Bread, bikes, and blossoms

The weather in Philly has not been idea for running.  Yes, that's my lame excuse for a poor attempt at logging the miles lately.  Maybe one of these days Mother Nature will decide that she's punished the Northeast corridor enough and give us some sunshine and mild temperatures. 

Although sucky weather may deter me from hitting the pavement, I rarely let it dampen my spirit.  But sometimes, even the most diligent runners need a break from the norm.  Especially if it involves cherry blossoms.

This past weekend, some friends and I hurled ourselves into a rented mini-van and made our way to Washington D.C. to salivate at the renowned cherry blossoms.  In the process, several of us learned the following:  Cherry blossoms are not real cherries; museums in D.C. are FREE (what!); pub food in D.C. tastes the same as pub food in Philly.



Blossoms pre-monsoon-like rainstorm


While I mosied around D.C. thrusting my camera at every sight of a cherry blossom, I saw volunteers setting up for the famed Cherry Blossom Ten Miler.  I was insanely jealous and could feel the adrenaline rushing to my weary legs.  This race is on my list for 2012 (assuming I am chosen in the lottery).


Better-looking blossoms

 After an eventful trip to D.C., I mustered up the energy to bust-out my brand-new/slightly-used bike the next day for a 26 mile jaunt to outskirts of the city.  I realized quickly that I was not educated properly in the area of bicycle gears, which cost me the embarrassment of walking my bike up several steep hills.  Despite the feeling of knives stabbing my thighs on the ride back to the city, I couldn't help but conjure up a little evil laughter every time I passed a runner.  Suckerrrssss.

As soon as I nestled my bike in the garage, I ordered an air pump from Amazon.  I have a feeling that my bike and I are going to be best buddies this summer...



Banana bread awesomeness

 Totally unrelated to biking is banana bread, which I made tonight.  I don't particularly enjoy baking as much as I do cooking, but I also tend to buy bananas and then not eat them.  So I decided to act like my mom and make bread on a random weekday night. 

So although the blossoms and bread were awesome, the biking still has me feeling like I ran a marathon on Sunday instead of biking one.  If you know more about biking than I do (which is like, everyone), then I'd love to hear your tips.  Until then, my flower-printed youth helmet and I will continue to get acquainted with each other on the bike path each weekend.