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Posts by Adron

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by Adron

SEAFAB Cafe

I took the Sound Transit 542 over to University District today to check out some coffee shops, get some work done, and generally just hang out like I do. The first stop on my galavanting about Seattle today is at SEAFAB Cafe. I’ll start off, first with the negatives and then delve into the positives of this place. Wrap it all up with a rating and features of the shop.

Negatives

The first thing to note, is that the vast bulk of these negatives are just stupid car culture carbrain shit, bad infrastructure, and completely unrelated to the cafe itself. I’ll enumerate:

  1. The sidewalk is parked on. Yeah, that carbrain shit is in full force down here. The really stupid thing is, there is parking down here that is availbe right out front still, since people just park in what appears to be the side of the road that converges into a gravel lot.
  2. The bike infrastructure out on the main road here is decent, albeit dated PBL (Protected Bike Lane) that merges/egresses from the Burke Gilman Trail. This is a positive, but then it dumps you into this heavily parked road which is hellsihly confusing exactly where you should or shouldn’t really be with atrocious street and sidewalk amenities.
  3. Speaking of that, the parking situation for bikes is less than desirable. Which is oddly out of touch considering that Recycled Cycles is right next door, you’d think there would be better bike parking and sidewalk amenities considering, even if they were just kind of non-city standard stuff. But it’s instead this oddball rack and a few sign posts here and there. Of course, Recycled Cycles has some staple racks and such out front but the cafe doesn’t. So no biggie really, just something that ought to be improved.
  4. Ok, this is the only cafe related negative. Their stock of items in the fridge and their ice cream machine were just empty. It’s possibly the newness of things and they’re working on it, but it’s always a little unsettling when the counter space, equipped to hold items, is empty. Kind of gives you the “are they in business?” feeling.
  5. The wifi didn’t have internet access. It seemed a bunch of folks were working away on their laptops, so I suppose someone had internet access or they were just making due.

Positives

The positives outweight the negatives significantly.

  1. The music was chill. Albeit dated 70s-90s stuff, but if that’s in your wheel house, then good stuff.
  2. The coffee, very importantly, was good. I ordered a capaccino and a dirty chai, but where a good solid 8 out of 10. Good job SEAFAB!
  3. The vibe in cafe was super chill. Good spacing, seats, and the like, which just makes it easy if you’re going to do some laptop work or if you’re going to chill with some friends and talk, or even have a quick coffee or lunch meeting.
  4. I ordered some salmon avacado toast to spite out of touch right wing financiers spouting clout since I’m a home owner and it was really good! The food seems to be consistent, clean kitchen, and all that good jazz!
  5. Location is great, with lots of connected transit, easy to bike too (albeit the previously stated concerns) and the clientale seemed super chill too.

Ratings & Features

  • Electrical Sockets: Readily available with numerous around the entire cafe. Many literally on the top of the counter that rims the windows.
  • Wifi & Internet: I didn’t get the internet working, so I ended up tethering. This did make me depart a little earlier than I would have otherwise. I’ll be back again to check this out.
  • Seats: The where 3 comfy chairs and everything else was modern standard metal and wood. Impressive considering most cafes and coffee shops these days are just hard uncomfortable chairs everywhere!
  • Prices: The prices seemed pretty average, not expensive but nothing cheap.
  • Lighting: Good lighting and good places to shield your laptop from errant sun when needed.
by Adron

Talking Bakfiets

Recently I was out running errands on my R & M Load 75. I’d stopped by my storage unit to drop off a few crates of things that didn’t need to be sitting around my garage. Then I’d headed over to Village Square Cafe for a diner like breakfast.

Then went about seeing if I could find a plugin somewhere to charge my bike, as my charge was low. I had my spare battery set just for good measure, but I was down to ~35% because I’d forgotten to charge the bike earlier the previous night. So I didn’t technically need a charge but I figured it would be nice to charge up if I could. Albeit, something I’m astutely aware of now, is that there are next to zero publicly accessible outlets in Redmond. Not really surprising, electricity isn’t cheap, but I was sure I’d seen a few I could *borrow* a charge from. 😬

In the end, that would be kind of stealing, but places also let you easily charge your laptop, albeit that’s negligible vs. two monster bike batteries. Still not charging an excessive multi-ton car, but substantially more than I presume most places to want to offer for free.

Anyway, I didn’t find one but I did go rolling into the Town Center and met Nina (Spelling?) as she walked right up to me and inquired about the R&M Load 75. After discussing for a few minutes I hope to see her riding about on a new Load 75 in the near future with her kiddo! It’d be great to have more company over here on the east side in the bakfiets community!

On that note, I’m going to finally get around to setting up a bakfiets meet here on the east side, stay tuned over @ https://bakfiets.bike/ to get that notification (i.e. subscribe for email and you’ll get notified in your inbox). So far this year has started off a bit nuts and with the closure of G&O a few months ago it really threw me off for starting the bakfiets meets!

Eastside Link Light Rail

One of the places I’ve started frequenting to work in, as it’s nice and large, plenty of seats, is the Dote at Redmond Technology Station. Two issues, which is kind of standard for Microsoft, is that they get places like this on campus but then don’t really truly open them up to the public. They don’t offer a public wifi but sometimes have the public Microsoft account that you can use. But that’s a bit sketch, to which hopefully Microsoft sorts that out with the private businesses that they invite onto campus to operate but then make them operate as pseudo private establishments. A coffee shop in this modern era has wifi, so come on Microsoft, let em’ have truly public usable wifi!

But I digress, wifi aside, it’s a really interesting location. Super chill to work there, however I am concerned it stays open over time considering the current state of light rail opening (it’s partially open).

The starter line, as it has been dubbed, runs from Redmond Technology Station to Bellevue South. The key population center it runs through is Bellevue, which provides some anchor to a degree, albeit very few people seem ready to use it in Bellevue and as many in the area know, Bellevue is about as auto-dependent and pedestrian friendly as a parking lot. There are parts of it that are nice but overall it isn’t really acclimate to walking or to using transit, sadly enough. It’ll get there one day, considering the transit center and routes, but overall the people here are a bit myopic about the whole situation – so far.

That’s it for today’s thoughts, back into introspection.

by Adron

Brass tacks review after 416 days of owning and riding the hell out of a Riese & Müller Load 75!

In this VLOG episode I give you a straight up brass tacks review of where I am with my Riese & Müller Load 75, the fun the trials and tribulations and my recommendation on purchase.

  • 0:21 Start of monologue on my Riese & Müller Load75.
  • 1:33 The basic run down of what I bought, back when I bought the bike. Key parts plus additional recent additions, including the trailer and all.
  • 2:00 The trailer and trailer hitch addition.
  • 2:20 Continuing the run down on drive train, battery arrangement, display, blinkers button for helmet blinkers, and hub.
  • 3:40 Even though I don’t have trouble with my hub/gear (so far) my recommendation is…
  • 3:53 The break down of the brake system and the breakage that happened with top reservoir leak.
  • 5:15 Discussing hills, hill climbs, distance, and use of a bike like this among the numerous hills.
  • 6:45 Discussing the front form and suspension, and their lack of rust on mine.
  • 7:22 The puncture in the foot well.
  • 7:30 The impacts on the steering bar.
  • 8:40 Discussing riding at the weight limit, something I’ve done a number of times.
  • 9:20 My main missions: kid hauling, grocery getting, hauling guitar and amp equipment, carrying records, and more.
  • 9:52 Income and suggestion to buy or not to buy an Riese & Müller Load75.
  • 11:44 My recommendation.
  • 12:20 Maintenance, strong maintenance suggestions.

Recorded a VLOG on this topic too, you can watch that here.

by Adron

Riese & Muller Load 75 – Speed Fluctuations Issue & Resolution

Recently while riding home from Seattle a strange behavior occurred. Everything seemed ok for the first few minutes. But then while heading out of the Seattle tunnel over I-90 onto the long I-90 downhill bridge stretch towards Mercer Island, I reached 45kph and was getting speeds displayed that would bounce from zero up to the speed I was going. As this was happening, when it went below the e-assist speed, it would attempt to give me pedal assist at these higher speeds. But just for a second or two. Since I usually pedal going downhill for that extra speed, this was somewhat disorientating.

I wasn’t sure what the deal was, something was obviously off, and as I rode up into the hills I kept getting odd speed fluctuations, even when I was traveling a steady speed. I thought, maybe this is because I’m pulling a trailer this time. Even though that didn’t really make sense.

I rode the 28 kilometers home and set about writing an inquiry to my local bike shop. With a thorough description sent off I went about other activities waiting for a response. In short order I got a response and they asked where the magnet was positioned on the wheel that feeds the speed sensor. I knew what that was, but wasn’t sure how the positioning for it should be. I took a few shots, shown in the grid of images below, and to note – this is the WRONG position.

The informed me where it should be. It should be closer to the sloped from part of the sensor. I grabbed a trusty Phillips and loosened up the magnet and slid it over about 4 millimeters. Back to the trails for a hill climb and decline!

A few minutes later, I’d confirmed, that mere itty bitty little 4mm is exactly what was causing the problem. Whew! Relief. Off to get some more miles in and get some pick ups done! 🤙🏻

Props: Thanks Dandelion Bikes Crew!

by Adron

Record Recon Seattle (Metro Area): Mission 1

This post, and VLOG, details the adventures of my first record recon. A set of missions I discussed some time ago and am only now getting around to BLOGing VLOGing them! But hey, better late than never!

This, mission 1, involves traversing the Cross Kirkland Corridor, originating from Redmond and ending in Bellevue so that I can get recon data on Vortex Music & Movies and Silver Platters.

The following video of the logistics, the trip to Vortex, and then from Vortex to Silver Platters along with some thoughts on the pedestrian unfriendliness of the area. Continue reading for maps & more specifics of the trip plus links to the individual record store reviews.

Vortex Music & Movies (Video Review)

Let’s dig in to where this all starts. First, I’ll be departing from home via Education Hill as usual. From there it’ll be a short jaunt down a private road to catch the Sammamish Trail for a distance so short it’s barely worth counting! Next, a turn down 116th to Willow Road, then a turn at the intersection of madness at 124th and Willows Road. There it is the beginning of the hill climb up to the first point to cross over 124th and join the Eastrail Trail onward.

Once you get here, near the Totem Lake Park (Natural Area?), turn and traverse the wetlands on the raised trail. (Check the video to see what it looks like, I show some of it.) Then it’s 120th, to 128th, to 116th (I know, confusing, check the map, it’s actually pretty straight forward.) Then into the strip mall and you’re basically there.

Silver Platters (Bellevue) (Video Review)

The next stop is a local music store chain with locations in Lynnwood and SODO. This involves traveling back down 120th NE and merging back on to Eastrail. From there traveling all the way south to 52nd and dropping down to Lake Washington Drive.

An aside: This section of trail is also referred to as the Cross Kirkland Corridor. However the rail to trails sections that are being converted to trail run from Nakashima Barn in Skagit County, south through to Snohomish, then there’s a big unfinished gap that is in the works, then resumes in Woodinville, merges into the Sammamish Trail through Redmond and into Kirkland, then continues even further south to Renton and beyond. It’s a very very long, and gorgeous trail. Numerous segments aren’t finished, but the Kirkland segment is done and usable to interconnect to many points in the area.

Lake Washington Drive eventually becomes Bellevue Way where Silver Platters is located. Getting to this location via bike was less than stellar. As you can see in the VLOG there were a number of times I ended up traveling in the streets and snaking in and out of cagers stuck at their lights or just sitting in traffic stuck. Mind you, this is just standard daily traffic too, it wasn’t like I was taking this trip at rush hour!

But I digress, made it over to Silver Platters with relative ease. In spite of the less than ideal riding conditions for that last little stretch, the majority of the trip over there was stunningly beautiful. If you haven’t been on the Cross Kirkland Corridor section of the Eastrail you should find time in your busy schedule to get over there. The views of the lake and of Seattle in the distance plus so many other things makes for a very enjoyable trip.

Summarized Ride

In this VLOG and blog I’ve shared my experience of my first mission in the record recon series, where I explore local music stores. Starting from Redmond heading to Totem Lake, then I embarked on a journey along the Cross Kirkland Corridor to Bellevue, aiming to gather recon data on Vortex Music & Movies and Silver Platters. The video captures the logistics of my trip, highlighting the pedestrian-unfriendly areas and the scenic beauty of the route. Despite the challenges, the trip was visually stunning, especially the Cross Kirkland Corridor section of the Eastrail, showcasing breathtaking views of Lake Washington and Seattle. Hope you enjoyed the ride about, and if you’re interested in the record store reviews, and summary of what albums I picked up here is a list to those posts with VLOGs.