Who Toilest on ye Sabbath?

30 Days Mileage Counter

Bike: 323.2

Car: 223

Train: 8

Who toils on the Sabbath? ME. You'd think after logging over 60 miles yesterday, I might want to have a day of rest...

Nah. I actually woke up with a strangely high amount of energy today. In case you're wondering, I've now logged over 100 miles more on a bike this month than in a car. Go me!

Back to today: I had planned all along to run errands today, but seeing how I had a scheduled Sunday ride with a cycling friend postponed for over 2 months, I decided today was the day to make good on my promise. She picked a ride to the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge in Southwest Philly. Couldn't have picked a better day for it, either:

Provided I can get out of the phorests of South Filly...

For any of you who have driven through Southwest Philly, you know it's not much to write home about. Lots of industry, abandoned bungalows, discarded trash, etc. until you get near the far southwest, which is condo city. Kinda blah in a different way. Not worth stopping for a picture, really. We move on...

This is a surprisingly confusing map - It sits at a 45º angle, which totally screws with my sense of direction

We took one of the trails through the park, which adds up to about 3.4 miles. I didn't see any crazy wildlife on our short journey, but it's a decent enough place to go for a ride, considering it's bounded by the city on one side and I-95 on the other:

I don't recommend using your bike as a pontoon boat

About halfway around the park, I saw yet another prophetic marker portending another item I WILL cross off my to-do list one day:

This also apparently marks the nexus of the ECG universe

I've been reading and thinking about riding the East Coast Greenway for nearly 2 years now. I don't know how I missed that this was part of the trail. Strangely enough, I followed a good portion of it on my route home, too. Baby steps.

We were about to leave the park when I spotted this sign:

They didn't have the budget to post a picture of Blinky?

Not the most reassuring sign to see in a wildlife refuge. Maybe it's best we get out of here…

So we did. Around 61st Street, she went back the way we came and I branched off to the left (straight), continuing up through West Philly en route to Trader Joe's to visit another friend while also picking up some groceries. All things considered, it was actually the closest grocery store I trust on my way home, and it was still some 4 miles away from where I was.

Here to find out, her shift was over at 4 and I got there well afterward, so I was forced to brave the insanity alone. I do some crazy things on a Wash Cycle, but I nearly outdid myself today, with a book bag AND a grocery bag filled to the brim:

Quite a haul. See what I did there?

I really need to get a front-mount rack for this hog. This is about 50 pounds' worth of stuff (including my water bottles and u-lock) strapped to my back and arm. I thought I threw out my shoulder at one point on the trek home. I should have been beat, but like I said earlier, I had a strange amount of energy in the tank today, and I cooked a 4-course macrobiotic meal:

Clockwise from top left: arame with tahini, tofu, carrots & onions; blanched vegetable salad with cabbage, broccoli & carrots; brown rice with barley & lentils; barley miso soup with wakame, daikon, and broccoli rabe greens

"But Steve, where's your protein?" I'll spare you the rant, but 300+ miles later, you can trust me. It's in there. The best thing after a long ride is a delicious home-cooked meal. That, and a beer.

21.7 miles is basically a rest day, right? 17 down, lucky 13 to go, and a busy week lies ahead: 2 Earth Day events, softball, a root canal (yes, you read that right) and probably something else I'm forgetting. What else ya got, #30daysofbiking?