2010 Training Kick-Off!!!

My PowerAgent 7.4.5 software indicates the last time I rode my bicycle was Dec. 20th. Whiga-what???!!! Bad news. Bad news.

Getting dressed this morning, I went to put on my belt. Tried for the hole I used for the past ten, maybe fifteen, years. Couldn't quite get there without generating uncomfortable constriction. No biggie. I thought I could just back it out one hole. No dice. Still too tight. I had to step one hole further back and swallow my pride. So here I am, a month off the bike, experiencing my first significant weight gain since college.

SVR observed this whole ordeal and said, "You're going into work early and we're having leftovers for dinner so you don't have to cook this evening. Come home from work and get on your friggin' trainer!" Tough love. After that tongue lashing, I decided she was right. Let the games begin.

Home by 4:15PM, I was actually pretty amped to see where things stood...to see how far I'd really fallen. Last weekend's squash outing confirmed I'm pretty dang out of shape. I came away from that match with several things broken, my racket (see below) and my pride. Time for some redemption.

Twenty-four days without any attention tends to leave bicycle tires slightly deflated (kinda like my ego was after the ass whooping I received on the squash court), so step one in my comeback was to pump up the Cannondale's tires. Easier said than done. After the the Capital Cross Classic, I left my bicycle pump in Matty D.'s trunk. A bunch of random shit caused it to end up on Capitol Hill during the recent snow storm. Last time I was at Matt's, the pump was still on the Hill, so he loaned me his secondary pump to use in the meantime. So I set things up to pump up the tires and...pfffffffft. Something is totally effed with the head of the pump and it pretty much bled my rear tire of most air and won't assist with reinflation efforts. A case of stagflation? Maybe not. Anyhow...2010 training kick off? FAIL! I guess I coulda busted out some CO2 or the ol' mini-pump. I didn't.

I ate Belgian chocolate instead. Hey, at least it was Belgian.

Rapid Fire

Regular complaints from some folks closest to me have prompted the following uninspired, disorganized, apropos of nothing update.

On the cycling front: Boonen. Is it me or does he look like he's strung out on the stuff that got him in trouble the past two years. Hopefully none of the vampires were waiting in the wings at this photo shoot to collect blood or snip hair. Seems to me he would've come up positive for the nose candy.

Speaking of Belgium...nice score from a friend at our favorite watering hole.

Haven't really touched a bike since I hit the deck a few times over at Capital Cross Classic. As in years past and years past, this year I had to pull myself outta the season's closer. Always a disappointment. And seemingly always a guaranteed outcome! These wounds are just getting around to healing.

On the food front, some brief reports. Stopped in at EatBar this past Sunday around 1:30PM. Chose it over Tallula, as I expected they wouldn't be serving the same brunch menu. Wanted savory, non-breakfast items. Turns out, the two spots share the Sunday menu. Stuck around anyway.

Overall, a pretty lackluster dining experience. We sat for approx. twenty minutes before anyone acknowledged us. When the waiter did show, I was actually around the corner scoping Tallula to see if the waiter/waitress situation over there was any more robust. It was and I returned to the table to suggest our group move. But the bartender/waiter was finally attending to us and asking around for drink orders, so we stuck it out. I ordered a burger and asked for med.-rare. Burger came out brown, dry, and cooked well-done. Also, it was really, really salty. Not much flavor other than salt. It clearly sat under the heat lamp too long, as the lettuce was completely wilted, the tomato was petrified, and the onion was also dry as a bone. SVR said her burger also only tasted of salt. I sent mine back for a re-cook. It came back to me like a black and white cookie. Half the burger was 'blue' and stringy raw meat and the other half was just like the hockey puck I sent back. Also as with the first attempt, the only discernible flavor was salt. Blech. Pretty bummed to've paid $12 for such a bad burger. Garnish, even the second time around, was also woefully meh.

I've heard good things about the standard evening menu at EatBar (and even sampled a few 'snacks' about twelve months ago), so this unfortunate experience let me down.

The other recent culinary wild ride was at Honey Pig (Gooldaegee). It's Korean BBQ. Crazy stuff. Cheap. I hardly ever feel out of my element at a restaurant, but I felt very un-practiced here. I want to return having studied up a bit so I can order better and know what to expect and how to conduct myself. Dated WaPo review here. They no longer allow smoking, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty of smokiness to go around. Wear clothes that are due for a trip through the washer. If you visit Honey Pig, you'll come home smelling like sweet, smokey meats. There are worse things!

Back to the cycling. Yes. Back to cycling. I expect to get back to it this weekend.