Fe-brewary 16 ..longer days!!!

Well, the days are FINALLY getting longer. The mornings not quite so dark both in light as well as feel. It's nice to see some light coming through the blinds at 6:30 am.... for those of you up that early! I am now encouraged to awake at that time so I get ready for my BIKE ride to work... finally. The rains have let off some so there may soon be some predictability to things relating to two wheeled travel. I so miss the ride in the afternoon to Tacoma, over the Narrows Bridge. That time of day was a warmer part of day for such activities. Of course that meant riding home in the dark at 11 pm but that was fine since there was very little traffic and I had an awesome trail worked out. Sometimes in my 12 mile trek back to the Harbor at night I would encounter only 4 cars on my street travels. But alas when the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge opened in July I had been transferred to a job in Gig Harbor. So I never was able to ride on a daily basis over that new bridge. So now I work days and must deal with different traffic patterns and a lack of trails. I do however have a pretty good ride. The only problem is the heavier traffic on my new commuting hours so I have to be extra cautious. The past couple of months have been dreary for any bike riding, especially in the a.m., with cold rainy weather and darkness being completely incompatible with my idea of a bike commute. But as I said in my opener "Well, the days are FINALLY getting longer." YES


The Top Photo is a very nice pic of my commute through Gig Harbor. Off in the distance is Mt. Rainier some 80 miles away. This is my 2nd day of riding my 10 mile ride to work. This morning the temp was whopping 37 degrees. The Lower Pic of my bike in front of the Tides Tavern is for reference only, I don't barhop on my way to work, or anytime for that matter. This pic was taken on my first day of riding to work this year and the temp at 7:30 am when I left was a nice comfy 32.7 degrees. It's actually quite comfortable, just wear gloves over gloves.


I usually ride straight through the Harbor to and from work not stopping to 'smell the roses' but I really liked stopping on this particular first ride home. The new park on the onld Eddon Boat Works site is a nice place to pause. All that's missing is a latte stand, but Suzanne's is only a short distance from this spot.



I couldn't let that first picture, topmost, of the Harbor get ruined by the ugly mug blocking the view. So here's the shot without the biker. Absolutly beautiful water!

I FINALLY RODE THE NEW BRIDGE!!
Last week I set a goal to ride over the new bridge. The rains wouldn't let me all week and on Sunday afternoon the weather cooperated and off I went.
The wind however was in force and almost stopped my plan. I strained to keep moving at times. The force of sideways winds some 200 feet off the water is something to experience.
I managed to keep up on two wheels and was happy to get to Tacoma. I rode the hill up to the War Memorial Park and took some pics of the bridges from that viewpoint, to prove I did this...


I then rode back over the new bridge stopping midway for a photo op. I shot video and the noise of the wind was defining. I thought about sailing and wanted to be down on the water on a fast reach heeled over and having a blast!!! Perhaps someday.