I got 500 miles.

Yesterday, I biked my 500th mile this summer - at least as far as I can tell! I approximated it happening at the corner of Lee and Van Aken, so I took a picture to commemorate the occasion (link coming soon!). I had 500 miles as a goal for a few reasons, not the least of which 500 being a nice, round number. It's also the approximate distance from Cleveland to Canton, CT, my two homes. I think it also shows my commitment to following through on this, and it not just being a phase. I guess I can celebrate that when I've been doing this for one month, which will happen next Friday.

Doing the same route most of the time gets a little boring, however. On Tuesdays (and soon to be Thursdays as well) I bike to the rock gym, which puts an extra 10 miles on, but is definitely worth it. It's a nicer ride to the rock gym, but back is straight through East Cleveland. I wouldn't mind it if the people in East Cleveland weren't so hostile towards bikers. Anyway, I'm considering getting a mini-radio either with built in speakers or mini-speakers as well. Seeing as my bike is one giant antenna, reception would be pretty nice, and I think it would be uber-cool to pump out some classical music at 6:30 in the morning, waiting for the light to change. It would definitely keep my mind off fatigue and pain, while concentrating on pacing. I'm going to stop by Circuit City on my way home tonight to see what I can find.


I can't wait for Africa.

The first real game of Ultimate was last night -- we lost a heartbreaker 15-14. The other team never lead after 1-0, but we just couldn't hold on. I had a couple quality points, getting a first-throw D that we ended up scoring on and another D later on right on the goal line. I also scored a point, cutting across the end zone. However, I was hampered by my left hamstring, which acted up again this week. Unfortunately, it hurt tremendously during warm-up, and I tried to stretch it. Keeping it warm, I was able to play about 5 points in the first half, but only about 3 in the second half. I came in at 14-13 (us), and we had an immediate turnover in our endzone. I couldn't hold on to my man on the ensuing play because of the hamstring, and that's what tied the game. I know I could have had that D if I were healthy. Ugh.

BW3's is the sponsor for Ultimate this year, which is definitely not as intimate as the Chesterland Tavern (where I heard Alex Bevan for the first time, who is an excellent local folk singer). Plus, they hate vegetarians. I have proof (another link coming soon!). On their "boats" in which is placed cheese fries and the like, there is the slogan "Vegetarians Shemegetarians // We don't do TOFU or any other MARTIAL ARTS". Needless to say, I received my food well after everyone else at my table.

On the good side of things (and yes, this is a long entry, but I need the therapy right now), I saw the Indigo Girls on Monday night. They were amazing. For the first time, I went with another big fan, which was my plan all along. It was her first time seeing them live, and she had a wonderful time. However, Nate got free tickets from the radio station he works at, expecting them to be in the nosebleeds. I spent $45 per ticket for 10th row, front-left section seats. He ended up in the 3rd row and center. FREE. Even though he's not as big a fan (nor was his date), he hung on to the seats even after we tried to buy them off of him. He can really be a dick sometimes :> . Still an awesome show - and they played for the first encore my favorite song to hear live -- Chickenman :)))) . They both played on acoustics and rocked out. Ahhh.

Still can't wait for Africa.