That's what we used to say to our AIDS ride training ride group after we'd been sitting around on a break for too long:  "c'mon people, it's time to get asses on bikes!"  I was a training ride leader back in the day (not in the front — I'm not that fast.  I was the sweep, the kind encouraging one in the back of the line making sure people didn't get lost, cheering them up hills and changing all the flat tires).  I finally got my ass on my bike this morning before work — it's about time given that my triathlon is on July 20th!  So far all of my bike training has been indoors.  Not good.  I also ran into Caleb biking his way to work — was good to catch up if only for a few minutes!

On an unrelated note, I had a weird moment in the shower this morning when I realized that the bottle of stuff I have been using for the past month or so was actually shampoo, not body wash.  I got it at Trader Joe's and must have picked up the wrong bottle by mistake — they look exactly alike (except, of course, that one says "shampoo").

My dad left me a message the other night in response to my two most recent posts.  First, he was concerned about my cholesterol levels due to the chocolate covered bacon.  My cholesterol is actually quite good (or so says my doctor).  He also made the suggestion that in order to avoid the escalator frustration, I leave for work an hour earlier and walk to work. Now, this might be a good idea for someone else.  For me, not so much.  I am not good in the morning.  Anyone who has interacted with me before coffee can testify to this fact. 

On Friday, after a decent night's sleep, mind you, I left work about 50 minutes before I normally do, as I had organized a training that started at 9:30 and wanted to make sure it was all set to go.  I walked to the subway,  looked at the front of the subway that was sitting in the station as I got to the platform, and jumped on.  I stuck my nose in my New Yorker, and the next thing I knew, the train I thought was an E was at 72nd Street.  After finally turning around and making to the proper stop, it had taken me 50 minutes to get to work.  I headed to the elevator to go up to the training and wound up in the lobby.  Seriously — not a morning person.

I caught up on some sleep this weekend and even made it out to the Big Apple BBQ Block Party yesterday.  I went for a run this morning before the worst of the heat, but it was still pretty brutal.  In a bit I'll be off to the James Beard Awards, which is a black tie affair — thankfully I found a black cocktail dress in the back of the closet that can pass as black tie to substitute for the floor length gown I had originally planned on wearing — no way in this heat!

I know it's really not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but the escalator construction at the 53rd and Lex subway station is really starting to get to me.  Somehow each morning, I forget about it completely until the subway doors pop open and let me out onto the platform with the scores of other commuters who are all trying to squeeze up the same escalator.  Sometimes I take the stairs (if they let me — some days they get pissy and reserve the stairs just to go down), but more often than not I just shuffle along the platform waiting to get to the escalator so I can walk up.  Also annoying — given the construction, a lot of people are breaking the rules, which makes for a lot more escalator standing.  And this is all pre-coffee, mind you.