Wow, it’s almost half way through June. I’ll let you in on a little secret. I originally set a goal to write a post a week. Failing that, it was a post a month. Then I slipped it to the end of the month instead of the beginning. Then I completely missed April and May. Such is life. Perhaps coming clean will get me back in the saddle and on schedule. I do have plenty of stuff I want to write about. I just am bad about procrastination. There’s a clinical term for my affliction: analysis paralysis. Many an engineer suffers from it. We let perfect be the enemy of good. But I digress.

Just got back from a road trip through northern Washington. The family went to visit our dear friend Amy in Twisp for a few days then took the scenic route home: Grand Coulee Dam, North Cascades Hwy, Mt. Baker Hot Spring, Port Townsend Ferry, Olympic Peninsula, and the ocean. It was a good time. I’d been telling myself I really needed to get out of Portland for a few days, but making it happen was something I (you guessed it) kept procrastinating on. I’m glad Amy invited us up for a visit, thus forcing me to take a bit of action. As for Washington, she always leaves me in awe, such grandeur. Obviously I’m not alone in that regard as we crossed paths with dozens of cyclists of all kinds. One thing I saw which I thought was pretty cool was using one’s nation flag horizontally across the back of the bike to increase one’s profile to motorists. If you ever have the means or opportunity, a ride through Washington State should not be missed. Just bring your granny gear and don’t over pack! (I saw a lot of the latter.)

Finally, a quick mention to follow-up the Idaho-stop PSA. After a sensationalist hatchet job by the Oregonian and a surprising amount of apathy from too many cyclists the Idaho-stop bill died in committee. As baseball fans on the north side of Chicago are wont to say, “better luck next year.”

For your inspiration and/or envy, a few trip photos: