My Commute
Diary of thoughts and events
2004 

• First commute of the year. Seems like nice weather this am, and should be good on the ride home. Probably can wear the sandals.
  I love them. Little colder than I anticipated, socks not the warmest, and the toes get very cold. The warm shower makes them swell and sore. Probably should wait a while to use them, or wear more protection.

• One morning coming up the hill in the cemetery, I ride up to a deer. We are both startled to see each other, and he decides to run off to a safe distance where he can watch me struggle up the hill. Nice immediate area for a deer but don't think he/she should really be this close to town.

• Several days later, I come upon that same deer, this time up the top of the crest alongside Barbur Blvd. Definitely not a good place for a deer, and running out of wilderness up against I-5. Hope it finds the right way out.

• Flying down barbur in the morning in the area that I usually hit the low thirties, approaching a stoplight in to Fred Meyer. A woman turns right, directly in front of me, without signaling. I saw her slowing and anticipated her turn just enough to hit the brakes and slide to a near stop, just missing her bumper. Anticipation.......

• Swallowed a large bug this morning while gasping up the hill. That really wasn't pleasant.

• On the ride home over the rolling section of Barbur, another biker approaches. The drive kicks in , and I decide I must hold him off. I work hard, its warm, I'm hot, and he is gaining. We ride on, and it is evident that I am not going to be able to hold him off through the hills, but I cannot give up, so I do some quick shifting. Too quick in shifting both front and back rings, and drop the chain. Must coast to a stop, and allow him to pass. Perhaps not as humiliated defeat as being passed while puffing and sweating, but a defeat just the same.

• Riding home, it appears that my bottle isn't sealed since it is spraying me when I use it. Oh no, its really a crack in the bottle.
  Well its been a good bottle, but its time is over, goes in the trash tonight.

• Rode all the way down Barbur into downtown to see how that ride would be. Mostly downhill from there, which was nice, tho tonite just a slight headwind. From work its 9 miles to the Hawthorne bridge and I think it took about 41 minutes. Bike supporters there giving stuff out, got a nice yellow reflecting band. The ride home makes an 18 mile, 1:20 ride, so really only adding about 4 miles. Get to avoid the steep climb up through the cemetery, and trades the Sellwood bridge and the difficult dirt track access, with its narrow sidewalk used for both directions,  to the Hawthorne, that has wide sidewalks for each direction, and is very bike friendly. Most of the additional miles are on the nice bike trail. Now, will have to see what the trip up Barbur is like in the morning.

• Sunday did 100 miles at the Watermelon ride, Monday rode to work. Got to simulate biking two days in a row. Hardest part may have been just having to get up at 530. Well, I don't know, the hill was pretty hard too, the knees were a little tired. but keeping a manageable pace, I get up and over with a good heart rate anyway.

• Sad day. A deer was hit on I5 near terwilliger this am. Pretty sure its the deer I have been seeing.

• On my last ride home, I note new signs at the Hawthorne bridge. Weight limit is 10,000 pounds. hmmm. turns out there's cracks.
  Trucks and Tri-Met will not be allowed to cross it. Kind of good for biking, but not really good for overall traffic management. Estimates are 8 years to get a new bridge. Could be trouble. But I digress.