30 Days of Biking, Day 30: Happy!

I’ll say it: I’m not tired of “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.

We’ve been riding the whirlwind in our office for a while. Some of this has been caused by very NOT HAPPY problems with our technology that started in (brace yourself) mid-December and aren’t yet fully resolved. As I tried to wrap up some big items this evening before heading home after an extra-long day, I had to reboot yet again.

How fortunate, then, that I had a very happy ride home! And that much of our work comes from things that make us happy because new projects are ripening and we’re growing bicycling around the state.

Riding home at the end of a successful 30 Days of Biking (I did it!) and rolling into National Bike Month tomorrow I thought about a lot of happy, both from the ride and from what we’re working on:

The sunshine: incredible, amazing, beautiful, warm, wonderful.
I smelled lilacs along the ride. We have a sad little Charlie Brown lilac in our backyard so I especially appreciate everyone else’s blossoms.
Cycling Sojourner is published and it’s awesome. Great reviews are coming in, over 1,000 copies have already been spoken for out of a 6,000-copy printing, and our Kickstarter backers will be picking up their autographed copies tomorrow.
At a party. We lucked out on the calendar: Pioneer Square’s First Thursday celebration falls on May Day, which is also the first day of National Bike Month, and the forecast is gorgeous. (The only possible risk to the party is that you all decide to play hooky and go ride your bikes!)
But that won’t happen because you won’t want to miss out on the release of Schooner Exact’s Ale-Liance IPA (we changed the organizational name but couldn’t change the benefit beer name — it’s too good) and a chance to meet Cycling Sojourner author Ellee Thalheimer along with two members of the Washington riding/writing team, Josh Cohen and Steve Krippner. Ortlieb USA is sponsoring the event, and Jones Soda is providing the non-alcoholic thirst-quenching.
We have the official copy of Gov. Inslee’s proclamation of Bike Month in Washington to read at the event. So great to have a governor who rides and who appreciates the value of bicycling.
We have a fantastic special announcement. Stay tuned. Don’t touch that dial, don’t change the channel, don’t close this tab.
As we connect with advocates across the state we get to hear their success stories and we find more and more people working on great projects we can share as examples. Two just from today’s in-box: downtown Pullman’s new goal of increased bike parking with some of our members and a board member on the task force, and Visit Kitsap’s ideas to connect bike travelers with local farms where they could stop to use the bathroom and get a cold beverage.
The guy on Pike Street who opened the door of his SUV as I rode uphill toward him this evening did so slowly, with enough time for me to get out of the door zone, and he made eye contact and smiled.
When I rode by Roosevelt Reservoir I heard a little girl’s high, piping voice calling “hi!” to someone’s dog. Her voice took me back to when my two daughters were that age. I’m so lucky, and so happy, that through whatever warts and wrinkles life dishes out they’re both smart, funny, and caring young women.

That’s a big bag of happy no matter how you shake it up and mix it around.

One of the things I love about riding my bike is the time it gives me to reflect, make connections between different projects and ideas I encountered over the course of the day, notice things along the way that make me feel more plugged into the life of the place I live in, and realize — actively realize — how many things in my life make me happy.

A happy 30 Days of Biking to you, and here’s to National Bike Month!

30 Days of Biking

Your Turn

What makes you happy when you ride your bike?
Did you or didn’t you play the video?

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