Biking on Canada Road...

I went biking with a buddy of mine on Sunday. It looks like I hadn't taken Gigi for a ride since before Thanksgiving so it was nice to get out there again. And I always feel just a little bit more hardcore when I put on my bike shoes, gloves, sunglasses, and helmet - heehee.

Neither of us had biked in awhile so we did a relatively easy but pretty route on Canada Road up north of where I live.

It was my first time there and I really enjoyed it. It's got great scenery as you bike along the Crystal Springs Reservoir and there are some nice houses further along on the route. Even better, it's about a seven mile stretch before you even hit a stop sign! This route is perfect for scaredy-cat bikers like me. The shoulders are really wide and there are hardly any cars on this road. (They actually close the road down to cars on Sundays but not during the "winter". ) There are lots of rolling hills to make it a challenging ride but not too bad as I never had to shift into total granny gear mode. There are even dirt paths along the road for runners, too.

When you do hit the stop sign, there's a little market nearby that's perfect for refueling and stuff. (Not that we needed it for biking 7 miles.)

Anyway, it was a great day out, although maybe a little bit chilly (which I know I should shut up about as it was nothing compared to the 1 degree weather I had in Cleveland while I was home for the holidays), and we had a perfect 15 mile bike ride.

It also pretty much marked the end of my nice two week vacation. As I mentioned above, I spent the first week in OH with my family in the midwest to celebrate Christmas. The second week was more of a forced vacation as my company had a mandatory shutdown. I had all these great plans for things I wanted to do last week. Most of it was just wishful thinking but here are the highlights of what I did get done:

• Went running twice and biking once (still continuing to neglect the gym, though - DOH!)
• Ventured up to the east bay for a very fun blogger meet up
• Cleaned out and re-organized my closet - discovered a bunch of clothes that I had forgotten about
• Got my eyebrows threaded (TMI?)
• Updated my blogs more regularly than I had in the past
• Discovered a new love for Rock Band drums
• Went to the Leonardo exhibit at the Tech Museum
• Met up with a childhood friend that I hadn't seen since we were kids (reconnected through facebook)
• Had a test run for a virtual/web conference baby shower we're having next weekend (that's how we do it in silicon valley - haha)
• Kinda/sorta helped out my friend with her wedding planning
• Started a special project for another friend that reads this blog so I can't reveal anymore ;)
• Did not do any work - yippee!!!

And now I'm back at work. It wasn't as painful as I thought but it does suck to have to set the alarm again.

I'm kind of mad at myself because I went to all the trouble to pack my gym bag this morning and then forgot to pack the darn thing in my car! Sure I could go home after work, change, and then head to the gym but who are we kidding? Once I'm home, I don't usually head back out.

Ah well...