The ‘Ham could get me in on Thursday

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing in the mirror. Then again, maybe I could. In spite of the freshly-repainted double yellow lines, and the Harley coming the opposite direction, some idiot in a gray Audi TT roadster blew past the car behind me, and was looking to get by me as well.

I dove for the fogline and squeezed both brake levers hard, coming to a complete stop. The Harley rider dove likewise, extending a middle-finger salute to the Audi driver, who just waved.

A part of me was really hoping to see wreckage of a gray Audi TT roadster wrapped around a tree as I resumed my ascent of Chuckanut Drive, but that line about God looking out for fools must have been true here.

Weather in western Washington has been unnaturally sunny and warm lately, making the prospect of a trip to Bellingham a delightful one. I now know the way by heart, the sticky notes with the reminders to make the right, then left in Warm Beach and take the uphill right in Stanwood (click on “Maps” on the menu bar, then “Seattle to Bellingham”) unnecessary.

The manure smell in the Stillaguamish Valley was seriously diminished, but it’s getting close to harvest time now. The corn, in fields helpfully marked with signs that say “Corn,” is considerably taller than when I rode up for the Hamster Run in July.

The fresh produce stalls were doing a good business (even the one offering farm-fresh halibut), but the one advertising Immodest Ice Cream is nowhere to be found. Dang! Maybe the cows are on vacation.

Miles-to signs are pretty much nonexistent on the route, so you have to use geographical points. Towns, farms, road junctions. While progress is much faster this time, I’m on a bit of a schedule. Getting to Bellingham sooner might get my business taken care of sooner, and get me back on the road home sooner.

Luckily, the jerk did his thing in a place where you can’t see Samish Bay. The fleeting views between the trees just make me want more, but I know if I stop at a viewpoint I won’t want to leave. I’m not inclined to believe in an afterlife, but if it turns out I’m wrong, I hope one option from the Eternity Catalog might be an unobstructed view of Samish Bay. I don’t even need a custom McMansion, a yurt to sleep in would be fine. Assuming you still need to sleep in the afterlife.

I get to Fairhaven in plenty of time for my appointment at Chispa. I reflect on the fact that I arrived in Bellingham half an hour sooner than on previous trips. And got passed only twice, because I was doing the speed limit. I called on Tuesday for an appointment to do a 3,000-mile service and fit a new rear tire, and they said they could do it on Thursday. Today.

And while they were at it, they were able to take care of the exhaust-pipe recall.