Gotta Get Ready

I have a ride on the Oregon Outback route coming up in two months and I've had enough of the snow and ice keeping me from getting some good rides in. Today I made sure my commutes were over ten miles each and included some climbing.

My ride home after work.

The beginning of the descent down Houston Road.

Asking Questions With Loaded Answers

State Representative Matt Shea, District 4-R, is asking anyone on his mailing list to take his online survey.  I don't think he would care if anyone pointed out to him that his answers could influence how people answered. But I find this sort of thing interesting. 

Here's one example:

Hmm, I'm 100% sure that prosecutors do not determine sentences. Regardless, I came up with another set of answers to this question that may or may not serve his survey well.

Yes - I believe in the sanctity of live.

No - The people should be able to have a choice in meting out punishment.

Yakima Visit

Work took me to Yakima this last week. I decided to take my camera with me. It's a creative outlet that I've been lacking at this past year or so. I was finishing my lunch at Essencia, a cozy sandwich and chocolaterie place, when a crowd of people carrying signs marched by. Darned if it wasn't some of Congressman Dan Newhouse's constituents doing what many have been doing across the country. They were civil and adamant. I gave them bonus points for no misspelled words for not dragging the American flag on the ground.

Downtown Yakima is trying to revitalize itself. Or Dowtown.

A monument erected for Colonel Cock.

(Yes, you can still find juvenile humor here.)

Across the street from Colonel Cock's monument there's a 115-year-old marker commemorating the men who lost their lives in a war that seems so meaningless now. The monument is weathered and decayed.

Occasional Hike-A-Bike

I've been really trying to stick with bike commuting but the weather has really made it very challenging for me.  I now live near Downriver golf course, which is a quiet neighborhood just under four miles from work. There are no, what I would call, direct routes to my house. You have to zig zag a bit. Since the roads don't get a lot of through traffic, they don't clear up as quickly as other more trafficked roads. And with the short thaws followed by days of freezing weather, the ice/snow mix on our residential roads is polished to a very slick surface. Add in the unevenness from the ruts created by vehicles and you have tons of opportunities to take a spill.

At the risk of jinxing myself, I have yet to fall down. You'd think I'd be running studded tires but I'm not. I'm riding on Thunder Burts, which don't have a lot of tread and essentially no deep tread. I have them inflated to around 25 psi. I focus on keeping my center of balance centered, if that makes sense, and select a slightly higher gear than normal. Anyway, it's been working out great for me, except for when conditions are really atrocious. Then I take the bus.

Yesterday I had some extremely rough ice conditions. I had to walk the bike a couple of blocks to get to some ride able roadway. I'm okay with that. Riding a bike is so much more pleasurable than driving or riding the bus.

Riding In A Roundabout Way

Pretty clever, right? Did you see what I did there? Yeah, I'm full of myself.  AS well as other stuff.

It felt great to spend a couple of hours in the saddle. I stayed on residential roads and off arterials as much as possible. Less traffic and more snow.

Went For A Bike Ride--Bought A House

I have the next couple of days off. I've been riding my bike to work but taking the most direct and safest route, which is all of a half mile in length. So this morning I went for a ride so I could get some enjoyable saddle time. I headed for the house we're supposed to be closing on today over by Downriver Golf Course.

Pettet Drive is open now.

Downriver Drive lean shot.

I passed by one of the pullout areas where people can park and get out for a walk along the river. A woman driving a sporty looking car--I didn't pay attention to the make and model--was stuck in the snow. I stopped to help. Looking over the situation, I thought it would be best if she backed up and then got a running start to get over the slight incline she was on. I had her straighten her front wheels and helped push her out of the ruts her tires had dug out. The move was successful up until the point we tried to go forward. Her tires--a rear wheel drive--spun freely on the snow-covered ice.

So much for my master plan.

I used her ice scraper to dig out some of the snow and ice and pushed the car but it wasn't moving anywhere. She was very appreciative of my trying to help. I felt bad for getting her stuck farther away from the road than she originally was.

I was out of ideas and there wasn't anything else I could do. She had called AAA but they were backlogged for the next two hours.

Feeling dejected regardless of how much she thanked me for trying to help, I left her there and continued on Downriver Drive. A little ways down the road I saw a large branch lying on the ground. Maybe I could use that to get some traction under the tires. I pulled the branch out to the road, hopped onto the bike, and drug the branch back to the stuck car.

"You're persistent, aren't you?"

Hey, you gotta keep trying, right? I broke up the branches and stuffed them under the tires lengthwise. She gave it a little gas and the car started moving forward. Then the tires spun out. No amount of pushing on my part made a difference. Then a gentleman with a proper truck and a tow strap stopped. He had her out in two minutes. She hugged us both and we went our separate ways. 

Maybe I could keep a tow strap on my bike.

 I didn't take a picture of the car or the woman. 

That would've been rude.

Our new house.

I rode up to the golf course and around the bend to my new house. It was still there. We were supposed to close today but Fedex is late with the seller's documents. So tomorrow's the day we get the keys--and then change the locks.

It'll be good to have a place called home again. And it felt great to get a good bike ride in, even with the temp in the 20's.