Author Archives: j

the sun is out! still biking…

i briefly considered wearing a t-shirt instead of a tankini (my bike wardrobe is dwindling with all of this consecutive biking), but was glad i chose the tankini as the beach was nice and warm and *sunny*!!! as an fyi, i took time lapse video of my outbound trip, but, unfortunately, the file is too big to post here. the other events of my trip: the wind was killer today going northbound and at the city limit separating venice from santa monica, i suddenly got very, *very* hungry. i usually bring sustenance even on the shortest trips, but i haven’t really used it so i skipped it today. besides, i had a protein bar just before i left. on my way south, i had considered biking further than my usual turn-around, but after encountering the wind and my hunger pains, i was glad i didn’t. when i got home, i devoured everything in sight: forelle pear, blueberries, salad, water w/ propel, chips and salsa, 1 piece of reheated pizza (in that order). in fact, i’m still eating right now. it’s so pretty and sunny right now, i think i’ll spend more of my day outside…

outbound: 7.40 miles / 37.17 mins / 11.7 avg mph // return: 7.41 miles / 42.22 mins / 10.4 avg mph (i told you the wind was killer.)

emergency preparedness

everyone should have travel cutlery and salad dressing with them at all times. other things that will get me through 15 minutes of an emergency: all my snapware and a thermos of sweetened tea.

i am anything but unprepared…for 15 minutes at least.

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need that adrenaline rush

the continuous overcast weather is almost making me have seasonal affective disorder. i never signed up for this. sunshine – this is why i moved to california. so what’s a girl to do? get on her bike: 10.82 miles / 47.20 minutes / 13.6 avg mph

(can you believe how consistent i am? it’s like i’m a robot. no funny existential comments from the peanut gallery – you know who you are!)

oh, front derailleur, how i’ve missed thee

i’m sitting here, eating passionfruit chobani, recovering from my bike ride after testing out my new front derailleur. ahhhh, it’s wonderful. so smooth. because, after all, it’s supposed to get me out of tight spots, not put me into them. the derailleur, that is, not the chobani. although, come to think of it, the chobani could accomplish the same thing…

47.30 mins / 13.6 avg mph / 10.83 miles

chobani

we recently discovered passionfruit chobani. it is my favorite flavor with or without mixing the fruit on the bottom. chobani is on sale at albertsons so we stocked up on, oh, about 20 containers of varying flavors so we could perform, wait for it, a taste test. (you know i love me a taste test. and a colored pen for taking taste test notes. and a special notebook just for taking notes on the aforementioned taste test. i’m so predictable.)

anyway, we tried apple cinnamon 0% fat on the way home from costco. it tasted like farmer’s cheese. i haven’t decided if that’s from the 0% or the apple cinnamon. i did enjoy it and liked the chunky apple. the farmer’s cheese flavor wasn’t a turn-off, just a little weird. tonight, i unwrapped the blood orange 0% and it almost tastes like orange cough syrup but the “no cough syrup aftertaste” saves it in my book. also, it doesn’t have the farmer’s cheese flavor so that could still be an apple cinnamon thing or just a fluke.

but nothin’ has knocked passionfruit off its pedestal yet. to be continued…

navigating

eating a turkey burger (because of a recent discovery of mad cow in central california. i admit it: i’m a sensationalist.) my bandaged pinky finger is thwarting my iphone browsing. the iphone may do lots of things but it isn’t smart enough to realize that there is flesh under that band-aid.

thus, i have to resort to either putting down the fries in one hand or the burger in the other. decisions…

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hygge

from dwell magazine: hygge (pronounced hoog-eh) is a danish word with no direct english translation. it describes that warm, cozy feeling that develops when friends gather in a room with some open flames, alcohol, and plenty of time to enjoy the experience.

mind you, it’s not a party and it’s not something that happens on the beach.

and now that i reread the definition, i feel i must clarify that it is also not a rave or a pyro party for arsonists.

now i just have to get me a house, some open flames, and time to enjoy both.

diy

i used blue painter’s tape to keep my front derailleur from knocking around. not only did it work, but it also exactly matches the blue paint on my bike.

7.41 miles / 39.24 mins / 11.2 avg mph | (didn’t reset on trip home) 14.84 miles total / 1.18.45 hours / 11.2 avg mph

front derailleur be d****d

in a sudden stroke of brilliance, i realized i could just manually push the chain onto the middle chainring and resume my biking. this is not ideal as the cage is loose and can rub against the chain, but for a short bike ride, it’s doable. i biked to helen’s to follow up on my broken derailleur, ordered a new one and will have my shifting prowess back in no time. but in the meantime, i took advantage of my new realization and the sunshine: 59.51 mins / 13.0 avg mph / 13.09 miles