Wednesday, March 31, 2010

30 miler

On Saturday, Sean and I took our longest bike ride to date: 30 miles. It was the first rain-free day we'd had in a week. And, if we are EVER going to pull off the Seattle to Portland ride, we need to start building mileage soon.

So we set out on the fabulous Burke-Gilman Trail, starting from Matthews Beach a couple of miles from home (we drove there - no need to be overachievers, after all), rode north around Lake Washington to the Sammamish River Trail and headed south along the river to almost Redmond before turning around.

We did pretty well, even if we were a little slow. And, of course, there were learning experiences to be had. Namely, bring snacks! I am usually pretty snack driven but didn't even think about on Saturday. Needless to say, we were famished by the end of the ride.

One of the best things about riding - other than being outside in the fresh air and getting a good workout, of course - is the people watching. Here's what I learned from the people and pets on the ride:
  • There is a bike for everyone. We saw lots of recumbent riders, including one guy who rode with what looked like a grill cover draped over him and his bike, leaving only his head sticking out. I am not sure why. It's not like it was cold or raining. Curious...
  • Tandem bikes seem to be quite popular among a certain type of couple... generally the ones who enjoy dressing identically and look so much alike they could be twins. If we were in the south, I might wonder, but that's generally not been something I've noticed in the Pacific Northwest. A note to the middle-aged, overweight couple riding the tandem bike. Lady, it looked like you were steering your part of the bike with your guy's love handles. You might want to consider two bikes.
  • Performance wear comes in a wider selection of sizes than I ever imagined. As a note, if you aren't actually a professional bike-rider, consider buying one size up. Otherwise, you just look like an over-stuffed sausage. And wearing fancy head-to-toe Lycra, an aerodynamic helmet and special clip-on bike shoes does not hide the fact that you are 50 pounds overweight and sweating profusely. You aren't kidding anyone, man.
  • Some kids love the little bike trailers and dig riding with their parents. Some kids absolutely do not like the little trailers and will even try to jump out of said trailer while it and the parent pulling it are zooming downhill.
  • Performance bike jerseys with lots of corporate logos seem to be code for asshole riding a bike. Seriously, jerks, this is the Burke-Gilman, not the Tour de France. You have to share the trail with me and the little kids riding their bikes and the old people walking their scraggly dogs. Deal with it.
  • Basset hounds wearing pink tutus look just as ridiculous as you might imagine.
Overall, a great day. Can't wait to get back out!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

16 percent

We are part of this 16 percent. Are you?

Seriously, fill out your 2010 U.S. Census forms. It's important, it's your civic duty and it takes about five minutes. Go do it now ... I'll wait.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Still here

Yes, I am still here. I just haven't been inspired to blog lately...

It's the same ole, same ole. Our apartment still sucks. We still hate it, and the three-day adventure last week when there was no hot water only strengthened our resolve to move this summer. On the positive side - I was able to re-purpose my canning pot and stock pot to draw baths the old fashioned way. It took bloody forever, but at least I was able to get clean.

We had a perfectly lovely Saturday this weekend - sunny and warm. So we spent part of the day at the beach in Carkeek Park. What a fun day. The picture at left is the ONLY photo we took that day in which my eyes were open. It was so extremely bright compared to the overcast, gray days we have been experiencing, and Sean deserves a medal for taking probably 200 photos until I could keep my eyes open.