Beautiful Day

You're on the road But you've got no destination You're in the mud In a maze of her imagination You love this town Even if that doesn't ring true You've been all over And it's been all over you It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away It's a beautiful day Today was a great day. Got up this morning to go bike riding with yet another person from CL. He's pretty cool, new to the area but from a place that has incredible bike infrastructure. I rode this trail last night on a whim for a few miles once the weather cleared up, so I actually was showing it to him. :) We met at Rosslyn at 10ish. I was late - I kept missing trains because of the stupid elevators (not allowed to carry bikes up/down escalators). No biggy, at least I know better next time I want to use Metro with my bike. But I would have spent less time overall if I just strapped up and drove out to Teddy Roosevelt Island and had him meet me there. Anyway, we stop at a Starbucks where I get a hot Vanilla Creme to warm me up and an overpriced blueberry muffin. The dork at Starbucks didn't know what the hell I was talking about. The girl with him knew, but I lost all confidence as she wasn't the one making it. It turned out okay, but I was not pleased overall. At least be familiar with the menu! In case you are wondering, it's just steamed milk, vanilla syrup, and whipped cream on top. So I eat my muffin and drink my coffee alternative and we're off. We are just up the street from the trail. It was lovely out - a little breezy, but not too cold. It was pretty much a perfect crisp fall day that is just warm enough when you bask in the sunlight. Which we did for a while before turning around. We found this grassy spot near some nice "yuppieish" (his words) apartments that were right on the river's edge with french windows all around. Next time we go, I'm going to bring some fruit for that midway stop. Strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and bananas. He wants bananas. I'll wait to cut them, then, so they don't turn brown. All that, sprinkled with a little confectioner's sugar. That should make a nice treat. There are some nice views of the cities and the monuments, and plenty of places to stop and admire the beauty of the area. I should have brought my camera. This is something that I have not, in my 3 years here, really taken the time to appreciate. I keep saying that I hate this town, but the frightening (to me, anyway) reality is that while I never wanted to put any roots down in this town, I have been. Look at me - finding a church. Joining a soccer team. Making bike buddies. Exploring this town to appreciate the beauty. Plus I'm planning to take the Maryland bar anyway in February. Sounds like roots to me - what the hell am I doing? Anyway, back to the little road trip today. This was my first major ride. Last night doesn't count! Having looked at the route map again today, I realize that we went about 8 or so miles along the route. The route is 18 miles long. We were about halfway there! So at most, we did about 16 miles today. Cool! I wonder if that's any good? I suppose so, since I haven't put my ass on a bike seat in years. Last night when I rode, I estimate that I did about 10 miles. I guess I'm not doing too badly. But I got very tired along the way... not to mention also that my butt hurts!! I need to buy one of those gel seats, stat! Last night I also went to my gf's to watch the rerun of The Apprentice. 12 extra minutes of the boardroom. Though the blow of the firing was softened because I already knew the outcome, it was still pretty intriguing to see some of the things that were edited out for the main show. We also watched X-Men and X2 back-to-back. It was good, and it reminded why I love Hugh Jackman so much. He is so incredible. He really captures the spirit of Wolverine, how that character is meant to be. So fantastic. Plus he has a great body and is totally yummylicious. :) My gf also cooked this pork roast in the slow cooker and made some apple sauce. I had seconds and dang near went for thirds. But one has to be ladylike, you know? :) So the weekend has been good, rain notwithstanding. I need to be careful about lining up my riding partners - I got a very decent response to the ad and have a lot of people to meet/ride with. This is cool. :)