I am such a binger! Is that how you spell binger (def: someone who binges) or not? I have no idea. Yesterday I set out to ride the Military Ridge to Mt Horeb. Round-trip from our house is 35 miles. No problem! Upon getting to Mt Horeb I felt good so decided to push it and go to Blue Mounds (another 5.5 miles each way.) Then I remembered that the next town (Barneveld) was in Iowa County and I’ve never ridden to Iowa county. Once in Barneveld I was filling up my water bottle and noticed the map. Ridgeway was 5.5 miles and Dodgeville another 9.something. Hmmmm. So I just got on my bike and kept riding. Ended up in Dodgeville…easy enough. But, I had to ride back. I was good until Barneveld but then the legs were getting sore. I stopped at Mt Horeb for a much needed snack and toughed it out the rest of the way home. 85 miles, 5:15 away from the house (a little under 5 hours ride time) almost all on dirt/gravel. Not too shabby! I get easily tempted by milestones often forgetting that coming back is usually about 10 times harder than going out. But yesterday evening I tied another milestone thanks to Olive Garden. The Never-ending Pasta Bowl is back and I knocked down 4 of them (well 3-3/4, the last bit of alfredo was pretty crappy in my last one.) I did 3 on Friday night too (unprepared as I didn’t know the pasta bowl was back) so 7 bowls in one (holiday) weekend. Jess started (by started I mean has 8 hours invested) in this crazy jigsaw puzzle. It is a fantasia photo mosaic puzzle. Just looking at this puzzle assures me that I clearly don’t like puzzles as much as her…. Oh yeah, I watched Taradise on channel 54 (I think it might be E!) yesterday and it didn’t suck nearly as bad as I thought.

Also, I know many of you are wondering about the Cheesecake Factory so here is my review…
Food Quality: 8.5
Uniqueness of Food: 9.5
Portions: 8.5
Price: 4
Intangibles: 9.5
Overall: 8.5 Better than most, if entrees and appetizers were $2-$3 cheaper it would be awesome to try a lot! But I am guessing we paid a Schaumburg premium and maybe the MPLS or MKE one is cheaper?

I started with the Buffalo blasts (not what I expected, but still awesome.) Think of a cross between mozzarella sticks, buffalo wings and chicken tenders. Yummy! Phili Cheesesteak was next, it was above average (in quality and price.) It certainly wasn’t as good as Charlies or Chilis (two of the best) but was far better than Bostons. Fries were average. Many entrees looked larger than mine (including Jess’ breakfast quesadilla) so I look forward to another visit (and a burger!) Appetizers were pricey but I think a viable option is an appetizer and dessert, skip the entree!