I found a new office!
Maggie and I did 7.57 miles today!!
Oh, I didn't tell you about Maggie? I have named my bike. I have become quite attached to her. She got me safely to church this morning with minutes to spare. No waiting for the bus. No paying $5 for a day pass.
Maggie is quite special. When I moved to Salem, I was surprised to discover the buses did not run on Sundays. And I had just accepted a church organist job! But a lovely woman, the wife of a pastor at the church my son and I went to rehomed her to me! I rode round trip 4 miles every Sunday while I was living in Salem. But since I moved back to Portland, she has sat in the garage. Lonely. I was afraid to ride in Portland. One of the things I loved about Salem was less traffic and wider streets.
I do ride mostly on the sidewalks. I am a chicken. But Foster Road is a great street. The sidewalks are wide and very few pedestrians.
After church, we went up to Creston Park. I sat in the shade with Maggie, a bottle of water, my bible, trees, and birds chirping. It was blissful. Right here in the middle of the city. I could not even hear the cars go by on congested Powell Boulevard. There were a few kids playing on the swing set, some people walking their dogs, a mom walking her baby in a stroller. While I was inhaling the beauty, I read Isaiah 55:12. Which was perfect for this experience!
Not only am I finding more inner peace, and getting good exercise, I am saving money! Not only the $5 day pass, but I am hereby releasing myself from my restaurant addiction.
Walking is wonderful. But I find I make too many excuses to stop for lunch. I usually spend at least $10 on lunch on Sunday. Plus $5 bus pass. Plus a few bucks at the used bookstore. Nearly $20!
We did stop by Taco Bell, however. I spent $5.67. I had a crunchy taco, an iced tea and a small nachos. So I am still ahead! Plus I can usually use their free Wi-Fi.
Sadly, today their Wi-Fi was out of order.
But it was at Taco Bell, looking out the window lovingly at my bike that I thought of her name. She is actually a men's 26" Magna. As I gazed at her, I could only see the "Mag" of Magna.
"Maggie!" I thought. "That is a good strong name for a bike". :)
So we just rode on up to the library. My second office! The library is hopping today. Good place to be on a hot summer day.
As I was waiting to cross the street earlier, a young woman on a bike smiled at me. She had a bright yellow helmet with flowers on it. I told her I liked her helmet. She thanked me. The light turned green and she waved at me. "Have a nice ride!" she said as she rode off.
I had a bit of a light bulb moment. I am a biker! I felt a surge of pride. And something else. Maybe my inner Gypsy spirit was ignited. I felt also felt very self sufficient.
Ironically I started biking in earnest on the weekend of the Portland Naked Bike Ride.
To each his/her own, I say. It is amusing. Definitely puts attention on our city! But I prefer to be clothed when I ride. :)
I am going to try and plan my teaching route to include biking. I am not sure I can do the whole route by bike, but I can certainly combine MAX and bike quite easily. Mostly I will need MAX at the beginning of my route in outer NE Portland. Then I can bike the rest of the day. So instead of a day pass, I can get by on a 2.5 hour pass ($2.50).
And I am going to recommit to my eating this week. I had a rough weekend. My mother's birthday was Friday and she wanted a pizza party. And cake. I decided in advance to just eat pizza and cake and not mention being gluten free. I was weary of the remarks. And frankly, I REALLY wanted to eat pizza and cake!
And I did!
Oh man, did it taste good.
Especially the cake. A lemon poppyseed cake my mom bought from Rose's in Vancouver.
It was almost worth the PAIN I experienced all day Saturday. I was tired, bloated, achy, my stomach hurt and I spent most of the day in the bathroom. No further explanation needed.
I hope I have learned my lesson!
So my focus for this week, besides adding the bike rides, is fresh, wholesome food. Mostly fruits and vegetables. I am re-reading The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life by Rick Warren, Daniel Amen, M.D., and Mark Hyman, M.D.
I need some inspiration!
I know that my restaurant addiction is a strong one. I have blogged about it before. It goes way back to childhood. Every milestone, every accomplishment, every celebration was met with a trip to a local restaurant for dinner, or at least a banana split. The funniest outing was when my mom ate her whole banana split to the bottom of the bowl to discover there was no banana! We still laugh about this.
I love my mom dearly. And I will continue having breakfast with her at one of our favorite haunts for as long as we live.
But as for me, I can easily pack a lunch and eat in a park or at a bus stop. Food as recreation needs to go bye-bye!
Speaking of which, I need to head out before it gets any hotter.
Happy Sunday!
 |
| Maggie in my new office! |
Oh, I didn't tell you about Maggie? I have named my bike. I have become quite attached to her. She got me safely to church this morning with minutes to spare. No waiting for the bus. No paying $5 for a day pass.
Maggie is quite special. When I moved to Salem, I was surprised to discover the buses did not run on Sundays. And I had just accepted a church organist job! But a lovely woman, the wife of a pastor at the church my son and I went to rehomed her to me! I rode round trip 4 miles every Sunday while I was living in Salem. But since I moved back to Portland, she has sat in the garage. Lonely. I was afraid to ride in Portland. One of the things I loved about Salem was less traffic and wider streets.
I do ride mostly on the sidewalks. I am a chicken. But Foster Road is a great street. The sidewalks are wide and very few pedestrians.
After church, we went up to Creston Park. I sat in the shade with Maggie, a bottle of water, my bible, trees, and birds chirping. It was blissful. Right here in the middle of the city. I could not even hear the cars go by on congested Powell Boulevard. There were a few kids playing on the swing set, some people walking their dogs, a mom walking her baby in a stroller. While I was inhaling the beauty, I read Isaiah 55:12. Which was perfect for this experience!
 |
| "For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains
and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the
trees of the field shall clap their hands". ~Isaiah 55:12 |
Not only am I finding more inner peace, and getting good exercise, I am saving money! Not only the $5 day pass, but I am hereby releasing myself from my restaurant addiction.
Walking is wonderful. But I find I make too many excuses to stop for lunch. I usually spend at least $10 on lunch on Sunday. Plus $5 bus pass. Plus a few bucks at the used bookstore. Nearly $20!
We did stop by Taco Bell, however. I spent $5.67. I had a crunchy taco, an iced tea and a small nachos. So I am still ahead! Plus I can usually use their free Wi-Fi.
Sadly, today their Wi-Fi was out of order.
But it was at Taco Bell, looking out the window lovingly at my bike that I thought of her name. She is actually a men's 26" Magna. As I gazed at her, I could only see the "Mag" of Magna.
"Maggie!" I thought. "That is a good strong name for a bike". :)
So we just rode on up to the library. My second office! The library is hopping today. Good place to be on a hot summer day.
As I was waiting to cross the street earlier, a young woman on a bike smiled at me. She had a bright yellow helmet with flowers on it. I told her I liked her helmet. She thanked me. The light turned green and she waved at me. "Have a nice ride!" she said as she rode off.
I had a bit of a light bulb moment. I am a biker! I felt a surge of pride. And something else. Maybe my inner Gypsy spirit was ignited. I felt also felt very self sufficient.
Ironically I started biking in earnest on the weekend of the Portland Naked Bike Ride.
To each his/her own, I say. It is amusing. Definitely puts attention on our city! But I prefer to be clothed when I ride. :)
I am going to try and plan my teaching route to include biking. I am not sure I can do the whole route by bike, but I can certainly combine MAX and bike quite easily. Mostly I will need MAX at the beginning of my route in outer NE Portland. Then I can bike the rest of the day. So instead of a day pass, I can get by on a 2.5 hour pass ($2.50).
And I am going to recommit to my eating this week. I had a rough weekend. My mother's birthday was Friday and she wanted a pizza party. And cake. I decided in advance to just eat pizza and cake and not mention being gluten free. I was weary of the remarks. And frankly, I REALLY wanted to eat pizza and cake!
And I did!
Oh man, did it taste good.
Especially the cake. A lemon poppyseed cake my mom bought from Rose's in Vancouver.
 | ||
| https://www.zomato.com/vancouver-wa/roses-restaurant-and-bakery-vancouver |
It was almost worth the PAIN I experienced all day Saturday. I was tired, bloated, achy, my stomach hurt and I spent most of the day in the bathroom. No further explanation needed.
I hope I have learned my lesson!
So my focus for this week, besides adding the bike rides, is fresh, wholesome food. Mostly fruits and vegetables. I am re-reading The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to a Healthier Life by Rick Warren, Daniel Amen, M.D., and Mark Hyman, M.D.
 | ||||||
| https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Plan-Days-Healthier-Life/dp/1491510919 |
I need some inspiration!
I know that my restaurant addiction is a strong one. I have blogged about it before. It goes way back to childhood. Every milestone, every accomplishment, every celebration was met with a trip to a local restaurant for dinner, or at least a banana split. The funniest outing was when my mom ate her whole banana split to the bottom of the bowl to discover there was no banana! We still laugh about this.
I love my mom dearly. And I will continue having breakfast with her at one of our favorite haunts for as long as we live.
But as for me, I can easily pack a lunch and eat in a park or at a bus stop. Food as recreation needs to go bye-bye!
Speaking of which, I need to head out before it gets any hotter.
Happy Sunday!
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