Commute

Commuting has been merely a concept up until this point in my life. While attending South Elementary I walked or rode my bike to school. In fact, now that I think about it, up until I was a junior in high school I walked or pedaled. During those last two years of high school I was a licensed driver and spent my time behind the wheel of a 1978 Ford F-150. When I began my undergraduate studies, my folks dropped me off at my dorm. Installed in Laramie, Wyoming, I reverted back to a bipedal or pedaled existence.

As I transition into graduate school, I'm excited that I can continue my non-vehicular travel to and from campus. While walking is an unappealing option, I'll be riding as much as possible. Of course, my commute to school is only three miles.

Which brings us to the fact that we now live on an island. And with that comes the commute. We have to get to and from this place right? There is one bridge you can take to leave the island but it isn't anywhere convenient for us. The ferry ride from Seattle to Bainbridge Island is around 40 minutes. You can walk on, ride on, or drive on. In facing this new aspect of my life, I figured I'd give a glimpse into life on the ferry.


The ferry. There are four levels to these boats. The bottom two are for vehicle parking, the third is seating for walkers, bikers, and drivers. And, the forth is an open deck to take in the sights and sounds.


The view of Bainbridge Island as we approach our landing. Trees, trees, and more trees! I love it.


The downtown Seattle skyline as we approach the city.

It's a total novelty for me. I still think it's really exciting. After all, once you're on the boat, you can kick back and relax. Not bad living I say.

Riley

Complete

I've always loved bicycles. I don't know what it is about them... It's like my fixation with legos as a child was morphed into an adult fixation of velocipedes. I've had some of the best, and worst, times of my life while saddle-bound. The best always involved beautiful trails, good people, and an inner need to go head-to-head with gravity. The worst involved being thrown over the handlebars and fracturing my left collarbone. Regardless of the outcome, I will forever be infatuated with two-wheelers.

For a very, very long time it has been a goal of mine to build a bicycle. To pick a frame. To hunt down each and every component. To be picky. To be patient. To devise a color scheme and stick to it. To build my bike. My goal has come to fruition.

A year ago I purchased a Surly Cross-Check frame from a local bike shop in Seattle. Surly is a company based in Minnesota that produces some of the most wonderful bicycles on the market. Each feature is carefully planned and has years of testing to back up its inclusion. I chose the Cross-Check because of its reputation, its simplicity, and its versatility.

The next step of the process was deciding exactly what purpose this pony would serve. When I thought of all of the possible options I finally settled on "commuter". Having been recently accepted into graduate school, why not build a bike I would ride nearly every day. And, while I'm at it, let's make it a single speed.

Since making those key decisions, it's been a process. I've added parts, changed parts, broken parts, and finally, settled on parts. Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington have contributed through local pedal houses and open roads.

Without further adieu...







Here's to projects and the joy they bring.

Riley

Bainbridge Island

Caitlin and I are in the early stages of a new, exciting adventure. For those of you who don't know, I'm starting a Master of Education program in mid-August. The first year is here on the island at a place called IslandWood. The following year will be at the University of Washington.

A few days after my evacuation, we moved the majority of our belongings into a condo on Bainbridge Island. Now, when I say "we" moved, what I actually mean is that her parents and brother were wonderful enough to donate a Sunday to help shlep our rubbermaid tubs from Seattle, across the ferry, onto Bainbridge Island, and into our new living quarters. My contribution came in the form of carrying our sleeping bags, one at a time.

Caitlin is working on Mount Baker at the moment and I'm holding down our fort. With the wonderful location we managed to land, I can easily walk to nearly every possible necessity. This includes, which I am still thanking my lucky stars for, a chiropractic clinic that is less than the length of a football field from our condo. I've only had one visit thus far but come Monday I should know a lot more as to the extent of my injuries and how long the road to recovery will be. A couple of days ago I broke down, feeling overwhelmed with my discomfort and lack of mobility. Having a chiropractor so close was an instant exhale for my overloaded mind.

But, enough of that... The true purpose of this entry is to show off our new home!


I went for a walk earlier and thought the contrast of sail boat masts against the trees was magnificent.


This is downtown Winslow. It's less than a mile from us and has some really, really neat shops. Our favorite on prior trips to the island is a place called the Blackbird Bakery.

I really like Bainbridge Island. Having never lived in a big city, it will serve as a welcome buffer from Seattle but will also allow us to explore the big city streets in preparation for year two of my program. The access to live music is something in which I am particularly excited.


Our condo, in all its glory, buried in our tubs. More photographs will follow as we actually install. It has a fairly simple layout. The kitchen flows into the living space, our bedroom is adjacent, and the a bathroom with a stacked washer/dryer rounds it out. Compared to the other places we looked at, we're living incredibly well. We do have a deck off of our bedroom that looks into pure forest. It's my favorite part of our space.

So, we're here for one year. Exciting! A new chapter unfolds! We're both really excited to become members of the Bainbridge community and take advantage of everything it has to offer. I already found something that I think would be really fun!



Come visit!

Riley