I got up at 5 am today because I needed to update some videos from last night’s football coverage for work. I was thinking I would just go back to bed after that and sleep away my weekend like usual, but once I was finished working (it barely took any time at all) I really wasn’t tired anymore. So I stayed up and cooked Sean some bacon, sunny-side-up eggs, and grits.
I have finally learned how to cook bacon properly! It’s only taken me, what, 15 years? What I’ve been doing wrong all this time is getting impatient and turning the heat up too high. Also, apparently it’s best to start with a cold pan? I learned that tip over at Cooking for Engineers.
Sean thought the bacon was awesome. So I was very pleased. I also ate two pieces and liked them a lot better than the oh-so-crispy bacon from the other day.
After eating breakfast, Sean went to bed. I had cleaned the kitchen while I was cooking, so I fiddled around online a little, but ultimately decided to get my walk over with before it got too hot. The sun was already rising.
Then it occurred to me: why not go biking instead? It’s the weekend and there’s plenty of time. So I detached the bike from its stand, carted it out to the car, popped a wheel off, and slid it into the back. Let me say that it is much easier to get the bike in there once the front wheel is removed!
I went up to the Greeneway. I figured that would be best since it’s a solid surface and quite shaded, which would both help me since I hadn’t biked in quite some time. I also intended to go to work after biking and see about rearranging my office, and the Greeneway is quite close by, whereas the Canal entrance I like to bike from is on the complete opposite side of town.
I decided to start from the Rapids parking/Martintown Road entrance, where the bridge is, because I honestly didn’t know how far I was going to be able to make it, and I really wanted to be able to reach a goal, like the Pisgah Road end of the Greeneway. Getting the bike out of the car and reassembled was a breeze, and then I was off.
And wow. I knew it was going to be bad, but I was still unprepared for how winded I felt right at the beginning. I countered this by slowing down. Back in the day I would try to stay above 8 mph (12 was optimal); today I averaged about 6.4. But I was able to make it all the way to the end, and I only stopped to rest once in the middle.
I was right about the shade being beneficial. It actually felt like a nice, cool spring morning. It apparently rained last night, which probably helped (and added to the “springy” feel). The upshot is that I wasn’t uncomfortable at all, especially when I was moving. It felt like there was a cool breeze.
I also had my Outspokin’ water bottle with me and I made sure to stay hydrated, drinking lots of water when I stopped for a break and when I got to the end.
The ride back was what I’d been waiting for. As longtime readers and Greeneway frequenters know, it’s downhill. It’s not hard to get to 12mph downhill, which I did. I also rode no-handed the entire way, save for when I had to cross the street or pass people.
I may be out of shape, but I can still ride a bicycle no-handed, damn it! :D
Riding no-handed forced me to pedal pretty much the entire time in order to better keep my balance, so while the workout on the way back obviously wasn’t as high-intensity as the way up, it wasn’t just me coasting along, either.
It did feel great, though–the cool air whipping around me, my arms at my sides, my feet casually pushing the pedals.
In all I rode 3.2 miles, which sounds really pathetic to me, but it’s a first step. I was pretty pathetic back when I originally started biking, too, and I got to where I was pretty awesome after awhile. It’ll come back.
I did go to the office after that, and I did pull my desk away from the wall, but then I noticed some cables going into my video encoder that don’t exist on the other wall. I’ll have to look into what those are and see if it’s possible to have them on the other side of the room. I have no problem with running two CAT 5 cables across the floor and lying a big rug over the cords, which I will have to do in order to have enough internet connections at my desk, but I don’t want to get ridiculous with it.
My office is large, but the shape is problematic, as I’ve mentioned before. Ultimately I want to be able to sit in a corner with my back to the wall so people aren’t constantly behind me, but it seems like it’s going to be very difficult to achieve that.
After seeing the extra wires, I decided to leave things as they were until I had consulted with the IT guy. So I shoved the desk back into position and headed home.
I got here at around 9 o’clock. 9 o’clock! Look at everything I’ve done today, and all way before I would be going into work on a weekday. Today I don’t have work…so what am I going to fill all those extra hours with?
Well, I’m thinking about finally driving out to see the dam. I’m also considering going to Lincolnton.
For now, though, I’m going to stay in the cool and rest a bit, eat a bowl of cereal, and watch some Touch, which I started watching yet again the other day.