PNW

In the Pac NW this weekend as something was going on Saturday that was worth my presence.

This is actually Bellevue, WA, the largest Seattle suburb on "Eastside" (east of Lake Washington). An uberplanned community, but I can walk around it from my hotel so it's not so bad.



At night I met up with my old buddy Ginger and some of her Microsoft co-workers. We went to a bar in Capitol Hill



Must be a Hillary supporter. Har har.



Some of the best afterhours pizza I've ever had

And wrapped up the evening/morning watching Microsoft employees play DDR. Alright.

Did the "Nacho Ride" after all

We had thought about doing the brand new Tuesday Night Nacho Ride to the One Eyed Dog in Eagle, but at 4:30 when it seemed as though it'd be just Jonn and me, and he was feeling tired, we figured we'd just ride the Jamaica or something. Butch decided to join us, and we figured we'd do the MoPac instead . . . next thing we know we're past Walton, and figured what the hell, let's keep going.


Rolling into Eagle


One of two quads we saw in town (apparently the orange flag makes it street legal)

Feasted on 75 cent tacos and some decent butterfinger cheesecake before putting the hammer down on the way back.

Not quite the same as the Wabash Trail Taco Ride (there were maybe 25 cyclists at the One Eyed Dog), but a good time (and not having to drive to Counciltucky is a plus).

Subtle

I'm in Colorado for work this week, which is pretty damn convenient as Subtle (see link at right) was playing the Bluebird Theatre in Denver Tuesday night.

I can't really describe this band any better than myspace can, aside from that they're an alt-electro-hiphop ensemble of five white guys (there is technically one black guy in the group, but he was paralyzed in a tour van accident a couple years back and no longer tours), and one of them solely plays the electric cello.
I first got into them when I saw them open for TV on the Radio in KC last March. They're different and therefore kind of a grower, but they're one of my favorite bands in music today.

Beforehand I got a chance to get in a five-minute conversation with Adam aka Doseone, the frontman, who's a heck of a showman on stage. Really rad guy.

Video from one of their shows last year, for context.

Taco (catfish) Ride

I had long heard about the Thursday night Taco Ride, but this was my first -- and definitely not my last, as it was epic. That said, the hour drive out kind of sucks, so hopefully the new Nacho Ride on the MoPac to Eagle will pick up some steam.

20-mile round trip from just south of Counciltucky to the fine hamlet of Mineola, IA on the Wabash Trail.

Six of us headed out with courage in our hearts and Fat Tire in our bags.


Yanni (sp?) and Jonn in the first mile of the ride south


Jordan, Yanni and Jonn at refueling stop #1, at the top of a hill off one of the side trails


The 1554 is one of my favorites -- probably not the best choice for this, though. Fortunately I had a High Life at the halfway-point picnic area dubbed "Margaritaville" about 20 minutes later


We arrive in Mineola only to realize we had gone back in time. Or forward.


I couldn't begin to estimate how many riders participate in this thing, aside from "several hundred." A full variety of skill levels as well.


This place was great (and, goddamn, they must rake it in on these nights). While most of the group opted for the traditional fare, I had eaten Oso for lunch so got catfish on a whim, which was excellent. They had your typical small town salad bar, complete with that pistachio marshmellow dessert I hadn't seen in forever


A great, great idea.

I'm fucking beat, so I'll stop posting pictures of Jonn now

DUCKIES

Rode by these guys on the Williamsburg Trail.



Fuck you, ducks and ducklings are awesome.

Why Puget Sound rules (except Tacoma, that town sucks)

Water ---> Green Stuff ---> Snow-capped mountains, all within ~100 miles.

Farewell to this jackass

The first of (at least, hopefully at most) three friends of mine who will escape Nebraska in coming months, Nick is off to Tahoe in the pursuit of non-NL employment. Plus it's freaking Tahoe.



Take some photos on the ride out

OOOOOHH NOOO

In honor of this weekend's NFL Draft. . .



J-E-T-S
JETS JETS JETS

My place isn't that great for riding.

Too many bad angles for the Cross-Check to handle.


I don't know how Chris timed this, but good job catching Andy's . . . uh, rant.

FFL

Senor CVO was kind enough to grant me contributor status to the Folks From Lincoln blog, a mix of local bicycle shenanigans and other goings-on.

I probably won't post anything else there without a good reason. That being said, check it.

http://jedionabike.blogspot.com/

The part of town that is down

A new business of some sort is going into the space next to the Rococo Theatre entrance (used to be a jewelry store, I think). Looks trendy. Don't know what it is. I supposed I could've asked one of the painters working inside, but why would I do that? It's not like I'm paid to ask people questions or anything.



On a side note, the businesses that occupied the building formally used by Homers (a generic coffee shop and generic sandwich shop) have failed. Shock and/or awe.

Hey, free market and all, but if you're stupid enough to open either a sandwich or coffee (especially the former) shop in that space, you deserve to fail.

Two Song

Random images from Tucson


Trash can constructed from old forks. There are several made from bicycle parts.


Saguaro National Park. If you look into the distance you can see the Tucson skyline.


A purple cactus? Wacky!


A middle-aged couple rolling through on a tandem. This place was pretty hilly, so props to them


Durrrrrr

Har har.

Chris and I 'cycled out to the 70 & Van Dorn Russ's to get supplies for Irish Beef Stew, and saw Hallmark's not-so-well-thought-out ad campaign for Moms Day.



Only a month left, guys; don't forget to rock your mom. Or maybe I will.

The Pride of Flagstaff

I don't have a lot of traditions or rituals, but every time I'm in Flagstaff I stop at the Route 66 Hot Dog Haus.

Why? An all-beef hot dog on a pretzel dough bun, dammit.

Rock that Klein

And for no reason whatsoever, here's a shot of Jonn's backside. We rode to Best Buy to acquire consumer electronics.

My second (or sixth) home

Returning from a one-night jaunt to Portland/Seattle. Been here about four hours now. Denver Int'l is one of the best airports in the USA, though, and the "business" (see: free internet) center is relatively calm.

Not pictured is the uber-emo coffee shack named "Cutter's Point Coffee" I saw in Olympia this morning.

BNSF

Was returning from a quick pre-Sunset ride on the Bison last night and was about 20' away from the RR crossing on South Street when the gates came down. The conductor had the horn held down for a good 15 seconds straight as they traversed the crossing (and passed me) which, if I recall, isn't kosher, and I probably lost a few frequencies in my head. Thanks guys.

First new Portishead this millennium

I enjoy Portishead, although it certainly doesn't hit the right note for every occasion. They're releasing their first new album in like a decade April 29.

I'm sure it's leaked somewhere, but I've never bothered with that stuff. That being said, somebody posted one of the songs on YouTube.

Bringing it back, 9 months later.

I stopped updating this because not a whole lot had been going on.

Still not a whole lot going on. Screw it.

Still traveling to all those places for work, plus the Front Range in CO and WY (As I type this from a hotel room in Loveland, near Fort Collins). Developed a general sense of complacency with my job; traveling is now as commonplace as breathing.

Still live with Chris and Jenna in a fine townhouse with proximity to Open Harvest, a crappy sports bar, and my office.

Still a supporter of Obama; still loathe Hillary. I won't get into that here; there are only 7 trillion other blogs for people to feel self-important with regard to the election.

Now for some images of the past nine months



Forslund returned from deep dark Africa. Tony got engaged. I got a new ride:



Being friends of Jonn, Tony et. al., and desire to use my car as little as possible finally lead to me making a investment in a new bicycle. I had been interested in getting a Cross-Check for a while, and about three weeks later it has only exceeded my expectations. I can't get enough of it and wish I could (safely) bring it with me on my work travels.

Good: beer. Bad: Shaving.



And I can make some pretty rad salsa, accomplished by roasting the ingredients seen below. Yeah. Homemade salsa. I roll hard.



OK, look for a new post sometime in 2009.