can't... move... body...

I went to a beginners' ultimate clinic held by the SFUL this afternoon. We learned how to throw and then played a scrimmage. It was a fun and friendly group, and I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off. Now, every part of me aches. I am going to be walking funny tomorrow, but it was totally worth it. I am looking forward to playing more.

bad cyclist

Today I witnessed a cyclist cut off a bus and then give the driver the finger. That kind of behavior gives all cyclists a bad name. The rest of my ride home was uneventful, which is good. I made it up to Steiner on the big hill. The next goal is Pierce.

bike commute: day two

Today's ride felt good. I think I'm already starting to build more endurance. My sense of direction has not improved, as demonstrated by my going in a circle this morning in the western part of the park. I thought I'd try taking the bike path instead of the road, and I ended up at the intersection I'd passed five minutes earlier. Escaping that wormhole was not difficult, and I was soon on my merry way.

The ride home was a bit tougher because of the afternoon headwind. I managed to stay on my bike a bit farther up the big Alamo Square hill... almost to Steiner. Runners, walkers, and bikers crowded the paths, enjoying the sunshine. I dread the winter when it will be dark when I leave work.

Drivers behaved well today, except for the stupid black Hummer that passed within a foot of me. Big car, small brain and who knows what else.

successful inaugural bike commute

Today, instead of driving, I rode my new Dahon Helios SL folding bicycle to the BART station. The entire commute (bicycle + BART ride) took about 1.5 hours this morning, which included a couple of short stretch breaks in the park. Driving to BART and then riding BART takes an hour. Although the bike commute increases my travel time by 50%, it also builds in two hours of exercise into my day -- not to mention the $9 savings in parking , gas, and wear and tear on the car.

The ride home took about 1.5 hours. I had to walk my bike up the big hill near Alamo Square, but I think I'll be able to ride up this hill after a few months. My goal is to commute by bike once a week for starters. I was a little nervous about today's first ride, but now all I feel is a great sense of accomplishment... and fatigue (the good kind).

going down south

I'm off to Irvine tomorrow for an information literacy meeting. I've never been to an information literacy event, so this should be interesting. In running focus groups and user interface tests at various UC campuses, I've come to appreciate the creative ways in which students are meeting their information needs. This is not to say that they're all doing good things, but some of them are impressive.

splat!... almost.

Stupid teenage girl in a giant black SUV almost ran over me in the crosswalk today. I had a "Walk" signal, and she was turning left from the oncoming direction. I saw her as I waited for the signal to turn my way, but then I took my eyes off her and focused on where I was going. My mistake. Next thing I knew, I was staring at the grill of that SUV as its driver, the stupid teenage girl, jerked the wheel to the side to avoid hitting me. The guy in the car behind her yelled something about being a witness had she mown me down. Yikes.

I'm disturbed by how close I came to being run over. I consider myself a pretty careful person. I guess this was a good lesson for me. Hopefully, that girl will be more careful, too.