19 weeks, and Errandonnee Roundup

Headed into week 19 and nothing new to report. We find out the sex in two days! That's about it, pregnancy-wise.

I was signed up for the Vasa Ride yesterday, but I slept in instead. I was super sick the day before (I caught a coworker's bug) and was feeling miserable. I knew I did the right thing when I woke up feeling like a million bucks. I like the Vasa Ride, but I've done it enough times that it actually tends to seem tedious, rather than an adventure. I liked looking at the pics and reading about other folks's experience with the ride.

I am sad to report that I did NOT finish the 2015 Errandonnee, and I am perfectly fine with that. My main objective in participating in this challenge was to get my butt back on the bike, and it certainly did that. Mission accomplished, and I'm happy with that. I will recap what I managed to do:

Errand #1: Seeing Kim Boekbinder perform

Category: Arts & Entertainment

Date: March 7th, 2015

Miles: 9.5

Bike: Kermit

Observations: I helped Kickstart her album The Sky is Calling, and this was her long-anticipated DC show for it. I highly recommend her music. The Impossible Girl and The Sky is Falling are some of my favorite albums. She was one-half of the music duo, Vermillion Lies. I was a little hesitant about riding to the venue (The Electric Maid) because it was in an area I'm not familiar with, on a Saturday night. It was perfectly fine though. I did regret not bringing my gloves for the ride home--it was cold!

268 Carroll St. NW: a small, intimate community arts space

Snow was still on the ground, but the roads were clear.

Errand 2: Getting some baby stuff done at a local coffee shop

Category: Personal Business

Date: March 9th, 2015

Miles: 3.3

Bike: Kermit

Observations: I bought "The Belly Book" on the recommendation of friends. It's similar to a baby-book, but for the pregnancy itself. I'm pretty terrible at keeping mementos of important occasions, and figured this would be a nice thing to have for later. It's easy, because it contains lots of prompts for writing things down. I've really gotten out of practice with writing by hand; my handwriting is awful. 

Errand 3: Blogging

Category: Personal Business

Date: March 11th 2015

Miles: 2.9

Bike: Kermit

Observations: I really like the 15th Street cycle track and I'm glad it is there. I remember the wailing performed by certain businesses that this cycle track was going to cost them customers because some parking spots had to be removed. Guess what? Cyclists are customers too! And I absolutely consider whether your business is on a bike friendly route as to whether I'll bother stopping by (also, safe & convenient bike parking). Peet's Coffee, the shop that I chose to stop in, is right on the cycle track, making it super convenient. While sitting at the window, I think I saw at least 50-75 cyclists using the cycle track--all potential customers. That was just in an hour.

the cycle track runs in front of the sidewalk.

Errand 4: Work Commute

Category: Work/Volunteering

Date: March 13th, 2015

Miles: 9.7

Bike: Kermit

Observations: The weather was finally nice enough that I felt comfortable riding to work. It was great, but I also forget that spring weather means Road Work begins again. There was a lot of it. It didn't affect me too much though. I was planning on having The Husband pick me and Kermit up from work (I'm still hesitant about riding late at night, especially Fri/Sat nights), but he wasn't able to--so I rode home. And it was perfectly fine. I can't wait to do this regularly again.

Kermit chilling in the locker room.

Errand 5: Lunch at Kangaroo Boxing Club

Category: Social Call

Date: March 15th, 2015

Miles: 1.4 

Bike: Kermit

Observations: I don't actually like duck as much as I think I do. I stopped here for lunch because I haven't been by in forever, and I wanted to see some familiar faces. Also, I was hungry. I was planning on getting the Constanza burger (so good!) but the pulled duck sandwich caught my eye, so I ordered that instead. It was good, but not as good as the burger would have been. Oh well. Still a good meal over all.

Pulled duck with blackberry caramelized onions, slaw & fries.

Errand 6: Getting stuff for the turtles at Petco

Category: Store

Date: March 15th, 2015

Miles: .5

Bike: Kermit

Observation: I really go there to play with the animals.

This is the husband's greatest nightmare. He is terrified of birds.

Errand 7: Coffee to go

Category: Personal Care

Date: March 15th, 2015

Miles: .4

Bike: Kermit

Observation: A place called Zombie Coffee & Donuts definitely caught my interest. I was feeling tired, so I figured I would get a latte for the ride home. To my dismay, this place isn't nearly as cool as I thought it would be. All of their coffee drinks are "made" by one of those automatic coffee dispensers. *womp womp*. I didn't try their donuts, so maybe they are better at that. I didn't have my coffee mug with me, so I just used their paper to-go cup. I managed to keep MOST of my drink in the cup by the time I got home.

bumpy ride.

And that's as far as I got. It's not that I ran out of time; I ran out of errands. I don't feel like spending time making up errands to do today, so I'm just gonna call it quits here. I've managed to get out on my bike the last week more than I would have otherwise, so I consider that a win.

P.S. Bike to Work Day registration is open! Sign up!

18 weeks

18 weeks this week, and I'm feeling ok. I actually had to take a week off of work due to some blood pressure issues, but they seem to have resolved themselves.

The weather is finally cooperating, and I've gotten a few bike rides in. The 2015 Errandonnee Challenge is underway, so that has provided a great incentive to get out on my bike.  I'll do a full write-up of my errands once the challenge is concluded, but in the meantime I've ridden to see a Kim Boekbinder performance (entertainment), rode to a cafe to work on some baby stuff (personal business) and am currently sitting in a Peet's Coffee off of the 15th St. cycle track writing this blog post (personal business). So that's 3 out of 12 so far.  I plan to start commuting to work again this week, so two of those rides can count as well.

Getting some personal business done at Pleasant Pops

Blogging live, from Peet's. If you look closely, you can see the 15th St. cycle track in front. One of the reasons why I picked this place: bikes=business.

On Saturday night, I rode to The Electric Maid, which is a community arts space in the Takoma neighborhood. It was a 4.5 mile ride each way. I was worried about riding in the dark with the bar crowd on the roads, but it was fine. The route I took avoided main roadways. It was a little bit of a struggle in places because it's uphill, but I just took it slowly and shifted into my granny gear (which hasn't been used in years!). My bump is just beginning to take shape, and I did notice a little bit of contact with my knees, but its not a problem...yet. I will probably need to make some adjustments in a month or so.

A nice, intimate space. 268 Carroll St. NW

One of the opening bands (I think this was Martin Bisi).

Although the snow was gone from most of the roads, piles still remained on sidewalks.

A terrible picture of Kim Bookbinder, performing songs from her album, The Sky is Calling

This weekend is also the Vasa Ride! I really hope the weather cooperates. The weather forecast says clear and mid-50's, so I'll take it. I signed up for the 30 mile route, but I'm leaving myself the option to bail to the 16 mile route. It's been months since I've been cycling regularly, and this ride can be challenging at the best of times. I'll be wearing a heart-rate monitor to make sure my HR stays in a safe-zone. I'm also ok if I finish after the Blueberry Soup is gone. I've had it before. My goal will be to enjoy the ride. That's it.

As for pregnancy stuff: we find out if it's a girl or boy next week! Once we know the sex, we'll start working on names and a registry. I have NO clue as to what we'll need. I don't know even know if we'll still be living in the same place. We have a lot to figure out soon. In the meantime, I'm trying to work on taking better care of me. I have two goals to work on for now: get into a regular nighttime routine (I'm a terrible night owl), and get an activity of some sort in before going to work. Currently, I tend to stay up watching tv or puttering around on the internet until the wee hours of the morning and then wake up at the very last minute before having to go into work. I don't work until the afternoon, so I end up wasting an entire morning sleeping. I still need my beauty rest, but if I went to bed at a decent hour, I could still get it. Then I could do something fun in the mornings. It will also eliminate the "all I do is work" feeling I get. So those are my goals for now.

Anyone else excited for Spring?