The last week at the contract gig was a hoot. As the project neared completion and the remaining workload volleyed between production and editorial, task-free periods lengthened. A regular client offered a short freelance project that I thought I would have to turn down (but didn’t want to turn down lest the client find another freelancer), except that I had so much free time at the office I was able to do some two-timing (and thus earn an incredible wage for several hours at a time). On the last day of the contract, which was the last day for most of the editors, too, we all watched Office Space in the large conference room.

It was also my birthday week, which is a good season. I haven’t felt like celebrating much because I’m too damn busy. The only thing I felt like doing and had planned to do was a climb, but my climbing partner injured his knee on another climb and had to have knee surgery. I still found ways to be good to myself: I got a haircut, left work early, ate out almost every night, and, on a whim, bought an ice cream maker. (The homemade stuff is good! There’s no going back to store-bought now.) Also, Mary and Wayne hosted a birthday BBQ at their new house and we grilled Boca burgers and flank steak on an enormous mound of briquettes. The fire was so hot, you could hardly stand to stand close enough to handle the meat/Bocas.

As for biking:

We rode 65 miles from Ellensburg to Cle Elum and back. The first thirty miles were a slow and gruelling haul uphill in unbelievably powerful headwinds. We pushed at 6 to 10 mph and gusts tossed us side to side the whole way. All along the route, rancher’s and farmer’s homes sprawled atop lush, bright green lawns that were well-nourished by glistening irrigation channels. The area is the closest I’ve seen to that vague notion of an American idyll, of people who actually live the American dream. I wondered whether those people vote Democratic or Republican.

Tailwinds rewarded us on the return leg, which followed the Yakima river gorge along a sparsely traveled two-lane highway. On a long downhill grade, I topped 45 mph, which was incredibly exhilarating. The bike feels more solid the faster it goes.

This last weekend we road 70 miles each day. From home, it's about 70 miles around Lake Washington and Lake Sammamish. The route's pretty and relatively flat and offers interesting attractions such as the climbing wall and the radio-controlled airplane field at Marymoor Park and the Renton airport, where rows of brand-new Boeing jets await painting.

We liked the route so much the first day that we did it again the second. Although, Sunday's ride was agonizing: Knee and saddle pain that began late in the ride on Saturday continued throughout Sunday. How do you know when it's bad enough to turn back? About two thirds of the way through, I had to stop and cry a bit for relief. Then I felt well enough to go on and it was easier than before. The knee pain was the bad, non-muscle kind and I worried about injury. But I felt well enough by this Wednesday to ride again, and the ride was pain free on both counts. I'm amazed by the body's ability to recover.