Wonder why so many people still drive cars?

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Mount Vernon traffic during festival.

Earth Day 2006 opened with my radio proposing the US seize Iraqi oil fields. Talk show host John Rothman offered this suggestion on his 1AM show over KGO in San Francisco.

It was basically "tough in cheek." Not fully serious, but got people talking. Proposal called for taking over the oil fields to get production going. Flood the world market with oil, bring down the price of gasoline and use the proceeds to pay for the Iraq war. Said war now costing 10 billion per month.

Rather than just beet around the bush, actually take over the oil fields and run them with American personal.

Of course it got many callers to propose better conservation measures instead.

By late morning (that same 24 hour period), I was awaken to the sound of a traffic accident outside my window. A fender bender, but no one hurt. NPR's "Car Talk" on was playing on my radio at the time.

Might as well get up, now that the accident has awaken me. I was planning to do a bike trip to Anacortes, WA. to check out the Thompson Trail.

50 cents got me and my bicycle to Mount Vernon, WA. on the County Connector bus. A beautiful ride, but traffic was so bad in Mount Vernon that the bus could not get into the transit terminal. It sat on the access ramp inching forward and then stopping again.

It was the annual Mount Vernon Street Fair. Traffic was clogged. Maybe people should have biked, or taken the bus. Can't beat it for 50 cents all the way from Bellingham (23 miles).

Finally the bus driver said, "might as well get off here." Passengers got off. I got my bike and we walked into the terminal leaving the bus stranded in festival traffic.

Bicycling out of Mount Vernon, traffic thinned as I took McClean Road west of town. Got to Anacortes and the Thompson Trail. It was very good. Then bicycled all the way back to Bellingham after the buses stopped running.


Passed the Skagit Speedway along old highway 99.

Pretty good shoulder most of the way and traffic is light as long as they all stay parked at the speedway. If you enlarge image, the word "speedway" appears.

After a nice day of riding, about 60 miles total, I stopped by Sanello's Pizza in South Bellingham. Had plenty to eat with practically no guilt.

Check out my photos of the Thompson Trail in Anacortes.