2002-04-07

Encounter with a bear

It wasn't long ago when the land east of Seattle and Lake Washington was farm land and forests with a few small towns scattered about. It has grown rapildy and though I have been here only four years I have seen significant changes in that short time. There are new roads, new housing developments, new strip malls and gas stations. Apartment and condo developers hire teenagers to stand outside and wave signs to attract business. Everywhere you look more land is cleared to make room for construction. It's growing fast, certainly too fast for nature to find new homes for the animals who live here.

I see raccoons investigating a garbage can at night and deer walking through a neighbor's carefully tended flower bed. There are coyotes here, many of them, and it isn't safe to leave your housepets out at night. My cats aren't permitted to go out but they are clever and discovered how to jump from the bedroom balcony to the deck off the kitchen to the flower planter and then to the ground. Toto, who was so innocent she never imagined there was anything bad in the world, was killed by a coyote. Cujo was older and wiser and survived by hiding in the bushes.

My house in Bellevue is near a place called Cougar Mountain. The name isn't just for flavor. Deb has seen a cougar walking down the street in the morning hours. Last year I saw a young black bear along the new Lakemont road; only a few blocks from houses and I-90.

I saw him again today but I didn't have my camera. I've got to get in the habit of always carrying the camera! I sped to a nearby convenience store and bought a disposable. I hoped he would still be there and when I returned there he was, calmly munching on berries, minding his own business and completely unaware of the excitement he stirred in me. I took this picture from about fifty feet away. He didn't seem to be bothered by my presence but he kept an eye on me. I didn't want to provoke him by getting closer and I didn't want to venture far from my bike in case I had to make a quick getaway. After a few moments he got up and and walked into the bushes.

The pictures from the disposal camera didn't come out well. From now on I will carry my digital camera with me.

Very soon I will have four motorcycles but no car. The Miata is up for auction on Ebay. I will miss it but I'll be gone for most of the year and it wouldn't be good to leave it sitting outside (the garage space goes to the bikes.) The Miata is a great car but it holds an amusing irony for me. I found that if it was nice enough to take the top down it was nice enough to ride a motorcycle so I only rode the Miata in bad weather. As my crusty friend Fred would say, in an almost lyrical voice, "That doesn't make any sense!"

The rain and cold no longer intimidate me. My collection of riding gear has improved and keeps me well insulated and dry. The BMW R1150RT, with its fairing and adjustable windscreen, provides superb weather protection. The heated handgrips are surprisingly effective. I have an electric vest and just recently bought an electric jacket too. The electric drug is addictive and once you try it you'll find there's no going back. You wonder how you ever got along without it. I can ride all year 'round and nothing stops me but ice. Will I buy another car? I wonder if I can go without one.

I bought the R1150RT last summer and it's just passed 7,500 miles today. At 6,000 miles the tires were starting to become squared-off. The tread in the center was worn but the edges looked almost new. That was disappointing and I knew the RT was capable of better. It's no sportbike but it's not a luxo-touring barge either. It handles well, much better than its size would suggest, and I never had any reason to doubt its capability. Did I not trust it enough or did I not trust my own ability? I resolved to do better and 1,500 miles later I am satisfied to see the edges becoming well worn. My confidence in the RT and in myself has improved. It will be time for a new set of tires soon but that will wait until I get back home. One month from today I will be on my way to China and there is still much to do before I go.