A wet night

Claire said:

Last night, after some volunteer work, I was riding from Fremont to
Montlake, with the goal of loading my bike on to 545 bus to get home.
It was late, dark, and pouring pouring down rain.

I was on the Montlake Bridge. The regular bridge deck is terrifyingly
slippery with any vehicle in the rain, so I was on the adjacent
pavement. There was a pedestrian. I slowed way down and said, "passing
you on your left". He turned to look back at me, and I moved to the
left to avoid him. My tires were then on where they have painted the
pavement red and white stripes to warn you of something, I'm not a
100% sure of what. It was very slick on that red and white paint, and
I wiped out. I muttered "I'm OK" at the pedestrian, got back on the
bike, and rode to the Montlake Freeway stop.

Another cyclist at the Montlake stop said he had been waiting 20
minutes for the 545. If the bus was that late, it was raining hard,
and there was already someone there waiting for the bus ahead of me,
it did not bode well for rack room. When the 255 pulled up with an
empty rack, even though it meant an additional three miles of riding,
the decision was easy.

I pulled the bike off at the South Kirkland P/R. It's about another 5
or 6 miles home from there. It was late enough that I decided that
Northup, usually a high-speed busy suburban arterial, had light enough
motor vehicle traffic, that I'd just take Northup all the way home and
avoid the 520 trail. The trail is OK, but when it's that dark and
deserted, I begin to worry about my personal safety. Northup at least
had some cars on it, and it is very well lit.

I got home, absolutely soaked through, and peeled off my bike stuff. I
was shocked to see a big hole ripped into my tights and my knee
bleeding. I had no idea. After my hot shower, I put some disinfectant
on it and a big gauze pad.

With the injury, and dire predictions of a big wind storm coming in
this afternoon, I decided to just take the bus to work this morning,
instead of the bike.

Warm Regards,

Claire
http:///www.bicyclemeditations.org

Given the subject line, slightly disappointing...but a nice read
nonetheless!

Bill "they thought it, too" S.

Ah, memories. My commute's too short these days for me to endure long
rainy trips home, but I had my share, some years ago -- cold, rainy
nights when I'd get home, stand by the washer/dryer and peel off
layers of wet clothes. Does a hot shower ever feel any better than
that? I don't think so.

Nice post, as always, Claire.

- JR

Since people from all over the world read this group, may I humbly
suggest giving some more specifics about your location (i.e. state and
country?)...

Ears ??? said:

Since people from all over the world read this group, may I humbly
suggest giving some more specifics about your location (i.e. state and
country?)...

I thought everyone knew that Claire was from Seattle?

DAGS (Montlake Bridge): <http://pics3.city-data.com/cpicc/cfiles31046.jpg>.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
Beer - It's not just for breakfast anymore!

"Ears" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Since people from all over the world read this group, may I humbly
suggest giving some more specifics about your location (i.e. state and
country?)...

Seattle Metro area in Washington State USA

"Tom Sherman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Ears ??? said:

Since people from all over the world read this group, may I humbly
suggest giving some more specifics about your location (i.e. state and
country?)...

I thought everyone knew that Claire was from Seattle?

While I give little locational details in a story like this, I hope that it
works without having to know exactly where Northup runs or what the Montlake
Bridge looks like.

Thanks, Tom Sherman and Frank Drackman, for providing Ears with the
information sought. I must have killfiled Ears at some point or another
because Ears's post didn't appear for me. At one time I was on a rampage,
where I killfiled everyone who responded to a posts made by a certain
person. The only exception was Tom Keats, who I like so much I had to
forgive him.

Another picture of the Montlake bridge,
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/myseattlepix/photos/1005488_450.jpg,
which gives you a better sense of what it is like for a bike.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

On Thu, 18 Oct 2007 08:33:33 -0700, Claire <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Last night, after some volunteer work, I was riding from Fremont to
Montlake, with the goal of loading my bike on to 545 bus to get home.
It was late, dark, and pouring pouring down rain.

I was on the Montlake Bridge. The regular bridge deck is terrifyingly
slippery with any vehicle in the rain, so I was on the adjacent
pavement. There was a pedestrian. I slowed way down and said, "passing
you on your left". He turned to look back at me, and I moved to the
left to avoid him. My tires were then on where they have painted the
pavement red and white stripes to warn you of something, I'm not a
100% sure of what. It was very slick on that red and white paint, and
I wiped out. I muttered "I'm OK" at the pedestrian, got back on the
bike, and rode to the Montlake Freeway stop.

Another cyclist at the Montlake stop said he had been waiting 20
minutes for the 545. If the bus was that late, it was raining hard,
and there was already someone there waiting for the bus ahead of me,
it did not bode well for rack room. When the 255 pulled up with an
empty rack, even though it meant an additional three miles of riding,
the decision was easy.

I pulled the bike off at the South Kirkland P/R. It's about another 5
or 6 miles home from there. It was late enough that I decided that
Northup, usually a high-speed busy suburban arterial, had light enough
motor vehicle traffic, that I'd just take Northup all the way home and
avoid the 520 trail. The trail is OK, but when it's that dark and
deserted, I begin to worry about my personal safety. Northup at least
had some cars on it, and it is very well lit.

I got home, absolutely soaked through, and peeled off my bike stuff. I
was shocked to see a big hole ripped into my tights and my knee
bleeding. I had no idea. After my hot shower, I put some disinfectant
on it and a big gauze pad.

With the injury, and dire predictions of a big wind storm coming in
this afternoon, I decided to just take the bus to work this morning,
instead of the bike.

Warm Regards,

Claire
http:///www.bicyclemeditations.org

I'm not really good in the rain. I'm in NYC and we're supposed to have
heavy windy thunderstorms this afternoon. My knee has been aching a
bit, I had some heavy stuff I have to bring to work, and I seem to
attract flats in the rain. So I took the train today.

Most evenings I know that I'm biking the next day. Some I know that I
won't/can't. Others, like last night, I go to bed undecided and weigh
the options in the morning shower.

All I can say is that it had BETTER rain hard this afternoon or I'm
going to be [censored]. There aren't going to be too many more 70+
degree days this year and I hate not biking on even one of them.

The good news is that the storms are apparently going to produce
decent waves on the ocean so it looks like I'll be able to go surfing
this weekend. Oh joy.

In article <[email hidden]>,
Claire <[email hidden]> writes:

.....

Quoted message said:

It was late, dark, and pouring pouring down rain.

I was on the Montlake Bridge. The regular bridge deck is terrifyingly
slippery with any vehicle in the rain, so I was on the adjacent
pavement.

.....

Quoted message said:

I wiped out. I muttered "I'm OK" at the pedestrian, got back on the
bike, and rode to the Montlake Freeway stop.

Another cyclist at the Montlake stop said he had been waiting 20
minutes for the 545. If the bus was that late, it was raining hard,
and there was already someone there waiting for the bus ahead of me,
it did not bode well for rack room. When the 255 pulled up with an
empty rack, even though it meant an additional three miles of riding,
the decision was easy.

.....

Quoted message said:

I got home, absolutely soaked through, and peeled off my bike stuff. I
was shocked to see a big hole ripped into my tights and my knee
bleeding. I had no idea. After my hot shower, I put some disinfectant
on it and a big gauze pad.

With the injury, and dire predictions of a big wind storm coming in
this afternoon, I decided to just take the bus to work this morning,
instead of the bike.

Ain't life grand?

I recall last year, when I got recalled to HBC Logistics
in East Richmond. I had on a pair of jeans I'd just
bought the day before. I did my (graveyard) shift, and
when making the left turn off of No. 6 Road onto Bridgeport,
I took the corner too quickly to avoid some pavement divots
created by big trucks. So I had to "sort of" controlledly
high-side onto the sidewalk. I guess it looked dramatic,
because drivers on the other side of Bridgeport concernedly
enquired as to my well-being, to which I optimistically &
cheerfully replied in as positive a manner as I could drum-up,
after I had gradually disentangled myself from beneath my
supine bike (w/ toeclips, BTW) and regained a more-or-less
vertical stance. Lying on the ground on my side with a bike
on top of me is a foreign sensation to me. I really prefer
to be on top. As I recall, the grind up No 6 Road from
Westminster Hwy to Bridgeport was in pouring rain, but when
I wiped out, it was just an insult-to-injury drizzle.

I holed my new jeans, right in the knee. I'm wearing those
very jeans right now. They've got other subsequent wears 'n
tears in 'em. When I put 'em on, I've gotta take care to not
let my right big toe stick into that original hole, thereby
enlarging it. That doesn't always work -- the toe sometimes
homes-in to the hole despite my efforts to avoid it.

The ride up No 6 Road from Westminster Hwy to Bridgeport
truly sux. The other option is Jacombs Road, but that
puts you on the traffically wrong side of the Knight St
Bridge. But y'know what? It's a lovely strip to ride on.

So anyways, the jeans I'm wearing right now have a history.
Which reminds me, I've gotta ride to the laundromat tomorrow.

cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

Claire said:

Last night, after some volunteer work, I was riding from Fremont to
Montlake, with the goal of loading my bike on to 545 bus to get home.
It was late, dark, and pouring pouring down rain.

<snipped tale of woe and wetness>

Quoted message said:

With the injury, and dire predictions of a big wind storm coming in
this afternoon, I decided to just take the bus to work this morning,
instead of the bike.

I can't really blame you. That wednesday in question wasn't bad for me
, but the following day I was riding with my brother from Bellingham to
Vancouver, BC. It was nasty. 30-40 mph winds driving rain sideways
into us.

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline.
Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top.
-- Hunter S. Thompson

Claire said:

Last night, after some volunteer work, I was riding from Fremont to
Montlake, with the goal of loading my bike on to 545 bus to get home.
It was late, dark, and pouring pouring down rain.

<snipped tale of woe and wetness>

Quoted message said:

With the injury, and dire predictions of a big wind storm coming in
this afternoon, I decided to just take the bus to work this morning,
instead of the bike.

I can't really blame you. That wednesday in question wasn't bad for me
, but the following day I was riding with my brother from Bellingham to
Vancouver, BC. It was nasty. 30-40 mph winds driving rain sideways
into us.

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline.
Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always right at the top.
-- Hunter S. Thompson

On Tue, 6 Nov 2007 15:11:45 -0800, Dane Buson <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Claire said:

Last night, after some volunteer work, I was riding from Fremont to
Montlake, with the goal of loading my bike on to 545 bus to get home.
It was late, dark, and pouring pouring down rain.

<snipped tale of woe and wetness>

Quoted message said:

With the injury, and dire predictions of a big wind storm coming in
this afternoon, I decided to just take the bus to work this morning,
instead of the bike.

I can't really blame you. That wednesday in question wasn't bad for me
, but the following day I was riding with my brother from Bellingham to
Vancouver, BC. It was nasty. 30-40 mph winds driving rain sideways
into us.

So after the sun had set, the rain turned to drizzle and showers, and
the winds subsided to 30 - 50 KmH gusts, you were comfortable in
shorts, tee-[censored] and a vest.

okay. . . must be that Nordic blood.

When we met, I was one insulating layer short of full winter kit.
Guess I've gotten soft living in Lotus Land.

(I _was_ over dressed on the up-slope but zipped tight going down, in
the dark, wind and rain that started on the south side of the lump)
--
zk

On Tue, 6 Nov 2007 15:11:45 -0800, Dane Buson <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Claire said:

Last night, after some volunteer work, I was riding from Fremont to
Montlake, with the goal of loading my bike on to 545 bus to get home.
It was late, dark, and pouring pouring down rain.

<snipped tale of woe and wetness>

Quoted message said:

With the injury, and dire predictions of a big wind storm coming in
this afternoon, I decided to just take the bus to work this morning,
instead of the bike.

I can't really blame you. That wednesday in question wasn't bad for me
, but the following day I was riding with my brother from Bellingham to
Vancouver, BC. It was nasty. 30-40 mph winds driving rain sideways
into us.

So after the sun had set, the rain turned to drizzle and showers, and
the winds subsided to 30 - 50 KmH gusts, you were comfortable in
shorts, tee-[censored] and a vest.

okay. . . must be that Nordic blood.

When we met, I was one insulating layer short of full winter kit.
Guess I've gotten soft living in Lotus Land.

(I _was_ over dressed on the up-slope but zipped tight going down, in
the dark, wind and rain that started on the south side of the lump)
--
zk

Zoot Katz said:

On Tue, 6 Nov 2007 15:11:45 -0800, Dane Buson <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I can't really blame you. That wednesday in question wasn't bad for me
, but the following day I was riding with my brother from Bellingham to
Vancouver, BC. It was nasty. 30-40 mph winds driving rain sideways
into us.

So after the sun had set, the rain turned to drizzle and showers, and
the winds subsided to 30 - 50 KmH gusts, you were comfortable in
shorts, tee-shirt and a vest.

Well, I was a little chilly starting out. But once I started moving and
generating heat, I was okay. Not to say I wasn't wishing I'd packed my
wool sweater (cleverly left on the coathook at home). I had some more
winter gear, but it was hanging up in the hotel room attempting to dry
it out from the rain storm. [1]

Quoted message said:

okay. . . must be that Nordic blood.

Slavic, but not much difference really. I used to have even more cold
tolerance before I lost 80 pounds. The extra fat does definitely have
an insulating effect.

Quoted message said:

When we met, I was one insulating layer short of full winter kit.
Guess I've gotten soft living in Lotus Land.

(I _was_ over dressed on the up-slope but zipped tight going down, in
the dark, wind and rain that started on the south side of the lump)

I generally am one of the least heavily dressed commuters I know. I'm
usually the last to cover up my arms and the last to wear a full jacket
instead of vest. With the exception of one woman in my cycling group
who normally rides in less (skirts!) than I routinely.

Thanks again for the reflective bits, the beer and the conversation [2].
Thanks also for going out of your way to meet me *and* showing me such a
nifty watering hole. Indoor bike parking! I'll tell you that that part
of my visit interests my fellow Seattle cyclists quite a bit.

[1] I gave up on my socks and bought a 2 pack of gloriously clean and
dry wool socks the next morning.
[2] I hope I wasn't too incoherent. Not too much sleep plus lots of
miles meant I had the feeling I wasn't staying on topic very well. :-)

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
That money talks,
I'll not deny,
I heard it once,
It said "Good-bye.
-- Richard Armour

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:51:54 -0800, Dane Buson <[email hidden]>
wrote, in part:
\

Quoted message said:

Thanks again for the reflective bits, the beer and the conversation [2].
Thanks also for going out of your way to meet me *and* showing me such a
nifty watering hole. Indoor bike parking! I'll tell you that that part
of my visit interests my fellow Seattle cyclists quite a bit.

Hey, thanks for showing up and not cracking on my makeup and heels.

I think that place is the most civilised set up for bike parking next
to valet service. They check your rain gear and panniers for free!

The owner is a bike nut. He has some old and modern locally-built
custom bikes in the basement. I guess he figured he can attract more
business from bicyclists by providing secure, covered parking. We've
had a couple Trans-Cascadia movie nights and parties there. Cyclists
are good people. Support the community.

Another pub down in Gastown also encourages people to bring in their
bikes as long as there's no band playing. The beer is cheaper,
there's a smoking lounge and you can bring in street food. It
attracts lots of the downtown couriers after work.

They coincidentally have similar names. The "Brickhouse" and the
"Brickyard". Both are in neighbourhoods with a high bike-theft risk.

re: Scotchlite (tm)
I've found I needed to 'touch up' a few spots on the inner flap of
the bag with the iron after the material detached. It sure sticks to
cotton and wool though. I think the whole thing can be removed from
the nylon by heating the back and peeling it off, in pieces.
--
zk

Zoot Katz said:

On Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:51:54 -0800, Dane Buson <[email hidden]>
wrote, in part:
\

Quoted message said:

Thanks again for the reflective bits, the beer and the conversation [2].
Thanks also for going out of your way to meet me *and* showing me such a
nifty watering hole. Indoor bike parking! I'll tell you that that part
of my visit interests my fellow Seattle cyclists quite a bit.

Hey, thanks for showing up and not cracking on my makeup and heels.

You're terrible. Fishing for compliments like that. ;-)

Quoted message said:

I think that place is the most civilised set up for bike parking next
to valet service. They check your rain gear and panniers for free!

It was definitely surprising and most welcome.

Quoted message said:

The owner is a bike nut. He has some old and modern locally-built
custom bikes in the basement. I guess he figured he can attract more
business from bicyclists by providing secure, covered parking. We've
had a couple Trans-Cascadia movie nights and parties there. Cyclists
are good people. Support the community.

Another pub down in Gastown also encourages people to bring in their
bikes as long as there's no band playing. The beer is cheaper,
there's a smoking lounge and you can bring in street food. It
attracts lots of the downtown couriers after work.

There are definitely a few bars and restaurants that have developed a
mutually beneficial relationship with the bike community. But great
googly moogly man, indoor bike parking! It's especially nice on a cold
rainy night.

Quoted message said:

They coincidentally have similar names. The "Brickhouse" and the
"Brickyard". Both are in neighbourhoods with a high bike-theft risk.

Thinking about bike theft and locking, I put some Onguard locking
skewers on my bike. The wheel skewers are nice, but the seat skewer was
laughable and bent after two days.

I ended up using it to make matching front skewer by taking a front hex
bolt-on skewer, replacing one end with the locking disc, drilling out
the hex socket a bit and jamming a 7/32 bearing in there. Now the
Xtracycle front wheel is locked with the same lock as my commuter. The
back wheel takes a 19mm wrench and is sort of hidden. I'm not too
worried about short term parking for that one.

Quoted message said:

re: Scotchlite (tm)
I've found I needed to 'touch up' a few spots on the inner flap of
the bag with the iron after the material detached. It sure sticks to
cotton and wool though. I think the whole thing can be removed from
the nylon by heating the back and peeling it off, in pieces.

It's in my project queue to fiddle with it. I want to do the
freeloaders and a couple pieces of bike clothing. I've been busy with
other (non-bike projects). But next weekend I should have time to try
it out on a couple things. Assuming it's where I left it (my house is
in disorder due to some renovations).

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
After watching my newly-retired dad spend two weeks learning how to make a new
folder, it became obvious that "intuitive" mostly means "what the writer or
speaker of intuitive likes".
(Bruce Ediger, [email hidden], in comp.os.linux.misc, on X the
intuitiveness of a Mac interface.)

On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:49:14 -0800 in rec.bicycles.misc, Dane

Buson said:

Quoted message said:

I think that place is the most civilised set up for bike parking next
to valet service. They check your rain gear and panniers for free!

It was definitely surprising and most welcome.

Quoted message said:

The owner is a bike nut. He has some old and modern locally-built
custom bikes in the basement. I guess he figured he can attract more
business from bicyclists by providing secure, covered parking. We've
had a couple Trans-Cascadia movie nights and parties there. Cyclists
are good people. Support the community.

so i can get this in my palm pilot for my next trip to
b'ham/vancouver, what are the names of these most civilized pubs?

On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:49:03 -0900, [email hidden]

(Dennis P. Harris) said:

On Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:49:14 -0800 in rec.bicycles.misc, Dane

Buson said:

Quoted message said:

I think that place is the most civilised set up for bike parking next
to valet service. They check your rain gear and panniers for free!

It was definitely surprising and most welcome.

Quoted message said:

The owner is a bike nut. He has some old and modern locally-built
custom bikes in the basement. I guess he figured he can attract more
business from bicyclists by providing secure, covered parking. We've
had a couple Trans-Cascadia movie nights and parties there. Cyclists
are good people. Support the community.

so i can get this in my palm pilot for my next trip to
b'ham/vancouver, what are the names of these most civilized pubs?

"Brickhouse Late Night Bistro & Bar" is where Dane and I met up. It's
got couches, books, aquariums and bunches of other junk for
atmosphere. Leo is the owner/barkeep. (730 Main St.)

The "Brickyard" is a typical old style pub in a decrepit Gastown
hotel. The kind of place that had a separate entrance and section for
women with escorts. I don't know the name of the hotel but I'm pretty
sure it's at the corner Cordova St. and Carrall St.

The pub at Cordova St. and Cambie St. has an outside patio with bikes
locked to the railing two and three deep in summer. Lots of cruisers.
--
zk