This 'n' that

I thought I'd better post or I'll forget that I ever had a blog. It's been a looooong summer. Not bad, but just long. I'm very excited about September and fall coming. It always gives me more focus and a sense of purpose. Here is the summer summary:

1. I survived the bike rally. I'm so happy that I did it, but it was a painful, difficult experience. I was coping with a bad knee at first (fixed with a combo of physio and a kick-ass massage), and then unbelievable chafing. No details there except to say that I felt like my bike seat was covered in broken glass. The final day I finally rode pain-free and got the hang of biking.

2. My sister is now transitioned and is living life to her fullest. Everyone finally seems to have adjusted/accepted the change - especially the kids who immediately corrected me when I [out of habit] once said, "Go ask your dad". 

3. I am dating. He was my bike buddy who I met at a mutual friend's brunch and who then helped me train on Tuesdays. He came to pick me up in Montreal after the rally and we became more than bike buddies. And so it goes. All good though. Really good.

 

On vacation

I'm just too lame to blog right now. I'm too lame to even comment. I've read exciting things that you all have been up to - Tornwordo's and Eroswings' travels, Rox's relay against cancer, Patron Saints post-weight loss surgery successes, Stewie changing his blog name (and more amazingly, actually blogging), and so much more - but I have been negligent in putting fingers to keyboard and commenting on these great posts. I haven't even linked up the new Matt Swift music blog yet. I know this won't change until at least after my bike ride (assuming I'm fit to do it - my back is in pain and I'm in physio). Hence, I'll reconnect with everyone sometime in August.

The road to [not sure actually]

I always used to say that I was on the road to ruin [ode to favourite Ramones album] and loving it. But since I've stopped drinking as much, my new road is literal and involves all the endless bike training I'm doing. I decided to try to do both the Saturday and Sunday training rides last week-end. Saturday was a 72km loop that went north of the city, which apparently consists of endless hills. Sunday was an 40km ride along Lakeshore to a town to the west of Toronto, and then back. It was a relatively flat ride, but there was a lot of wind going there. It suffices to say that I am not ready for a 6-day, 100km per day ride.

My thighs were in so much pain on Monday. I did stretch, and I did have a hot bath, but that was not enough for my poor muscles. Even a liberal application of Tiger Balm didn't do that much help. What did help was walking part way home from work. Yesterday I went for a 20km bike ride with my bff and that finally did the trick. I am still exhausted though. I'm dreading tonight which is some sort of team bonding spin class.

Still, I feel better than I've felt in years by doing all this exercise. I'd feel even better if the scales weren't going up! I know that muscle weighs more than fat, but for crying out loud, I still have a chubby tummy and slightly jiggly thighs so I'm not sure where the heavy muscle is hiding. I think it's due to the fact that my appetite has gone up exponentially. I try to satisfy my hunger with oatmeal and apples, but pasta is becoming a very prominent feature in my diet.

And that's it for me. I will blog next about my incredibly wonderful dinner with my sister that I had last Saturday just to show that I do still have a bit of a life.