Friday, September 18, 2009

Morning wood

It’s the little things that make bike commuting so much fun. Slalom turns between goose turds on the trail. Zipping past the shopping carts under the covered entrance to Costco long before the store opens. And all the little things you’d miss if you were in a car.


This morning, I got strange enjoyment from these piles of smoldering wood chips. With cores of rotting wood generating heat, and the outside temperature near 40 degrees, these little babies were steaming out their summits like a couple of stratovolcanoes.

I found this highly entertaining, and shot some pictures as motorists zoomed by without noticing this little display of nature's explosive fury. The photos elicited a slightly less enthusiastic response when I showed them to someone at my office.

I guess you just had to be there.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I pass a similar mountain of wood chips every morning, and they also steam when the outside air temperature drops.

Near the chips is a small sign labeled "bark", so of course I bark at it every morning.

WheelDancer said...

Hmmm, I thought this post would be about something else but the wood chips are very cool.

Jeff Moser said...

Before I started bicycle commuting, I would see fantastic stuff to photograph out the car window! Unfortunately, going 70mph prevented looking at it for more than a split second, and pulling off the freeway usually wasn't an option. It's nice to be able to stop anytime you feel like it on a bike. Life at 15 mph!

Lisa T said...

Love it! Just found your blog. Can't wait to hear about your winter adventures. They'll be a constant reminder to shut up and ride my bike when I start complaining that it's cold here in CA.

Grill Meister said...

That's the best thing about bike commuting. You can enjoy the sites of the route. Driving all you can afford to watch are other cars. My route always skirted through parks and by lakes just to get away from the cars and enjoy the wild life and scenery the drivers can't.