Late Spring Velo News

This spring, my eighth in Olympia, is the earliest spring I've experienced since moving here in late 2007.  We've had sunny, warm days--perfect cycling weather--since April.  For that matter, winter was pretty mild.  No snow whatsoever, less rain and even the occasional warm sunny day.  Combine that with a three-day work week since January and I've had plenty of opportunity to ride my bike.  The four day weekends give me a much better shot at taking advantage of the sunny, dry days which have a habit of occurring on weekdays rather than weekends.

Since I'm often riding twice a week my rides are shorter but the total mileage those usually totals around 35 miles, although last week I broke 40 miles.   Heading toward the end of May and I'm already more than halfway toward my annual goal of 1040 miles.  I'm still figuring out new, shorter variations of my established routes and have explored a few new routes along the way.

Today's ride was near perfect.  The temperature was in the high 70s with mixed cloud cover.  The early part of the ride was sunny, later on partly cloudy.  I started out in a light polypropylene shirt--didn't need a jacket at all--but changed to a t-shirt before an hour was up.  That makes the first time I've cycled in a t-shirt this year.  I cannot remember doing that in any previous year.

None of this is any assurance that warm, dry weather is here to stay.  After riding in my polypro shirt and just shorts for a couple of weeks in early May, I went out in wearing a jacket and tights.  I warmed up enough to remove the tights but it was a cooler ride than I had been used to.  As a rule I don't count on reliably warm weather until July.  Hell, in 2011 spring didn't arrive until July.   But this is not a normal year.  The governor has already declared a statewide drought emergency due to the extremely low snowpack--only 16 percent of normal--and we're seeing unusually warm temperatures.  The 10 day forecast has minimal chance of rain.  Again, not normal for late May.

All that said, the biking in Olympia has been great so far in 2015. 

Oh Wow. Look at the Moon

Stepping on to my balcony to scan the pre-dawn sky I catch the fleeting image of a waning crescent moon as it disappears behind some fast-moving clouds.  What I saw was pretty--early morning crescent moons always are--so I wait to see if I get another look.  The clouds look pretty dense against the dark sky but after a couple of minutes patch of light appears in the dark and soon the crescent was visible again.

This morning's crescent is a delicate sliver of light on the edge of the moon's disc which is darkly illuminated by earthshine.  A very light haze gives the sky a soft focus so the crescent's image is gentle stark.  The look is suitable for a morning crescent.  It holds my interest.  I scan the separation between light and dark on the disc.  I follow the deep curve of of light and linger on its points, happy just to see this moon and morning sky.

The clouds return.  Slowly at first, hiding then revealing some or all of the crescent.  A brief final tease before dropping the curtain on this performance. 

Not Too Hot August Velo News

Western Washington has had the longest run of sunny, warm and occasionally hot (over 90) weather this summer.  Today is predicted to be one of the cooler days (84) but mid-day temperatures and high UV make cycling less pleasant than I care for, especially if I have an alternative.  Which I do:  mornings.   The temperature was 50 when I got out just after sunrise today, around 7:00.  That's higher than some mid-afternoon temperatures during winter, so I can deal with it easily.  Still it was chilly enough that I was comfortable wearing a jacket over a long-sleeved shirt first couple hours of the ride.

Since much of the year here does not lend itself to early morning rides, I enjoy the chance to get out early during the summer.  It's a habit I developed out of necessity riding in Phoenix.  I soon learned to enjoy the empty streets, the low light  and the quiet.  During summer in Olympia I get a chance to indulge my fancy.

This morning offered some fine highlights.  Heading east on 33rd Avenue I could see the road undulating under a green archway, the strong morning light filtering through the foliage.  The scene recalled summer mornings hiking the Appalachian Trail and reminded me how luck I am to be out on a beautiful morning like this.  Returning over Woodard Bay I stopped to watch the tide going out.  A sea otter head popped up in the water, then several more.  I saw six total and from the slightly larger size of one and the way the others followed its lead, I'm pretty sure it was a mother and six pups out foraging.

The day was beginning to warm up by the time I reached the northern end of the Chehalis Western Trail at 9:00.  Enough to shed the jacket for the final nine miles.  The air was still cool, though, since much of the trail is still shaded.  I never broke a sweat and felt strong throughout the ride:  25 miles and home by 10.  A good way to to start the weekend.

Ancient Arts

Saturday evening I attended an event at the Olympia Library about typewriters.  Jim Hair of Blue Moon Camera (they also deal in vintage typewriters) in Portland came up to talk about typewriters, their history and their (somewhat) renaissance.  I have a fondness for typewriters since it was the typing class I took in high school that landed me the company clerk job after five months humping the boonies as a rifleman in Vietnam.  Never mind my college degree--it didn't do diddly for me--but knowing how to type was literally a life saver.

People brought in their manual typewriters to show.  There were some pretty bizarre antique machines as well as more "modern" ones.  There was also a typing contest where contestants typed copy for three minutes.  The sound that was loosed in the building when 10 or so people all began to type was amazing.  I can't recall the last time I heard the clatter of keys like that.  I typed in the second round.  I managed 70 words with 21 errors.  The winner typed 108 words with fewer errors.

Since then I've been playing around with my 1941 Royal Quiet Deluxe.  The keys have a presence that you just don't get from a keyboard.

The event reminded me that I'd heard an orchestral piece that mimicked the sound of a typewriter at some point.  This being the internet age, I quickly found a few videos of  Leroy Anderson's "The Typewriter" only it was not a mimic--the piece features a real typewriter.  The musicians look like they are having a good time.
 

Slugs and Worms

That's the headline I would have used a few weeks ago to describe my local velo experience after several days of heavy rain.  I never got around to making that post.  Now that the weather is very nice, the headline no longer applies but I like it enough to use it anyway.

Yesterday slugs and worms were not in evidence.  We had bright sunlight and warm temperatures after several days of increasingly sunny, dry weather.  Truly the early days of summer here in Olympia.  The trees are filling in with green.  Flowers in bloom everywhere.  People out and about in shorts in t-shirts.  I rode in a t-shirt for the first time this year yesterday. 

Last week was cool and overcast.  I managed to ride early, hoping to dodge predicted mid-day showers.  A nice enough ride but nothing like yesterday.  When the sun comes out here this place sparkles.

A few weeks ago--the week of slugs and worms--was much cooler and darker, pretty much what I expect in early spring here.  The slugs were pretty easy to spot with their eyes periscoped up; they looked intent on getting somewhere.  The worms were less easy to see.  As a rule, I keep a sharp look out a (a lesson deeply imbedded in my brain from booby trap training in the Army) and so I didn't run over anything.

Yesterday's fauna amounted to a wooly caterpillar and a small garter snake, both easily spotted in the bright sunlight.

Procession 2013

Yesterday in Olympia. Procession of the Species.

Dancers

Artesian Rumble Arkestra

Mongoose and cobra

Whale and jellyfish

Geoduck

Giraffe

Earlier in the day we attended the Power Tool Drag Races.

Freezing Velo News

Olympia froze last night with a low of 22 F and freezing fog almost to noon.  Once the sun came out around mid-day, the temperature got up to 36 and the day was bright and sunny in between scattered clouds.  Still the day never thawed out much.  I saw lots of ice--in drainage ditches, driveway puddles and a fair amount on the larger ponds--on today's bike ride.  I rode north through northeast Olympia and Thurston County to the northern terminus of the Chehalis Western Trail, followed the trail to Yelm Highway and worked my way back through southeast Olympia; just under 24 miles.

The ride was cold.  I put an extra layer on my torso but stayed with a single layer long tights under my cycling shorts.  This winter is the first where I've regularly worn rain booties to keep the wind off my feet and full fingered cycling gloves.  Today I wore micro fleece gloves as a base layer.  I thought the extra torso layer would be too much but I never overheated.  My fingertips were often cold but not enough to go to a heavier glove.  Around three o'clock in this neck of the woods this time of year, whatever warmth has accumulated begins to dissipate as the sun heads toward the horizon.  I could feel the change as I rode  .  By the time I got home my feet were especially cold.

I got several views of Mount Rainier, totally blanketed in snow, shining like a jewel in the east.  No matter how many times I see that sight, I am always awe struck.  Today was no different.

A Saturday Ride

Cycling in Olympia took another turn toward winter this weekend.  Nights have been clear and cold with lows in the mid-20s and frost.  Saturday was sunny and dry but never warmed up--high temp was 45 which made for a cold ride even well past mid-day at 1:15 pm.  Once I got moving, though, the cold was tolerable.

This being the first ride of the month, I pedal east, straight up the steep hill that leads to the Eastside water tower and Lions Park.  Past the tower and park, I work my way though the neighborhood to Boulevard where it crosses the freeway and turn east on to the bike path that links to the Olympia-Woodland Trail.  A large group of teens are planting trees alongside the trail.  I navigate my way slowly through the bodies that wander into trail. 

Safely through the congestion and across Fones Road, I turn south on the Chehalis Western Trail.  The sun is to the southwest, its light filtering through the trees and across the pavement, sometimes shining directly into my face as the trail twists and turns.  Frost is still evident in the shadows and I can feel the change in air temperature as I move from light to shadow.  On this day the shadows seem more noticeable to me; I can feel the Big Dark moving in even on this bright afternoon.  The change is especially abrupt immediately after returning to standard time.   Nonetheless, lots of other folks are on the trail--walkers, dogs, joggers, other cyclists.  Benches in the sunlight are occupied as locals enjoy the sunny afternoon. 

 Outbound on a Sunny Day

South of Yelm Highway I encounter fewer people.  What I do encounter are what I call the Deschutes Wetlands, the marshes and drainages that feed the Deschutes River which I am nearing.  Water is flowing copiously after the recent rains. Farther along the trail parallels the river, considerably higher than just a few weeks ago.  The trail and river diverge.  I follow the trail to Waldrick Road, turn right and follow Waldrick a quarter mile to where it crosses the Dechutes.  This is my turn around.

 Deschutes River at Turnaround

My return is the same route coming out.  I'd originally thought to follow an alternate route north of Yelm Highway but today I like traveling on my separate, dedicated right-of-way.  Now the sun is behind me and much lower in the sky.  Shadows are longer.  The day is cooling noticeably.  My feet are cold enough that I put on rain booties for some added warmth.  From the Yelm Highway overpass I can see Mount Rainier fully covered in snow, rising above low clouds obscuring its lower flanks.  It looks almost like the peak is floating in the sky.

Inbound Along Deschutes River

Back on the Olympia Woodland Trail heading west, I pass the results of the youth work party--50 or more saplings on either side of the trail, an impressive day's work that will screen the trail from the new fire training academy on the south and add more vegetation between the trail and I-5.  I stay on the trail past Boulevard and follow it to Eastside for my final approach to home.  Sun is very low in the west as.  I'm in at 4:10, about thirty minutes ahead of sunset.  Total miles today is 25.5.  For the year:  1109.