I haven't suddenly become a rebuild supporter (I've never understood how you're supposed to drive and enjoy "the people's view," anyway), but I do suddenly have a new appreciation for how this city looks from the seat of a car.

Last October, BikeNerd, aka Josh Cohen, wrote about one of the less obvious (and less self-righteous) advantages of riding a bike: the views.

He was right. I get around the city on my bike, and I do like the movie (music video) that scrolls by. However, I found myself riding in a car yesterday, and again this morning, and I caught myself gazing through the glass at the right-angle brick landscapes in SoDo (yesterday) and the sine-wave hills hovering over Lake Union (today), and thinking, "Man, this is a pretty city."





I hear people say that all the time, but I'm not a nature guy, and while I always nod in agreement, I've never truly  agreed. (I haven't disagreed; I just haven't noticed or cared.)

Why, I wondered, did the city suddenly look so beautiful? Like a city?

I believe it's because I'm not used to checking things out from the vantage of a moving car, careering through the  city's analog tracks.

'Cause it just belongs to you and me.