Biking Update
Boy, rarely have I been so glad to see a weekend as I am tonight.
I even deviated from my route home to stop to pick up the latest APA, and had to climb a nontrivial hill I wouldn't have encountered otherwise, and that went pretty well. So I think I'm getting the hang of this.
I really ought to buy a scale and see if this exercise is affecting my weight at all.
One thing I have noticed is that the simple logistics of biking are affecting some of my diet. I'm drinking less soda and eating less candy, since I no longer stop off at a convenience store several mornings a week to grab a paper or a drink. Instead, I'm drinking a lot more pure (well, tap) water. I've also discovered and been hitting the salad bar at the nearby supermarket for lunch, rather than driving to McDonald's as I've done a lot in recent years. Although I certainly don't get the healthiest salads - I do get meat, and cheese, and dressing - it's got to be somewhat healthier than deep-fried fast food.
(I wonder which is less healthy: Fast food or Mexican food?)
By the way, have I mentioned that I love garbanzo beans? I love garbanzo beans. I even love to say "garbanzo beans". ("Chickpeas" just don't have that resonance, y'know?)
I'm also contemplating buying some light hand weights to work with at home to give my upper body a modicum of exercise. I have never had any luck with "body-oriented" exercises like push-ups or sit-ups (let alone chin-ups), by which I mean that I don't stick with it. In fact, the last time I tried sit-ups, I found that after four or five days I was getting serious pain in my abdomen after only a few sit-ups, so I was forced to stop. I don't know what was going on.
At any rate, I think I can find better upper-body exercises than trying to lift 240 pounds of, well, me off the floor. (I have also heard that bicycling does give the upper body a mild workout, and some of the feeling in my body makes me think this is true, even if I don't understand why this is. Maybe it has to do with using my arms to hold me in place as I pedal hard up hills? Hmm. At any rate, although it may be true, I don't think it's a significant effect.)
So, that's the biking report.
More significantly, I had a big box from Bud Plant with a stack of Fantagraphics collections of Prince Valiant that I ordered several weeks ago. Of the 33 volumes published so far, I think I now have 21 of them, most of them bought at half price. Good stuff! I read volume 1 and half of volume 2 tonight. Even thought the art is far weaker in those early stories, they're still quite entertaining, and it's interesting to see the story develop over time.
And on my weekly sojourn to State St., I bumped into my friend Bill, who manages the downtown Pegasus Games, and he showed me that the new RoboRally expansion, Radioactive is now out. I've set up another game session after work on Monday, with a goal of playing more Settlers, but I'm sure RoboRally will work its way back to the front of my gaming queue soon.
I'm afraid I also broke down and picked up a couple more Joshua Redman CDs: His first, self-titled album, and his later album, Freedom in the Groove. Haven't listened to them yet.
One thing you may have noticed while reading my journal is my tendency to go a little overboard when I get into something. Especially now that I have the money to really get into it. I'm never quite sure whether this is something I should feel ashamed of or not. But I figure that anything that doesn't drive me into debt only makes me stronger!
Especially since pay day is only a week away!
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