It didn’t become any warmer, and not only did I not plant anything; I can’t even think about hanging the flower baskets! However, this morning, I biked to the Buckingham Fountain for the first time this season. After three days of biking hills in Helsinki, it was easy 🙂
On the way back, I biked against the wind all the way, and the wind was so strong that it took me twenty minutes longer! I went to Charmers immediately after I returned home. They do not serve quiche, but I love their avocado toasts!
No, I am not flying Business Class all the time; it’s just that I had a total of 14 upgrades because of my Finnair Platinum, and I can only use them on the Finnair flights, not on the partner’s flights. And also, there are fewer and fewer direct flights from Chicago, so I am flying on the partnering airlines most of the time. For this super-short visit, I used six of these forteen upgrades to fly Business Class on the way there, and Economy Premium on the way back. One benefit of Platinum at ORD was that I could go to the LOT Business Lounge (otherwise, the Quatar Airlines Lounge is absolutely horrible).
My gate was right next to the longe, so i could see the aircraft Business class dinnerAt breakfast, I asked why they are not serving Finnish yogurts, and the flight attendant told me a horror story about how they are required to remove all the food from the aircraft when they arrive to the US< and how they have to throw away a lot of food.
As usual, I started with sleeping for ten hours straight to compensate not just for the flight (I could sleep fine, since it was all horizontal), but for the previous weeks of anxiety.
And then, there were three days of biking :). It was rather intense, because I still didn’t bike much in Chicago this spring – it was too cold. It might be not much warmer in Helsinki, but I could not say no to Boris, so I just did.
My flight to Amsterdam was at 3-30 PM on Thursday, so I had time in the morning to visit my colleague in our London office. It was an unofficial visit, but we had things to discuss, and so he booked a room, and we talked for several hours straight. When we were done, there was still time until lunch, and my co-worker asked me whether I would like to go for a bike ride. He told me later I looked completely startled, and rightly so! I do not bike in Downtown Chicago, because I do not feel it safe (except if I venture there early in the morning on a weekend). But in London?!… However, I knew that he was a biker and he biked to work, and he reminded me that he had a foldable bike, and he said we could rent a city bike and that he could give me his helmet, so I decided to get out of my comfort zone.
I am extremely thankful to him for making this suggestion. Also, since I didn’t feel comfortable on a city e-bike, he suggested I take his bike, and he took a city one. Obviously, I was following him closely, but he was great in waiting for me and showing directions, especially because going on the wrong side of the road added to my discomfort.
The pictures below are the ones I took during this bike ride and the ones he took, including the one from atop his shoulder.
If somebody had told me two hours earlier I was about to do this, I would never have believed them!
For the second year in a row, I did a full course of Bike the Drive! The weather was perfect except for heavy winds after 8 AM, which slowed down the last portion of my ride. Other than that – just perfect. This time, I didn’t pay for breakfast because, for two years in a row, I found it expensive and not good. I much preferred the snacks at the rest stops: bananas, apples, dried fruits and nuts packs. Also, Urban Remedy was giving away small bottles of coffee and cookies.
I checked my bike and attached the number the night beforeAt the event starting pointAt the turning point – the rest stop by the Museum of Science and IndustryStopping on the overpass on the way back30 miles challenge medalUrban Remedy goodies. I checked their website – their products are very expensive, so I don’t think I will buy any, but it was great to try.
We (Boris, Anna, and I) have been talking about getting a tandem bike for Boris and I for a while. According to Anna, the major challenge with all regular tandems would be that they all are built with the presumption that the bigger person is sitting in the front seat.
We knew that if we were going to get a tandem, there war going to be a custom build, but we still wanted to try on some “regular” tandem, just to have an idea. One of Anna’s friends owns a tandem, and she arranged us to try it out.
It ended up being a total disaster. I was scared to death because I didn’t feel I could maintain the balance with a bigger weight behind me. Apparently it is different from when I have a shopping bag in the rear!
I tried several times, and I was unable to go for more than five feet. Anna said, she would try to be i n the front instead of me, and she managed to make a circle that way
Still, with this particular one, Boris could not pedal, because his knees were touching the handle bars.
I still want to try and to come up with some solution which would work for us, but looks like it has to be a totally crazy design.
Hettie's Reflections 