Life Partners is a short essay series where Kinfolk employees, friends and family share whatever’s on their mind. This week we have an extra special collection of dispatches from Kinfolk Studios’ employee and Kinfolk sponsored rider Shawn Wolf, who writes about his trip to Seattle for the 2013 North American Cycle Courier Championships.
Read about Shawn’s arrival and his semi-disastrous race around Seattle’s downtown library in Part 1 here.
Day 2 Thursday
The day started a little late for all of us. Jake didn’t have to work so we all slept in. When we finally got up we made it out to one of my favorite spots, “The Bridge to Nowhere,” an under-developed, unused highway exit ramp that serves as the location for the uphill sprints. I spent time catching up with friends I rarely see cause my gear ratio wasn’t really suited for the uphill battle.
After staring at boats for too long and chatting I was getting restless. I gathered a group of friends and we all made the plunge off the bridge into the dark waters below. Later that night there was an Alleycat called the Americat. It started at the bridge to nowhere and ended at Anarchy Point. Jake knew a sweet vegan BBQ so we opted out and ate instead. While we were eating though we saw the pack go by with Hern riding solo. In the end the out of towner Hern won!
The mighty Hern (photographed by John Daniel Reiss)
That night was the glorious 4th of July. I joined my hosts for a firework display over lake Union. It wasn’t dark until 10:30pm so the walk to the park had an E.T. kind of feel. With the events of the day and this comforting erie vibe my opinion of Seattle was turning for the better. We went to Anachey Point to meet up with everyone. My friend Chas had just got into town so after some fireworks we packed Chas into the car and went home.
Day 3 Friday
Friday was all set to be a chill day of side events in a park. We started our day at Victrolla, a great shop around the corner from Jake’s house. After quad americanos and bike talk we realized we were all hungry. We set out for breakfast and stumbled on a standoff between Seattle’s finest and a lone gunman in an apartment across from the brunch spot. Later we heard report of the police shooting and killing the man. Seattle’s police don’t fuck around and I’ve heard stories of cops breaking necks in cases of mistaken identity.
After brunch we made it to the park where polo, footdown and quicklock comps took place. Hern and I got distracted by the skate park in the background. Riding bowls on track track bikes is the best. The night ended with a bang, or a slow leak as it were for me. An alleycat went down with a debateable result… Jake won (Or should have), but I caught a flat just as the race started. A shitty foreshadowing of things to come…
Stay tuned for the epic conclusion to Shawn’s SEANACCC experience including the main event itself!