1146.9!!

Riding the 16 miles to work (and 16 back) was starting to seem impossible. A few things made me start again:
- being a total wimp on a couple of recent hikes.
- planning to quit smoking.
- dependency on oil from the middle east.

So, while it took less than a year to get to 1000 miles, it took another four months to get the next hundred (and only two days' riding to get fifty more).

Sunday, took the bike up to Armstrong Woods, rode all the rideable roads, and then attempted the road up to Bullfrog Pond. This is an extremely steep, winding road. I made it about a mile (and about 600 ft elevation, I think) before turning around.

Monday, I rode to work and back, getting slightly lost on the way back, for a total of 34 miles. Decided I will ride all the way IN to work in the morning when it's not windy, and do the partial-bus ride home in the afternoon when it's windy, for around 22 miles - a respectable distance to ride every couple of days or so, hopefully enough to get and keep me in a little better shape. The wind is SO friggin annoying! Kills any momentum I get -- and 225-lb pack-a-day me, I need all the momentum I can get!

This morning, started out in the dark at 6am, and paid and paid for the 9.1 beers I drank last night while pedalling the 16.1 miles to work. But actually made it in what I think is record time - just a little over an hour. Actually haven't had a real strong urge to drink, but have sorta felt I "should" since I won't be drinking for awhile after tomorrow night. Stupid? Perhaps, but I only get two more days' worth of stupid.

Light mist dots my glasses, forcing periodic stops to wipe lenses... It's actually more likely cars will see me when it's dark, I think, with my blinking taillight more contrasting against darkness than against light... Red-shouldered hawk crossed my path (about twenty feet in front of me) on Old Redwood, swooping up onto the top of a phone pole with some little morsel I couldn't quite make out - mouse or lizard, likely. A treat.

DSL connection - finally - appears to be more or less permanent on my home machine. Was able to surf and email and FTP to heart's content last night.