exams over!

No running yesterday or today.

I beat my cycle time going down to the exam proctor: 8 miles in 36-37 min.  Woohoo!  That might be just as fast as an elite East African male runner.  lol

Going back was considerably slower because it was hotter, more uphill, and heavier: I picked up our co-op produce box.  Plus there's one hill in particular that is my Waterloo.  There are a few other nasty ones that beg the granny gear, but on this great-grandmother, I cannot keep up the cadence, even if I stand up.  Finally, I sat back down and, eh, gave up as much as I could while still keeping the bike upright.  I think it was actually a bit easier than last time too, probably because I picked up more speed on the downhill before it.

Not a bad effort in 27 C.

However, I can shrink these hills more quickly by finding tougher hills.  The goat loop is actually a bit hillier, as is a loop that incorporates my present bike nemesis and an even tougher hill that I've yet to lay eyes and tears on...there are a couple of short-ish options that involve an elevation variance of nearly 200 feet (not cumulative gain/loss), at least.  Meanwhile, I have to bring the bike back to tune the derailleurs soon.  Not now.  I've already had a couple of showers today.

Oh, and the cold water is still cold!  Maybe it'll stay that way?   If it ends up getting lukewarm (and believe me, it's a really disgusting feeling to have that come out of the cold water pipe; it's like someone pissed in it, or maybe I've spent too much time swimming* with siblings and cousins), I'll need to get more ice packs.   But hopefully conditions and the infrastructure are better here than they were in Virginia.

*sitting on pool noodles or other flotation devices in the lake and drinking.  Usually for hours, weather permitting.  Oh, I just found out that Bacardi breezers come in WATERMELON!