Kinda spacy this morning, an after-effect of last night. A long soak in the spa and white mocha hasn’t helped much, but I like this loose, spaghetti-muscle feeling.

Since I’m not riding tonight, the book can be closed on September:

- Twenty-seven rides totaling 137.54 miles for an average of 5.09 miles a trip.
- 12:45:12 total time on the bike for an average of 28:33 minutes a trip
- 6,942 calories burned off for an average of 257.11 calories burned each trip.

These numbers are okay for someone at my novice level, except the stats become mediocre after subtracting the two longest rides (Bay Trail and last night). On the other hand, the overall numbers serve as something to beat in October, which will be a challenge in the changing weather. Good thing the winter riding clothes I ordered get here next week.

Serenity the movie tonight. And there’s a sense of serenity in my soul right now.

18 days until the USN

I’m writing this more than an hour after returning from the ride and just about everything hurts and/or aches: back, calves, left knee, right wrist, etc. etc. etc., and the manly yawns have set in, the kind that involve the whole body. Even the hair on the back of my neck has to stop and stretch in the middle of one of those bad boys.

And why, you ask, dear reader?

Distance: 15.17 miles
Time: 01:17:38 minutes
Average speed: 12.13 mph
919 calories burned

Check out those calories, baby! That’s a personal deep-dish pizza, girlfriend. Two snaps around the world and a buttsmack for Bob! Can I get a “Halleleuh!” from the choir?!

Back to the literary thing. I was getting happy feet at work, eager to shuck the immoral coils of the hourly wage life and excise the poisons I’d had for lunch. When the clock hit 5:00 PM, I was out the door before the PC finished powering down. Got home, packed some fleece in the backpack, threw on a bright orange shirt, and booked.

Above is a Mapquest picture of Carson and the blue line is a lame MS Paint expression of my trip (if you want graphical beauty, call Danielle). I call this, “The Three Albertsons,” but it’s actually two Albertsons (north and south) and the 7-11 on east Highway 50. I skipped the third Albertsons because that would shorten the trip (silly me).

There’s so much going through my brain about this ride that I want to remember but the flesh is weak. A quick recap:

- There’s no such thing as a flat road in this stinking town.
- The old couple holding hands, with him gently helping her over the curb.
- Me yelling at a driver for cutting me off in the Fifth Street traffic circle. She was on a cell phone, natch.
- Being blinded in both eyes by a sudden sweat attack and doing a fast stop without seeing where I was going.
- The frozen air around the pond behind the Railroad Museum.
- Pushing hard on the pedals to get an end result I could live with. I could live with those stats any day.
- Finishing the ride by going up the Fifth Street hill and not really minding at all.
- The other couple at the south Albertsons playing and touching each other, and the woman following them, admiring them, telling me, “Now that’s love.”

One last thought: there’s no way I would have gone as far or as hard if the usual afternoon wind had been blowing. The lack of breeze made all the difference in the world.

Going to bed now. Good night.

19 days until the USN

I’ve been really good on my diet but I got too hungry and gorged on a personal pan pizza from Round Table.

My punishment: The Three Albertsons Ride. Yep, gonna touch all three Albertsons in Carson. Will probably leave around 5:30 PM and not make it home until close to 8:00 PM.

That’ll show me.

Having a low-powered day; no riding of any sort this morning because common sense says the body needs a little recovery time from long rides. Dunno if yesterday counts as “long,” but what the heck. My legs want to rock and roll, though, so I’ll probably go out tonight and work off some energy and calories.

Got nothing more to add, so that’s all for now.

19 days until the USN

The workday ended, and it was me and Dollar for the road. The afternoon was bright and warm, and I was motoring around town in a t-shirt and shorts, scaring children and dogs with my lily-white skin, but I didn’t care. It was a great ride up the college hill which is getting easier after the third time.

And my fitness routine is working a little. Somebody today said I have “chicken-legs,” which could be viewed as an insult, but I’ll take all skinny innuendos I can get.

The above picture from August 2005 is courtesy of Chris and is probably the biggest gathering of our relations since 2001. Going left to right:
- Elaine (Aunt Lily)
- Uncle Mike
- Billie the Navigator (Mike’s sister)
- Dr. Robert, Billie’s husband
- Cousin Chris, Elaine’s oldest
- Cousin (Dr. Dr.) David, Elaine’s youngest
- Danielle
- Trina
- Lara
- The Bride
- Uncle Frank, Elaine’s brother-in-law
- Your humble writer, Bob the Blob

They are the brightest people I know, without exception, and a good group of people.

Distance: 8.00 miles (12.8 total today)
Time: 43:38 minutes (01:07:18 total)
417 calories burned (693 total)
20 days until the USN