A Bike Ride & Some Yoga

Cliff found me a bike from the Firestone's so we could go biking yesterday. We went on our first excursion yesterday: over the train tracks, past Deerfield school, and into a forest preserve. Cliff had a tumble right when we got into the wooded area and scrapped up his left knee badly. He spent some time pouring water on his knee to clean off the dirt.

The forest preserve -- Prairie Wolf Preserve -- is small with dirt loops that go through a forest, past a large pond and around marshland. Narrow wood bridges pass over small creeks.

We stopped a few times to collect a sample of wanna-be queen anne's lace, gawk at a racoon hidden under a pine tree, and pick some wild blackberries along the side of the trail. We then went adventuring beyond the preserve to find Keller's Nature Park and flagrantly broke the rules by riding on the dirt trails. A branch tepee provided repose for awhile -- we sat in it and told favorite stories of childhood while an orange spider climbed on Cliff's fingers and knee. We then explored the trails and happened upon a senior center and Chicago institue of music. One our return we stopped for a small grey-black snake crossing the trail.


Back at the house, I asked to borrow Linda's yoga mat (her mat had the words: Harmony, Joy, & Insight!) and did a session of Darren Rode's Hour of power. I felt like my shoulders crept up to the top of my ears throughout the week, so this was a necessity. I felt slow and clunky but enjoyed the sturdiness of a wood floor and the strength of my legs in lunges. Also I am beginning to feel the details of my hips more and how the bend and stretch.