shopping by size...

tonight I had to do some shopping by size
a more shrewd shopper may have let their fingers do the walking
but not this fool
this fool got in his car and rushed down to City Bikes to grab some mountain bike shoes before this weekend's race in west virginia

had to wind a few things up at work which cut into my desire to test the geared monkey
but from what I could tell... the monkey felt good
the new parts made the bike feel fresh again
although I was still wanting to get new shoes

got home to an empty house
scanned the alley for kids, dog, and wife
crossed the street and hiked a few minutes in then gave a hoot for the dog
thinking if I could find the dog I could find my family
wanted to find everyone because lisa had a desire to ride the bike tonight
her plan of the capital crescent trail made good sense for me to drop her off at the trail head when I go to the shop to buy my shoes

great plan... but the boys need to eat
luckily I had started a korean beef marinade
a bottle poured on some meat
so lisa left out the back door for the alley onto rock creek then over to the mount vernon trail while I prepped dinner

hunger was immediately met with apple sauce
as french fries went in the oven and a salad with pine nuts and peanut dressing was thrown together
the meat cook quickly on the gas grill as the boys ate what I put in front of them
moods improved
little monsters turned into small children
only a slight improvement... but still an improvement

we had finished dinner and were out on the back deck eating Popsicles when momma lisa got home

when the popsicles were done the boys needed a bath
I started the bath then left out for the bike shop
sure enough
shopping by size is a risky proposition
you can walk away with something random
something nicer and more expensive then you are looking for
or maybe something beneath your needs
I got lucky... not something of real race quality
but something good enough to race on
something that may be downgraded to commuter shoe before the summer is over

got home before the kids were asleep and snuck into the basement
still had to do some packing
started the packing after I put on the cleats and put on the shoes
got a good chunk of things packed
the shoes were uncomfortable
but all shoes are uncomfortable after a long day

it has been a long day
I am going to sip some wine have a snack and get to bed
big race weekend
wish me luck

thing fast and dry!