tgif and a look to the weekend

it's friday.
what does that do for your heart?
for mine… hmmm… it really doesn't get me jacked up like it used to.
friday means a day of work, maybe some fun or dinner or whatever later, and then saturday comes and it's the day that i get everything else that didn't get touched (saddle up them dust bunnies and riiiiiide 'em into the dustbin!) gets tackled. saturday is a salad bar kinda day… a little something from everything. what makes saturday cool is that it's not monday - friday! but it's certainly not my slacker day or relaxing.
lately the hubs and i have been biking on saturday.

the hubs. and yes, that's a fanny pack. i just try to ride a safe distance behind him…

and if we don't get our rears in gear early enough, it's biking in an oven. not a fan. dislike. ugh.

we bike right alongside the UT gardens. beautiful. (the fact that i took all of these pictures while riding my bike is noteworthy in that i didn't kill myself.)

i could stand to lose a few (okay, a lot) and my activity level has been less than stellar for awhile now. so biking 15-18 miles is a challenge for me. i certainly don't need to add 99.9% humidity and temperatures in the mid-90s to the mix. sure, it's mostly shady, but it's also kinda hilly… so it's no bikeride on the beach!

the ride takes us along fort loudon lake which feeds into the tennessee river. 

henley street bridge heading over to the south side of town. may as well be pluto over there. 

it's weird how we stick to downtown and the west side. 

there are fun water attractions along the river walk. on a hot summer day, it's all i can do not to park my bike directly on top of the fountains! 

only in knoxville would you find groomsmen in orange. or maybe clemson. but still…

to the left is one of our favorite restaurants. to the right would be a massive yacht. 

can't even imagine what that's like on the inside! 

but after sweating and huffing, it sure feels good.

there's a great trail not too far from our house (riding on the streets in this town'll get you kilt for sure) that goes about 8 miles down towards UT right along the river. at the end of the trail (for us… it does continue on and maybe someday i'll be brave enough to check that out) is a great restaurant where we often stop for a lemonade (or in my case a giant diet coke) and a salad. (the challenge is to stiff-arm the cornbread and biscuits!!) it makes hopping back on the bike a lot more fun!
how the wind can be at your face and the way uphill in both directions is beyond me… must be a factor of fatigue.
it's a nice diversion from yardwork, housework or just plain work (the worst part of both of us having home offices).
and knowing i've erased maybe a millimeter of lard off the old caboose isn't bad, either!