old friends...

I hadn't seen the two coyotes on the dike for a very long while, but they're back! I managed to get a picture of one of them -- unfortunately a long ways off...



Here's the zoomed in version:

excuses, excuses...

I'm not sure what the deal is, but I've skipped bike commuting this week.



Monday's excuse for not bike commuting:
It just seemed "too dark" in the morning.

Tuesday's excuse for not bike commuting:
It was "too foggy" this morning. (Well, it WAS!)

What will Wednesday's excuse be?
(a) I want to sleep in.
(b) It's so chilly in the morning!
(c) They just put new carpet in my office -- the bike tires would make it dirty.
(d) __________________ Fill in the blank and help me out here!

Or maybe when tomorrow morning rolls around I will actually get on my little bike and pedal to work.

(And yep, that's me up there on my groovy banana bike. I think it was probably taken during the summer of 1967.)

new route and new 'friends'

I decided to try out a new bike route this weekend (new to me anyway). I was a little wary of my choice after I encountered this sign early on:



I usually consider the expression "Prepare to meet thy God" as a warning of impending doom.

But the bike ride turned out just fine. The route wound around a semi-rural area, and I visited with some nice horses...




...and a very friendly cow I've named Norman (as a tip o' the hat to the movie City Slickers):




There is a certain resemblance:

mystery solved!

Last week I posted about the upcoming local Bike to Work Week, and the fact that they were going to be handing out goody bags for bike commuters on Monday morning at the hospital (which is fortuitously located on my route to work).

All week I wondered with my keen Nancy Drew mind: Would I actually get a goody bag or would they run out before I got there? What would be in the goody bag? Would there be cool things or would it contain mostly coupons?

So I took my bike to work this morning and stopped by the hospital as planned.

At last! The Secret of the Old Goody Bag has been revealed. It contains:

--a water bottle (plastic--boo! yet recyclable--yay!)
--a bike tire repair kit
--a refrigerator magnet on the ABC's of a healthy life
--a trail map
--a 10% off coupon at Vernie's Pizza

I'll bet Bess and George are green with envy.

anticipating the goody bag

The local newspaper had an article in the Sunday edition entitled: Bike to Work Week gains traction in Cowlitz County. The article details how a small group of local bike commuters organized the campaign to coincide with a national one that happens every May. Our Bike to Work Week will take place next week, and the organizers are hoping to promote exercise, raise awareness of motorists, and show respect for the environment. (Full story here.)

The article encouraged people who want to participate to register on the "Cowlitz on the Move" website. Since I'm bike commuting 2 days a week anyway, I went ahead and registered -- which puts me in line for prizes such as a gift certificate to a sporting goods store. WooHoo!

(As an aside... The people interviewed in the article bike commute between 2 and 4½ miles each way. I googled my route and found I've been doing 5⅓ miles each way, so I felt a little less wussy about only biking to work every other day.)

Another WooHoo is that next Monday from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. they are handing out free coffee, fruit, and (here's the best part!) Goody Bags at the hospital. As luck would have it, I go right by the hospital on my way to work. I usually roll by there around 7:30 a.m. Even though they usually contain junky stuff, I love Goody Bags (I think because they remind me of trick-or-treating as a kid), so you can bet I'll be stopping by!

Stay tuned next week to find out the contents of my Goody Bag...

------------------------------------------------------------------------
The picture of the "Marble look-alike" riding a bike is from here.
(But I added on the bag!)

earth day

Garbage Puff reminds us that "Earth Day" is every day:
(Hmm... maybe the earth is warming because he's sitting on it.)

In any event... in honor of Earth Day, I resumed my bike commuting this week. I had stopped during the winter due to the rain (and/or snow) and darkness. My goal is to do it 2 days a week, weather permitting. (And if I don't wake up too late!)

I think spring is actually here now...

The weather has been beautiful this weekend. Yesterday morning I rode my bike down to the lake. I saw Harry McHeron, who let me get fairly close:



But then I crossed the line and he took off (as usual).



My old pal Nutty McSquirrel was much more friendly, coming right up to pose with his Easter bonnet. (I told him it was a bit early to be donning it, but he didn't seem to care.)

views from the (bike) road

Last night Hubby and I watched a Netflix rental -- Children of Men. The film's runtime is 109 minutes. About an hour into the film, I asked Hubby if 4 hours had gone by. Yeah, it wasn't my favorite movie.

This morning I decided to ride my bike to the post office to return the movie. Along the way I spotted this crane. (Or is it a heron? I'm not quite sure of the difference.)



I also pedaled by the llamas. This one was a particularly good sport about posing for me:



It was a beautiful fall day today -- sunny with blue skies and a pleasant temperature. Do I have to go to work tomorrow???

things that go bump

What I like about bike commuting:
(a) It's good exercise
(b) It (usually) reduces stress
(c) It's good for the planet

What I don't like about bike commuting:
(a) Sometimes people have trouble doing this:


Yep, today I had a bit of an altercation with a car -- The driver was not paying attention and came zipping out of an alley and (almost) into my path. I was able to brake and only did a minor bump into the side of their car. All's well that ends well as they say... but I think I will try to figure out a slightly different route to work to avoid alley areas. Gonna get these guys to help me:

Wile E. and Me

I have happily settled into the routine of commuting to work with my bike on Mondays and Wednesdays. Since I work Monday through Thursday, this means I am bike commuting...

*tap tap tap* [feverishly hitting the keys on the calculator] *tap tap tap*

...50% of the time!

Optometrists spend a good hunk of their day in dimly lit exam rooms with no windows. (Did I hear an "Awwwww, poor Barb" ? Thank you.) So, the best thing about the bike commute is that I am able to enjoy the 'great outdoors' to and from work. (I have chosen my route so that it avoids as many city streets as possible.)

This morning while riding by an open field, I came across a coyote. (Actually there are two coyotes who seem to make this little field their home.) The coyote was pretty close to the road, but he started bounding away as he saw me approach. I was able to get this picture:



It's basically a good thing he started heading in the opposite direction, but I would have gotten a much better picture if he had stayed put!

saturday morning poetry

I went on an early morning bike ride today (and had my camera along). It was a beautiful, 'picture perfect' kind of day. In fact, it stirred my inner poet. However, the words don't quite seem to be falling into place...

Attempt #1:

Birdie, Birdie on the bench
Oblivious to the Longview stench...

(You see, Longview has mills so it's sometimes smelly here, but mentioning that probably doesn't help convey the right message.)

Attempt #2:

Geese and duckies by the lake
Waiting for our next earthquake...

(Yeah, we're kind of in an earthquake zone, but mentioning that sort of comes off negative, don't you think?)

Attempt #3:

Llama, llama, eating grass
You sure have a funny a$$...

Hmmm, falling short there too. Sigh. Let me get back to you on the poetry thing.

needing new wheels

I took my bike in for a tune up last week and got "the call" a couple of days later. It seems there is quite a lot wrong with it -- just about everything except for the frame needs replacing! I wasn't totally surprised. I've had the bike a long time, put a lot of miles on it, and it wasn't an expensive bike when I originally bought it. (I should also mention the owner of this bike shop is very honest and reliable.) So... in terms of money, it actually makes more sense to get a new one.

I've started looking a bit at new bikes. I sort of have myself pictured this way:


Yet, the sales people keep showing me bikes like this...



and/or this...



I mean, really -- What's up with that?!

from the news desk...

I managed to get in a bike ride yesterday before the rains came. Ran across this on my way home:

(For those of you familiar with my fair city, this is right across the street from Longview Presbyterian Church.) How does one tip a car like that in a 25 MPH zone? The driver had to be going at least, hey, 30 or 35. :)

Or course I couldn't tell for sure in the 20 seconds I was pedaling by there, but I don't think the driver was really hurt. (At least I hope not.) The ambulance left driving a regular speed and without the lights and sirens, plus there was nothing in the morning paper.

In Other News:
(or... The McSquirrel McUpdate):

It appears that Nutty McSquirrel is going overboard in protecting his few remaining peanuts...


Yikes!

great moments in literature

Wow, another beautiful fall day and another nice bike ride -- this time around our local lake. About midway through my ride, I came across a tree with a large hollow. Curiosity got the best of me so I just had to stop and see if perchance Boo Radley had left me a present. Chewing gum? Broken pocket watch? Nope. But there were lots and lots of acorns -- which reminded me of another classic of American literature: Donald Duck's Toy Sailboat. You know the book. It's the one where Chip and Dale steal, er...borrow, Donald's model sailboat and take it out to an island to get acorns from a huge oak tree. Foreshadowing, symbolism, dramatic irony -- yep, it's all there.

view from the (bike) road

I was lucky enough to have the afternoon off today, and I took my bike out for a little spin. It was a gorgeous fall day -- even the llamas were smiling.