Went riding with Munkirs again last night, same ride as always.  (We enjoy consistency.)  We wisely eschewed the “fast group” though, and dropped back with the “slow group.”  For one thing, we are planning to go on a longer ride this weekend and didn’t want to burn ourselves out.  Just kinda stretching out a little bit.  The conditions weren’t ideal either;  It was brutally humid, lightly raining in spots, and I just wasn’t feeling particularly well.  So, we hung back and enjoyed the lighter pace.  And, at the end of the ride, we ended up averaging a whopping .5 mph slower pace than last week with the “fast group.”  Hmmm…  I think it all might be psychological.

Last night, in our quest for entertainment, we did absolutely nothing.  Well, I guess we did a little bit.  We hopped on our bicycles and rolled down to the grocery store to get some dinner.  It is a known fact that if you are in the area, etiquette requires  you to stop by the Brooksider and greet everybody, so we did.  I wouldn’t have really minded hanging out in there and soaking up the A/C for a bit, but it was unusually crowded and loud so we said our “hellos” and got back out.  For dinner we had a taco bar of sorts.  Donette went with fried beef tacos, I had soft-shell pork.  After dinner, she elected to finish a jigsaw puzzle she has been working on, and I retired upstairs to play Madden NFL some more.  Which, I might add, I am actually starting to figure out just a little bit.

Last nights quest for entertainment took us down to the Power & Light District.  We met our friend Lori at the Flying Saucer for some post-work enjoyment.  Fun enough place;  I’m quite fond of it actually, just don’t eat the burgers.  We generally like to play darts to pass the time while we are there, but last night there was a large unruly bunch of riff-raff back in that area, so we just sat on the comfy couches and chatted.  We hung out there for a few hours, then scurried back to midtown for dinner at Cantina Del Ray.  I’ve been a little down on that place recently, but last night it was top-notch.  Moved it right back up the list.  Unfortunately I blew the last of my weekly allowance on this bit of entertainment;  I see a few nights of video games on the couch in my future.

Last night we rode our bikes up to 75th Street for some dinner.  For a while we were going there every Monday night but we kind of fell out of the habit.  Or went broke, or something like that.  Whatever the reason, we decided we needed to get back up there and check out their new patio area, which they’ve named “The Alley.”  Actually we’ve sat out there many times before;  It’s been open since the Big 12 basketball tourney.  Apparently it wasn’t “officially” open though, because they had a big grand opening deal a few weeks ago.  Basically they took the building that was attached to the brewery on the east side (which has been vacant since the big fire several years ago) and tore the roof off it.  Half of it is covered, and the other half is open, with big glass overhead doors dividing the two areas.  They’ve planted hops all around the open area, which are growing like crazy and should cover it at some point later this fall.  The only downside was they seem to have decided that since they call it a “deck” it’s OK to smoke, even in the covered area.  Hmmm…  It’s totally enclosed, (the overhead doors where shut,) has a solid roof over it, and doors for entrances.  Oh well, it wasn’t a big deal last night as there was only one person smoking and the luxury of the air conditioning made up for it.  We tried out the Saison shrimp with risotto and a big plate of calamari for dinner.  Good stuff.  I’m sure we burned off all the calories on the 1/2-mile ride back home.

That was a busy weekend.  It was a 3-dayer, and I think I got the most out of it.  Friday was my bonus day off.  After lounging around all morning with the paper and some coffee, I headed off to the gym for a little exercise.  Donette, looking for a little exercise also, walked up there to meet me.  Walking is her latest kick, and she’s been putting in some miles.  It’s a good 4 miles to the gym…  I’ll stick to the car, thanks.  I was done by the time she got there, and we headed out to the pool for a little lunch and sun.  We stayed pool-side for a few hours, then headed home for a quick nap.  Alas, the nap was not to be;  I got a text from my old college friend Jamie, informing me he was at none other than the Brooksider.  I haven’t seen him in a good 10 years, so I headed down there to catch up.  He is still in Las Vegas in the professional pirate field, same as last time I saw him.  Guess some of us get to have exciting lives.  And, some of us don’t.  After that, it was down to Boulevard Brewery for a 25th High School Reunion.  (Note the clever phrasing;  I said “A” 25th reunion, not necessarily MY 25th reunion.)  While I will admit I wasn’t exactly amped up for this event, it turned out to be a lot of fun.  I spent the whole evening out on their nice deck, enjoying some cigars and catching up with old friends.  (Mostly enjoying cigars, ha.)  Great place to have a big party if you are ever in the market for such a thing.

Saturday we got up and headed back down to Boulevard.  In all the excitement of the party, I’d forgotten to pick up one of their cool cycling jerseys, which I had intended to purchase.  Alas, I found the XXL was far too snug for comfort.  Hmmm, better keep riding that bicycle.  Since we were out anyway, we decided to head out for some chow.  Feeling experimental, we headed over to KCK to check out Ninfas.  Turned out to be an excellent choice, it was right up our alley.  I think “hole in the wall” would sum up the atmosphere accurately.  Very small dining room, complete with styrofoam plates & cups.  Fine by me, the food on the plates was awesome.  I might even head down there for a weekday lunch some time, although judging from the crowd early on a Saturday afternoon it would probably be too packed for me during the week.  After lunch we lounged around the house for a while, then headed off to a party down the street with Donette’s co-workers.  A bunch of my friends were out and about with the aforementioned pirate, but unfortunately I had this prior obligation.  Further details of the evening are not available at this time.

Sunday I got up medium-early for my weekly bicycle ride with Munkirs.  Gotta keep riding, maybe I can fit my backs into that XXL jersey by the end of the season.  We had a good ride, finally eclipsing the 35 mile mark;  Grand total of 36 miles.  OK we didn’t exactly shatter the barrier, but we did cross it.  We had the option of rolling down to the Plaza  and back for another easy 8, but the temp was getting a little uncomfortable by that time so we called it a day.  When I got back to the house Donette’s parents were there, returning from breakfast at Eggtc.  Honestly I’d have probably preferred an order of biscuits & gravy to a two-hour bike ride, but I wasn’t aware of the option.  We visited for a while, then I was off to my Mom’s to work on her PC.  I puzzled on that dang thing for about 3 hours and never got it all the way fixed.  It has some type of quite persistent issue, maybe even a demonic possession.  Whatever it is, my favorite tools weren’t finding it, so I went home and researched the symptoms to tackle another day.  Donette spent her afternoon up in the northlands, and when she got home we were both pretty worn out.  We stayed home for the evening and grilled hamburgers, which came out quite well.  We had the idea to chop up a bunch of our basil and mix it in the burgers;  A quick search shows it’s really not that novel of an idea but it turned out delicious at any rate.