The Biking Viking

I biked to work for the first time (in London) today!  Things I learned/thought along the way:

• I didn't get squarshed!
• Even during rush hour, many back roads have very little traffic
• To those who say London is flat, I say, "as flat as Pamela Anderson!"
• It took me almost exactly as much time to ride here as it does to walk to the bus, take the bus to the train, take the train to the station, and walk from the station to school
• I live five miles away, not the four that I thought (which is something I actually learned Monday when I walked my path in advance)
• My tire (tyre) has a slight issue which means I will be carrying a pump with me until I can fix it.  Bummer.
• Our bike racks here are really funky but make me feel all futuristic when I use them (I'll try to get a pic for you tomorrow)
• Biking in London in January is waaaaaayyyyyy better than biking in SLC in January both in terms of cold and inversion/toxic-air issues
• I haven't ridden in FIVE freakin' months!  In SLC I trained for months to do a Century ride and rode to work most days as well as around the city for errands.  I brought my helmet with me during my move and got biking maps the first week I was here, and yet it took me this long to a) find a bike I liked and b) work up the nerve to get on the streets.  The wrong left side of the road thing made me nervous, not because I didn't think I could stay on the right side while riding, but because I worry that if something dramatic happens I will react naturally and swerve to the right and into an oncoming car.  A legitimate concern I think.  I conquered the challenge though by finding a good path through less-used streets and I felt totally safe 99% of the time.  Only one busy spot made me a little anxious but it was brief.
• If I hadn't had to pump up my tire at the last minute and had gone out the door at a better time I would have had even fewer cars to deal with and would probably have had an even shorter commute time.  Noted for tomorrow. 
• I don't know if it is road grit or just my eyes being annoying but they have been bugging me all day.  I'm not a nighttime sunglasses-rocker (like Walt) and my real glasses are too sissy to stand up to the task of protecting anything.  Maybe I will just wrap some saran wrap around my head next time?  It's see-through and conforms well to irregular surfaces.
• I had to wait at one point for a long line of horses to cross before I could get into the park.  That was interesting.  I wonder if I will see that every day?
• WOOT!!!

The Camera Adds Ten Pounds

Today the sun came out and it was brilliant!  Ok ok it wasn't Spanish sun but it was visible and the blue bits were more than just specks here and there.  I couldn't wait to get out of the house and into the rays.  My resolve?  Stay out as long as the sun did!

I walked damn near seven miles.  My first stop was at a cafe in Regent's Park where I sat outside writing letters and met new friends (see pics below).  From there I carried on to the cafe.  By that time the sun had retreated and my fingers were frozen so I had some tasty soup and another hot chocolate (yes, I do have a problem) to thaw out and did some more letter writing.  A fabulous day!!

Confessions of a Picky Eater

I would love to go to a restaurant and say "surprise me!" and know that I would savor whatever was set before me.  In reality, however, I would anxiously wait at the table hoping that whatever came my way wasn't swimming in mushrooms, olives, artichokes, asparagus, or truffle oil.  I've tried, I really have!!!  I want to like everything, I really do!!!

Soup's On

I made some tasty soup yesterday!  When I called my parents to chat for a bit, I told them I felt like making soup but had nothing to do it with.  My dad insisted soup could be made out of ANYthing.  Stone soup references aside, I didn't think an onion and lime soup sounded particularly pleasant but it was about the only option.  That was until I saw the can of pumpkin I had taken out of the cupboard a few minutes before I called them, and a box of creamed coconut Yafit donated to me in her move.  So I got online and googled Pumpkin Coconut Soup and got this baby:

Happy 2011!!!

The last three days have been quite the whirlwind.  While waiting for my Fedex package of biking goods to arrive on Thursday (yes it's here!!!), I ticked off several big To Do's from the list: organizing my photos, writing a few long-overdue emails, reading a pretty awesomely long letter from my sister's pretty awesome girlfriend, and kicking my own ass yoga-style for an hour were among the top successes.

Still sweating from the later, I quickly changed and went to meet the girls for a movie and dinner.  We saw Love and Other Drugs which is exactly everything you predict it would be (only I smuggled in some delicious cider which made it much more bearable), then we had some burritos for dinner.  The time finally came for us to break up our little group when Lindsey and Yafit had to say their goodbyes to Aby.  Not my favorite moment of the night. 

I stayed at Lindsey's so I could be there to help haul her things out first thing in the morning.  We were in bed by 11 but didn't sleep until well into the 2 o'clock hour due to our ability to cram more words into one day than should be humanly possible.  Topics included: stupid ways we got hurt as kids, awesome ways we got hurt as kids, retirement plans and the joys of our former professions in finance, cats, packing strategies, and life the universe and everything, among others.