Saturday, July 7, 2007

You can eat too much even on Atkins. In preparation for my two days of liquid only, I loaded up on organic hot dogs last night-- two of them, in addition to three that I had for lunch, without rolls, of course. For dinner I had two piecs of chicken--no salads or vegitables becuase of the pending colonoscopy on Monday. For a snack, I had half an ounce of milk chocolate and three taco chips. When I awoke this morning, I was up two pounds to 182!
I slept late too--until 8:45 a.m. I got up and took the bike out for a leisurely seven-mile ride. I rode up Royal Street through Old Town. It links up to the Mount Vernon bike tail south of town. The trail was packed. Today it is a multi-use trail as opposed to a bike trail. You have the usual overweight walkers hogging the path, plus kids on training wheels, moms pushing those jogging strollers, bird watchers, biking families, bike clubs, girls on roller blades, and the crazies who think they are in the Tour De France. The park service had two rangers on bike patrol, but they are helpless to enforce any rules.
The speedsters remind me of the kids on motorcycles on Route 95 going 100 mph in heavy traffic. They are exclusively male--late 20s, early 30s, whom I suspect have no wives or lovers or children or close friends. They are entirely self-centered with utter disregard for others. I also suspect they have no sex lives and the frustration builds to an inner rage that must be vented by endangering other human beings on the bike trail.
The temperature was soaring toward the nineties, which turned me back home. I took two water breaks on the return trip. I don't think it's macho to risk a stroke. On the trip out, the Potomac River tide was low and mud flats stretched for nearly half a mile. On the return trip, the tide had reversed. The inflow must be rapid and I must make a point of watching it some day.
There are still ducklings on the river. I thought that I saw a perching bald eagle, but in closer inspection it was some sort of white-headed vulture.
For lunch today, I will have a vanella milkshake--very un-Atkins. But I need something substantial while on this liquid diet. Then I'll pick up some power shake mix at the grocery.

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