I just spent 4 days in the bicycle capital of the West Coast: Seattle.

I rode 200 miles on bike paths, city streets and county roads. It was great weather and the riders were out in droves. Recreational, commuters, Sunday riders, dread locks, mini skirts, students, pros, all of them were out there racing in the streets. Must have seen upwards of 1000 bikers. At least.

But seriously, I spotted less than 5 fixies/SS hipsters. That's it. Where are they all hiding? Is it just C&V paranoia, or what?

Also interesting was the amount of vintage steel on the roads, from rust heaps to immaculate. Almost outnumbered carbon.

On a different note: This morning while mashing up a steep hill in the U-district, at what I thought to be a pretty decent clip, I was unceremoniously passed by a skinny guy on a Grand Bois Porteur bike, complete with hammered SS fenders, cantilevers, trailer hitch and a huge load on the front rack. I mustered up a litttle extra oomph and caught up with him. After a few miles of talking I learned it was Jan Heine, author of The Golden Age of Handbuilt Bicycles.

Jan