Flotsam & Jetsam

I’m not as adventurous as the folks over at Bike Hugger, but I did take advantage of this afternoon’s break between storms to survey the carnage from last week’s weather events. Aside from the expected downed branches, a counter-clockwise spin around Mercer Island didn’t reveal any surprises. But, as I approached Mercer Slough a rider passing in the other direction warned: “It’s icy up there.” He wasn’t joking:

A rider in a blue and orange team kit was picking up the pieces after apparently trying to navigate the slippery hazard on his race bike. I walked it and I can authoritatively testify that Speedplay pedals sure don’t clear very quickly when clogged with icy chunks.

On the I-90 bike path and on every major road the gutter is littered with a rather disgusting mix of gritty sand, dirty snow and ice, broken limbs, and thousands of road turtles and reflectors that were dislodged and pulverized by the snowplows:

I didn’t experiment with the possibility that the smaller chunks of road turtle might puncture a tire. Be careful out there; this road debris is likely to linger for a while and could lead to more injury than Alastair Locket’s infamous stiletto heeled shoe. It looks like there will be job security in replacing the turtles and reflectors when the dry months arrive.

While the flotsam and jetsam littering the roads is unappealing, some roads are downright gorgeous right now. I love cycling up the Colman Park hairpins any time of year, but they are magical at the moment:

Speaking of moments, you just gotta seize them this time of year.

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