I attempted the bike ride to Nintendo today. Oh man.
The trail was beautiful and long. And it was long. And I mean loooooong. I started getting pretty tired when I had about eight miles left to the end of the trail in Redmond, but I kept thinking to myself that I'd be able to push toward the end. Two miles later that was looking less likely to happen, and each successive mile after that the goal slipped further and further out of my grasp. Eventually I found myself practically falling asleep on my bike while I was riding as my energy level signaled empty and my body tried to shut down. This was out in the countryside, more or less, so there wasn't easy access to food or water (and because of not wanting to mess with the trouble of carrying my backpack, I hadn't brought any with me). My goal had changed from Nintendo to food, but I still started wondering, "Oh man, am I going to make it?"
With about two and a quarter miles left, I came to an overpass for vehicles. (I'm talking about a very nice, paved bike trail that goes to great lengths to stay separated from vehicular traffic.) In half desperation I rode up onto the overpass and down into civilization. All I found, though, were office buildings. This was disappointing because I didn't know how much longer I could stay conscious without food. My despair, however, arose more from not wanting to establish a hopelessly irresponsible reputation for myself than from fear of fainting on the sidewalk.
After that I rode over to the other side of the overpass, hoping there might be some kind of food-serving establishment over there. And, at last, I found a shopping center that had two coffee places and maybe two or three other restaurants. The best-looking place there was Samurai Sam's Teriyaki, where I ate the best teriyaki chicken bowl I've ever had. I probably couldn't describe how good it was. As I turbo-gulped it down with a pair of chopsticks, I could feel myself returning to life again. Aside from the fact that it felt nice to be revitalized, I was also glad to receive some hope that I might be able to manage the ride back. Before leaving I intentionally went to Starbucks for high-fat dessert in hopes that it would give me enough calories to last until I returned to Seattle.
Although I felt largely revitalized, I did not want to travel any farther from home than I'd already come, so I didn't make the last little jaunt to Nintendo. My purpose in taking the trip was to see if it was manageable for me, anyway, and the answer to that was already clear. So back up the trail I sped, though often a bit slower than before because I had less stamina to work with. My motivation to keep riding, however, was at an all-time high, so I managed to ride the 20 or so miles back without incident.
If I were in better shape and had a better bike, then 40+ miles roundtrip might be feasible for commuting to and from work. Today that distance just wasted me, though. I got from it not only a lot of exercise but also a new experience, new insight into my limits, and sore muscles (starting no later than tomorrow morning, I'm sure).
Sorry, Ninty.
