my basic morning routine...

this morning started like most mornings...

the wife was out of bed and already out of the shower getting dressed as I was stealing my last second of hugging the pillow

with the sounds of the morning already in my head I got vertical

up and out of bed and offering backup
unfortunately I usually go upstairs before I go downstairs
so my assistance is not caffeine fueled
which is fine... as brushing my teeth is part of the pre-coffee routine
but I could use that caffeine kick

got upstairs to find dean doing a fine job of getting dressed on his own
while grant was half dressed
which was far more than I expected
I issued some orders and started to brush my teeth
to my pleasure the boys followed my requests

once dean was dressed he joined me in the bathroom to show me what he selected for the get-up of the day
then I asked him if he had brushed his teeth yet
he had not
so he started in along side of me

dean is a good brusher at night
now he needs to add brushing to the morning
it will help
as even kids have morning breath

grant still only half dressed went downstairs
as mommy had the clothing he had selected downstairs with her

after the brushing of the teeth there was a request to play a game of chess
no... my boys do not play chess
but I did introduce the concept to them last night
the characters on the board
the objective of the game
and the movement of each piece

no time for chess... something to look forward to tonight after school

with teeth brushed and kids dressed everyone was downstairs complaining that there was nothing to eat
there was plenty to eat
too many choices
there was plenty to eat but no time to eat it
by this time the whole team was looking at arriving late to their morning destinations

dean wolfed down some life cereal
grant took some yogurt with him to school
I poured a glass of coffee
lisa shuttled the boys out the door with all the accessories that they would need
then I leased the dog for his morning poop and pee in the woods of rock creek park

I walked the dog and was grumpy about the broken boom box and the abandoned car seats in the woods
then I smiled when I saw my coffee cup deep in the ravine still in tact
that lessened my anger
I laughed to myself as I recalled slipping on the ice a month back as if I had the world pulled out from under me
then I thought about when I was going to do a clean up of this section of woods

the walk continued with the standard daydreams of what these woods could be
before and after shots rolled through my head
with just a little furtile soil and some indigenous plants these woods could continue to be a vibrant ecosystem instead of a rapidly eroding piece of land
I thought about running a not-for-profit called TRAILHEADS where there was a concern to rebuild the trailheads and some of the trail intersections
not landscaping the area
just setting it up and starting it off
letting nature take its course
the placement of a few indigenous plants

the walk in the woods was done
the dog and I were back home
my coffee was jump starting my engines and I was in the basement putting on some warm weather cycling gear
into the alley and on the surly karate monkey for a short spin into work

running late I tried to get a flow
took the usual route past the same old houses
seeing some of the same people who also run late at this time of day
that same person dropping their kids off at daycare
that same car rushing to get into bumper to bumper out of town traffic
and that same bicycle commuter running the same route as me

down mount pleasant street I worked a weave through the third world situation
double parking and irradic u-turns
cars rolling through stop signs
pedestrians crossing anywhere and everywhere.... rarely ever looking to see if it was clear
I rode the center line as I passed the double parked vehicles in front of the 7-11
day laborers clustered on the sidewalk
already too late in the day for them to accept work
they either accept work at 7am
or hang out all day doing nothing

with a line of cars backed up at the next light waiting to make a left hand turn I moved my bike and my body to the right of traffic
a few cars into my passage on the right a golden suv also tries to cut to the right of this line of traffic
I adjust to their nearly crushing me
they adjust to them nearly crushing me
my adjustment may not have been enough without their adjustment
I ride on

these are the standard sets of close calls

cars racing me
not wanting me to lead ahead

as I run a red light through an intersection a car more focused on me than the light also runs the red light
this shocks me as I do not expect them to follow
I correct for a large pothole and feel them close to my side


there are lots of people rushing to arrive into work late
lots of people walking
a number of people riding their bikes
many cars nearly vacant
only a driver with three empty chairs

I arrive to work a few minutes late
that is the start of my day