Unfortunately we had to make a quick stop on the way home at the pharmacy and had already noticed all the way home that the sky was getting dark and there was "something" coming our way. It was not raining or anything like the freak storms we usually get during summer instead it was crazy gusts of wind.
This was the type of wind that there was no way in hell I was going to ride in. I have ridden in wind that was not even half as bad and it nearly blows me over. Not to mention I had no clue if it was going to turn into rain or what. Usually on my rides I am dodging quail, rabbits and birds and occasionally worry about the loose dog out front of someones house coming after me thankfully that has not happened yet. So all of that mixed together I did not think it would be a good idea to ride nor did I did not feel like having to dodge giant tumbleweeds that were running across the street as well as all the trails of dirt storms.
Nap
Because I was not able to take a bike ride yesterday afternoon I figured that it would be the perfect time to set-up a new route on Strava that I could ride today or the next time I need a fresh new area to go out and explore. As luck, or lack there-of depending on how you look at it - would have it, I realized within minutes of staring at the screen, analyzing the map, streets, elevation and so on exactly how tired I was from the day.
Only halfway through the creation of a new route my eyes were getting increasingly heavy and I decided that it was not worth fighting it and the right thing to do would be to close my laptop and my eyes for an hour or so and I did just that. In hindsight it's probably a really good thing that I did not go on the ride. Just riding, switching gears and so on is hard enough, but thinking about traffic, quails, rabbits and dog and every other distraction requires focus - something I would not have had enough of more than likely. I am sure I would have "woken up" once out there, but my head would not have been entirely in the game.
The shitty side of the coin is that I did not go to the gym yesterday because of all the meetings I had to attend. This meant I only got around 5 or 6000 steps in yesterday. Not a huge deal but I like to meet my goal of 10,000 steps/day. I tend to be hard on myself when I don't meet my goals especially when they are fitness goals.
The shitty side of the coin is that I did not go to the gym yesterday because of all the meetings I had to attend. This meant I only got around 5 or 6000 steps in yesterday. Not a huge deal but I like to meet my goal of 10,000 steps/day. I tend to be hard on myself when I don't meet my goals especially when they are fitness goals.
July Goals
While I am on the topic of goals I should mention that yesterday was day 1 of my "50 miles" of riding this week goal that I set on Strava. It is also well day 1 of my goal to get a minimum of 250 km (155.34 miles) this month. But now because of the shxtty weather yesterday and me not being able to go out and ride I feel as though I have started off on the wrong foot. The way that I look at things though, or at least try to, is that there is always time to make it up.
I have to remember that its better to start something late and finish it, rather than give up before you ever start. I also live by the fact that not trying because of circumstances does not count either, there is plenty of time for me to make these challenges a success for the week and month. Especially with my 5 day weekend coming up at the end of this week I will have a little bit of a buffer to make it all come together!
I have to remember that its better to start something late and finish it, rather than give up before you ever start. I also live by the fact that not trying because of circumstances does not count either, there is plenty of time for me to make these challenges a success for the week and month. Especially with my 5 day weekend coming up at the end of this week I will have a little bit of a buffer to make it all come together!
There is also this other July goal that I have not signed up for and do not know if I am going to. It requires you to do at least one ride that is 130 km (80.78 miles). I should mention that on any of the challenges they suggest that you go a little over the number to be on the safe side - mostly because of discrepancies in GPS data, to make 100% certain that you achieve the goal. How bad would that suck to complete the ride, and find out that because of GPS recalculations you miss the goal by a few tenths of a mile or something small like that - oh I would be friggin' pissed!
Anyway, while I am confident that I could ride the distance, the area that I live in has so many hills that it would make it twice as difficult if not more because of the climbing. It's of course only my opinion but I feel that it would be much more difficult than someone who was living in a flatter area of the country. I know, sounds more like an excuse to not sign up for the challenge, but I honestly think that they should have a way to consider the amount of elevation ridden as well. I suppose it just complicates things and you need to deal with what you have.
Otherwise those that live at higher elevations or temperatures etc., will want considerations thrown in. OK Strava, I think I smell what you are cooking. Now I only need to decide if I will accept the challenge or not and if so where I will do the ride, or combination of many little rides together.
Anyway, while I am confident that I could ride the distance, the area that I live in has so many hills that it would make it twice as difficult if not more because of the climbing. It's of course only my opinion but I feel that it would be much more difficult than someone who was living in a flatter area of the country. I know, sounds more like an excuse to not sign up for the challenge, but I honestly think that they should have a way to consider the amount of elevation ridden as well. I suppose it just complicates things and you need to deal with what you have.
Otherwise those that live at higher elevations or temperatures etc., will want considerations thrown in. OK Strava, I think I smell what you are cooking. Now I only need to decide if I will accept the challenge or not and if so where I will do the ride, or combination of many little rides together.
That said, the month is not over and really has only just begun and as you know by now I am stubborn. So yea, there is a chance although a very slight one, that I may attempt to do it somehow. Heck, even if I have to do multiple loops on the same ride just to make it happen I may just do that because it would help me to avoid all of the friggin' hill climbing.
The cool thing is that by accomplishing these monthly goals it opens up things in the Strava online shop that you can buy -things such as bib-shorts and jerseys that have screen printing on them to recognize and brag about your accomplishment which is cool. Last month would have been the awesome one to get because the jersey was nice bright orange, I would have loved that -orange is my favorite color after-all.
Lost Soul?
So poor Cicely has been doing a hundred things lately at a hundred miles an hour and because of it her poor brain has been fried most days. Well this morning she had a doctors appointment and in her frazzle to get there she remembered that she parked on the 4th floor, pretty much as sh always does and always did for 9 months going there for bi-weekly and weekly appointments.
Today she left her appointment, headed out and into the elevator. Pressed the button for the 4th floor and down the elevator went. Stopped at good old number 4 and let her off. She walked toward the black, or dark colored truck she was parked next to, only to find an empty parking spot where her car was previously parked an hour or so ago.
"Maybe I parked on the 2nd floor this time and went up rather than down to get the offices floor", she though? So she carried Zoey over, pushed the down arrow and got back into the elevator and headed to that floor. Once there, she got off and nope, there was no black truck and nothing looked familiar. By now she was starting to panic and called me.
I answered the phone, nearly to work by now, when she tells me that I need to turn around and come get her and Zoey because her car has been stolen. I first tell her to calm down and verify she is on the correct floor. She explains the floor checking she has done and that maybe, just maybe she parked on the 3rd floor and did not realize it. I agreed that maybe that was the case and to check.
So while on the phone, she got back on the elevator, headed to the 3rd floor and got off. Headed down the row a little bit, sees a black, or dark colored truck sticking out, walks past it and whatta you know - there is her car, safe and sound and right where she left it earlier.
She proceeds to load Zoey in the car, get herself in the car and tell me thanks for listening and she feels like a total dork for being so scatter-brained. I tell her its OK, suggest that she sits there for a few and calms down then heads to work. That its not a big deal and she has a lot on her mind and not to dwell on it, just relax and be thankful everything is OK.
So yep, that was the scare of the morning, mostly for Cicely - I was honestly pretty sure that the car was there, only on another floor or location. I even made sure she did not park in the no parking or handicap zone and maybe it was towed. Crisis averted and all was well to go on with the day.
Otter Pops
Today at work we had an afternoon - "let's meet outside in the shade" at 3:00 PM Otter Pop studio social gathering. It was in part to celebrate the hard work of everyone to date, try to take the edge off of some of the new policies as well as the rumors flying around and get everyone to step away from their cubes and computers for a little while.
While I did not attend, I was in the gym since I missed yesterday and probably will not be able to go tomorrow because I have a feeling we will get 1/2 day off of work. Usually before a holiday weekend that is the case and the clue more times than not is that we get lunch catered in. I suppose we will see if that pans out tomorrow or not. Even if it does not, the studio getting us the Otter Pops today and now lunch tomorrow is cool - the short day would be icing on the cake.
So,,,,
I think that will be a rap for today's daily entry. I am once again hoping that I will be able to go out for a nice bike ride after I get out of work today, but the wind is howling once again, although not quite as bad as it was yesterday by a long shot. If it stays that way I will try and get a ride in, just chalk it up as a ride where I am learning to deal with less than ideal situations.
The shxtty part is that the data recording devices that I use have zero knowledge of the wind, heat and so on. So as far as they are concerned I was slow that day. So what I try to do is log my routes with the weather as part of the name if it was anything other than a decent day for a ride. That way I remember if it was windy, cold, hot and so on when I look back at rides or compare data.
Anyway, enough out of me for one day. This was going to be one of the shorter posts and once again I think it has turned out to be another one of the longer entries. For me it's simply the words down on white space that helps me to sort of meditate through the day - that is what matters most for me.
Photo: This is what everyone was enjoying today, outside in the shade while I was down at the gym, busing my ass to try and maintain a healthy doctors report. In the long run I sure hope that all of my time in the gym and on the bike etc., was time well spent. Unfortunately, not something you really ever know - only those you leave behind know the real answer to that one.
Today she left her appointment, headed out and into the elevator. Pressed the button for the 4th floor and down the elevator went. Stopped at good old number 4 and let her off. She walked toward the black, or dark colored truck she was parked next to, only to find an empty parking spot where her car was previously parked an hour or so ago.
"Maybe I parked on the 2nd floor this time and went up rather than down to get the offices floor", she though? So she carried Zoey over, pushed the down arrow and got back into the elevator and headed to that floor. Once there, she got off and nope, there was no black truck and nothing looked familiar. By now she was starting to panic and called me.
I answered the phone, nearly to work by now, when she tells me that I need to turn around and come get her and Zoey because her car has been stolen. I first tell her to calm down and verify she is on the correct floor. She explains the floor checking she has done and that maybe, just maybe she parked on the 3rd floor and did not realize it. I agreed that maybe that was the case and to check.
So while on the phone, she got back on the elevator, headed to the 3rd floor and got off. Headed down the row a little bit, sees a black, or dark colored truck sticking out, walks past it and whatta you know - there is her car, safe and sound and right where she left it earlier.
She proceeds to load Zoey in the car, get herself in the car and tell me thanks for listening and she feels like a total dork for being so scatter-brained. I tell her its OK, suggest that she sits there for a few and calms down then heads to work. That its not a big deal and she has a lot on her mind and not to dwell on it, just relax and be thankful everything is OK.
So yep, that was the scare of the morning, mostly for Cicely - I was honestly pretty sure that the car was there, only on another floor or location. I even made sure she did not park in the no parking or handicap zone and maybe it was towed. Crisis averted and all was well to go on with the day.
Otter Pops
Today at work we had an afternoon - "let's meet outside in the shade" at 3:00 PM Otter Pop studio social gathering. It was in part to celebrate the hard work of everyone to date, try to take the edge off of some of the new policies as well as the rumors flying around and get everyone to step away from their cubes and computers for a little while.
While I did not attend, I was in the gym since I missed yesterday and probably will not be able to go tomorrow because I have a feeling we will get 1/2 day off of work. Usually before a holiday weekend that is the case and the clue more times than not is that we get lunch catered in. I suppose we will see if that pans out tomorrow or not. Even if it does not, the studio getting us the Otter Pops today and now lunch tomorrow is cool - the short day would be icing on the cake.
So,,,,
I think that will be a rap for today's daily entry. I am once again hoping that I will be able to go out for a nice bike ride after I get out of work today, but the wind is howling once again, although not quite as bad as it was yesterday by a long shot. If it stays that way I will try and get a ride in, just chalk it up as a ride where I am learning to deal with less than ideal situations.
The shxtty part is that the data recording devices that I use have zero knowledge of the wind, heat and so on. So as far as they are concerned I was slow that day. So what I try to do is log my routes with the weather as part of the name if it was anything other than a decent day for a ride. That way I remember if it was windy, cold, hot and so on when I look back at rides or compare data.
Anyway, enough out of me for one day. This was going to be one of the shorter posts and once again I think it has turned out to be another one of the longer entries. For me it's simply the words down on white space that helps me to sort of meditate through the day - that is what matters most for me.
Photo: This is what everyone was enjoying today, outside in the shade while I was down at the gym, busing my ass to try and maintain a healthy doctors report. In the long run I sure hope that all of my time in the gym and on the bike etc., was time well spent. Unfortunately, not something you really ever know - only those you leave behind know the real answer to that one.
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