Monday a.m.

Good morning Monday! I don't hate you. In fact I like you a lot. You are as far away as I can get from the only day of the week on which I work, so what's there not to like?

OK, when did we last meet? Oh yeah, it was Thursday wasn't it? Yes, I was lazy and slacked off last Friday. Hey, it's summer in my world! This means from time to time these things are going to happen. I know my life is so exciting and inspirational that it is hard for a lot of readers to miss a day, but you'll just have to cope one way or another.

OK, OK, I'll go back and catch you up! Thursday night I went to the BNL pool for the last time for a long while. Now the action shifts to the Thorton pool. I did a lot better Thursday evening, which was good. The move outdoors and into open water will be interesting. My mantra: "I will not drown. I will not drown."

Friday, Kedra had a praxis test for her education degree. It was a 4 hour test at IU, and she had to be there at 8. We left around 7 and arrived in plenty of time for her to get everything ready. After dropping her off, I headed over to a parking place near the "rails to trails" system in Bloomington. It was on the cool side and a little damp as well. I wanted 8 miles, and I got them. It was a good run on the B line.

In addition to running, I had some time to read and visit with Pat A. After Kedra finished we went to a movie and had a nice dinner together. It was a fun day for me, and she was relieved to have jumped another hurdle on her way to becoming a teacher. I am very proud of her for managing everything so well.

Saturday morning was cool, very cool, like 48 degrees cool. We had scheduled a bike ride for 7 a.m. from Parkview There were 7 ready to roll around 7 a.m. Tim the Elder, a master golfer, only wanted 25 or so, so he turned around early. He had a tee time at 9:30. Roy, Rand, Dan, and Jim all wanted a Metric Century (100 kilometers = 62 miles), so they turned around out on 337 just past Bromer, just short of the Washington County line. This was after wandering through Amish country and a stop at Huck's in Orleans.

After everyone turned back, it was just IronBill and me. We continued on out 337 for a while and then turned south on a beautiful little road that took us down to 56. We turned left and headed through Livonia, turning right on the Hardinsburg road. We hit the 40 mile mark and then turned back toward home. We faced a really stiff headwind on 337. Iron Bill is strong, so he offered to pull me along at 20 mph into the wind. This we did for a while. I couldn't hold it, so we slowed a bit and got back into Orleans. Huck's stop #2. On this stop a lady started asking me questions about my biking shoes. I think she was just checking me out in my cool biking gear. I told her, referencing a Queen song, that she should get on a bike and ride. I'm not making all of this up.

After the stop we added a little loop just west of Orleans and then made our way north. We had a little bit of a tailwind on the way back, which was nice. It helped me getting up the rock cut on 37. After climbing the cut, it was a nice little cruise back to the truck. It was great to complete an 80 mile ride and not feel totally spent. I could have done a 100 miler, but I will wait and do that in a couple of weeks. IronBill is a great riding companion. He's strong and fast but doesn't mind riding slower.

The rest of Saturday was about reading and relaxing and getting ready for Sunday. Sunday came and went. My same sex marriage sermon was well received. No one shouted me down! Our Life Group last night had an interesting discussion about sighing. Yes, sighing. Look for a sermon soon on the subject. Yes, sighing.

OK, I am getting ready for a 10 mile run...