Rode Galbraith with Steve, who arrived late, and without his bike. So we had to go downtown to his store, The Great Adventure (which is about to close) and get it. Then he realized he had forgotten his shoes, so I loaned him my extra pair. Finally, about an hour later, we headed up the Ridge Trail and Candies to Arsenio. Steve had two deep, parallel gashes on his hip from his last ride, and his hand seemed to be bothering him a little too.

On the way down, we met a formidable woman hiker who turned out to be married to a member of the Bellingham City Council, and a powerhouse in the local greenways movement. She said when she first moved to B'ham from the San Francisco Bay Area she was death on mountain bikers, but she has changed her tune. I think her comments are representative of the cooperative spirit that predoninates in the local outdoor recreation and wilderness protection groups.

Curiously, the Developers' Doctrine of Divide and Conquer has been less successful in the backwaters of Whatcom County than in hyper hip Marin County. Development has not in any way been blunted, of course, just forced to accept a few totally reasonable compromises for the recreational benefit of all.

I think Steve and my chance encounter on a sunny afternoon on the Ridge Trail also highlights the small town nature of B'ham, where many of the movers and shakers know each other personally, and you are as apt to find yourself standing in line for a movie or jogging along the Interurban next to the mayor or the president of the university as anybody else.

Approximately 1400 verts.