Biking, for me, is the most reliable & enjoyable way to get into and out of town. To get “there” it wins hands down but…

If I need to get there post-haste then the absolute fastest way (short of a motorcycle) is to go multi-modal and combine a bike ride with a trip on The Sounder. But…

If I miss the train I wait. And further some of the benefit of the bike ride is gone while the burden of a nip-tuck schedule weighs on my mind and negatively affects my trip across town. But…

If I take the bus I walk. And if I walk on a day like today, when the weather is calm, and when the pressure to get there isn’t primary…well…then…nothing compares to a leisurely stroll through The Market.

The smell of the pastries, the bustle of shopkeepers folding their mobile stations up for the night, a short cup of coffee in your hand, and all of the wacky, harried, smelly, angry, zoned out, and beautiful people doing their thang!

Even a leisurely bike ride across town can’t compare. The inhospitable nature of a city street is only exceeded by the sterile and emotionless freeway for the reward it brings you. The sidewalk is the best place when you are just being there and not really in need of getting there.

If you have the occasion, take a stroll and soak it all in.

I just finished registering for the Human Power Challenge in Portland over Memorial Day weekend.
I registered for the 10 mile time trial event (Saturday PM) and the 200Meter (flying start) sprints (Sun AM).

My goal for the 10 mile event is an average of 23MPH over the 9.75 mile course.
My goal for the 200M sprint is any value over 30MPH.

I am using what I think I might be capable of compared with last years results (found here http://www.ohpv.org/HPC/index.html) and estimating where I might fit based on skills, bikes, etc.

Any real wind would probably mean adjustment of those goals as they are a little aggressive.

Gonna be fun though.

Riding home about ten minutes ago and off to my left I heard a popping noise from across the street (from a car?) nearly simultaneously I felt a dull thwack on my arm. I immediately presumed I had been sniped with a BB.

I rode on, ponderously, for about 500 meters and considered the possibility that I was thwacked with a rock shot off of a car tire. I have done it plenty with my high pressure bike tires; but never across a street, through moving traffic.

So I stopped, removed my jacket to inspect the impact mark. It was smallish, and metal flakes appeared te be left in my jacket. Could still be a rock but less likely. So I called the police and reported the incident.

I am still waiting for them to arrive and it has been nearly 15 minutes or as long as it has taken to write and edit this post on an iPhone.

I am getting cold and will be leaving soon if they don’t show up.

Mostly I am interested in corroborating with other victims/stories if indeed someone is firing at passersby.

Update: the sheriff showed up about five minutes later. Apologized for keeping me – he was clearing a home after a burglary – took my report and mentioned that it was likely a pellet gun shot out of a passing vehicle. So guessed because of other recent reports closer into Renton.