Comcastic. Sort of.

30 Days of Biking 2018 Mileage Total: 385.1

We're getting there...slowly but surely. You can always tell when the weather is a bit more tolerable by how many bikes fill the racks outside major businesses:

I had a fairly light delivery route Wednesday morning followed by a meeting at the Comcast Center (seen above), and other than a ride to the hockey arena I don't have much else to report about the early part of yesterday. Speaking of...

I got word of some relatively affordable tickets to the Flyers playoff game last night, so I bought one on a whim and took a ride to the deep south. Apparently I'm either the only person who rode my bike there, or I'm the only person who knew about this bike rack on the south side of the arena:

Comcast actually owns this building too, in case you weren't aware. I think I like parking on this side better. It's got protection from the rain:

Not that it will be of much use to me going forward, as this is likely the last time I'll get to see these guys play here while I'm living here. Anyway, this is why I opted to make the last minute splurge. Something about a sea of orange always gives me chills:

Unfortunately, the product on the ice was absolutely terrible. It's sad to think that this might be my last Flyers game as a Philadelphia resident. At least I got to sneak in a few more miles of riding as a result, I guess?

- - - - - - - - - - - -

If things go according to plan, I'll hit 400 miles for the month today! I'm not sure how, to be honest. I don't like to grumble about the weather too much, but it's been pretty lackluster for most of this month. I feel like it's actually caused my enthusiasm for this go around of 30 Days of Biking to sag a little. In any case, I hope you're all still encouraged by these little victories, and to get out and ride a bike. That's really what this is all about. And with that, it's on to day 19...

#30daysofbiking

The More Things Stay the Same...

The more they don't change?

Four years ago this week, I moved to Philadelphia and settled temporarily in the Northern Liberties. When I moved there, I didn't know much about the neighborhood, but I'll always remember this sign at the corner of 3rd & Spring Garden that I saw on the day I moved here:

It's still there today, as you can tell. It was a welcoming thing to see on my first full day living in this town, and still is as I ride past here quite frequently of late on my delivery route. Northern Liberties has been undergoing a dearth of redevelopment in the last decade (part of the reason I moved out, actually), so it's actually refreshing to see that some things haven't changed, for better or worse.

The worse, is that this sign sits at the end of a row of shuttered businesses, most notably Finnigan's Wake Bar. If you look closely at the 15th anniversary sign below, you can see that's outdated by nearly 6 years:

I never frequented the place, but it's a nice old building and I hope they keep it intact if and when they decide to redevelop it. For now, I'll appreciate it in its relic-like state as I pass by nearly daily. For the love of whatever, don't tear it down.

Anyway, one other thing that hasn't changed:

I don't keep a record book, but the soiled weight of all that stuff was more than 400 pounds, which I moved in one trip. The weight nearly toppled the trike backwards a couple times when I was loading it. Whilst riding, thankfully my weight kept it balanced up front. Thank the maker for e-bike assist. Riding uphill would have been near impossible (but not impossible) without it.

It's been about a month since I put myself back on the bike, and now that I'm back into the full rhythm, it really does feel the same as it ever was. That's a little comforting, but...

-  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

Since I'm talking a lot about change here, I need to talk about a big change that did occur this week. My former colleague and supervisor left the company after 7 years. He'd been the only supervisor I'd ever known as a commercial delivery cyclist. He put a great amount of effort into helping me grow my portion of the business, and also to grow within the company into roles in sales & marketing. Through all the transformations I have seen in my 3 years, 4 months and 24 days (trust me, I looked it up) with Wash Cycle, he was one of the anchors, which we all need. I have no idea where I'd be without his help.

He became an even better friend on and off work hours. He was the first person from work to call me after I busted my face in 2015, and that's just one of many examples of how solid a dude he is. It's become common for us to run into each other at events or just casually riding through the neighborhood. It doesn't hurt that we're also both pretty big sports fans and cycling enthusiasts. I'm sure even though he's moving on work-wise, these sorts of things will continue happening.

I'd gotten used to seeing his bike every time I pulled up to the office. Before he left on Thursday, I made sure to lock up next to it one more time:

Gone, but certainly won't be forgotten. See ya around, Joel. Thanks for everything and good luck. Most of all, don't change.

How Many More Times...

Late last week, another cyclist was struck in Center City Philly in one of the alleged "safest" bicycling areas in the city. Luckily this latest incident didn't result in the loss of a life, but that doesn't degrade the urgency with which Philadelphia needs to act to make the streets safer for everyone (drivers and pedestrians included).

The cycling community took to the streets again this morning to call attention to our cause, this time creating another human-protected bike lane on 13th Street between Spruce and Pine Streets:

The main thing we're fighting for are protected bike lanes, but the easier-to-grant request is the re-painting of faded bike lanes and crosswalks. As you can see from the pictures above and this one below, this particular stretch is actually in much better shape than some of the bike lanes on Spruce Street were before they were re-painted:

Still, it could use a re-paint, especially because of constant construction and infrastructure repair projects which have required drilling into the asphalt. Many of these areas have been opened up in or around bike lanes, and then re-paved without being re-striped:

Doesn't look much like a bike lane, does it?

Beyond all of the needed infrastructure improvements, what I think is most important is education. That's the main reason the cycling community organizes these events, why I keep going out to support them, and why I keep writing on this blog. The duty is on everyone to be aware of their surroundings, to drive and bike and walk defensively and to understand why. Many of us grow up knowing the "common sense" laws of driving because that's how we were born and raised, but not nearly as many people know cycling laws. It's been more than 17 years since I got my driver's license, and the only reason I've recently reviewed the PA drivers' manual was to write a blog post for work last year. This is to say, we all need to do better. How many more times will a life need to be put in jeopardy before drastic change occurs?

Related, we'll be doing this again on December 28th, the one month anniversary of Emily Fredricks' fatal incident. If you're a cyclist and will be in or around Center City Philly, I strongly urge you join us.

#bikeyourbirthmonth

Light Off

I've been spending a lot of time writing about Philly's streets the last couple of days, mostly related to biking infrastructure. Here's a picture that doesn't describe the streets at all, but bear with me here:

I post this pic because of the light just below my bike bag (featuring a nifty patch courtesy of my girlfriend). I snapped this some time Sunday evening. I was riding home last night, and at some point I must have hit a rather large pothole that snapped it off. I'm not all that upset about it, as it was a dinky $5 buy that well outlived its worth. I also have another light to replace it, as well as tons of other high visibility techniques deployed on my bike, so I don't feel my safety was compromised all that much beyond the lackluster conditions of the road surface.

In fact, I didn't notice my light was gone until much later in the ride, when I stopped to take a look at the newly re-painted bike lanes on Spruce Street (yes, you read that right):

If you look off in the distance, you can see the lines are much more defined compared to yesterday:

I ventured into the crosswalk (when appropriate, of course) to get a better view. Like I said, it's good to know that even without a light, my bike is still blatantly visible in artificial light:

Also notice the cape painted behind the bike graphic on the pavement. Ultimately we're making progress here, but there's still a lot of work to be done. New bike lane stripes will help this particular street a ton, even if it still needs to be re-paved. Now the pursuit continues for a protected bike lane...

There's another demonstration planned around City Hall at noon today, in support of Vision Zero. I'm writing this on the train back into Center City, so pending its arrival, I'll join in. Happy Tuesday.

#bikeyourbirthmonth

Memory Lame

Yesterday, Facebook reminded me of this memory that I captured via Instagram exactly 3 years ago. It's a nice photo, for sure, but other than that, it might not mean much to the average viewer. You see, that day I was on my way to sign a one year lease on a house after living in month-to-month limbo above a bar for the previous 8 months, and I just happened to look to the left when I spotted that beautiful sight. Kinda made me feel like I was moving in the right direction, even if I was still a little uncertain. Hell, I even wrote as much!

Seeing that picture yesterday made me feel a bit nostalgic. The weather, although temperate, had been a bit lackluster the last few days. By contrast, there was not a cloud in the sky yesterday, and it almost felt like that same day 3 years ago. After being indoors most of the day, I needed to enjoy at least a little bit of a seemingly rare gorgeous Autumn day, so I left Center City and took a quick post-work ride down memory lane. Or up, if you're looking at a map:

Actually, that's just the bike lane on Spring Garden Street near 10th, but it's a rather auspicious photo. Back when I frequented this area on the daily, it wasn't buffered. The street has since been re-paved and re-painted. Granted, the buffer is only about a foot and a half, two feet at most, but progress is progress, right?

Unfortunately, things took a slow turn for the worse from there. I encountered a lot of traffic on 3rd Street as I continued to head north, which was really just an annoyance. I paused briefly outside the building that used to house the Strengthening Health Institute, the macrobiotic education center that gave me my first regular job in Philly. They've long since moved to South Philly (in part due to my efforts) and the building has been vacant ever since, save for one short stint when a cafe/catering business called it home:

I already knew this was the case, but it's still a bit sad to see. I had a lot of great memories in my short time in this space. I used to live literally right around the corner, so I could walk to and from work with ease. I think one of the main reasons I fell in love with city life was that I had everything so close by: work, a grocery store, my coffee shop, concert venues, and of course, night life.

On that note, I continued on just a half block north and paused near the former site of 3rd & Girard, which used to be my favorite neighborhood bar:

Again, I kinda knew already what I was going to see. This place closed up shop sometime around October 2015, around a year after I moved out of the area. When I found out about it, I was pretty bummed. To give you a little more insight, this was pretty much my utopia for more than a year: 180 craft beers, music on Fridays & Saturdays, open mic nights with a tight knit crew of regulars, even a Bad News Bears-esque softball team that I joined along with my roommate. Oddly enough, I'd written a blog post about that, barring anything crazy or unforeseen, I'd be back for 2016.

The place has been vacant ever since, and it's a shame. It's a neat building, complete with a roof deck. I've been hoping someone would buy it and reopen it but...if you look closely at the above photo, you may notice a bright orange object that's NOT my bike. It's in the window of the bar. Bright orange signs in windows mean only one of two things (usually): either the place has applied to sell alcohol, or they're about to be demolished. This one was the latter:

Sad. To quote a friend, Philly has a rich tradition of old buildings that some cities would love to have. Sadly, we're seeing more and more of these buildings being demolished and replaced by new construction that can be custom-tailored to the owner's desires, be it for apartments or commercial space (which is a whole separate debate I don't want to get into).

So basically, after I left my hood, almost everything changed for the worse. On the other hand, the bar I used to live above, The Fire, appears to be doing OK:

It's safe to say that I moved here at just the right time and in the right circumstances. I guess you could say, I moved on at just the right time, too. Someone once told me that we tend to look at the past through rose-colored glasses. Sadly, that's not the case here, and I know that if I were plopped into that apartment at any other time, I might not have fallen in love with Philly. At least yesterday's ride and the weather were nice, and I'll always have the memories...

More Bikes, More Beers, More Bike Racks Needed

One (OK, two) of my favorite things about living in Philly is the seemingly endless stream of new places to do the things that I love most: riding my bike, and drinking local craft beer. This year alone, I've visited no fewer than 7 of the venues listed here, all within bike-able distance from my house. Yesterday, I crossed another off the list in the Fishtown Brewpub:

It's a neat little spot on Frankford Ave, featuring a small food menu (it's not all that vegetarian-friendly, but I didn't eat there so that's just my guess from looking at it) and featuring house-made brews in addition to local guest draft offerings.

They just opened recently, hence why I wanted to check it out. Unfortunately, so did everyone else, and all of their house-made beers were kicked, so I'll have to go back some other time. It's also a very bike-friendly locale, situated next door to Transport Cycles, which has ample parking and supplies (if needed).

By contrast, earlier in the day, I found myself at Lincoln Financial Field for Eagles Training Camp, which has absolutely NO bike racks:

The closest such facility is across Pattison Ave. in front of Citizens Bank Park, which has at least 3 bike racks that I'm aware of. Locking to a fence isn't the end of the world, but a dedicated bike rack is always safer and easier for everyone, as you can imagine. The situation seems a little odd, because I've routinely seen stadium employees riding their bikes to go to work. I did some light research and the Bicycle Coalition has already acknowledged this, so I'd assume there's going to be progress on this before too long.

Still, it's pretty awesome to know that I'm within riding distance of all of this. I'm remembering the days when doing two things in Philly within a day would require a whole day and 120+ miles in a car just to get there...

Plateau-tude

Around this time in years past, The Mann Center returned to my delivery roster. They've been one of my favorite seasonal clients every year, mostly because it gave me an excuse to log an extra 8ish miles a day. I'm not going to be the person delivering to them this year, but they happened to schedule a pre-season meeting that required a ride and a person to be there (me). They couldn't have picked a better day for it:

Far out

The Mann is about 4 miles from Center City, which you can see in the far background above. It's on the southwestern edge of the Belmont Plateau, and the final hill getting up to it is kinda brutal if you're not used to riding, but even behind bars, the view is more than worth it.

It's a bit of a strange area too. The area in the plateau itself is sprawling green and wide open, pretty damn beautiful. The area surrounding to the south and west, not so much. The Parkside neighborhood is known for it's Victorian architecture, but unfortunately sights like these are also commonplace:

Bikes on a bike blog. Go figure.

It's your typical post-industrial fallout neighborhood, but still, there's something endearing about the place. Maybe it's the architecture, or maybe I just like the look and feel of old buildings. I often wonder what this place looked like in its heyday...

Normally when I find myself in a place I don't often visit, I'll just ride around. Alas, I had other places to be later that afternoon so I couldn't do a whole lot of exploring. However, on the way back southward, Hawthorne Hall in Powelton Village caught my eye just because of the sheer scale of the building and it's beauty, even in disrepair. Definitely need to ride back out there when I have more time. I also wanted to see what the Earthship lot looks like at present day, but again, not a whole lot of time yesterday. Not sure when that day will occur, but I will get back to explore a little more. Who knows? I may get called into active duty once or twice this Summer...

Fo Fo Fo

One of the best parts of living in the city (at least for me) is that on random occasions, you can just decide on a whim to go to a sporting event. It's even better when your friend offers a free ticket, which happened upon my existence some time Wednesday afternoon.

The ticket was for the Sixers game, a team I hadn't previously seen live in about 7 years. I went to the game basically straight from the office with a quick stop at home, so it only made sense to ride the rest of the way there. It was also fairly decent weather-wise that day, and again, any excuse to...ah, you already know the rest.

I actually mentioned in this post at the end of 2016 that I had yet to ride my bike to a Sixers game. Cross that one off the non-existent "to-do" list. Even though I've been here before, I'm still thrilled that they have bike racks outside the arena. I'm not so thrilled by the layout:

Trust me - my rear mount rack isn't touching my tire. Optical illusion.

This might not look so bad, but consider that there's a whole rack there and only two bikes attached to it, both on the ends. Also consider that there's a U-lock mysteriously floating in the middle there. This bike rack is designed to hold the front or back tire in place, which you lock to the rack, meaning anyone can simply take off the wheel and jack the rest of your bike. These racks were commonplace when bicycle theft wasn't as prevalent. Unfortunately, humans are awesome creatures that steal things and there are many more of them now, so we've had to adapt. The more modern way to lock your bike to one of these outdated racks is as follows:

Sort of.

As you can see, I've had to face this problem with this rack before, back in April 2016. The green bike in the foreground isn't really locked completely if you look closely. Ideally, the front tire would fit over the rack, enabling the lock to fit around the tire and the frame. Moving the rack even 6 inches away from the wall would solve the problem.

But enough ranting about the bike rack. There was apparently a basketball game that night, and our seats were in the club level, which was completely new to me:

I made zero jokes about being in the club. I swear.

Not a bad view, right? I've been all over this arena, but this was a first. The seats included a small sectioned off seating area, a dining area (with servers) and a private bar, which was all pretty cool, but honestly I still prefer being out with the "commoners." For one, my brief adventure "outside the box" revealed this oddity:

Who the hell makes a 19.2 oz. can?

For only $10 at a sporting event in Philly, that's unheard of, and it was much cheaper than the beers in the club box. This also happens to be one of my favorite beers. All in all it sucked that we lost, but I can't complain about a random good time with friends, including the ride to and from the game. And I'd surely go into more depth about said game or the beer if this weren't a cycling blog, but as such...

Laying Low

I've been devoid of much activity on this here blog, and maybe that's because these days I'm not doing all that much biking, relatively speaking.  I've not moved my car in more than three weeks, and my bike has clearly seen more miles.  It's a strange month to be a cyclist, where things can range from sunny to rainy to snowy all within a couple days, and usually it's cold to boot.  I bike in any weather, but the pleasure biking definitely takes a bit of a hiatus this time of year.  That said, I have sneaked in some fun rides every now and then:

This was from about 2 weeks ago, when I joined for a small portion of the monthly Full Moon Ride.  I branched off and headed towards home while listening to the Flyers on the radio.  They went to a shootout and actually won (!), at which point I was passing by the arena and could hear the goal horn from well over a quarter mile away.  Some have told me they can hear it from their houses that are actually much further away.  Still pretty neat.

A little more than a week later, I joined my first Night Cycle ride.  Also pretty damn fun, especially the campfire at the midpoint:

Again, I had to leave a little early, but I got in a solid 14 miles on a Friday night nonetheless.  The next day, I was supposed to cat-sit for a friend all the way out in West Philly.  This prophecy appeared to me on her fridge:

That day happened to be a historic day across the globe, as hundreds of millions of people joined the Women's March. Philly was no exception, and I joined for the early part of the day, via bicycle of course on my ride home:

You can see from the above that the weather was threatening.  That continued through Sunday and it broke on Monday, so much so that I was forced to take the train home from the office.  I don't like it any more than you:

Though less than ideal, I'm always glad I got out and did something, even if it's just biking a mile down the street.  I get really bad cabin fever.  Apparently it's rubbing off on the cats, too:

Tomorrow promises to be much better, so we'll see what happens.  January is a strange month for another reason.  Even though I bike every day, I'm just not that motivated to write about it.  You might call it a holiday/birthday hangover, or something.  At any rate, it's already almost over.  Can you believe it?

Paint me a Winner

Last week, after watching a football game at a friend's house in Fishtown (we won't discuss the teams or the outcome), I was riding home and couldn't help but notice this new bike lane painted on 2nd Street between Spring Garden and Callowhill.  When I used to live in Northern Liberties, this used to be one of my more frequently traveled streets, and it was definitely in need of one:

Cars speed thru here at well above the posted limit and the police usually don't do much about it, so a designated bike lane is a definitive step in the right direction.  One thing that's perplexing, though...if you look closely at the above picture, you'll notice that the bike lane continues on the opposite side of the street just past the intersection:

I kinda understand, because there's a merge lane over on the left, but anyone who's ridden south on 6th street can tell you that there's a bike lane that traverses the I-676 off-ramp merge lane, so...not really sure what the thinking is here.  I'd think having to cross 2 lanes in the middle of an intersection would be rather un-safe, but in any case, more bike lanes still make me happy.  Sort of.

Tomorrow is Election Day.  I'm voting for the candidate who I can most likely picture riding a bike.  No really.  That's about as political as I'll get on here, but I do hope you will get out and vote, preferably via bicycle if you can.

Out With the New, In With the Old

#31daysofbiking Mileage Counter: 485.5

Mondays are...Mondays. It was a nice morning to ride yesterday, but when I got to our Thompson St. facility, I noticed a foul stench in the air, something like silicon or other synthetic building material. Sure enough, this is going on behind the facility:

New town homes, coming to gouge your credit soon!

It reminded me of living in Northern Liberties, where a new set of condos seemed to go up every day. The naturist in me can't stand the smell of new construction, but I guess it's a sign this neighborhood is finally turning around, so that's something.

Nothing major happened on my route and I laid low for the better part of yesterday mid-day, mostly because of excessive humidity. Later in the evening, things had turned much more pleasant, so I rode to dinner at one of my favorite spots in the city, Radicchio Cafe. The restaurant itself is an usually excellent Italian cafe, but I also like this relic across the street:

It may be neat, but cobblestones aren't the best for riding

The cafe sits at 4th & Wood Streets, which was the southern terminus of Old York Road many years ago. Parts of the original road have been paved over and still exist in the far northern section of the city. This city is constantly changing, but there are literally hundreds of little historical tidbits like this throughout the city that most of us don't bother to notice, myself included. Someone suggested taking a bus tour, and I think after this challenge is over, I may just do that.

And by the way, the food was great:

Presentation is everything.

I love carbs. 15ish miles on a hot, steamy Monday is not too shabby. I'm going to crack 500 miles today (day 30) if all goes according to plan!

Music Monday

#31daysofbiking mileage total: 10.1

Unlike 30 Days of Biking, I'm not going to log auto mileage. That was way too much work. I'd like to focus on riding and writing this time around.

Unfortunately, not very much to write home about today other than my average commute. I had a bit of a snowball effect going on, as I stayed up far too late binge-watching old episodes of Dexter and was awakened by the cat knocking my roommate's plant off the mantle at 5:30 this morning. As such, I had a very exhausting Monday, spent mostly in a cargo van picking up soiled linen kits from last week's DNC. However, I did see this in South Philly:

It's the building for the Girard Academic Music Program, of which I know very little, but the logo struck me as I rode past on my way to pick up the cargo van. Actually, before today, I didn't know this place existed. That whole "not paying attention to my surroundings" thing proved true, because I ride past here probably once a week. It's kinda cool. At least my graphic design nerd-ness was satiated.

Tomorrow will be a better day for sure. For starters, it's not Monday. And hey, if this were #30daysofbiking, I wouldn't have even officially begun yet, so there's that..

Ride on.

Tour de Tour

30 Days Mileage Counter

Bike: 562.2

Car: 490

Train: 8

I'm so close to 600, I can taste it. In the last 2 days, I've made purposeful detours just to get a couple more miles in. I'm still facing an uphill battle with my busy schedule this weekend, but here's hoping it wasn't all in vain (it wasn't...duh).

After my morning route and a few hours at the office, I detoured to West South Philly, namely FDR Park. It's a decent enough ride for the most part, but despite what GoogleMaps says, the expansive intersection at 20th & Moyamensing is not the most bike-friendly place. This just looks odd:

At least there aren't any trolley tracks...

There's no left turn arrow, but when traffic from Moyamensing gets the green, they only allow one direction to go at a time. It's still a little unnerving, and crossing through the intersection felt like it took 5 minutes. It was also raining.

Nevertheless, I reached the park, the place where we used to park for free during Flyers games (that's a good story if you care to hear one day):

That new tire looks nice, eh?

I did a quick loop and headed home. All told, I added over 5 miles with that little detour. Not much else to say about FDR Park unless you're going there to play softball, picnic, or skateboard, but a couple extra miles never hurt anyone.

I'm off to SHI for a weekend seminar, then karaoke at SouthHouse tonight. One more day, #30daysofbiking. Let's finish out strong.

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?