Get him honey, get him!

No photos today as there's no computer at the hotel and I still haven't figured out how to drop in photos from the iPad. Today's ride was a major improvement on yesterday in some ways but not all. The headwind persisted, the temperatures were quite chilly and there was a solid layer of low, thick, slate gray clouds. The roads for most of the ride were far superior. Much lighter traffic and, with better weather, I might have called it a beautiful ride. Coming out of Olympia was great as I was in class A bike lines for the first ten miles out of town. Apart from the section between Centralia and Chevalis, it was all very pleasant going.

Here are some ride stats:

Miles - 75
Elevation - 1800'
Flat tires - 2. The first was a straightforward flat. The second was "Scott, you moron. Take the time to fix the flat properly!" Apparently, I did so as there were no more mishaps the rest of the ride.
Nice bike shops - 2. Old Town Bikes in Olympia and Highlander Cycles in Longview. Great people at both.
Other cyclists - 2. Really, where are the bike riders?
Chased by dogs - 2 including one that included a woman yelling hysterically "get him honey, get him." whether she was a rapid anti-cyclist encouraging her animal to go for the kill or was telling her husband to grab the dog before it ran into the street, I cannot say for certain.
Road kill - None! Two days, 140 miles I have yet to see/smell an animal carcass on the road. Either Washington is really good at cleaning up, drivers are more cautious or the animals are smarter. How the heck am I supposed to eat!

Including my Seattle ride it's three days, 180 miles and some 8,000' of climbing, which brings
me to a point regarding bike gear worth paying top dollar. After 8 years and 40,000 miles I have some experience. Obviously, the bike is one. After that I would say bike shoes. I'm wearing Sidi Ergo 2 carbon shoes and they are fantastic. No pain, no numbness, just comfort.

Of course, it's possible to buy a bike for less than I paid for the shoes, bringing me to my second point. The US Dept of Transportation estimates that 90% of all car trips are two miles or less. Clearly that's not 90% of the miles driven or pollution spewed or carbon dioxide emitted but it's still a good chunk. You don't need to be a spandex clad road warrior (SCRW) to make a difference. A nice beach cruiser, a comfortable pair of shoes/shorts and start making those trips to the store, to the barber/salon, to school and you can make a difference. Let's do it!