Skunk Report

No skunks were trapped last night. However, it appears that there is still at least one more under the Carriage House. I will do a better job of blocking the entrances tonight and see what sort of activity I get in the morning.

I really enjoyed having my bike out yesterday. It was a great day to ride. I was heading home through the park and noticed that the grass has already recovered from the damage caused during "Pig Out in the Park". It's pretty amazing how fast it comes back. Unless you are talking about my grass. I don't think it will ever come back.

Ode to Maggie May

Wake up Skunky. I think I got something to say to you.
It's late September and I really should be back at riding my bike to work.
I know I haven't ridden much. Driving seems to be a crutch.
Oh Skunky I couldn't riiiiide in the cold.

Okay, that's my cheesy tribute to Maggie May.

But it is late September and it looks like it is going to be a fabulous week for bike riding to work. I can't ride tomorrow because I have an install to do. I can't ride on Wednesday because I have a haircut after work on the South Hill. I really want to use what is left of good weather to ride and so I made it fit in today.

I wore shorts today and I wasn't sure how smart that would be due to the Autumn chill in the morning air. But it wasn't that bad of a ride downtown. As I said, it looks to be a great week of weather. Today's high is predicted to be 85. And it's late September!

My reference to Skunky was because I started my day by trapping two, not one but two, skunks in the backyard. I woke up at five and hauled them about ten miles away to the Skunk Dump.

I wonder how many I have left!

Me So Green with Autumn Hues

I managed to get a bike ride to work in this week. This will be the only day so I have to revel in my greenness.

It wasn't nearly as cold this morning as I thought it would be. It was surprisingly pleasant as I headed out down Wall Street toward my downtown destination. However, once I got to the final hill leading into the park, I gathered enough speed that my eyes were watering and I had an ice cream headache.

I cut it rather close as the bus was waiting at the stop when I arrived downtown. That's the kind of ride I like, where everything comes together.

I will attempt to get more rides in as the Fall goes on. I don't know how often, perhaps a couple times a week. It depends on the rain. That will be the main roadblock to my riding. I can handle the cold but I don't like getting soggy.

Later that Same Day:

The bus ride was like a little social gathering on wheels. It was the friendliest bunch of bus riders I have yet encountered. They were all talking and laughing and sharing details of their day. I was sitting there reading my newspaper and taking in a litle of the conversation. It was quite different from the rides I have taken. Usually, nobody is really talking and when they do, it is for short bits.

Lost Week

Last week was the first week since July that I didn't ride my bike to work at all. I managed to have a reason to drive every day. I was really disappointed on Thursday when events arranged themselves to prevent me from riding to work on Friday.

As for this week, I'll try harder.

But not today. I drove. I'm sure there is no relation between the colder mornings and my not riding.

A Day Off from the Bike

I did not ride my bike today. I do not wish to see my bike for a while. I participated in the first ever "SpokeFest" in downtown Spokane yesterday. I talked Susan into doing it as well. We rode the 21 mile course and my ass is chapped.

It didn't help that after the ride, we spent the rest of the day walking around at the Spokane Interstate Fair. We were both in bed by 9:30 and I had a fabulous night of outstanding unconsciousness.
I should say that the ride was really fun and we are both glad we did it and we are especially glad that it is over. I would also like to announce that I completed one of my two major goals for the ride. One was to complete it in two hours. Not even close. More like 2:50. The second was to ride all the way up Doomsday Hill. It is a pretty steep grade that is about a half mile long. That goal I made. It was actually pretty easy. No, that's not right. It was a tremendous effort and I was breathing heavily. But when I got to the top, I felt great and I was able to keep going without a break.

The newspaper reports this morning that 1,200 cyclists participated in SpokeFest. I would say that sounds about right.

It's Always Somethin'

With gloves on my hands and a light windbreaker on my body, my attention during my morning ride turned to my freezing ears. With as chilly as it has been in the mornings, and getting chillier, I will probably always find something to bitch about. Soon it will be darker. Gone are the days of pleasant rides on a warm morning.


Conversely, it's only a ten minute ride and it really is very pleasurable.


It has been very bright these last two mornings as the bus heads east into the sunrise. Here is a picture I took this morning to illustrate that.

The only reason I bring it up is because it is very difficult to read the paper in the morning when the sun is beaming through it. There! I found another thing to bitch about

Autumn Ride

I am a failure. I did not make my goal. First I wanted to log 150 miles for the month. When it became apparent that I was not going to make that, I re-goaled and set out to match last months mileage of 106 miles. I only rode 91 miles. And so, I refer you back to my first sentence. Fortunately, I'm over it.

I needed gloves this morning. Autumn is definitely in the air. It was quite brisk and I had to ride with no hands a couple of times to warm them up in my pockets. Still it was a nice ride.

I am not going to buy a Bus Pass this month. I do not plan on riding all that much. I will keep track of how much I spend and see if I come out ahead or behind the $33.00 a monthly pass would cost.

The park was bustling with activity this morning. They are still cleaning up from the weekend festivities. There are still lots of booths set up. They will probably be down when I ride home tonight. It looks like Pig Out in the Park was another rousing success.