palace of the illuminati

My backpack weighed over 7kg this afternoon, which was just a bit of a struggle on the bike – this leads me to think that maybe I’ll need a rack and panniers (more things!) if I am going to keep it up and not break my back.

It’s been the usual intense sort of week and I’m exhausted as usual – actually probably a little more than usual after all of the riding! I’m very happy to be getting in the extra exercise as I was getting a bit sluggish. 

I promise that I really will stop evangelising cycling to work at some point.

This weekend I plan to, well, I don’t really have plans other than doing a little worky work and some grocery shopping – both of which sound horrifically boring. Of course there also is housework to be completed – which sounds no better!

I vow to do five nice things for myself over the weekend – though I have yet to determine just what those things might be. Will report back!

killing time at the train station

Because of the optimetrist appointment this afternoon I took the train in to work today. After standing on the platform for 10 minutes, I realised I’d have already been half way to work if I’d cycled. Such are the thoughts of a New Enthusiast.

As I suspected, the eyes have deteriorated. I do in fact need a prescription for distance AND I need the prescription bumped up for reading. So I treated myself to a hideously expensive new pair of reading glasses and am getting what are essentially bifocal lenses inserted into my current black thick-framed hipster pair.

Apart from a heck of a lot of eye strain (hello, computer, tablet, kindle and phone!) eyes are otherwise very healthy – though the wallet is now not.

I’m planning to cycle in again tomorrow, because – Enthusiast. I’m wildly excited because I bought a flashing red light to attach to the back of my helmet and I can’t wait to try it out.

What I am not doing is getting a cold. Those around me may be dropping like the proverbials, but I am very healthy. The sort of very healthy person that does not succumb to colds. At all.

Tomorrow afternoon I’m off for my two-yearly eye check. 

I’ll be surprised if I don’t come away with glasses for distance because far away things are starting to become a little fuzzy. This is in addition to the glasses I already wear for reading – or that I’m supposed to wear for reading, sometimes it’s just easier to bump up the size of the typeface on things. 

The deterioration of your close-up vision really sneaks up on you – for years glasses are just there as a nice-to-have to make things a little more crisp, and then one day you find yourself holding a menu at arms length so you can actually read the text. Don’t even get me started on food nutrition labels! 

Don and I agreed we really need to be carrying glasses around at all times, that or a small magnifying glass.

So far we’ve managed to ride in three times in a row! 

After we split off on our different routes this morning Don got a flat tyre. Fortunately this was quite close to work so he didn’t have too far to push. I am totally ill-prepared for such a thing, so my response to this would probably involve lots of crying. 

I think I’ve discovered my preferred route home – which has me mostly off the separated bike path and in amongst lots of traffic (in the dark no less!), it’s quicker and the traffic is relatively slow moving and accustomed to bikes. Sydney peeps may or may not be aghast to learn that it requires a little bit of riding on Parramatta Road.

I feel very, very brave!

There’s one hill that absolutely kills me (and I quickly become exhausted, wobbly and full of heavy breathing), but I definitely need practice with hills so this is a good thing.

Who knew travelling to and from work could be so enjoyable?

Because Joan was holidaying on her actual birthday, we had her birthday dinner last night. Sadly I was terribly disorganised and failed to locate suitable fabric for the festive birthday tablecloth – we had to make do with white linen instead. Next time for sure.

Joan was keen on Mexican food, so we started out with Don’s guacamole, salsa and corn chips to nibble on while the meal was being prepared.

[snacks unpictured because I was napping]

Main course was homesick texan’s sour cream chicken enchiladas – the version from the book is ever-so-slightly different. Both call for serrano chilies – we just subbed the small mystery chillies from the pot on the lower balcony with no ill-effects. Super-delicious – you should give it a whirl.

[enchiladas unpictured because they look kind of ghastly]

Joan agonised over what dessert to choose for quite some time and eventually settled on dulce de leche cheesecake from sbs food. I think this would definitely rate as one of the best desserts I’ve ever made – incredibly rich though and a little goes a very long way.

You should make this too, as it is quite fabulous!

xxx

context: We decided last year that we’d celebrate birthdays with dinner at home, rather than spending a small (or large) fortune going out – menu of the birthdayee’s choosing.

I promise this will really not turn into All Exercise All The Time!

We got a ride in this morning – 33.8km, which is not too shabby. Weather was again quite womderful – crisp, bright and cool. We’re finally getting back into some sort of riding form, though I still struggle with the odd hill. The only thing for that is lots of practice.

Here’s a couple of pix from Kurnell:

We both liked riding to work so much on Friday that we’re doing it again tomorrow (and possibly Tuesday).

This morning was glorious – bright shiny and cold, there was nothing for it but to get out for a run!

I clocked up 7km – doing 5min run | 2min walk intervals, with some stopping to grab photos. A little discouraging, but I know I must ease back into it. I have a couple of aches, but nothing serious. There’s a fun run on tomorrow, and I was contemplating entering on-the-day, but there’s really no way I can run 5km right now (and likely no mother’s day classic either).

Tomorrow, we ride!

Fuelled with porridge, I rode to work this morning! My second time ever.

nom

Don is a bit of a daredevil when it comes to riding, so after a very rusty start** from me, we were quickly up and amongst the traffic.

Normally it takes us about 15-25min (traffic dependent) to drive to our car spot and another 15-20min to walk to our respective workplaces. Today it took Don 15min to ride door to door. 15min! It took me around 25-30min (I didn’t time it) and was a little more of a workout.

Riding home was another thing entirely. Don took another 15min – uphill. Because it was dark when I left SML, I rode over ANZAC bridge (the equivalent of a big hill) and kept to bike paths/lanes – took a bit longer, but I felt more comfortable that way. Don’s route is pretty straightforward, but I have loads of options to explore.

not a bad view

I felt brilliant afterward – post-exercise endorphins are a wonderful thing! Now though, I’m knackered in a way I’m really unaccustomed to – which is fabulous.

We’re definitely going to do this on the regular.

xxx

** I’ve kept this pretty quiet, but a couple of months ago I acquired a wonderful and gorgeous carbon-framed road bike. Poor Corey-the-hybrid was languishing unloved in the garage because I was holding onto him for possible bike-commuting purposes. The gears are completely different on both bikes and my brain was really struggling to remember just how mountain bike gears worked – I kept shifting down when I meant up and vice versa.

We’re all set to ride in to work tomorrow! 

I had to get myself a bike lock because we had only one between us, and I picked up a light-weight shiny fluorescent yellow jacket – because I am likely to be riding home in the dark. This is not a little terrifying and something I haven’t done before.

I was wildly excited to get going after buying the new things – this is always the case, even the tiniest or most pedestrian new piece of equipment will get me really enthusiastic and keen to test it out. Yay, bike lock!

The exercise will be fabulous, but holy goodness there is a lot of organisation required (change of clothes, shower stuff). I guess it is a matter of getting into a routine – not in like going to the gym.

And if ever there was anything guaranteed to ensure that it will rain …

It took a disproportionately long time to get to and from work today, so Don and I are considering riding in a couple of days per week. 

This is kind of scary, but also appealing – I like the idea of the exercise, but am somewhat less keen on the showering at work and riding home in the dark.

I should make it some kind of project and then I’ll be much more likely to pursue it.

Speaking of projects, I really do need to look at that 50 list. As at tomorrow there are 7 months to go (yikes!). I’m not entirely convinced of my ability to knock over everything in the remaining time but I need to ramp up the progress a bit. Action is probably more likely to occur if I get my nose out of books and actually remember what the remaining items are!