Ferndale Fog

Mornings are a bit foggy these days, but it usually burns off and turns sunny before noon, as it did on Sunday. Except when it rains all day, which it did today. The trees are just barely beginning to show a little fall color and the rain has brought new growth on lawns and fields.

Yesterday the fog was just starting to clear when I took off for a Sunday ride from Ferndale, but after I crossed over the hill crest at West Bakerview Road, I coasted down Northwest Ave. into a fog bank. Downtown Bellingham was socked in all day.

Luckily I was planning to test my hill-climbing on Samish Way up to Lake Padden Park. I did surprisingly well, after a twelve-mile warm up ride from Ferndale, and rode 35 miles total round-trip. It was worth the effort, too, because I found a perfect, sunny fall day at the top of the climb. There were kayakers, paddle-boarders, and even swimmers training for a triathlon out in the lake.

Obviously, someone else found the perfect reward for a hard ride, too.

What I Wore

I forgot to include some boring technical advice in my kayaking post: what clothing would work for a twelve-mile bike ride, followed by a kayak excursion, then a twelve-mile ride back home, with minimal luggage and wardrobe change requirements?

Instructions from the Boating Center said to be prepared for any kind of weather, meaning to bring a rain jacket and warm fleece layer; to avoid denim (cotton kills!), and to wear old shoes that could get wet. They suggested wearing a swimming suit under warmer outer layers, and said they would provide floatation jackets, a waterproof skirt fitted to the kayak, and wet suits if needed. I've always heard that the water in Puget Sound never gets warmer than 50-55F, even in summer, but I think Bellingham Bay is a bit warmer than that.

I decided to wear my Ibex wool knicker-length cycling pants and a long-sleeved UnderArmour shirt. I had taken the pants to a tailor shop to have the elastic let out, so they aren't so pinched-in at the waist and don't chafe, but the tight-fitting UnderArmour made me look a bit like I was carrying a spare bike-tire-tube around my middle, so I vainly chose to wear a looser-fitting synthetic shirt on top. I brought along a pair of old running shoes, and a rain jacket and fleece top in a pannier.

As things turned out, on Saturday afternoon temperatures were in the low 80's with no clouds in sight. Even out on the water the two shirts were a bit warm, and I left the jacket and fleece behind, but the wool pants were a good choice. I could have used a wide-brimmed hat and some hypoallergenic sun-block.

Sea Kayaking 100

The Community Boating Center, Fairhaven

My family wasn't very active or out-doorsy when I was growing up so despite having lived in the Pacific Northwest all my life, I have reached the age of fifty-five with little to no experience of essential activities like camping, hiking, fishing and kayaking. I even got hooked on bicycling late in life. Now I'm trying to make up for lost time.

So this Saturday's bike-ride, about 26 miles round-trip from Ferndale to Fairhaven, led to the Community Boat Center, for a three-hour Intro to Sea Kayaking class.

We were a group of about ten adults, mostly with very little (or no) kayaking experience. Two friendly and knowledgeable instructors, Jen and Mike, gave a brief but thorough demonstration and safety lecture, showing us the two-person boats and various accessories, explaining how to get in and out of the boats, paddle, steer and so forth.

The boat launch

After taking a few photos of the Boat Center, the launch area, and the boats, I put my camera away in a ziploc baggie to concentrate on kayaking.

We paddled underneath Taylor Dock and the boardwalk, zig-zagging around the pilings to practice steering. We stayed pretty close to shore as we passed Boulevard Park, landing on the little beach at the north end of the park. After a ten or twenty minute rest break we launched from the beach to head back, making about a two-mile round-trip. This time we got a little further from shore, crossed some boat wakes, and found some choppy water to play in near the dry docks and barges in the Fairhaven shipyards.

The End

It was a pretty brief trip, but my biceps were beginning to get a bit sore by the end. Still, I think kayaking might be a good cross-training antidote to some of the over-use strains or injury associated with bicycling. Sitting with my legs stuck out in front of me turned out be be surprisingly comfortable, considering how tight my hamstrings can be. Plus, I was sitting up with my back straight, mostly holding the paddle at chest-to-shoulder height, which seemed to help unkink my neck and upper spine, and the paddling movement loosened up my shoulders.

I had registered for this class in August, but had to cancel on short notice after I caught the flu. The folks at the Boating Center very kindly let me reschedule for September. Today was the last monthly class of the summer, though they may still have classes in the fall, as long as this perfect, idyllic weather lasts. There are some other events planned, like moonlight paddles, and I would love to do more kayaking as long as I can arrange access to boats, and buddies to paddle with. It's so hard to find people to play with when you're over fifty. Sigh.

Can't Stop Now

Maybe I won't quit yet, not while I have one little ax left to grind.

On Sunday morning, I encountered this monster in a 2-hour parking zone on Main Street, obstructing the bike lane very neatly to within two inches of the white line. At 6pm on Tuesday, when I took these photos, it was still there and attracting enough attention that by Wednesday morning it had been moved to a city parking lot behind the old police station. I'm not even sure what it is - a construction or farm tractor?

This treasure has been tempting me from a shop window downtown - a Peugeot. And if it works, it would be useful to have, too.

Several years ago I attended some community meetings about emergency preparedness, where fire department officials presented information about how to prepare for disaster scenarios like floods, earthquakes, severe rain, wind or snow storms, even volcanic emergencies - all possible in this area. They advised having a survival kit, including first aid supplies, flash lights, emergency food and water stores, blankets, etc.

Somewhere I read that in cases of severe storms that caused electrical outages, after 24-36 hours without power, people would begin calling or visiting emergency rooms complaining of severe headaches, fatigue, drowsiness and fuzzy thinking. After ruling out gas or toxic fumes, or maybe hypothermia, the cause usually turned out to be: caffeine withdrawal.

So my disaster survival kit has to include an emergency supply of coffee, and the means to brew it. I went out and bought a small gas camp stove; I already had an old stove top percolator, a pour-through drip coffee filter, and a stove top espresso pot. But I buy whole bean coffee, and wouldn't be able to use my electric coffee grinder in an emergency. I would be reduced to crouching on the back step, crushing coffee beans with a brick. So I pre-ground some beans to stash in the freezer, and now I will only have to squat outside over my camp stove to brew coffee. But that much of civilization will survive.

Actually, I think that's about all that's left of my survival supplies. I probably should fix that.

Winter is Coming

Tonight we are having a torrential rain storm. Tomorrow might be sunny again.

I have been thinking about retiring this blog with the end of the summer. When I began four years ago, bicycling was an integral and necessary part of my life, that I fortunately came to love. I never really swore off ever owning a car again, commuting by bicycle was a way of getting by while working jobs that didn't pay a livable income, until something better came along. Then a year ago I was bailed out by inherited money and now I don't really feel I have so much to say to people who are still scraping by, waiting for the recovery. I mean, I don't want to suggest that the way up from poverty is to be sure to stay on good terms with your rich relations.

I do want to suggest leading a modest, responsible life and learning to find magic and meaning in the every day, ordinary things you find close to home. Like free-range peacocks, baseball games, ice cream at the beach, and riding hard through summer rain storms.