November 30, 2008Arrived at Seattle Center at 6:30am. It was incredibly dark and foggy. Not as cold as I expected, though. The Space Needle and EMP looked so strange, with the lights creating a halo effect around their perimeters. Instead of fighting the crowds, I went into the Center House where it was warm and the bathrooms were empty. A few other runners found the spot too, but we weren't anxious to share the knowledge. I laid down for awhile, stared at the new…[more]

I was talking to a co-worker about the Seattle Half-Marathon coming up on Sunday.  She made a comment about how committed I was and how she wished she could stay committed to some kind of fitness program.I told her honestly that a lot of the time, I don't enjoy working out.  In fact, most days it is more work than it is play.Then I compared my commitment to a "relationship" and realized I was forming the theory as it was coming out of my mouth.  Basically, it sounded like …[more]

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to sign anyone up for the Go By Bike Challenge, sponsored by Trek, maker of my bike, but I got a kick out of the calculator they use to help you see the practical effects of biking somewhere instead of driving.http://1world2wheels.org/go-by-bike-challengeJust click the blue Get Started button and play around with the calculator to see how may pounds of CO2 and how much gas money would be saved by riding your bike somewhere instead of driving.  I h…[more]

So I did do the Seafair Half-Marathon.  Yeah, I snuck the "half" part in there.  Turns out, I wasn't ready for the full run yet, based on my training runs leading up to it, so I ran a relaxed half marathon.  The turnout was great and the run was hilly, but comfortable.Thanks to those who did contribute to the cause, by the way, it is much appreciated. I want to do the Portland or the Seattle marathon and take another shot at this fund-raising thing, but first things first - I need a lot more mileage on my feet.

So I haven’t been ignoring my duties to journal about bike commuting. Ok, actually, I have. But the reality is, circumstances have changed recently, as they often do.Mattk, another Trusera member, recently lost his beautiful daughter to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. I will not do his family a disservice by trying to summarize their (continuing) journey; rather, I encourage everyone to read it for themselves.When I read it, though, I felt compelled to do something &nda…[more]

My son convinced me to write this safety note. No, he is not well-versed in State helmet law, and no, he is not a consumer safety advocate. The reason he convinced me to write it is because last Sunday, he managed to ride his bike sans helmet with me standing right next to him.In other words, I, the writer of bicycle safety notes, and author of countless exhortations regarding the benefits of hand signals, extra lighting and traffic awareness, allowed my 2.5 year old so…[more]

In an earlier post (February 15th), I gave a Safety Note and promised more in the future. I think I'm overdue for post #2...Last time, I spoke briefly about the dangers of the Right Hook and how to avoid them while cycling in traffic. This time, I'd like to briefly touch on a less frequent, but equally risky situation; appropriately, (if not creatively), dubbed the "Left Hook".As you'll recall, the Right Hook is, in paraphrased form, a situation where a car is making…[more]

Does anyone else have problems motivating themselves on a Wednesday morning? I mean seriously, saving gas, getting exercise, starting the day with a workout, smelling the clean, crisp air as I bike to work all sounds great...on Sunday night. But lately, I have had an OVERWHELMING desire to buy a HUGE SUV, get on my electrically-heated leather seat, turn on the morning commute talk radio, roll up my windows and laugh at everyone outside in the 40 degree rain.But I don't. At least n…[more]

Last week, I participated in a 5 hour marathon meeting session at work. A co-worker was kind enough to make a teriyaki run for lunch and bring us all back chicken teriyaki plates so we could continue our meeting unabated.I ate my chicken teriyaki plate, then went back to our planning activities as intended. However, I noticed that there was one unopened chicken teriyaki plate still sitting on the table near me. I whispered to a few people, asking whose it was, and finally I got a consen…[more]

When I started commuting on the bike, I wasn't familiar with a lot of the terminology, including some of the language used in bike safety posts. Since so many people bring up safety as the main issue when considering whether or not to bike to work, I thought I'd explain one topic at a time, in clear, non-bike-specific terms. Today's topic (since I encountered the danger yet again on the way into work this morning), is the "Right Hook".Here in Seattle, bike accidents…[more]