Adventures in Biking

It was absolutely gorgeous out today and I HAD to get outside…so I did! During lunch I walked to a market a couple blocks away from work to grab some lunch. A sushi lunch to be more specific.

My little platter consisted of:

• Spicy Shrimp roll
• California roll
• Cucumber roll
• Tuna roll

Now I guess I wouldn’t really call this “sushi”…maybe more like “sushay”…because nothing was really raw – which is how I define sushi. The tuna was raw but after one little piece, I said mmm yeah… this is the Iowa sushi I know and do not love…aka it was most definitely not good, fresh tuna a la Miyabi 9! So while the tuna roll didn’t make the cut, the other rolls were pretty decent. Really though, I didn’t care, I was just glad to have gotten out of the office and into the fresh air for a little bit!

Oh! And on my walk back, I almost got spit on by a bum!! Can you imagine??? I was casually walking along, smiling, enjoying the sunshine and minding my own business, when I walked past a homeless guy who spit at me from like 3 feet away!!! I am lucky, because if he would have put any effort into the spit, it would have hit me! Traumatizing…

After lunch I needed something a little sweet, so I got a small hot chocolate from our coffee/hot chocolate/mocha machine. It was great – nice and foamy on top and perfectly chocolate-y!

Knowing full well that I had better take advantage of such a fabulous day outside before the Iowa weather tables suddenly turned on me (it could happen at any time folks) I ran home, changed clothes and…paused. My fabulous bum walk had produced some wicked blisters on the backs of my heels (note to self: bring walking shoes to work now that the weather is nice! Wait – walking shoes? What am I, 80?) Anyways, I had, just HAD to get outside, so I looked around and a light bulb went off in my head – my bike! Yes folks, here she is – what a gem. I think it’s actually a men’s bike, but it’s got two wheels, a handle bar, and pedals – and that’s all anyone really needs, right?

I headed out to my favorite trail, tried out some new ones, coasted down some great hills, pedaled hard up some even better ones – and even took a leisurely lap around the lake by the local library. It was just great!!! And I was super proud of my fellow Iowans – about 95% of the bikers I saw out were wearing helmets! Usually I’m the only geek decked out in my sweet lid protector – but today, everyone had one on – nice! I’d say I did about 8-9 miles (I’m not sure how far my little side trail adventures took me.) It was a really great way to end my day!

Dinner also took advantage of the great weather by getting cooked on the grill! On the menu was:

• Bacon wrapped turkey breasts
• Potato
• Sweet, sweet cantaloupe
• Fruit salad sorbet

Sometimes cantaloupe makes the back of my throat itch, but I don’t care, I eat it anyways – it’s so good! This one had been sitting and ripening on my counter for a couple days, so it was perfectly juicy. Cantaloupe also makes a great sorbet, by the way. If you ever have any extra on hand – you should give it a try! Another sorbet goodie – Pears + Cinnamon + Vanilla…I made this once last year and ate the whole batch in one sitting! Truth!

Alright people – time to go witness the verbal beat down Jillian will be giving her contestants on the Biggest Loser tonight. Would this type of training work for you? If I had a personal trainer I would want them to be really hard on me and get in my face and stuff like Jillian does. What about you? Would you do better with tough love, or a gentler more caring approach?