the hills are alive with the sound of...muscles?

I"ve been riding my bike a lot. Which is kind of awesome. It's been a long time- perhaps since before being able to drive, in which I've had to rely upon a bike for transport. I had a bike in Chicago- one that I rode for fun on the lakefront path. But it was casual riding- and somehow it was stressful. Too many people on the path, heck even riding in the streets to get to the path was a pain.

So far the streets in Portland have been kind to me, mostly. There are gently sloping hills which allow for a nice coast on the way down- you know, the kind where you take your feet off the pedals and really just appreciate the speed and the wind and the blur of it all. Of course the downside to a gently sloping hill is in fact the upside. At some point time, you've got to climb back up that bitch. No matter how gently sloping, a hill is a hill. And this girl's quads are still trying to cope with that.

Despite that burning sensation, being out of breath, and ickily sticky from riding my bike, it's actually fun. Fun I forgot about since being a kid. Perhaps I may take that sentiment back if I have to bike to work (uphill both ways) every day. But hey, I still don't have a job yet, so let's not even think about that.

The weather here hasn't been top notch, but I'm not complaining. A few cooler grey days still beat out 90 degrees and 90% humidity. But maybe I only say that because I like wearing pants. Who knows. There's a smell in the air, and it isn't from all the homeless people downtown (sometimes when it is warm there are certain parts that just smell like hippie armpit). The smell, some might call it a stench, is from plant- also in Chicago. It is a sickly sweet smell- one that somehow seems to capture decay and growth at the same time. Some people hate it, I love it. It's starting to show, and so I'm assuming that means warm (constant 80s) weather is on the way.

So, hopefully I'll have quads of steel next time I'm in Chicago (which might be during the fall). And better stories because this entry sucked. But just to make it amusing, I want you all to know that the Doogie Howser theme song has been running through my head the entire time I've been typing this.