Inadvertent Member of the ISAF

It is a well known fact that when you're on a bike, your susceptibility to all the forces of nature is magnified exponentially. For example, there is no defrost button for your glasses, potholes suddenly seem like a crime against humanity, and bugs no longer have the opportunity to die on your windshield - just your face.

To prove my point, I contracted a Staph Infection during the second week of the Bike Commute Challenge month. O.k. that sounds like I willingly took one for the team, and trust me: I didn't! I was happily riding along the waterfront on my way to meet friends at McMennamins after work one day, when out from between groups of fleeing pedestrians flew what I considered to be a small bird. It wasn't. In fact, it was an insect that crash landed directly in my eye. If you had been an observer standing a safe distance away, the events that followed would have had you on the ground in stiches. I was going really fast, so when the bug hit me, I nearly fell off my bike. Sadly, there were quite a few groups of pedestrians sharing the winding trail, and I nearly flattened all of them, due to the gushing waterfall that was my eye. 1000 points for the old guy, right?! Not this time. Anyway, I stayed upright and managed to miss all of them, but alas, the infection ensued.

Needless to say, in the spirit of saving CO2, and helping Wallis Engineering rise to the top of the BCC, I only missed 3 days of the competition, and was back on my bike in no time. I was feeling pretty good, and besides a near miss with a stupid car/ other stupid bike rider, the competition carried on without a hitch.... until this morning.

When I was a kid, I had this book called The I Swallowed A Fly Club, and since then, I've always wondered if I would be so priviledged as to rise to the ranks of such elete. Well, I DID THIS MORNING! I was pedaling hard to catch a green light, breathing in gingerly the morning air, when a bug flew directly into my mouth. I don't think it died until it hit the equivalent of a windshield - a.k.a. my windpipe - to which it stuck, and is quite possibly still there. While I am quite please to have finally achieved my childhood dream of being in the ISAF Club, it turned out to be a lot more unpleasant than I had imagined. The fly clung to my uvula until I could get in the door at work and chug down some coffee. The worst part was trying to dislodge the little fella by swallowing hard to get it down. EWWWWWWWWWWW. I'm swallowing a fly right now?!?! (I thought, as I sailed through the light). It made my stomach turn.

Oh well! It was a small, relatively painless (compared to my last run-in with a bug) way to achieve the coveted standing of the ISAF Club - inavertent as it was. In fact, I think I get bonus points for the Staph infection ;-)

Happiness on a Bike

Last night's ride was uphill, head-on into fierce wind gusts. Exaaaactly what I needed after a long day of work. ugh. I huffed up the St. John's hill, focusing on anything except the futility of my efforts, and finally made it to the top. A few minutes later I rounded the corner into my neighborhood, perfectly sheltered from the harsh blowing wind. It was peaceful... almost still... a stark contrast from the violent ride I had just been experiencing. I looked around me for the first time in miles. There was a dog lying observantly on his porch, Japanese paper lanterns swaying in a tree in someone's backyard, and an old woman gracefully teaching the neighbor kid Thai Chi on her front lawn. How beautiful! Even the pavement felt smoother here. It was good to come home and have everything right again. Had I been in my car, I would have missed these tiny details. Bike riding is pretty o.k. if you ask me :-)

BCC Site down again!

Grr! The BCC site is down for tweaks again.  I want to see the totals right now!

Oh but I kid ther BCC sitewonks.

Week 2: Still going strong!

Wallis Engineering is at the top of the charts in our BBC category!  Keep it up guys!

Day 3: Back on the Bike!

I'm back on the bike, and the office in general is still doing great!  We added two new riders: Trevor and Tavis.  Way to go guys!

I learned this morning that Crocs are not good for cycling.  The cushy sole that makes them so comfortable otherwise makes it feel as if I'm pedaling barefoot.  That and their ungainly shape offsets their nice cooling effects.

There's a point where you just have to embrace it.

I had a good ride this morning- no! It was a GREAT ride. I made good time, I had green lights, it was beautiful. It wasn't until I was three blocks from work and I caught a glimps of my reflection in a store front window that I realized I had my helmet on completely backwards. Oh man. There was no fixing it. I rode the rest of the way with a big grin on my face- further proving the "special-ness" of my bike's rider.

Bike to Work Month Day 2: First to Fail

I'm Seth, Wallis Engineering's longtime computer guy, and the first to fail on this year's Bike Commute Challenge!

Good news though: I was the only first day rider to fail to ride in the second day, Go Team Wallis!

Why didn't I ride?  I wrecked on the way home yesterday. Wiping out spectacularly on a curb, and skidding a few feet downhill. Scrapes, bruises, injured pride, and a broken bike-bell. Not bad in all, and I planned to ride today.

This morning, however, my body rebelled. Overslept by two hours (when did I turn my alarm off?), aches and pains reminding me I'm not as young as I used to be, and I shamefully drove to work.

But tomorrow is another day! So I'll get back on the bike and try not to Busey myself on the pavement.