a quality of life issue

Sometimes I spot someone riding a bike with an ill-fitting helmet and rather nice clothes on looking a bit flustered and winded and rather uncomfortable and deduce that their car broke down and they grabbed their kid’s bike to get to work on time.

That person’s level of discomfort is exceeded by the discomfort I feel when I need to drive a car in the city. If I need to look for parking on the street then it’s a shit show. Back in the day when I was a teenager…I got a deduction on the driving test for parallel parking, and my skills haven’t improved since then.

Grocery shopping in a cargo bike is a treat not a chore and dropping the kid off at preschool with her bike and a big fat bag of cargo in a cargo bike brings a smile to my face, especially because it’s only 7 blocks away.

Today I watched a bunch of 2 or 3 or 4 year-olds ride bikes and trikes and scooters in counterclockwise circles round and round and round

Riding to work through the million dollar homes of the Mount Baker neighborhood, I’m reminded of Danny Noonan riding his bike to work at Bushwood at the beginning of Caddyshack and how everything is just a reference to something else or at least to some Soul Asylum song. It’s not the destination it’s the Journey. I like Journey like the Journey blaring out of Al Czervik's bag later in the movie.  But it was Kenny Loggins on the bike ride and Journey reminds me of Louden Swain jogging through the streets of Spokane at the beginning of Vision Quest.

Someday    it'll all make sense.

There is an almost-3-year-old I know that has a firm grasp on a 4mm allen wrench and a peripatetic grasp of the righty-tighty lefty-loosey concept. Now she wants to disassemble all the ikea furniture in sight.  

I would probably never use peripatetic in a sentence and say it to your face but         what were we talking about?

is that for here or to go?

...there is nothing I can say
that I haven’t thought before

http://www.pilderwasser.com/blog/310788/bonsai
http://www.pilderwasser.com/blog/117672/going_up

Regurgitation
Pretty persuasion

Static load       vs.
Dynamic load

Static load of shit
Dynamic load of shit

The engineering approach is a bit different
The marketing approach is a bit different

But either way
It’s a load of shit

28 days later or
7 years later

Tuesday I had a chance to visit several bike shops via bicycle which is something I haven’t done for a long long long time. If I had large chunks of free time I would not spend them at other bike shops after spending so much time in a little bike shop on the clock. This however was actually work related with a perfect window of perfect weather and printed word to get out I got out.      Word      Just like I used to deliver copies of kickstand to the shops that bought ad space.

Hand delivering cards and attractive countertop card holders to encourage people to donate their old bikes to Bike Works when they buy their shiny fancy new bikes this spring at fancy bike shops. The way the bike industry wants it to work. Each year or two you need to buy a new bike with the latest greatest shiny fancy stuff that’s lighter faster cooler better than the shiny fancy stuff you bought the year before. When you buy a new bike your current bike becomes your “old” bike and Bike Works can utilize your old bike donations in various ways.     Way  

I didn’t take any photographs, post anything on facebook, instagram, tweet, google map, gps balloon- o-rama, strava or any of that shit but I think it actually happened anyway and if yesterday was an alley cat I would have had the most fun without winning. 

Here’s my line:

Bike Works  stuffed my backpack with printed matter and old turkey sandwiches and then hit the road

20/20 Cycle
Interrupted a mechanic soaking up his last 16 minutes of sunshine before the shop opened while he puffed on some sort of vaporizer smoke thing
Montlake Bicycle Shop
Spoke to a very friendly mechanic about how I worked there 11 years ago and I could see him visualizing how he was in 3rd grade 11 years ago
Counterbalance Bicycles
Haven’t been there since they were actually at the base of the counterbalance. Haven’t been there there since it was Ti Cycles. Got a chance to speak to two really cool former bike messengers who happened to work there and also happen to have kids. Long long time kickstand advertiser (see photo above).
Performance
Delivered the goods in a timely professional manner
Gregg’s Greenlake
Delivered the goods in a timely professional manner
Recycled Cycles II
The little brother of the other. it was myfirst visit to this location. please direct your attention to the old radio collection. 

Free range Cycles
Kathleen said “haven’t seen you for 6 years” as soon as I walked in. Cool shop. Same as it ever was. Celebrating their 17th anniversary this week. long time kickstand advertiser featuring artwork by this guy

Wright Brothers
Holy Shit. Charles is Charles. He’s awesome. This place is a time warp. This shop can do things no bike shop can do because the space is his and he can make up the rules. Celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. 40 fucking years. You can smell the history in there. I got a wheel rebuilt there when Kathleen and Mytch still worked there and took my first bike repair class there.  Charles was always an enthusiastic and generous kickstand advertiser
Second Ascent
Delivered the goods and got out. advertised in kickstand before they were called Second Ascent but it's 233am and I cannot remember what they were called at their old Fremont location not to be confused with 2nd Base when it was up at 11th & Pine and CB worked there. (it's now 643am and I remembered some time around 3am that they were called Second Bounce and they did get confused with 2nd Base, same business model same smell but they both put ads in kickstand)
Recycled Cycles
Talked with Andy about old times and new, gentrification, progress, poor quality shoddy quick construction, urban growth boundaries, mass transit, UW and their place on the large research university spectrum, the beauty of a classic college campus, major college football, NCAA rule changes, paying the players, coach du jour, TV money, ESPN and so on and on... or was it all in my mind?   advertised in kickstand

Velo Bike Shop  
One year in their new location which will pay off huge as Amazon takes over downtown and the world. Had a chance to speak with Mike who has been a mechanic for 22+ years and with Velo for fucking ever. He is a Seattle icon. He is very cool.
Washington Legal Messengers
I wouldn’t call this a bike shop but it was on my line and I delivered a few Bike Works cards to Willy while Kohnman waited in the car out front. Talk about same as it ever was.
DANK bags  
Made a phone call to their West Edge retail location but it was just after normal business hours and happenstantially ran into one of the guys from their shop a bit later on First Avenue. these guys advertised in kickstand
Back Alley Bike Repair
Finally met The Ben Rainbow, although he says we met at Steve’s Birthday dance party. I can neither confirm nor deny those allegations.
Seattle E-Bike
In their new a-bit-further-south location this shop is top shelf and a great source of “old” bike owners looking for something to do with those old non-electric bikes sitting in the garage.

the bike that the Mayor of Seattle put up for his Super Bowl bet with the Mayor of Denver, will be up for grabs at the Bike Works auction