If you go to this webpage about Christopher Columbus monuments, you can find this page about the statue in Easton. Picture look familiar? That's because I took it! Used with my permission of course... the guy found it on Flickr & asked me if he could use it. Of course I said yes, and will be getting him some better shots if I can. Stay tuned...
Morning weigh-in: 184.5#, 11% BF
(Comments should now be working OK...)
Did chores and went to yoga last night, then did more stuff at home, then had dinner at Which Brew -- this time I was right, they did have meatloaf, with mashed potatoes and corn. Meatloaf sandwich, actually, and while I'm not usually a big fan of meatloaf this was really good. Washed it down with a Brooklyn Chocolate Stout.
No run this morning: tonight is a towpath ride. It's gonna be cold.
I don't usually talk about much more than myself, and usually make a point to avoid politics but that's not true of all bloggers -- here's one person's fiery explanation of why she blogs. Go read it! A-and here is a little something else that's interesting, in the same vein but a little more shameful.
What child is this? I saw a review about The Road the other day, that the little boy represents a sort of Christ figure. Hmmm, I can see it...
Morning weigh-in: 184.5#, 12.5% BF
So last night I went to yoga, then came home & wrote the rant that was my last post, then went down to Which Brew for Mug Club night (where I apparently missed Brian by a few minutes), and continued my rant there...
For some reason, I thought that they had a meatloaf special, but it was just an unsubstantiated rumor so I had a cheeseburger instead, plus a Weyerbacher Winter Ale.
Got up this morning & ran; tonight is more yoga.
Morning weigh-in: 184.5#, 13% BF
First snowfall for the season this morning, a squall that blew through around 10:00 AM. No accumulation, just wind and flurries for about fifteen minutes and it's been pretty clear ever since.
Had a pretty good weekend, with one exception...
Skipped the towpath ride Friday night (that's not the exception), rain and especially lightning gave me the excuse for an unscheduled rest day. Went to Which Brew, caught Post Junction but I left early and was in bed by say 11:00.
Saturday I got up early and went to 8:00 AM "mixed level" ("some previous experience strongly recommended") yoga class, which was a quantum leap up, in pace and intensity, from the beginner classes I'd been taking. I knew what to do (for the most part -- I skipped the headstands), or could fake it by watching my neighbors, but this class was way more of a workout than any I'd done yet. It felt great, actually, and the experiment was such a success that I'll probably be incorporating this class into my Saturday routine.
After that was breakfast at the coffee shop, then the gym, where I felt I did well despite the earlier workout, then chores and a nap. I met friends for dinner at Cactus Blue (awesome time) then went to Which Brew. Awesome time there too, and Joe G showed up and we were actually having a pretty good time -- until he decided to pick a fight with another friend. Shit mist sprayed over the whole evening, nice move wacko.
Saw him the next morning at the Sunday trailwork session at Sals (he was hiking with his dog, not there to help of course) and was all like "whatever." Yeah, "whatever" back at ya, thank God I don't have to deal with him on a regular basis anymore, or be the one who has to apologize for him...
Good solid day of trail maintenance though, we got a lot done, then went for a nice ride (hard, and I was dogging it), and I went home to another nap.
Morning weigh-in: 182.5#, 13.5% BF
Been easing my way into Against the Day; last night I got up to about page 46. I'm completely absorbed, but the going is slow because there's so much going on and I don't want to miss anything... I read parts that seem to be echoes of Mason & Dixon, and Vineland and Gravity's Rainbow (Wikipedia's front page had an article about The Crystal Palace the other day); other things remind me of my own dreams, especially my dream-Easton landscapes; and last night there was an appearance by Archduke Franz Ferdinand, visiting the Chicago Worlds Fair -- shades of V and "Under the Rose" as bodyguards try to prevent his murder -- and looking to "hunt" Hungarian stockyard workers. (I remember visiting Franz Ferdinand's residence at Konopiste, and seeing the thousands of deer antlers and boar tusks mounted on little plaques, like Little League trophies of appreciation, covering every wall. Live by the sword, die by the sword...) It's like he's talking directly to me.
Anyway: worked late last night, then went to the gym, where things are going really well by the way, then home & some reading before an early bedtime. Tonight will be another towpath ride on the singlespeed, then off to catch Post Junction playing at Which Brew.
Morning weigh-in: 181#, 12.5% BF
Rode last night, did the towpath on the singlespeed. I met up with Joe G and Bob R (Rob likewise ss'ing it) and Joe's dog Riley. They'd started from Sand Island, got to Riverside Park and turned around there, and I caught up with them just past the Bethlehem Boat Club. They were moving rather slowly (in fact they were stopped when I found them) because of the dog -- dogs are much faster than bikes on real singletrack, but the towpath puts them at a relative disadvantage and you have to take it easy on them. But, that's the kind of ride I was looking to do...
Like I said, when I ran into them they were stopped and giving Riley a breather, and we sat in the dark for a while, BS'ing and watching the river. While we were there a crane (or maybe a heron, one of those kind of birds) landed by the riverbank, on a downed tree trunk over the water. It was situated very dramatically, standing on one leg in silhouette against the light of the river, framed by the dark woods all around, and we stood watching until it noticed us and flew away. Pretty cool.
We took off from there, had a few more wildlife incidents (deer in the canal) and when we got to Sand Island we hung out and watched an enormous flock of crows fly around from tree to tree. Also very cool. I left them there, interacting with more deer on the way back (they were a little less shy now that the dog was gone), and hit the hay almost as soon as I got home.
This morning I got up early and ran, and tonight is the gym.
Me again. It looks like just I'll have to get used to this new ugly look for my blog...
Went to yoga last night, pleasant surprise when I saw Art there. I also saw Megan, who took the same class, but I didn't recognize her until she got right up in my face (I don't wear glasses in class). As usual, after it was over I was pretty glad I went, though I had reservations beforehand because of nose/ear/stuffiness issues.
After that I went home, changed, and went to Which Brew for dinner.
UPDATE: Fiddling with the new Blogger setup, I think I found a look I can live with for now, and now I just need to get comments up & running again and I should be golden.
Morning weigh-in: 183.5#, 13% BF
Into the beginning of Against the Day, and I'm already pretty absorbed... (I may have to re-read Vineland, maybe re-evaluate/rehabilitate its status in the Pynchon pantheon; there are rhetorical and thematic, and also character, continuities between these two which all of a sudden make Vineland look a lot better.) Anyway, a central motif in Against the Day will apparently be light: light and dark, electricity and electromagnetism, I'm liking it already.
Morning weigh-in: 185#, 9% BF
Fucking charming. I just finished reading this, and now I read this.
Meantime, I saw that "Borat" movie Saturday night. Too funny, I thought I was going to die I was laughing so hard... Hard gym workout in the morning, and I was feeling tired and still a little sick so I went home (straight to bed after the movie. Sunday I/we took advantage of the nice weather, and rode up in Tamaqua.
What to do? I got home from the Thanksgiving visit, planning to go out tonight and found my Amazon order -- it's not one, but two books, which I now realize I should never buy more than one book at a time, to avoid trying to read them together... Anyway, I'm about 35 pages into The Road and it's already broken my heart, and I'm a page into Against the Day, which is where I got the quote for this post's title.
Good Thanksgiving visit: Mom & Dad, Uncle Pat, Chris & Tara & not-so-young Christopher, and Tara's parents, a full table for the turkey dinner. A little birthday cake for Uncle Pat afterwards, and I was as stuffed as that bird... Stayed up into the wee hours & watched "Jaws" with my parents.
Today was a singlespeed ride at Huber Woods and Hartshorne Parks (near Red Bank, NJ, ie near where I grew up), where I was joined by my friends, new club members Joe and Dawn. They're from up near Allamuchy, but have been wanting to check these trails out. Happy to oblige, and it was nice to ride there with someone for a change, almost like showing the place off.
I think I will go out.
Morning weigh-in: 184.5#, 11.5% BF
Got a call the other day from my high school friend Mike B, telling that another HS friend, Steve Spodak, was in the hospital. Congestive heart failure, difficulty breathing, diabetes -- if you saw Steve or know him, you really wouldn't be surprised: he's always been pretty heavy, and sort of out of control with the food/drink issues (among many other things).
Apparently, he was hanging with yet another old friend (Bob N, who is now, amazingly, a radiologist), and Bob happened to notice the breathing & made him get it checked out, which is what landed Steve in the hospital. I talked to Mike after he visited; it sounds like Steve is kind of in denial about his health problems, since he was trying to get someone to bring him a cheeseburger from the cafeteria, or at least a Coke from the vending machine. Hmmm, sounds so familiar...
Got a Spodak on my back,
It's a Spodak attack!
Reading: Just finished rereading Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 and Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian. Just in time too, since I got an email from Amazon, saying they just shipped Pynchon's new (woo-hoo!) Against the Day and McCarthy's new The Road. They should both be here by the weekend.
Morning weigh-in: 185.5#, 12.5% BF
Chores, yoga, then tuna & wilted greens aglio e olio over fettucine. I can't stop eating that stuff when I make it.
No run this morning, I'm taking it as a rest day (it's also the Chain Gang meeting). Tomorrow is the gym, Friday is the towpath, Saturday is the gym and maybe yoga beforehand (early, but it's a "mixed" rather than "beginner" class), and Sunday will be another ride.
Good news and bad news: I've been using the neti pot regularly, and sinuses finally opened up yesterday morning, so I've been happy that they now can drain -- but of course I'm not all that happy with that whole draining experience. Terrible time breathing in yoga last night, took some antihistamine/decongestant/antitussive before bed. Mmmmm, codeine... shiny purple candy-like syrup...
Morning weigh-in: 184#, 11.5% BF
Fighting my way out of one rut and into another...
Dinner last night was great; that bean and tomato stew turned out to be totally awesome, and very filling. I had a little before yoga then a full plate when I got home. Good thing I like it, because I have a lot left over.
Anyway, pre-dinner then yoga: pretty nice once again, and it was good because it felt like a real workout -- I also felt like I "got it" with a few poses, but of course that didn't last... Saw Violetta there as well, nice surprise, also Lara from Which Brew, who takes the bellydancing class after my class.
Went to bed early (head cold, uh-oh looks like sinus), got up and ran again this morning. Again, just a mile, and did it at a 14-minute pace again, but that's where I'm supposed to be right now.
No morning weigh-in...
So this weekend: Friday night was an easy singlespeed ride on the towpath, mostly just sit & spin, then some yoga to loosen up and dinner at Which Brew. Ginger-carrot soup, nachos, Weyerbacher Winter Ale. Saturday: hard workout at the gym, followed by a nap; nitelife was Which Brew again, where I ran into Doug & Lori (they were there Friday too), Eric & Kris, and their friends whose names escape me... I ate an enormous amount of food, I was starving.
Sunday was my "re-dedication" ride: a nice easy road ride, but it was supposed to rain and I was going to ride in the rain, like signing my name in blood or something, to push home to myself that I'm serious about training -- and this time, I mean it! (Once upon a time, about ten years ago or so, it wouldn't have even been an issue. Sigh.) It never actually rained while I was riding, but I'm not sure if that was a bad thing or a good thing.
I got home, did some chores, and then did something I swore I'd never do: I went grocery shopping on a Sunday afternoon. I needed to buy food (by dinnertime) if I was going to be eating at home like I wanted, so off I went to the supermarket. It wasn't too bad, though the supermarket was way crowded, like bumper-to bumper with the shopping carts. Bought a bunch of meat & veggies etc, actually just enough for the meals I have planned for the week, then came home & cooked tempeh-veggie stir-fry for dinner.
The Big News: I went to the PPRAC '07 kickoff meeting last night, and signed up for next year's Perimeter Ride, so yes I'm doing it again this summer and I'll be going a-begging for cash pretty soon. You have been warned...
Ran this morning, one mile at very slow (14 minute) pace, then made tonight's crock-pot dinner: tomato-bean stew. One from the recipe book, we'll see how it works out.
Mornign weigh-in: 186#, 12% BF
I think that's the name of the chemical, maybe a hormone, that muscles produce when they're rebuilding themselves. It helps to absorb or assimilate protein or something, but it's also the stuff that makes muscles ache the day after they've been exercised -- it keeps you from abusing them again until they're fully rested & restored. I think I've got some in my legs right now, great workout last night...
(By the way, that's why you shouldn't take Advil for muscle aches if you're working out: it blocks the prostaglandin, so the muscles don't hurt but they also don't regenerate, and you've wasted your workout effort.)
After that I went to Which Brew, but had dinner ( the last of the chili) at home beforehand. Tonight will probably be similar to yesterday, except there's an easy ride on the agenda.
Morning Weigh-in: 184.5#, 12.5% BF
I noticed this the other day: that thin white November daylight is back. (I was going to mention it then, but then it became cloudy & rainy for a few days.) The light won't really turn golden again except maybe at dawn or dusk, until around New Years, and before that the rivers have to turn gray-green first. Silverlight express, time for some road rides?
Worked late last night, then got a call last night on the way home: my friend Greg's car had broken down, he was at the car dealer and needed a ride from there to his house. Happy to do it -- picking him up was on my way home, his wife was out of town & couldn't rescue him, and he & she were the ones who regularly took me shopping when my ankle wouldn't let me drive -- but that meant skipping the gym. No problemo, I had a backup plan...
Instead of the gym, I went for a run, then did some yoga to recover & loosen back up. I haven't tried to run since about July (when I had some bad experiences, leg wasn't fully ready), so I took it real easy, just did a mile and it took me 14 minutes to do it. I felt pretty good, though there were twinges in the ankle -- mostly on the tibia side, and mostly the little "balance muscles," so no worries, I hope. I was a little surprised by the yoga though, how much of a difference I could see (and especially feel) last night.
Tonight is the gym, followed by (maybe) a weeknight out. I can always blame laundry...
Morning weigh-in: 184#, 11.5% BF
...That's what I saw on the way in to work this morning. It was off the side of the road and looked like a new kill; the crows weren't feeding so much as just standing around yelling at each other, and the hide still looked intact. I doubt if that's their usual food, maybe they lack the ability to tear open a deer carcass on their own.
Anyway, that's your image for the day. For other images take a look at this. My friend Joe was on the Chili Ride and has quite a bit of GPS/mapping savvy, and he made a map of that ride with links to photos. (Look on the map for camera icons & click them -- they're more visible in the aerial photo than in the topo. Since most photos were taken at one of two spots, they all overlap on the map, so he included thumbnail links under the map as well.) I have about 40 shots of my own, both the Chili Ride and also the McSorley's trip, which I'll upload probably tonight.
So, how was the weekend, anyway? Um, good, good... I was up to 186 pounds on Monday morning...
The Chili Ride was great, maybe 20 people total in two groups. I was in the "fast group" with host Kevin, "Stevesquatch," Rich B and Joe, among others. I was near the back for most of the ride, especially at the beginning, but was holding my own by the end so I was happy. Later, at the party, my chili didn't win but I was still happy: beer and a bonfire, chili and desserts, life is good.
The trip to McSorley's was likewise awesome. We got on the bus at 10:30 or so, w/ bagels, Irish coffee & mimosas on the trip in; spent several hours at McSorley's before going to some Chinese restaurant (the only downer on the trip -- I'm not big on Chinese food) in Chinatown. A quick stop for cannoli's and espresso, and home by about 10:00. A great day, even if it wasn't the healthiest.
Monday was ashtanga yoga, then Which Brew for Mug Club night, and last night was voting followed by svaroopa yoga, and tonight is the gym.
