I gave it up

Both me and Estela are crying inside. This summer was one of the nicest I can recall, perfect for bike riding, and my back was so cranky for much of it I couldn't do it. Some days I couldn't even think about it. Still, I had hoped it would get enough better to go for a real ride. I gave up on that today. There will still be some nice days, but I think we've just had our last hot days. For those with ears to listen with, winter has announced it's coming.

So tonight I put the trainer tire back on, and set up the trainer. It's all calibrated and read to go. I think I can ride sitting up and work my core, where I'm not comfortable leaning over onto the handlebars for any length of time. Good thing I don't have a tri bike right now. There is still tightness in my low back, and when it comes to pedaling my butt and hams feel weak. Even 85 rpm seems very fast right now.

After about 15 minutes worth of light pedaling to get the trainer calibrated again, and just to see how it feels, I was down on the mat doing some stretches and a bit of core. It's a poor substitute. I wish I knew what I'd done to have this happen, so I'd know not to do it again.

This morning I was in the pool for a nice 30 minute swim, and another 15 minutes water running with Katie. The water felt thick and gooey today. Did 3 100 m intervals on 2 minutes. Dolphin kick and pull. Kind of sloppy overall. I think I really have to start making the effort to get into the pool 3x a week, instead of two.

Part of the problem with streets that run east west is sunlight. Actually, in Calgary, it's the avenues that run east west, and streets that run north south. At certain times of the year, at certain times of the day, driving is very difficult. Even walking has its challenges. Today, as I was walking into the sun, all I could see of the people coming toward me was silhouettes. Here's what it looked like. I'm not sure how the red orange flower petal patter got into the photo. I didn't put them there. I would have liked to have centered the sun between the buildings, but that would mean standing in the middle of one of the busiest streets in Calgary, when the drivers can't see squat. Not a good idea.

Oh, and Linda just reminded me. Only my Facebook friends will have seen this photo.

This is what got served for dessert at the book club meeting we hosted on Sunday, only I also bought more blackberries and raspberries for people to add if they wanted. They did. Other than talking our faces off, drinking wine, eating that tart and other goodies a la Linda, I did nothing all day. We're reading Cloud Atlas next time, but the meeting won't be at our house, so there won't be any fancy tarts. Just pretty good pub grub.

And in my smile for the day, someone put this on my Wall. My inner shark was very amused.