Bike:379.1
Car: 428
Train: 8
Today is a momentous day. I'm celebrating the fact that this blog post will break my previous personal record of 20 blog posts in one month (on this blog), set last April, oddly enough. I know, I know, get a life, Steve...but seriously, when you're responsible for generating daily content at work AND also trying to do so personally, it feels good to type that.
On a broader scale, this goes back to the whole "I'm not sure what this adventure will entail" thing I said on my very first #30daysofbiking post, but so far, it's been everything I could have asked for and then some. Kudos to whoever came up with this idea. It's been awesome, and there are still 9 days left after today!
Day 20 is also a day of firsts. Case in point, I received two social media mentions of note today from the East Coast Greenway:
I've also gotten some love from the OFFICIAL 30 Days of Biking Twitter account on numerous occasions:
OK maybe that makes this a second, but whatever. What this means in the grand scheme of things? I don't know, but at least people are noticing. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading other people's stories too, my own friends included. Feels good to be a part of something, ya know?
So, here we are. I woke up today knowing I would have to drive a great distance to do something rather unpleasant, but I started my day with the best of intentions and a trip to the recycling centre:
This is foreshadowing
First time riding my bike there, even though I've been there dozens of times. Just FYI, you can't throw electronics in your recycling bin, but most of them are recycle-able. I did this 3 mile ride all because of two outdated landline phones, given to me by a friend who wasn't sure how to dispose of them. This is how great 30 Days of Biking has become: I'm making up excuses and doing favors for friends just for the sake of taking a ride on my bike!
I actually had to stop in the office briefly today even though I took the day off. I had accidentally taken some promo materials home with me last night that my co-worker needed later in the day, so I detoured by about 4 miles. I could have dropped them off in my car later (we'll get to that), but again, any excuse for a ride.
Just before I left the office, I noticed my rear tire was a bit low. I nursed it home, but I knew I would have to do a repair later. Probably picked up a nice shard at the recycling centre. Tread wisely (pun intended).
I set the bike aside at home and moved on to the next part of this sordid affair today, A ROOT CANAL! It involved 177 miles of driving (round trip) that I was not pleased with, but the procedure went smoothly, I got to have lunch with my Mom, and I got to visit these fantastic animals in the process:
Cliff, cool cat
Lilly, pretty pup
Worth it. I came back to Philly, fixed the flat, spent 30 minutes trying to re-calibrate my brakes, then rode up to Olde Kensington where I was given this flashy new shirt:
Shwa?
I joined a new softball team this year, thanks to my friend Russ at Flotation Philly. I remember writing last year that barring anything crazy, I'd be back on the 3G softball team this year. Lo and behold, the bar closed, much to my displeasure (a memorial will be in order soon). Luckily, Russ was more than happy to add willing members of our crew on to his squad this year.
We played our first game with a mostly full squad tonite, and we scored a lot of runs. Unfortunately, we also gave up a lot. My buddy Max put it best: "I haven't used my softball muscles in a while." He's right. I bike every day. I consider myself to be in good physical shape. I mean, I tow up to 300 pounds of laundry on a bike and regularly lift 60 pounds without batting an eye. But...my legs are SORE for the first time in a long time (a day of firsts, I tells ya!). My throwing arm will likely be sore too, but one injury at a time...
After the game, I rode towards home, stopping for a later dinner and to watch perhaps the last Flyers game of the season at the Royal Tavern. As luck would have it, WE WON.
It's time for bed. Day 20 was exhausting, but worth it.
No comments:
Post a Comment