Monday, August 16, 2010

A Reilly Day

I set off today dressed in a lovely Carol Anderson pink, two layered skirt and a dressy tank. On my feet were a pair of my favorite go to Teva dressy flip-flops. Hmmm...15 miles of errands in a skirt and flip flops on my hybrid. Does this count as cross-training?

My plan is to cycle to the Taco Truck for lunch, eat a taco, then continue on east on the bike streets to the Bike Gallery. Unfortunately, the taco truck is closed on Mondays, so I pedaled on, lunch-less, figuring that if I get too hungry I've got a granola bar in my purse.

When I reached 82nd, however, an idea struck me. Bahn mi! That lovely French-inspired Vietnamese sandwich is perfect riding fuel and a stop in an air-conditioned restaurant on this 95-degree day sounds perfect. I head south for a bit on 82nd and lock up my bike in the only bike rack I can find.

HA & VL is the name of the restaurant and at 3 bucks for a pork bahn mi it feels like I am robbing them blind. I take a picture of the cute decor, sip my ice water and relish the air conditioning. A foursome beside me are slurping away at my favorite food, pho, and chatting amiably.


(I love all the little sauces that go with Vietnamese food)
(My warm delicious sandwich)

When I have just a few bites left, a woman comes in to complain about where my bike is parked. Apparently it is too close to the entrance to her shop. I explain that I am almost done and will move it in 2 minutes. Hurriedly, I finish my sandwich, drink the rest of my ice water and unlock my bike. Realizing that I have no idea if I have cilantro stuck in my teeth (and having no mirror to check) I snap a pic of my teeth with my camera. All clear.
Next stop is down Division for a bike computer for my hybrid, some new water bottles (the lids of mine melted in the dishwasher yesterday), and a much more powerful taillight for my road bike. Daryl recognized me right away when I walked in and asked me about RAGBRAI. I thanked him for the stem extender and told him what a difference it made for me and my back. As he tried to figure out where to put the computer on my bike, he laughed and said, "You sure do have a lot of things on your handlebars." It's true, with my bell, my umbrella attachment, my light, my reflector and my Japanese phone charm there was really only about 2 inches left for the computer.

I leave and head back toward the I-205 bike path with my new fancy computer telling me that I was going an easy 18 mph and the temp was 95 degrees. Following the advice of Bycycle.com (I love that site) I head north to Burnside, then to 74th, to Tillamook and then ride the bike streets over to Irvington. On 30th and Broadway is my next stop. I need a new battery for the light on my helmet. At this point, my thermometer on my bike computer is registering 98 and 100 degrees, but amazingly it still doesn't feel as hot as Iowa felt. Humidity is what makes all a difference, I decide.

After what seems like an eternity waiting behind a woman who is doing the watch battery version of "Who's on First?" with the woman who worked there, I get my battery replaced and head home, all on bike streets pulling into the driveway with the exact mileage of 15 miles.

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