First day of school and a ride to Panera

What a day! I'm completely exhausted. Today, the kids started school, so we had to get back to using alarm clocks in the morning. Noah was very nervous about school, while Eli was very excited (this is how things usually go). I walked Noah to the bus stop this morning, and he looked so grown up!

We got to the bus stop at 6:55, and the bus was scheduled to arrive at 7:05 (Noah was worried about missing the bus, so we left pretty early). The bus didn't arrive until 7:27! School starts at 7:30, so we already knew he'd be late. I felt bad for him, because the teacher was going to let them pick their seats today; and I later learned he was the last one to arrive to class, so he had to take the last available seat.

I had been planning to wake Eli up at around 7:10, but since Noah's bus was so late, I didn't get back to the house until 7:30. I woke him up quickly, and he got dressed and ate breakfast. Then we walked to the bus stop, and the bus was pulling up at 7:45 while we were still down the street. He ran to the bus and got on. At least we didn't have to wait, like we did for Noah!

When I got home, I took a shower, had some breakfast, and then tried to clean up the house a little bit. I had plans to meet my friend Andrea for lunch at Panera at noon, and I was really looking forward to seeing her. At around 9:30, I had the crazy idea of riding my bike to Panera instead of driving. I looked up the distance, and it was about 12 miles each way. I asked Andrea to meet a little earlier, so that I could have enough time to ride home before Noah got home. Then I got ready to head out.

I decided to bring my Camelbak today, but without the water reservoir. I just wanted to use it for a lightweight backpack, basically. I brought some fuel (Gu and Shotbloks, in case I needed them), my driver's license and debit card, a towel, a t-shirt to throw on over my sweaty tank once I got there, and my cell phone.

I headed out for the ride, guessing it would take probably about an hour to get there. I didn't plan a particular route, but I wanted to avoid going over the expressway if possible, and avoid those new rough gravel roads. I just went the general direction toward Panera, and made decisions as they came at me. It was a pretty nice ride! I took the backroads to avoid a ton of traffic, and it went by pretty quickly. I made it to Panera with 15 minutes to spare before Andrea got there. I locked up my bike and then sat outside while I waited, drying off before going inside.

For the last few days, ever since Andrea and I made plans, I was really looking forward to having broccoli cheddar soup and bread. It sounded SO GOOD. Once I got there, however, I was hot and sweaty, and the last thing I wanted was soup! I wanted something cold, so I got a chicken caesar salad with a baguette on the side for 610 calories total.

Andrea and I chatted for a couple of hours, catching up. She's in the process of moving, so she's got a lot going on right now. I really enjoyed my salad and bread, knowing I had burned so many calories to get it!

I left with enough time to get home and shower before Noah was due home. I was kind of dreading the ride back, but I knew I'd be really happy to get it done. It was crazy-hot when I stepped out of Panera! It was 89 with a "real feel" temp of 97. I bought a bottle of water when I bought my lunch, so I tucked the water into one of the pockets of my Camelbak (I want to get a water bottle holder soon--it's on my list for sure).

The ride home was hot, but it went by pretty quickly.

I downed the bottle of water in the last four miles, and was really looking forward to a cold shower and more water when I got home. The ride home was a tad shorter than the ride there, because I made one slight change in the route on the way back. My time includes all of my traffic stops--I never stopped the Garmin while I was riding, just because I was curious how long it would actually take me to get there and back, in case I ever want to do it again.

Going TO Panera

Going home from Panera

It was a little over two hours round-trip, including the traffic stops. Not too bad! Maybe Jerry and I can ride there for a bagel one morning while the kids are at school.

One of the things I was thinking about on the ride was how much bike riding can help me branch out as far as where I can go. When running, I would never run all the way to Panera and back. Where I live, there isn't much within about an 8-mile radius of home, so I could never really run to a destination from home without logging some serious miles. Riding my bike has opened a whole new world of places for me to go without a car! Especially if I decide to increase my distance a little, and do 40 or even 50 miles in a day. Since Jerry got a bike, too, we can ride places together. I've always been a little envious of Lori at Finding Radiance (one of the first blogs I started reading)--she and her husband regularly go for long bike rides for ice cream and bagels, and other yummy treats.

I got my bike four years ago, so I don't know why it took me so long to really like riding it--but I can honestly say that I actually enjoy doing it! I'm really excited for the Tour de Troit, which is a week from Saturday.