Apparently they are putting in some new bikes lanes on 85th street. There are some markings along the edge of the road that indicate where the stripes are to be located, etc. I followed the route for about ten blocks, and found a different symbol painted freehand at every block.
I can just imagine the tortured look on some poor city employee's face as he tried, time and again to recreate the mysterious geometry of the bicycle on pavement, with a spray can in one hand and a smoke in the other. The guy probably hasn't ridden a bicycle in over ten years, and certainly never thought he would be judged on his artistic talents after tenth grade. Sorry buddy. You can see where he gives up and starts thinking about lunch.
These are some of my favorites:
Not bad:
Read the rest of New Bike Lanes in Seattle
The excitement has since passed, but I'd like to recall for you what has become a meaningful event for me. I have raced only three bike races in my life. Two of them were WSBA sanctioned criterium races and I had fun, but I got whooped. At least I finished the second race, and by the way, I've heard that that particular course is a really hard one. The third race is the one that matters. I almost didn't go. I'm glad I did…
Read the rest of Midnight Racing
Stopped by the Seattle Bike-In on Sunday. Some teens from Issaquah were tearing it up on the stage while an overly mellow crowd offered a few yelps of encouragement. (I haven't heard 3-chord angst like that in a long time.) Sadly, I didn't have time to stay for the films as it was getting late and work was piling up. (Spent the whole day riding in sun.) Before leaving I did manage to witness the operation of a fine invention that paired a bicycle with a blender. Bike smoothies!
At least they're being honest. On the plus side, all reports (Like this one) seem to say that bikes sales are through the roof, which by itself doesn't matter much to me, except that there also follows government attention and spending on bike lanes, facilities, etc. I'm one of those jerks who has for years been saying "good" when gas prices go up - with the hope that once there was a squeeze, people would start looking for other options. So I guess that's where we are. Keep voting with your dollars, peeps. That's one vote that even GWB can't steal.
