First time we've gone riding together since before the pandemic! @clover has been suffering from asthma for a long time and it has hindered her #cycling, until now! #ebike (1)

#bicycle #seabikes #Seattle #mastobikes #biketooter

Dinner gets very local for squirrel-eating Seattleite

Melany Vorass called to say dinner was trapped in her front yard.

A few hours later we were eating risotto di rodentia — eastern gray squirrel braised in Lopez Island white wine with mushrooms and Italian-style rice. It did not taste like chicken.

As you might guess, Vorass is serious about eating locally. She teaches urban foraging. She raises goats, chickens, bees and worms at her Green Lake house. And she believes she’s the only person in Seattle harvesting squirrels for protein.

“I know how out there it sounds,” says Vorass, a former state environmental analyst. “But the alternative is to close your eyes and eat what comes on a Styrofoam tray.”

#Seattle

Had a great time on this month's Swift Industries Social Ride! There were almost 40 of us on this ride since we all wanted to enjoy the nice weather after so much gloomy rain. The pace was nice because we were able to chat most of the time, but we also were given free reign to climb and descend more significant hills at our own pace. (Album)

Hoping to do more social rides this Summer since I think it's what I really need out of my hobbies (both bicycle and motorcycle riding) now.

#cycling #bicycle #seabikes #Seattle #mastobikes #biketooter

Sound Transit starts testing light rail on track bound for Lynnwood

LYNNWOOD — Sound Transit has begun testing its new light rail extension between Northgate and Lynnwood, a milestone on the way to its opening in Snohomish County this year.

On Monday, a test train was moving on the new line.

Sound Transit spokesperson John Gallagher confirmed it wasn’t a mirage.

“We are starting to do system testing with trains, so folks will be seeing them more frequently on the alignment both during daytime and nighttime hours,” Gallagher wrote in an email.

Months of safety testing and getting drivers familiar with the line are ahead until the service begins full operation this fall. Sound Transit has previously stated service should begin by this year’s third quarter.

#Seattle #SoundTransit #Link #LinkLightRail #LightRail

After over ten wonderful (and challenging!) years, G&O Family Cyclery is shutting down.

Over the years our cost of doing business and the cost of living in our city have only gone up. We have aspired to provide living, professional wages to highly skilled tradespeople. I firmly believe that high wages and more opportunities and entry level positions for more diverse types of mechanics and salespeople are the keys to revising the bike retail model and replacing the exclusive and gatekeeping culture of bike shops and at the same time provide service that is more reliable and better value than riders are typically able to depend on.

After years of skirting the edge, depending on tightening margins, and digging for good luck in heaps of bad, we have hit a string of the bad kind; the reality that we cannot support ourselves and at the same time do this work in the manner that we most want has become undeniable.

It is a true thing to say that if your business can’t afford to pay fair wages, your business has no business doing business.

The shop’s closure is happening faster than we would have liked, and the livelihoods of my staff and myself are all at risk, as is our ability to meet all of the obligations we have to our customers. We will be closed for the next few days to organize ourselves, and then in the next few weeks, starting on Wednesday the 17th, we hope that you’ll consider coming in and picking up anything you might need from our shop. We have many high-quality ebikes for sale, as well as accessories like lights and helmets. We have bags of Lego for sale on a sliding scale from $5-500. We have all kinds of lovely things, and any support would be greatly appreciated.

#cycling #bicycle #seabikes #biketooter #mastobikes #Seattle

Still not sure what to expect this weekend beyond "cold", and I'm not the only one. #Seattle #wawx #weather #wasnow

The reason I have posted pretty much zero regarding this weekend, is because there is pretty much zero model consensus (as per usual, but I don't remember it ever being quite THIS bad ...😩) on where the snow will be. We are confident in sub freezing temperatures for a few days....but snow....yeah, I wish we had some sort of idea.

That is why there is a range of possibilities for snow. I wish I had a better answer. Ideally, prepare for snow, but don't be surprised if it does not snow or only very little. There will still be very cold temperatures - so keep that in mind. I'll have more info later today - as much as I can share with you with any sort of confidence.

Heard this one on #KEXP earlier today.

Santa is an Atheist — Casey McKinnon

Early this year, he thought he'd take a course
I'm talkin' about Saint Nick, of course
Well, he went to college and had some fun

And signed up for Physics 101

He learned of quarks and quasars and photons too

The big bang theory that created me and you
He read a Hawking book that said "God had no course
in creating our dear universe"

Now Santa is an atheist
He found the Christ in mas just didn't exist

How can he continue to compile his list?
Oh, Santa is an atheist

At first old Nick was seemingly confused
So he did some math to see if it could be proved
He thought hard and worried 'til he realized

That Christmas didn't need to be deified

So Santa is an atheist

He found the Christ in mas just didn't exist
He hoped his wife and elves would get the gist
'Cause Santa is an atheist

But with a few more calculations, poor Santa disproved himself!

Oh, Santa was an atheist
Though I'm pretty sure he did never exist
May be nice to pretend, but I have to insist

That Santa was an atheist

The moral of the story is good and clear

You don't have to be a theist to spread some cheer
There may not be a god, but at least we got a tree
The log channel, eggnog, and you and me.

#Seattle #Christmas #music

Index-Galena Road Reopens After 17 Years

Seventeen years after major flooding washed it out, the Index-Galena Road reopened on a drenching November morning. The rain was coming down hard, but spirits were high — a small but cheerful gathering of elected officials, Forest Service personnel, first responders and residents in the area huddled under four tents next to the rushing North Fork Skykomish River.

Need to check it out before it's washed out again! #Seattle

Smoke expected to bring worst air quality of year so far to Western Washington this weekend

Here we go again. #Seattle #smoke #wasmoke