Ow. Not Bad, But Ow Nonetheless.

So today I was just like a kid with a new bicycle.

I couldn't wait to get home from work so I could ride it! The hours passed slowly....

Ok, then I got home. But! It appears that California was having a weird election today that Tonya and I completely forgot about until this afternoon, when Tonya called me at work and said, "Did you remember that we had an election today?" And I was thinking, didn't we just have one? Yes, we did; but this is a different one. Go figure.

So I got home and ate dinner with the family, and then did a quick trip over to the polling place, all the while thinking about that new bicycle.... Oh, let this not take long, so that I may go home and have enough time to ride a little before it's time to start getting everyone ready for bed!

Turns out I didn't have anything to worry about. There was no line. It appears that Tonya and I were just about the only people that remembered there was an election today. And it turns out that we voted exactly the opposite on the two ballot propositions, so our votes canceled out, so we may as well just have forgotten about it too. Again, go figure.

So then, I was ready to ride! Ah, but then my wife's wifely/maternal instincts kicked in, and she reminded me that I hadn't had all that much time to spend with the Happy Boy lately. After all, I was at the bike shop all evening yesterday. So could you please spend some time with your 16-month-old son?

Ok, kid, it's time to learn about grip shifters. So I took the kid outside, with the bike and a bunch of tools, and spent the next ten minutes or so trying to keep him from eating them. Eventually the girls came out too, as did Mommy, so I had a little backup. All three kids were of course fascinated by this new bicycle--"It's very big!"--and wanted to ride their own. So the Pillowfight Fairy got out her bike and helmet, and the Adrenaline Junkie got out her tricycle, and we all pedaled around the backyard walkway and patio for a while while the Happy Boy ran around happily chasing us.

I confess, I left a few skid marks on my new patio too, so it's not just the Fairy's fault.

So this went on until about 8:00, when the backyard sprinklers came on. The girls put their wheels away, while I decided: It's time for a real ride. A short one, but a real one.

I said, "I'm going to pedal around the block." So Mommy gathered the kids and stood out in the front yard to wait for me, and I went.

So here's the map (via Mapquest), with all the street names removed so you can't find where I live. (Hint: it's the black X). The path, marked out on the map above, is one that my family uses for walks on a regular basis, and it takes about half an hour--walking at the speed of an often-balky five-year-old girl. My wife has driven at least part of the route, measuring with the car's trip-meter, so she thinks this route is about 1.2 miles. Note that this is not a flat neighborhood; there are uphills and downhills. (Obviously, since it is a closed loop, the amount of up must equal the amount of down; otherwise, I would just have discovered a perpetual motion machine.)

I did it in maybe five minutes, which isn't bad for someone who hasn't been exercising--especially given the hills. And the exertion felt really, really good.

Well, it felt good until I was done. Then, it sort-of crept up on me....

You know those Bums of Steel that I was mentioning in my last post? My best guess is that tomorrow, I will have Bums of Pudding. Covered in Ants. And I've been sucking down whatever liquid comes in reach for the last hour or so. And making everyone else stand on the other side of the room, lest they radiate heat on me.

Yes, I need to do this more often. A lot more often. And maybe I'll take the trip from and to the Automobile dealership this weekend a lot slower than what I did today.

Still, it definitely qualifies as the proverbial Good Kind of Hurt.