Busy Biking Day

Yep, I spent a bit of time on my bike today. After the usual dogs in the morning, mom and I biked over to a coffee shop in Ballard - about 6 miles from my house - to meet a friend of ours. On the way over, I showed her some of the techniques I'd learned at an urban biking class over the weekend.

Ah yes, that urban biking class. 8 hours of instruction and practice on how to safely ride a bike on city streets. It was very informative, and I found myself learning quite a lot from it. For example, I learned correct lane positioning while biking: on the right side of the lane, but not so far right that you'll ride into that car door someone just opened in front of you! I also learned about basic bike safety, and the ABC quick check you should perform before every ride. Basically, it goes Air, Brakes,
Chain/Cranks. Make sure those are in working order, and you're good. I got several handouts from the class, which I'll be studying over the next few days.

Anyway, after we met mom's friend and chatted for a little while, Sis -who had met us over there - and the friend went off for a walk. They've gotten to be very good friends. Mom and I continued on our bike ride, going up and over one hill, and down it's western edge, before ending up downtown. A quick jaunt through downtown, and we ended up at our local REI store. During our ride, Mom apparently decided that I needed to be more visible if I was riding in the street all the time, so she bought me a fluorescent yellow vest and a light for my helmet. Ok, whatever. I didn't have to pay for it. I bought a new Klean Kanteen to replace the one I left in a classroom last quarter. I still had part of a gift card, and I could use my REI dividend, so I only paid $3 for the Kanteen and a couple snacks. Not a bad deal, if you ask me. Then, we came home, and that was that. Took us 5 hours or so, but we got everything done.

Yep, that was my day. Next week I go back to the UW for spring quarter. I hope it will be better than winter quarter. 'Night everyone.