She Who Bicycles With Fishes

[Claire Petersky]

On my ride this morning the real issue wasn't snow that was rapidly melting under the pelting rain.
Instead it was floodwater, from a day and a half or so of hard rain and apparently over night snow.
I skipped Kamber Road yesterday, figuring it would be flooded...

(which reminds me -- where were all of you yesterday? Dane? Where were you? Huh? I had the I-90
trail practically to myself! What's up with that?)

...but I gave it a try this morning. I spotted the Road Closed sign, but I figured, "how bad could
it be?", being too lazy to turn around and ride back up the hill. I found out how bad it could be.
The waters of Richard's Creek went way over the tops of my neoprene booties as I gingerly walked the
bike through the icy, fast-moving water. The officer stationed there said, "Got your feet wet?" and
I admitted, "A little".

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

Home of the meditative cyclist: http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm

Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at: http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky

 

[Marlene Blansha]

In article <UBUub.188012$mZ5.1364052@attbi_s54>, "Claire Petersky"
<[email protected]> wrote:

> On my ride this morning the real issue wasn't snow that was rapidly melting under the pelting
> rain. Instead it was floodwater, from a day and a half or so of hard rain and apparently over
> night snow. I skipped Kamber Road yesterday, figuring it would be flooded...
>
> (which reminds me -- where were all of you yesterday? Dane? Where were you? Huh? I had the I-90
> trail practically to myself! What's up with that?)
>
> ...but I gave it a try this morning. I spotted the Road Closed sign, but I figured, "how bad could
> it be?", being too lazy to turn around and ride back up the hill. I found out how bad it could be.
> The waters of Richard's Creek went way over the tops of my neoprene booties as I gingerly walked
> the bike through the icy, fast-moving water. The officer stationed there said, "Got your feet
> wet?" and I admitted, "A little".
>
> --

I hate that feeling! I got marooned one day this summer by a horrendous storm and after waiting out
the worst of it in a bus shelter, continued home and there were huge enormous puddles due to blocked
drains. NO way to get around them, it was just flooded! So of course my shoes were drenched and
squishing around inside. Of course, the good thing is it was summer and warm, not freezing cold. And
because it had been raining and the roads were still damp, I was on my cross bike wearing mountain
shoes, not my nice road shoes! Still, it felt yuchy.

Hope you don't get sick!

 

[Cheg]

"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:UBUub.188012$mZ5.1364052@attbi_s54...
> On my ride this morning the real issue wasn't snow that was rapidly
melting
> under the pelting rain. Instead it was floodwater, from a day and a
half or
> so of hard rain and apparently over night snow. I skipped Kamber
Road
> yesterday, figuring it would be flooded...
>
> (which reminds me -- where were all of you yesterday? Dane? Where
were you?
> Huh? I had the I-90 trail practically to myself! What's up with
that?)
>
> ...but I gave it a try this morning. I spotted the Road Closed
sign, but I
> figured, "how bad could it be?", being too lazy to turn around and
ride back
> up the hill. I found out how bad it could be. The waters of
Richard's Creek
> went way over the tops of my neoprene booties as I gingerly walked
the bike
> through the icy, fast-moving water. The officer stationed there
said, "Got
> your feet wet?" and I admitted, "A little".
>
> --
> Warm Regards,
>
> Claire Petersky

>

Nice day for going north from Seattle to south Everett, too. Steady snow all the way out, a foot of
water over the road on Maple under the Mukilteo Speedway , and the 20 minute hail storm on the way
home was a nice touch. I must have looked like a camel driver in a sandstorm with my wool scarf
wrapped around my face. Who needs adventure travel when you have eXtreme Commuting.

Still, it was a lot more fun than driving up I-5 would have been, and probably safer today.

 

[David L. Johnso]

On Thu, 20 Nov 2003 01:16:36 +0000, Claire Petersky wrote:

And here I thought this would be one of those "A woman without a man is like a fish without a
bicycle" rants.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. _`\(,_ | That is easy. All
you have to do is tell them they are being (_)/ (_) | attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for
lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any <country. --
Hermann Goering

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <UBUub.188012$mZ5.1364052@attbi_s54>, "Claire Petersky"
<[email protected]> writes:
>
> ...but I gave it a try this morning. I spotted the Road Closed sign, but I figured, "how bad could
> it be?", being too lazy to turn around and ride back up the hill. I found out how bad it could be.
> The waters of Richard's Creek went way over the tops of my neoprene booties as I gingerly walked
> the bike through the icy, fast-moving water. The officer stationed there said, "Got your feet
> wet?" and I admitted, "A little".

Claire, you seem to have an affinity for water As I recall, you had a similar fluvial encounter
a year or two (or three?) ago.

Elemental water is said by some to be symbolic of spirituality, so maybe it's not so surprising.

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca

 

[Mike Latondress]

"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in news:UBUub.188012$mZ5.1364052@attbi_s54:

> On my ride this morning the real issue wasn't snow that was rapidly melting under the pelting
> rain. Instead it was floodwater, from a day and a half or so of hard rain and apparently over
> night snow.

Amazing how different the weather can be in two reasonably adjacent regions. Both today and
yeaterday were lovely and sunny here in Vancouver and supposed to be nice tomorrow too...great
riding. Don't worry we will get ours.

 

[Claire Petersky]

"Tom Keats" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> In article <UBUub.188012$mZ5.1364052@attbi_s54>, "Claire Petersky"
> <[email protected]> writes:
> >
> > ...but I gave it a try this morning. I spotted the Road Closed sign, but
I
> > figured, "how bad could it be?", being too lazy to turn around and ride
back
> > up the hill. I found out how bad it could be. The waters of Richard's
Creek
> > went way over the tops of my neoprene booties as I gingerly walked the
bike
> > through the icy, fast-moving water. The officer stationed there said,
"Got
> > your feet wet?" and I admitted, "A little".
>
> Claire, you seem to have an affinity for water As I recall, you had a similar fluvial
> encounter a year or two (or three?) ago.

Same creek. It floods all the time. It's an ESA-protected salmon stream, so what the City can do is
limited. The hill coming down to the creek is a blast -- it's where I've set all my personal best
speed records. But when the weather is like it has been, I'm not doing any 50+ mph descents!

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky Please replace earthlink for mouse-potato and .net for .com

Home of the meditative cyclist: http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm

Books just wanna be FREE! See what I mean at: http://bookcrossing.com/friend/Cpetersky

 

[Mark Hickey]

"Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote:

>...but I gave it a try this morning. I spotted the Road Closed sign, but I figured, "how bad could
>it be?", being too lazy to turn around and ride back up the hill. I found out how bad it could be.
>The waters of Richard's Creek went way over the tops of my neoprene booties as I gingerly walked
>the bike through the icy, fast-moving water. The officer stationed there said, "Got your feet wet?"
>and I admitted, "A little".

My wife and I once got caught in a full-blown (pun intended) tropical storm in south Florida. The
rest of the country only THINKS they know what "heavy rain" looks like...

The water was deep enough in long sections on A1A that our feet were under water WHILE PEDALING.
However, due to the HUGE tailwind, we were still rolling 30-40mph through most of it, throwing a
nice wake.

I don't think I've ever ridden down that road and gotten so much respect from the cars - I
suspect they didn't want to mess with anyone as crazy as we appeared to be (and in hindsight,
probably were).

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

 

[Jym Dyer]

> And here I thought this would be one of those "A woman without a man is like a fish without a
> bicycle" rants.

=v= I had the same thought. <_Jym_>

"The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman
can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community."
-- Ann Strong, _Minneapolis_Tribune_, 1895

 

[Cheg]

"Mark Hickey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >...but I gave it a try this morning. I spotted the Road Closed
sign, but I
> >figured, "how bad could it be?", being too lazy to turn around and
ride back
> >up the hill. I found out how bad it could be. The waters of
Richard's Creek
> >went way over the tops of my neoprene booties as I gingerly walked
the bike
> >through the icy, fast-moving water. The officer stationed there
said, "Got
> >your feet wet?" and I admitted, "A little".
>
> My wife and I once got caught in a full-blown (pun intended)
tropical
> storm in south Florida. The rest of the country only THINKS they
know
> what "heavy rain" looks like...
>
> The water was deep enough in long sections on A1A that our feet
were
> under water WHILE PEDALING. However, due to the HUGE tailwind, we were still rolling 30-40mph
> through most of it, throwing a nice
wake.
>
> I don't think I've ever ridden down that road and gotten so much respect from the cars - I suspect
> they didn't want to mess with
anyone
> as crazy as we appeared to be (and in hindsight, probably were).
>
> Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

That's bicycling with the sharks

 

[Dane Jackson]

Claire Petersky <[email protected]> wrote:
> On my ride this morning the real issue wasn't snow that was rapidly melting under the pelting
> rain. Instead it was floodwater, from a day and a half or so of hard rain and apparently over
> night snow. I skipped Kamber Road yesterday, figuring it would be flooded...

> (which reminds me -- where were all of you yesterday? Dane? Where were you? Huh? I had the I-90
> trail practically to myself! What's up with that?)

Hey!! I did cycle in to work, eventually. I was really lagging yesterday, so I didn't leave the
house until after nine sometime. It definitely was lonely out yesterday. This morning also actually.

> ...but I gave it a try this morning. I spotted the Road Closed sign, but I figured, "how bad could
> it be?", being too lazy to turn around and ride back up the hill. I found out how bad it could be.
> The waters of Richard's Creek went way over the tops of my neoprene booties as I gingerly walked
> the bike through the icy, fast-moving water. The officer stationed there said, "Got your feet
> wet?" and I admitted, "A little".

Wednesday wasn't as bad as tuesday morning. A couple times I was cycling through spots of water so
deep I was immersed up to my ankles (while I was coasting with the pedals at half mast). I probably
should have sacrificed one of my feet and let the other get soaked. Though really, it was kind of
moot, you can only get so wet.

I think the word for the week is "soppy".

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g Those who profess to favor freedom, and
yet deprecate agitation, are men who want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean
without the roar of its many waters. -- Frederick Douglass

 

[Sorni]

"Mark Hickey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> The water was deep enough in long sections on A1A that our feet were under water WHILE PEDALING.
> However, due to the HUGE tailwind, we were still rolling 30-40mph through most of it, throwing a
> nice wake.

Travis???

Bill "inside joke for A.M-Bers" S.

 

[Marlene Blansha]

In article <[email protected]>, Mark Hickey <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >...but I gave it a try this morning. I spotted the Road Closed sign, but I figured, "how bad
> >could it be?", being too lazy to turn around and ride back up the hill. I found out how bad it
> >could be. The waters of Richard's Creek went way over the tops of my neoprene booties as I
> >gingerly walked the bike through the icy, fast-moving water. The officer stationed there said,
> >"Got your feet wet?" and I admitted, "A little".
>
> My wife and I once got caught in a full-blown (pun intended) tropical storm in south Florida. The
> rest of the country only THINKS they know what "heavy rain" looks like...
>

I remember being in Florida during the summer, twice and seeing a couple of major storms. It didn't
rain much, but when it did, YIKES! They weren't tropical storms, probably just major depressions or
tropical depressions. I have never seen anything like that! The rain comes down in SHEETS, you can't
even step outside without getting totally drenched, and it doesn't just blow over, it rains for
hours. It's like a huge bucket being poured on your head. And the thunder and lighting sound like
you're in a grenade range! You're right, rainstorms in a tropical zone are like nothing else.

 

[Marlene Blansha]

In article <[email protected]>, Mike Latondresse <mikelat@no_spamshaw.ca> wrote:

> "Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote in news:UBUub.188012$mZ5.1364052@attbi_s54:
>
> > On my ride this morning the real issue wasn't snow that was rapidly melting under the pelting
> > rain. Instead it was floodwater, from a day and a half or so of hard rain and apparently over
> > night snow.
>
> Amazing how different the weather can be in two reasonably adjacent regions. Both today and
> yeaterday were lovely and sunny here in Vancouver and supposed to be nice tomorrow too...great
> riding. Don't worry we will get ours.

We've been having unseasonably warm weather here in Montreal, temp was 14C yesterday, although it
was raining. Today it's about 7 (about 43f) which is still way above normal. We went out on the
cross bikes a couple of days ago, but it got very cold and windy and my feet froze, so we cut it
short. It's so unfair that it's mild, but gets dark so soon! WAAAAA! I wish it were july! In the
meantime, if it continues this way, I'll probably do something I almost never get to do- go for a
ride on my birthday, next weekend!

 

[David Reuteler]

Jym Dyer <[email protected]> wrote:
: "The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it gets old and shabby, a woman
: can dispose of it and get a new one without shocking the entire community."
: -- Ann Strong, _Minneapolis_Tribune_, 1895

hmmmm, the strib has gotten a tad bit more conservative over the years. i like the quote, tho.
--
david reuteler [email protected]

 

[Dane Jackson]

Claire Petersky <[email protected]> wrote:

> Same creek. It floods all the time. It's an ESA-protected salmon stream, so what the City can do
> is limited. The hill coming down to the creek is a blast -- it's where I've set all my personal
> best speed records. But when the weather is like it has been, I'm not doing any 50+ mph descents!

It is indeed a nice fast road. I also set my personal best speed record on it. The mind wobbles at
the notion of putting bike lanes on it. That just seems like a *really* bad idea.

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g "AOL would be a giant diesel-smoking bus
with hundreds of ebola victims on board throwing dead wombats and rotten cabbage at the other cars"
- a.s.r throws the Information Superhighway metaphor into reverse.

 

[Tom Keats]

In article <WjXub.192459$9E1.1032894@attbi_s52>, "Claire Petersky"
<[email protected]> writes:

> Same creek. It floods all the time. It's an ESA-protected salmon stream, so what the City can do
> is limited. The hill coming down to the creek is a blast -- it's where I've set all my personal
> best speed records. But when the weather is like it has been, I'm not doing any 50+ mph descents!

You inspired me to Google search on "amphibike". It coughed-up some pretty interesting results,
although they'd be more interesting to DIYers, than to folks who are primarily more
practicality-oriented, even with occasional wetfoot. A plain ol' bike still suits its purposes
admirably.

I guess amphibikes suit their purposes admiralably <R, D&C>

cheers, Tom

--
-- Powered by FreeBSD Above address is just a spam midden. I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn
[point] bc [point] ca

 

[Mark Hickey]

"Sorni" <[email protected]> wrote:

>"Mark Hickey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>
>> The water was deep enough in long sections on A1A that our feet were under water WHILE PEDALING.
>> However, due to the HUGE tailwind, we were still rolling 30-40mph through most of it, throwing a
>> nice wake.
>
>Travis???
>
>Bill "inside joke for A.M-Bers" S.

Hey! ;-) I have a witness (she thought it was a fun ride from her perspective on back of
the twofer).

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of the $695 ti frame

 

[Andrew Price]

> "Claire Petersky" <[email protected]> wrote:
> . I spotted the Road Closed sign, but I
> >figured, "how bad could it be?", being too lazy to turn around and ride
back
> >up the hill. I found out how bad it could be. The waters of Richard's
Creek
> >went way over the tops of my neoprene booties as I gingerly walked the
bike
> >through the icy, fast-moving water. The officer stationed there said,
"Got
> >your feet wet?" and I admitted, "A little".
>
The ride everyone here calls "going round the block" on Sydney's north is up and back to a pretty
national park called Bobbin Head which does a quick descent of about 500m to the park at sea level.

Couple of years ago about this time of year (when we get the king tides) the seawater was across the
road, not by much but as one distraught riding companion remarked "its never done that before!!"

So all the boys and girls took off their shoes and socks and did a bike porterage for 100m, much
aggravated at this unscheduled interruption to our progress at Warp Factor IV - and ours was much
warmer water Claire !

but while putting the footwear back on, I did start to wonder what global warming might do to some
of our favourite rides ...

best, Andrew

"But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight; Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a
wildcat can it fight... I'll ride this here two-wheeled concern, right straight away, at sight." A B
'Banjo' Patterson - "Mulga Bill" 25 July 1896.

 

[Cheg]

"Andrew Price" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
....
>
> but while putting the footwear back on, I did start to wonder what
global
> warming might do to some of our favourite rides ...

Theoretically, the water could rise 80 meters from where it is today. That would turn my city,
Seattle, into an island group.