Monday Update

I don't even want to talk about the scale today. To be honest, I was pretty disgusted when I stepped on this morning. Needless to say, it didn't go down.

Fact is, I found a bag of trail mix that Deb had socked away. I've never been a trail mix kinda guy, but this had peanuts, cashews, raisins and . . . M&M's. Deb was gone and I was all alone. Well, me and the bag were all alone. Now, there are many fewer nuts and M's to be alone with. It was good, but not worth it.

So, not a good start to the day. I got off the scale, got on my bike shorts and headed out on my bike at about 8. What a beautiful morning -- sunny, maybe 65 at that hour. Nice crisp chill in the air. Starting out, I was actually cold in a short sleeve tech t-shirt.

Amazing how friendly people are when they're exercising. I say hi to every runner or bicyclist on the road and more often than not, they say it first. (Question: is one who rides a bicycle a bicyclist or a biker? Biker is quicker to write, but it reminds me of a guy riding a Harley.) There's something cool about this public exercise fraternity.

I rode out to my old hood once again. Again, nobody out and about. Guess they were all still in bed. From there, I headed to the mall. Though the mall is not open, the Starbucks is. I've developed a bit of a Starbucks habit lately. I could blame Deb, but I won't. It's me shucking out a couple of bucks a cup. With the chill outside, it was a grande house blend with a shot of espresso, as if I needed the shot of caffeine to keep the blood flowing. Sat there for 15 minutes or so, then headed home. A great 22 mile ride.

When I got home, the kids were vegging on the couch watching tv. Hey, wanna play catch? Usually, I get asked before I ask the question. Kids were way too lethargic. Told them no more tv. Too nice outside. That did the trick. Suddenly, there were three of us outside.

I had been looking for a place to ride with the kids to get breakfast or lunch. Our neighborhood is very hilly and the outskirts of the neighborhood are down hill, so I need to find a path somewhere where the hills are not too bad so that the kids can get back home without passing out. On my ride this morning, I found just such a place.

Told the kids that we could go to this particular Subway for lunch by bike. They were stoked. We set out on the trek (me on my old hybrid) and it turned out to be just 2 1/4 miles each way. No problem. Seems to be a popular spot for bicycling families, too. We weren't alone.

By the time the day was out, I finished off almost 27 miles on the bike. Jobrotha and family came over for dinner.

All in all, a day that started out down, turned out to be pretty great.

L'Chaim!