Only a Fool and No Fool

A few days ago, I was headed north in Ocean Shores and, what to my wondering eyes did I see other than someone on a bike headed against traffic. Now, that is not totally unusual by itself, but the wrong-way dweeb had a dog on a leash running alongside his bike. I thought about yelling out, but then the missive "only a fool argues with a fool" took hold and I simply shook my head in wonderment about whether the guy would fall due to the dog diverting his front wheel, due to the dog darting toward a nearby dear just as oncoming traffic approached, or simply due to some other cause. In any event, it did not seem like a teachable moment. I consoled reflecting on how cycling is fun and safe, even when practiced by someone completely clueless.

Yesterday and today, I saw more intelligent actions. Yesterday, I came across a black bear about three blocks from my Ocean Shores house. The bear saw me shortly afterwards and took off, not wanting to tangle with an apex predator on a Schwinn Cruiser. Today, the same thing happened when I encountered a coyote just south of our local IGA Grocery. These two were no fools!

For the record, the bear looked well fed. The coyote not as much, but not emaciated either.

STOOPID IS AS STOOPID DOES

The other day, riding home from downtown Ocean Shores, I encountered a wrong-way cyclist. I always find people going the wrong way to be PARTICULARLY irritating and probably more so when I'm on my bike than if I'm in a motor vehicle. Walking against traffic is the right thing to do. RIDING a wheeled vehicle against traffic is, simply, STOOPID. I know that people imagine they want to see oncoming traffic in case they decide they need to dump their bike in the ditch. Clearly, they don't read this blog, and equally clearly, they have never really thought through the mechanism of how you'd jump off your bike into the ditch and how quickly such an action could be completed. It's not like walking where you can simply side step on your very next step.

Anyway, in my irritation, I informed the "salmon" that "you're riding the wrong way." I forgot that it is pretty STOOPID to imagine the willfully ignorant "salmon" represents a teachable moment.

Hence, the title of this post.

Spring Locals and Alien Invaders

Rhododendrons are the Quintessential Pacific Northwest Shrub and Flower

The Pacific Northwest has some of the most beautiful plants to be found anywhere. Besides obvious choices such as the rhododendron at the top of this post, even our evergreens have color not often appreciated or commented on.

Until They Turn Into Cones, Pine Flowers are an Attractive Yellow

These are Past Their Peak, When They'd Almost be Pink

However, we also have alien invaders. As you may see below, the lillies in front of the rhodie are not native. Ubiquitous also are things such as Himalayan Blackberries and Scotch Broom. The Scotch Broom adds a lot of color this time of year, as it grows in recently cleared areas. Blackberries also grow in clearings until local plants reclaim them.

Native and Foreign - Lillies in Front of a Rhododendron

Wild Invader - Flowering Scotch Broom in an Empty Lot.
At Least They don't have Stickers Like Blackberries, but They don't have Fruit, Either

Heck, as noted in my previous post, here, we've even got a few palm trees up here...

Birds for the Holidays

Holiday Decorations Complement This Bird

Just out and about today. Holiday decorations are complemented by the local birds.

Caw Caw

Crow in Ocean Shores

Washington State truly IS different than North Texas. You see, North Texas has few crows. Instead, it has grackles. Grackles look vaguely like crows (they are NOT closely related), except they congregate in larger numbers and have longer tail feathers. Both are black. Washington has, on the other hand, LOTS of crows and no grackles at all as far as I know.


Crow PAIR in Ocean Shores

Crow Surveys its Domain

Lately, I’ve been noticing crows and grackles a lot more than formerly. The notice occurs partly because I’ve seen some good books and a DVD on crows. The first book I was exposed to was “Crow Planet.” It’s a good overview on crows and how they interact with humans. Perhaps even better for a “first exposure” to crow society is the DVD “A Murder of Crows.”

For those that already have gotten past initial crow interest, two other books are “Gifts of the Crow” and “In the Company of Crows and Ravens.”
Perhaps significantly, the Colleyville TX library has no books on crows. The smaller Ocean Shores WA library has two books on crows AND the DVD. Personally, I like crows a LOT better than grackles. They simply seem a lot more personable. YOUR mileage may vary.

FYI, the Amazon links are purely for convenience. Amazon doesn’t pay me to hype their site and I didn’t go to same for any of the four references.

Did Crows Snatch this Mailbox's Eye?

Recreational Road Users

In case some have forgotten that cyclists are not the only ones that use roads for recreational use, seen in this post are photos shot in and around Ocean Shores. We should not forget that recreational road use is legitimate, as much so as using same for commuting. Especially now in the digital age!

On second thought, it should also serve as a reminder to cyclists that many motoring road users are really not ON the road with a mind to conflict with cyclists or anybody else...

 

SWSS is Different Here



This SWSS Candidate Really IS a Deer!

Cycling writing tends to have its very on jargon that is mysterious to those not “in the know.” One example is the term “SWSS.” Most often it stands for “Single Witness Suicide Swerve” in which a crash occurs where the only survivor – a motorist, states that the cyclist mysteriously swerved in front of that motorist. Of course, the motorist is normally “unhurt” and when the crash also occurs in conjunction with fleeing from the scene, the motorist sometimes claims to have thought he or she “hit a deer.”

Well, that thought carries more credibility in Ocean Shores, where deer are more common than cats and dogs combined. Kermit warns them as I barrel along. I’ve seen what happens when a deer runs into a vehicle. 1967 Jaguar E Type Coupe and the deer hit the A post pillar on the driver's side. Nasty…

Deja Vu Sorta

New Gas Station Along the Old Route
Cheap Coffee and Hot Dogs for Cyclists

They say you can't go home again. In some ways you can't go to work again. Well, at least if you go to where you USED to work, it just isn't the same. Not exactly, anyway.

Since mid November, as reported in this post, I haven't commuted to Fort Worth Alliance Airport any more - until today. It was Deja Vu All Over Again, and then it wasn't.

For those who don't know the particulars, I regularly made the 40-mile roundtrip commute from home to Alliance Airport from April 2009 through Remembrance Day of 2010. During that time, I put the better part of 6000 miles on Buddy, more miles on other bikes, and I and learned a lot about how a transportational cyclist can successfully operate in a vehicular manner over all types of roads in all weather and lighting. Every day. My v3 commute, by comparison, is about 7 miles each way. The difference is a lot more than just the mileage, as I was reminded today. I did the old commute again because I needed to take care of some administrative stuff with my engineers at Alliance, and I expected it would take pretty much the whole day. I looked forward to deja vu on the old commute with a little trepedation mixed in. It'd be fun, but sometimes reliving old experiences reminds us of what we didn't enjoy rather than our memories that grow fonder with the passing of time.

It all started out real familiar. I rolled out of bed about 45 minutes earlier than my new commute, and was ready to depart in plenty of time. Other than having to remember not to make an early LEFT turn, it all seemed familiar. In fact, it was SO familiar that the main difference I noticed was that the mighty P7 light eliminated any past questions about whether the video traffic signals would recognize the forward progress needs of the commute cyclist. I must say I highly recommend a bright, steady headlight to trigger those video-triggered traffic lights. In fact, I triggered them easier than my motorists along the route. About the only other differences on the way to work in were my thoughts - about 1/3 of the way to work, the thought hit me that if I were making my new commute, I'd be at work. About 2/3 of the way to work, the thought hit me that if I were making my new commute in the worst weather in recent memory, I'd be at work. Still, the ride itself seemed just like it used to be in the predawn darkness. When the sun peeked over the horizon, I was nearly at work and simply noticed a few more new houses in the developments close to the Alliance Gateway Freeway. It was as sweet as ever to head up the last stretch, and then finally move into the left turn lane to turn into the parking lot.

Then, I brought the bike inside and started to notice not everything had remained unchanged. I experienced Obamacare first-hand when I encountered our former shower that was now locked, thanks to the "nursing mother" provision. Then I found that the cafeteria doesn't have chorizo for omelets any more and they'd changed cooks. What's more, there was no green salsa. Well, none of those were strictly commute related, and there is another shower in the building. It was fun to see people who KNEW I was there because "Steve's bike is here" in the office I was borrowing. Still, Alliance seemed a little less legendary. The larger differences became apparent on the way home. Homeward bound is the real test anyway more often than not.

The first big difference was that, in contrast to early November, the trees looked dead. My daughter, Abbey A, really was the first of our family to observe that it looks really DEAD in Texas in winter.The grass looked dead too. It's Texas winter. No more color for these cowboys and cowgirls until the weather warms up seriously. Somehow, I didn't notice that change nearly so much on my new commute, but seeing dead-looking trees again that were full of leaves the last time I'd seen them made an impact that hadn't been apparent in the morning darkness.

Color or B&W, the Scenes Look Pretty Much the Same. Even the Grass is Beige

Gratuitous Bike Shot to Provide a Little Color

Then, as I rode along, I noticed that pockets of snow remain from last week's ice and snow event. We may not be in the snow belt, but even Texas still has some, and more is expected tomorrow. Maybe quite a bit more. We shall see. More things one didn't notice in the predawn ride in to work. There certainly was none of this stuff around last November.

Snow on a Roof in Keller, Texas

Snow Remnants in a Yard in Keller, Texas

On a more serious note, there were still remants of the gravel and sand used to provide traction near the intersections. In the predawn darkness, a cyclist could easily go down if he weren't in the habit of riding in "the line of sweetness." As it was, the sand made a lot bigger impression on me when I could actually contemplate it at the leisure of a red light. This CAN'T be good for the drivetrain!

Note all the Sand at the Intersection Approach. I Can't Remember WHY I Appear to be in the Right Wheel Track. I Usually Approach this Light
From the Right Side of the Left Wheel Track. It May Have Been the Other Photos I Took That Led Me Astray
You Don't Notice This Stuff So Much in the Morning Darkness when the Mighty P7 Makes all the Lights Change



One thing that also was different was seeing a coyote on the way home, only about four blocks from Colleyville City Hall. I've often seen coyotes on the way to Fort Worth Alliance Airport, but usually fleetingly and in the dark or dawn. This was the first time I've EVER seen one in the late afternoon in a fairly mature neighborhood. Remember y'all, keep your cats indoors! Those coyotes are more hungry than usual this time of year.

Colleyville Coyote. This is the First One I've Actually Gotten in Pixels. He Doesn't Look too Fat to Me
A Coyote in an Urban Setting at 5:30PM Suggests These Guys are Extra Hungry



There were also differences in ME. For one thing, influenced by my new commute, I wore work pants for the commute. They worked well in the 30F morning ride, as well as for the 50F evening return. High vis cuffs finished off the look and kept wind from blowing up my leg as they kept my pants away from the chain. Simple and effective - and they keep the "High Vis Police" at bay. Sorta.

Work Pants Work Well for a 20-Mile Winter Commute

What's in a Man's Purse?

Buddy was pretty much the same. About the only change from the "good old days" was the addition of the MIGHTY P7. I was very careful since it's only got three hours on the high setting and I like to charge it on the weekends. Still, there WAS time to stop for coffee on the way home. Asked where I'd been recently, I noted I'd been transferred to Hurst, but I got to to to Alliance for the day. Those baristas have memories like elephants!

Buddy and the Mighty P7, Reclining at a Store of a Major Coffee Chain I Have Neglected Recently

The final change was on the very last leg home. How THOUGHTFUL of Colleyville to add a "cyclist potty stop" at the locale where construction might cause some cyclist delay. I really hadn't noticed the added cycling facility on the way in to work.

However, in all seriousness, I think the new v3 commute has softened  me a bit. I certainly encounter a lot less motorists on narrow, two-lane roads than formerly, and there aren't any high-speed, divided roads on my new commute that compare to the Alliance Gateway Freeway. The combination of the longer distance and the tough (in spots) roads, sharpened my skills and my awareness of developing traffic situations in a way no other method could have done. I deeply appreciate those lessons, but, in some ways, you really can't go to work again - unless it's more than just for a day. I'm also thankful that I didn't complete LCI training when this was my regular route. Even as it was, there were a few moments when I felt like I represented the bike-ed version of the "Provisional Wing of the Irish Republican Army." A little softening isn't necessarily bad...

I Don't Think the "Turn Around Don't Drown" Sign Refers to the Portapotty...

Geese!

Yesterday, I got lost in Hurst, Texas. My loyal reader may realize that geese and motorists have the common feature that they honk. While I was lost, I saw a LOT of geese. More accurately, I saw a lot of pictures of geese. Or maybe they were ducks. It's hard to tell. They all looked like the photo below.

Goose (or maybe it's a duck) Warning to Motorists

Goose crossing signs are not exactly a rare sight at ponds and creeks around North Texas. One might wonder if motorists actually need to be warned that there might be water birds around water, but that is a subject for another time. Still, it seems to me that two or three goose crossing warnings ought to be enough. While I was wandering around this Hurst neighborhood in the dark, it seemed that there were a half dozen or more goose signs. They were as prolific as Canada Goose droppings at the Boeing Everett Plant.

I never did see an actual live goose, much less hear one honk. I think they tend to stay off the roads until daylight. For the record, I didn’t see any “dog crossing” signs. Perhaps the Hurst leash laws are 100% effective.

The Nearest Possible Water is Over Two Blocks Away Down This Hill.
Have YOU Ever Seen Water Birds Trooping Across a Street Half Way Up a Hill?

Searchin' For Rantwick's Tree

Regular Tree Candidate, in Hoquiam, Washington

If you look at Rantwick's contest, the rules are somewhat vague. "Show" implies a fall color change, but he didn't actually say so. The first sort of candidate, in my nationwide search for the ONE to take down that Canuck tree is the regular sort, as shown in the first photo. As you can see, it's not really showing any color yet other than berries and this one isn't even big enough to be a real candidate. Still, it illustrates a type, of the same sort as Rantwick's "King."

Type 2 Tree

In some areas, such as Washington and other areas of the west, there are whole other classes of trees (Type 2 tree), such as the one at right, which put on their show with their attractive demeanor (our for you northerners). Such trees do not change color (our for you northerners). Some of us really favor (our for you northerners) such trees, and SOME put on a show lately due to pine beetles, but I think we have to consider the judge bias and, regretfully, move on, not even considering the rain forest variant on evergreen trees, as shown below.

Moss-Covered Tree in World's Largest Temperate Rain Forest Region

As an interesting diversion while tree hunting, sometimes the camera slips and you wind up with bicycle content entirely by accident such as in the photo below!

No Bicycles Allowed at Hoquiam City Hall. There's a Rack Around the Back. Hoquiam is the "Tree Capital." They Certainly Cut a Lot of Them Down.

Moving on, SOME fall color involves entirely different approaches, including aquatic pond plants.

The Pond Plants are Starting Their Fall Color Change, but I Think They'd be Disqualified Under the Technicality That They are Not Trees



Buddy Holly is NOT a Tree



There are many other options as well, such as the cactus varieties mentioned by John Romeo Alpha. I may have to narrow the search down. One of my daughters is, for example, searching around Lubbock for trees, but Lubbock is better known for windmills, oil pumps, prairie dogs, and Buddy Holly statutes. We will, however, leave no stump unexplored...

Not Kansas Anymore



Wishkah Winker, Aberdeen, Washington Coast

Dorothy: "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."
Toto: "Of course not, dummy, we're in the great Nationwide tree search!"
Dorothy: "What's that?"
Toto: "Read here or here."
Dorothy: "Well, why don't you have any tree pictures, then?"
Toto: They're in the real camera, not the cellphone one and it won't hook up to the computer."
Dorothy: "Oh."

UPDATE:
The Winker's story is below...

The Story of the Wishkah Winker

Lady Bird’s Legacy

Wild Flowers Along Old Denton Highway, Near Fort Worth Alliance Airport. September 2010

Texas really IS another whole country. Each spring, mowing maintenance along the freeways comes to a halt for the wildflower season. Many of these wildflowers are less wild than it appears, with seed having been cast along the routes to enhance nature’s beauty. Texans, who normally take pride in their ability to eat nails, kick Okie butts, shoot birds, and drive giant pickup trucks, gush over the Bluebonnets. Lady Bird Johnson encouraged this and helped it evolve into the mania it is today.

No Mow Area Adjacent to Webb House in Colleyville

Many of the local cities have small plots of land reserved for wildflowers, often surrounded by a fence or cable, complete with advisory signs. Mostly, this brouhaha takes place in the spring, but the warm Texas summers don’t really make the flowers go away. Even now, in September, the show continues, regardless of municipal “do not mow” areas and the cessation of freeway right-of-way seeding.

The Little Rope Fence Would Not Really Keep a Determined Flower Picker or Mower Away. The Stakes Were Barely Able to Keep Buddy Upright

Even in September, There Are Snippets of Color in These "No Mow" Plots in Texas

HH100 Report - Road Danger

No Tornadoes or Lightning this Year

This is a sadder report than some others about the Hotter 'N Hell 100. Last year, I was amazed at the number of crashes I saw, including some that involved many bikes. This year, I didn't see anybody actually get hurt on a bike, though I did see one lady that a crowd was around, telling her to lay still until the medicos arrived. She looked fine other than I think she was a bit nervous from all the attention. For the second year running, we also didn't need to put the "Tornado and Lightning SAFETY TIPS for Cyclist" into practice. Things seemed dull enough that a car full of roving medical people asked me if I needed any help when I stopped to apply sun block somewhere on the far side of Hell's Gate. I said, "thanks but I'll do fine." I didn't even notice nearly so many lost water bottles along the way, though there were still many to choose from for the enterprising, but cheap, cyclist.

However, the event was not without a very sad accident. Around the back of the route, near Burkburnett, there was a fatality. What's more, it was a fatality presaged by a post made recently on the excellent "One Speed: Go!" blog. While I'm sure this was not an Arizona version of the species, he was a fully grown one, and I know several other riders saw him. It was clear because there was a general "Oh, how sad." I didn't have my camera out to get a photo of the poor thing, but I've regretted it since. As a result, I just have a rude and rough approximation to show y'all. You see, Gumby fell last Saturday in the Hotter 'N Hell Hundred, lost by a 100 miler, and left to be run over by hundreds of wheels thereafter.

At least we didn't see his face, but he was in just the pose you see below.

RIP Gumby. August 28, 2010. Face Down in the Middle of the Road, Covered with Road Crud

Shut Your Piehole!

From Wikipedia

In the summer, in North Texas, as in many other places, it is a good idea when riding through creek bottom road crossings, in the predawn darkness, to SHUT YOUR PIEHOLE!

Few of us are really needing that little extra bit of protein...

Buzzards in Bedford

Riding to the gym this morning, I really thought about bringing along a proper camera. I wish I had. It's not every day you see vultures in suburban Bedford. Turkey Vultures to be specific. Often known as buzzards.

Riding home, I happened to notice one picking through some garbage that had been set out at the curb. I got out my cruddy cell phone camera and missed it in three shots, at which point it flew up to the roof. At that point, I noticed it had a companion. I think the two of them weren't thrilled about a cyclist taking their pictures.

 

Fort Worth Buffalo Report

I saw the buffalo out in the pasture next to Cabela's this morning for the first time in a couple of weeks. No new calves yet!

Horrible Honking Geese

Kermit, in his NEW Attitude as of Sunday. He Now Faces Ahead!

Inspired by both Chipseal accounts of honking geese, and of Ed Sailland accounts of geese, I felt envious today, and I decided that the motorist geese in my life were too infrequent. Still, I was not disappointed, as Kermit and I set forth to see if we could get honked at. Well, I'm not only able to say we WERE honked at, but one of the perps actually did a little hissing as well. In their defense, I should say that they were not totally unjustified, as their apparently aggressive actions were really in defense of their families' best interest. Myself, I tried to stay sensitive to harmonious relations.

At lunchtime, I decided to look for honking geese, out in the wilds around Fort Worth Alliance Airport, since none of my motorist friends have been aggressive anytime recently. Soon, I saw a little path, such as that below. You'll note at the far left of the picture below, a parked car, with its motorist enjoying the scenery, not at all worried that someone would be foolish enough to run her down from behind. In truth, her faith was justified since traffic is very low on the four lane, median divided road. Actually, it's so low that it is almost creepy and I wonder why Fort Worth feels it needs to include bike lanes on the road in its plans. You will also note that said path does NOT actually join to the road. Instead, it is a "get off and go around in circles" path. Even if you are walking, you must touch the grass to touch the concrete again.

This Path is Even Bleaker Than the Picture Makes it Look. NO Trees, But Keep Going...

In the other direction, things looked promising for some honking geese...

The Pond at Least Has Some Birds - Looking From the Path Above

Sure enough, one soon came out honking. Others followed, and one even hissed at me. I only got the one shot, as my thumb was over the camera for the rest of the bunch. Even real geese can be more intimidating than the casual reader might imagine.

This was the Only Goose Shot That Survived Steve's Thumb

Their apparent aggressiveness was quickly revealed to be somewhat more defensive - do NOT assume that someone honking at you, as a cyclist, is automatically an aggressive indication. It COULD be just the opposite. The good news is that the flock quickly decided I was not a determined predator, and Kermit and I were allowed to leave without further conflict.

THIS is One Reason They Came Toward Me, Honking Loudly

One little concrete box, so many goose eggs.

As Chandra would say, "peace." As I would say myself, some honks are different than others...