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* riding my bike in 80's degree weather to heart break hill in newton to watch the boston marathon using printed google map directions (nasal spray and sun block and 2 bottles of ice cold water)

the start of the race was already being broadcasted on WBZ channel 4 (the official broadcaster of the boston marathon). first the wheelchair athletes started followed by the elite runners. before i left my house i sniffed up some nasal spray to combat the tree pollen and wore shorts in preparation for a hot day. my roommate was getting ready for work but i left before he did. the first stretch of my journey would be to get to belmont where i had some quick breakfast of meat buns. since i'd be standing out in the sun for hours, i made sure i wore plenty of sunblock, that familiar smell reminding of summertime even though it's only april.

i left my parents' place by 11:00. my father already went to the cafe and my mother and sister were planning on taking the dog to the beach (dogs are still allowed on the beaches in april).

to get to heartbreak hill (mile 20) via bike i googled some directions. i knew how to get there by car and motorcycle, but that's driving on busy roads not suitable for bicycles. google directions led me on a completely different route but i figured there was method to its madness. for instance, it recommends taking small side streets instead of going straight, probably all the better to avoid cars on roads without bike lanes. the suggested bike routes are always longer than the driving routes, but i guess google figured if you're going to travel by bicycle you're probably not in a major hurry to get to your destination.

the first hurdle was navigating behind arsenal mall to get to the intersection of north beacon street and greenough boulevard. even though i checked the maps i printed out, i still went the wrong way; instead of following the prescribed route, i biked down a footpath to talcott avenue and found the intersection that way. from there i crossed a bridge into brighton. next was figuring out how to cross the mass turnpike. fortunately that wasn't too difficult. from there i made it to fanueil street towards the oak square rotary. i found tremont street and followed that until i came to cufflin street, a steep road that felt like a 45° incline. once i climbed cufflin and hit nonantum street going west i was in newton. nonantum ends at waverley avenue, and traveling south on waverley eventually leads to commonwealth avenue where the marathon was happening.

* watching the marathon from boston college (should've worn ear plugs)

* garden talk with parents' neighbor swiss mel (mulch, perennial flowers, garden vegetables)

* home depot DIY compost tumbler parts cost survey (toilet flange, 3" diameter pipe, pipe cape, galvanized pipe nipple)

* repotting the euphorbia (rolling our own cactus soil)

* turned off the heat for the season this morning