Last Week's Accomplishments and the Upcoming Week

(I realize these are very behind, so bear with me as I do what I can to get these posts back on schedule... This is for the weeks of  Wednesday, April 27th through Tuesday, June 14th)

Accomplishments & Great Moments these weeks:

• Activity Spreadsheet - Here is all my activity for all those weeks:

 

• These posts are so behind that it was still April, and I was finishing up the 30 days of biking challenge!

April 27 - on Kent in Williamsburg

April 28

April 29 - the night I ran into my ex husband

April 30 - on my way to DUMBO

April 30th - in DUMBO

April 30

• April 24: I forgot to mention that on Easter Sunday I was biking with my friend Malaika in the north end of Central Park. I had never been that far north and I had heard of the giant hill up there. That hill is no joke, but the HK Cruiser and I made it! I don't have pics of the hill - but here's Malaika & me around 72nd Street -

Not photo is not only great because I captured Malaika biking with no hands, but look at the guy in the background on the lawn - one of my Flickr commenters pointed out how it looks like he's in the basket. I hadn't even noticed that, but it's funny.

Me, and Malaika right behind me

• May 1: The 5 Boro Bike Tour! The first (and my favorite) of the bike tour season.
• May 8: I ran over the 59th St (aka Queensboro) Bridge for the first time ever! That was my memorable run with Melanie - a 10.5 miler! After that, when I went for a post run bagel I met a blog reader! This is a stylish young woman named Elise who lives in my hood. I can't believe I haven't seen her since (I've been looking for your blonde hair, girl!)

• May 13: Some very alert blog readers told me that I appeared in that day's AM New York! (I used to read this paper every day but haven't in a while, so I would have missed it) They used a photo of me from last year's Bike Jumble:

• May 15: I ran over the Manhattan Bridge (another 10.5 miler) which helped me complete one of my goals this year: To run over the 4 NYC bridges I cross most often on my bike.
• More of my alert friends and fans notified me that a photo of my bike (that I took) was used in Transportation Alternatives' Reclaim Magazine! Neato! Thanks, TA!

• May 21: I ran my first event half marathon! The Brooklyn Half! (and then went for a bike ride with Anna from London). What an awesome day!!
• May 28: I met and hung out with beautiful vegan blogger & WW leader, Ashley, from Toronto. We enjoyed Starbucks, Trader Joe's, and some vegan ice cream at Lula's. I had a terrific time with her, and I think she's coming back this summer! Yay!

• May 28: Attended the Bike Fetish Party in Williamsburg and a photo of me that was taken  ended up on Gothamist.
• June 3: Attended my first Critical Mass Bike ride in Manhattan. A few pics:

Waiting for the light on the Bowery

West Village

I have a tendency to ride too fast and get ahead of the pack. I'm used to riding alone!

Pit stop on the West Side Highway

Awesome dress!

Sunset behind the Hudson River

• June 5: Unfortunately I had to miss the Tour de Brooklyn, but it was for a good reason... I had signed up to do my volunteer event for the NYRR. (You need 1 volunteer event to qualify for next year's marathon) I signed up for this particular position because it was for cyclists! Not only did I get to ride my bike in Central Park for the 4 mile course, but I was the LEAD cyclist (I'm sure they thought I'd be slow and wanted to give me a buffer zone - boy did I prove THEM wrong)! Our job was to ride out 2 minutes before the race began. We were ahead of the runners and the official timing trucks. But since I was the lead cyclist, I was also ahead of the other cyclists. I had the pleasure of yelling at very politely asking people to move out of the way/off the course because the race had begun and the runners were coming (NYRR gets a permit to occupy that space for a certain time period and no one else is supposed to be on the course during that time). It was SO FUN! I wish I could be a cyclist marshall/volunteer for *every* run! OMG - seriously. I just biked super hard in Central Park for 20 minutes yelling at people (nicely). Here's a few pics:

After checking in

Before starting the event

On the course, biking my ass off!!!

• June 6: I attended a ladies bike repair class hosted by Times Up! I learned how to patch/replace a tube and change a tire. I had no idea how to do this! My fellow lady biker friends joined: Jules, Amanda & Malaika! Look how cute we all are!

Amanda, Me, Jules, Malaika on Broadway @ Bedford Ave in Williamsburg

• June 8: I decided to bike to work so I rode my bike to Grand Central Terminal that morning. Upon arriving on Lexington Ave, I met a blog reader who was so sweet and excited to meet me. Her name is Ann! Look for her at the Mermaid Parade. She wants to photograph you in a luchador mask!

• That same day - since my bike was with me and it was a beautiful 90ish plus degrees that day, I had to bring her out for a ride at lunch time. Now, despite living in Westchester for 25 years, this was the first time I rode a bike on the streets of Westchester. I started off with the Bronx River bike path (which I do not recommend at all - at least not the portion between the County Center and Hartsdale) and then rode on Central Ave (yes, this was scary & dangerous but less annoying than that bike path). What was my destination? A bike store of course! Here are a few photos.

on the Bronx River Bike Path

one of the tight areas along the Bronx River Bike Path

riding in the woods

I was pleasantly surprised to find this beautiful graffiti along the Bronx River!

• June 9: Did a fun call in blog/radio show with Kristin from bringingprettyback.com! (That was so much fun, thanks for inviting me, Kristin!) I can talk about myself/weight & activity related stuff all day (probably not a surprise). If you missed it (I only alerted peeps via twitter the day before/day of), you can catch it here.
• June 11:  I was going to participate in the World Naked Bike Ride but the weather was awful - too cold and rainy to be naked or anywhere *near* naked for that matter - so it got called off. Good news is that it has been rescheduled for July 24th - so you all have time to get in shape or find your barely there outfit and join the festivities!

What I'm Working On and Upcoming Events This Week: 

• Tracking - My weight has crept up to a level I am not comfortable with. Not just the number but how I look and feel. I do believe what I remind you often - it's NOT about the scale - it IS about the behaviors I've been engaging in that have brought me to this place right now. In order to reverse this trend and get healthier and eventually back to my goal weight, I need to track.
• This Sunday is Father's Day and I am registered for a 5 mile run in Central Park. This is my 7th run of the 9 I need to qualify for the 2012 NYC Marathon! Unfortunately, my Dad will not be there but I will likely visit him at work later that day.
• I'm changing up my weekday meals a little - I realized that by the time I leave work, I normally only consume about 15 PointsPlus values. I get 29 per day (not including my APs and weeklys). In order to balance this better and not feel famished by the time I get home, I am going to make an effort to get about 3-6 additional PointsPlus consumed before getting home from work. And I want them to have a good amount of protein since that's probably the one thing that I fall short in (I have carbs fruits & veggies covered - trust me!). So far I've been enjoying Trader Joe's pomegranate muffins. They have a P+ value of 3, so I've been eating one in the morning with my coffee while I am home getting ready. I am going to try this out for a few weeks and see if it helps my hunger level/see how it affects me. 

Mentions:

• In the last 2 months I am not kidding when I tell you I must have met 50 blog readers/or people who recognized me from the interwebs. I realized I can no longer keep track of anyone (so if I meet you once and don't remember you, please do not be offended. I meet way too many people!) And because of this, I will no longer mention everyone I meet unless you ask to be included. So if I did meet you or DO meet you in the future and you want to be mentioned in words or photos on the blog, just ask.
• But here is one person I *did* meet - This is Alexis, who isn't a blog reader - but her mom, Renee, is. Alexis spotted me on my bike on Broadway in Williamsburg the day before Mother's Day and flagged me down. She knew who I was because her mom reads my blog and thinks so highly of me. I think she showed Alexis my photos just 'in case' she ever runs into me. Sure enough she did. I was more more than happy to talk with her for a bit and take photos for her Mom. Thank you, Renee, for being such a loyal reader. Your daughter is a lovely young woman!

I probably missed a ton of stuff, but I had to post most of this from memory. Hopefully I can stay on track with these posts now that I'm caught up.

Have a terrific weekend, everyone!

xo