Thursday

today was the first time I felt lonely since leaving Sacramento. I slept in, 9.15am, and wasn't ready for breakfast. hung around and tried to decide on a plan for the day. after about two hours I found myself in the tv room (24 hours of topnotch AC) and realized the tour de France is on! luckily I was only 20 minutes into 2 hours worth of coverage. by the end I was re-encouraged to do lots of bike riding, very quickly.

still found myself aimless though by the time I got downtown. indulged in a soda and remembered that I still hadn't yet called to put in the claim for the accident last month. that phone call went well - I think I'll definitely recoup my losses, though there is still plenty more to wait and see about.

I wish I could bike a bike shop that was also a cafe, like Mojo Cafe in the city. or just other some such establishment where I could hang out and be near likeminded people - maybe even all watch the Tour together! imagine. I guess there's a place or two in ny like that, we'll see.

tried to see the sight of the Transformers 3 filming but only saw rubble - no cameras, actors, or special events. now that I know where it's all at, though, we'll see if I can watch something unfold.

shortly after 5p I went to the Art Institute because Thursday evening is their free time. There was a line around the block! you'd think I'd know better - I guess I don't. so I cruised up the lakeview trail and found myself at the Navy Pier. I was told it was a must see. I think I was expecting a military base or at least some old stuff but no, it's just a boardwalk. though it's INCREDIBLY windy at the end.

once I got back on the trail I owned the fact that I would feel kind of sad if I went straight back to the hostel and just pissed my evening away. so I rode all the way to the northern end of the trail - I've now ridden on every inch of it! I figured I could figure out my way home on the surface streets where the trail spit me out. I went as long as I could without consulting the map. frankly, because I was so worn out, I possibly could have done just as well if not better had I not confused my little brain with that map. needless to say, it took me way longer or get home than I'd anticipated and I circled around and backtracked a lot. boy do I hate backtracking!

the rest of the evening was chill ( literally, I spent a lot of it in the tv room with the ac). it's surprisingly late now and my eyeballs are surprisingly heavy. oh and my feet hurt. I guess all that means it's bedtime. tomorrow will be a cultural day, dammit!