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February 24, 2007
Weather Monger
There was a rumor at the beginning of the week that the temperature might touch 50 F (10 C) today. As the week progressed that was adjusted down to the upper then mid-40s (something colder than 10 C). The forecast also called for thunderstorms on Sunday -- which all pointed to Saturday being a good day to take The Mighty Schwinn out for a roll.
I have a 15-mile course laid out that I can easily turn into a 12 mile course if I'm not careful. It has been my intention, several times, to put in 30 miles by making two loops. Unfortunately I've never been able to pull this off as my house always looks so inviting as I approach it and I often hear a little voice in my head saying, "Fifteen miles is pretty good on a day like to day. Most people in the city haven't put in anything near fifteen miles this afternoon. How about some ass-sitting time."
And I cave and stop. It's for a similar reason that I don't run on a track very well. For every mile you run on a track you have three opportunities to think a partial mile is pretty good. I do a lot better biking or running a distance from home and then biking or running that same distance back.
For today's ride I thought I'd bike out to my friends John and Natalie. I've know Nat for very close to 30 years and John for as long as he and Natalie have been married.
Earlier in the week I'd e-mail Natalie to let her know I'd drop Girl Scout Cookie money off today. This obligated me to make the trip for, while I'll do things that disappoint me, I'll do everything I can to not disappoint others.
I plotted a 10-mile course to John and Natalie's and set off. Ten out, ten back and then ten somewhere else and I'd have thirty miles in.
The ten out was rough. The wind -- and a big, cold one at that -- was in my face the whole way and at one point very early on I almost decided to drive instead. But, I stuck it out.
As I mentioned, I've known Natalie for about 30 years and this entitles her to worry about me in a way that most people aren't allowed and have little desire to. If we were to rank people in the order they are allowed to worry about me, cosmically speaking, the list would be something like:
My Mom
My Dad
My Sister
My Brother
Other Close Relatives
Female Friends who have known me a long time
-- a bunch of unnamed people/groups --
The bank that holds my mortgage
Natalie's primary worry concerning me is that I may be lonely. At least that's what I think it is. It could be that she's concerned that I have a itch on my back that I'm unable to reach. In any case it isn't uncommon for her to suggest fixing me up with a friend she has who seems to have an unreachable itchy spot on her back.
While at John & Nat's we discussed the weather briefly and it came up that we're expecting an ice storm of some sort this afternoon -- starting at 6 p.m. (Sweet. If there was ever a guilt-free excuse to cut a 30-mile ride short that was it.) We talked about our kids. What's going on at work. Friends we have in common from high school. Oh ... and the fact that Natalie has a currently-single female friend -- who I assume has a nice set of nails as Natalie thinks we should get together.
The ride home went as I hoped it would; the wind was at my back the whole way.
I really wasn't in the mood to find myself outside in a sleet storm and decided to cut the trip to 20 miles. (After all, there are a lot of people in the city who didn't put anything near 20 miles on a bike today.)
Posted by delmer at February 24, 2007 4:54 PM