around town

21 degrees! Sunshine! A perfect day for a 50 to 60 km ride on country roads. Except for the fact that I am still suffering from a very sore tailbone.

I googled "tailbone injury" first thing this morning and got some good news and some bad news. 

The good news: 

• if you've injured your tailbone, you are not supposed to sit for long periods. My kind of injury! I've never been one to sit around.

The bad news:

• you are supposed to rest, meaning not doing anything that causes pain. For me, this includes long, fast bike rides; long, fast walks; many bendy-twisty yoga moves; body weight squats; and various other exercises.

The other very, very bad news:

• such an injury can take 4-8 weeks to heal.

I am optimistic and assume it will be more like 3-4 weeks, and since I can ride my bike on short trips without pain, I will continue to do that, but for this weekend at least, I'll avoid the 50-60 km rides. Maybe next weekend.

So, today I just rode around town, doing errands and enjoying the beautiful weather and the smiling faces on people I passed. 

I rode to the dry cleaners to drop off two pairs of wool pants, a wool skirt and my red silk dress. Dry cleaning is seriously expensive! $45 gone, just like that. 

I rode to the bike shop to see about getting fenders for my commuter bike. Turns out I'll need a rack/fender combo, which they are going to order for me. Rack/fender combos are expensive! Another $60 gone. 

I rode to the library to return a DVD. Libraries are still free! 

I stopped at our local thrift shop, which I haven't visited for about a year. I found a roll of rose-print flannelette to make a blanket for Baby Zoe. Thrift shops are cheap! $4 for 3 meters of fabric -- score!

I rode to Superstore for a few groceries. When I pulled up to the bike rack, I almost thought I was in Amsterdam:

There was even a red bike with MEC panniers in the largest size available -- that made me smile. 

My tailbone didn't give me any trouble, except when I rode up this short, steep hill just before my house. It's a good thing the climb lasted less than a minute.

We also took the dog for a walk. The way she acted, you'd think it was 41 degrees instead of 21. The first puddle she came to, she flopped herself down and luxuriated in the cool water. She did this three times altogether and would have done it even more often if we'd let her. That's a creature who really knows how to enjoy life.