Wheeling and Dealing

Yesterday was the Fast of the 9th of Av (Tisha B'Av), a very sad and disastrous day in the Hebrew Calendar.  Actually, yesterday was the 10th day of the month of Av, except that the 9th fell on the Sabbath, when we do not fast (except if it is Yom Kippur).  That's 2 days without anything resembling a physical workout.  I really didn't want to go for a third day without some sort of significant exercise.

Not to worry.  As mentioned previously, I am not all gung-ho excited over the city of Tel Aviv.  Nevertheless, to give credit where credit is due, Tel Aviv is a very bicycle-friendly city, with ample racks to lock up bikes, dedicated bicycling lanes and trails, and plenty of entrepreneurs in the business of selling and servicing bicycles.

Thursday I was at a meeting in Tel Aviv.  A number of us from that meeting had planned to (and in fact did) go to another function a bit more informal today.  One of the other persons who went to today's function suggested that I ride my bike, and noted that he and probably about half of the other meeting attendees would be dressed in their summer athletic gear.

And so, I rode my bike to the meeting.  It was about a 16 kilometer ride.  Good workout, meeting was better than average, maybe some business deals shall come of it (too early to tell).  And with all of the time I would have waited to change busses, it probably didn't extend my commute by more than about 15 minutes.  Had I waited until I got home, my workout would have killed almost another hour at minimum.

I'm not saying that I will ride my bike into Tel Aviv every time I need to go, nor even a majority of such occasions.  It can very safely be said, however, that this is likely not my last bike ride into Tel Aviv.

From Washington

I’ve felt a little bit out of touch with reality for the past 2 days, but that’s all attributable to the fact that I am in Washington, DC, where that seems to be the norm.

No matter how dismal or boring the matter that brings me to Washington may be, I have always enjoyed the city, and this time is no exception. I have begun to run again, having been sidelined for the better part of a month with tendinitis in the knee. I’m still not pushing myself 100%, but this morning was able to run from the Capitol to the WWII Memorial. It was a dry mouth that made me decide to turn around after paying my respects to the WWII Memorial (my first visit since its completion), and not exhaustion or my knee.

En route back I essentially ran a block and then walked a block, alternating accordingly until stopping at a convenience store to get some OJ and H2O. Before I hit the convenience store, I stopped at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and paid respect to all of the fallen law enforcement officers mentioned previously in this Blog, and all of the others listed there as well. I hope and pray that the number of names added in future years will be minimal (unfortunately, it is unrealistic to hope for zero).

And I deliberately avoided those two side-by-side whorehouses at, respectively, 1500 and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It would be such a pity to spoil an otherwise scenic and enjoyable run.

Yesterday, I was able to run up the inoperative escalator at the DuPont Circle Metro Station.

And so, the business that brought me to Washington has been on the northern side of neutral, and my enjoyment of the city has, as usual, been very, very positive. Tomorrow I shall return home. I hope that the plane ride home will afford me more room than the trip down here, where the fatso woman in the next seat gave me less wiggle room than I paid for.