin—now I am a devotee.
It was cold enough this morning, riding in, that I thought: I've got to wear tights in the morning. I've got to dry my hair. I've got to get a wool Buff. My skirt, which is too long, kept getting caught in the rear wheel. That was easy enough to remove but kinda a pain all the same. I was running late, so I was moving fast—but made my appointment. I give it the ment0s thumbs-up!
And thank you, all, for the suggestions on the breakfast. I hadn't even thought of fruit and/or hardboiled eggs. I'm still game for suggestions, and I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to pull this all off. The breakfast I'm hosting is Friday morning at 8am... and it would be very nice to bring everything in by bicycle. The bakery I'd like to get some of the croissant type things at opens at 7. I haven't figured out where to get the coffee—the building coffee shop could cater it, no doubt cheaply, but it's not really good coffee. And I want this all to be super special, super nice. Cuz I loves my Bike Commute Challengers!
Today's Question: how do you judge a liquor store? Here in Oregon, we sell all hard liquor in liquor stores (with a few exceptions). They vary wildly, from Soviet style commissaries to lush IKEAs (okay, maybe that isn't a good juxtaposition). I don't drink liquor at home, so I'm not a real good judge of what makes a liquor store good. Are there speciality liquors they should stock? What sorts of cool things should I be looking for? Any help here is appreciated.
permalink September 28, 2005 | Comments (2)
September 27, 2005
Sticky, sweaty and with bugs to boot
I did mat pilates at the gym yesterday with a new instructor. She kicked my ass. I thought my legs were going to cecede from the union.
To make matters worse, I had brought super ugly clothing: a pair of super-baggy capris and a super-baggy striped shirt, which meant I looked super-fat. You know how when you look in the mirror, you look differently than in pictures, because your eye and brain are editing the perception? Well, I usually see myself as a chubby woman, probably not as a woman of the size that I really am. But yesterday, in those clothes, it was painful to look at myself in the mirror.
Lesson learned. Them's going to goodwill toute suite!
After riding home, encountering a bug swarm within a block of the house (?!? ugh!)(and having them stick all over my sweaty face and freshly lipglossed lips—double ugh!), and listening to a phone message from someone who wants me to advertise their motels on alt.portland (?!?), Sweetie took some pics of the new haircut. Unfortunately, I'm wearing that awful striped t-shirt and it's all I can see in the pictures. Well, that and I appear to be in front of a firing squad. You'll note in the second one that I am protecting myself with a dog.
I rode Sweetie's bike in this morning. Oh, so sweet. So incredibly sweet. (I want one so badly. Is it wrong to covet your darlin's bike?)
Hey, you guys. Today's Question: If someone was going to present you with the all time best continental breakfast, what would it include?
(I'm doing a continental brekkie for my Bike Commute Challengers, and I want it to be super-good!)
permalink September 27, 2005 | Comments (8)
September 26, 2005
And now for something completely different...
Hair
So, Friday, I went to the hairdresser with three options. Keep it long, do a cleopatra bob, or do this short-short cut. She chose the latter and went to work. It's beautiful. Really really short—so much so that a number of acquaintances haven't recognized me.
It was really fun. I like my hairdresser a lot, and trust her implicitly. Her boyfriend came by with the kids, and it was just sweet. Everyone friendly and outgoing, like a party going on in the shop. Loved it!
I got home and immediately got online and saw all the alt-chicks with their bobs, and thought, maybe I did the wrong thing. And then I thought, I'm not an alt-chick. I'm a middle-aged woman. No one is going to mistake me for Bettie Page, and that's fine.
I thought I'd miss playing with my hair, twisting it into a knot on the back of my head, swishing it around. But I don't, at all. If anything, washing my hair is especially pleasurable, as the hair on top of my head feels so thick and luxuriant. And my sweetie can't seem to keep his hands out of my hair.
Walk
I went to PFit on Saturday, albeit late, and did the walk. 7 miles. It seemed like nothing! It was great. It felt so good and there were so many interesting things to look at. I kept up a good pace, and felt just lovely and strong. It was super chilly so I was bundled up, but it was also clear and sunny.
This makes me think that my bad experience of a couple weeks ago was just that—a bad experience. And if I would have just tried it again, I probably could have gotten on track to do Portland. But it is probably good for me to take a bit of a break. And it will be great to work a water station, and maybe, walk someone in.
Oh. And Lance Armstrong gave me a thumbs up.
Am I delusional? I might be. I was coming to the end of my walk, and I had just gotten an excellent photograph of the absolute best bike path stencil in Portland so I was entirely blissed out. I was thrilled too that I had caught up with someone who had started 45 minutes ahead of me as well. So my heart was full to bursting with joy.
And then this guy drove by, in an old Jeep. He looked a lot like Lance Armstrong. In fact, he looked a lot like Lance Armstrong if he was trying to pass as a normal guy. And, he gave me a thumbs up.
I prefer to believe that it was Lance. But, who knows?
Bike
Sunday morning, I met up with the Slug Velo group for their Statuary in September ride. I like this group a lot—it seems to have a good cross-section of normal people and the bike-obsessed, and there's always a kid or two.
This month's ride visited George Washington, Joan of Arc, the moose, the volunteer, Portlandia, Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Skidmore Fountain, meandering through eastside, from 57th and NE Sandy to the Hawthorne Bridge, then to the Park blocks, and Saturday market.
It's always easier riding with a group, and it's fun too. I chatted with Dale, the recumbent rider, about his bike, and the electric assist I thought he had. He told me a bit about the former electric assist, but I definitely didn't get the impression he liked it.
Another person had an electric assist: in fact, the bike was so new that this was her first ride on it, and she hadn't yet tried the assist. It was really sharp looking and I'm looking forward to learning how it's working out for her. The setback of the rear wheel doesn't look far enough back to support an xtracycle, and I think we all know how xtracycle-obsessed I am. But it seems quite economical.
permalink September 26, 2005 | Comments (4)
September 23, 2005
One of those days
