4:41 pm
Somebody needs to tell the Southeast United States that Bigfoot is a West Coast thang. Blue Ridge Outdoors, an Outdoor Adventure Media partner of OTM recently ran a story on bigfoot sightings in the Southeast. Here’s a link to some of their alleged bigfoot video. See for yourself. You can also go here to read the bigfoot story Dan Egan did for us in 2006.
I want to believe. I really do.
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5:03 pm
- John Speare over at Cycling Spokane blog has an excellent recap of the Midnight Century. Sounds brutal and euphoric. There’s also a nice shot of the new bike racks at The Scoop.
- MetroSpokane blog has a cool write-up of SpokeFest and a first look at a new Browne’s Addition bike shop.
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4:42 pm
My four-year-old has graduated from trailer to trail-a-bike add-on tandem. She calls it her big girl bike. We never had any problems with it until this morning. We were at a stoplight on the up slope of a hill waiting for the light to change. It turned green. I pedaled forward. Bomp. Then loud crying. She fell off as I jerked the bike into motion.
Here I am at one of the biggest intersections in the city. Fortunately we didn’t get past the cross walk. I clumsily try to manuever the makeshift tandem to the sidewalk while guiding her away from traffic. We weren’t in any real danger, but it scared the crap out of both of us.
After calming her down and making sure she wasn’t hurt I figured out what happened. Sometimes I let her know we are about to move. I didn’t do that this time. She wasn’t ready. But the big problem was she wasn’t holding onto the handle bars.
The day before the family had been on the Centennial Trail My son, age 8, was showing off how he could ride with no hands. My daughter then says to me “Look Dad–no hands!” (She was riding on the back of the tandem.) I thought it was pretty funny at the time. Until I figured out that’s what led to this morning’s mishap.
It freaked me out, but hopefully she learned an injury-free lesson in keeping your hands on the handle bars.
Your can read the first Preschool By Bike blog entry here.
5:34 pm
For the first time the annual Washington State Trails Conference will be coming to the Spokane Convention Center. This great event comes at pivotal time for trails advocacy. Motorized or non-motorized? To fund of not to fund? Transportation or recreation? Off limits to cycling or not? There are no shortage of important issues facing our state trails. If you have anything to do with outdoor recreation I strongly urge you to attend this event. Plus, I’ll be there.
Early registration ends on September 5. After that the cost goes up from $75 to $100 ($25 dollars less if you represent a non-profit.) You can register and find out all about here at the Washington State Trails Coalition site. This should be a great opportunity to network and learn from other trail advocates.
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5:09 pm
Full disclosure: I love Metallica. Growing up metal in Spokane they were always one of my favorite bands. The impact of their first four records is still being felt. So I was dismayed to read a report in the SF Chronicle about James Hetfield erecting a big fence to block trail access in through his property in Marin County.
C’mon James are you Holier Than Thou? This fence is The Thing That Should Not Be. It’s Sad But True that folks need to avoid The Fraid Ends of Sanity by being able to hike in nature on these long-used trails. While outdoor recreation may be in The Eye of The Beholder, you will be the Unforgiven if you block trail access. Look in the mirror and ask yourself “Am I Evil?” Do I want people to call me Leper Messiah? King Nothing? Or Phantom Lord? Why not be the Hero of the Day and reopen the trails?
4:41 pm
Citizens in Ferry County who are trying to save some trails from ATV traffic have moved their fight in to the legal realm. Here’s an update from the quiet communities coalition:
LEGAL CHALLENGE UPDATE
QUIET COMMUNITIES COALITION
In February 2008, Quiet Communities Coalition (“QCC”) filed suit against Ferry County and its Commissioners, challenging the legality of Ferry County’s off-highway vehicle Ordinance No. 2007‑22 enacted in December 2007. In the lawsuit, QCC contended that the Ordinance violates RCW Chapter 46.09, state legislation which authorized off-road vehicle recreation and use in certain locations under limited circumstances. QCC also contended that the County violated RCW Chapter 43.21, the State Environmental Policy Act, by failing to complete an Environmental Impact Statement to study and analyze the substantial adverse environmental impacts of the Ordinance. (more…)
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5:50 pm
A couple weeks ago I visited Orcas Island in the San Jauns and took the picture above. When I first saw the creature I thought it was an escaped goat. Turns out it’s just a little white-speckled Bambi. I have never seen a deer like this. I asked my friend Jerry, a resident of the island for thirty-plus years, about the creature and he gave me the Legend of the White buck.
When he first came to Orcas in the early seventies the island was inhabited by a beautiful pure white buck. The taxidermical lure of this incredible creature was apparently too hard to resist. Someone killed it. And stuffed it.
For years later the island had a legacy white-speckled deer–the obvious result of the prolific and dearly departed white buck. But after a while all the white-speckled deers vanished.
In the past year white speckled deers have reappeared on the island. No one knows why the the deer gene pool has taken a such a left turn, but they sure are cool to look at.
7:00 pm
Literature and running go together like . . . peanutbutter and chocolate? If you’re world famous writer Haruki Murakami they do. It’s not everyday that one of the world’s most heralded writer’s does a memoir dedicated to outdoor recreation so we thought send you this link to the New York Times review of What I Talk About When I talk About Running.
Please note the line where the reviewer equates listening to Eric Clapton with torture. Has anybody had a chance to read this book? I’d love to know what you think.
4:38 pm
Though it’s been sold out for months this Sunday’s West Plains Wunder Woman Triathlon in Medical Lake will still be fun to watch. (The race’s 700 entries sold out in February.) CHER will be on hand to offer free BMI screenings to anyone who wants one from 9am to 12 noon.
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7:46 pm
Artist Bradd Skubinna has a terrific new show at the Lorinda Knight Gallery in downtown Spokane. What’s that have to do with OTM? The big construction on the south wall of the gallery is made up almost entirely of white straps from bundles of Out There Monthly. It’s amazing. Check it out; the show will be up until the end of the month.
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