bitch bitch bitch

[solarbird]

I hate Zoology very, very much. The best part is when your first lab practical (which counts as much as a midterm) is worse than your first midterm, which was previously the lowest grade you could remember getting on a science exam. No, wait; the best part is when your professor tells you on Friday that she was really surprised at how well you did and that you only lost 5-10 points (out of 50), so you're thinking you got a B until you get the paper back with a score of HA HA FUXX0R J00, by which I mean me, by which I mean my chances for graduate school.

And there's nothing else in this stupid class so far. It really is just "what's this?" We're starting to see some processes and some systems. She's all "now I know this is complex" and "A lot of people have problems with this figure" and I'm going CHRIST I'M BORED and answering all of her in-class challenge questions (which count for zero) and going THERE IS NOTHING TO LEARN IN THIS CLASS WHY AM I HERE?!

Oh right, it's a requirement. Crap.

And to cap it off, my left ear is really acting up today. Loud and screechy and full of hate. Joy.

Monday's miles: 8.3
Miles out of Hobbiton: 1686.3
Miles out of Rivendell: 1229.3
Miles out of Lothlórien: 774.3
Miles past Rauros Falls: 357.4
Miles to Isengard: 110.3

In other news, biking back from Shoreline turns out to be pretty easy, and only mildly terrifying, and that mostly at 15th Avenue NE. Biking to Shoreline would be not happening, at least via this route. Here's the way; on the left side of the screen find "Elevation: off small large" and click on "large" and you'll see why I won't be reversing that. It's particularly worth noting that the huge elevation change over time is on a road (NE Perkins Way, mostly) with somewhere between tiny, tiny shoulders, and no shoulders at all. At least there isn't much traffic - at least, not at this time of day.

A pleasant surprise was finding a deeply, deeply early-1950s sign-and-planter into a pocket development at 10th Ave NE and NE 195th. My guess - and it is a complete ex recto guess - is that this was developed around that time, and was kind of upscale, and that then 10 years later the freeway came through, wrecking the place - possibly cutting some of it off, I don't know - which is why there's a pedestrian bridge over I-5 there. The original owners might have been the sort to say, "You're screwing us with this freeway, the least you can do is not cut us off from town!" and get that bridge. Given that there just aren't any other pedestrian-friendly crossings that I can think of until you get to, oh, Ravenna Boulevard, it's the best theory I've got.

(Well, okay, 185th is doable. But it still sucks. Four lane + turn lanes + on/off ramps? Not so much fun for pedestrians. Christ, I-5 is a scar on this town.)

Oh, speaking briefly of pedestrian overpasses, I biked down to and over the new one Shoreline has built over Aurora at 160th, as part of the Interurban Trail project. It's very nice. The noise control works really well. +5 to Shoreline's trail development team.

SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks! Use the 1st letter of your first name to answer each of the following. If you can't think of anything, skip it. You can't use your name for the boy/girl name question. Seen on l_l_u_w_d's LJ.

Your Name: Solarbird
Famous Music artist/group: Smoosh (okay, more famous, Soggy Bottom Boys, okay, fine, Smile dk feat Saxomatic)
3 letter word: Sun
Street name: Seneca
Color: Silver
Gift/present: Surprise!
Vehicle: Schooner
Show: Shoujo Kakumei Utena
Country: Sweden
Boy's Name: Samuel
Girl's Name: Sarah
Alcoholic drink: Screwdriver
Occupation: SCIENTIST!
Flower: Silverthorn
Celebrity: Starbuck, my TV Girlfriend (Katee Sackhoff)
Something found in a kitchen: Silicon baking sheet
Reason for Being Late: Sloth
Something Scary: Louis Sheldon (president, Traditional Values Coalition)
A Feeling: Synaesthetic
Animal: Starfish

Comments

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

Hey, I actually cycled part of that way on a recent weekend trip. I rode up 178th, with a detour up 15th and then through nearby neighborhoods, crossed the freeway further south (185th) and then took the pedestrian bridge over at 195th. I eventually looped back a slightly different way down Perkins and along Ballinger and then close to your house, before turning left on 61st, right on 228th, right on Meridian, and circling back to my house from the north. I never went west of 5th, though.

[solarbird]

How scary is crossing at 185th? Is that the crossing that leads to a park on the west side of the freeway with the big Shoreline signs? That hill doesn't look good, but it doesn't look as bas as the other way.

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, going westbound the park is on your right immediately after you pass 5th. I turned up 5th, putting the park on my left.

185th is not scary to me at all, but I have pretty much no fear of riding in traffic unless it's going 40+ MPH. I do have a healthy fear of parked or parking cars, driveways, and cars turning at intersections, though. I tend to avoid parking lots, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes with no room to pass open car doors for that reason. The idea of truly urban cycling in areas like downtown Seattle, with lots of all of these things, is still a bit intimidating.

I have ridden on busy streets near Microsoft (156th or 40th right at campus, and 148th near Redmond Way/85th), Rainier Valley south of Seward Park going into Renton, and busy strip mall streets in Lynnwood and nearby similar areas in south Snohomish County. All are manageable, though Lynnwood was unpleasant enough that I'm unlikely to return that way soon. I haven't ridden along 522 or 99 in the city (though I've crossed both using crosswalks), and doubt I will when safer alternatives are available. Aside from interstates, which I think are mostly illegal for bikes anyway, those busy urban state highways are the only kind of streets I avoid as a rule. Rural highways tend to have broad shoulders and are fine regardless of how fast traffic is going. I do want to give I-90 a try over the pass at some point.

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

er, I meant Rainier Ave, not "Valley." Also, on STP I rode plenty of streets on par with Rainier Ave, though with lots of company. I also ride frequently in downtown Redmond, in the part that has a lot of urban density and car traffic. The only streets that worry me are the super urban downtown streets in Seattle, and the major urban highways.

[solarbird]

Mm. Okay, for those of us who find, say, 23rd Avenue NE in Montlake too scary to share lanes with cars, would this be similar to that? More to the point: is there a way under I-5 that doesn't involve lanes of traffic?

Bicycles are explicitly disallowed on interstates, and that generally carries through for all forms of limited-access (ramp-access-only) highways. I have seen people riding in traffic lanes on Lake City Way, but would not do it myself.

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

Bicycles are explicitly allowed on I-90 through Snoqualmie Pass, though.

I haven't ridden 23rd (or 24th, as it is in places) in Montlake. I probably would do it, but I think it might make me a bit nervous, particularly where the road bends and cars tend to whip around the corner with low visibility. I've crossed 23rd from Boyer to Lake Washington Boulevard a couple of times (in fact it's part of the STP route), and was fine with that. 23rd through the CD seems manageable, though again I've never actually tried it.

185th across I-5 was a lot less busy than 23rd is, at least when I was there. They're not comparable streets in my experience. I think you should try crossing there if you're in that neighborhood again. 23rd in Montlake seems like it would feel more like Eastlake, which I've ridden a little and which makes me nervous.

[mistwolf.livejournal.com]

Lots of hugs, sucks about zoology, I know how hard you've been trying. :(

I'll play your game, though, to cheer you up:

Your Name: Jamie

Famous Music artist/group: Jethro Tull
3 letter word: Jam
Street name: Jacaranda
Color: Jade
Gift/present: Just about anything
Vehicle: Jet
Show: Jerry Springer!
Country: Japan
Boy's Name: Joshua
Girl's Name: Jessica
Alcoholic drink: Julep
Occupation: Judge
Flower: Jacaranda
Celebrity: Jamie Oliver
Something found in a kitchen: Jars
Reason for Being Late: Jury duty
Something Scary: Jihad
A Feeling: Jealousy
Animal: Joey