Success! And biking!

[annathepiper]

solarbird and I just got back from the Bike Quest to Woodinville, which was for the most part pleasant. The one unpleasant part, which I will get out of the way quickly, is that I have realized that I am scared of biking down the hill we live on. I think that a little part of my brain still remembers my bike accident from 2003, and that part of my brain is scared of any sign that I am losing control of the bike. The incline of our hill, combined with the curvy route of the main street that leads down onto Bothell Way, means that I get going too quickly to feel comfortable taking those curves. I actually freaked out a little and had to stop the bike, get off, and walk it the rest of the way down to the bottom of the hill.

Once we were on the trail, though, I was fine. On the way I spotted a heron on the slough, which was cool. It was standing there all long-legged in the water. I got no more than a glimpse, though. And we saw a positively ridiculous number of pigeons in the park where the feral chickens hang out.

We found that getting to the Woodinville shopping center from the trail is not difficult at all--you just have to diverge off the trail when you hit the park, and go down a few blocks down the road you come out on, and then cross the street, and you're there. Most of the way there's even a bike lane on one side of the road. When we got to Target we found that Dara had forgotten her keys. Oops. So we had to lock both of our bikes up together using my lock. And once inside, we bumped briefly into technoshaman, and said hi, and then we scampered off down to the DVDs.

It turned out that they had three of my four choices, and you'd know that the one they didn't have was Firefly. DOH. I wound up getting Remington Steele, because it was about twelve bucks cheaper than Lois and Clark. Also, unlike the MacGyver set, it comes with some extras on it. Plus, it's been longer since I last saw Steele.

This left me enough extra in the treat budget to go over to Barnes and Noble and get a book. Out of general curiosity I went back to their music/DVD section and discovered--DOH! THEY had Firefly. But I'd already bought Steele, and it turned out that they were asking $50 for the Firefly box anyway. Which is way more expensive than its price on Amazon, so I didn't want to pay that much anyway.

Nor did they have my first choice of book, either. So I wound up going slightly over the treat budget, which Dara was okay with just because I've got surgery and all, and I wound up getting the next Aubrey-Maturin novel on my list: The Fortune of War. I look forward to reading that!

On the way back we stopped at this hole-in-the-wall BBQ place near the trail and got BBQ chicken sandwiches. They were good. And messy. But at least the moist towelettes were plentiful!

Spotted another heron on the way home, and this one was cooler, as it was in flight along the slough. It let out a few calls, which was the particularly cool part. Its calls were raucous, even more so than a crow's, and sounded like something scraping along asphalt.

We were thinking about heading to the Lake Forest Park Town Centre Farmer's Market, too, but I started feeling overheated and decided to swing back up the hill for home, and get Gatorade on the way. Mmm, Gatorade.

Now comes the part where I flump on the couch.

Sunday miles: 14.0
Miles out of Hobbiton: 319.2
Miles to Rivendell: 138.8

Comments

[llachglin.livejournal.com]

I've been meaning to stop at that BBQ place along the trail,but it's always a week night and so I haven't. It's got the same name as the place that used to be along the main road in Woodinville until the last year or so (Armadillo BBQ), which was pretty good.

For some reason, I haven't been noticing as much wildlife recently, beyond a spare rabbit or two in the mornings. I think during commuting hours there are just too many people out (though you'd think there would be a lot of people out on Sundays, too.)

[annathepiper]

I wonder if it's the same place, only moved, then?

We saw our share of other bikers on the trail, though fewer than the last big biking trip Dara and I did, the one that got us almost to Lake Sam. But yeah. I expect that the activity of people on the trail would tend to drive off the critters.

[wildcardgal.livejournal.com]

I'm out in Woodinville. You mean the Armadillo just MOVED? Where IS it?

[annathepiper]

Well, what I'm not sure about is whether the hole-in-the-wall Armadillo BBQ is the same place that used to be out on the actual road, since I'm not familiar with the prior Armadillo BBQ.

[solarbird]

Here's where we found it, down a block behind McLendon's Hardware, at the end of 178th. There's a bike/ped access from the trail at the end of the street, which is how we got to it. I bike to McLendon's sometimes for house stuff, which is how I noticed it in the first place.

Occasionally, if business is slow, they'll put a sign out on the trail pointing towards their door. Hours are Noon to dusk, Wednesday through Sunday, usually.

[brombear.livejournal.com]

That reminds me...I need to get the 3rd season of Greatest American Hero, and season 1 of Moonlighting

[annathepiper]

Heh! I remember the former better than the latter--I only saw bits and pieces of Moonlighting during its original run.

[shikyrie.livejournal.com]

sounds like you had a fun time. I haven't been biking in a couple yrs (since some ass stole mine out of the crappy garage out back) and as a result, am beginning to look slightly Jabba-esque (well, not that bad, but I do have a few pounds that I need to get rid of...)

Sorry to hear about your bike fright going downhill... I've had my share of bike accidents before and know the feeling... {{{hugs}}}

[annathepiper]

It was a good bike ride, yeah.

And didn't I tell you earlier this year to take up some regular exercise if you're worried about your weight? I seem to recall mentioning something to that effect to you. :)

Re: the willies, thanks. Eh, I'll get over it eventually, or else I'll just walk my bike down to the trail when I go biking. We'll just have to see what happens.

[shikyrie.livejournal.com]

And didn't I tell you earlier this year to take up some regular exercise if you're worried about your weight? I seem to recall mentioning something to that effect to you. :)

True, you did, and i was for a while til it got so unbearably hot... I'll be so glad when this summer from hell is over, and I can get out without getting sick.

[annathepiper]

The temperatures here haven't been nearly so unbearable, but it's been certainly warmer than usual here. Be sure to drink more water and stuff when you have to venture out into the heat. If you get sick when you go out, that'd be my first guess as to why.

[shikyrie.livejournal.com]

hear they have been... 90s and high humidity almost constantly since late june...

[annathepiper]

Yes, I know, I've been reading all the articles about the heat wave this summer. I repeat, make sure you keep up with drinking enough water to keep up with the temperature!

(That's actually what flattened me coming home from the bike trip today--I wasn't drinking enough water en route.)

[shikyrie.livejournal.com]

I've been... especially while I was in the play, I'd drink one 32 oz bottle of water and one 16oz gatorade during each performance... had to pee a lot afterwards, but i wasn't dehydrated

[annathepiper]

Were the performances outdoor? If so, good.

But I was more talking about when you have to go to work and such, and as long as the heat keeps up, you need to keep up with drinking water. You've mentioned before to me on comments that you have to do a lot of walking when you're going to work--you were talking about needing better shoes and such. It's when you have to do that walking, and when you're specifically outside in the heat, that I'm thinking about here.

And really, even when you're not being particularly physically active in the heat, you should take care to keep up with the water anyway. High temperatures can be deceptive that way--you might think you're feeling fine, and then you get flattened out of nowhere.

[shikyrie.livejournal.com]

actually, they were in a very hot and humid basement under even hotter lights... but yes, I still drink a lot of water etc as it is...
when i was referring to the heat sickness, it's something I've had since I was younger... I'd get terrible stomach cramps and such when the heat index got too high, no matter how much fluid i've consumed... just seems sometimes, I'm not able to sweat enough to cool down and it makes me sick

[annathepiper]

Ah.

You might consider upping your salt intake during hot periods and see if that helps. Dara used to be flattened by the heat and humidity in Kentucky, and eating salt was the only thing that helped her.

[shikyrie.livejournal.com]

mmmm salt lick ::lick:: :)

[wildcardgal.livejournal.com]

Wish I'd known you were going to be right in the area. I live in Woodinville.

[annathepiper]

Whoa, I had no idea you were that local. Cool. :)