It is a wonderful day. Not only because it’s an amazing fall afternoon, but also because…

I rode my 500th mile on my bike today!!!

I went to church this morning and then out to lunch with friends. When I got home, I was really pretty much certain I was not going on a bike ride. I had a bunch of reasons it wasn’t going to be great, like it’s coldlish, there was too much wind for my liking (more than none, basically) at 15 mph, etc. etc. Basically I was whining to myself about it. But, the other options were 1) workout at the gym, or 2) go for a walk outside.
Here’s the problem with #1, go to the gym. This is the view out my living room window right now:

Going to the gym on a day this nice just seemed like a travesty. I am really, really enjoying fall this year, and trying to soak it in without fretting about the impending winter. So #1 was out. And #2, going for a walk, is just kinda boring after starting to ride bike…it’s way too slow.

So I thought I’d get out on my bike, and if it was really awful, come back after a few miles. Thankfully, that was not the case. The portion of the bike trail south of my house has been closed most of the summer so I haven’t ridden there much, but did today. What I hadn’t realized is that a lot of that section is in the middle of parks with tree breaks, making it much more impervious to the wind than the wide open section by the airport.

The other great thing was that after much deliberation I seemed to have come up with a good biking outfit to suit the weather today. I was neither too hot nor too cold, which made for a really pleasant ride. That, and a new Shakira song from zumba on the iPod. A little Waka Waka is good for everyone.