This past Sunday, I got to eat at my favorite sushi bar/hibachi grill restaurant again. I had the "Sushi Deluxe" and this time, I got octopus (or squid) tentacle in the selection. I could see the suckers covering it and the color was deep red. I saved it for last because I wasn't sure I would be willing to eat it. When I got up the courage, I popped it into my mouth and chewed the extremely rubbery meat and swallowed. I didn't think it was as hard to go down as the sashimi I had last time. No sake this time, either as it was still mid-day.
Later, I met up with my friend, Randy, and he and I went cycling again. He'd picked up a map of trails in the area and there are quite a lot of them around here. I'd never even known there was so much to do around here. Well, now that I'm interested in cycling more, it's like a new world has opened up for me and I have a new way to view my surroundings. We are going to try to check out most of the trails around here and it looks like we'll be visiting a new one every weekend.
While, the previous Sunday was quite a bit warmer, the deceptive sunshine was just too tempting, so we ventured over to the Englewood Dam, biking all the way there along the main road. I was a little worried that we'd have to be careful of the cars driving by, but there was quite a large shoulder and we didn't have to ready make any real detours to avoid the traffic.
Once we got to the Englewood Dam Reserve, we passed by the horse stables and explored some of the dirt paths a little, but quickly found them too rugged for our bikes (and bodies). We decided to keep on the main paved pike/car path. We picked up some maps and planned a route that snaked through the woods and later, went right by the road and the falls. I'd never realized there was something that pretty over there (you can't see it as the road is high above on a steep slope).
There was a long level straight, so we got some nice speed up before we took on the insanely steep hill that went under the bridge for the road. Past the bridge (on the other side of the road), the path weaved through some nice wooded areas and quiet residential areas. The path went by a nice fishing pond and we eventually ended up in a park with some soccer fields. That was the official end of the path, so we decided to turn around because the sunlight was starting to fade.
After the grueling hill climb where the path goes under the road, we stopped and watched two white-tailed deer (does) below us near the path. They were alerted by our presence and ran towards the more wooded area of the path with their tails straight up, exposing their brillantly white hindquarters.
As the path sloped downward, we passed really close to them and I stopped to admire their presence. My friend was worried that they would jump in front of us and "gore" us, but I knew better than to be afraid of these beautiful, gentle creatures. They were frightened by us and went further into the woods, but I knew we would pass by them on the return of the switchback in the path. I couldn't help but appreciate the intense stare of those dark eyes tracking us as we passed by on our bicycles.
As the sun went further down, it got colder and colder, so by the time we actually got close to home, I was sore (I need to either get used to the seat, or get a better one), tired and cold enough, that I declined my friends suggestion to travel further to Chipotle and instead, just return the bikes.
I'm thinking more and more about purchasing a bike, but I want to make sure I'll get enough use out of it and that cycling won't be a fad on my part spurred on my zealous friend (who has a tendency to fizzle out). I think it's an activity that I'd enjoy without friends, but it's a lot more fun with company (as it is with snowboarding).
Oh, my brother got back on Monday, so I'm going to have to get used to that again. He got current with 24 and Prison Break, so everything's good. :D
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