WEEKEND SUPER HERO RIDE

{words & images brian}

Evil will always triumph because good, is dumb.

I don’t know if we were out to do good on Saturday but things definitely turned evil. A Super Hero bicycle ride around Seattle, helping citizens, performing ‘feats of strength’ and making the city a little bit safer.

Feats of strength…

One handed hill climb in Gas Works Park


Super toe down at the “Wall of Death”

One handed kiddy pool rim ride in Greenlake

Super Hero scramble up the Fremont Troll

Consume a Slooper Sized beverage at the Sloop in Ballard

Like a bad Episode of the Tick our collection of Heros took on the city. Midwest Girl and Retail Sales Guy were so overly polite to some people they turned and ran. Sanitation man picked up errant trash while anorexic Hulk proclaimed “Hulk not Hungry”. Captain Bubble Wrap protected various packages as Orgasmo aimed his gun at others. Nom de Plum proved the pen was mighty while Bathroom Matt and his scrubber of Justice walked all over the rest of us in ‘Superness’.

During our Super Patrol of the city we stopped and helped mild mannered citizens along the way. Making sure cross walks were clean and clear of cars. Turning ordinary photos people were taking into Super Photos by adding ourselves in the mix. Showing BMX groms the Super way of riding the BMX course.

At the end of our Super Ride only Bathroom Matt (earning the title of Most Super Hero) and Captain Bubble Wrap were still riding/standing until we came across Chuck Norris. Two swift round house kicks to the head and our Super Day was done…for some of us. As the sun set on our fair city…Captain Bubble Wrap (protector of packages) rode into the sunset and continued his search for injustice as Evil never rests!

DRAG RACES, SHORT SLEEVES, & SOME STARS.

International sign for "YOU WANT TO RACE?!" (hands in the drops)

Brian 3
Matt 0
Carey 0

Who wants some?!

Some sprints were to be had last night on the way home and Brain by far was the superstar! I forgot to mention that on Monday Matt killed me on his Sojourn which was weighted down with his panniers; I don't think I have a future in sprinting but I will keep trying!

Right be fore we took off from work my new "commuter" the XXIX had a flat in the rear - so I had to change pedals and ride my Prestige...darn!


Brian was so happy that it was +60 degrees out last evening he thought he would document his joy. I think his collar was a little excited as well.

This was not staged...there must have been a ghost that slid our bags out of alignment on the trail so we had to re-adjust.

Nice...a short sleeve Twin Six jersey on October 23rd - pretty sweet.

We stopped in Georgetown and met up with my husband and a couple evening beverages...this was sitting next to our table. It's probably used as a bean bag toss or something...we thought our faces fit nicely in the stars.

The sun has set time to cruise home.

THIS MORNING:


BLURRY, BLURRY, BLURRY.

The morning was overcast, the light was low, a headwind kept us from advancing at a rapid pace, and Brian got the Magnum PI song caught in our heads.



ENJOY!

THE TALLY:

FIRE IN THE SKY, EMBERS IN THE TREES, & FENDERS ON OUR WHEELS

{words carey images carey& brian}

Ahh...finally we are back on the streets of Seattle, South Park, Georgetown, Tukwilla, and Kent. Interbike has come and gone and Brian's 2 week mountain biking hiatus has ended; what next to do, but get back into the ceremony of riding to Raleigh every morning and riding home every evening.

We left Seattle three weeks ago wearing tank tops and shorts; now we are back and the weather is asking for gloves, chrome knickers, taller socks, soft shell uppers, fenders, and bright lights.

Fall has arrived and I must admit I am thoroughly stoked. How can you not be stoked when the leaves of the trees you have passed all summer are starting to dress themselves in oranges, yellows, and reds? How can you not be stoked about the chilly weather that makes that triple shot americano taste better than it ever has? How can you not be stocked that pumpkins, ghosts, Christmas lights, and rabbits are going to litter the streets? And how can you not be stocked to put your Cat Eye Triple Shot on your bike so you can roll through the silent darkness of a winter morning? To say the least I am excited for a winter of riding; not only to work but in the mountains and around the roads of Washington.

Here are some pictures of us welcoming in the colors, smells, and temperatures of fall/winter.

{CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE}

Morning Blur - 6:30am

10 minutes later I was greeting with fire in the sky!

I told you Ghosts were starting to come out.

Trees around the bend.



Grabbing gloves on the run - a bit chilly out there.

Brian keeping the fun between his legs!

PJ rolling.

Matt with the train cars near West Seattle.

Rolling back into the city after work.

Brian came across this gathering of the art pigs in downtown Seattle.

Until - Monday Enjoy the Ride & Enjoy the Fall!

Over and Out.

A FLAT/ INDUSTRY STACKS/ LUNCH AT THE SKATE PARK

{images by carey}

{click images to enlarge}

{flats suck - but this was probably the most picturesque place to have one}

{my new kicks and container stacks}

{lunch at the skate park - Hammond & A. Brown}

{trevor & hammond}

HAVE AN AWESOME WEEKEND EVERYONE!

MINOR TRANSIENT IMAGES OF THE DAY

It's been great having new voices on this blog; I am happy and relieved that you will be entertained by others. This week in Seattle has been gorgeous and it seems our skin is showing signs of sun exposer (finally!). Here is a quick post in pictures; as always click on them to see the details.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post; it will include one eyed artists, drag races, routes, commuting stats & some visions.

{bicycles will always be bigger than cars!}

SIGN JUMPING & A FUGITIVE CHICKEN

"I am thinking of riding in with you tomorrow," Myles (my husband) mentioned last night. "Sure, that would be cool, can you be ready to go out the door at 6am?" I asked. "6AM!" he exclaimed.

So, at 6:15am we mounted our bikes and started out into the drizzle of the morning. It's interesting how you get used to your route and riding with your devoted commuting partner; I kind of forgot Myles had never been on this route before, so the first big transition of crossing 4 lanes of traffic ended up being a bit of an adrenaline boost. I was ready to cross the traffic to access the Duwamish trail but failed to tell Myles. He was forced to cut fairly close in front of an old Honda sedan. Horn blaring, hand raised, and fumbling with his coffee, the driver passed Myles with a contorted look on his face. Myles seems to collect car horn blasts (this being his 3rd of the morning).

After this, the ride was pretty mellow. We did pass a huge sign on the trail that read "Prosser Piano." Myles jumped the 30ft span a couple times, but I only caught his approach on film. The only other oddity before hitting Raleigh was a fugitive chicken pecking about in the trail side grass.

Myles turned around immediately for the trek back to Seattle (a good 50 miles round trip), while I had to put in a full eight hour day before heading home. The ride wasn't too eventful except Matt and I passed the same mystery chicken that Myles and I did in the morning. We stopped to have a chat with him, but he didn't like Matt that much, so I started chattering, "here chicky, chicky, chicky." We zoned out on this chicken for about 10 minutes before realizing that we were staring at a chicken for 10 minutes...what the heck? So, back on the bikes and onward home.

{Here is a little footage of our pecking friend}



Bikes: Carey-single speed Raleigh Professional Myles-Competition Matt - DBR Podium 5

Coffee: I had a whole French Press of Mind Body and Soul blend to myself (it was one of those mornings).

Rant: Riding is infectious - soon your friends will follow.

BRAD LEWIS, MORE THAN A CRIT, HE WAS THE SH---!

{words by matt}
It’s 6:30am on a Sunday. I have been sick for over a week with a chest cold and sinuses that seem to want to bust out of my head. I’m putting on a skinsuit, arm warmers, knickers, a hoodie, my shoes and my helmet. As I leave the house it’s 6:45 and I head to the banks of Lake Washington here in Seattle. I see a friend and he asks me ‘Why are you out here racing when you’re sick?’ Because when there’s a bike race named after a fallen friend, you get your ass out there and race, that’s why.

Sunday was the first Brad Lewis Memorial Criterium, renamed from the Boat Street Criterium after Brad suffered a tragic and fatal heart attack during the 2006 installment of the same race. I lined up at 8am, wearing my Team AVA/Counterbalance colors, hoping to hold on as long as possible considering my ill health and ill conditioning. 40 minutes of racing was ahead of me as the starting whistle sounded. After spending 25 minutes with the lead pack and lapping a couple of other riders (at least I didn’t finish last) I began to feel my lungs protest. Having fallen off the back I decided to keep going as far and as hard as I could. After another few minutes I could see the pack closing in to lap me. Not wanting to look like I simply gave up I pushed myself a little further. As a reward, while holding off the pack from lapping me, the MC mistakenly called me out as leading the race. Needless to say I was caught in the next lap and my race was over, but much was made about the mistaken call out by my team mates.

Fact of the matter is, Brad was a great guy. He and I messengered together for years here in Seattle. He was one of the kindest individuals on the road, he’d befriend and talk to everyone, and he was well liked and even loved by everyone. Brad loved to ride his bike, he loved to race his bike, and everyone out there on Sunday was out there continuing Brad’s dream and legacy. He would have been humbled and happy.

SNAP SHOTS OF THE WEEK

{click images to enlarge}

Here's a run of snaps that were taken throughout the week - getting 5 work days in on a bicycle is a sure sign that spring has arrived. Enjoy your weekend everyone and if you haven't been over to how to avoid the bummer life or the crooked cog today you should click here.

Until, Monday...

GOLFING IS THE NEW CYCLING FOR MATT & I

{click on images to enlarge}

Some days we don't ride in and on those days we go for a "lunch ride" and Monday was one of those days. Raleigh HQ is located just off the Green River trail, a trail that meanders through the Kent valley which is made up of farmland, golf courses, and industrial parks. Matt and I mounted our cycles at about 11:30am and started to pedal - after about 50 min we must have felt the lack of calories from not eating before we left and thought a game of BOLF or is it GIKE, would be fun to play. I just watched Matt as my One Way was a bit to heavy to follow through with - I guess carbon really is the way to go for this game.

Bikes: Matt - Podium 5 Carey - One Way