I spent the weekend running errands. Saturday was mostly about the motorcycle. I bought and installed a new battery, which seems to have solved the starting problem; I also bought some new padded grips, and a new turn signal to replace the one I smashed a couple weeks ago, but have not had time to work on them yet.

Saturday night I rode over to Kirkland with my spare helmet and a leather jacket borrowed from Mez, got Ava comfortably situated on the pillion, and rode over to the Khammilot housewarming on 32nd. She’d never ridden on a motorcycle before, and I’d never taken a passenger, so it was a cautious, low-tempo ride, but everything worked fine. The housewarming was good – a couple dozen good friends relaxing in a well decorated space with good wine and a little music.

Sunday I ran errands for eleven straight hours, getting ready for Burning Man. In contrast to the last several years, I have done very little actual prep work for this year’s burn, so it was pretty much all down to this weekend. I picked up bikes, propane cylinders, paper towels, trash bins, foam pads, and a fancy combination fan/night light that sticks to the top of your tent with a magnet. Really. After the Fred Meyer trip I parked the Rover, hopped on my bike, and ran still more errands – Northgate, Capitol Hill, Ballard, back to Capitol Hill again…

A lightning storm developed over Bellevue. I roared north over the ship canal bridge on I-5 as the sky lit up with flash after flash. Warm air turned cool at 75 mph, approaching the end of a long day, the motorcycle purring happily, and a natural fireworks show – this is the life.