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We spent one sunny Barcelona afternoon at the beach.  How can you go to the Mediterranean coast and not get in the water, right?  Plus, topless sunbathing y’all.  Dang.

In case there is any doubt:  the food in Spain is amazing.

We had  memorable meals at Carmalita’s, near our apartment and the park where we liked to take Bax, at a tapas bar in the Barri Gotic, at an amazing retaurant named Mooo near La Pedrera, and at a cooking class off La Ramblas.  Not to mention chicken curry sandwhiches in Ramblas de Raval and so much more.

Below are some pictures of the food in Barcelona, both in restaurants and the impressive open air market, La Boqueria.  Many of these pictures are of the cooking class Marie and I went to where we learned the secrets of Gaspacho, Spanish Tortilla, Bread with Tomato,

Pallala, and Creme Catalan.

Barcelona shops keep odd hours.  To make things more confusing, when the close the shops lower a sort of garage door down over the storefront completely blocking the entire store from view.  When all the stores are closed, as they are at siesta, a bustling and spendy street of boutiques turns into a deserted wasteland of dirty, grafittied steel doors.

However, some savvy shopowners and artists have come together to make certain doors into works of art.  Mary took time to get some of the better doors, along with other interesting street art from around the city, on film.

At the end of our trip to Barcelona we tacked on 2 days in London.  London is HUGE and crowded.  Our friend One day we saw the tourist sites: Trafalgar Square, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street (Spooks!).  The next day our friend Wayne showed us the everyday side of the city – Liverpool, Brick Lane, and Spitalfields.  Awesome.

Gaudi was the premier architect in the Modernisme school which was popular in the early 20th century. 

His design is amazing and Parc Guell, a country residence commissioned by one of his most wealthy and enthusastic patrons, is one of the most impressive examples of his abilities.

During the day the park fills with tourists, trinket hawkers and buskers.  It’s a really fun place to explore and relax.  Almost the entire crue was present on the day we went.

We returned from sunny Barcelona just last week.  What a beautiful city.  I wasn’t ready to leave.

The gallery below is full of general pictures from our stay.  Using the underground train system to get around, Baxter at the playground near our apartment, travel partners, Montjuic, the Arc de Triomph, the bull-fighting ring, the Gothic District, Ramlas de Raval, and many sights around the city.

I like Volvo’s and have had a few. Started with my ‘79 242, then Mary had a ‘98 V70XC. Then I got an ‘84 242 and traded it for a ‘95 855t. Then I got a ‘97 855R and sold it. Then Mary got a ‘01 V70XC. That brings us to today.

Titilating title, right?  For some time I have been thinking about the prevailing assumptions concerning the dangers of riding a motorcycle.  I am a cautious person by nature, and I believe that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but I also believe that life is meant to be lived.  If a hobby doesn’t quicken your pulse a bit then it probably isn’t worth the time.

There is a risk and reward, then.  I take on the risk of having an accident and hurting myself in exchange for the thrill, adventure, and satisfaction of the ride.  I reduce the risk by taking a host of precautions, which in my estimation do not come with a equal measure of reduction in reward.  In this way, these precautions actually improve my overall return.  For example, my helmet goes a long way in reducing the risk I take when I ride, and it doesn’t bother to wear it.  Risk = down, reward = equal, return = up.

However, to be completely honest with myself, I have to evaluate the entire risk proposition.  I am not a “hardcore” rider.  I might decide tomorrow that I simply want to pursue some other hobby.  If I do, I will sell my motorcycle and move on. 

That being the case, how much risk is really acceptable for a pastime I am only mildly committed to?  Especially when one aspect of the risk involved is the “ultimate price”?  How does one objectively weight the cost of death against the value of a thrill?  It’s impossible.  Instead, I have to compare it to other risks I take in my life and see how it lines up.  For instance, driving a car. 

Here is the theory I have been bouncing around in my head.  Statiscs show that riding a motorcycle is more likely to lead to a fatality or injury than driving a car.  However, what happens to those statistics if I impose the following rules on myself when riding a motorcycle:

1. Only ride during daylight hours.
2. Only ride when there is no rain and overall visibility is good.
3. Wear full protective equipment: Padded pants and jacket, boots, gloves, helmet.
4. Keep bike in good mechanical condition.
5. Never ride immediately after drinking.
6. Maintain a valid license.

These precautions must significantly reduce the risk of being in an accidnt that could cause injury or death.  Perhaps, I posit, even reduce the liklihood to a level similar to that of driving/riding in a car?

So I set about trying to find some statistics that would help support this theory.  Here’s what I found (mostly by way of the NHTSA, which you can Google if you would like to find original documentation on the numbers below).

According the NHTSA, in 2004 the involvement rate of an accident in a passenger car resulting in fatality was 19.14 per 100,000 and 1493 per 100,000 resulting in a non-fatal injury.  These corresponding rates for a motorcycle are 70.92 and 1215.  Worse, there’s is a 1.26% chance that accident will be fatal in a car, while there is a 5.5% chance of fatality when on a bike.  I don’t like that.

Already, I am more likely to be in an accident in a car than on my motorcycle!  Actually, not quite.  Because I am in a car far more often than I am on my bike, the result has to be weighted by miles travelled. 

In 2004, for a passenger car, there were 1.18 fatal accidents per 100 million miles traveled and 101 injury accidents.  For motorcycles, the corresponding numbers are 39.89 and 760.  Ouch.  Basically, I’m 35 times more likely to be in a fatal accident on my bike and 7.5 times more likely to be in an injury accednt.

But let’s take a look at those numbers objectively.  I ride about 1,000 miles per year on my bike.  As a result my chances of being killed in a particular year are about 1/2710 and my chances of being injured are about 1/131.  The corresponding numbers for my car, in which I travel about 10,000 miles each year are 1/8,450 and 1/99(this is all assuming my math is correct, which is suspect, but you get the point).

So what’s that mean?  It means that I’m 3 times more likely to be killed when riding my motorcycle instread of driving or riding in a passenger car, but considerably less likely to be injured.

That’s good to know (or not, as the case may be) but it doesn’t address my specific mitigation points.  Here are some stats I found related to those.

1. In 2004, 61 of the 4095 fatal motorcycle crashes involved alcohol.
2. In 2004, 431 of those 4095 were women.  Thats not me!
3. In 2004, only 3812 of those 4095 were riders with my kind of motorcyle (road bike).
4. In 2004, only 65% of accidents happened between 6 am and 6 pm.
5. In 2004, roughly half of those involved in a fatal motorcycle accident were not wearing a helmet.

Well, this is all helpful information but the math is too much to try and draw any specifc conclusions.  It is enough to say that between riding during daylight hours and wearing a helmet alone, the liklihood of being involved in an accident that causes me physical harm is reduced by probably around half. 

That still means that my chances of getting killed on my motorcycle are about 1.5x greater than driving/riding in a passenger car, although I am much less likely to be injured on my bike.

Hmm.  Mixed conclusion.  Suffice it to say riding a bike is not OUTRAGEOUSLY more dangerous than driving a car, as some would have you believe, though taking the proper precautions is necessary in order to make that so.

Here be a whole slough of videos from the years.  I think these date back to 2002 or earlier!

18 months already?  Inconceivable!

The last month or two have been busy for Bax and his ‘rents.  Marie took him to Boston, the Grandparents visited, we went on a boat ride on lake Washington, had a great 4th of July at his Auntie’s house.’

Check out these pics of the boy: