Today I biked from Rogers Park to Lincoln Park and back again. I took the lake trail, which means I biked at least 14 miles round trip. What was I thinking?

My neighbor and friend, Tracie, texted me this morning and asked if Jude and I would like to accompany her and her son on a bike ride to the Lincoln Park Zoo. I had passed on the invitation the last time it was issued, siting the strong likelihood of death as the reason, but thought I might as well give it a try today.

So, we packed up the boys and headed out. We rode slowly–we were outstripped by a girl on roller blades and two snails that seemed to be in quite a hurry–but we made it. Jude fell asleep about three minutes before we got to the zoo, and Tracie was nice enough to lead me around for a few extra minutes to let the boy sleep. (Side note: Jude also fell asleep about twenty minutes from home on the ride back as well.) I had hoped he would fall asleep near the beginning of the ride, but no such luck.

Tracie’s and my male halves joined us at the zoo, and after seeing the seals, lions, monkeys, chimps, apes, zebras, and some pink flamingos, we headed out to lunch. We got some de-lish crepes at Icosium Kafe in Lincoln Park. Jude turned his nose up at it all except the cucumber slices that were floating in our complimentary waters and the few blueberries that were included with our lunches.

After lunch, we decided to make the long trek back to Rogers Park. The ride to the zoo only took about 45 or 50 minutes. Coming home, it took at least an hour. I tell ya, I was beat when I finally dismounted my bike. My legs were screaming and my knees and ankles and feet just plain old hurt. Now, five hours and three yoga practices later, I’m still sore, but my muscles don’t feel quite so tight. I’m really hoping for a good night’s rest tonight.