Oddfellows Hall (Ballard) 1706 NW Market Street Tuesday, 12-5-06 6:30pm - 9:00pm

They mention something about not wearing cycling shoes. Which seems a bit retarded to me. Why not invite a couple hundred cyclists to a meeting about bike advocacy in a place unfit for cyclists. This is the same level of thinking that got our city into the trouble it’s in. Forgive me if my faith in Seattle’s ability to create a friendlier city for bikes is lacking. I’ll be there though. You should be too. Hopefully there will be some good news. If we’re really lucky, maybe they took our advice from the last meeting and adjusted their plans. I want to be optimistic, but it’s difficult when there are so many things in need of fixing. In other news it’s Tuesday. Which means nothing really. Other than it’s Tuesday and Saturday is only one day closer than it was yesterday. I’d really just like to go to the tapeworm right now. That sounds way better than working.

I’ve been rocking this Chrome bag for the last few weeks. It’s not my 1^st Chrome bag; I’ve had one of these for 4 years.

This backpack is great. Standard Chrome toughness, water proof and fits well. Tonight I decided to perform the most crucial of tests, buying beer.

A new Whole Foods opened up the street so I stopped in on my way to the boat. After a quick review of the selection, (nothing cheap!) I grabbed the Snow Cap, yum. I chose the 12 pack. It comes in a sturdy, colorful box. Typically I assimilate weight with quality. Heavy bottles, enclosed in a heavy box means I can carry it with one hand and my Tofurkey in the other right?

Walking up to the cashier, I began to move the Snow Cap up onto the conveyor belt with a smooth pendulum motion. About a inch before the box was to land smoothly on the belt it exploded in a mess of colorful cardboard, two seconds later the whole thing lands on the nice new floor with a sharp thud; thick foamy brown ale bleeding from every crack in the damn thing.

The Tofurkey made a safe landing on the belt and I made haste to pick out another box for my all important beer bag test.

Many apologies and a whole lot of pushing, wiggling and cursing the beer was safely wedged in the Chrome bag. Tofurkey safely resting on top for the ride home.

The final out come: when carrying heavy shit two straps are more comfortable than one.

So the new plan has been leaked. Some of the new improvements make sense, but the south end still seems shit out of luck.

Seattle’s only newspaper says it better than I can. I don’t have time to link all those things today. So there you go. Read away!

Polo at Cal Anderson tonight. Or in the Cave. 7pm? Word.

Yes, it’s storming out there. I don’t recall it snowing and storming last night, but I was tucked away in my apartment, oblivious to the torrents and drifts of snow blowing around outside. Safe and snug in my easy chair, laptop in action.

Stepping out this morning around 5:00 am, on my way to work, I noticed my building’s steps were a bit icy. The ride down around Capitol Hill and down the Denny steeps, warm coffee in hand, I only noticed the tiniest of ice patches. Beyond this, the roads were clear and dry, much like the sky has been all day. Dry, ice-free, and cold [damned cold!] was just about all the weather for the morning to me. It wasn’t until co-workers began calling in that I was learning that Seattle is interesting in it’s winter weather: the outlying suburbs get piles of snow and sheets of ice evidently, while we don’t. It was a slow day at work, I thankfully got to leave early and got to enjoy riding around, chilled to the bone.

Enough about the weather, it’s cold when its clear and warm when its overcast. Let’s work on switching this here in Seattle and try to enjoy some real snow in town! Never mind the Master Plan, we want snow. (Just kidding, check out this sneak peek at the action plans north and south, found these on the Stranger’s website. Don’t forget next week are the meetings you shouldn’t miss.)

Speaking of rad pants (from last post of Jason’s) we have yet to publicly thank Chrome for the sweet pants they let us try out. These knickers have really kicked some ass. Nice and stretchy, quick drying material; these things have really held up since the time we got them just after our trip to Vegas. Their length is perfect for me and the quick drying [gotta mention it again it's so good] has been beneficial these past few weeks of torrential weather here in Seattle. I don’t worry one bit about pneumonia after I get to work sopping wet. One other comment about them, they look good, I know this because I’ve had three of four people ask what kind of pants they are and where can they get them… Chrome.

I’ve got some more appreciation to go around still yet! Who else is rad at right now? One On One Bicycle Studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota that’s who. Them and The Hub Providence in Providence, Rhode Island. These two shops are the newest outfits to carry Cranked Magazine on their shelves. Welcome to the Cranked community; and thank all of you in the Cranked community. You’ll notice a few new names in our list of shops, especially down in Portland too (Revolver, Hollywood Cycling, and Coventry).

Thanks again to all of you and everyone else on our long list of thanks, you know you’re on it and will always be appreciated.