Five miles on April Fifth

All day i sat at my desk working and, in the background trying to find calmness, to center myself. Working at home i really miss the bike commute. Finally in the evening i grabbed the bike. Not my bike, my beloved Sparkle Burgundy Bianchi Volpe. I grapped the customized Redline Monocog flight 29er that Kent has generously loaned me for the last month during my bike rebuild project. He's coming to pickup his Octocog tomorrow so i figured i'd take it on one last spin. It's a REALLY fun bike.

I had an errand to run. I headed out along the edge of the hill, got a peek-a-boo view of Lake Union and Queen Anne and then up around Volunteer Park. The north end of Capitol Hill was deserted at 10pm. The only movement i saw was the little white terrier, which of course waddled right in front of me. I happily stopped and waited while she crossed.

The Octocog has 29er wheels and it just rolls over anything and everything. Curbs are not a problem. You almost want to AIM for potholes. It's a very zippy bike, corners fast and feels quick. It's no longer the single speed that Kent took on the Great Divide; i was thankful for the 8 speed freewheel. I've missed friction shifting. Like i said, it's a really fun bike.

It was a cold, mostly clear night. The wind had mostly died down and the streets were mostly dry although you could feel a little rain in the air. I snuck up Grandview for, well, a Grand View of Lake Washington, Kirkland, Windermere and the poor folks in cars on the 520 floating bridge. I swung up through the park past the Black Sun and it's tourist perfect view of the Space Needle.

Fourteenth Avenue is interesting. As it leaves the park there are tree shaded multi-million dollar mansions lining the street, really astonishingly big houses. The street was quiet except for the wide 29er tiers crunching on the pavement. But about 4 blocks along, in the middle of a block, it suddenly changes to much more pedestrian apartment buildings. As the density increased so did the activity, more cars, pedestrians, activity.

I zipped through the Seattle University Campus and up to the ever wonderful Cal Anderson park. I took a 2 minute breather to watch the Bike Polo, and then up by the fountain i rolled past a fire juggler spinning in the dark. Moving back north the streets were deserted again and i pulled up to my errand at Kinkos.

I rode 5 miles to run an errand 3 blocks from home. It was the best part of the day.