Officially Spring - at last

At the Fairhaven Cruise Terminal

This past week, for the first time in more than a year, I logged more than one hundred miles in a week. I rode to and from campus three days, plus some side-trips for errands, then rode two 30-mile training rides this weekend. I should be doing longer rides, forty or more miles, but next week I have a final exam and a project due, and can't devote so much of my weekend to riding. I'll make up for it during spring break.

To celebrate my 109-mile week, I bought my first pint of Ben & Jerry's for the season. I haven't eaten it all yet, I still have some self-restraint, but I did eat a 12-inch pizza for dinner last night.

The Alaska Ferry is in

I spotted this - or rather, these vehicles as I was riding out of Ferndale this morning. The RV is not much smaller than a semi-trailer, but about as big as my apartment.

My mouth dropped open the first time I saw a rig like this on the road, and if there had been anyone riding with me at the time, I would have been ranting. Maybe this means of travel pencils out if you count money saved on hotels and restaurants, but such blatant conspicuous consumption still shocks me. Even considering my admittedly greedy eating habits.

I have been considering buying a car recently. It would give me a lot more freedom to choose where I live and work, and I could use it to take bike trips around Washington state, and even offer to car-pool with companions. Besides, I'll be turning 55 this spring, and getting a bit old to be depending so much on my own physical strength and endurance.

Then a sight like this reminds me:
I truly believe the petroleum industry and the auto industry are distorting our economy and social arrangements, and destroying the planet. So I'll hold out a while longer.