green

I rode my bike to work today for the first time; here’s the report:

I left the house at 6:15am.

There’s very little traffic on the road at 6:15am.

Everybody starts driving at about 6:30am.

The route from Culver City to the Getty is practically all uphill. Seriously.

One of those hills is really, really, really steep. And long.

Just because I walk my bike half way up a really, really, really steep hill, that doesn’t mean I’m wussing out.

I begin to fantasize about my commute home.

An adorable opossum waddled across my path today – he had really big ears!

Parts of Westwood Blvd. have recently been repaved; it still smelled strongly of asphalt.

I didn’t encounter many other cyclists on the road. There was:

1. black-t-shirt-and-no-helmet-riding-on-the-sidewalk-the-wrong-way guy
2. black-t-shirt-and-glasses-with-helmet-going-too-fast-on-the-sidewalk-the-wrong-way guy #2
3. purple-tank-top-with-neon-green-windbreaker-and-saddlebags-pro-commuter woman
4. black-t-shirt-and-pants-walking-his-bike-up-an-incline-scruffy-blonde man

I was passed at one point by a teal-colored Toyota pick-up and briefly thought TT might be tailing me (it was just some guy – in a black t-shirt. What is it with the black t-shirts today?)

Sepulveda was not as bad as originally expected. There’s that stretch near the cemetery that was lined on either side with those big semi trucks, parked out into traffic just enough to make the right lane inaccessible to cars. This essentially transforms the right lane into a huge bike lane. The drivers were waiting for “the signal” to leave, grabbing a smoke or a snack from Jennie’s roach coach. Everyone was friendly and cordial, just hanging out before the day begins. By the time you get past them, you’re at Montana and then it’s a juke over to Church Lane.

Did you know that northbound Church Lane is one long steady incline? It is!

Church Lane smells like plants.

I paused three times during the trip – once at the top of the really, really, really steep hill, once after the second set of hills on Westwood (I was supposed to turn left at Wilshire – duh), and once at the end of Church Lane.

I arrived at the South Gate kiosk at 7:20am.

According to www.BikeMetro.com, the total elevation gain for the trip is about 500 feet (and just shy of 8 miles long).

Security Dog was hanging out in her crate at the south gate. Dog remained calm at my approach. Good dog.

There are several bike racks in the South Building parking lot. I saw a fun green bike with big skinny wheels and a basket; I wonder whose it is?

The shuttle from the south gate to the top of the hill begins at 7:45am (I got a ride up with a security officer).

My legs were a little wobbly when I first got here, but they’re better now.

The L3 locker room/showers were fine – they’ve got a huge shower stall with room enough for your clothes and bags at one end, so it’s like a private shower/changing room. No-one was there, so I had the place to myself.

I really need to remember to bring a towel next time. Doh!

I am excited about filling in today as a bicycle commuting day on my eBlueCard.

From the TMTOMH department, here’s a project that uses 12 miles of yarn…yikes.

Here’s a fascinating grass-roots campaign to encourage the re-publishing of Herbert Niebling’s lace patterns.

Never heard of Herbert Niebling? Neither had I, but his patterns are pretty amazing. Here’s a link with 5 pages of photos of completed projects.

Why the campaign? Here’s a response from Susan Reishus, one of the organizers:

One can get Herbert Niebling’s patterns, but often singly, and for anywhere from double initial price (sometimes because of European shipping), to $200-300 US. Many of them were originally written early in the last century, and there are alot of them. It is alot of work and expense to acquire a few of them singly, and would be wonderful to have all of them available as a collection, so that many other knitters could share in their beauty. Perhaps a “Best of Burda” would include not only his, but other designers as well.

Many people don’t know about Niebling’s work, particularly in the US, or those who are newer to knitting. The only way we can make them available to the public in a bigger way, is for Burda to republish a collection, and it will take numbers to convince Hubert Burda of this. There is a resurgence of lace knitting in the States, that isn’t as strong in Europe, so they might not be aware of the increased demand.

I hope we can all let friends and other lists know about this mission so all can benefit…often they haven’t seen Niebling’s works, and they surpass many of the designs most lace knitters have seen.

Thank you for doing your part, one and all!

Best,
Susan Reishus

And in other news, a cautionary tale. Remember, ther are plenty of ways to obtain yarn – please don’t go down the same road…

Completed: June, 2006
Bernat cotton tots
100% cotton
Needles: US 10.5

This is the second pattern I knit from Mason-Dixon Knitting, a book for which I have great affection. This was so blindingly simple even I could do it. AND, it was yet another opportunity for me to put a dent in my cotton tots stash (which had grown absurdly large after the popcorn blanket and weekend pullover proejcts. My fear of running our of yarn is really getting out of hand).

This makes a great addition to your bathroom floor. I triple-stranded the yarn, so it went SuperFast, it has good heft and a nice thick, springy feel underfoot. Decadence for cheap!

Tank Cozy!

And what I’ve heard anecdotally was a possible inspiration for the work (although I’ve not verified this)

Yes, and whimsical they are.

Amigurumi means “knitted or crocheted doll,” and if you’re into Japanese crafts, you’ve probably at least seen photos of Japanese amigurumi books. They’re beautiful, and the dolls are adorable.

The current issue of Crochet Me has a bunch of articles to tell you everything you wanted to know about amigurumi but couldn’t find out because you don’t read Japanese.

Kawaii!