riding in the rain...and the dark... and the rain

My week started with "You know,  you are allowed to give yourself permission to take a day off " but you see that is just the issue, with everything I have had going on the past few weeks its been hard to get myself out there as much as I should be. That day, by the time I got out it was dusky and raining but it was the best ride. I went up around the reservoir. There was fog over the water, the balsams and oaks were incredibly aromatic, there was a chill in the air. I felt like I was in Maine.

I didn't get back out there until this morning, well, actually afternoon. Between the rain and work load and other stuff I never got out there . Today's ride was interesting because last night Kenny and I were in the East Village acting like 25 year olds. He met me at the Met, where I was checking out the McQueen  exhibit, the Serra Drawings, and the Cypriotic pottery, all of which blew me away!!! Oddly, the McQueen exhibition made me feel like he was forcing me to address human sexuality in a harsh manner, like I was being caught as a voyeur in an S&M club. The work was crazy incredible, wickedly seductive and creepy at the same time. I want to go back when there is no crowd. Richard Serra's drawings made me understand his work all the more and the pottery? I could have stayed in that gallery forever but Kenny called and told me he was outside. We headed south on the 6 train, getting off at 14th street and walking to Avenue A. We headed south looking for a dive bar to have a drink at. We contemplated pizza at Artichoke but the line was too long. We finally settled on Doc Holiday's on 9th and Avenue A were I indulged in a nice glass of bourbon, or a glass of nice bourbon...We sat down at the bar and the guy sitting next to Kenny asked him about the baseball game. He had a British accent and was in NY on business. He was from San Fran by way of Manchester. We seemed to hit it off and before we knew it Kenny had his tour guide hat on and we were on this pub crawl through the village. It was a BLAST. If this had been our last night on earth, it may have ranked in my top ten best, despite not seeing any of my closest friends. This morning however was quite painful. I ingested a yogurt, berries, banana, toast and boiled potatoes just to see if I could feel any semblance of normal. When we finally dawned our bikes and headed out it was half past 1 and I was starving before we reached the 10 mile mark, despite eating all that starch at 9. So we cycled a bit more and stopped for lunch. After lunch we headed on our decided route right into a storm. With the skies opening up on us and not appearing to let up we headed for home, arriving soaked to the bone and 10 miles short of our plan. I was still in pain, ready to hurl, wishing I never indulged.
The rest of the afternoon held us putzing around the house. Actually I was planted firmly horizontal on the couch until my friend Roseanne showed up for dinner. Tomorrow? A better day on the bike, a quick trip to the Bronx, Greek food at Dan and Mary's...