Strange sights and a li'l bike ride

We had some very odd sightings on our way home today. As we were leaving my office we saw a man standing in front of the Fairmont Olympic hotel with the brightest, most day-glow, neon pink and purple hair. That wasn't the odd thing...you see that every other block...but he was dressed in a dark blue polo shirt tucked into lighter washed jeans with a belt, looking decidedly boring except for the hair. It just didn't mesh and created a little cognitive dissonance.

Seconds later and just a block away, we were stopped at a light and this guy crossed in front of us wearing a champagne colored satin suit. Like he had taken a set of satin sheets and had the pants and jacket made. Here's how our conversation went:

E: Do you see that?
A: Um, yeah, hard to miss. Who wears something like that?!
E: He looks like he's Russian.
A: Really, I don't think he looks like he's in a hurry.
(cue the laugh track)

Just before leaving town we also saw a guy wearing a puffy vest that was probably made in 1980...and in fact judging from the way it fit this guy, he might have owned it back then when he was 9.

Later, while merging onto I-405, a car illegally passed everyone on the shoulder. That wasn't odd. What was odd was that the driver had his left foot hanging out of the window. In thinking about this, he just had to want to look like a rebel...because that just could NOT be comfortable. I don't care how flexible you are.

The whole commute left us both wondering if there was a full moon or something...and wishing that I'd brought a camera.

I went on a little bike ride once we got home. My wonderful husband ran to the store and made fantastic spaghetti bolongese while I was out and about. If you haven't tried Barilla Plus pasta...you must, it's so yummy and made with a blended legume flour so it has a good amount of protein and whole grains!

I rode for 45 min, covered just over 12 miles with ample hills. Which means I need to ride more hills, because I was definitely in single-digits on the way up most of them. I went back out in the car to take some photos, though they don't do the hills justice.

Here's my warm up, It's a mile of gradual up.

Here's one of those that just doesn't look as big as it really is. Roller-coaster-y.

Here's my hill home. Again, does not look as steep as it really is.

This is my "crash" hill. I rode it today for the 3rd time since my accident 3 years ago. Of course, I rode it a lot slower than I did way back then.

This is on my route home, it's so strange. It's a huge pink stucco house in Renton. For those of you who have never been to Renton, this might not seem odd, but believe me, it is pretty out of place.

I have been very lucky to live in some of the most picturesque and beautiful places, between Alaska and Washington, and there are many times I'm reminded of this fact. Sometimes it amazes me to think that we are just over 20 minutes (on a good traffic day) from Seattle. Very pastoral. I've never lived in the country, not really, but maybe I'm a country-girl at heart, because riding through these areas makes me want to look into finding an acreage, moving the coop and buying some llamas or sheep.

And that brings me to 11:15...time for beddey-bye.