Yesterday I did something that I haven’t done since I got my driver’s license 13 years ago: I rode a bike. Dave and I both feel the need to be more active, and he already has a bike, so it sounded like something fun that we could do together. Krissy is thinking about selling her bike & getting a new one, so I asked if I could borrow hers to see if I wanted to buy it from her. She said ok and we set up a time for me to come get the bike. And of course, this being Krissy that we’re dealing with, when I went to pick it up, it had a flat tire. (Not just flat, blown-out flat. As in, needs a replacement.) So her roommate Judy lent me her bike for a while, even though it’s not for sale. It’s just an experiment to see if I enjoyed bike riding.

So, we went to REI so I could buy a helmet (safety first, kids), then headed over to Marymoor Park and rode around for about an hour. And that saying about once you learn to ride a bike, you never forget how? That actually is true. But it doesn’t mean that you’ll be very graceful at it if you haven’t done it for over a decade. I was pretty wobbly at first, and the concept of braking with the handlebars was completely alien to me. My instinct was to take my feet off the pedals and put them on the ground (which I’m sure amused plenty of bystanders). I got a little steadier as time went on, and by the end of the hour, I think I was doing pretty well.

And as it turns out, I really like bike riding! It was a lot of fun, and I only sustained very minor injuries. One was when I was pedaling too fast and my foot slipped off the pedal, and it came around and hit the back of my calf. And it’s one of those pedals with the cleat-type spokes on it for traction. So that hurt. The other was when I was first starting off, and in my wobbliness, I accidentally swerved into some blackberry bushes (which have thorns, for those of you who don’t know) and my right arm got scratched. But otherwise, I thought it was a lot of fun and it was a really good workout. An hour is probably not much for an experienced cyclist, but neither Dave nor I are exactly in stellar shape at the moment – although Dave seemed to be suffering less than me afterward. But it was fun.

Other stuff:
* I might have a new project at work, which I’m waiting to hear more about.
* Kris had a 2nd job interview today that went really well, and she’s hopefully going to have an offer in the near future.
* My cousin is now in ICU and on a ventilator, but we’re still trying to figure out how/when we’re going to meet up in Atlanta. Hopefully we’ll all make it there in time.