Goin’ Calorie-Neutral!

The weather is FABULOUS right now in Bellingham, and when the weather is FABULOUS, even though I commute to work by bicycle rain or shine, I tend to want to ride my bike everywhere.

So, I’ve mentioned my treasured nights out with the guys, but I haven’t mentioned that we’ve given our group a name: The Beer Klatch.

Anyway, there was a Beer Klatch meeting last night, and the plan was to meet at Boundary Bay Brewery, have a beer, fill up a few growlers, and head to the house of one of the guys to enjoy the sunset over Bellingham Bay from his deck. Three of the guys play guitar, and so instruments were invited as well.

And then, an idea came to me in a flash!

By now, thanks to that pesky global warming, everyone’s heard the term carbon-neutral. And while I was disappointed to find out this morning that it’s not an original idea, what came to me in a flash was to attempt a calorie-neutral Beer Klatch!

Let’s get one thing straight. I am a solidly right-brained individual, numbers aren’t my thing, so I wasn’t going to be doing any detailed analysis of the actual calories consumed and burned. Rather, my carbon-neutral Beer Klatch would be based on the grossest of estimates, a gut feeling (pun intended), if you will.

So, at 7:30pm, after a hearty meal of Spinach Fontina & Roasted Garlic Gourmet Chicken Sausage from Trader Joe’s, with a rice pilaf I improvised, containing green onion, celery, broccoli (finely chopped), sundried tomatoes, pesto, and balsamic vinegar, I mounted my bicycle. On my back was my guitar in its gig bag, and in the pocket of the gig bag was my empty growler.

I pedaled across town, enjoying the sunshine over Bellingham Bay as I passed over Taylor Dock and through Boulevard Park, eventually joining the Klatch members in the glorious Boundary Bay beer garden, where I rewarded my efforts with a lovely, refreshing IPA as I cooled down from the ride.

Then, at 8:30, I had my growler filled, put it back in the gig bag, making the load on my back considerably heavier. I refused the offer to throw my gig bag and the growler in the car of one of the guys, and I set out to climb South Hill, past the campus where I work, and then a few blocks to the house where the Klatch was meeting.

More beer was consumed, along with some chips and pretzels, the sunset was FABULOUS! and the music jam short but sweet.

When the meeting concluded, I put my growler, empty once again, into my gig bag, turned on my head and tail lights, and rode home back across town.

Now, I’m pretty sure that the calorie count for dinner, beer, and snacks exceeded the number of calories burned, but I had a blast, and I felt great this morning. In my right-brained calorie-neutral calculation, I’ve included pollution prevention, mood enhancement, and a happy body as calorie offsets, and so I’m pleased to report that I did, indeed, achieve calorie neutrality!