…but she always thought I’d more sense than to ride my bike in this weather. She was wrong. This morning’s commute was on the Red Rocket, now if I can manage not to eat and drink back all of the calories spent on my journey…
I Always Knew I Was More “Banker” Than “Pioneer”
I started Sunday an hour later than desired. The plan was to drive to Macon by sunrise, but when I somehow managed to miss my 4:00am alarm, that didn’t happen. Honestly, had I not boasted of my excursion I would have blown of the trip entirely. But, I decided to go anyway.
I’ve always joked that if I were born in the 1800’s I’d be a “big city” banker and not some pioneer who jumped at the opportunity to go west. “You’ll get killed out there, you fool!” is what I’d tell them.
It should come as no surprise then that when I finally found the Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge and that I was the only person there, that my ass clenched and I wound up not going on the hike to take pictures in the swamp. I blame the bugs which swarmed me immediately, as well as the warning that three types of poisonous snakes inhabit the region and are most active in Spring/Summer (what time of year is this again? riiiiiiight!)
Instead, since I had Jill2 in the car I decided to go on a hearth excursion. I managed to find one hearth along the way, and I managed to somehow wind up fifty miles east of Atlanta when I finally reached I-20 and spent nearly five hours driving in the process.
Not exactly the most productive Sunday I’ve had recently.
ITP Flickr Pic
I went way OTP this weekend and this is the only one of two shots that I am willing to post.
Sad really.
Fun Ride On Friday
On Friday evening I joined ITP-Reader Barb, her husband Allan, ITP-Reader Bob, and Carol (“Primer”, “Service My Tool”, “Check My Bags”, “Wine Ho” respectively) for a ride around Marietta and up Kennesaw mountain. I’ve only made one previous attempt to ride up Kennesaw mountain and failed, so I was pleased that, even though I had to stop twice, that I made it to the top.
We turned the ride back to our cars into a mini-pub crawl stopping at Mulligan’s, the Beer Barrel, and then ending at Rocco’s. Each stop was a hoot for its own reason. At Mulligan’s we sat outside next to a group of rather friendly motorcycle riders, one of whom even purchased us a pitcher of beer! The best part of that stop was seeing one of those riders having a lap dog which rode with him. When the guy was ready to leave he placed the dog onto the gas tank and then outfitted it with a pair of dog goggles and a mini-helmet. It was priceless, and really made me wish that I had a camera with me at the time.
Rocco’s was the final stop, and where we ordered some food. I had a delicious plate of fried green tomatoes (with blue cheese), and a bowl of Frito pie chili which was outstanding.
All in all it was a great time and I hope to repeat it many times in the future.
Just What Is My Mac Doing On The Weekend?
I’ve always wondered about this. When I shut the lid on my MacBook on a Friday evening the battery is at 100%. When I return and open it on a Monday morning (like today) the battery life is reported at somewhere between 50%-60%. What the hell is it doing? Shouldn’t shutting the lid put the machine into a hibernation state which consumes nearly no power?
I am confused.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, all things considered
Current Music – silence as I can imagine putting on my can-style headphones at the moment.
Website Of The Day – I meant to choose Creative Live on Friday because Atlanta photographer was webcasting a free workshop there this weekend. Oh well, check it out to see if any future events float your boat.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my bicycle
Exercise (b)Log – Friday: cycling, 16 miles
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check this morning
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 77
Monthly
Foot Mileage – 5.5 miles, Wheel Mileage – 56 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 14 (14)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 13
Marta Rides – 0
June Goals
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Not get fired from my job
– Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
– Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving further
– Complete at least one iPhone application
2010 Goals
– Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 pounds)
– Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
РEarn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalape̱o Beach SmugMug account.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
– Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
– Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers
The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
I checked out flickr this weekend to see if I could get a hint of what you had been up to. I’ve never heard of Bond Swamp, it sounds pretty cool.
Too hot this weekend to do much. I ran around the ‘hood Saturday morning, bought new running shoes, grabbed some lunch with Jerry…we skipped the Wheelbarrow festival, I just couldn’t face the heat. Yesterday we went to Kennesaw Mountain with the intention of just running trails but ended up on top of the mountain. I’ve only been to the park a couple of times and this was the first time going up, it was pretty neat. I’d like to go back when it isn’t so hazy so I can see the view better.
Dog goggles = Doggles (I bought a pair for Andy long ago, to wear while hashing)
it was a little tiny Yorkie – the helmet & doggles were so cute.
Paulie – I’m glad you had a good time Friday, and even with stopping twice you still beat my slow butt up that mountain, and I didn’t stop at all.
It was a good time, we will have to do again (but not this week, Allan works friday).
I guess you didn’t go buy the snake chaps we told you to buy?
Martha – the view is pretty cool from the top, but I don’t know when this haze/smog will go away, maybe in the fall?
Barb, yep, I was thinking fall would be a great time to go back. I’m sure I’ll be back before then, we’ll be rotating between parks/trail for the next few months. I couldn’t believe how many people were at the park by 8:30. It was packed.
Jerry is just learning the ins and outs of trail running, little things like ‘walk the hills’ (he was trying to run up the mountain) and 5 miles of tough trail is like 10 (or more) road.
Anyone been to Taquerîa El Rey Del Taco? I’ll be hitting it today at noon with Jill and Karyn if anyone wants to join us.
On Saturday I planned to head to REI to get some tick repellent and look into the snake chaps. Somehow I managed to let Saturday slip away without leaving the house.
Martha, is Taquerîa El Rey Del Taco the place across from Lee’s Bakery? I’ve never been. I’m heading to lunch with co-workers who have a car and can tote my worn-out ass somewhere. 😉
I wish I could take a long lunch today, but I can’t – tell Jill & Karyn I said Hi.
I plan to hike that trail you guys ran one of these days, should I bring my new treking poles?
The poles would come in handy for the first 2 miles or so, saw several people with them. The last couple of miles is easy and pretty flat (Pigeon Hill to Visitor Center). We really didn’t have much of a plan, thought we would park further south and just run trails (but the place was crowed and I left my map at home). Glad we did the mountain and kept going, we were thinking it just went up and you came back down the same way. The back part was really cool.
I can honestly say last Friday’s ride with Sally on BRAG was about as hot as I’ve ever ridden. A good time, though, and a little bonus was Sally and Dribbles and me in the pool. Worth almost 60 miles in the heat.
-FP
You riders are hardcore. My morning commute was merely 16.5 miles.
yeah Steve – doesn’t that heat make you want to ride the whole week now?
glad you got to ride a day – I wanted to, but just couldn’t convince myself to figure out the logistics of it in the crazy heat.
I am ready for a pool party at your house soon………
Paulie – 16.5 miles thru the city in morning traffic is pretty hardcore in my opinion.
Barb (and everyone else) – c’mon down. How are you at puzzles? I was working on the @##$%$^% thing before work this morning. I even dreamt about it.
Debbie – I usually don’t work on puzzles too often, because they will drive me insane……..
Puzzle as in jigsaw puzzle? I love doing them, though I haven’t in many years.
We have already gone round the bend and back again… I don’t know if it’s particularly hard or if it’s just us.
The pool is in pristine condition, and Sally, that damn frog was back and he brought his buddy and I couldn’t catch either one of them.
You didn’t go to the terribly racist Mulligan’s in Marietta…? Please say no…