I’ve mentioned before how I like to ride. That is, slow. I kinda plod. My old Trek 820 with the 26inch dry rotting slicks is a heavy slow bicycle. Add to it my panniers packed with crap all my necessities, the water bottle and computer bag slung across my back it’s a rolling 75 pound sack of flour. (At least it’s mostly organic flour) And yes, that’s the actual weight of my bicycle and associated gear.
Then there’s BrightSpirit’s newer aluminum framed Trek someothernumber. She doesn’t have panniers or associated cool stuff on it and it weighs in just under 25 pounds. A virtual butterfly.
So the other day Gabby (the 21 year-old Daughter) and I went for a brief ride and she rode BrightSpirit’s bicycle. I being the benevolent Father, super-in-shape bicycle commuter and Firefighter extraordinaire let her set the pace.
Oops.
I kinda felt like Yehuda Moon in this comic. Must..Keep..Up..With..Gabby
Next ride she can carry the bike and maybe I'll be able to stay with her
Yes, that’s her in the photo. So much for being super-in-shape. Next time I’m going to hitch a camper behind her (kinda like this pic from Jason’s blog). Then we’ll see who’s really in shape.
Fresh Abundance! Division has applied for liquor license and will soon be carrying wine and beer. I don’t know about ya’ll but as one of the owners and a person that frequents the place it’ll be quite convenient for me.
Two fun bicycle related items….
First I’d like to compliment Jeff from the FBC. During the photoshoot ride he mentioned to me a funny bicycle related comic strip. I lost about 2-hours of study time to reading this comic from the beginning to the current issue. It is great! It addressed just about every bicycle related issue I have ever experienced and showcases a lot of people that I can relate to. There’s the activist that paints his own bike lanes (A Bumble Bar for the first person that puts in the comments who I’m thinking of). One of the main characters has an old commuter bike that’s heavy and slow (like mine), there’s a bike ninja (related article here) and more. It really is outstanding, check it out at http://www.yehudamoon.com/. I highly recommend starting at the beginning. If you like it, please contribute to it’s support.
Next, my oh so good friend the Gutter Bunny (also mentioned in the cartoon as Captain Dashboard) sent me this video.
Of course I just know that there’s someone out here in SpokaneBicycleLand that will build a couple for us. In case there is, here’s the link with the how-to.
Yes, I know it’s been a while since I’ve written. Thanks for noticing.
As I mentioned earlier I’ve been accepted into the Fire Department and even though I’ve already had the training and actually used to teach it I’m going through the academy again. Let me tell you before you ask; Yes, It’s difficult. I have at least an hour of homework every night and some days (like today) it’ll take me about 4 to 5 hours to wade through it all.
Unfortunately something has to to give and it’s been this blog.
So, what *have* I been up to? (besides that silly school)
Well! First of all we’ve some more famousisty coming up. The FBC had a photo shoot on Saturday evening. We started at the Baby Bar and rode around the block 4 dozen or so times for the photographer.
Lifetime Members for Life
As with all FBC rides it involved beer and Greg even showed up with his XtraCycle packed from a home improvement supply run.
How's this for good bike usage?
And because I wanted to retain my Lifetime Membership For Life I drank a lot of beer and didn’t use my cell phone.
Safe
On Sunday the wife and I took a much needed day off and rode the Trail of the Coeur D’ Alenes where she was almost ate up by a gigantic preying mantis.
Run for your lives!
After we realized it wasn’t real I took another picture and we continued.
Click for larger version (of the picture)
That was it for the weekend.
Oh, on the way to the FBC photo shoot I saw this and immediately wondered if Pat was driving this truck.
I really do like to ride my bicycle. For me it’s best when shared with someone I care for. It’s so much pleasureable to enjoy things with someone else.
Dad and Daughter
The Centennial Trail is one place that’s great to enjoy because it’s easy and if you’re with someone of varying ability you can go at any pace. So last Sunday Gabby and I rode the 9-Mile portion of the trail. A very “vanilla” (meaning not much flavor) ride. Paved, mostly flat and a few trees. A great place to ride side by side, talk and visit. You really don’t have to worry about traffic and there really isn’t much for to sightsee.
Then there’s the city rides. It’s best to pay attention, for two reasons.
Ya gotta watch out for cars, bicycles, people and/or moon goats.
You never know when a photographic opportunity will present.
Like this…
No, that’s not a real dog nor is that a “real” head. Would anyone like to guess where I took this picture? Post your answer in the comments and the winner will receive a Bumble Bar (provided you’re at the FBC’s photo shoot on Saturday).
I’m not sure the title of this post is correct. In fact, this was actually written a couple of days ago over a week ago and it (the title) changed a couple of times.
Here’s where my head’s at. You see, I’ve been riding my bike through Manito Park now for about 3 years. Summer through winter and there’s been one very consistent item that till recently has been kinda bugging me.
In the road, directly in front of the Park Bench cafe there is a water main that has been leaking. It’s been leaking steadily for every day of these 3+ years that I have been riding by.
If this was leaking for 2+ years would you do anything about it?
Honestly, for a while I would get all indignant, grumbling things about water wastage and such. Then recently I put some thought into it. This is what I came up with…
Is the City paying for the water wastage? (basically is some of our tax money washing down the road?)
Where is that water going?
When is The Scoop going to serve beer?
My answers?
No the city isn’t paying for the loss. Now this can be argued through a bunch of different levels with the ultimate answer being, yes the city is paying for that water. But I’m referring to the simpler expedient of “fast” cash out.
This is the one that got to me. At first I was worried about the waste all that water. Then I really *did* think. Um that water is going right back into the aquifer, so it’s kinda making a circle.
Um, never :( It’s right freeking next to an elementary school. Duh! (pesky kids!)
Let’s make it ever more murky. So, the city decides it wants to fix it. The road in our beautiful park right in front of our wonderful little cafe gets torn up and then replaced. What little traffic goes through there is snarled and patronage of the cafe comes to near halt due to parking issues, noise and bad smells. Not only that, we (the tax payers) are paying for the repairs and the city loses revenue (from the cafe).
So now I say leave the dang thing alone unless/until it begins to seriously undermine the road and/or impacts local water pressure.
Hey! You’re now reading the blog of one of Spokane County’s “newest” firefighters. Odd that I refer to myself as one of the newest as I was a Firefighter/EMT here for a while before. But for the sake of simplicity (and because I have to go to the academy again) we’ll call me new.
As a bit of background I seem to recall that there used to be a 2-story white colonial type of house here before it was moved and/or torn down. I did a Google map of the address but all it shows is the condos under construction.
