Rider Alert: Please Be Careful

Here's an article for you:
http://www.economist.com/node/21528302 
And, to the asshole who almost hit my husband yesterday, it's not okay.

September First: The Shirts Are In

Our Destination:  Pizzeria Pulcinella

The Day:  Thursday Sept. 1

The Time:  leaving Madison Valley right about 6pm as it was a bit longer jaunt (10 miles each direction)

I feel almost as if there should be two posts for this stage because we had two teams of bikers both of which had an amazing trip down to South Lake for some certifiably (seriously) Neapolitan pizza. So, feel free to share your own experience in the comments if you wish.  Beautiful day to say the least and our bike ride was right on the lake for approximately half of the way there.  Right about the time we past Flying Squirrel Pizza we started to wonder whether it was going to be worth it.  

But it was.  It really was.  The atmosphere is unassuming.  The anti-pasta was a plate of yummy picked treats.  And the pizza was classic and very tasty.  There was a tandem locked to the stair rail.  Given that it's a little late in the season other bikers on the road were very fit and the sun went down pretty early, so we left pretty quick after eating to make the most of dusk.  What a great ride.

This was the scary kitty we saw on the way home.  It literally appeared out of nowhere  at Malaika's feet.  At least two of us gave a little shriek.

August Twenty-fourth: Kylie's Chicago Pizza

No surprises here, just some good deep dish pizza.  Excellent bike ride to Fremont for a flat stage in the bike to pizza series.  A bit of the wait made the pizza taste extra good, and we got free drinks out of the deal!
There were only three of us this go around so we didn't attempt to finish the large pizza.  Instead, we tied it down to the rack on the back with a string that the waitress cut from her apron.  Oh yes we did.

August Eighteenth: Northlake Pizza

A stage for the sprinters!  Another beautiful day for the bikerizzas.  I have to admit, ducking into this pizzeria that has no windows was a little tough on a beautiful day.  But, boy-o-boy, the pizza was good.

This was a classic, checked tablecloth and stick to your vinyl seat, type pizzeria.  No one could really identify what "type" of pizza it was.  It wasn't NY style, or Chicago style pizza, or any other type that any of us could really put our finger on.  So, we decided that this may be Seattle style pizza.  Rather than measuring by size, they identify their small, medium, and large pizzas by weight. We built our own pizza, half veg and half sausage.  The crowd was eclectic and there was live music! Unfortunately, the video didn't turn out. 

It was dark out by the time we rode home.  This is a telling sign. As was the suggestion and discussion about what exactly we will do during the winter...bike to hot pot?!

The results of polling to come soon.

August Tenth: Bar del Corso

 Stage Three on Beacon Hill.  We read about Bar del Corso in the paper, and thought we'd give it a shot.  Any place that builds their own oven must have a little promise, no?

Most found the bike TO pizza mostly enjoyable.  The guest of honor, Gabriel Herrera led the bike train up and through Beacon hill.  We even got a shout out from a family as we passed by "yay bikers woo hoo!" And they clapped!

Never-the-less, the bike FROM pizza received higher scores.  It was a party of bikerizzas, and it was down hill.  What could be better?




Pizza and beverage quality earned the highest score possible from all bikerizzas.  100% satisfaction.
 This was my favorite pizza.  Fiore di Zucca.  Basil pesto, zuchini flowers, grilled zuchini, carmalized onions, mozzarella, and grana.  Whoa.

We cut our own pizza.

July Twenty-Fifth: Fly to Pizza - Zavino Philidelphia, PA

Well folks, this is not officially or even unofficially part of the summer bike to pizza series.  However, given the quality of the pizza and the corn salad, I know that bikerizzas would go bonkers for this place. 

On the soil of where our nation first unified by signing the constitution...the very fabric of our nation and presumably our love for pizza, or eating, or both...no?


Ok, I'll get to it.  It was a sweltering 97 degrees, and humid.  Zavino was air-condition which was the first plus.

Root-beer flavored cocktail. Fail.  That's what I get for ordering booze in a wine bar.
Roasted Corn Salad with cherry tomatoes.  Probably the best salad I have EVER had.  Yes, ever.

I'm noticing now, that I didn't actually take a photo of the pizza. Ahem.  But, here's a couple shots of their philosophy and their menu is above. 

I had "The Stache" pizza. Pistachio pesto, fior di latte, parmigiano reggiano, meyer lemon vinaigrette, and baby arugula.  It was the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, tangy, ohhh yum!

July Seventh: Big Mario's Pizza on Pike

Well, I'm a little behind on the posting. But, I can give a big hoot to Big Mario's Pizza on Capital Hill. The destination and chosen neighborhood was a tip of the hat to Viju who since has left the West Coast for some (I'm assuming) excellent pizza. We embraced the urban-ness, the hipster-itude and provide Viju an appropriate send-off with 'authentic' NY style pizza. This will provide appropriate ammunition for future disparaging comments about how Seattle can't do 'NY style' pizza appropriately.

It was a sunny day. I arrived earlier than the rest of the crew but was surprised to see that there was only one table left! It's a small dark joint that probably makes a nice stiff drink...and the beer's good too.

This bike to pizza earned some good points for the bike ride to the pizza place. Katie received the yellow jersey, and Malaika the polka-dot. I believe they were the only ones that rode on two wheels without a motor. The rest of the results were mixed. Tasty pizza? Most thought so. Bike home? Pretty positive.

Ambiance: Most loved the ambiance of this place due in part to the nice bar tender, and the old school red candle holders. However, to be fair, one reviewer commented that: "The combo of the darkness and the parmesan cheese-stealer took this one down a couple of notches for me..."

One thing is for sure: the company was fantastic.

July First: The inaugural ride. Flying Squirrel

Folks, let's be real. The sun was out on Friday and the latest and greatest participants in Bike to Pizza gathered together and biked to Flying Squirrel Pizza in Mt. Baker. The bike ride made me feel like I was in seventh grade again, racing and laughing and stopping to check on rattly bolts. We even got one spandex clad passer-by to lower his shades as we cruised by. Pictures below, survey results to come.