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Summer, Where'd You Go?

June 06, 2007

This time of the year drives me crazy. There's just enough warm weather and sunshine to keep me hooked, and then, boom. Gone. 58 degrees today? What kind of horse shit is this? That's right, the stinky kind.

So I did the Bike to Work Day thing back on the 18th. Piece of cake! The route I take is really fun. I cut through some steep back streets and hop on the trail that runs under the West Seattle Bridge. That dumps me out onto Alaskan Way, where I use a bike lane until Safeco Field. At that point another trail starts up, which I take to Wall. Get the hell off my bike and walk up 3 steep blocks of Wall to 1st. Cut over to Battery and take that to Dexter.

That route is heavily traveled by cyclists, and at times I find myself right up on someone's arse and it almost feels like a race. Typically though, I'm getting passed, but those brief moments of riding in close quarters changes the whole dynamic. On one morning, I was riding past people stuck in stop and go traffic on 99. That ruled. And man, if you think the view from the Viaduct is good, try riding along waterfront in the early morning. Even better. It smells neat, and you get to see all of the yokels amassing to board cruise ships.

Last week, I rode to work 3 out of 4 days (Memorial Day). The weather was spectacular; nice and warm, sun blazing at 7AM. That made it easy. This week? Rain or the potential for it, cooler weather. Tomorrow looks like it will shape up a bit, so I'll have to take advantage of that. I'm all about public transportation, and use the bus as my main form of commuting. But these last few days have been killing me. Yesterday I had to take 3 buses to get to work. This morning I tried to strategize, but ended up on a later bus sitting next to a rather heavyset woman that kept falling asleep on me. Who gets on a bus and falls asleep in 2 minutes?

On an average morning, I can get to work on my bike in the same amount of time that it takes me on the bus. Not only that, but it's way more fun and a great way to start the day. It gives me that sense of freedom which I think is what makes driving so appealing. Only in this scenario, you're interacting with people, you're out in the elements, and you're heart rate is up. It's totally addictive, and I get bummed out when I can't ride to work even though I've only done it 5 or 6 times. After work last Friday, I rode with a new co-worker over to Fremont for some beers. I avoid Fremont at all costs around that time of day, but on a bike it doesn't matter. I can hop on my bike and get better grub at lunch. These are things people that drive to work probably take for granted, but it's a pretty new thing for me. So yeah, pretty rad indeed.

Fun kids in town this weekend, big Kabana blowout season opener. I hope we're up til the crack of dawn!

Posted by Aaron on June 6, 2007 11:03 PM| Permalink