Woke up this morning, sort of early (830 is pretty early for me on my day off).  I was... awake.  Ready to do stuff.

So I grabbed my biking gear, remember my sunscreen, and hit the streets.

12.3 miles in 54.31 minutes and 1 pre-squished squirrel.  Woo!

Came back, did my post-bike stretch routine and then did 35 sit-ups.  Those last 5 were a bitch to grind out, but I like to do more each time I do them.

Then, after a shower and cleaning my room and general puttering for a while, I made myself  a breakfast of eggs, toast and bacon.  Mmmm..  Bacon is excellent with (real) Maple Syrup.  Food of the gods.

Now shalt my day begin.

[Though I am glad I went out when (somewhere around 830 this morning) I did, given how the weather is going today.]

Got my bike back today.  Yay!

Went out for a quick jaunt.  I had left work early so I could get to the shop before they closed.  Then had to pick up a couple things for the BBQ tonight.

Now most of the day had been great weather.  Though the wind had been picking up later in the afternoon and the temperature dropping and the clouds coming in thick.  But I chanced going out anyway.  Got back just as it started to sprinkle a bit.  Good timing.

8.1 miles in 37.13 minutes.

Not too bad for missing a day, and just trying to squeeze something in before the weather got worse.  Felt great to hop on and ride again. 

And I must say, I like these shifters tons more!  Yay!

I'm having a really hard time boning myself up to pay $55+ for biking shorts, even though I really need some and know they'd be well worth the money.   o.o

So I cut my ride short today.  Shame.  It was a fantastic day this afternoon.

Did a whopping total of  8.7 miles in 43.24 minutes.  *sigh*  And some stretches when I got home.

The short ride was due to a combination of a lot of things.  I've been way too hungry all day (so down on energy) no matter what or how much I eat.  But I've also just been in a semi-stressed funk today for some reason, so doing much of anything either seems like too much effort or doesn't hold my interest.   I sat in the park for a while on my ride (very few kids for once, yay!) and that did help my mood out. Mmm... Sun.

I also noticed I'm starting to get a bit of a tan, even with my infrequent use of sunscreen (I am starting to remember more and more, at least for my bike rides).  Which, is nice.  I like having a little bit of a tan.  I don't like being so white that I'm see-through.


Perhaps I will go play Starcraft after rummaging up yet ANOTHER meal.  *sigh*

So the biking report for Tuesday.......

11.1 miles in 52.36 minutes.

Tires seemed a bit mushy, I noticed on the ride.  Need to whip out the pressure gauge and attend to that.

And I still need biking shorts damnit! 

Today racked up 11.4 miles in 54.35 minutes.

Really need to find some new routes today.

Got some biking gloves.  Hands are much more comfy now.

Going to see if I can my biking-friend to rewrap my handbars sometime soon here.  He's offered already.

Also want to see about getting some actual biking shorts...  Seams in crotch are not comfy.


Also did 30 situps and assorted stretching.  Parts of me were really demanding that I start stretching post biking.

I think next time I run into some inexpensive hand weights (yard sale or mardens or something) I'm going to pick up some and see about maybe doing some upper body ilk.

The more I exercise, the more I want to do.

Idiot me went biking today and forgot to slather on  my sunscreen.  Doh!

But.. 11.1 miles in 56.56 minutes.  Not too shabby.

Been noticing an improvement , though, even over last time.  Though I think I'm learning to eat better in regards to having the energy I need for the workouts I'm doing.  That must help.

11.3 miles in 58.29 minutes. Yay!

Pretty good for not going out the last two days I should have (one was rainy, the other I was out of town).

I've decided my goal is to go out three times a week - Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday - and do at least 10 miles. Two of those are my days off, so that should work out decently. I just need to remember to eat in the last half hour before I leave work so I've got the energy I need to go out after work on Tuesdays.

Also did 30 situps today. More than last time. And we'll see how many days my abs are sore for this time. It was longer than I expect the last time I did some.

I also REALLY need to print up a list of stretches to do before and after biking.  >.<;


I also had an realization while biking.  As I learn to take corners at high speeds (man, my bike skills are rusty, not to mention, road bikes seem to handle differently) it seems as though this will help with driving a car as well.  I mean, there's a certain point in a turn where it seems more effective to not brake, but instead, accelerate.  I've heard that the same can be said of driving.  We shall see.  We shall see.

So I went biking Got in 10.7 miles in 1.00.21 hours. *sigh*

I had hoped to do a new route I thought of yesterday. Or do the route I did Thursday.

Damned blast wind buggered the whole day. Both routes have too much open space to warrant trying to tackle with the sort of gusts that were sweeping in today. Argh!

So I did my lame residential route. It gets the mileage in, even if there's plenty of repeat scenery. But between the hills and the wind, I still got a bit of a workout before the wind annoyed me enough that I came home.


Then I came home and did some situps.  Did 20.  o.o   I probably could have eeked out a couple more.  Maybe.  The hardest part really is the floor!  My back and hips seem bony enough that even with a bit of carpet down, some of those points hurt when I do situps.  >.<;

More tomorrow!

More like beware the idiots who don't realize how wide the trailer they're towing is. Almost got clipped.

That aside, I got cat-called 3 times. Honked at once.

One dead squirrel. A couple other bloodspots. And some hay-laden manure.

Grand total -- 13.6 miles in 1.16.41 miles.

Not too shabby. Took me less time to warm up and drop into the groove today. Not to mention, some parts that were kicking my ass more before aren't so much now. Yay! Nice to feel progress like that.

Did some new routes today.

Damn road bike is like a skittish yearling horse. Keeps sidling out from under you at every bump. Ah well. Easy enough to get things back under control in very short order. Just keeps me on my toes.

Today left me doing 10.7 miles in about 1.03.21 hours.

Stopped 'cause I was getting tired of the wind and chilly arms.  Though I think if I wore anything with long sleeves I'd baste in my own juices.

I learned:
It takes me a couple miles before I'm having anything but a wretched time. I suppose it takes a bit for the all-natural feel-good hormones to kick in.

By the 5-mile benchmark, I'm fully warmed up. I want to push myself. My legs may feel like wet noodles if I stop, but they can keep churning away just fine.

The road bike I have seems to cap out at about 15mph. Pedaling at that point really doesn't do anything but move my legs. It's a little frustrating since there seems to be a good chunk of the time that I want to go faster, and I can't. 

Though on the flip side of that.. anything but maybe a moderate hill is nigh impossible for me to get up.  A moderate hill is bad enough, even with changing gears.  I am getting better, though.  Even over the last time I was out, I think.  Just a matter of time and effort, I'm sure.

I did find a new route home.  One that doesn't involve a ton of traffic nor a ton of stoplights. 

My god, Maine roads suck.

That is all.