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The Incompleat
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The purpose of this journal is to keep track of my efforts to bike into shape (I'm not really interested in losing weight, though I certainly wouldn't object to that! It probably will not happen, since I won't give up my chocolate ice cream, though... I just want to firm up my legs and stomach). I'm not an in-shape athlete, I'm a casual bike rider who's goal is to get into better shape.
I have a Schwinn Sierra mountain bike, which I bought last year, with shock absorbers below the nice, comfy gel seat. It cost me $200 or so. I wear padded underwear and padded shorts, and a sleeveless jersey so I can get a nice tan. I've been thinking of listening to CDs (German language CDs) while I bike - the last time I did this the traffic noises were quite audible through the music...
This page covers two journal entries:
1. Saturday, July 15, 2000 - Meandering to Rosedale and back
2. Sunday, July 16, 2000 - To The Quarry and back
Saturday, July 15, 2000 - Meandering to Rosedale and backBeginning mileage: 201.74 Ending mileage: 224.40 Normally, Saturday and Sundays are the days when I take my 20 mile bike rides down the Mississippi Regional Corridor Trail (I bike two miles around my NE MPLS neighborhood, then nine miles down the trail - which is how long it is, and then back). However, today, I just didn't have the energy. A couple of weeks ago I did some major leage gardening, squatting on my haunches for long periods of times, and my legs have been aching every since, when I go up hills. Also my right elbow has been giving me trouble...not sure what to do about that... Anyway, I rode my twenty+ miles in increments, and I do feel like I got a work out. First I rode up and down in my neighborhood for five miles, gazing at the lawns and the houses. [I'll be taking photos of some of the nicest of them for the Streets section]. There's a clutch of baseball/softball fields, some basketball courts and a tennis court nearby. No one was playing at about 10.30, when I was first over there. I came home and relaxed for an hour, then went out again. I rode back to the baseball/softball fields, and saw some guys warming up for a baseball game. Then I turned around, and rode out to Rosedale, to pick up my paycheck from work. (I work at the Fairdale Shoppes).
Lesson learned today! I can remember many years ago when traffic in the Mall parking lot was two-way (how many years ago was that? Five?), and its always irritated me that the powers that be decided to make it one-way. Since I was on my bike I said, heck with it, it's shorter to go to the left, against the traffic, and I'm going to do it! Big mistake. Most of the journey across the parking lots (cutting kitty corner across the Dayton's parking lot) was fine, but once I got closer to my destination (riding across Fairview Avenue to the Fairdale Shoppes), I was right in the way of cars coming in from Fairview Avenue. Had I biked the other way around the parking lot, with the traffic, I would have saved a lot of time and also not looked like an idiot to quite a few motorists. So - I've determined to never do that again! After picking up my check I rode back towards home (it's four miles in each direction) and then to the baseball field and watched the game for a while. I would have preferred to watch softball, but baseball was okay. Nice to see how intent the players were - they wanted to play well and win! I stayed for thirty minutes to get a suntan, and then left. So I've biked about 21 miles, and I feel fine. But my elbow is aching so I think I'll give it a rest until tomorrow.
Sunday, July 16, 2000 - To The Quarry and backBeginning mileage: 224.40 Ending mileage: 224.40 Today, I decided to let my elbow rest up a bit. So, I biked only to The Quarry, a relatively new shopping complex up on 18th St. and Johnson Avenue (more on this in the Streets section), a little before noon, and took the casino bus to Treasure Island. Spent four hours there to win $100 at video roulette, came back, and rode home. [A note to anyone who goes to casinos - be careful what you play! Blackjack, slot machines - they are all mug's games! Computer roulette is really the only game at which you can win consistently - you're dependent only on yourself. With patience and conservative betting and the willpower to stop playing after you've won a relatively small amount, like $100, instead of giving it all back! - you can win at a casino!]
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Go to next journal entry: Monday, July 17, 2000 - 'Steel Row' and Boom Island..
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