Far too much "fun"...

[kengr]

Having the bike usable again has been great. No longer stuck with staying home, spending money I can't really spare for the bus, or walking (my range is rather limited for that last).

Thanks again to a certain party who shall remain nameless.

Anyway, besides general running around I've done several things of note.

I've been submitting track info to Northwest Trails Some sections of bike path they didn't have listed yet, and some real trails. My next project along that line are some pedestrian stairways on the hills nearby. There are something like a dozen and maybe 4 of them are in the database so far.

There's also another trail to add.

Meanwhile, I've been able to attend a few things I'd have otherwise had trouble with.

Back on the 12th it was the 10th Annual Masturbate-a-Thon: Back To Basics (Link is NSFW!!).

On the 18th, fayanora and I went to a Littles photo party (ageplay) that was being held at the same location. Fay had fun, I had some fun too. And I may be posting pics of Fay being very silly.

On the 19th, Fay and I went to the Pride festival center down in Waterfront Park. Ran into a few folks we hadn't seen for a while and picked up various bits of swag. We spent several hours there, then biked home. On the way we stopped at the local bike shop (I wanted to check the pressure in my tires).

I'd been nagging Fay about needing a helmet and lights for her bike (she got a rack and panniers last month, so we were able to use the bikes for the monthly "major grocery purchases" runs).

The lights had gotten brought up Friday night because I was going to check out the Portland "part" of the World Naked Bike Ride (worksafe). I was joking about her not being able to participate because she didn't have lights.

Much to my surprise, she bought herself a helmet and lights. We'll be attaching the lights today. I'm jealous of her rear light. The bracket will hold any of the usual "clip on" lights for joggers and the like. So she can use a different light easily.

We got home and vegetated for a while. I left for the ride at 8:30. Got to the site a bit after 9pm.

I've been intrigued with the idea of the ride ever since I first heard about it. But I'd heard about it on the news after it'd happened. And I'd keep forgetting to check the dates. This year I'd lucked out because another person who'd ridden his bike to the Masturebatathon mentioned it. Alas, the daytime ride had been that day, but the night ride was a week away then.

Now, you have to understand with my body shape (hey! Round is a shape, right?) I'd had very mixed feeling about participating. I'd figured I'd have to "waste" a year by checking out the ride one year then, if it looked size accepting, try it the next year. And you don't *have* to ride naked, so there was that, too.

When I got to the starting point (a *huge* fenced lot, at a guess 400-500 feet square) one of the first (mostly) naked folks I saw was almost as large as me. So that settled that.

He was wearing a belt with a couple of wide neckties hanging from it. One in front, one in back. :-)

I wandered around for a bit, looking at bikes and people. Next year, I'll have to take some of my collection of "flashy lights" and add them to my bike. Even if I add all of them, they won't come *close* to some of the bikes I saw.

Eventually I stripped off, and stowed everything but my cell phone in the panniers. Of course, with twilight fast coming to an end, a wind picked up. Got rather chilly for a while. My fingers were freezing (the rest of me was just uncomfortable).

By this time, there was barely room to move in the field. Yeah, lots of folks.

The start time was 10 pm. But it was 10:19 when I got out of one of the gates. With lots of folks still in there.

And we were barely moving. It was 6 blocks before we got above 2 mph. But we were soon zooming along.

I had a problem with my chain and had to pull over to the side. It took one of the chasers to help me get it unstuck. And that had me being tail-end Charlie for quite a bit. I had to pedal like crazy to catch up.

Believe it or not, I eventually worked my way back into the middle of the pack again. And I was actually passing a lot of "fitter" riders even after I'd gotten well into the pack and wasn't trying so hard.

There were crowds along a lot of the route. Amazingly, I didn't hear any real bad comments as I rode vy. Maybe one or two that I couldn't be sure of. Instead I got some "You go" type comments from several folks, including some riders.

I suspect that folks don't realize the sort of leg muscles a "fat" person who *isn't* a couch potato has to develop. :-)

Since the ride is a protest against oil dependence, it's not limited to bikes. There were at least a couple rollerbladers, and some skateboarders. As well as unicycles and some custom bikes, a couple of pedicabs and even weirder stuff. And we picked up some naked joggers along the way.

We also had several collisions and folks going down. :-(

I heard a rollerblader go down just behind me at one point. I also saw a couple of bike pileups. In a group that dense it doesn't take much to take yourself and others down.

I had one close call, but I and the other rider managed to avoid going down. I was *very* glad of my rear view mirror. And wished more riders had them (it'd have prevented a not of last minute braking as folks cut in front of me.

Moments that stand out:

While dealing with the chain problem, a cop car pulled up next to naked me and asked me if I'd seen a guy with a big lump on his head. Later a couple of paramedics came by and asked if I was ok (seems there'd been a 911 call and they and the cop were trying to find the biker that'd been reported).

The several points on the route where we had a blocks long traffic jam of naked bikers.

The couple of guys who, whenever they saw someone taking pictures of the naked bikers would yell "Pervert!"

The second time I had a chain problem (much easier to fix), some woman dashed out while I was bent over working on it and tossed a light blanket over me, yelling "Emergency blanket!". She reclaimed it as I was starting to stand up again. No I have no idea what that was about either.

All the onlookers who'd hold out a hand for a biker to slap hands with them as they went by.

Coughing from the cigarette smoke at the end point (and a bit at the start point). Bikers who smoke? WTF, over?

I hadn't realized how long the route was. When I got home, I checked the log on my GPS (which doubles as mny bike computer) and it was 9 miles. Covered in under 2 hours in spite of all the traffic jams and slow starts. (I;ve got a GPX file if anybody wants to check out the movement rates or the route)

Got back to the starting point. Couldn't get back into the field, so I did what a lot of others were doing and just found a handy chunk of sidewalk to get dressed.

Note: some folks didn't bother getting dressed to ride home. From what I've heard from previous years, the cops will ignore it, but I wasn't gonna chance it.

From a local TV station:
video of naked bike ride
(Hey, it was broadcast on TV, it's probably worksafe).

The station's website claims we had 8000 riders. The guys directing "traffic" at the end point were claiming 13,000. I'm guessing it was closer to the station's figure simply going by the size of the field at the stating point. at 13,000 and assuming 400x400, that'd be 12 sq ft per rider. We werem't *that* crowded. At 8000 it'd be 20 sq ft. That's rather looser than I think, but not bad.

Oh yes, next year I want cloth cover for my bike seat. When remounting (faster than I should have) after the second chain incident, let's just say that certain parts of my anatomy tried to stick to the vinyl as I got on. Ouch!!!

End result was that I did over 20 miles on the bike between noon and midnight yesterday, with a lot of standing and walking in there. I am sore. But nopt as sore as I expected.

Just as well that Fay and I decided to skip the Pride parade today. I see it rained some during it. And another 8 mile ride (there and back) on top of the last few days? No.

Oh yeah, because of the chain problems, I may need a new chain and *definitely* need the front derailleur looked at. But the bike is still usable. Just gotta use it as a 7 speed.

Comments

[mistresscayenne.livejournal.com]

I am glad that you have your bike working again. Happy riding.