May Blood Pressure

Bike to Work Day Se7en

I have been considering not naming the post titles with the number of days I have ridden the bike. But there is no other good way for me to keep track. And so, it shall continue.

It was a chilly ride this morning but once I get going, I really don't notice it. 

The worst part is still the hill and I do not tackle it with any alacrity. However, I do make it up without getting off the bike and I'm not having to stop for a rest break.

I must remember to bring tissue with me. Riding the bike makes my nose run and it's quite annoying when I reach the bus.

I also have to do better and remembering my water bottle. That runny nose really dehydrates me.

Postlude: On the ride home I considered getting a transfer and riding the North Monroe bus closer to home. I was able to get a transfer from my driver but when I checked the schedule, the bus wasn't even arriving for another 15 minutes. If I rode home, I would be there in 15 minutes. So the transfer idea was abandoned and I rode home. 

It's a good thing too because I really felt a bit of improvement in my riding style. I think my stamina may be improving.

Ride to Work Day Fi5e

Prior to riding the bike to work today, I ambled out to my car to retrieve some film I had picked up for work. As I rounded the car, I was greeted by a stunned skunk. I surprised her and she assumed her attack position. I was in no mood to be squirted so I calmly backed off. She decided I was not a huge threat and resumed foraging.

When I pulled the bike out on to the driveway, I was very careful to not surprise her, wherever she may have been.

The ride downtown was uneventful and I made the bus with minutes to spare. It is very nice to have the time in the morning to read the paper, although I have to learn how to read a jiggling surface. It's slow going.

Yesterdays' return ride was very slow going. There was an accident of the Sprague S curve that back up traffic all the way to Pines. The driver announced he was taking an alternative route, basically heading into town on Trent Avenue.

That meant I was on the bus for an extra half hour. That was not a disaster because I had the newspaper to read. However there was a garrulous passenger who felt he was quite hilarious and kept going with a string of unfunny riddles. What did the hat say to the tie? You hang out here and I'll go on a head. Why don't bananas get lonely? Because they come in a bunch. Augh! Shoot me now!

Editors Note: The weather turned to crap by quitting time which was completely unforecasted. Rather than ride home in the rain, I rode home with Andrew. I'll get the bike later in the week.

Bike to Work Day 4our

I think I have now ridden my bike to work more this year than all of last year. That's more of a loathsome observation on last year than a laudatory comment on this year.

Nonetheless, I am waaaaay out of shape. My hill climbing is quite unsatisfactory. I hope my continued bike riding will improve my stamina.

It remains to be seen.

Bike to Work Day Three

I struggled mightily this morning with the three position bike rack on the bus. It was a new one that I had not encountered before. 

The bike normally fits into a grooved rail on the rack and then you place an arm the clamps down over the front tire and holds the bike in place.

Today, the clamping arm came up from underneath the rack, It was spring loaded so the tension against the front wheel was what kept the bike in place. 

The problem was that I had to lift the whole rack in order to make the clamping arm clear the pavement and swing into place. The driver realized I was having trouble and then raised the kneeling bus so I could swing the arm into place.

Once on the bus, I pulled out my newspaper for the ride to work. I soon realized that my brow was quite sweaty and it did not seem to be easing up at all. I really needed a towel to wipe my head down.

Just another indication of how far I have to go to get to being in bad shape.

Bike to Work, Day Two

6:13 AM: That steely resolve that I demonstrated in the previous two posts lasted about 17 minutes. I just can't seem to stay away from candy. The struggle continues.

I'm about to head out the door and ride downtown to catch the bus to work. Let's see how I do today!

7:18 AM: I made it. It was an easy and uneventful ride downtown, although the one hill I have to climb was quite a task and reminded me how out of shape I am.

I mowed the lawn last night and afterwards, I was wiped out. I ended up going to bed at 9:30.

Bike to Work, Day One

I suspect my scale is messing with me. I weighed 224.7 this morning. That's a five pound loss. IN ONE DAY!

Of course, the one thing I did yesterday that is different from every other day is I ate nothing but protein. I had eggs for breakfast, grilled chicken for lunch, and a couple glasses of wine in the evening. I must admit that I ate some jelly beans too. But only a few.

Here's part of the scenery from my morning commute today.

Nice huh?

I rode my bike today. It takes about 10 minutes to get from the house to downtown. It took a little longer today because the park is shutdown so I have to go around. 

The bus was waiting for me which allowed me to stow my bike, hop on and read the paper. 

I have to say that I am at the beginning of my fitness curve, the end where I am not in very good shape. I made it up the hills I have to climb but it was slow going. I'm going to bike as much as I can this summer and hope to improve the fitness curve.

NGNS

I have been doing a terrible job of taking care of myself and making smart decisions when it comes to eating. I weighed in this morning at 229.6. I think that is the heaviest I have ever been.

Well, time to put a stop to that. So today, I am really trying hard to follow the NGNS Diet. (No Grains, No Sugars)

I can eat fat and lots of protein. I'm going to go easy on the fat but my worst vice is sugar. I love the sweets!

So I am banning myself from candy, cookies, chocolate and Baileys Irish Creme. I should lay off the beer but I still want to enjoy life. Therefore, I'm limiting myself to one per day.

So here we go. Let's see how I do!

So You Had a Bad Day

It is only 6:45 AM and already, I am having a day. 

I couldn't find my keys this morning and I had to get out of the house early so I grabbed the spare key out of the secret hiding place and headed off into the world.

I needed to stop and get gas as I am low and it is the time of the week to gas up. I buy gas at Stateline, Idaho because it's about 20 cents a gallon cheaper than in Washington. Since I work at Liberty Lake, it's only three miles to the border and cheaper gas so it's not like I drive way out of my way to save $3.00 on a fill up.

When I pulled up to the gas station, I suddenly remembered that I don't have the key to my locking gas cap because it's on my regular key ring. Shit!

My low fuel light is on so I can't possibly make it back home. 

At break time I'm going to go to the auto parts store and see if they can offer a solution.

The reason I left the house early this morning was because of Gail.

Gail is a woman I grew up with. Our parents were friends so we spent summers at the lake and winters on the ski hill. 

On occasion, I will do little errands for Gail. When I go to Costco, I'll call her up and see what she needs. She always has a long list and I deliver it to her. She will write me a check when I deliver and throws in another 50 bucks for my trouble.

Two weeks ago, she wanted to know if Costco was selling any lawn mowers. She needed one and they happened to be selling a model. It was $350.00. She said she wanted it and would call me later to arrange delivery.

So on Sunday after church, Susan drove me over to Costco and I got the mower. I called her and ended up leaving a message that I had it. 

She called me about 7:00 Sunday evening and said she was ready for me to bring it over. I told her I was in the middle of dinner and would not bring it that night. I think that peeved her a bit but I'm not here to jump when she calls.

I got a text from her later asking me to deliver it to her gate because she had some guy coming by the next day to mow for her.

She said to send me my address and leave the receipt and she would send a check.  So I got up a little extra early on Monday morning and drove across town to Gail's gate to leave this mower, still in its box, at her gate. That was almost two weeks ago. 

So far, no check.

After waiting a reasonable number of days for a check to arrive, I started calling, only to leave messages on her machine. I tried texting but got no response.

Finally, last night, I got a text from a phone with an Idaho area code saying she left a check at her gate.

So, I got up a little earlier than usual and drove across town to Gail's gate, where I found no check. 

While not impoverished, $350.00 is a lot of money for me to float to someone. Especially someone who is as hard to contact as Gail. I haven't even began to go into the peculiarities of this woman which requires her to have someone like me do Costco runs for her.

Eccentric is a word and while not totally applicable to Gail, it's as close as I can come at the moment. 

And so...I am having a day!

Update: Susan has my keys. She inadvertently put them in her purse last night. I needed her keys to get the car out of the garage so I could get the mower out. Then I gave them back and my keys were on the table and so on and so forth and what have you.

It's just a perfect storm of events that all came together to conspire against ME.

Final Update: Susan brought me my keys at the end of the day and I was able to get gassed up and get my car home safely.