up hill both ways

I got lots of rest today in preparation for the long trek out to get my Food Handler's permit. I was looking up the place and was horrified that it was out on 34th & Powell. On the East Side. Across the river. And it was sunny today.

So I hydrated, got some directions, and left. It was a quick zoom down to Naito and across the Hawthorne Bridge. The directions said I should take Ross Island but I knew that it was no place for bicycles. It was fine and dandy on Hawthorne Boulevard. I turned on 11th and went along that for quite some distance. Eventually I came to Powell and that is when it first started going wrong. It wasn't bike safe at all. It was a busy road that went under ground. I turned off it, hoping to go parallel but the street I was on was curving off in a very non-Portland way (that is, not on a grid). I turned back towards Powell and went up back towards Division. I turned on Clinton instead, which I remembered from my Map to be very bike safe. It was low traffic and the streets were lined with cute cafes and colorful houses. I found it to be a very nice area with just one problem: heading East was one big steady hill. Up and up I went. 15th became 21st and I still had a ways to go. 26th went by, some better bikers on lighter bikes passed me. The turn on 33rd presented me with yet another incline. Eventually it went down but not soon enough. Getting to Powell was a cinch then. It took me a half an hour of fairly hard bike riding but I made it to the Multnomah County Health Place(not its official name).

I drank lots of water. I asked where the Food Handler's Permit test was and the kind security lady showed me where. I reviewed the test booklet and filled out the form but I had to go to an ATM to get cash. A Plaid Pantry was nearby. I bought some sunflower seeds and an ice cream bar that I gobbled down. The booklet makes the test look like it is harder than it really is. All it takes is common sense. Something I have a little of, I assume. Anyway, passed it no problem and once I felt up to it, I left to return to the Goose and collapse into an afternoon of Carnivale.

I pretty much took the same route home. West on Powell, North on 33rd, West on Clinton, North on 12th, West on Madison, cross the Hawthorne Bridge, West on Main, South on 5th, West on Jefferson, South on 14th, East on Clay, and stop before 16th. Home again home again and sweaty in places that I never knew could sweat.

Can't believe I have one and a half episodes of Carnivale left. The seasons are far too short and I dread the end of this one. I know there are other things I should be doing but my motivation is at a critical low. I haven't been this inactive in years.