Still got it!

It felt so good to get back on the bike! Yesterday was a little misty in the morning, but I didn't mind at all. My legs felt a little bit out of shape after almost a week off! It was good to pass by familiar people and places and feel the light breeze in my face. One lady even complimented my bike and then when I said thanks, she thought I was someone named Kristin that she knew and I had to disappoint her. I was looking forward to riding home too, but my thoughtful and caring husband was already at UW to pick me up since it had been pouring rain where he was.
This morning, when I got to the train and had to wait a while again I began to ponder where all the people came from. You should see it! Whenever there is no train there, it seems like there's just a few pedestrians and maybe one or two other bikes and me. When the train is there holding everyone up, the people begin to pile up like a school of fish trying to squeeze through one little hole in the wall. The bikers backing up make sense, since bikers go at many different paces and so I wouldn't regularly see so many at once. The pedestrians though, do not make sense. A lot of them look pretty old and like homeless war vets or something like that. They all seem to be in the area around the same time each morning, some smoking cigarettes alone, others walking with a cane and talking to themselves or ranting in pairs. They seem to be dropped off right in front of the Coast Guard Exchange and Warehouse and thus in close proximity to the train and the stadiums not far in the distance. Where do these men (they are always just men) sleep? Do they have homes? Are they homeless or all staying at a shelter? Are they military vets? Does the Coast Guard have something to do with them? Needless to say, I am very curious about these people. I'm also curious about what goes on at that Coast Guard base. I sometimes have seen young men dressed in their uniform blues and USCG baseball hats (a little less formal looking than the other military branches) walking to the site. Lately there have been lots of them standing around in what looks like a bus shelter inside their gates shooting the shit and smoking. These thoughts kind of stay with me all the way to UW this morning.
As I ride home today, I'm kind of sad. I know I can continue to ride and write, but today was my last day of this program (for the summer...I still have six Saturdays of it during the school year). Since it was the last day of my program, it also means the last official day of my bike ride adventure and of this blog. I will try to keep it up, but I can not guarantee. It was a great last ride. There were three main highlights. First, as I cheated again and took the elevator down I chatted with a lovely couple. They commented on taking the easy way down and I laughed and said, "it's cool. I don't mind cheating. I'm not ashamed!" Second, I got whistled at by a trucker! Yea baby...still got it. haha. And last, as I was riding by the fishing area down by the shipyards, a little boy shouted out "HEY!" at me and when I smiled at him, he smiled back. And...I rode all the way up the big hill. In all, I traveled about 165 miles in three weeks by bike. I saved gas and didn't pay for parking (except for one day). I hope I find another excuse to ride regularly. It's been fun.