4/28/08
The chili I made on Saturday turned out really good. I believe that I struck the balance between sweet and spicy. Ended up using three cloves of garlic and I'm not sweating garlic at all. I am greatly pleased and surprised because I was expecting the first few bowls to be really good but the remainder being barely palatable with the passage of time.
ten miles and change
ten miles, nigger
On Sunday April 27th, 2008 I rode ten miles. Started at my place, rode through Monument Park, down Chestnut past Fontanero and reached Garden of the Gods Road. Reckon I averaged a little more than 5 miles an hour. I marked time with a podcasts from escapepod.org and starshipsofa.

The first leg of my trip had me listening to David Brin's The Giving Plague (52m30s) which ended just as I pulled into the 7-11 on GOG. On the way back I listened to Elizabeth Bear's And The Deep Blue Sea (57m24s) from Starship Sofa. I returned home long before the latter postapocalyptic drama had come to its conclusion.

Man oh man I just want to say that cycling doesn't feel as pointless as squats, cleans and presses. In defense of training the skill of strength I must say that most times the sessions were done against my will when I would've rather have had a quiet but social evening with friends. It's my failure for not speaking up and asserting myself.

When I'm riding my bike I have a tangible destination and I've already set my challenge which has a measurable beginning and ending point. Something about lifting weights but never going any further than twenty feet from the weights gets tiresome and tedious to the point of feeling like punishment.

In retrospect I feel like a heel whenever I tried to push cycling on other people. Folks would remind me they have physical issues, they simply do not have a bike or to be blunt they have no real interest in the sport. Mostly I'd bring it up because I wanted to share my happiness in addition to wanting someone to talk to along the way but with my humble mp3 player I'm much happier doing it alone.

last week
If you are inclined, please check this image and this image to see the route I took on April 19th, 2008.

This route was significantly longer but it didn't happen all at once. Plus I am certain that I hit a wall when I was three quarters of the way to Cassius's place.

Maps are created with the help of the gmap-pedometer.

driving is fast
When I drove to Criterium, yes that's how they spell it, I was surprised and a little ashamed at how quickly the distance was covered in my car. I picked up a three liter personal hydration system that I rationalized as an investment rather than an expense. Reckon I'm ready for next Saturday whatever that may bring me.
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