So I was supposed to go on a third ALC training ride yesterday but apparently all of these early mornings gave me the beginnings of a cold, and since I'm flying to the East coast tomorrow for work schtuff I decided that I'd take the beginning of Shabbat to heart and rest up.
As a result, I was able to get up and do a wonderfully pleasant ride this morning-ish (didn't start until 11 am, which I was totally okay with) through the Valley. Started at home and googlemap-ed my way to the general vicinity of Michelle's house in Chatsworth, mostly to prove that I could bike to her house if I really wanted to. The ride was pretty flat and pretty strightforward, maybe five turns total and all major streets, but it was a longer ride than I'd done recently so it still had merit. Not to mention that I STILL have a headache three hours later (which I'm fairly accustomed to, it happens when I don't properly hydrate. Both Angie and Matt tend to yell at me for this (which is totally legit), to which I generally reply 'but I THOUGHT I was drinking enough?!' And I did. As usual. Lame.) I'm just not used to the heat I think. Excuses excuses. The majority of the pounding throbbing part is gone, so I'll be fine. I just need about another gallon of water =)
totals: 37.08 miles via bike (wahoo!)
Saturday
Thursday
03.26.09
Yesterday was the perfect day.
Woke up at 5:30 AM, stuffed my bike into the backseat of my GTI, drove to West Hollywood, biked Nichols Canyon (Creek? You never know here) with an ALC training group, came home and showered, dealt with work email...basically the day continues in pleasant fashion. The point is that a 11-mile bike ride up and hill and back down it was a WONDERFUL start to my day. I think I'm going to make this one of my every-week rides.
Today I did much the same thing except I'd left my bike in the car from the day before so there was no stuffage needed and I drove to Los Feliz instead of West Hollywood and biked Griffith Park instead of Nichols Canyon/Creek.
Biking really will save my soul.
03.25.09: 11 miles biked
today: 12.5 miles biked
...and while these may sound like piddly little numbers mileage-wise, there was SIGNIFICANT more-than-two-miles-of-climbing intergrated into each ride. So there.
Woke up at 5:30 AM, stuffed my bike into the backseat of my GTI, drove to West Hollywood, biked Nichols Canyon (Creek? You never know here) with an ALC training group, came home and showered, dealt with work email...basically the day continues in pleasant fashion. The point is that a 11-mile bike ride up and hill and back down it was a WONDERFUL start to my day. I think I'm going to make this one of my every-week rides.
Today I did much the same thing except I'd left my bike in the car from the day before so there was no stuffage needed and I drove to Los Feliz instead of West Hollywood and biked Griffith Park instead of Nichols Canyon/Creek.
Biking really will save my soul.
03.25.09: 11 miles biked
today: 12.5 miles biked
...and while these may sound like piddly little numbers mileage-wise, there was SIGNIFICANT more-than-two-miles-of-climbing intergrated into each ride. So there.
Tuesday
03.24.09
Biked to work on Friday but didn't record it:
03.20.09 = 8.3 miles bike
Yesterday was really really windy and Mel had stayed over the night before and needed a ride home anyhow, so I drove to work, which I never do on Mondays usually. It turned out to be a good thing because I had a meeting I'd forgotten I was having and it was nice to be in real-person clothing rather than the getup I wear in the office when I bike in (which is bike clothes under oversized jeans + Polish slippers + an XL balck hooded sweatshirt with R.C.V.P. on the front, D.A.R.E-style from when Jer was RC.)
Today was much less windy and a balmy 77 degrees, and on my way home from work on my bike I decided that there was still some sun left in the day so I dropped my backpack off at home and just continued down the street I live on (Riverside) for about 6 miles and turned around and came back. I like doing that. Going straight on a street for a long time is beautifully mind-numbing, and you usually end up somewhere interesting, and it's fun to see what kinds of things are further down a street you've only seen a little bit of.
Tomorrow I have RSVPed for a real live ALC training ride (something I've been meaning to do for looong time now) at 6:30 am. Gah.
total miles biked 03.24.09: 21 (8.3 counts as my commute, the rest counts as exploration =)
03.20.09 = 8.3 miles bike
Yesterday was really really windy and Mel had stayed over the night before and needed a ride home anyhow, so I drove to work, which I never do on Mondays usually. It turned out to be a good thing because I had a meeting I'd forgotten I was having and it was nice to be in real-person clothing rather than the getup I wear in the office when I bike in (which is bike clothes under oversized jeans + Polish slippers + an XL balck hooded sweatshirt with R.C.V.P. on the front, D.A.R.E-style from when Jer was RC.)
Today was much less windy and a balmy 77 degrees, and on my way home from work on my bike I decided that there was still some sun left in the day so I dropped my backpack off at home and just continued down the street I live on (Riverside) for about 6 miles and turned around and came back. I like doing that. Going straight on a street for a long time is beautifully mind-numbing, and you usually end up somewhere interesting, and it's fun to see what kinds of things are further down a street you've only seen a little bit of.
Tomorrow I have RSVPed for a real live ALC training ride (something I've been meaning to do for looong time now) at 6:30 am. Gah.
total miles biked 03.24.09: 21 (8.3 counts as my commute, the rest counts as exploration =)
Thursday
03.19.09
Today was a feel-empty day. I'm just not on top of my game recently. Not sure if it's the URJ stuff or general slump-ness, but I need a kick or something.
Just the general work commute for movement today: 8.3 miles via bike
::sigh::
Just the general work commute for movement today: 8.3 miles via bike
::sigh::
Wednesday
03.18.09 (with news from 03.11.09!)
Sometimes I'm inexplicably lazy about the most random things. I forgot to post my run last Wednesday and it's taken until today to actually sit down and post.
Here goes:
1. A week ago today I did my first 5 mile run (!) in almost two years. It was quite the accomplishment. I'm still proud of myself a week later. (Coldwater to Burbank to Hazeltine to Riverside to home.) I almost ran all the way to Melanie's, I probably could sometime if I plan it out.
2. This morning Mel and I went on a morning hike up to Eagle Rock. We got to see a herd of deer right at the beginning of the trail and then about 500 m from the beginning of the end of the trail, there was a RATTLESNAKE!!! The first one I've ever seen on a trail; Mel heard it and jumped ahead on the trail, I heard it and it was still ahead of me so I got to see it slink off into the undergrowth. Scary as fuck. I eventually passed the place where it had been and we continued to the top, but it was quite the adventure!
3. After I came home from work this afternoon I did a fairly short run - I figured I might as well since I was still in my hiking clothes and it's 88 degrees according to Charlotte (my car) which is SO NICE.
Sigh.
Totals:
03.11.09: 5 mile run
03.18.09: 4-ish mile hike, 2.1 mile run
Here goes:
1. A week ago today I did my first 5 mile run (!) in almost two years. It was quite the accomplishment. I'm still proud of myself a week later. (Coldwater to Burbank to Hazeltine to Riverside to home.) I almost ran all the way to Melanie's, I probably could sometime if I plan it out.
2. This morning Mel and I went on a morning hike up to Eagle Rock. We got to see a herd of deer right at the beginning of the trail and then about 500 m from the beginning of the end of the trail, there was a RATTLESNAKE!!! The first one I've ever seen on a trail; Mel heard it and jumped ahead on the trail, I heard it and it was still ahead of me so I got to see it slink off into the undergrowth. Scary as fuck. I eventually passed the place where it had been and we continued to the top, but it was quite the adventure!
3. After I came home from work this afternoon I did a fairly short run - I figured I might as well since I was still in my hiking clothes and it's 88 degrees according to Charlotte (my car) which is SO NICE.
Sigh.
Totals:
03.11.09: 5 mile run
03.18.09: 4-ish mile hike, 2.1 mile run
Tuesday
03.10.09
Listening to one of the mixes my Regional Board made me for my birthday. Music is a wonderful gift.
I went on a wonderful run after work today. I maybe could have kept running even. Maybe I'll try tomorrow. It will mean running more than I've run in a long time, because today I ran 4 miles which I've considered a fairly 'real' run for awhile now.
Also, I forgot to post my work commute yesterday, so I'll include that here too.
03.09.09 - miles biked: 8.3
03.10.09 - miles bikes: 8.3, miles ran 4.0
I went on a wonderful run after work today. I maybe could have kept running even. Maybe I'll try tomorrow. It will mean running more than I've run in a long time, because today I ran 4 miles which I've considered a fairly 'real' run for awhile now.
Also, I forgot to post my work commute yesterday, so I'll include that here too.
03.09.09 - miles biked: 8.3
03.10.09 - miles bikes: 8.3, miles ran 4.0
Sunday
03.08.09
Mmm. I'm feeling fairly content right now.
This morning was daylights savings (a fact I was not reminded of until about 11:00 PM last night while out to dinner with friends for a birthday) so I got a bit less sleep than I would have liked to.
This made my car-packing a little comical this morning. Today was the Purim carnival at Santa Monica Synagogue, so I didn't have to teach so much as supervise. Additional perks included free pizza and hamentashen and 1/2-hour early dismissal. In light of all of this, I had decided that today would be a great day for a post-teaching bike ride with my co-teacher Daniel. Which brings me back to the car-packing. Overtired Dustys should really refrain from attempting to stuff bikes into small cars.
Either way, I got both myself and my bike to Santa Monica in one piece, did the Purim thing, and then Daniel and I rode down to the water and over to Manhattan Beach and back. Daniel hasn't really ridden all that recently, so we took it a bit slower than I usually would, but as a result I'm not in pain! After yesterday's hills, it was really nice to just chill out and dodge pedestrians for a bit.
Total: 30.44 miles!
That's three days of biking in a row - FINALLY! Truth be told, I'm mostly just preparing for when Kate comes to visit. I don't anticipate much EXERcise while she's visiting, she's not huge on movement for the sake of movement. Which is okay with me as long as I prepare for it.
This morning was daylights savings (a fact I was not reminded of until about 11:00 PM last night while out to dinner with friends for a birthday) so I got a bit less sleep than I would have liked to.
This made my car-packing a little comical this morning. Today was the Purim carnival at Santa Monica Synagogue, so I didn't have to teach so much as supervise. Additional perks included free pizza and hamentashen and 1/2-hour early dismissal. In light of all of this, I had decided that today would be a great day for a post-teaching bike ride with my co-teacher Daniel. Which brings me back to the car-packing. Overtired Dustys should really refrain from attempting to stuff bikes into small cars.
Either way, I got both myself and my bike to Santa Monica in one piece, did the Purim thing, and then Daniel and I rode down to the water and over to Manhattan Beach and back. Daniel hasn't really ridden all that recently, so we took it a bit slower than I usually would, but as a result I'm not in pain! After yesterday's hills, it was really nice to just chill out and dodge pedestrians for a bit.
Total: 30.44 miles!
That's three days of biking in a row - FINALLY! Truth be told, I'm mostly just preparing for when Kate comes to visit. I don't anticipate much EXERcise while she's visiting, she's not huge on movement for the sake of movement. Which is okay with me as long as I prepare for it.
Saturday
03.07.09
Well. Today was supposed to be my try-out-a-route-in-my-1992-"Touring the Los Angeles Area by Bicycle"-book-day, and try I did. Unfortunately, I missed a turn somewhere 15ish miles in and ended up coming back via a totally different route...which was actually okay because the route went straight up and down mountains. That's maybe a bit of an exaggeration but truly, there were some HUGE, LONG, WINDY ups. My body is legit tired and it wasn't even that long of a ride! Great reminder that I need to start doing this more regularly though.
Also, I was graced by the sight of roadkill skunks not once but twice. Yum. And by yum I mean gross.
Total movement: 26.37 miles via bike (Coldwater to Sunset to Sepulveda, basically)
Also, I was graced by the sight of roadkill skunks not once but twice. Yum. And by yum I mean gross.
Total movement: 26.37 miles via bike (Coldwater to Sunset to Sepulveda, basically)
Friday
03.06.09
Well. After three days of letting my body recuperate from its short but angry 'fever-and-headache-and-sore-throat-and STOP OVERWORKING YOURSELF' stint, I decided enough is enough and went on a bike ride this morning. My thought process went like this: "If I bike down Coldwater Canyon and then eventually turn L and then eventually turn L again, I'll end up back in my world!" Right. Not exactly.
Things I learned today:
1. Laurel Canyon, which I previously thought ran parallel to Coldwater Canyon, in fact CROSSES Coldwater Canyon.
2. Van Nuys Blvd. is a LONG street. Not straight, but long. And it was the only street I recognized while minorly confused out in the boonies of San Fernando.
3. When you go on a bike ride at 8:30 AM, don't expect any bike shops to be open to help with directions - they aren't open until 10:00 AM. Duh.
All in all it was actually a really fun ride - I got to explore a new part of the Valley (though a different part than I thought I was exploring, go figure) and there are some nice quiet streets if you go out far enough.
Route: Coldwater toward Magnolia, L on Glenoaks, L on Maclay, L on Laurel Canyon, R on Van Nuys, L on Woodman aaaall the way back to L on Riverside.
Totals: 23.57 miles for the mornin + regular 8.3 mile work jaunt.
Things I learned today:
1. Laurel Canyon, which I previously thought ran parallel to Coldwater Canyon, in fact CROSSES Coldwater Canyon.
2. Van Nuys Blvd. is a LONG street. Not straight, but long. And it was the only street I recognized while minorly confused out in the boonies of San Fernando.
3. When you go on a bike ride at 8:30 AM, don't expect any bike shops to be open to help with directions - they aren't open until 10:00 AM. Duh.
All in all it was actually a really fun ride - I got to explore a new part of the Valley (though a different part than I thought I was exploring, go figure) and there are some nice quiet streets if you go out far enough.
Route: Coldwater toward Magnolia, L on Glenoaks, L on Maclay, L on Laurel Canyon, R on Van Nuys, L on Woodman aaaall the way back to L on Riverside.
Totals: 23.57 miles for the mornin + regular 8.3 mile work jaunt.
Tuesday
03.03.09
Hoping to get back into the swing of things now that it's March, I went on a 4 mile run last night which was quite pleasant, except that then I woke up this morning with a sore throat and REALLY don't want to get sick so I'm going to not bike in to work today which makes me a little sad because I was kind of excited to start biking in regularly again. However, I MAY ask David if I can stay at his house on Thursday night and bike on Friday morning - I teach in Santa Monica on Thursday afternoons and this Friday is our 4th and 5th grade family shabbat so I'd just have to drive straight back to Santa Monica. And on a Friday afternoon? Yeuch. Plus, maybe I can trick him into helping me with my taxes....
Anyhow:
2/24/09: forgot to mention it, 8.3 mile bike - work commute
3/2/09: 4 mile run (riverside to woodman to magnolia to hazeltine back to riverside and home again home again jiggity jig.)
Anyhow:
2/24/09: forgot to mention it, 8.3 mile bike - work commute
3/2/09: 4 mile run (riverside to woodman to magnolia to hazeltine back to riverside and home again home again jiggity jig.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
