Misadventures

Yesterday was an interesting evening. The short version: After biking 14.4 miles home, I locked myself out of the apartment (forgot to bring keys), so I could not go swimming, and had to find a way to kill 3 hours until Jason got home.

The long version, where things go from bad to worse, but I'm still in high spirits and laughing at myself the whole time:

Commute and Realization Sets In
I biked to work in my Jamis Explorer 2.0. It went better than expected (read ride report) and I wasn't as slow as I feared. Biking home was a bit taxing because the heat zaps all my energy. I felt like I was pushing much harder than in the morning, but my pace was 11.8 compared to 12.3 during the morning commute. Nonetheless, I was determined to pause at home just long enough to grab a quick bite, my swim gear, and head to the pool. Yeah, that didn't happen because when I got home I realized I didn't have my house key. doh!

Pondering My Options
This was problematic because Jason wouldn't get home until at least 9:30 after biking home from class, so I had to figure out how to kill 3 hours. I considered biking to the pool anyway, but I was wearing my bike shorts instead of tri shorts, and I didn't have my lock. For a brief moment I considered biking fast to Orange Cycle before they closed at 7 pm and buying a new pair of tri shorts to swim in, but the rest of my gear -- goggles, swim cap, buoy, fins, paddles--was safely inside my apartment, and I still had no lock. To add assault to injury, my phone was nearly dead, so I couldn't even kill time surfing the web. Arg!

Dinner at Panera
I rode my bike to Panera for some food in hopes that Tim and Chas would be home when I returned and let me crash in their living room and charge my phone until Jason got home. Not wanting my bike to get stolen, I brought it inside to panera while I ordered my food. I was expecting them to kick me out at any moment, but I got my order without incident and went outside to eat with my bike safely by my side.

The "Surely" Impenetrable Anti-Theft Table/Chair Bike Fortress
I filled up my water bottle, but put entirely too much ice in it. As I am almost done with my salad, I ran out of water. I didn't want to pack everything up and drag my bike inside of Panera again, so I built a fortress around it with the table and nearby chairs. The bike is pretty heavy, so this should at least slow down would be thieves long enough for me to get back (nevermind that I left my wallet in the basket *lol*) I rushed inside and filled the water bottle and made it back without incident.

Dead Camera Battery
Dinner did not take nearly long enough, but I rode back to the apartment to see if Tim and Chas were home yet. I decided that if they were not, I could go sit on the grass at Lake Eola and take photos with my point and shoot. I return home and they are in fact not home, so I get out my camera and snap a few shots of my bike, and the battery is nearly dead. Come on! I put it away and ponder what to do next. I turn on my phone and wonder how many calls I can make in the little bit of juice I have left.

Time for a New Plan
At this point, my neighbor comes out and asks if I am going for a bike ride. I explain the situation and he is sympathetic, but is about to head out on some errands. We try calling the landlord, but of course she does not pick up. I call MaryLynn, and she does not pick up at first, but calls me back a second later. I tell her my phone may die at any moment and ask if I can come over, explaining that I locked myself out. She of course starts laughing at me but gives me her address. I leave my bike outside while I go inside my neighbor's house to get directions to her place -- since my phone is nearly dead and I don't trust it will stay on long enough to use the map to get me there. The entire time that I am inside his apartment I am fearing that someone is stealing my bike -- because that is really the only thing left to go wrong.

MaryLynn to the Rescue
Armed with my low-tech written directions, I start biking to MaryLynn's place. Some moron beeps at me and passes me just to get to sit at a red light before I catch up to him. I determine that I am too tired to keep up any kind of decent pace on the road and deal with idiots--not to mention that I have no idea where I am going so I'm riding even slower--so I take to the sidewalk. I finally make it to MaryLynn's place, and get to meet her lovely husband and daughter. They come to the rescue with an ipod charger, so I am able to charge my phone and text Jason where I am so he can pick me up when he gets home. We have a great time catching up and telling stories about how we met our significant others, and even go to Publix so I got my grocery shopping done!

Home Sweet Home
Jason finally gets home after battling a headwind most of the way and picks me up. I am too wired from this crazy night, so I can't get to sleep right away, which of course meant I forgot to turn on the alarm and overslept this morning. I still got there just on time to run/walk 1.5 miles (foot still bothering me) and swim 700m.