Kermit Goes AWAY

The Start of the Adventure - a Failed Toe Clip Strap

Honestly, there’s not usually a lot of drama to cycling around Ocean Shores. The roads are so massively overbuilt that it is a “traffic jam” when a cyclist sees more than two cars at a single moment. There might not be much in the way of sidewalks for pedestrians, but as noted here, sidewalks are illegal for cyclists to go on anyway as I discovered recently – even cyclists that are not beyond training wheels in their appreciation of how to deal with traffic. Checking city records, the only cyclist injury was one in 1982 where a child fell while attempting to follow the city “extreme right” mandate. Like a lot of cyclists, I experience some trepidation whenever I see a police SUV, but again, like most, the police are not targeting cyclists the way they do in New York City and my blood pressure soon drops.

Still, there ARE a few dramatic moments around Ocean Shores. Yesterday and today, I experienced aggressive motorist honking, FREEZING conditions, and the temporary loss of Kermit, my own honking companion. All this was prompted by the failure of a bicycle component. The story follows:

First off, you can see how my toe clip strap failed. It did yeoman duty over 40 years, but the leather finally gave up the ghost. A new one is on order from Amazon (there being NO local bike shops) and my trip to the PO Box led to the SECOND moment of drama.

Kermit's GONE!!!!

You see, Kermit went away. For those “not in the know,” Kermit is my little frog squeaky that gives a bit of whimsy to my bike. Kermit has various moods, ranging from happy to “Rantwick Mad.” Kermit disappeared somewhere after I stopped at the IGA for the daily grocery additions. After a moment of indecision about whether to abandon Kermit to its fate or to go back, I did the right thing, retraced my route, and discovered Kermit back on Chance a La Mer near the IGA. Later, I was to discover Kermit had been hit by a motorist, but all in good time.



Kermit's Recovered - and Smiley

I took advantage after the Kermit recovery of taking a couple of “Kermit’s Missing” shots, which is when I witnessed the motorist honking. Momma Deer was in the road, waiting for her growing fawn when a motorist came along and felt the need to honk at her. She stood her ground, looking back, then moved a bit forward and the motorist then made a full lane change and passed. Soon, baby came bounding along and they both left the roadway. Based on news reports, a dozen or more deer have been hit by motorists recently, so a honking episode is not as offensive as it might initially appear.

Momma Deer Waits For Her Faun as a Motorist Honks

After all this adventure, I got home and discovered even more. As seen below, it looks like Kermit was run over by the tires of a motorist. It isn’t possible to tell if it was a Nissan Rogue motorist attempting to relive fantasies shown in NFL commercials or some other, but Kermit seemed little the worse for wear. Personally, it is the closest call I’ve experienced since here.

Kermit After Getting Hit by a Motorist. Looks Like he's gonna Recover

This morning, it was freezing. That may not appear amazing to my loyal reader from points east of Ocean Shores, but it WAS the first time I’ve seen ice since I came back from North Texas.

Freeze at Ocean Shores Golf Course

 

Ace Hardware adds Proof that OS is Cold - Brrr! GO SEAHAWKS!