Well, Brooke and I are still heading to Louisville. Our time here in Seattle is dwindling fast—faster and faster as the departure date approaches it seems. We hope to get the chance to see and hang out with everybody before we leave, but if that doesn’t happen, make sure to see us off at the little going away party we’re having at the Rendezvous next week.

One certain thing that is nice about moving, I’ve stated before, is the idea of getting rid of “the stuff”. Not The Stuff from the movie, but all the excessive possessions we find ourselves carting around the country. Sometimes you should really examine it all and question it’s necessity. We had a moving sale last weekend and were pleasantly surprised at how well we did. It certainly lightened our load, almost to the point that we’re wondering if we even need the truck we’ve got reserved—the smallest, a ten-foot step van. Unloading it into a new place in Louisville I bet will be a cinch.

Louisville looks like a cool town too. Many people ask why we’ve chosen there to move to, and of course the answer is for Brooke’s school, but there’s other reasons too. I suspect things will be less expensive there, especially rent. I also suspect that the bicycle community there is just burgeoning and that’s really exciting. Gas is equally expensive there, so it’ll be interesting to see what, if any, bicycle growth occurs in Louisville. It’s already beginning to happen I’ve think. These reasons coupled with the fact that the both of us are really looking forward to some change in our lives. Shaking it up a bit, per se. I’ve been in Seattle for too long, I myself need a change of scenery.

“So you’re moving there blind?” This is another question we get a lot. No, neither of us have been to Louisville before. And that’s part of the adventure! It’s the same way I moved to Seattle, it’s part of “shaking it up”. To be fair though, we’re fortunate enough to have noticed Google’s Street View and this has given us the ability to view just about any and all prospective neighborhoods to live in, what the streets are like to ride on, and generally what the town looks like. It’s rad, but I certainly know this doesn’t really compare to the actual experience of exploring the streets in person! It’s a pretty helpful tool nonetheless.

…too many yellow lines, where’s the lane?

I still have a lot to do before we leave. There’s the going away party, there’s helping Daniel with his Race Across Oregon, a small number of items to still get rid of (minor furniture, an alto saxaphone, among others), and I’m sure a million other things to plan for the trip across. Posts to the website will be sparse for while.

Yep, we got some lawn chairs, we’re gonna sit out in the middle of the street tomorrow night and enjoy some fireworks. Gotta remember though, this handy mnemonic I heard for the first time the other day: Get your fifth for the Fourth, on the 3rd. The liquor stores are closed here in Washington state tomorrow folks. Have a great Fourth of July!

We’ll be using them for the Fremont Outdoor Cinema too. Saturday=Hot Fuzz!

Hey! Michael went camping this past weekend and had a big ol’ time!

Yep, Brooke and I tagged along with Phil and Stephanie on out to the Lake Crescent area on the Olympic Peninsula. It was outstandingly beautiful—it was a perfect time to get out of the city again and decompress with nature’s finest.

Sitting on the Sol Duc River, enjoying Mia’s adventures with Stick

It seemed like most of the time we kicked back and chilled out by the river and campfire, typically what I’m used to doing while camping, but we did have some righteous activities planned by camp leader Phil. Yeah, I’m not used to riding off-road too much, but Phil insisted we bring some mountain bikes. I just came across that Specialized P.2 so I was set, but Brooke needed something to ride. We borrowed Seth Holton’s Norco. She thrashed hard on that bike. For never riding on dirt before, she tore it up. Phil took us around the north shore of the lake on a trail that was pretty mild on some parts and somewhat sketchy on others. Evidently this trail used to be a railroad bed during WWI, Phil provided us with great historical commentary throughout the weekend. Stephanie got a bit scraped up and I fell halfway into the lake at one point attempting to round a loose gravel corner one hand holding the camera. Besides that and a couple of ticks, most of the ride (and the weekend) was without incident.

Phil Anderson bombing back with lunch.

It was really great to actually experience the Olympic Peninsula once before I leave this area. Big thanks to Phil for such a great time.

I just had to share this because I think this is such a rad comic. Get yours while they’re hot!

The Yehuda Moon book! Nice.

For the comic, check out the Yehuda Moon site.

You know who is doing something cool. One young man, whom just the other day I heard referred to as shop intern, Sam. He’s currently involved with something really great. His school, Tyee Middle School, is doing some very humanitarian and educational things for the youth in Jamaica. Some of the specifics for this can be read about here: tyeelovesjamaica.org. Evidently this is the second of a five year project of Tyee building and bringing computers for a specific school in Jamaica. This Negril school is underprivileged and underfunded by the government. Sam’s teacher, Mr. Burke has made a deal with the government in Jamaica at the end of the project, they will finally build a new school building. Progress on last year’s project can be read at their blog, Project Jamaica: Tyee Class Project.

Sam himself is concentrating on developing some type of bicycle cooperative repair shop while he’s down there for the next couple of weeks. According to him his “main goal for this trip is to spread the love of biking and to offer an alternative to cars.” This indeed is a great and important ideal to share with an impoverished population. As such Wright Bros donated a slew of parts, tools, and consumables for Sam’s effort. Sam has created a blog that should detail his progress down there: jamaicabikeproject.blogspot.com; be sure to check it out.

Sam is also a bit of a competitor in the cycling scene. From what I’ve heard he’s been tearing up some of the standings in the juniors cyclocross circuit. Keep an eye and ear out for this enterprising young man.