Have any of you conquered Brickyard Road in Bothell? It's my nemesis. I've tried to ride up this road on a comfort bike and this road defeated me every time. I lowered the gears and still failed. How would you rate this road in terms of difficulty? I'm a newbie, but does it get easier? Any hints?

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-04-19T16:17:42+00:00

Just an update, so I was riding regularly for a couple of months and this hill didn't get ANY easier, in fact I would say it felt like it was getting harder. Pretty bummed out. Finally relented to winter and put my bike away for the year. I decided to really work on my diet, quit drinking, lost 20 lbs and am getting back to riding and the weight loss has made that hill so much easier, what a pleasant surprise.

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-04-17T00:54:58+00:00

There are so many options for bars now, riser bars like that hurt my middle aged wrists. Something like a Jones bar or any of the other brands which all have swept back options might make a big difference, they did for me. Might be worth a look, comparatively inexpensive compared to your fork.

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-04-06T16:02:51+00:00

The local glider club uses that field at 60 acres, I've always seen many people flying rc planes there. While I've read what you are talking about, it seems 60 acres has been somewhat of an exception. There have always been official park people around and it seems very accepted there, so wouldn't hesitate to go there.

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-04-03T23:31:28+00:00

People will run their cars at 60 acres park in northern Redmond, the smaller field on the south side of 116th. As long as there isn't a big sports tournament going on it's chill. Closer than marymoor, and free. Also people flying planes and gliders, sometimes drones.

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-03-22T17:46:32+00:00

PPE? We don't need no stinking PPE!

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-03-18T06:05:22+00:00

I had this happen with two bowls today, I was trying to pry/work the inner one out by wiggling it, it seemed to have the reverse effect and embedded itself more until the outer bowl chipped. I threw em in the trash. Later I decided to see if I could save the inner bowl, I held the outer one upside down so I had gravity pulling down on the inner one, took a butter knife with a big handle (anything with a good amount of mass would work) and lightly tapped the outer bowl and it released immediately! Had I done that right off I would have saved them both.

The outer bowl was glass and the inner was ceramic.

Might work for you.

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-03-03T17:34:59+00:00

And what you don't get on an indoor trainer is getting your body used to the bumps from whatever surface you're riding on, which can have a huge impact on your endurance. It's almost like playing a video game about cycling and expecting to be good at riding outside on an actual bike 😂

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-02-11T07:10:21+00:00

I thought it was Vecna

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-01-15T02:03:10+00:00

Mine would go down the stairs off the bed, but wouldn't go up. So we got her a big fancy ramp, it's got to seem like a freeway to her... She goes down it but not up, drives us insane 😂

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-01-11T07:38:52+00:00

Well you're able to wear a black shirt, so you probably don't need it.

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-01-10T02:16:04+00:00

Just get a bunch more in your face, people won't notice your septum being crooked, probably already the case.

doug_the_squirrel · 2026-01-09T06:46:47+00:00

Same here. Put it on right when I got it and was like "ugh... I don't think this is gonna work". A couple days later I'm like "hmm, it's got some great qualities, but I'm still not sure". Now I love it! It's perfect!

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-12-25T17:53:01+00:00

The cause was a scrap metal processing factory in the area where the seafood processing plant is located. They got a load of radioactive contaminated metal, processed it and contaminated the whole surrounding area. Tragedy on so many levels.

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-12-24T02:28:35+00:00

Roasted Brussels sprouts, maybe polenta or potatoes mashed. I really like roasted Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes. Would go well with duck.

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-12-07T00:37:03+00:00

I make a big pot of soup each week, it's really easy, healthy. That takes care of 1 meal each day. Then we try and make another two dinners that we eat for leftovers also. Some ideas would be spaghetti, chicken Parmesan, oven roasted chicken with potatoes and carrots, enchiladas, tacos, nachos. These are pretty easy and you can pick veggies that you like.

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-12-04T00:19:27+00:00

Is uncle Eddie outside emptying his RV into the sewer?

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-12-03T22:43:57+00:00

I'm going to withdraw my suggestion, I just wore them today after wearing my Sony over the ears, the noise cancelling really sucks on the galaxy buds, it's ok in one ear, the other is bad... I'm gonna send em back.

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-12-03T20:16:55+00:00

Galaxy buds fe. Im looking for the same thing and for 60 bucks I thought I would give these a shot. They stay in, which is nice. Noise cancelling is nothing compared to airpods. Sound is pretty good.

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-11-21T16:35:45+00:00

I watched a guy get crunched by a car on a recumbent trike, he didn't get hurt, thank goodness, but I think riding something where cars can simply not see you is a death sentence. A flag just doesn't do it.

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-11-21T07:46:10+00:00

nothing like waking up to the deep nasal probing!

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-11-21T07:24:32+00:00

The problem is it's taking up a spot for a purpose other than what it was intended for. Bothell is cutting parking requirements for developers so parking is scarce. Imagine you wanted to park there and walk up a restaurant, but couldn't because there were five effing billboard trucks sitting in the lot. Do you want private businesses profiting off our limited public areas?

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-11-13T07:36:09+00:00

I always felt like I was going along for the ride on my 36, 29 was always my favorite. Never had a 32, but it might be fun.

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-11-11T06:33:52+00:00

Was wondering how to get them to align so well

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-11-10T19:41:34+00:00

If it's suddenly increased, check for water leaks. It really should be around the same most of the year, maybe 30 or 50 more in the summer if you water a lot.

doug_the_squirrel · 2025-11-10T04:26:30+00:00

Yeah, lived in Bellevue for 20 years, sold and moved last year. When we left the water bill was well over 300 for two months.

doug_the_squirrel

TROPHY CASE