On Wednesdays I work in Seattle. I catch the 6:30 AM bus into Seattle. It's pretty empty when I catch it by my place in Issaquah, but by the time it reaches Mercer Island, it's packed.
It's a cloudy spring day.
We roll past the stadiums.
And past the things that look like Daleks.
At one time the Smith Tower was the tallest building on the West Coast.
The clock tower rises above the King Street Train Station.
I get off the bus at Westlake and unfold Swifty. I could transfer to another bus to go up to Greenwood, but it's much more fun to scoot the 6 miles. Also, it only takes an hour to scoot from downtown to Greenwood, and I don't have to be at work until 10:00 AM, but I budget lots of time for taking pictures, stopping at the bakery and other such fun things.
I scoot north along Westlake, heading for Lake Union.
This is one of the Pronto bike share stations.
Seattle has a mandatory bike helmet law, so the bike share stations have a little helmet kiosk.
I'm not sure what the loss rate is on the helmets. I have noticed some of the Pronto helmets on the heads of folks not on Pronto bikes.
The Space Needle is not even close to being the tallest thing in South Lake Union these days.
Traffic in South Lake Union is always a mess. I'd much rather bike, walk or scoot through here than try to drive. Even if it means waiting a long time for signals to change at the crosswalks.
Once I get alongside the water, things seem much more tranquil.
I really love this part of the commute.
There are hundreds of boats moored in Lake Union.
Boats of all sizes.
Yachts.
Houseboats.
They recently repainted the Fremont Bridge.
The Fremont Bridge is one of the nicer ways across the ship canal.
I stop to watch a tug chug on by.
I love these painted utility boxes.
And the giant trees on Fremont Avenue (even if their roots heave the sidewalk up.)
Another great bit of art.
It's really starting to look like spring.
Seattle has lots of little pretty bits.
This bench is a nice example of street art.
It's springtime on Phinney Ridge.
My favorite bus stop in front of the home for Old Norwegians.
One of Seattle's many little free libraries.
More flowers.
A different kind of flours. Fresh Flours is the place I stop on Wednesdays for my second breakfast.
Second breakfast.
There are not always poems at the Free Poem box. Today it was empty.
G and O Family Cyclery is owned by my friends Tyler and Davey. I work here on Wednesdays. It's a super fun shop, great people, cool bikes, terrific neighborhood.
Wow, where did the day go? Oh yeah, into fixing and building bikes. There was a burito in there somewhere and a cup of hot chocolate and trip to the Couth Buzzard to pick up a book. But now I'm rolling back toward downtown.
Have I mentioned how much it feels like spring today?
More flowers by the Norwegian bus stop.
It's been a mix of sun and clouds all day.
More houseboats.
And yachts.
And still more houseboats.
And even more boats.
It's kind of pretty here.
And there are lots of geese.
South Lake Union is home to lots of tech workers.
And lots of construction.
And lots of traffic.
Swifty is all folded up and ready for the bus.
My favorite seat is the one way in the back. Swifty leans against the window and I settle in with today's book.
The clouds are rolling in as I roll out of town.
12.3 miles of scootering today with a total scootering time of 1 hour 59 minutes 36 seconds (according to Swifty's computer). So yeah, what I tell people is true, I average about 6 miles per hour scooting about. It's twice as fast as walking and about half as fast as my urban biking speed.
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