… bites!
(As we all know by now.)
I have been in denial for about ten days but finally, after an Insanity Pure Cardio workout at work during lunch, I had to admit that this fun workout was doing to my back/glutes/hamstrings the same thing that running seemed to be doing…that is, I can’t comfortably sit down afterwards.
I have yet to figure out the connection between the degenerative disck, the super tight glute and hamstrings and the pain when I sit for any length of time (which sometimes amounts to ten minutes!) But I can’t fail to see the connection between running or Insanity and not being able to sit down comfortably. So it’s back to the elliptical along with my pushups and pullups to stay in shape….
… or so I thought.
I had to go to Pacifica to see a stove installed yesterday. Just the thought of driving for an hour was painful to me. I decided to try something different: take the train and then bike to Pacifica.
I haven’t been on my mountain bike in about thee years. I had to pump up the tires before I could ride. I rode to the train station and remembered that I actually kind of liked bike riding. The train ride was uneventful; the train was quiet on a weekend morning.
I got off the train in South San Francisco and consulted Google Maps on my phone to verify my route to Pacifica. The ride to Pacifica was about seven miles but it had some hills; my legs were feeling it but that’s why my bike has 18 gears!
I spent more hours than I had hoped in Pacifica watching the stove and microwave installed. At three o’clock I left, heading back toward SSF — knowing that I was unlikely to get there in time for the 3:31 train. At El Camino, I stopped to check my time: seven minutes to get to the train. Maybe Lance could do it, but I knew I couldn’t. Rather than sit at the train station for almost an hour, I decided to continue down El Camino and catch the train at a stop further down the peninsula.
El Camino should more rightfully be called El Camino de Muchos Semaforos. I either had to ride more slowly or ride faster if I didn’t want to stop every block. Another rider whom I had passed (“On your left!” I warned as cycling courtesy dictates. “Thank you,” he replied which, while not dictated by cycling courtesy, was a welcome courtesy nonetheless) a block earlier. I made a comment to him about hitting all the lights. We continued to chat as we had to stop at each light. He said he was drafting off me; I replied he was the first. I didn’t add “first person ever desperate enough to draft of someone as slow as me!” At one light, we introduced ourselves; his name was Jeffrey.
Several stoplights later, Jeffrey asked which train I was planning to catch. I said I hadn’t decided. He asked if I liked wine. I said yes! Jeffrey mentioned that near the Burlingame station was a BevMo that was holding a wine tasting.
At the next light we separated as I was riding too far behind him to make it. Spontaneous wine tasting with someone I don’t know is not really in character for me so I was thinking I’d just head to the station. At the corner of Burlingame, though, Jeffrey was waiting for me. I turned toward the station, still undecided. I checked the train app on my phone; I had at least 30 minutes before it arrived.
“I don’t have a lock for my bike,” I said to the Jeffrey, beginning my excuses. He said I could take it into the store. We went in and he showed me wear to lean it against some boxed wine. (Leaning a bike anywhere in a beverage store can be a tricky proposition!) “How much does it cost?” I asked, ready for another excuse. The stove installer had done some “under the table” work so I only had $2 in cash. “Two dollars,” was the reply. Apparently this was meant to be!
The tasting consisted of various reds; the French wine was pretty much gone by the time we arrived. Too bad! The first thing I tried was a Conn Creek Cab Limited Edition 2006. It was a good first start – I liked it a lot. I tried most of the wines but the other wine that I really enjoyed was a Meiomi Pinot Noir. I took a photo of the bottle for a future purchase.
I chatted with Jeffrey and a female friend of his who had met him there, ate some tiny squares of a tasty smoked cheese (I hadn’t eaten since I had left the house at 7:30 AM and now it was almost 4:30). Another taster was willing to give me an introduction into sniffing and swirling wine but I had to explain that I was too congested to smell. I also noticed that I had to catch the train – I didn’t want to miss two in one day!
Jeffrey had left. I said goodbye to my fellow tasters and grabbed my bike — along with a bottle of the Conn Creek. I hoped jostling along in my backpack on the brief ride home from the train station wouldn’t “stress out” my wine.
At the train station, I ran into Jeffrey again. He was taking the train to Belmont. Later, I thought how unexpectedly my day had finished up because I didn’t have the patience to wait at the train station. Maybe there is something to this bike riding. I think I will be doing more of it in the future! ;0
