Just finished a fast fixie group ride with the AWLF/Cretins from downtown to Point Loma and back. We blazed out to Mission Bay, did a fast lap around Fiesta Island, and rode through the streets of Pacific Beach. We finished with a climb up Catalina in Point Loma, and pace-lined it back downtown.

These guys are fast racers (the guy in the middle is doing a trackstand at the light), and it was all I could do grab a wheel and hang on. Once I tried to close the gap to the leading group, and got stuck in “no-man’s land”. Made me think, “that was a dumb idea”. Well, maybe next time I’ll be smarter, or stronger.

George (on the right, w/o a helmet) crashed spectacularly right in front of me, at a pretty good speed, when we were racing up a hill in PB. He blew a tire, bent and cracked his rim. He changed his tube, and soldered on. Two flats and a crash. I made it back in one piece. Amazingly fun time.

Nine months ago I could barely move and was miserable. Now, 20 kilos lighter and in pretty good shape, I roll with the hipsters in my ‘hood downtown.

Rode around with the Awarewolfs last night for a little bit of exercise. It’s been warm around here, about 30° C before sunset last night. We rode down the big hill on Washington. Thank g*d for my front brake. I’m never taking it off.

I got a nice surprise today when Hollie brought me some eggs from her backyard chickens. She gave them to me after the spin class she taught this morning, and I cooked them up for breakfast. I scrambled them with a little half-and-half and butter. Add some fried up potatoes, mushrooms, and onions, and it’s my favorite breakfast after a 1000 calorie spin burn. I’m still completely fascinated by one-degree-of-separation food.

I needed to pick up some more vegetables, so I stopped by the farmer’s market after spin this morning. These vegetables were picked from a farm in Fresno yesterday. The people selling the vegetables also picked them, and drove them down. It’s great to know where your food comes from, to have some connection with it. I’m not sure if I eat this way for my health, or because it’s so anachronistic.

I’m trying a local CSA this week, where I picked up a box full of vegetables and fruit for $28. The food is grown by local gardeners, and is distributed from a house on 38th St. Today was the pick-up day, and I got some carrots, potatoes, onions, roma tomatoes, squash, tangelos, peas, avocados, etc. I chose what I wanted, which is a pretty good deal. My box of vegetables in my high-rise elevator was the anachronism of the day.

St. Mary Magdalene is a beautiful church in the Bay Park section of town. It was built in 1957 in a traditional style, and has wonderful views of the bay. The parish is pretty wealthy, and the church has a rectory and large auditorium. We checked out the weekly bingo Tuesday bingo game tonight, which turned out to be very professionally run. There were three big electronic boards on the auditorium stage, a hundred+ players, snacks, and even dinner before the games. I wish my parish (St. Joesph’s Cathedral on 3rd & Beech) had anything like this.

Rode with a group from downtown San Diego to Tijuana and back tonight. I rode my fixed-gear Cinelli for over 6 hours, and we didn’t get back until 2am. The tacos were great, I should have had more than two of them.

Stehly Farms just opened up a little boutique produce market on the South Side of the park. I think this is their second location in town. I don’t really care about organic produce, but I’ll buy my vegetables from them, just because its a cool idea. I prefer to support local agriculture and farmers. I also like the idea of just walking into a shop to buy groceries, instead of pushing a shopping cart through a supermarket. This store has enough to cook with, and I can pick up my fresh bread and pasta from little Italy.

I always lose weight on trips to Las Vegas. Between all the distractions of gambling, the bright lights, friends, and walking around, I avoid my normal overeating at night. Plus, I chose the relatively healthy options at the buffet, food court, and restaurants. So for three breakfasts, I had an English muffin and scrambled eggs. I ate light lunches, and saved my calories for our nice dinners. I ate dessert a few times, and had a few drinks. We walked around a lot, gambled, and crashed around 2 am. If I did this everyday, I’d lose a kilo every week.

Of course, I chose to load up on the vegetables and salad at dinner. Then I ate a reasonable portion of meat, and got most of my calories from potatoes and starches. All last week I didn’t overeat at night, and I dropped a kilo. We’ll see if I can repeat it at home this week.

I just got my new Cinelli Mash Historgram! This is the first new, good bike I’ve bought since 1986, when I bought a Bianchi Trofeo for $800. My new Histogram costs about the same, after adjusting for inflation. I’m now riding fixed-gear (no coasting), but I still have a front brake. I’m getting used to the feel of being directly attached to the wheel with SPD pedals. I’m not ashamed to say I’ve fallen twice @ 0 mph trying to come to a stop.

I can’t wait until it all feels natural, including the skid stops.