Spring time

Its spring. Everything becomes green again... alive once more for another trip around the Sun. In Alaska we'd always keep our eyes open for that first Robin, pecking its beak into the soil for a yummy earthworm to murder, but in Bellingham there are Robins here all year around.

That said, I did see my first hippy of the season. See the happy hippy! See how he walks, to-and-fro searching for the quickest path to the Coop. I get the feeling that these 2010 Spring time hippies have evolved... or at least their tastes have. Trader Joes is out. Too corporate. I went in there the other day to buy some laxatives (dried cranberries) and I noticed that there were no hippies to speak of. No patchouli or BO scenting the air. Quite the contrary, I smelled the stink of upper middle-class housewives. The parking lot was full of giant SUVs with 'buy local' bumper stickers and child seats. A changing of the guard to be sure! See the happy hippy! See him take his dollars elsewhere!

I set myself a goal early this January: Bench press 300 pounds by the end of the year. It is insanely optimistic I know... but I recently broke through another strength plateau. I'd been stuck for a while at static strength level so I started increasing the intensity of my workouts and supplementing with a Nitric Oxide booster (in addition to protein and creatine) and the results starting knocking on the door. I repped 225 pounds 6 times. Given that just a half year ago I would have struggled putting up 225 one time I'd say the path is clear.

It is now biking season... meaning that after work I can come home and head straight to the hills. I got plans too, I want to rebuild some of my old trails and continue new ones... pics will be forthcoming.

Fellow cyclist killed by car

This morning while I was riding to work a fellow rider was killed on the other side of town.

Terry Mathews, who was a 50 year old postal worker was biking down a hill near Barkely Village, a hill I've walked and biked many times, when a 17 year old girl pulled onto the road directly in front of him. He was unable to stop and hit the vehicle. He died in route to the local hospital.

According to the paper Terry biked to work every day. He was wearing a helmet, was riding in the bike lane, but even with all those precautions he still had his life taken. I'm sure his wife and kids are heart broken.

Of course this is what we get for living in a society which worships automobiles and hands out drivers licenses like they are nothing, regardless of an individuals ability or intelligence. Its just too bad that the ideal citizen, someone like Terry had to pay.