I'm a bonehead

I always put sunscreen on before cycling. Yesterday I forgot and was a bit rushed... it was overcast and during the ride I convinced myself it would be fine. I already had a base anyway. Duh - overcast is the worst kind of burn weather. Of course, it was my first time going sleeveless (thought I'd work on getting rid of the lines across my biceps - they look silly). Well, now I look even more silly because I'm burnt (and I had to protect my burnt shoulders today and wear sleeves and re-instate the bicep lines - doh!!!). I'm obsessing a little about tan lines since in three weeks I will be wearing a nice dress at my friends' wedding and you'll be able to see all of my upper back. Hmmm. Dilemma. I may have to go to a tanning bed and cover my arms and get my back tanned so I don't look weird. <I should have flexed my back for the picture to make Jess proud of the work she's done with me this year> ;) I can worry about the lines which are bound to be well-established in October when I have to look good for my sister's wedding at that time. Luckily I don't have to worry about the ones on my legs. He, he! I also bought some new-fangled sunscreen spray. They should have a warning label: do not spray in confined spaces. I think I inhaled more of it than got on my body this afternoon. Cough, cough. Geez! That can't be good. And I'd forgotten why, last year, I'd bought 'non-greasy'. Yuck! I think I may be making another trip to the store to find the one I'm accustomed to - if it still exists. Who knows with these products. They're always changing.

I'm still behind where I want to be in terms of kms on the bike. I've had to work evenings a lot in the last 4 weeks and it's been cramping my style. We had a really great ride yesterday, sunburn aside. Today though, I needed more rest and didn't feel up to heading out with the group. It was nice to go out on my own this afternoon. I decided to explore some other routes I've been wanting to figure out. There were quite a few really courteous drivers on the road today - and I'm not being sarcastic. It's true. I know it's often hard to believe, but some drivers are quite diligent about being careful around cyclists, and they deserve some credit for that. I've started waving at people a lot. I think it makes them feel happy and makes them watch out for me. Maybe I'm doing it a bit more since the accident - even though it wasn't a car that hit me, you know, it makes you a little more cautious.

There is a really cool tool on the web now: MapMyRide. You can get the elevation and everything. I mapped out a 90K route from my front door into Gatineau Park, the whole loop of it and back. I'll try to do that as often as I can as I get further into the season.