Back In The Saddle

Oh man, am I having fun on my bike.  I didn't ride on Friday because I got the cold that I suspected was coming two weeks ago.  I was very achey and tired, so I drove to school and remained in a stupor for much of the day.  I even had to take a nap during my prep.  It wasn't a full on nap, but I did put on my hood and closed my eyes for a while in my office.  One of my students seemed a bit disappointed in me...he rides every day and our bikes are our new bond.  But, Friday was also a good idea to give my seat (the one on my body) a rest.  I forgot what it's like to be on a bike seat all the time.  I don't have a great bike saddle and I felt it on Day 2 as soon as I settled in.  After a rest day yesterday, I was comfortable while I rode around town doing my Saturday errands.  The more I ride my bike, the more I want a single speed.  I never ever change gears, so what's the point of having more than one?  I'll have to investigate the funds and decide if I deserve an Inaguration Day or Half Birthday present.  Here's the one that caught my eye this week.

While most weeks, I wouldn't be able to hit up Who Fo on my bike, this week I have plenty of food in the house to get me through and I need to eat all the perishable stuff before I leave town.  Although, I guess I could do what UPS Portland is doing and trick my bike out with a trailer big enough for my all my usual groceries.  I have long wanted to pledge to ClifBar that I'd bike if I was going less than 2 miles and I think I'm getting closer to that ideal.  What's holding me back?  It makes me nervous to ride my bike with a glass bottle of milk in tow.  Most of what I do is within a five mile radius of my house, so I should do more of it on my bike.  Today, I explored the Menlo Park/Palo Alto bike friendliness...bike lanes, bike bridges, and places to lock up your bike abound!  Even when I got into some trouble trying to cross a few lanes of traffic, the drivers were very friendly.  When I stopped in Patagonia, the woman there was excited to see that I had cartons of Soy Nog on each side of my backpack.  We both lamented that it is not available for more of the winter.

On another bike note, there is an older gentleman who rides around and around my little neighborhood every Saturday morning.  He just circles the whole place.  The first weekend I saw him, I said hello, like I do to everyone.  Last weekend, he gave me a thumbs up when he saw me.  Today, I saw him three times (I did two loops myself), and each time, he gave me the thumbs up.  The funny part is that every time I see him, we pass each other going opposite directions...apparently, while I prefer the counter-clockwise route, he prefers clockwise.  I also have seen a few people I know while I've been out on the roads...a woman from the Obama office, a parent from school, and two of my students.  It's taking a while, but I'm starting to feel like this is where I live.  In so many ways, I'm glad I ditched the gym.  While I'm not getting as much strength training as I'd like, and I take three days off when I used to take only one, running outside has really improved my relationship with where I live.  

Oh, and did I tell you that I won the "Name That Husky" competition?  I am shocked, not that I won, because I know all 405 students at my school, but that my opponents each misnamed a student.  I really thought we were going to go into sudden death overtime.  My stomach hurt nervously the whole time.  How funny is that?  While it's taken a lot of extra time (that I really don't have), it's been really nice to walk around the school and be able to say hi to anyone I see.  And like I said before, there are a bunch of 9th graders who are genuinely excited that one of the upperclass teachers knows their name.  The little ones are cute!

Update: The ClifBar 2 Mile Challenge requires one trip a week to be replaced with a bike.  Done!