Sunny Seattle (no, seriously)

i love the west side. every time we visit, it's hard to leave. when there's a long line at the coffee shop, folks don't bitch, they chit-chat. yes, that's right, strangers talking to strangers, then we're not strangers, but fellow coffee addicts waiting for a fix. i digress. seattle. beautiful place, nice people and a great wedding. it was great to be a part of will and beth's hitchin' - and we know they'll be together for a long time...

jenn and i rolled on scene super-late wed night and got some zzz's. in the morning i commandered Will's mtbike for 90mins of loops around green lake, a super popular spot for runner's, walker's, biker's. sun was shinin', temps in the low 70's, stopped for a mid-ride cookie and espresso, just doesn't get any better. later that day we rolled across the Sound on the Kingston Ferry, set-up shop and got-down to bizness (aka, the casino and drinkin' for Will's 2nd to last night as a "free man") w/his future bro-in-law and John, good dudes.

Awoke on Friday to more sun, once again commandered Will's bike and went for a great rip! legs were feeling crazy fresh (even if my head wasn't) and found a nice 5' climb to do repeats on. didn't want to be gone too long w/everything going-on, arrived back right as folks were wakin'-up and cooked-up breakfast for the crew w/my ridin' energy. Ate and drank like the royalty we are all day and watched in amazement as Beth's family rolled-in army-style and cooked-up a feast. it doesn't suck that Beth's uncle (1 of 8 siblings!) is Tom Douglas, a renowed Chef.

Woke-up crazy-early on Saturday, the big day. wanted to get a little longer ride in, knew i needed to knock it out early. was up at 530a and back before anyone even noticed. this was the ride that i'd been looking for. views of the Cascades, Mt Rainer, and the Sound on one side, then amazing views of the Olympics on the other. Words don't do the views justice. if you haven't been out that way, buy a ticket, pack-up your bikes and roll. Only freaky part of the spin was the Hood Canal bridge, the scariest, most massive bridge i've ever crossed. i don't like water at all and bridges need to be pretty thick for me to feel comfortable - this floating monstrosity had me poopin' me pants, but of course, i made it safely across. had to roll in a big gear for my sanity, just going for it. once on the other side all i could think of was the trip back across...

the wedding went w/o a hitch (besides me having way too many cocktails and falling asleep at like 1030p - i don't know why i try to drink drink-drinks - they just don't work for my skinny cyclist style) and before we knew it we were saying goodbye to Will and Beth. Jenn and I were pretty beat, and headed back across the ferry feeling fuzzy and disoriented. luckily, right as we were exiting the ferry Nathan dropped me a call on the cellie and we were off to his place for relaxation and food. It was good to see that brutha, talk bike smack, work-smack, life-smack, all that smack. as usual, his bike knowledge was vast and he gave me some good info, like where to get some burly chainrings for my XTR cranks.

one red eye flight later, i'm at work, doing my thang, wondering how in the hell i managed to find 11 saddle hours last wk w/all the action. not up to my usual standard of rides, but the rest was certainly good - and with 4 days in canda on-tap this upcoming wknd i'm pumped. Man, i LOVE riding up there. Plus the lake house, the friendly canadian style, hanging w/Jenn w/o anything to do, Alpine Lager, the whole gig, you know? may even catch a fish this time. man, i'm about the worst fisherman evah.