Seattle, WA to Olympia, WA

I left the land of volvo wagons with 'no war' stickers on them and headed to the magical land of crimethinc and indy rock (also known as Olympia). I left Seattle super duper early cause I know the sun is down by 5pm these days and after that it is mighty cold. In PA I switched my 0 degree sleeping bag for my 32 degree '3-season' bag and my big hiking boots for some skate shoes to save some weight/space. I am estimating that my bike and trailer weigh at least 100 pounds (compared to the summer trip with road bike and panniers and a total of about 75 pounds) so every pound makes a difference in my mind. Will I be freezing at night? Probably. I had sunny, but cold weather and my route was outside of most traffic. I did have to do a stunt of 8 miles on the interstate which is never fun, but never as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

This is the end of my second day in Olympia. Its just like I had hoped; full of local co-ops, bookstores, coffee shops, etc. I bought a new chain at a worker-owned bike shop, hopefully in time to save my cassette from being worn out. Lots of chillin with some friends who I had the pleasure of putting up in LA a couple of months ago. This trip is so different from trips of the past where I camped almost every night and saw very little of anyone I knew. This trip is mainly just to hang out, but I am riding my bike in between cities. Even when I get to Portland I will not of ridden more than 3 days in a row!

That does make it more difficult to get into the rhythm of riding though. I am looking forward to that. Also I am looking forward to the time alone. This trip has been difficult for me in some ways. I feel as though, for the first time in my life, I am not content with just being somewhere new. I need more. What is that more? I am not sure. What am I going to do when I get back to LA? I am not sure. I am almost tired of that question. I hate these times when I have to pick a direction. Wait, thats not right, I do not hate them, I am very privileged to have the opportunity to decide the direction of my life. Politics, career, bikes, travel all pull in different directions. How am I suppose to commit to any one when they are all so important? Who knows. Enough diary shit for now, just know I have a lot to think about in the next 3-4 weeks before I arrive back in LA. I leave tomorrow for the two-day ride to Portland, where I will then spend the weekend. I hear it's some sort of bike mecca. We'll see. Email me about grammatical errors, I am being lazy about spell/grammar checking.