Meet Little Blue

A new toy and option for getting out and about.

This is Little Blue, a Dahon Vitesse folding bike.  Seven speed weighs slightly less than 30 lbs.

They say you never forget how to ride a bike.  I have not ridden since I was a kid, when I use to ride everywhere on my 1 speed, coaster break bike.  Aside from a brief ride on a bike at the beach, nothing.  But it does appeal to me in a somewhat limited way.  I am not full of the courage that road bikers have, nor the athletic ability of those mountain bikers.  No for me a paved bike path is just my speed.

I took my first ride today.  Part of the fun is figuring our where to adjust the seat and handle bar height to.  Next is how to sit in the saddle.  I am a horsewoman and have sat in many saddles, good and bad.  This one is going to take some getting use to.  Finding where the sweet spot is will take time.  There is always an option to try a different type.

I drove to Woodinville, the town north of me and headed south on the Sammamish Slough trail, back to Redmond.  I was going to head north but my neighbor encouraged me to try the southbound track first.

It is a pretty trail down the valley.  There are several truck farms and small properties on one side of the slough, the other side is more light industrial and there is a large golf course.  Most of the way, these are hidden behind trees and shrubs.

The trail is popular and I really wished I had a sign on my back saying Olde Fart Beginner.  The speedsters race up from behind (on left on left) and the joggers and strollers are always present.  I made several stops on my way south to enjoy seeing and hearing birds

There was a large encampment at the soccer fields.  Tents, cars from all over the western US and shouts and yells.  I thought at first a soccer tournament, but as I got close I saw that they were throwing Frisbees.   I asked one woman " Frisbee soccer?"  She was a bit aghasted that I did not know "Ultimate Frisbee"

The whole of the area was ringed with tents.  It looks like they are set for a fun, long weekend.

Other people were out having fun.  This looks like a good team building activity.  I could get with this.

I was surprised not to see kayaks and only these two paddle board riders.

A popular trail gets attention and along the way there were a lot of very nice footbridges and some public art.

So a two hour round trip is under my belt.  My first impression , I would have rather have jumped on a strange young horse.  I felt pretty much out of water.  Like riding a horse, you do better if you keep your eyes up and ahead.  Balance comes to me better when I have something to push against when peddling, so I explored learning the gears and what suits when .  The smaller wheels react pretty quickly to a change of balance and I had one brief panic when a speedster snuck up behind me.

I could feel it in my hands and wrists (numb) and now feel it a little in my shoulder, so conditioning into this is vital.  I raised my handlebar height on the return leg of my ride so I will start out higher next time.

I am hoping Little Blue can come with me and explore some areas not so easily reached on foot or by car. There are some nice trails in eastern Washington that go along old rail beds and get you into some interesting countryside.  There is , of course, the 14 mile trail at Long Beach half of which covers some real gain as you climb up to Cape Disappointment.  

With the Tick of the Clock, It is Spring!

But Ohhh Burrr is it ever so cold still.  The sun was out strongly Monday morning, but the chill in the air and the random cars with snow on them says it is March, a month like no other

I take heart in reading from Professor Mass Weather blog that La Nina is showing signs of breaking apart and we might nave a better Summer this year.

Winter has been long and dreary and I wish I could say I did many fun and interesting things.

I did join the Nisqually Land Trust in their property planting and invasive weed pulling.  These work parties are always enjoyable.   Once again we were fortunate in the weather and most work parties went off without a hitch.  One was cancelled for snow.  That was the weekend I traveled to the ocean and did beach clean-up.

I returned to the ocean in February and totally had a weekend of doing things I had not done before.  I am venturing into the game of Geocaching.  Using a GPS unit, I find my way to a hidden box planted by another cacher.  It is a fun way to get out into the environment and see new places.  I am eager to discover some of the boxes planted in remote areas of eastern Washington.  I am currently looking at my Desert Hikes book for ideas for April wildflower destinations.

One cache had me on the beach below Cape Disappointment.  While I did not find the tricky find I certainly discovered some other fun things.

A wrecked boat with an old rusty engine.  I had a good chuckle over the engines face.

In the woods this little salamander was out and about.  It must have been very cold as it let me pick it up for a careful looking over.  That is my glove so you can get and idea of its size and unwillingness to move.

It was a clamming weekend and I always love watching people pursue the crafty Razor Clams.

burrrrrr

Sanderlings were everywhere in busy flocks, working the same low tide as the clammers.

I rode a bike for the first time in 40 years.  I stayed once again at Adrift Hotel and Sunday morning I checked out a little bike for a quick trip along the beach Discovery Trail.  The bike was too small for me, but my level of confidence was pretty shaky at first.  I would have been more at home on a horse.

I finally got to the Kite Museum.  There was a master class on kite fabrication going on.  I watched some interesting videos on Kite Fishing and Kite Fighting.  There were extensive collections of kites from Asia and the Middle East. 

My favorite exhibit was the bird kite collection.

But best of all I flew my own kite.  Something I have never done before.  I visited the amazing Gasworks Kite Shop

http://gasworksparkkiteshop.com/

after a visit to the dentist.  I figured a root canal deserves a toy from the toy chest.

The store is amazing and filled with fun.  The wonderful staffer showed me all the beginner kites that could self launch.  I had a hard time choosing and settled on a butterfly kite.  I have my eye on an amazing "long tail" kite as well.

It launched right out of my hand and I could get it quite high in the air.  Made of nylon, I have it in the trunk of my car and have pulled it out a few times since when I found a place with a good clear area to fly in.  It is an amazing, relaxing activity.

I grabbed this photo with on hand while flying my kite.  I saw it setting up and mentally I wished the father and son to climb that hill and set up the shot.  They read my mind and this picture is one of my favorites in a long time

So Spring is here.  Birds are giving their all, I even saw a Pacific Wren building a nest Saturday.

Sunday I visited a raw open area looking for early swamp and marsh residents.  See the frosting on those distant hills?  Wisely it seems the ducks are in more sheltered areas than this open area.  Marsh Wrens were busy nest building and Redwing Blackbirds were just starting to fluster about setting up territory.

Skunk Cabbage are everywhere.

Pussywillows are, to me, the essence of Spring.  This one is spangled with rain or snow, it was certainly cold enough yesterday for it to have been either. 

Spring is Here