Clinging to Summer

It may be the end of September, but that doesn't mean summer's over!

We have been having beautiful weather this week, so being that today is my day off, I spent a lot of time outdoors.

First, I rode my bike to the library and back.

Then, I rode my bike to the grocery store and back (it's only like a mile away, but I'm always impressed when I can bring my whole purchase back on my bike, including a bag of apples and a gallon of milk, or a 24 pack of toilet paper).

Then, I decided to go all out and ride my bike to Lake Calhoun, rented a kayak for a couple hours, and explored the Chain of Lakes from boat.

I had a great time! I saw geese, ducks, seagulls, a weasel, a couple of hawks, fishes, and a young woman paddleboarding in wedges fall off her board. Oh, wildlife! (Why would you wear wedges paddleboarding?)

I also ate an apple (one of the things about fall that I love!) in a low-waste way. Instead of eating around the core, just eat the apple from the bottom, and there is no core! You have only the stem and the seeds left over (I ate the seeds, too! Hope I don't get an apple tree growing in me!). Much less of a hassle than holding on to the gross, brown, sticky core until you can find a garbage can.

Anyway, after my kayak trip, I decided to take the long way home, and biked south around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet, and east along Minnehaha creek, past Lake Nokomis to the Mississippi, and I followed the Mississippi back north until I got back to the greenway and Hiawatha bike trails. It was a nice 15 mile trip, and my phone tells me I averaged 12.1 miles per hour, but that also includes red lights and a couple water breaks and a stop to turn my lights on, so I think I am faster than 12 mph.

All in all, I got a lot of exercise today. The downside is that I only did a couple minor chores today. At least I am being healthy in my procrastinating from cleaning my house, right?

The power of sleep

I am a night owl. I usually can't fall asleep before 12 most nights. And I like to get up early, just so I can take a nap later. But I don't always get a chance to nap. Ergo, I am often very tired.

Lately, though, the stomach department has been not performing up to standards, and I've been feeling more tired than usual, so I've been getting adequate sleep (not more sleep. Just the minimum).

Here's the fun part: I have been getting so much done!

Normally on any given Sunday, I go grocery shopping, and go to the library. I will probably cook, and may or may not do the dishes.

Today, I rolled out of bed at 7am, got dressed, and biked to the farmers market, then to the grocery store and then home. I ate breakfast and read the paper after I showered. I installed the air conditioning unit in my window. I started a batch of cold press coffee. I brushed the cat. I took a short nap.

Then I ate lunch! Normally, I nap til 11 before I even leave the house. I read a book for a couple hours, then headed to the library. I watched a movie, and ripped the CDs from the library onto my computer. It was too hot to cook, so I ordered Indian takeout using a groupon for a restaurant near my house. I wrote a note for my state senator. I made a fresh batch of soymilk.

I didn't need to do any dishes because I did them last night before I went to bed!

What is wrong with me? Maybe I should go to bed at 10 every night? I'll see if I can keep it up.

Rode my bike!

I rode my bike to work twice this week (3 times tomorrow!). I really like it. I don't have to wait for a bus to come by. I get some exercise in. I get to enjoy a nice, safe path along the river. And my new bike is so awesome, I don't even have any trouble getting up the giant hill at the end! On my old bike, I definitely would have walked it.

And I haven't gotten very sweaty yet, but it's been rather chilly. And here I went to Thrifty Outfitters and got some wicking/quick dry shirts (not sure expensive because they were "samples" sent to the store. All size medium!), and I don't sweat that much. Or maybe I'm not sweaty because of the shirts?

All the same, this bike is a million times easier to peddle than the old bike. I'll have to take it on a really long ride to see how it goes. Maybe I'll bike to Roseville or something.

I want to ride my bicycle!

I had part of the day off today. After a quick meal and a quick nap, I went to go get my hair cut (results: super cute, but not what I asked for. She was really nice, but I hate when hairstylists think what will look better is more important than what I want).

After that, I headed along Lake Street to check out a few different places to buy a bike. I am finally giving up on my old school Magna that I bought at Target in middle school. Only 2 of the gears work, and it's rusty and heavy and impossible to bike uphill. Literally, impossible. Even slight inclines I usually end up getting off and pushing it up most of the way.

So, I ended up at the Hub Bike Co-op (after a few different stops where everyone was really nice but the bike selections were a little out of my price range). It's a cooperatively owned chain of shops in Minneapolis (there's one right by my house, but I went to one farther away that has a larger used and clearance selection).

They were just a friendly as everyone else at the other bike shops, but they actually asked questions and showed me what bikes they had that were what I was looking for. Another bike shop had just sent me to the creepy basement by myself to look at what bikes were in the graveyard. Probably awesome if I had any idea what I was looking for, but this is my first time buying a bike since I was 13 and I just cared that it was purple. The guys at the Hub were very friendly and helpful and took the time to make sure I was happy. They even answered questions about the bikes with more detail than I knew was knowable.

It's like that circle of knowing that I vaguely remember from school. Inside the circle is what you know, and outside the circle is what you don't know. The circumference of the circle is what you know you don't know, basically. The more you learn, the more you know how much you don't know. So, I learned a little bit about bikes tonight, so the area of my knowledge circle grew bigger, but since the circumference (what I know I don't know) grows with what I do know, I know I don't know a lot about bikes. But I also know more about what I could know about bikes.

Anywho, they're getting my new comfortabler seat and rack put on tonight, and then it'll be mine to take home. Should I name it? It's a Giant brand, and it's black. It'll have a rack on the back, and a basket on the front. I might put the fenders on there too from my old bike. I'll think about a name.

This is going to be a breeze compared to my old bike.  I would dread riding it. Even used rental bikes were a dream to ride in comparison. I'm excited.

Biking

So I've been biking 8 miles a day, 5 days a week. It's the quickest way to get to and from work, and is probably safer than walking at 11pm when I get done with work.

I am a slow biker. Haha. I prefer to take the back roads, but they're hillier than the main roads, making me even slower. Maybe its because I have a town bike instead of a mountain bike, and its not designed for speed. Also, this is the first time in a long time I've biked regularly, so my biking muscles aren't what they could be.

Although today, I was crossing highway 3 by Target on a crosswalk, and some lady taking a left turned right in front of me! I had to stop in the crosswalk or else she would have hit me. I know she saw me too. I yelled "What are you doing??!" at her, because her windows were open. I felt a little bad because her daughter was sitting in the car (although she was too young to be sitting in the front seat, so there's another reason that lady was dumb), but I guess this is my first road rage.

I generally mutter things under my breath at people (like the bikers who go through red lights. Stop signs are one thing when there are no cars, but going through a red light at an intersection is just rude and stupid), but I generally don't yell at people. Although, earlier this year, when I was walking to school, someone drove in front of me while I was halfway through the cross walk. I actually had to jump back a bit because they were so close. I yelled at them, but they probably didn't hear.

Anyway, overall I like biking, except the back of my head gets sweaty where the reflectors on my helmet are located. Also, biking into the wind really sucks. Still not sure how I'll get to Target in the winter, but I could probably bike still if I really wanted to. Transit and taxis will probably play a large role. It's $6 to get from Olaf to Target through First Choice Taxi. Not bad, considering they're almost on opposite sides of Northfield.