(no subject)

On the way home from Shawn's house, I went through Laurelhurst park. Lots of people use that park for any number of things, and today I did a double take when I saw a Druidic group doing ritual. Full robes and everything. I could smell their incense.

Now, everyone has the right to use the public parks. And it is the Solstice. But....Laurelhurst park? What were they thinking? There was a party with kids and balloons just fifty feet away, a path with cyclists and dog walkers maybe fifteen feet, people running all around them...Personally, I prefer to do ritual without worrying about people gawking at me or interrupting to ask questions or people's dogs running through it.

Hands of the Mother used that one meadow of the arboretum. We did have people walk by, but not that many; and the path kept them a fairly good distance away. It was almost perfect.

Maybe they do have a good reason. Laurelhurst has more oaks, for sure. Maybe one of their members has a mobility issue. I don't know.

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Bowie vs Prince last night was fun but Shawn and I left early. Shawn has indeed met jenhowell and common_as_stone, not that much conversation went on or anything. Shawn also got to meet encapsulate and joeyfalconetti, who were quite striking in their zombie bride and groom outfits. I got to hear and tell the "Vegan zombies eat....grrrrraiiiinssss" joke several times.

Today I'm going to a vegan bike wedding, which then meets up with bike jousting at Colonel Summers.

Tonight: Solstice Ride (Shawn's leading this), then Sunday Parkways and the Dead Freeways (another Shawn ride) tomorrow. Oh gawd. Sleep? What sleep? Pffft.

Bahahahaha

see more Funny Graphs

Reposted from the shiftlist!! (aka, I didn't write this, Shawn did)

Elly Blue and myself have put some work into this Monday's Epic Pizza Ride.
Are you considering coming, but have a lingering question or three? Well, look
no further! Read everything below, and if this somehow DOESN'T answer it all
for you, please get in touch with me!

WHAT TO EXPECT:
The title of this ride is the "Epic" Pizza Ride. Now "epic" can mean in this
instance one of three things
1) amount of pizza consumed
2) distance riding
3) length of time
And on this ride we'll be doing ALL OF THE ABOVE. Regarding pizza consumption,
yes there will be a lot (more about that soon). But remember, you don't have
to eat at each stop if you don't want! As for distance, it will be a long-ish
ride, but if you don't feel like going all the way, you can turn off at any
time. And yes, the ride will go through the night. All of the past Pizza
Rides have gone up until midnight--OR BEYOND. As with distance, if you don't
want to be out that late, turn off anytime.

Last year I snuck a hill in, and that caused some displeasure. This year I
will assure you there are no substantial hills, but be prepared for riding
long, and riding in some less-than-optimal environments.

Oh yeah, the route is secret, and we are not disclosing it, nor giving out
hints, so PLEASE DON'T ASK. Part of the fun of this ride is the mystery, where
will we end up next? Though if you've been on previous pizza rides, you can
probably guess where we'll end up!

HOW IT WORKS:
No Virginia, it's not about ordering a slice at each place. If everyone did
that, this is what would happen:
1) We would wait 30+ minutes at each stop for everyone to order
2) The pizzeria would run out of pizza
3) You would hit two stops, eat two slices, and then pass out

We are ordering pies IN ADVANCE of each stop. A fresh pizza will be waiting
for us. The pizza will be cut up into 16 slices--smaller than 8 or 12. You'll
eat less at each stop, but you will be able to ENDURE MORE!

To make everything run smoother, we'll only be ordering TWO TYPES OF PIES:
cheese and vegan (cheese-less with veggies.) If you want anything else or want
to eat more than your small slice, you'll have to order slices or pies on your
own. But be advised that we are not waiting up for you! We've got lots of
pizzerias to cover! (Unfortunately, no gluten or wheat free options this
time.)


WHERE ARE WE GOING?
I'm not telling you! ;-)
Snarkiness aside, I will let you know our FIRST TWO destinations. This is for
the people running late:
FIRST STOP: Give Pizza A Chance (food truck) SW Stark at SW 5th
SECOND STOP: Old Town Pizza, NW Couch and 3rd
We meet at Skidmore Fountain around 5:45pm, so first stop will probably be 6pm,
second stop 6:30pm. These times are estimates, if you go to the second stop at
6:30pm and we're not there yet, we're probably still at the first stop.

SUPER BONUS:
John over at Give Pizza A Chance brews lots of awesome sodas. In honor of this
ride, he is brewing for the first time ever BIRCH BEER. If you are from the
Northeast, you know what I'm talking about and you know how well it goes with
pizza! Bring a mason jar or growler and he'll sell you some of Birch Beer or
any other flavor he's got on tap!

WHAT YOU SHOULD BRING:
SMALL BILLS! i cannot emphasize this one enough! You'll be paying $1-2 at
each stop, and it's a lot easier to have some Washingtons or Sacajaweas (no
Loonies, please) rather than us (or the pizzeria) breaking your $20. It will
make your ride leaders lives a lot easier!

Mason Jar/Growler (if you want soda from Give Pizza A Chance)

A bike you can ride a long ways

Your appetite and endurance

TIPS:
To endure the longest, considering eating vegan pizza the whole night through.
Cheese will weigh you down and make you sleepy!

Beer seems so natural on a pizza ride. But those carbs will also slow you
down. Keep the beer consumption minimal to non-existent so you can go the
whole night.

So come along. I guarantee you'll have fun.

yours,
Shawn