Mile 103: A couple of tumbles and beautiful winter riding

Haven't had much to write about the last two weeks due to a pretty nasty spill I took mountain biking. My friend Jim has these crazy downhill/freeride/big bouncy fun bikes that let you jump off stuff. He took me on a ride with his friends in the local hardcore biking group near Fall City. We climbed about 3 miles of fire/logging roads and then went down these beautifully maintained trails that snake their way down. On the first run, I took a header near the end and slammed my rib cage fairly hard; I've never had that kind of injury. Anyway, 2 weeks later, tens of thousands of milligrams of Ibuprofen later and constant morning pain, and I'm healed.

Yesterday I did the same ride I've ridden about previously: 20 miles from Winslow, to Baker Hill, Fort Ward, Toe Jam Hill, Eagledale and back home. Lots of pleasants views. The rain made the island seem deserted, and I had most of the roads to myself.

Today, I biked into Seattle and saw my sister. For a Hanukah present, I told my 3 year old nephew that I would take him on a train. So, I took him to the Westlake transit hub where there are three train lines that fan out from Westlake and 5th: the South Lake Union Trolley (or the SLUT), the Monorail and the Light Rail. Love it. Here's some pics of my adorable nephew riding the train and farting around the marina.

On the way there, I took another spill, just south of the Ballard locks. I was coming down a steep road onto a wood bridge that goes over a train line. I turned too fast and the wheels just slipped out from under me, because of the wet wood surface that was covered with leaves. And I landed directly on the spot where I had bruised the rib previously. Bad luck, I guess. Other than the rib, just have bruises on my hip and right leg. The spot where I fell is also my favorite part of the whole ride. It's this beautiful tucked away wooden bridge, and a train was running underneath it when I fell. The train was actually one that I followed from when I got downtown, all the way up to Ballard. We paced each other, and it was fitting since the theme of the day was Sam's Train Day.

Another funny occurrence was that I got an attack of the mustshits at 85th and 15th. You know, the mustshits are what happens when you're somewhere, and for no apparent reason your ass tells you that it simply Must Shit immediately. A nearby Subway store provided me with the necessary facilities, and the lonely Mexican dude who was manning the counter at 10:30 in the morning must've had a chuckle at the sweaty butt-clenchingly insane biker who ran in, mumbled something about "I'll buy after I use bath...." and then came out, visibly harrowed and pale, and and bought a fruit punch. I gave him a 50 cent tip, which is not back for a $1.50 fruit punch.

Riding through Seattle always puts me in a good mood. I'm a little