Tony has assembled an intriguing group of cyclists who live in the Hyde Park area. They are all somewhere over 40 years old, have very intimidating professions, ride shiny expensive bicycles, and keep a very steady 18 - 22 mph. Needless to say, I felt somewhat out of place as the lone Asian, 20 something year old female on a low end Specialized Roubaix. However, they were all very welcoming, and did not make me feel like they didn't want me there or anything.
On the way out to Indiana Dunes, I rode alongside Ralph, an Austrian professor of Art History. We ended talking briefly about his specialization (Romanticism ... which I sadly know very little about), and quickly moved on to European architecture. Here was someone who not only appreciated Zumthor, but had visited the Thermal Baths at Vals, Switzerland, went to an exhibit on le Corbusier in Berlin, and wondered my opinion of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's famous prismatic structures in Chicago. It's not often that I get to discuss 3 of my most favorite architects on a bike ride, so I was pretty stoked.
We stopped for lunch, where most of us got some form of breakfast food for sustenance. On the one hand, my bike looked slightly absurd next to a carbon Storck Scenario 1.1 and titanium Serotta, but on the other hand, I was glad that my bike was definitely not the most desirous item when it came to stealing. Belgian waffles + 2 scrambled eggs + coffee = amazing combo.
On the way back, I enterred "survival mode" as I call it at some point. This means I focus on whosever wheel is in front, and all of my mental capacity is devoted to hang on for dear life. I wasn't to the point where I felt absolutely destroyed, and I knew I was getting back, so no worries. And then there were horses on the Point when we got back. Apparently they have a Black Rodeo once a year. It felt pretty surreal to see so many horses in the middle of a city.
And here comes the unfortunate part about the whole thing: when I got home, my mom handed me a salad to eat. I didn't want to not eat it, because I hate letting food go to waste, but with every successive bite, it was getting harder and harder to chew ans swallow. It was as if my body were actively rejecting the vegetables. And then, I just started to feel absolutely awful. Exhausted, depressed, everything. By dinner, I was livid. I had been planning to go to a concert that night, but I ended up cancelling on all my friends, and going to bed early.
Moral of the story: salad after rides is a bad idea.
1 comment:
Boo to salads.
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