Who's the Big Dummy?

My mind wondered....

I wonder if I crashed and the gas exploded if I would get one last big ride in the sky on a jet powered bicycle before an eventual unpleasant landing?...much more likely I would explode into little pieces though.....BUT, rolling with relatively large quantity a compressed gas kind of equals out the car vs. bike equation ...well not really, but at least it makes you a little less attractive target....

The path-side artwork of a mushroom cloud explosion yanked me out of the thought train and called out, Don't crash dumb shit!

The Erbeck Family recently acquired a Surly Big Dummy cargo bike and Aaron was nice enough to let me take it on a "refill the propane canisters" adventure to a conveniently located Lowe's Hardware.

Some might call me a be a big dummy for riding my bike everywhere I am able, but I sure have a lot of fun getting things done on two wheels.

Livin' the Dream,

Matt

Aaron , Luca and True taking The Big Dummy with Erbeck's deck-saddle conversion for a test drive. Custom machined handle bars, hand-sewed teak stirrups and 100% fun Dad! You really should enlarge this photo to see the expressions on the boys faces. Priceless!

Two wheels, ten gallons of propane and a small brain.

A feature that I see as a design flaw. The buckle is anchored to the frame with Velcro strap. On my way home the entire buckle separated from the frame while carrying a canister of compressed gas. The other two straps carried the load and I was able to re-secure the tank, but was not put at ease by the experience. While it would come at the price of versatility, I see a sewn buckle as a safer and more secure option. Propane or groceries, one never wishes to lose a load while riding a bike!

Nobody died.

Spring Training

Good Morning Matt. Get on your bike!

As you get older it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.

-Ernest Hemmingway

In October 1995 Goran Kropp loaded up his bike with 108 kilograms of gear in the town of Jonkoping Sweden and began pedaling east. Seven months and 8000 miles later, he arrived at the Everest base camp in Nepal and proceeded to solo Chomolungma without the use of bottled oxygen or Sherpa support. He then pack up his kit on the bike and pedaled home. Frontdoor Adventures wasn't my idea.

In 2001 I attended a slideshow by Goran that detailed the epic and promoted his book Ultimate High: My Everest Odyssey. For two hours I sat and listened to a man poke fun at his beer belly and humbly downplay the mental and physical fortitude required to successfully pull off such an adventure. Don't take yourself too seriously was one of the resounding messages I walked away with.

I waited in line to have a poster autographed after the show. Goran greeted me with a hearty handshake and bousterous smile.

"What shall I write Matt?" he asked.

I hadn't really thought about it to much and spat out, "Train hard!"

"Perfect", he retorted and scribbled the message over a self-portrait of himself atop the highest mountain in the world . "Train hard", he bellowed and gave me friendly slap on the back.

That poster still hangs above the bench in my man space. Every morning when I go to the shed to get my bike, I am greeted by Goran's chipped-toothed smile and frozen beard. I am reminded that to accomplish great things, consistent small effort must be put forth.

On September 20, 2002 Goran Kropp died from injuries sustained in a rock climbing accident in Vantage, Washington. A memorial etched in the rock where Goran died reads, With a thumb up "Kropp on Top" Goran lives!

Goran Kropp is one of my heroes.

I have some plans of my own that involve a bicycle and the mountains, and although they may not be as grand as Goran's adventures, they embrace his spirit and get me out training on a beautiful spring day.

Livin' the Dream

Matt

Url, doing what he was built to do.

The one thing that keeps Seattle from being a world class city is transportation. It is getting better, as indicated by projects like the link light rail at the UW Campus. They can't happen soon enough.

Hydration is key to any successful athletic endeavor. Never pass up an opportunity to drink potable water...or beer.

Just in case you didn't get the memo, cars kind of suck and gas is pretty f'ing expensive.

Uphill with gear ;-)

Mt. Olympus by bike, what a crazy idea.

Long Ski Socks by Teko. A really versatile and durable piece of clothing. Pull 'em up when your legs are cold!

Overkill for the day hike at Sqauk Mountain, but the La Sportiva's need broken in for bigger objectives.

Squak Mountain State Park was donated by the Bullitt Family of Seattle for the greater benefit of the environment and community. The best any of us could leave behind is an environmental legacy.

A nice change of pace.

Rainier and May Valley from the West Summit of Squak Peak.

In July of 2008 Randall Nordfors biked from Lacy to Paradise, climbed Mount Rainier and biked home in under 20 hours. The man is an animal. I wonder how long it would take if you carried your own gear and stopped for a couple beers along the way?

New friends Gary, Sally and Chloe guided me from the microwave tower summit of Squak Mountain to some good views from the West Summit.

55 isn't old for a tree.

Nature's Sponge. The great Douglas Fir Tree.

Art is alive and thriving in Seattle...

even in the ditches.

Lots of rain and a little sunshine makes things pretty here in the evergreen state.

The second best institute of higher learning in the State of Washington.

Recovery meal by Flyers Brewery in Oak Harbor , WA.

I picked up a hot dinner date on a bike near Roosevelt.

Recovery Meal by Will Fernandez! Thanks Will!

Beast and Wild Asparagus from Idaho.

Part of the Solution

Folks living the Pacific Northwest may have difficulty understanding this photo. We are both wearing hats and sunglasses as protection against UV rays.

Last week I broke all my own rules. Jen and got a ride to the airport in a car and hopped on a plane to Salt Lake City. We rented a mini-SUV when we arrived and drove hundreds of miles to be deposited in sunny southern Utah. We bought a styrofoam cooler to keep our beer reasonably cold and threw it away at the end of our trip. In all likelihood, Jen and I quadrupled our average monthly footprint over the last ten days.

I also had a really good time wondering around the desert hanging out with my best friend and spending some time with my parents.

The problem is that my brain easily takes the the walk down pessimism lane and I find it exceeding difficult to ignore that the rate at which we consume fossil fuels in the United States is completely unsustainable. Conflict ensues in the world over this resource, yet I still get on an airplane and fly thousands of miles for a few days of pleasure a couple times every year. Sooner or later the price of extracting oil from the ground will not be economically advantageous for anyone, but it seems not before we burn a lot more of it, and kill hoards of folks fighting for the last remaining drops. Although we all close our eyes tight, plug our ears, and scream real loud in the face of facts, our planet is getting warmer and dryer each year. We fight for oil today, water tomorrow.

Jen and I got upgraded to first class on our way to Utah. I had a coffee in a ceramic cup and Jenny watched Big Love on HBO. I did my best to play rich, but my dirty Carhartts, Pink Yoda t-shirt and perpetual bad smell didn't help the act.

I picked up the on-board Delta Destinations Magazine and read that the Boeing Airplane Company just landed a 35 billion-dollar contract to build military refueling planes for the Pentagon. It occurred to me that thousand of jobs will stay in the Puget Sound as the result of this contract, and my life will improve. When families have good jobs, they pay the taxes that write the paychecks of public school teachers like me every month. Without Boeing, I might not have a job. As much as I like to think that riding my bike to work somehow excludes me from the “Part of the Problem” club, it seems it is hard to escape the benefits of living in a military industrial economy without somehow being connected to the suffering of others. Soon one of those planes is going a refuel a jet that will drop a bomb on some "legitimate" target in our ever-expanding theater of world conflict. It might miss its mark by a couple hundred yards and make orphans out of some children whose dad was just on his way to work. He might be a teacher like me.

But hey my IRA is up a couple hundred dollars, I am flying first class and capitalism goes marching on. And really, none of us should go asking questions that don’t have easy answers. I think I’ll just tell myself it’s all going to be OK.

I digress, and wasn’t I supposed to be talking about my carbon positive vacation in the desert? On second thought, I think I was. You see, I have spent more than a few days with my forgiving wife ranting like I do about the race to the bottom and the demise of the World as we know it. Frontdoor Adventures was born out of my need to have a productive way to outlet my frustrations about the world as I choose to see it. I have come to learn that nobody likes to be around a pessimistic prick, and I really don’t want to be one. At the end of the day I want my writing and my actions to convey a message of not only conviction, but hope.

I flew home on Sunday after a glorious 10 days of sunshine, family and friends. Monday I got on my bike and rode to work in the rain and returned to my efforts to live as small as I am reasonably able. One of glorious things that I have discovered through this project is that like riding my bike, writing helps me find the silver lining that I need for my sanity. Sometimes I fall short of my own ideals, but still continue my struggle to be part of the solution.

Livin' the Dream

Matt

Desert Art. I see The Scream by Evard Munch

Little Wild Horse Canyon. San Rafael Swell, UT.

The lost art of chimney climbing.

Sunshine makes girls from Southern California happy.

Snowman, a little out of his element but always happy to be included.

I found a pair of discarded socks in the desert and instead of putting them in may pack, I felt compelled to set them on fire. You never can know the whole story of used socks and the only safe bet is incineration.

All the comforts of home. Browns Coffee.

Gratitude

Sometimes I forget to be thankful.

I turned on the news this morning and watched a wall of water devour a river valley in Japan that looked a lot the one I grew up in. I tried to put myself inside that car as it was swallowed up trying to escape the black sludge of an intruding sea. I am thankful not to have been in that car.

The people of Libya have lived under the rule of a repressive dictator for the past 40 years. This week, hundreds of Libyans died in a conflict for political ideals and basic human rights. At times I question the altruism and transparency of those who lead this country, but I am thankful to have the right to criticize my government on a public forum.

A recent study by the US Military reported that 2,537 civilians were killed, and another 5,594 were injured in Afghanastan in 2010 & 2011. Considering the source of this data, and their track record, one might assume these estimates are far to low. In any case, it is difficult to argue that those who suffer the most in armed conflict want little or nothing to do with the fight that showed up uninvited at their doorstep. I am thankful to live in a country that overwhelmingly chooses to solve it's internal disagreements through political discourse.

A week ago I sat the passenger in a car and watched a man with what I assume to be Multiple Sclerosis struggle to position his motorized wheelchair in a manner that would allow him to reach the crosswalk button . I am thankful for the ease at which I roll through that same intersection on my bike at 15 mph on a regular basis.

Tomorrow I will wake up and ride my bike for an hour in the rain and practice Yoga under the watchful eye of my wife. I will eat wonderful food and drink hot coffee for breakfast in a peaceful restaurant. In all likelihood, no road-side bomb will explode on my path, no missiles will strike down announced from the sky, and the hands of nature will remain relatively docile for another day. I will live as I see fit in pursuit of my happiness, grateful for one more day of health and peace in my life. Tomorrow I will not forget to be thankful.

Livin' the Dream,

Matt

Shadow: An area where direct light from a light source cannot reach due to obstruction by an object. On March 5th, 2011 the sun shined for the first time this year in Seattle. I am thankful for the slightest hint of an approaching summer.

Young entrepreneurs out in force at the first signs of Spring. They assured Jenny and I that "they would have popsicles in the next week or two".

Not quite Mexico or Hawaii, but a fifty cent lemonade near the Puget Sound pretty much counts as a beach vacation with cocktails.

Some of us are really grateful for the sun.

I ran into my cousin Jessica at Golden Gardens. I am her favorite cousin.

Pretty cool paint job, but I prefer our little house.

Snowman is also thankful to go to the beach.

I would like to thank the person who purchased the Shake Weight at full-price and then donated it to the Greenwood Goodwill. I have only owned it a week, and have been more than satisfied with the value of $1.99 I paid. As a fitness professional, I can honestly say that I have never laughed quite as much while using a piece of exercise equipment. I think it is important that everyone follow the link above and watch the promotional video. It won't change your life and you shouldn't buy anything, but it is pretty funny and laughter is good medicine.

A cold ride the rain provides the perfect reference point for a hot yoga class. Jenny is now teaching at Mountain Flow in Madrona.

Recovery Meal. A picture says a thousand words & fat cardiologists can go pound sand.

Snt. Cloud Cafe.

Most of all I am thankful for a partner who will join me in putting a little adventure into an ordinary rainy Seattle day. We got wet to the bone biking today when driving was an easy option. Jen kept smiling and joking our way through the soggy day. Like my Dad says, It is better to be lucky than good and I certainly got lucky with Jen!