Day Four

Today's instructions simply say "Off". And as sore as I was last night I thought that would be great. Wrong. I couldn't take the day off! I've got my groove on and they can't make me take the day off... Are they crazy? I am a creature of habit. If I take today off, I may want tomorrow off and the next day and the day after that. So no way Jose. Lane wanted to go out of town this week-end. He must be in cahoots with Jose 'cause we ain't going. I'm not ready to get out of my routine yet. Maybe next week I will be a little more flexible, but not now. This is all so new to me and I can't mess it up. I'm still in the excited stage of this conditioning thing. I hope it never ends.

Loving daughter gave me a gift certificate for a massage for Mother's Day and I finally scheduled it for this morning. It was awesome!!!! And after that I had family for lunch to discuss our upcoming family reunion. They are some of the greatest women I know. Tough women. One of my aunts has been through more in her life than can be imagined and she is so strong and wonderful. I love her sooooo much. Actually, I love them all.

Are there any flat neighborhoods in this town? I'm determined to find at least one. I'm going to get in my car and drive around and find it. Why don't I just go to the track, you ask. Well, I'd get bored out of my mind. Remember, I have to critique yards. So if you have a life size statue of Elvis or something in your yard, expect to hear from me. Anyway, after my lunch and our tour of the facility where this reunion will be held, I had to make a decision. Do as instructed and take the day "Off", or get out there and do something. I thought about my neighborhood stroll again but that's another day. I DO have the Jaguar in the garage. Hmmmmm. Am I gain? Can I really do it on these hills? Will I wreck, blow out a tire, run in a ditch, pass out, get hit by a trash truck? Maybe, maybe not. Oh, my jaguar is actually the type of Schwinn bicycle I have. The hubs and I have a matching set. Ain't we cute??? We have actually ridden them together before. We took them to the beach. The kids rode them.

I dressed appropriately, pulled my hair back, took out my earrings, and put on some lipstick. Oh I ain't going anywhere without my lipstick. And yes, I know that's a true sign you're a women from the south. At least I didn't touch up my makeup and make sure my hair was teased. I mean what's up with that? On my walk the other morning I passed two other walkers and they looked like they had just stepped out of a magazine. They had on their cute little, tight walking shorts and their sports bra/tops and cute little visors and head phones, and flawless makeup. Me? I looked like I had just stepped out of a food processor. I was sweating like a dog in my capris (I don't show my fat knees) and tank top and I don't want anything stuck in my ears. The only thing I have decided to be a necessity is a paper towel for wiping my eyes and a bottle of water. Now, after wrestling the Jag out of the garage and locating the tire pump, which I knew I was going to need, I started looking for somewhere to put my water bottle. No such place to be found. So, I went inside and got a piece of ribbon and tied water bottle to whatever that thing is called between your legs. Well, it didn't work. I finally just stuck the bottle between two bar things and hoped for the best. It did work but I'm going to figure something out for that. Maybe I can make something cutsie out of a nice paisley print with velcro. And I can make the hubs one out of a coordinating plaid. Ohhhhhh. He would just love that, I'm sure. The next thing I had to do was to blow up the front tire. The back one seemed to be ok. Whatever ok is. Let's just say it felt harder than the front one. It took me about 10 tries to get the little thingy on the pump to stay in place on the little thingy on the tire. I think I got some air in there. It sounded like I did and I think it felt a little harder now. Next step, chase dog. I love my dog and he loves me. I know he does because he never wants me to leave the house and I wasn't about to take him with me on this adventure. So three times around the house and I finally got him and carried him inside. Next, I got on the Jag and was about to leave and thought that it might be a good idea to let someone know where I was going in case, well, just in case. So, I call hubby. He is so supportive, caring and compassionate. His comment was, "Be careful, people will run over old women on bicycles".

Thanks honey!!!!

Back on the Jag, turn right out of driveway immediately up hill. I made it to the stop sign and across the street and about 50 feet before I thought I was going to die. No need for the trash truck, I could die by myself. So, I cheated and pushed the bike to the crest of the hill about 100 feet or so. Who cared if all the neighbors were peeking out their windows and laughing. I just couldn't do it. My poor thighs felt like they were solid stone. The one thing that kept popping into my head was "Off". I was supposed to be "Off" today. Whatever. I got back on and didn't have to get off anymore. I did stop a couple times but I didn't have to push. I headed onward to big black dog street. Yes, he was home. Right where he was last time but toothless smiling man was nowhere in sight. Big black dog didn't even bark at me today so I passed him and made a left at the next street. By this time I am extremely winded and behind me there is a vehicle that stops and starts, stops and starts and continues this for a while. I'm thinking, idiot, go around me. When I get to the stop sign, I turn around and it is the mail carrier. Not really an idiot. Ooops. Sorry. I thought she was stopping because of my slow pace but she was just delivering the mail. She didn't really care about me at all. Never mind I'm about to pass out right there in front of her, all she cared about was the mail. And yeah, she knew me. She won't be getting homemade cookies from me for Christmas.

Biking is different than walking. Can't critique yards. Might fall off bike. Not good.

The trip home was a breeze. Before heading back I made a stop under a beautiful pin oak tree just to get close to nature. Well actually, to breath and drink water but the tree is beautiful. I pass it in my car all the time and never really paid it any attention. It has a great limb for a swing. Too bad the swing would be in the middle of the road. Why do they call them pin oaks? Their leaves don't look anything like pins. Onward....I went to a lower gear or higher gear, which ever makes it harder to pedal, because I didn't want to coast all the way home. I WANTED to pedal? I must be losing it. I need to check and see how far that was?

Until tomorrow.......