Mnt. Townsend

What a stupid goddamned idea.....one thousand feet into the three thousand foot climb up Forest Service Road 25 to the Mnt. Townsend trailhead I really began to rethink my brilliant idea of using my bike to go climbing in the mountains. At the end of the day, it is just a whole bunch of hard work to get things done in good style.

The Eastern Peaks of the Olympic Mountain Range tower proudly over the Puget Sound and are clearly visible from Sunset Hill Park near my home in Greenwood. A couple weeks ago I raced my bike west in the evening light of clear spring night to catch a sun setting over the Olympics and sip on a lukewarm Ranger IPA. I hatched a stupid plan; to bag all the peaks visible from this point using my bike. I crushed my beer can against my head, pedaled home and ordered a copy of Olympic Mountains: A Climbing Guide. Despite the fact that I have been climbing mountains at a reasonable standard for the past 12 years, I had never reached the summit of a peak in the Olympics. Might as well make things interesting, eh?

The original objective for the weekend, the Buckhorn Mountain Traverse was abandoned due to a sick partner, an unseasonably high snow pack and more honestly to many Friday night beers. A late start and a 60 mile ride culminating with a 3000 foot climb deposited me at the Mnt. Townsend Trailhead in the late afternoon. A quick repack and bike stash found me stomping up the intermittently snow covered trail as the afternoon turned to evening.

As darkness approached and the fog closed in, I found a reasonably flat spot to lay my bag down for the night. Consistent with the classic NW weather inversion, as the the sun went down and the air cooled, the clouds sank into the valleys and left the peaks the of the Olympics perched under a clear star-filled night.

I woke to near freezing temperatures at 5 am and booted a path over untrodden snow to the 6,280 foot summit of Mnt. Townsend. Despite being one of the most visited summits in the range, today I was alone and felt the solitude I sought pedaling out of the city less than 24 hour before.

I don't know how long it will take me to reach all of my Sunset Park Summits, but I know that I will reach all of them by bike and be a little tougher for the process.

Livin' the Dream,

Matt

Kit for the adventure. I added a pint of whiskey for emergencies...such as waking up in the morning.

Mass transit is fair game in the FDA, plus Washington State Ferries are just pretty cool.

Time and distance have a little different meaning on the Olympic Peninsula. The "Welcome Sign" is about 12 miles out of town.

They forgot to mention the 3000 feet of elevation gain.

...and rednecks with firearms.

Salvation!

Wandering around on the snow by myself in the evening fog convinced me that I should probably sit tight until morning.

A couple minutes after a crawled in my bivy sack the clouds began to drop...

to reveal clear skies and a bright half moon.

Sunrise was OK. A sea of clouds over the Hood Canal and the Puget Sound.

Left to right: Mount Jupiter, Mount Constance and Buckhorn Mountains from the summit of Mnt. Townsend.

Cloudy with a chance of drizzle at sea level, splitter at 6 k!

I wore my special Reno Card Dealer shirt for the summit shot.

I am pretty sure this includes me.

Beer beats water for hydration!

Pit stop at the Hood Canal Brewery.

Next stop: Edmonds Washington.

A Walk in Greenwood

A Front Door Adventure is just like it sounds; an adventure that leaves from your front door. The rules are simple, don't take a car and see what you can get done using human power and mass transit. Although most of my Front Door Adventures employ the use of a bicycle, going by foot truly embodies the spirt of the FDA in every sense of the word. Not only is walking beneficial to our health, or pocketbooks and the environment; it offers an opportunity for freedom, fun and spontaneity that the car just cannot present.

Walk Score is a website that rates the walkability of your home based on proximity to amenities such as groceries, entertainment, medical facilities, parks and public transportation. While our 500 square foot home might seen unreasonable small, with a Walk Score of 92 out of 100 it sits in one of the most walkable communities in the United States. I won't pretend that there are not some real disadvantages to living in the city, but a huge plus is that it allows us to live a life that is not dependent upon an automobile.

Livin' the Dream

Matt

My sister dropped Carter off with only one request, "Don't let him get sunburned." We both stripped to the waist and greased up for the day.

Carter was more interested in working on the Trek Mt. Train than he was riding it. Half-way around the block, Carter politely let me know that he was done with the bike ride. An early negative experience with a new challenge can jade a young mind easily and a child should never be pushed too far beyond their comfort zone. Carter and I will go on a ride when he is ready and I look forward to that day. An opportunity for an adventure by foot was born, the bike was parked and the proclamation made, "We walk from here!"

Two blocks from the house Carter decided that we should sit down and have a feast. We split a granola bar and drank water from the Nalgene. Carter spun around in circles.

Although it makes me almost sick to watch, spinning in circles is critical to proper vestibular stimulation and brain development in children. This type of activity allows the brain to integrate sensory information from the environment in the development of proprioception.

Top Ten Toys in Greenwood is the coolest store in the world for kids of all ages.

Knights, dragons and wild imaginations!

Just like his Dad, his Grandpa and his Uncle Matt, Carter likes going to the Bar! Carter's first (root)beer at The Naked City.

Great day with a great guy! Thanks Cartman!

Beer Bike

Beer Bike

noun

1. A bike dedicated solely to the purpose of acquiring and/or consuming beer.

"Nice Beer Bike man, looks good with the custom 6-pack front basket."

verb

1. The act of bicycling with the primary objective being the acquisition and/or consumption of beer. One must not necessarily own a dedicated Beer Bike to participate in a Beer Bike, in fact any bike will do just fine.

"Honey, would you like to go on a Beer Bike next weekend?"

Two of my favorite things, beer and bicycles, are truly a natural fit. You see, riding a bicycle to often will make a guy to skinny, and drinking beer to often without a little exercise will make a guy fat. Put em' together and your're just a fit and jolly fella!

Bare with me as a I geek out for the next few minutes.

Invented in 1864 by French carriage maker Ernest Michaux, the modern bicycle is the most efficient form of human powered transportation ever invented. A human being can travel at 10-15 mph on a bicycle with the same energy output required to walk at 3-5 mph. In terms of the ratio of cargo weight a bicycle can carry to total weight, it is also the most efficient means of cargo transportation. The bicycle has changed little in the last 150 years.

Beer is what I consider and energy positive beverage. At 200 kilocalories a serving and high in carbohydrates, a decent quality IPA doesn't really qualify as a health drink, but it tastes pretty damn good warm or cold. Besides, beer outdates Jesus and that pretty much makes it sacred.

All these interesting facts naturally lead one to pose the question, "How many beers does it take to power a bicycle?" Assuming clinical conditions controlled for additional caloric intake and ideal riding surface, this is really a simple math equation.

We can use the constant of .28 kcalories a mile per pound of rider assuming travel on flat firm ground. When I plug myself into this simple equation it looks like this:

.28kcal (Calories) x number of miles ridden x 160 pounds = total energy cost in kcal

Assuming a ride of 50 miles:

.28 kcal x 50 miles x 160=2240 kcals or roughly the equivalent of 11.2 cans IPA.

If we wanted to state this in mpg of beer we would need to convert our 11.2 twelve ounce cans into gallons:

11.2 cans x 12 oz/can = 134.4 oz/128 oz = 1.o5 gallons of beer

Divide that into our theoretical distance of 50 miles:

50 miles/1.05 gallons = 47.62 mile per gallon of beer

To tell you truth, I like the math problems but don't really care about the milage. You see, the most important thing is that Jen and like to get on our bikes and hunt down a beer or two at some cool place that we have never been and then ride back home. I get to hang out with my cute wife, exercise and drink beer all on the same day! Truly, I am living the dream!

It is pretty fun to go on a Beer Bike and there is probably one to be had in your neighborhood!

Maybe you should find out?

Livin' the Dream

Matt

More than one great day has started right here at the Wild Mountain Cafe in Greenwood. Serving one of the best breakfasts in Seattle.

While beer is a fine breakfast food, I prefer eggs and toast.

Black Raven Brewing Co. in Redmond WA. Beers, peanuts, pretzels and Connect Four.

Jenny suffering in the dreadful Pacific Northwest weather aboard the Walla Walla.

Seattle is nestled between the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympics to the west.

Jenny refused to pedal further until I took a photo for her train-loving father.

Hood Canal Brewing Co. Kingston, WA.

Refuel and rehydrate.

Terrible views of Mount Rainier from Suquamish, WA near Agate Strait.

Another gray rainy day in The Emerald City.

Mother's Day

On June 1st, 1997 a column titled "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young", by Mary Schmich appeared in the Chicago Tribune. The essay, wrote as a fictional graduation salutation was later made famous by Australian film director Baz Larhamm, who set it to music and released it as the hit Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen) in 1998.

The song, spoken word lyrics set over a mellow rhythmic beat, is full of useful life edicts such as, Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours, and Do NOT read beauty magazines, they only make you feel ugly. One of these verses that resonates most with me is, Get to know you parents, you will never know when they'll be gone for good.

It is not that I'm expecting my exceeding healthy Mother and Father to fall ill and die at any moment, in fact I fully expect to mooch off them for decades to come. It is just that a good friend of mine called the other day and let me know that his 39 year-old bother died unexpectedly in his sleep.

Get to know your brother, you will never know when he'll be gone for good.

You see, the word parents in this song could easily be replaced with brother, wife, niece, friend or student and convey the same message. No matter how you look at, we have a limited amount of time to live and the only meaningful thing that really happens in that time is our relationships with people we love.

I rode to Snohomish on Mother's Day and had a beer and bike ride with my Mom. We spent a couple hours hanging out and I learned a few things that I never knew about her. I gave Mom the gift of time and she said it was the best Mother's Day present that she'd ever been given. Go figure?

Livin' the Dream,

Matt

Crytogamic Carpet: Over 100 species of moss thrive here in the Great Pacific Northwest.

The emergence of the Sporophyte, a critical phase in the sex life of moss.

Edmonds-Kingston Ferry. Scuba divers barley visible as two black dots near the beach.

Flat tire.

Historic Seahurst Pumphouse at Mukilteo, WA.

A Mother's Day celebration started properly with beverages at Fred's Tavern.

This is the best photo I have ever taken of my Mom.

With close proximity to the gem of Snohomish County (AKA the Centennial Trail), the Snohomish Bike Shop is an excellent choice for a bike rental.

Stylish, sleek and athletic. Biking Granny!

Part of an excellent 10 mile country loop.

Friends far, friends near and friends estranged!

Field of love. Something really cool happened here at one time.

The mighty and muddy Pilchuck River, from Chinook Jargon meaning Red Water.

It is really terrible living here in Washington where it rains constantly.

Without my Father, Mother's Day would not have been possible. Mom thanks Dad daily for her Gift of God.

The Interurban Trail, previously the Interurban Trolley Line, is a network of paths, residential streets,arterials and bike lanes that connect King and Snohomish Counties. Three hours between Snohomish and Seattle.

More good news, beer prevents osteoporosis ! Drink up Mom!