Errandonnee 2017

...is completed! For folks unfamiliar with the Errandonnee Challenge, check it out here.  Basically, you have 12 days to complete 12 errands by riding/running a minimum of 30 miles.

I'm actually pretty chuffed that I managed to complete this challenge. It has been awhile since I've done any sort of regular biking. I like that this challenge didn't require a daily commitment (that's next month, with 30 Days of Biking). I could do everything in one day or spread it out (I spread it out). Plus, it gave me the chance to finally try shopping & doing other useful activities by bike now that I live here.

Without further ado, here's the recap:

Location: Kent Island, MD.
Total Miles: 40

Errand 1: To The Playground! I put the kiddo in the Yepp seat on my beach cruiser, and we rode to the local playground for an afternoon of enjoying spring weather.
Category: You carried What on your bike?

Off we go!

Playground

Errand 2: Dropping the Kiddo off at the Baby Sitter's. Now that the weather is warmer, I will probably do this more often since its less than 2 miles away and way more fun than the car.

Category: Non-Store Errand

Diaper Bag in the Basket

Errand 3: Coffee Pitstop at Waterman Joe's.

Category: Personal Care (caffeine is self-care).

Waterman Joe's is a little drive-up trailer on the local main street. Funny story: the first time my husband got coffee there, he parked his car and walked up to the window. Everyone looked at him like a nutcase. He didn't realize you could drive your car up to the window, he was so used to walking to places. The lady working the window was a little startled to see my on my bike, heh. She asked where I was going to put the coffee--in my holder of course!

I really should have brought my own mug. 

Drive up/Bike up Window

Errand 4: Spa Day. I got my hair cut, brows waxed and nails painted at a local spa/salon. It was probably the fanciest salon I've ever been to, and I stood out a bit with my bike clothes. But it was so worth it.

Category: Personal Care

Fancy! This place was huge.

No bike racks, so I had front porch parking.

Errand 5: Stopped by the local bike shop. They were having their spring tent sale, so I stopped by to see what they had. I picked up some socks and a new multitool (I can't find my other one).

Category: Personal Business

Lots of Bikes. Especially Beach Cruisers.

Errand 6: Off to Kmart to pick up some prescriptions and other personal items.

Category: Personal Business

Shopping

Errand 7: Rita's was finally open for the season, so of course I had to stop for a cone!

Category: Wild Card

Delicious

Errand 8: Crab Shack for Lunch. The local crab shack is finally open for the season, so I stopped for lunch. I had the crab cake sandwich. It was overly salted. Oh well. They have teens that work there, so I'm sure its just a matter of time before they get the recipe right.
Category: Non-Store Errand.

Crab cake sandwich

Errand 9: K-Mart (again). Needed some supplies plus a new coffee mug for the bike.

Category: Store

Good thing I was on my bike, otherwise I might have bought the grand piano for me, the kiddo

Errand 10: Antique Store. I needed some home decor items, and luckily my town has a bunch of antique and art stores. I managed to pick up a pretty sailboat here, and carried it on my bike without it breaking.

Category: You carried What on your bike?!

Antique-ing by bike.

Errand 11: The Art Studio. I still needed something pretty for the house, so I stopped here. A small painting of red strawberries against a blue background caught my eye. The employee told me that it was painted by a local artist that recently had a stroke, and could no longer paint. He told me she would be so happy to hear that someone bought her painting. I'm definitely going back for another--she painted a beautiful heron that would look good hanging up on the wall.

Category: Arts and Entertainment

perfect.

Errand 12: Lunch Date with Kiddo. I want to do this more often, but he's still a little young. He's at the age where he just wants to throw everything, so it can be a bit of an ordeal eating a meal in public. There's a restaurant nearby that is open for lunch, and usually empty or with a few senior citizens that don't mind a boisterous toddler. We rode there and had a nice, but quick, meal. He had the hotdog and fries (he preferred the fries) and I tried the oysters Florentine. I've never had oysters before and I wanted to give them a shot. Not bad. I might try them again.
Category: Social Call

He still prefers eating crayons rather than drawing with them.

Oysters Florentine. Next time, I will try them raw.

And that brings Errandonnee 2017 to a close. I am so glad I participated. I don't think I would have ridden my bike at all otherwise. I signed up for 30 Days of Biking for April, so we'll see how that goes.

In other news, I am doing so much better than before. I took 8 weeks of family leave from work so I could concentrate on taking care of my mom & son without worrying about scheduling everything around work. I go back to work in 2 weeks, and I'm already in a much better state of mind. I'm still sad about the pregnancy loss, but its no longer a raw, angry, pain. And now that Spring has sprung and I've been able to get outside more, I feel mentally and physically refreshed. Getting outside in the fresh air is essential. Today is the first day in 2 weeks that I haven't hit my step goal with my fitbit (I actually forgot to take my walk today). I'm a little miffed that I'm breaking my streak, but that's ok. Back at it tomorrow.

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?