Carry-out pizza and biking don't mix

There are certain things in life that, for obvious reasons, you should not combine to do at the same time.

You shouldn't drive and text message at the same time, though I'll confess to being guilty of that a time or two in my life. You also shouldn't walk and read at the same time, even though any rushed college student cramming for an exam will admit to doing so at one point.

Sunday night, I discovered two more activities you should not be engaged in at the same time: picking up a carry-out pizza while biking.

Now, I know a lot of are probably saying "Duh, that's kind of obvious." Maybe it should have been obvious to me. But at the time, with the perfect weather outside and my legs anxious to get more exercise (strange, since I already ran 11 miles that day), it became a good idea.

Besides, as anyone who owns a bike can probably tell you, there's a fulfillment that comes from reaching a destination on two wheels that simply can't be matched by driving there. Rather than relying on your car's engine, you're relying on your legs to take you where you need to go. A mere trip across town requires more ambition on a bike than it does in a car, which make the goal of the trip (in this case, a large meat lovers pizza from Pizza Hut) taste even better upon reaching it.

So with my ambitious/adventurous side trumping common sense, I grabbed my backpack, hopped on my bike and took off for Pizza Hut. I even stopped to pick up a movie up at Blockbuster along the way just to add to the indulgence.

As the photo would indicate, I was at least partially successful in my quest for meat lovers goodness. The pizza box did in fact fit snugly in my backpack and allowed enough clearance for the pack to close. However, the laws of gravity, combined with the curved back posture that comes from riding a road bike, caused the pizza to shift to one side of the box for the duration of the trip home. By the time I got back to my apartment, the pizza was scrunched up like an accordion and most-decidedly less appealing for consumption.

Not that it's disheveled appearance stopped me from eating it. I was starving at that point and needed something to consume while watching the movie I rented ('Synecdoche, New York,' in case you're wondering).

However, the next time I feel the ambition to go biking in the hopes of retrieving ordered food, I think I'll try Subway instead.