Reversing exercise...

...times, that is!

I've been working out at the gym after work, and trying to sneak in a walk (for sanity's sake, of course) during the day. Walking during the day hasn't been working too well lately because it's been really cold. Walking outside when I'm dressed for cold temperatures is fine, but walking outside when I'm in my normal work attire is not as pleasant when the temperature is below 30. And work attire plus a jacket is my normal dress for walking during the work day. I need to get back to my twice a day active behavior.

Today we had a company meeting that stretched from 1 to 5 PM. That meant that I would be leaving work a good hour later than normal. I could have adjusted my start time, but somehow I still walked in to the office at 7:30 AM. So I decided to use that extra time by heading to the gym for a late morning exercise session. That was a good break, a good workout, and a relatively quiet time at the gym. I think I'll try that again...

The problem? When I got back to the office, several people with very worried looks on their faces came up to me with the question "Where were you? We were trying to figure out if we needed to call someone!". Oops! I don't really consider being gone for 75 minutes to be a large chunk of time, but it was long enough to make some of my co-workers nervous. It's nice to know that people care. But honestly, I wonder if their level of concern would be as high as it is if I hadn't taken that tumble from my bike so long ago. (How long ago? Believe it or not, I'm under 3 months away from the 2-year anniversary of that fateful day. And yes, it's still engraved on my memory!)

I think I'm going to have to try that exercise reversal more often. When I walk during the day, I'm usually only away from my desk for a half an hour. If I extend that time away to 75 minutes, I can get a solid hour in at the gym (which luckily is across the street from my office). And if I leave work a half an hour later than I have been - maybe I can get an hour's fast-walk in at night too. Well, probably not every day. But getting back to a double dose of exercise a couple of days a week would feel really good, and hopefully will help me build up to my bicycle-commuting to work several days a week once the days lengthen a bit more - and get warmer too. (Yes, you're right, it's really too early in the year to think about that. It's good to dream though.)

Layers and layers and...

...layers and layers!

Brrr! Another cold evening... My intent was to head to the gym after work, but I just couldn't face exercising inside. Somehow a brisk walk on a very cold evening seemed more appealing. It was just 20 degrees out which in the overall scheme of things isn't that cold. But add the light wind, and the level of cold definitely increased. The good news is that it is late enough in the winter that I really have figured out the right layers to help me stay reasonably warm.

As I was briskly heading towards home - walking on the side of the road to take advantage of the less icy and smoother pavement (than the sidewalk) - I met a woman with a very attentive Scottie. The Scottie, in her nice red coat, came over to check me out. Her owner said she (the dog, that is) was fascinated – no, mesmerized by my flashing blue lights.

I believe that this may be a case where the dog has more sense than humans. I'm still amazed that most of the people I see outside walking and running in the dark are wearing nothing to make them more visible. In fact, I've seen people at night wearing dark clothing (without even reflective patches) who are happily running in the road.

A computer kind of day

Ah, what to do with a beautiful but very cold Sunday? I did manage an hour long walk in the afternoon, dressed in layers and layers and... The temperature just barely topped the 20 degree mark, and the wind just kept right on blowing. I didn't even consider asking one of my bikes to join me. In fact, I really had to convince myself that it was a good day to walk. I'm glad that I won that argument; as always it was good to be out in the sunshine.

The rest of the day was definitely a computer kind of day. I have been planning to update the article I published (several years ago) about choosing a digital camera for touring. Ever since I jumped off that cliff in January (figuratively, that is) and bought myself a digital SLR along with 2 lenses, I knew that it would be a good thing to share that decision with some of my fellow touring cyclists. After all, I'm sure that I'm not the only person who was considering adding another camera to my touring gear... I spent a good part of today at my computer, thinking, writing. Even though I know how long it takes to write, it still surprised me that I needed to spend so many hours creating, writing, sharing thoughts.

I think the end result is good, although I have no real idea if my reasoning and decision will really help anyone else. No matter, the article is updated; it will be interesting to see if I get any reactions. And reviewing the article, it occurs to me that even though I wrote it with the thoughts of a touring cyclist, it really applies to anyone who is considering jumping into the world of digital photography. If you're interested, you can read my article at here.

Snow-woman, walking

Snow-woman? That was definitely me...

The morning dawned cold and sunny, but the blue early morning sky turned to gray very quickly. I considered a quick jaunt on my bike before the predicted mid-day start of the snow, but the cold, cold temperature along with a brisk wind convinced me that walking was a better choice. Of course, I headed out of the door at just the right time to ensure that my entire fast walk would be in the snow.

I had to laugh when I looked at myself in the mirror right after I walked back into my warm home. Yes, I should have taken a picture; but I didn't! My hat was caked with snow, and my very red (and cold) face included droplets of water beading under my eyes and on my cheeks. It really was a good walking day though.

Ah, a picture of a dry me, before my walk in the storm. This is part of my ongoing attempts to capture the healing progress from my May 2004 impact with the pavement. What are probably permanent marks on my face are still there, but somehow it does appear that the amount of red is fading. And yes, I do wish that I had grabbed my camera when I returned from my walk instead of before my walk!

Did you have to jump?

Wow! I don't think I could jump out of a plane - even tethered to a skydiving instructor. But my niece Bari is studying in Australia for a semester, and her great adventure started with a couple of weeks in New Zealand. I think the most tame activity she participated in was backpacking, and she managed to go white water rafting, bungy jumping and skydiving too. I wonder if there were any quiet moments included in her visit...

Bari - is this really you? Photo courtesy of nzone

Language mismatch?

I received an email from United Airlines earlier this week that I couldn't read. The title?

お客さまの2006年のエリート資格についての大切なお知らせ

The from address was in English, and embedded in what to me was unreadable text was the url www.unitedairlines.co.jp/elite so I knew where the email originated.

Spam? Not this time... I did supply my email address to the airline for use in their mileage program. So instead of the annoyance I feel with spam that makes it through filters and floats across my inbox, this message was a curiosity and brought a smile to my face - especially when I received an apology email from United.

The email address I use for this type of correspondence is actually forwarded to two places - my primary email account, and my Gmail account (so I can check email from the road if I happen to be wandering on my bike). I found it interesting that the ads displayed in Gmail were also in Japanese. Interesting, but practical. I'm so used to looking at the English language in my normal character set that I never thought about the use of language as part of the targeting of ads.

Can't read the Japanese characters included above? They look like a series of empty boxes? Don't worry, you may not have the supporting character set installed on your computer.

A morning turkey greeting

The turkeys are here! The turkeys are here!

There is a flock of turkeys that sometimes visits my office (yes, I do mean outside!), and they definitely made their presence known this morning. Strutting around on the grass, chasing each other, males showing the glory of full tails. There were two surprises this morning - the sheer number of turkeys trotting around the parking lot and the grass, and the fact that several of the females were perched in a tree. I have to admit that I've never seen them off of the ground before. Funny...

So tell me, why is it that I still haven't learned to always have a camera with me?

Please, stay on vacation!

I think this happens every year, but it surprises me every year too. This week, coinciding with the President's Day holiday, is school vacation week in this area. And I'm absolutely amazed at the difference in the traffic patterns.

My morning commute in the non-biking season is always by car. Sometimes I take the highway (I-93 to Route 128), but more often as I drive over I-93 I see heavy traffic and I stay on surface streets. Avoiding the highway's heavy traffic gets me to work faster, and also lessens morning aggravation level. But this week? I find it hard to believe that everyone who has children takes this week off - and if my office is anything to judge by, they don't. And school children don't drive on the highways...

The roads have been clear all week, with traffic absolutely flying. While I'd love to have the week off too, I'm just as happy having the easy drive commuting days.

A case of degrees

Ah, what a difference ten degrees makes! Today it was in the low 30s when my bike and I rolled out of the house - as opposed to the low 20s yesterday. The wind was still there, but at a much lower velocity. I think I'm remembering why I like wandering on my bike!

Someone needs to set the weather wizard straight though. The forecast for the work week is for 40 degree days, but the forecast for next weekend is back into the 30s. (OK Denise, stop complaining - after all it is still winter!)

We are approaching the last week in February though; only 4 more weeks until the official first day of spring. No, I don't believe that the weather will magically change on March 2oth, but it's OK to dream, right?

Brrr.... (yet again!)

The weekend days dawned with clear blue skies, but the wind that started on Friday decided to hang around for a while - along with cold temperatures. Brrr!

Yesterday was a walking day; I couldn't convince myself that there was any way I could stay warm on my bike. I know that I was right given that I only managed to walk for 45 minutes. That's a short time for me for a weekend walk. With the combination of temperatures in the high 20s plus a significant wind - well, I had to cut my outdoor walk short before I ended up with frozen fingers!

Today dawned still cold, and while the wind was constant, it was much quieter than yesterday. So yes, one of my purple bikes insisted on joining me for a ride. In keeping with the temperature, it was a short ride - only 15 miles. I did a couple of very small loops so that I was never more than 3 or 4 miles from home. Better to ride a somewhat boring loop than to head further from home and run the risk of getting chilled and having a long ride to get back to a warm shower. I have to admit that it crossed my mind that getting a flat today would have been a really really bad thing. I don't think my hands would have been too happy changing a tire in that cold!