go monkey go

2008-08-25T09:18:00.020-05:00

I Spy ...

Up early in the morning, sleeping in the back of the car.

Yellow tape cutting a course through a park.

Cross bikes

This can only mean one thing...

A cross race!

This past weekend we were up in Mass visiting my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. We hung out, played with the kids and the dogs, went to a Grange Fair, had some awesome chicken and corn on the cob, and oh yeah, there was a cross race.

Mmm mmm chicken.

Was great to see Mega.

Marc doing his thing.

Taylor doing some acrobatics on Beth while waiting for Marc to come back around.

Here was a sign at the park. I just thought this was great. Very blunt.

2008-08-25T08:20:00.013-05:00

Outdoors At Last!

After over a year of climbing strictly in the gym we've finally made it outside. After our first adventure as we call them, we got hooked and have gotten out as much as we can. Some places are better than others for boldering, but they're always fun.
I learned the hard way that it's best to take off your climbing shoes when not climbing. One day I decided to go exploring, while still in my climbing shoes. I was lazy and didn't feel like taking them off. The whole next week my big toe was killing me. I didn't find this until a couple weeks later when I finally took off the toenail polish. Ah, that's why it hurt so bad.

Wes climbing while still in his sneakers. Yeah, he could climb things and top out in sneakers that we couldn't.

This little boulder was the scourge of our existence for a day and a half. Though it was small, it was smooth with almost no holds. It took a while and I think we all lost some skin on it, but we made it. Yeah!

This is that boulder too. The shot looks way cool. Wes took it. The hold is actually where my right hand is, that little dent. Yup that's it.

Is this awesome or what!

Wes relaxing.

Buddy on a low start.

Rachel climbing the Mojo I think.

2008-07-24T08:37:00.003-05:00

Not the Weakest Link

Thanks Kim! I thought I was free of this when Marc told me he had skipped me. Obviously not. Damn! Ok so here it goes...

If you could have any one — and only one — bike in the world, what would it be?
I would have to go with a mtb. That way I could still ride on the road if I really wanted to. It would be miserable, as mtb's are pigs on the road, but hey, it's a lot better than the alternative; a road bike on trails.

Do you already have that coveted dream bike? If so, is it everything you hoped it would be? If not, are you working toward getting it? If you’re not working toward getting it, why not?
I must say I'm pretty happy with the bikes I currently have. I built up my mtb last year and pretty much put on it what I wanted. As well as my cross bike. A road bike is a road bike, so who cares.

If you had to choose one - and only one - bike route to do every day for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?
Damn, that would really suck. I do have a tendency to ride certain loops over and over, but I can't imagine just one forever. I guess if I had to I'd pick an hour loop from my house riding trails. That way on shorter days I'd be good, and when I wanted a longer ride I could double or triple it. You didn't say I couldn't do it more than once, just the same route. ;-)

What kind of sick person would force another person to ride one and only one bike ride to do for the rest of her / his life?
Yes, that would be a sick fuck. Plus I want to know how that would be monitored. Am I going to be on surveillance or little spies following me around. And what are the consequences if I stray?

Do you ride both road and mountain bikes? If both, which do you prefer and why? If only one or the other, why are you so narrow minded?
I ride both and prefer both at different times. All depends on my mood that day.

Have you ever ridden a recumbent? If so, why? If not, describe the circumstances under which you would ride a recumbent. Who's narrow minded now?
No way, they are just ridiculous.

Have you ever raced a triathlon? If so, have you also ever tried strangling yourself with dental floss?
No, it wouldn't be much of a race once I drowned trying to do the swim.

Suppose you were forced to either give up ice cream or bicycles for the rest of your life. Which would you give up, and why? Ice cream.
Easy, ice cream. Don't care for it.

What is a question you think this questionnaire should have asked, but has not? Also, answer it.
The better question would be "what would you give up your bicycle for?"
I'm not sure how to answer that. Every time I think of something, it would be even better if I could ride. Of course Marc and my dogs are not an option here.

Can you conceive cycling without racing?
Definitely, I've stopped racing before for years. But racing definitely adds something.

You’re riding your bike in the wilderness (if you’re a roadie, you’re on a road, but otherwise the surroundings are quite wilderness-like) and you see a bear. The bear sees you. What do you do?
Unfortunately this has happened. I kept my eye on the bear, but only kinda, as I didn't want it to see me looking at it. (like it mattered) Also, I checked behind me for people. There were none, but I was hoping for someone. You don't have to the be the fastest, just not the slowest.

Watch out Kerry, Mega, Gavigan and Elizabeth. Now it's your turn. Have Fun!

2008-07-20T10:51:00.006-05:00

Spiderman, Spiderman, Doing what a spider can...

This was the theme song in my head this morning. I ventured out for an early mountain bike ride to try to escape the full heat of the day. It was already extremely humid, but in the woods, it was a little cooler. Being so early I'm pretty sure I was the first one out on the trails as I managed to capture about a million spiderwebs with my arms, body and face. Around each turn was a fresh web for me to catch. I grabbed and swiped at my face trying to pull the tiny threads free. I only managed to see one before actually going right through it. Luckily I did not see one spider that came with all the webs.
My ride turned out great, other than all the icky sticky spiderwebs.

2008-07-05T06:51:00.002-05:00

Blinded

Yesterday I did my first Time Trial. Marc has been trying to talk me into doing a TT for a few weeks now. Last Friday I finally agreed that I would do one. Then he was on a mission to get me stuff to set me up properly. First came TT bars. So Sunday he hooked them up and we went out for a very wobbly ride. Monday was booties, of course everyone was out, so he ordered me some and they showed up Thursday. Wed he picked up a helmet and skin suit from Ethan that he very kindly agreed to let me borrow. I tried on the skin suit in advance and realized that wasn't going to work, if that was my skin, then I was a Sharpei. So I wore my shorts & jersey. I had briefly stuck the helmet on and it was a little loose, but figured no big deal.

Friday morning we head up. Of course it's raining as I'm heading to NJ to race. It always rains in Jersey if I'm racing, never fails. We get within about 10 miles and get thoroughly lost with no where to ask directions. We try looking it up on our phones, but it's being slow & difficult, so we wake Ethan up and ask him to please tell us where we are. He find us and guides us in. Thanks Ethan! Marc now has less than an hour to get ready. I'm trying to help him, plus get me ready as I start shortly after him. He takes off, I hop on the trainer, trying to get in a rhythm and the dude next to me keeps coming over to ask me questions. First his number is on upside down, so I help him out. Then he can't get his jersey on, so I point out that he pinned his number clean through. Finally I realize I'm running late and have to get up to the starting line. I grab my stuff, throw on the helmet and take off. At this moment is when I realize the extent of the helmet being too big. I had gotten the straps down to it was ok and not wobbly. The probably was that it has a back stabilizer and when I got myself down into TT position, it dug into my neck and threw the helmet forward over my eyes. Crap! No time to do anything about it. Went to the line as they're yelling my number and I take off. Every couple minutes I'm shoving it backwards trying to see more than 5 feet in front of me. Most the time I just left it down and rode blind. Luckily a TT is straight. Puts a whole new meaning on put your head down and go.

Anyway, with mishaps aside, was lots of fun.

2008-06-28T20:13:00.002-05:00

Troublemakers

Recently we went to a show in Philly and due to a bad parking spot and poor maneuvering getting back to the car, our usual 1 hour drive home, turned into 2 hours. It sucked!
Last night Marc and I headed up to Hershey, Pa for a show. We've never gone to this venue before and it is a bit of a hike. The last thing we wanted was a repeat of the Philly incident. Unfortunately in trying to avoid one incident, we kinda provoked another one.
After the final song of the encore (I do not believe in leaving early) we took off. Marc led the way, I hung on as he weaved his way through the crowd. Then he noticed a short cut, but we'd have to climb a gate. I didn't hesitate and swung myself over. Unfortunately for me and the guy on the other side it was a little higher than I anticipated and I smashed into him. Luckily he took it well and I kept on my way going under the next one. As we are moving towards the intersection there is a big pile up on one side and far fewer people on the other, so we chose the path of least resistance. As we stand there waiting for the ok to cross, a rent-a-cop is pulling a huge power play with the other side. He's pointing and screaming about to burst a vein, "I'm only going to tell you this once". He was an ass. Anyway, then he starts in on us. He starts screaming at us that there's no way we're crossing there and we have to back track and go the other way around. With the clock ticking, I pipe up and say that's crap, there's a cross walk right here, I'm not going back across. Well a couple teens figured this sounded just great and took off across the street. I figured what the hell and followed. Marc meanwhile is standing there chanting 'asshole' to the guy. It catches on quickly with the crowd. Before I know it, the entire crowd of 100's of people bum rush the guy and the intersection. I look back and I can't see Marc as he did not follow me. But I do see a ton of full out running and chanting 'asshole' coming at me quickly. I keep going, Marc catches up and we high tail it to the car. We were out quickly without incident. Well besides the little riot we kinda started. Ooops.

2008-06-26T07:52:00.004-05:00

Falling

I don't really have a fear of heights. Going up is perfectly fine. Coming down however, is another matter.
In movies they show some person hanging on for dear life, fear in their eyes, and their fingers slowly slipping off of whatever they are holding on to and then eventually they end up falling to their death. I always thought as I'm watching, these people are crazy. If I knew I was gonna die I could hold on. It wouldn't matter how bad it hurt, I'd just keep fighting until I was ok just because I'd have too. ha ha ha Yeah it doesn't work that way.
Last week I was at the climbing gym. I decided to go up a bouldering problem that had a particularly high finish. Once up there I froze and couldn't get myself down. Marc was below me telling me to jump, yet I couldn't. I tried to down climb, but the holds were too small and I was fatiguing from the panic. As I stayed up there the worse the panic got and the more my arms fatigued prematurely. Eventually I saw my hands slipping, and even though I knew it wasn't to my death, there was nothing I could do about it. I ended up falling and I was fine, just shaken.
Turns out the movies are right. Your will will only get you so far.

2008-03-07T18:13:00.002-05:00

In The Dark

These are some of the things I smelled, heard or saw on last night's urban ride. Most of them are smelt and heard as it was dark and I could pretty much only see Marc's ass.

exhaust fumes
spring peepers
labored breathing
wind
cigars
kids
laundry detergent
steak
bunnies (lots of them)
steak (ok we went back past, it smelt too good)
beer

2008-03-05T16:42:00.006-05:00

Spring Is Good

Ok, it's not really Spring yet. But things are already starting to get better. Yeah, it's probably a tease, as that's what March is, a big fat tease. But hey I'll take it. I need anything to break the doldrums of January and February. Don't get me wrong, I kept myself busy and I've been able to ride more than most winters as it's been more mild. But it's just not the same as Spring. Something changes as everything comes alive. Though the flower and trees aren't alive yet, people are starting to show signs.

Last night we went to a show in Philly. It was held in a little basement of a church. We saw Jonathan Rice and Matt Costa. It was great. We got there a little late and were way back at the end of the line and the show was General Admission. But once we got in people seemed to have disappeared and we got a fairly good spot. According to Marc they were all in line for the bathroom. Anyway, the show opened with Jonathan Rice, which I've never heard before. He's a one man band. Just him and his acoustic guitar. He was a super laid back hippie, and super funny. Than Matt Costa came on. He was very solid. Apparently from talking to the very talkative and informative girl next to me there is a new album that I didn't know about, so he had a bunch of new material. She kept telling me his line up as it was the same from the Brooklyn show she saw a few nights prior. So yeah, she's scary, she's following him. Anyway, the old songs were great, the new songs were great and way more rocking, to Marc's great pleasure, and he was way more talkative than the last time we saw him 2 years ago. In the middle of one song he started to choke and had to stop and start over. He apologized as he drank his beer to sooth his throat so he could continue. It was funny. I always wondered what would happen or if that ever happened to anyone while performing. In all the years of seeing shows that was the first time I've seen someone choke in the middle of a song. Now I know. Another cool aspect was his crowd was very much on the young side. So that made it much easier for me to see for a change since many of them haven't hit their growth spurt yet. That worked out to my advantage. I hate when I get some big huge 6 ft something guy that always ends up standing right in front of me. That sucks.

All in all it was a great show. Small and intimate, which is a nice change of pace from the giant venues.It was great to get out, even though I had to go to work today on 3 1/2hrs of sleep. I've been a little on edge all day. But it'll be ok. Just took a nap and already feeling better. I'm looking forward to what comes next.

2008-02-04T14:27:00.001-05:00

Hammer Time!

Yesterday Marc, Amy and I went on a road ride. It was a beautiful day for February. Sunny and 50 degrees. Yeah, when you see the pictures it doesn't look 50 degrees. That's because when we started out it was only 35. So you have to dress for what it is, not for what it might be. Plus it's colder on the road right?

Marc sporting his spiffy new thermal vest. He loves this thing.

Amy riding by a farm. But don't worry, it didn't stay this flat and boring.

Soon we came across Hammer Time!

So we all got off our bikes and did Hammer Time. Well err ahhh I did.

We even ran into James up by the resevoir.

It was a great day to to be out on the bike. Ahhhh....

2008-01-26T12:48:00.000-05:00

Mishaps and Mayhem

I'm so sore. I rode Rittenhouse with Marc yesterday. After the night ride Thursday I figured this would be a nice easy ride. No stress, middle of the afternoon, fairly flat trail other than lots of roots. Well it turned out I was on my ass more than I was on my bike.

First I was going through a rooty section, loosing momentum, so I tried to lunge forward to push it out. I hit a big rock and it stopped me dead. Well it stopped my bike dead. Me, not so much. I flew about 6 feet in the air over my handlebars and head first onto the ground. I heard a big crack and pain seems to shoot from everywhere. I layed there for a second waiting for the initial shock to subside and realize what was actually hurt. I hit my funny bone, which hurt like hell. I don't know why they call it that, it's never funny. Also tore back my thumbnail, yeah that hurt too. And the loud cracking sound was just my neck cracking, oh and maybe my helmet as I noticed today it's cracked. But after a few minutes I was able to get up and continue on.

A little later I had to dismount over something and when I went to get back on and missed my saddle. This was big ouch #2. I have a beautiful bruise today.

#3 was the best though. I was just about to bonk and Marc asked if I wanted to stop. I said no, there wasn't too much further. We headed down the next section of trail when I came across a stream crossing. All day I had rode across the ice without breaking through. So I took off across this one as well. I got half way and CRACK! My front wheel busted through. I instantly popped out my right foot. Only problem was I fell to the left. I got my foot out and shoved it toward the ground to catch me. And oh it did, only by the time I hit solid ground it was plunged deep through the ice and into the icy water. This is when I panicked. And instead of just waiting, thinking about my next move and I'd only have one foot wet. Instead I quickly pulled my foot back up, which caused me to fall onto the ice. Then I panicked more not wanted to fall through and shot my arm out and deep into the water. Then my knee. It was a mess. Finally I was able to get up, but by now I was drenched in freezing water. At this point I stood up and said, "now I'm done". Marc quickly got me out of the woods and back to the car with heat. Ah heat! I can't wait until warm weather.

Today I rode Middlerun with Marc, Amy, Ted, Dennis, Epi, Elizabeth and Rich. Things went much better. I managed to stay upright all day. Yeah! It was a lot of fun. Thanks guys!

2008-01-25T10:50:00.000-05:00

It's Dark Outside

Last night I did my first night ride (that wasn't in a race) in about 10 years. I put it off as long as I could. First my charger was busted. But Marc sent it back and got it fixed. Then my light was lost. But Marc found it. So reluctantly I charged it up and he bugged me until I committed to a ride. Last night was the night.
We headed out right at dusk. So it wasn't so bad due to the residual daylight and Marc riding behind me, which provided even more light. As we rode the sky grew darker and darker, but I was ok. At one point Marc stopped without saying anything and I was riding with my light alone. Though a little panic shot through me for a second, I quickly realized I was still ok.
I'm not going to say I like night riding, or that I enjoy it. But I will say it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Being on trails I knew helped a lot. But overall it was a good experience and one I'm sure I'll have to repeat again and again. Hopefully it'll just keep getting better.

2008-01-22T14:48:00.000-05:00

I think I have a problem...

I was putting away laundry today when I found my t-shirt drawer was full. No problem, I thought, I'll just put them in the other drawer. I opened it to find it stuffed to the brim as well. I thought this is crazy, there has to be something in there that shouldn't be. So I began pulling everything out and stacked them up. This is when I realized I have over 30 t-shirts that aren't even my main wearing t-shirts. These are for sleeping, laying around the house, yard work and what not. That's crazy!To make matters worse half my closet is also filled with t-shirts. I have another another 50 or so that I have deemed worthy enough to be hung up and color coded so that I can easily mix and match. And it doesn't stop there. I have a 3rd drawer that is dedicated to just long sleeve t-shirts. I have a problem, this can't be normal.

2008-01-16T18:24:00.000-05:00

Ouch!

Last weekend I was out on a group ride. I got myself a bit in trouble a few times and had to be bailed out (pushed). Thanks guys! At one point Amy said I should eat something so she helped me get my Gu out of my back pocket. It was cold so I had thick winter gloves on, which made it hard to have good manual dexterity. I did my best by ripping it open with my teeth and then sucking out the Gu as we were riding. This went ok until I couldn't get the last bit out. At this point I got the bright idea to stick it in my mouth and pull it out to suck it all out. It would have worked fine had I not clamped down to realize that Gu wrappers are metallic, which I quickly realized when it hit my filling. Ugh the pain!

2008-01-04T16:08:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

It's a beautiful new year. I've been MIA for a while. The holidays were absolutely exhausting. I enjoy them, but I don't know. Sometimes I think they're too much work. Ugh!

We brought in the new year with Ethan, Meg, Jen and Rik. We had a very slow dinner at some cheese and wine place. I'm not so much into wine. But the cheese was good. They had good food too. Towards the end they gave out party favors. We chose horns and noise makers. We had hats and these alien ball things. Marc hates noise makers. So yeah, we made a lot of noise. It was fun.

I've never really been much into making New Year resolutions. Everyone always makes them and shortly breaks them. But this year I decided to make a few.

1. ride more, try to take less breaks. (but oh I love those breaks)

2. loose the 7.5 lbs I gained in Dec.

3. if I can accomplish #2 then work on the other 5 lbs I gained throughout the rest of 2007.

Yeah, I know, they're nothing ground breaking. But hey, they're goals and right now I need some of those. I'm feeling a little lost with my regimented cross season over. I took a huge break and now I'm ready to get going again. Just trying to figure out where I'm headed.

Other than those I'm keeping it simple. Try to have fun with whatever I'm doing, keep working on being more laid back and just enjoy life.

Happy 2008!

2007-12-10T15:25:00.000-05:00

Reindeer Run

Since pulling the plug on my cross season I've been kinda looking for a new goal. I always do better when I can work towards something. So about a week ago we're driving along and Marc says, "there's a 5k next Friday I'm going to do it." I said ok, that's cool. He does them from time to time. So it wasn't that unusual. Then he says, "you're going to do it with me". Yikes, ok. I've never done a 5k, but hey it's for Special Olympics and I've been running some for cross, so what the hell. So I bumped up my running some; running a little longer and a little more frequently so I could see if I could finish a 5k without having to walk. So a few days prior I start asking questions as to when it is, where, all that sort of stuff. He says, "oh I have a race Sunday, so I'm not doing it. But don't worry I signed you up". AHHHHH! Not only have I never done one, but now I'm doing it alone!

Luckily I did not have to do it alone. Besides the other 300 plus people that ran, so did Rob, Liz, Megan and Amy. It was great. It was a chilly night with light drizzle, but we all ran along together with our antlers on our heads jingling away. They all were able to carry on conversations as I just focused on breathing and keeping up. I ended up just over 30min. I was hoping for under, but what the hey, it was my first one and I'm a cyclist, not a runner. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday was the last cross race of the season for those not going to nationals. I didn't race, but went down for support and work pit.

Some people are really getting into the Christmas spirit. Here comes Santa Claus, Here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus lane.

While Megan and I are working pit, Kris and Ethan are working another pit. mmmm

We saw some odd things in the pit this past weekend. I'm not sure who this belonged to, but I would have loved to see him come in for a bike exchange.

2007-12-02T07:32:00.000-05:00

That Time of Year

I haven't had a lot of pictures lately. Mostly out of laziness. So here's a whole bunch that pretty much describe what I've been up to.

So after the USGP I pretty much cracked wide open and ended my cross season. It was a series of unfortunate events that lead up to the big crack, which I could go on about, but that would just be whining. So I'll just say I needed a break so I'm taking one. The only bad part is once I'm through my break, cross will be over and 10 months away again. Oh well, I'll be nice and hungry next year.

So in my break I've been filling up my time with just about anything but cycling. I've been doing a lot of climbing. It's been great to finally be getting some calluses back. My hands had gotten so soft that when I climbed a couple weeks ago my fingers turned bright red and swollen. I looked like I had sausage fingers!

I'm also trying to get into the Christmas spirit this year. We kinda missed Christmas last year with cross and going to Nationals. By the time we were home for a weekend it was Christmas, so it just kinda passed by quietly. So this year I've started getting out some of the decorations and strung some lights. Ah, so pretty.

When I was out the other day I saw this guy driving by. He's obviously in the Christmas spirit too.

On not as pleasant a note. We had to take Riley to the vet again. He had a tick, we pulled it off, he messed with it, it turned into a hot spot and then got infected. So now he's sporting the cone head look. He's actually on his 2nd cone now as he smashed his first one to smithereens. Watch out, he uses it as a battering ram!

When we were in the vets there were all kinds of pictures around the room. One was this flea. It looked normal at first until we notices they added people teeth to it. Check out those chompers!

Good luck to all those that are still out there racing! It was a great season. It was great seeing, racing and hanging out with everyone. Thanks for all the cheers and encouragement. It means so much.

2007-11-26T17:44:00.001-05:00

A Cube is Not a Box

I was talking to my sister the other day and in the course of the conversation she mentioned the Wii system and commented how it's sold out all over. I said that I had just spoken to a woman that found them online on Friday, so they may still have them. I told her it was called Pandora's Box.

Today: I get a call from Jen double checking the name of the site before informing her co-worker. I again tell her it was definitely Pandora's Box.

Just now: received another call from Jen saying, "what are you trying to do to me!?"

Me: "what?"

Jen: "I gave that site to my co-worker, my 60 year old woman co-worker. Which she pulled up at work and she started freaking out saying, 'oh my, oh my I can't click on any of this.' I figured she must have entered it in wrong so I pulled it up on my work computer only to find out it's some sort of child fetish website!"

Me: "ha ha ha ha ha, oops, sorry. I could have sworn that's what it was called. It was Pandora's something."

Jen: "yeah I found it, Pandora's Cube."

Me: "well that's kinda like a box."

Sorry Jen!

2007-11-16T13:17:00.000-05:00

Going Nuts Over Nuts

Last night we went to the grocery store. It was a Thursday night so we figured it'd be slow, we'd get in, get what we need and get out. Painless right? Yeah, not so much. First we get there and everything is moved around. They changed their entire floor plan, so I couldn't find anything. Normally I can skip the aisles I don't need and go directly to what I do. But with everything moved I had to go up and down each aisle, making sure we weren't missing anything.
Then Amy texted me. Normally I go to the store by myself, so I'll text her back while shopping. No big deal. But Marc was already impatient with me wandering around, so he gave me a hard time and told me to do it later. So I put my phone away and kept shopping.
Finally we were at check out. There were a few open, so I picked the one with the least amount of people and got in line. I began unloading the cart and about half way through I realized the belt hadn't moved. I looked up and saw the cashier moving in slow motion inspecting each item as she scanned it. I was like great, this is gonna take forever. At this Marc gives me a hard time and says to suck it up. If I can text while shopping, I can't complain that the cashier is slow. I agreed, but still wasn't happy.
Eventually it was our turn. She's talking to herself saying, "oh no look at all this, who is going to bag all this", with this real spacey expression. Marc heads down to the end and says he'll bag, she just needs to ring us up. She says ok. totally relieved. Again, she begins to move in slow motion inspecting each item as she scans. That is until she comes to the bulk nuts. I had 2 bags of nuts, in separate bags. She picks up the first bag and says, "what kind of nuts are these"? I tell her they are hazelnuts. She replies, "well I know they're acorns, but do you know how much they cost?". I told her no and again said they were hazelnuts. She turns to the girl at the next register, holding up the bag, and asks, "hey I don't know where to find these, I know they're acorns, but I can't find them listed". I said again, "that's because they are hazelnuts". The other cashier is just looking at her pissed off and says just look under nuts. She slowly turns to her screen and begins hitting buttons looking at the screen with wide eyes and gaping mouth. She then calls to another girl to come help her find the acorns. She comes over and tries to find them but can't. (Because they are not acorns!) Then the manager comes over and he takes the bag and says he'll be back he'll go check the price. She says ok, turns back to the register and shakes it off (she actually shakes) and then continues on. She picks up the next item and goes, "oh no, another bag of nuts. At least I know these are walnuts". At this I almost jump over the belt. I as calmly as I could reply, "no they are almonds". She just stares at me with a deer in the headlights looks. The other girl comes back over and says, hey, we'll just give you the shelled almonds price since we can't find the right one, and rings it up to $9.11 for almonds. Like she's doing me a favor. I again, trying to keep my composure say, "no, there's no way you're charging me for shelled almonds, they cost more. I'm not paying $9.00 for almonds". She says ok and takes it off. Luckily just then the guy comes back with the correct price and everything is rung up correctly.
It was an incredibly painful shopping experience.

2007-11-12T14:39:00.001-05:00

Hot Topic

I've never had much luck with Hot Balm in the past. It's never really worked for me regardless of how much Ive applied. And if it did work, it started working too late; like once I was home after a hot shower. So this year I got 'hot' instead of using Marc's 'mild'.
Saturday was a cold overcast day threatening rain, so I decided it'd be a great day to try out my new 'hot' Hot Balm. Thinking I'd have the same reaction as previously I slathered on an absorbent amount from upper thigh down to my ankle. Then I put on 2 layers of knee warmers to really work up a sweat.
As I went for my pre-ride and my I could feel the slight burn, but it was nice and not too hot. I abandoned one set of knee warmers for the race, and again, it felt good, not overwhelming. Then after the race I jumped in Tom's Sprinter to clean up my leg (which I bashed into the concrete coming off the beach, leaving behind some skin). I wasn't in there for more than a couple minutes before my legs started to burn, then burn quickly turned to a fiery pain. I cleaned up my leg quickly and disembarked. As soon as I hit the cool air, the pain eased. Problem was I had to sit in the car the whole way home. My upper body was freezing as we couldn't turn the heat on since my legs were on fire.
We stopped on the way home to pick up rubbing alcohol and witch hazel. Both which I've heard removes Hot Balm. So I rubbed and rubbed trying to remove as much as possible so I could take a hot shower. Once I figured all was good I got in the shower and slowly eased the water warmer and warmer. It felt good, not burning. Then I decided to shave. HA! What a mistake. The fire came back 10 fold and nothing made it subside for about an hour.
Sunday I used very little Hot Balm. It was much better.

Weekend results:
Saturday was Beacon. It was a cold and blustery day and I was still not feeling well. But what the hell, I raced anyway. Well, I was in a race. I'm not sure you can call what I did 'racing'. I basically bundled myself up, slathered on a ton of Hot Balm and had a nice ride in the park. Sunday went a little better. I was feeling a little more like my old self and had a little spunk back. Was able to fight it out a little and managed a respectable finish.

2007-11-09T08:26:00.000-05:00

Long Live the Rut!

Ok, I feel like I need to say more after my last post. Marc has been giving me a hard time all week. I didn't mean 'rut' in the way that I hate cross. I love cross. It's just a bit all consuming, that's all. I've had a huge break from it this week as I've been sick all week. As it turns out I miss my rut. I've been longing to get back out on the bike all week. I even tried one night, only to find that I had an endless supply of snot and mucus and my head was on fire. But hey, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger right. I sure hope so anyway as I was just checking out the weather for tomorrow's race, 40 and raining! Just keep moving forward.

2007-11-05T14:24:00.000-05:00

Cross Rut

I've been kinda in a funk lately. I wait all year for cross season and now that it's here and we're pretty much in the middle of it, I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. I feel like all I do is work, ride, eat and sleep. I know that's the way it goes and once it's over I'll be missing it all over again. But as for right now I'm feeling a little like I'm in a rut.
Last weekend, like many weekends lately I went to a cross race. Last Saturday was the Wayne Scott Memorial race at Fair Hill. It was a blustery, cold, overcast day. However, the course was pure beauty. I absolutely loved the course. It was fairly flat with false flats, some natural barriers, a short run up and a really long sand pit. Oh and did I mention about 50 billion turns. It was great. I wasn't feeling the sand pit at first. It was a lot of running and incredibly long, but it seemed to work to my advantage. Who knew I could run. It was great to have a course that was actually my style. I couldn't complain at all. I gave it my all and had a great race. Minus a few errors (like not paying attention and running off course) everything went well.
So today I'm back in my rut. Figuring out what I need to do each day, even though basically everyday is the same. Today is the one day I usually get out of my rut and go climbing. I love climbing but it has definitely taken a back seat to cross. Today I'm not going though as I feel a little under the weather. So I'm going to stay home and rest. Rut, rut, rut...

2007-10-22T14:08:00.001-05:00

Blunders and Bloopers

This past weekend was my first double weekend and the beginning of the MAC races. Day 1 was Granogue. I knew I was in trouble the night before. We had spent the afternoon taping the course in the pouring rain walking up and down hills. Probably not the best pre-race workout. Then my dinner got me sick and I didn't get to bed until late. Great. Saturday comes and the rain is gone. Only blue sky. That's a plus. I grabbed something to eat, tried to warm up, but my legs were wood. They refused my every attempt. So I raced on dead legs, had an absolutely horrible start and last lap and didn't even contest the sprint finish. Yup, that's bad. So I ended up getting 15th. Not horrible, but not what I wanted either. To make matters worse, once I checked the results and all looked good I went off to do what I needed to do. Apparently then there was a protest and they moved me all the back to 20th! I was not 20th. There were girls that continued to race after they were done and they protested the results. It's not my fault they didn't pay attention when the officials told them to stop, or the lap cards. So yeah I wasn't happy.

Then comes Sunday. I decided I'd use my anger for good and put it into Sunday's race. I knew it'd be a tough one as it was more wide open and not my style, but I was hell bent on having a better day than Saturday. I took off well from the start, then as I got into the sand I struggled something fierce. I didn't think much of it as it's sand and there wasn't a groove yet. On the other side Marc's yelling at me to stand up and 1 more gear. I kept thinking I don't have anymore as I'm mashing away. I'm loosing places quickly as everyone goes past me. I continue on, still struggling. I come around again into the sand pit, still struggling. That's when I hear Marc yell "get out of your big ring". Yeah, found my problem. I never shifted back down. I was mashing away with no more gears cause I never looked down to see that I was still in my big ring. I quickly shifted and took off. Now in last place I had a long way to catch back up. I started picking people off one by one. Then as I come through the start/finish going into my 4th lap I get lapped by the lead C guy. I throw up my hands and ask the officials what they want me to do. They waive me on. Luckily I made the cut to have one more lap. I passed 4 more girls and had another sprint finish where this time I gave it my all and it worked out. I ended up with 19th, which isn't great. But hey, I raced a hell of a race, so I'm ok with that.

Rotten Rob sporting some flora in his helmet.

Noodles.

This is the band that played at the race Sunday. Yup, a band played all day! It was awesome.

2007-10-15T13:10:00.000-05:00

Weekend Off
No racing this past weekend. Marc and I packed up and headed out to Portland, OR to see Erika and run around. She was awesome. She took us all over the place showing us all the cool things that is Oregon. We even went wine tasting one day. I don't like wine, but it was very interesting experience. Instead of saying I don't like wine, I can now I say that I don't like woody wines and dessert wines are ok. Really I prefer a Mojito, mmm.
Marc and I headed out to the beach to see the Pacific Ocean. Marc was thrilled at being able to say he touched the Pacific. He actually went out and stuck his hand in the frigid water. I felt seeing it was enough. It was a sight to see however. Very different from here. There were big rocks and the waves seemed to come in forever.
We saw some logging, that was sad. Everywhere was deep lush green forest and then you'd come across a huge patch where it was just stripped clean.
I did have to get a little work out in since we didn't have the bikes with us. One day we went climbing. It was a really cool gym in the heart of Portland. It was the middle of a Thursday afternoon and it was packed. Well, packed for a gym. Everyone was really nice. The holds were way worn, so it was very challenging. Saturday went for a run at Tabor Park. It's an old volcano, so it was quite hilly, with a million steps which Marc made me run over and over again.
Later Marc, Erika and I went out to a gorge, I forget the name. It was cut by the Columbia River. On one side of the Gorge was Oregon and Washington on the other. I could even see Mount Saint Helens. That was cool.
We went and hiked up the side of the gorge to the top of this huge waterfall. It was beautiful. Marc was making fun of me though because I took off strong at the bottom following the John Hopkins XC team who just happened to be out there. About half way up I died and staggered the rest of the way. Marc and Erika just laughed at me.
Overall beautiful trip. It was one of the most bike friendly places I've ever seen. There are bike paths everywhere and tons of commuters. So cool.

This was actually supposed to be a picture of the bike path, but by the time I shot the picture the riders were out of the frame.

2007-10-07T14:29:00.000-05:00

Bad Bad Day

Ok, I may go on a little rant here. Yesterday was Hagerstown. I already wasn't excited for this race. I didn't like it last year, so couldn't amped up for it this year. I will say the course was much better, besides being bumpier than hell. But the part that irritates me is my 40min race was practically cut in half as I was pulled at about 25min and I had only done 3 laps! I didn't even the extent of it until I got back to the car and checked my watch and saw that I should still have another 5min of racing left and I had already stopped had 2 conversation and was now changing. The reasoning behind it was we "the women" we towards the back end of the men's field and they were pulling the men because there were too many people on the course, so they pulled us too. Well let's just think about this reasoning for a moment. They're comparing pulling the back end of the men's field with pulling the entire women's field, mmm. Did they forget the fact that we're always towards the back end of the men's field? Or that we start 2min behind the men's field? And I've been pulled a lap short before because the leaders have come through and I've finished on their lap, 1 lap down. It's all good it happens. But this was beyond that. Who knows if those last couple laps would have changed my standing. The point is, I'll never know because I didn't get the chance to actually finish my race.

Rotten Rob blowing kisses.

Lisa and Betsy. Lisa raced her ass off. After a short detour she got back on course and made it back up to 2nd, Awesome!

2007-10-01T13:43:00.000-05:00

This is Marc. Also known as Fat Marc or Faticus. He's around 5'10", longish brown hair, big sideburns, usually styling some sort of baggy shorts/pants, t-shirt and probably a hat. Oh and also he's my husband.

This is Soupie. He's around Marc's height, longish brown hair, big wolfing sideburns, also styling baggy shorts, t-shirt and a hat. He is not my husband.

Problem is, when I'm not paying attention these two look awful alike.

Let me explain. Yesterday was Lilly Ponds. After my race, I hung out in the pits all afternoon watching the races, cheering people, helping out when needed, while snapping some pictures here and there. By the last race of the day, I was very tired and very hot, I had shot as many pictures as I wanted to and didn't feel like carrying the camera anymore. So I figured I'd hand the camera off to Marc to put in his pocket. Meanwhile everyone was still very intently watching a close race between Wes and Jeremiah. So I wander over to where Marc had been standing, and look at his pocket thinking I'll just slip it in and not bother him. I notice however that he has something metal hooked on his pocket. I didn't recognize what it was and just stared at it for a moment. Then I grabbed it and pulled it out because I didn't want it to scratch the screen on the camera. As I'm pulling it out, I ask "hey, what is this"? I did get a response, however not from Marc. I looked up and realized it was Soupie. Yeah, I was in Soupie's pocket. Nice huh. I about died. I apologized all over the place, then took the camera to Marc, the real Marc, and looking him in the face, handed off the camera for him to hold. I told Marc what happened, he just laughed at me. Soupie was a good sport as well.
Sorry Soupie!

2007-09-24T08:37:00.000-05:00

Do You Need Directions To The Pain Cave?

If so I have them. I spent a lot of time there yesterday.
I've been a little apprehensive about this first race. I wasn't sure where I was in ways of fitness and where everyone else would be. I've been riding, but I can't gauge myself by those I ride with. They're all so fast and I'm always at the back. They always give me positive feedback and are very considerate, saying "you're doing great monkey, and we can't go until monkeys ready". Don't get me wrong, I love riding with them, but that doesn't tell me where I am with my own peers.
So yesterday was the season opener in Charm City. The women's field was huge. We had 27 starters. That's awesome to see so many women come out. But also more pressure. There don't seem to be any slackers in cross. I suppose it hurts too much to just do it on a whim.
We lined up and I got a good spot. Christina bumped me on the line and says smiling, " you just make sure you go fast". As she was lined up behind me. We take off and I tapered my start a little. I wasn't exactly sure where I was going as I didn't hear the instructions on the prologue loop. We're on the course and the dust is flying and my mouth is gritty and dry. It's hot and there's no water feeds. Ugh! I keep going. Me and Laura (her 1st cross race ever) are battling back and forth for several laps. I'm having to race the entire time. More Ugh! I start to get close to a couple of girls up ahead. Marc is cheering me on giving me updates on where people are. I catch one, but me and Laura are still going back and forth. Marc tells me I have one lap to go, I need to take off. I question him, the lap cards say 2, he assures me no, it's only 1, the lead C guy came around. I put it all out there. We're still battling. I start too see Doran. I chased her all last year. I can't quite catch her though. As I'm coming around, thinking I'm about to finish Marc tells me I have 1 more, he was wrong before. I about died inside. I hurt so bad and now I had to do another one. I kept going. Marc rode next to me outside the tape trying to encourage me and keep me moving. I was in such pain. I put so much out the lap previously and here I was still racing. I kept going though. Right towards the end I managed to catch Doran. I was about to die, but I had to keep going. I knew she wasn't going to let me go easily. Marc is again beside me trying to get me to stand up and sprint. All I wanted to do was hurl. But I kept on. I ended up keeping my place as I crossed the line. Doran stopped after she finished and says "so me and you again this year huh". We both just smiled.

Yesterday was so fun. We all now have the first race behind us. It was an awesome day. There was a great turn out and everyone did awesome. Marc and Ethan won their races. They were both ecstatic. Wes got 2nd behind one of the Italians, awesome job! Dan got 4th, behind the other Italian. Morgan and Lisa got 4th in their races. I ended up with 9th, yeah, top 10! I'm happy. I know I'm missing all kinds of people. Everyone did really well. Great job to everyone!

2007-09-18T14:04:00.000-05:00

I Think I'm a Hypocrondriac. I Hope.

Let me explain. I sit in a closed office building all day long as most people do. I don't know why they can't make them with windows that open. Probably something about a controlled environment or something. Anyway, we're now heading into that time of year when people start getting sick and as it happens the woman that sits in the desk next to me is sick. She's been caughing and sneezing and blowing her nose for 2 days now. I keep urging her to call her doctor, or better yet, go home. But yet she stays.
I've been doing my best to steer clear of her. But there's not much to do when there's only a thin partitian between us. I've washed my hands a million times. I'm careful not to touch my eyes or mouth. Yet as I sit there and listen to her, I start feeling worse. My nose starts running. I've blown it a couple times and wonder, "is it allergies or am I catching her cold?". Then I think my throat is getting sore. I go in search of Airborne. I take my vitamins. I start feeling my head for a fever. I feel closterphobic with all the contained germs flying around with no excape. I find myself holding my breathe when I hear her sneeze or cough. Like that's going to save me from catching it. I call Marc and tell him I'm not feeling well. I start to panic. Finally she goes home. But I'm left trapped with the contamination.
Now I'm home. I'm breathing more freely. I'm going to go for a run and see how it works out.

2007-08-29T16:03:00.000-05:00

Only Me

Ok, this happened last weekend. But I still it's still worth telling. Last weekend we attended a wedding in Philly. After the ceremony we headed to the reception where there were cocktails, dinner and dancing. The dancing area was in a foyer. It was a large space with some small tables around the sides to sit or drop some stuff on. We (me and Marc, his 3 brothers, their wives and his parents) had taken over one table. We piled all our stuff on it as we moved about.
All was good until I leaned on the table. I was a little tired and watching something so I leaned back on the table and felt the table move, just slightly. So I stood back upright. A few minutes later I leaned again, only to feel the table move again. At this point I felt the table needed further investigation as I didn't remember it being on wheels. I turned around and put 1 finger on the table and pushed it, expecting it to roll. Yeah, that's not what happened. As soon as I pushed on the table the one side went crashing to the floor. This caused all of its contents, including a couple candles in which had been burning for hours, several purses, wraps, and about a dozen or so of filled or empty glasses, to go flying. The table completely collapsed. It made a loud noise, not to mention all the screams as people were covered in drinks and hot wax. Yeah, I caused a scene.
Shortly after Marc walks back over to see the chaos and asks what happened. I tell him the table collapsed. He asks who did it. I say me. He just looks at me and shakes his head.

2007-08-20T15:55:00.000-05:00

I love cross. I love cross. I love cross.

Usually I can't wait for Spring. Everything comes back to life, the sun shines a litter longer and it slowly starts to warm back up. Also, it's because it brings on Summer. My favorite season. I love Summer and usually never want it to end. It goes by so fast and before you know it, it's gone.
This year was no exception. Except, I kept finding my mind wandering to Fall and cross season. As June approached it got stronger. By July it was unbearable so I went out for a run. Yeah, that only happened once. So hot, and way to far off to put myself through that kind of torture. Yet, my mind still lingered.
Last week Marc took my wheels in to get glued. It's getting close! Went out and tooled around on my cross bike. Not quite the same as a mountain bike. I found this out quickly as I sped down the the normally very smooth mtb trail, only to touch the brakes, then grab them, then to white knuckle them while screaming and swerving just in time to avoid a tree. Yeah, that's when I remembered cross brakes are to scrub speed, not to actually stop. Ugh! That was a close one. It'll take me a bit to get myself back to used to it. But it'll come.
One more month!

2007-08-14T13:40:00.000-05:00

Frisbee Love

Brought home this giant Frisbee from OR. Marc laughed at me, but I knew Riley and Layla would love it.Riley usually let's Layla have her way, but not today.
Layla's so excited she's practically flying back to me to have it thrown again. (notice not one foot is touching the ground)

2007-08-13T10:45:00.000-05:00

SLC

After a great night watching Dave, Amy and I headed home to finish packing and lay down for all of 2 hours before heading to the airport. I call it lay down because is 2 hours really a nights sleep? Anyway we headed off to Salt Lake City, Utah to see Marc finally and bomb around the Outdoor Retailers show. After a very sketchy plane ride we arrived safely in Utah to find a very ill Marc. That sucked. But it was great to see him none the less as it had been 17 days since I had seen him. He was off riding from Portland to Salt Lake City for the Conservation Alliance while I was home working. Somehow I think he got the better end of that deal. Mmmm, after the bike trip was over for him, he still had to work the show for a week, so that's we headed out to visit him and hang out.

Brey-la-la and I spent Thursday running all over the show. It was crazy. It was held in this giant convention center in downtown SLC. It was like a giant mall of everything you like. Only thing is, you can only look, you can't buy (tons of swag though). Every possible outdoor type thing was there. It was great. We went into sensory overload.

Friday we headed out to Park City. Figured we'd get out of the city and into the mountains and do some riding. Oh and mountains they were. First we had to rent bikes, no problem finding them, just some problems getting them set up and they were tanks. Then we got a map and took off up the trail. I say up the trail instead of on the trail because that's what it was. The trail head was a very steep climb, which leveled out a little into a lesser degree, but still quite steep and we just kept going up and up. It was never ending. We switch backed a zillion times onto steeper and less steep sections, but still climbing none the less. At one point we passed a woman on her way down and I asked if we were near the top. She just looked at me with this look of utter exhaustion and amusement and laughed and kept going. I thought this was a bad sign, but proceeded on.

Then a couple guys came from behind and Amy took off with them. I was with them shortly as they were catching a breather, but then off they'd go and I'd be alone, climbing. At the next trail break they were waiting for me and Amy says they're headed to SLC and they'll drive us back. It's an 18 mile downhill into the town, all we have to do is get to the top. I reluctantly say ok, but warn them I'm going really slow as the elevation was kicking my ass, besides me not used to climbing this much. We take off again. Now we have to head up a very steep power line trail with loose rocks. I couldn't even ride, I had to get off and hike. At this point I was beyond hurting to pure pain and misery as I was breathing to almost the point of hyperventilation just trying to get some oxygen. We later found out we were above 10,000 feet. Yeah, since I live around maybe 500 ft above sea level, 10,000 was not good.

I get to another break, Amy waits with me and stays with me from here out. We are still climbing, up and up. We finally get off the power line and head into another set of trails, still climbing. As we reach a clearing, and the top of a ski lift I look up and see we still quite a bit to go to the top. There was no way I could go up anymore. I told Amy. She was disappointed, but agreed to head back as we had lost our guides by this point as well. At this point I finally asked her what time it was was to find out how long we had climbed. I try not to look at time as it just messes with my head. Turns out we climbed for 2 hours! Amy climbed a little less time as she had to stop and wait for me numerous times. But 2 hours of climbing, that's insane! We turned around and then headed back down. Only took us about 45min to get back down. It was beautiful. I did get to look around more on our decent as I could finally breath. We met a really nice woman out on the trail with her 2 dogs. She races road hill climbs. More insanity!

Here is where I can finally see the top of the mountain. Also the point where turned around as I realize there's no way I can get up there.
This is only part of the way up, way near the begining. That little town we're looking down on is Park City (and where we sterted).

Friday night we all went to the Keen party in SLC and they premiered a clip of the Conservation Alliance documentary of the trip Marc was on. It was cool. Saturday back to the show and more swag, then after the show was the Bouldering Championships up on top a parking garage. It was really neat to watch.

This is inside OR. These dogs are sporting life vests and fetching all kinds of water toys.

2007-08-07T14:11:00.000-05:00

DMB

I'm going to see Dave Matthews tonight with Brey-la-la. I'm so excited! Most people I know don't really care for him. Some actually cringe at the thought. But I like him. He puts on a great show.

2007-08-06T14:05:00.000-05:00

Funny Business In The Woods

Got up early and met up with Ethan and Jan for a ride at Iron Hill. I don't usually ride there due to all the creepy people that lurk in the parking lots and woods looking for hook ups. But with the race coming up, that's where people are riding, so I figured what the hell, I'll be with people.
Lap 1. Rode with Ethan and Jan. I felt bad as I wasn't having a particularly great day and was kinda dragging ass. Jan on the other hand was feeling spunky. So as we were about to head out for another lap I decided I'd go off by myself and just do part of the lap as I had to pull off soon to get home.
Lap 2. All is good for the first couple sections. Ride them cleanly, knowing the lines I want this time. Then as I am coming up tissue trail, all by myself, I spot 2 guys on the side of the trail. One is facing away from me and standing with his hands over his head like he's being frisked. The other has his pants around his knees, holding his junk, staring right at me the whole time as I ride by. He's didn't even try to pull his pants up or cover himself. Let's just say I was a little taken back by this. I didn't say anything, not even hi. I mean really, what do you say?
I got back to the car and luckily there were several cyclists there. This made me feel better. I got my stuff together and went home. That was enough Iron Hill for me.

2007-08-03T14:08:00.000-05:00

It's a Mouse?

I was driving home this afternoon and I saw this. Bug people are crazy. I know it's a company car, but still, it has ears and a tail.

2007-08-02T19:52:00.000-05:00

It's Way To Hot For This

The other day I went for a road ride by myself. I intended to do a short ride, little climbing, nothing too strenuous as it was brutally hot outside. I take off and somehow decide that heading down 273 would be a nice change of pace as I always go any other direction but that one. So as I hit the first hill with no warm up, it hurts a little. Then the second hill, still not warmed up, other than boiling due to the heat, and I grind up it. I head into Newark for a change of pace. Then decide to take Creek Road as it will be shaded. Unfortunately that's 2 more climbs. At this point I realize I've done a little more effort than I had anticipated so I would start working my way home. I cut through campus to avoid major roads, also more shade. Just as I pull back out of a neighborhood I'm right in front of a big pack of riders. Great. I glanced their direction and didn't recognize anyone. I get caught by the next light. mmm I could turn around and say hi, but no one pulled up beside me, so I don't. Yeah I know, antisocial. The light turns green and I go on my way. A little faster than normal, but nothing crazy. I get to the next intersection and look back to check for cars and the group is right behind me. Ugh. It's green so I keep going. I figure they are just finishing up their ride and heading back to their cars. But just in case I pick it up a notch. I get the next light, but don't want to look back. So I pick it up a little more. I'm moving along and all is good until I turn straight into a big head wind. Yuck. I look back and no one is in sight. I figure they must have pulled off and finished up already. I grind on into the head wind. Get to the next turn and I hear voices behind me. I glance back and damn if they aren't right there. I couldn't believe it. Well I could. It's not like I can't be caught. But they were no where to be seen last I looked. I had a huge gap and then they were back on my ass. So I threw down again and just laid it all out. I knew I had 2 big straights before the next couple climbs. If they were going to catch me it would be on one of the climbs. So I figured I'd put as much distance between us as possible. Somehow I managed to hold them off. They never caught me before I pulled off. I know they could have caught me if they really wanted too. And I'm not really sure why it mattered whether they did. But for some reason it did, so I drilled it and about killed myself. I don't know why I do these things.

2007-08-02T19:33:00.000-05:00

The last couple of weeks have been so busy in a really weird way. Mostly because I've been working constantly. Today was day 10 in a row. 2 more days and I finally get a day off. I can't wait.
I will say it is self inflicted. I swapped a weekend with someone else so I could have the weekend off that Harry Potter came out so I could read. So that caused me to work a double last weekend. And I could have had comp time during the week, but I chose to take one of the days the Friday the book came out and then Monday so I could finish reading. Then we're in August now and it just happened I ended up scheduled to work this Saturday. So put all that together and I get 12 days in a row of non stop work. Oh joy!
But hey, I was able to go get my ticket Friday morning that enabled me to get a great place in line to get my book at midnight. Then I read for pretty much the next 3 days to finish it. I'm such a slow reader it's ridiculous. This may sound a little obsessive. However, it's more that I hate spoilers. I can't stand when I hear the end of something before I get to see it for myself. So unfortunately, with a ton of spoilers lurking at every turn, that caused me to have to read the book fairly quickly so that I could know before I heard. Overall, not a bad ending. I just couldn't believe all the people she killed. She killed about everyone. I will not say anymore in case anyone reading this hasn't read it for themselves.

2007-07-17T14:18:00.000-05:00

Big Hills with Big Bush

Sunday was Fair Hill. It's right in my backyard. But I just wasn't feeling it. So I wished the guys good luck and took off on the road. It was a sweltering day. One of the roads I wanted was closed and I took a really awful way to work my way around it. I haphazardly weaved all around Newark coming to an intersection, thinking "I don't want to go that way, that has a big climb". Only to go the other and realize it was a bigger one. I was sweating so bad it was pouring out of my helmet and into my eyes. My hands were so slippery it was hard to hold on to the bars. On my way home I decided I just wanted to be home, so instead of taking the longer more gradual climb home, I bit the bullet and went down the belly of the beast and did the 273 climbs.
To describe it better, 273 has a long false flat, then a deep valley that you have to climb out of and then a second smaller valley, which you also have to climb out of. So I don't choose this option unless I'm feeling extra spunky and up for a challenge, or like Sunday when I just didn't want to be on my bike for another minute and just wanted to get home the shortest distance possible.
The false flat was fine. There was a head wind, but it actually felt good in the heat. Then into the valley. Just as I'm started to head back up the other side I hear screeching breaks beside me. I turn to see Big Bush on the mountain bike, number plate and all. He turns and smiles and says "is this part of the course?". Very surprised, I tell him no, he was way off course. Still smiling he explains that he had pulled out and was headed back to the fair grounds. We chatted the whole way back.
Oh, it hurt so bad to climb and chat trying to make it seem like it didn't hurt. He was funny and nice, so it was all good. As we are just about up the first climb he says, "I thought once I pulled out of the race I wouldn't have to do any more climbing". I laughed.

2007-07-10T19:20:00.001-05:00

Up & Down

Last night we went climbing and we finally top-roped. I was paying very close attention on how to tie my knots and do everything correctly. The last thing I want to do is fall or have something fail. Then the guy says, "yeah, you don't have to worry about that knot failing, the rope will snap way before that knot will be an issue". Nice.
Upon returning home we walked in to a pack of CO2 cartridges in the middle of the floor. I thought this was odd. Why would the dogs get into them? Then I remembered what else was in that section of my bike bag, Hammer Gel! I checked my bag and my entire case of Raspberry Hammer Gel was missing. I looked in the living room and there sat the empty box. This morning Marc found the wrappers. Layla (we're guessing) had taken them upstairs to enjoy in the comfort of a nest she made out of a pile of Marc's clean clothes he had on the bed. They're not so clean now.

2007-07-10T19:13:00.000-05:00

Only a couple days left to pre-order "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows". I finally pre-ordered mine. I've been such a slacker. I was going to just wait and pick it up on Saturday. But I'm so paranoid I won't find it. For book V we just stopped at Walmart (after going to several other places and it being sold out) and they had a huge stack. But I heard they're now taking pre-orders too. So to be on the safe side, I've pre-ordered.

2007-07-08T08:12:00.000-05:00

Twilight Crit

Last night we went up to West Chester for the Twilight Crit. This is always a good evening. Luckily it wasn't as hot as last year, which made it much more pleasurable. Ran into a ton of people and some we hadn't seen in quite some time. Which is always nice. We walked around to different vantage points as the racers zoomed by.

2007-07-08T07:08:00.000-05:00

Just Breathe

It's early Saturday morning and we are running late to get out for a ride. I'm grabbing pieces as I run out the door. No time to clean out my Camelbak, so I grab a bottle & a cage I'll have to install before taking off. As we pull into the lot we see Buddy, Rob, and John have already arrived and are waiting for us. I also take note, their cars are no where in sight. Mmm, this means they rode here, so they're warmed up and I'll be starting cold. Ok, no problem, this is a mellow ride and we're starting off on double track, so I'll be ok.
We park, start getting everything together, and Marc realizes he's forgotten his shoes. He's slightly frustrated at having to have to run back home, but says he'll meet us on the far side of the park in about a half hour and takes off. Buddy in turn says, "wow, that's not going to give us much time". Oh crap, this isn't great for me.
I get myself together, install the water bottle cage, Buddy adjusts my breaks for me, saying I'll be faster now that I'm not dragging breaks the whole time. Yeah, cause that's my problem. hee hee. I do thank him because it has been driving me crazy listening to it drag, which every time I complained Marc would tell me, "they're disc brakes, that's what you get". He hates disc brakes.
We take off. We're going at a nice clip, but I'm ok. We hit the singe track, still not too bad. I'm hanging in there. They've got me up front, Buddy riding second wheel, then Rob, then John. They are talking amongst themselves telling stories. I'm just trying to keep my pace up. We cross over into Middlerun and Buddy asks me where I'm headed. I say left. He tells me to go right, it's more direct. I tell him it's more climbing that way, it'll take me longer. He insures me I'll be fine. I go right. I get bogged down a little but it's not so bad. Then we hit the church climb. The roll up it like it's nothing. I'm grinding away behind them. We reach the parking lot where Marc is waiting, he looks at me and says, "wow, were you guys hauling". As I stand there panting, Buddy casually says "no, not really". Then he turns to me and tells me to lead off.
We continue on, up one hill down another. It's a beautiful day, but I'm definitely working my butt off as they all talk casually behind me. At one point Buddy ask, "Diane, are you ok, you've been really quiet today". I just reply "I'm just trying to breathe". At this they laugh.
In all it was a beautiful day, and a great ride. Everyone is always very nice, and no one ever tells me I need to go faster or that I'm too slow. This is all pressure I put on myself. It took me a year to get back in shape enough that I could even ride with people again (even if it is on their slow days) so I don't want to screw it up. So I go out and pound away. Hey, it only makes me stronger.
Thanks for the ride guys! Even though it may not always look like it, I have fun every time!

2007-07-05T14:27:00.000-05:00

Far Far Away

I finally figured out how to get pictures off my phone that were texted to me. Sorry Fitzy, I didn't figure this out before I deleted the bikini pictures.

Below are some pictures of Brey-la-la's trip to Washington. Aren't they beautiful! I had to cancel my trip last year, so I'm living vicariously through her.

Olympic Peninsula, off the coast of Washington state

Mossy Rain Forrest

Rainbow in the Mossy Rain Forrest

2007-07-02T14:00:00.000-05:00

Marysville

Oh where to start. Marc, Fitzy and I headed up Friday afternoon so we could set up prior to the night time trial. We camped in same poison ivy field as last year. It's actually a great location, it's separated from the parking lot, but you can get your car there and it's shaded. Unfortunately it's also swimming with poison ivy. So you want to wear shoes and watch where you sit things.
After setting up camp, we headed down to registration where Marc caused much confusion by registering under the name Marcus Faticus (they were not amused). Then I registered as a last minute decision. This is basically my first sport race in about a billion years. I raced a small one last year due to it being one 4 mile lap for Beginner or three 4 mile laps for Sport. So I figured what the hell, 4 miles isn't worth getting dirty for, so I raced Sport. I got DFL, but all was good. I had at least one woman in my sights almost the entire race, so it wasn't a blow out.
This past weekend, I wasn't as lucky. I knew the course wasn't to my strengths. 10 billion logs, but I've been really working on them and since Sewell was cancelled I figured what the hell.Off the start, error number 1. Take off like a bat out of hell and forget about the second rise before the woods and blow up. Ok, it's a problem, but still the beginning. I Collect myself and move on. I can still see the field in front of me. I start bobbling over the logs, one after another I'm getting more and more frustrated, but I'm still moving forward. I can still see the other women, but the gap is growing. Then I come across a guy being carried out of the woods. Yeah, this doesn't boost my confidence, but I proceed. Finally I recognize something positive. I'm climbing better than I had the previous year. Then I hit the tight twisty stuff. That section was great. I felt like I was back home riding Crack Head Bob. Finally I can see some women again, I'm gaining some ground. I keep going, plugging on. Then comes lap two. I'm riding a lot more of the logs. I'm enjoying myself. Then I realize I was concentrating so much on what I was riding, I wasn't racing anymore. Crap! I inadvertently noodled in the middle of the race, what's with that? I continue on, by now I'm way off the back. I can see some women at some cross sections, but they're way ahead by now. I finish as the Experts are starting, I didn't even get to cross the line. Yeah I suck. I finished 11 min off of the rest of the pack. Yikes! Oh well. It was a nice day out in the woods.

In addition: Marc had to pull out of the XC on Sat due to boo-boo belly. But did awesome Friday night during the time trial getting 16th overall.
Brey La-La did the TT and the Endurance Race, getting 2nd in both. Talk about two ends of the spectrum. An all out sprint and then an endurance race, all within a 24hr timeframe, wow.
Wes the conqueror sure has been living up to his name with yet another win on Sat.
Ethan won both the TT and his race Sat.
John got 2nd in the XC.
Jamie got 2nd, Andrew 4th and Fitzy 11th all in the endurance race on Sat. And I just want to point out all these guys raced the 12 hour last weekend! No rest for the weary. Great job to all!

Here's me off the front at the start. Why? I don't know.
Marc was on the side telling me to pace myself, but I don't listen. Hardheaded.

My pretty leg after all my really crappy attempts at some logs. Pedals are so unforgiving. I should just take my chances with the logs.

2007-06-25T15:47:00.000-05:00

Cranky Monkey

Yesterday was the 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey. Oooh where to start. Saturday morning everyone convened at our house to pack as much as we could into the trailer and approximately 5 cars to head down to Quantico. Instead of packing with the when in doubt leave it out strategy, we went with everything but the kitchen sink one instead.

Once down on the base, we took off for a pre-ride of the course. We quickly got separated into two groups. Me being in the later of the two. We strolled along at a nice pace, and whenever I'd start to grind a little too much, Marc would tell me to shift down and save my legs. Fitzy got a flat so we stopped for that and we rested st the top of climbs. I started and stopped my watch when I remembered, trying to get a estimated lap time. Upon returning Amy looked at me and said, "so what do you think of the course"? I smiled and said I really liked it. With a surprised look, she said "really, even with all that climbing"? I said it didn't look that bad. It was a nice mix. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

Skip ahead to race day. I raced a 3 man co-ed with Marc and Rotten Rob. Our strategy was to get an early lead by Having Rob start, then Marc a double, then Rob again, and then me before we went straight rotation. I sat and rested and ate a bunch fueling up. Nerves started to gt to me as I waited to go. I've always been 2nd during endurance races because I like to get it over with. To be set to go out on the 5th lap was more than my stomach could handle and things went south really quickly. Finally it was my turn. It was hot, my gut was a mess, we were now in 1st place and it was my turn. Yikes! Rob comes in and I I'm off. I take off up the 1st climb, then a fast flat section, then the 2nd climb, then 3rd and 4th, all fast sections in between. Oh crap no recovery. Andrew had come up on me and we rode back and forth for a while before he left me on the power climb. I keep going. I remember from the prior day where I am and vaguely how much is left. In the last 2 miles of the lap I get passed by a guy. No big deal, guys pass me all the time, until I see he's in our class. Oh crap, now I've lost our lead. Somewhere inside I dug deep to keep him within my sights. I flew along thinking, wow I can't believe I'm going this fast, but on the same hand, wow I'm going to pay for this later. And I did.

He got away, but not by much and Marc got them next lap. Unfortunately I entered the land of what Marc would probably call Zombie these days. I went back to the compound and cleaned up and tried to get myself together and eat. As I shovel down food my stomach is still very volatile. I feel comatose. I just can't get clear. I'm in a haze I can't escape. Marc and Rob both rocked great laps, then my turn. I went out as before. Consistency, that's what's key. Fell apart a little but pulled a respectable lap. 3 min slower than my first. I feel the haze getting worse. I can't bring myself to eat. I didn't even want to clean up. I was so hot. Tom followed me around until I agreed to let him pour cold water on my head to cool me down. I finally agreed. It did help, but still I felt hazy. After prodding from Marc and Tom I got some food down. Got ready and went out for my last lap.
Nothing like knowing it's going to be your last lap. It hurts so bad, but I just keep telling myself, it's ok, it'll be over soon, this is the last time I have to ride this. And I push on. Pulled a better time that was back equal to my first. So not too shabby.

We ended up getting 2nd place by I believe about 9min. We all rode our hearts out and did an awesome job. Marc did great and was in Marc mode (man on a mission). Rob was really awesome. He was able to remain jovial throughout. He smiled all day. And he pulled consistently great times.

In addition:

Wes & Matt and Jan and Blair both raced 2 man open men. Wes & Matt pulled an incredible 7 laps each. I believe at one point I remember Matt saying that he was concerned about his teammate choice as now he was going to have to work his ass off, which he did. They ended up winning their category by a lap. Way to go both of you!

Jan and Blair got 2nd. At one point Jan comes walking back over to the compound and is looking way too fresh. I asked why he was back. He said apparently Blair did a super fast lap and just took off for another one. He just sat there in a chair completely kitted up, helmet and all. His expression was great.

Ethan & Mayhew and Bob & Buddy raced in the singlespeed class. Ethan and Chris getting first and Bob and Buddy 2nd. Awesome job guys!

Buddy did 6 laps to Bob's unexpected 7 laps. I'll say unexpected because as I was waiting to go out for my final lap, Bob was walking around smiling saying how he only had 1 lap left. We all did the math and told him he'd have 2, but he was adamant about it, so we didn't say anymore. 5 minutes before the cut off in comes Buddy and Bob had to go out for his 7 lap. I didn't see him prior, but I'm guessing he wasn't as happy as the last time I saw him. They did great!

Amy "Brey-La-La" and Jamie raced co-ed duo. I'm not sure how many laps they both ended up doing, but they were both well spirited and worked their asses off throughout. They won their class. Yeah!

Levi, Andrew and Fitzy all raced the solo class. I didn't really see them all day, except for the little while Andrew and I rode together, which was really nice. Levi got 1st, Andrew for 5th (a double flat on his last lap), and Fitzy got 5th in singlespeed solo.

Meghan and Tom took care of everyone at the main tent, while Jenny tended to the solo riders over at the solo tent. They were all key as always as they were always right there willing to help out, being forever pleasant and never complaining. Tom even with a concussion and a trip to the ER worked his butt off for everyone. Thank you to everyone! I can't say enough.

2007-06-22T07:23:00.000-05:00

Pink Problem

A couple of months ago I started messing around in the cave when climbing. At first it took everything I had to just keep myself actually having both hands and both feet attached to something upside down without falling off. Then slowly I tried moving around grabbing anything I could so I could still stay glued to the ceiling. After a while I actually started a problem, the pink problem. This problem starts on the back wall of the cave, then goes along the ceiling until you reach the outer lip, then you have to get out, up and over the top and top out. Sounds easy right, ha ha ha ha.

So I've been working on this problem little by little. Each time we climb I give it a couple shots, work on different pieces of it. Then about 2 weeks ago I had a breakthrough. I started a quarter of the way in and I finally completed the problem. This is the first time I was able to actually get out and over the top. I was so happy. So I decided to work on the first part again so I could put it all together. This is when I learned that they were shortly taking it down and rerouting it. Oh no!

This has been a work in progress for so long, I couldn't loose it now. So I asked when they were taking it down and tried to talk them into leaving it up a little longer. I had 1 week. This past week we manged to go fairly regularly. Each time I worked diligently on the pink problem. Knowing it was coming down any day. I finally managed get through the beginning without putting my feet down. Then I made from the start all the way to the lip. But by the time I got there I was so tired I couldn't top out. Afterwards I just layed on the mat waiting until my Popeye arms deflated so I could try again.

Last night was my last shot. My shoulders were already sore before even starting. My hands immediately stung as I grabbed the first hold. Probably from overuse, but hey, one last shot. I am now able to make it through the first part smoothly. Knowing exactly there I need to pivot and reposition. I tangled up for a moment in the middle just trying to collect myself as my hands seared with pain. But on I moved. From one hold to the next. As I reached the lip my arms felt like tight bands. They didn't want to give anymore. I tried to just push through. I got my feet over to the wall and I fumble. I forgot where I needed to go. As I try to figure it out, my fingers give out. Down I came. Damn!

I tried a couple of moves right from the end to figure out where I went wrong. It only took a moment to see my mistake. But it was too late. My muscles were too fatigued. The pink problem has eluded me. It will be gone by the next time I am able to get up there. I am sad, but I gave it my all & came so close.

This is an old picture of me in the cave. Back when we still had the beatiful red right hand hold. It was taken down and replaced with a very slippery blue one, which caused me and Racheal much grief for a long time.

2007-06-16T06:39:00.001-05:00

Ooops

Last night Ethan, Meghan, Amy, Marc and I headed up to Wilmington for the Italian Festival. Parking is always a treat in the city, and we were in 3 separate cars, so we decided we'd drop off 2 of the cars at Amy's and then all pile into one and head on over. By the time I got to Amy's Marc and I had to pee really badly. So Amy let us in while Ethan waited for us. When I was done, I skipped outside (yes I skipped, I was feeling nice) and over to the red car waiting in the street and preceded to get in. That is when I noticed this wasn't Ethan's car. It was another red car. Just then the Grotto's pizza delivery guy walks over laughing saying, "you're friends car is around the corner". Oooops.
Later in the evening after partaking of some food and beverage it was time to pee again. Me and Amy headed over to the port-o-pots. There were numerous people standing around, but I couldn't tell if they were actually in line. Amy didn't care and preceded to go over to the nearest one that was green and pull open the door wide open, all the while looking at me because I'm saying I don't think you can just go in, these people might be waiting. She's looking at me laughing, not paying attention to what lay inside the port-o-pot. I then start saying "no, Amy no, you can't". Only she thinks it's because she butted, then the door slips out of her hand, only for her to rip it open a second time, while I'm still saying no. Finally she looks inside and realizes there's a guy inside taking a wiz.

2007-06-11T15:21:00.000-05:00

Stupid 50

Went out to State College this past weekend for the Stupid 50. I had no plans to race it. I just tagged along with Marc, Matt, Buddy and Fitzy who all did race. Wes's parents so kindly put us up for the night. So that was really cool of them.

Shortly after arriving we grabbed a bite and headed off to ride some of the course. I had expressed my concern to Wes as I knew it was rocky and basically they scare me. He assured me I'd be fine and we headed off.As we drove in further and deeper into the forest (yes forest, not woods) it got hillier and hillier (mountains really). My concern grew, but I kept an open mind. Our ride started out up a long dirt road which turned into an 18 min climb for me. Yeah, by now my concern was really monstrous. I thought my head was going to pop off. Then we went into the woods. Immediately there were rocks, then wet rocks, then moss covered wet rocks. Before long I was walking. I started saying, "maybe you should point me back and you guys can keep going". But they said "it'll get better, just needed to relax. It's just a quick ride". 10 miles, 2 hours, about a bazillion "oh my's" and some other choice words, numerous more climbs and many more rocks, and me and Fitzy almost getting lost and we were finally done.

State College whooped my ass and I didn't even race!Sunday I went around with Ryan, his mom and Nancy. It was great being with someone who knew the area. Ryan would check the map and we'd take off to another spot just as the lead men were coming through. I have to hand it to everyone that did that race. It was brutal. Wes did awesome, he got 3rd overall and won the singlespeed class finishing in 4.5 hours! Matt was next to come in from our group. When I saw him about a third of the way in he was looking spry and definitely in a groove. He managed to keep that groove and finish 15th.Buddy came next, he rounding out the top 20. I felt bad because his beer he given me had gotten warm. But he was prepared and had a cold one waiting once he cleaned up. Marc came in a few minutes later. I was a little concerned since he wasn't looking so great the last time I saw him as he ripped his now broken MP3 player out his pocket saying it wasn't his day. Then I started getting reports from people that were with him at some point and said he was jovial but then he was gone. But despite having a bad day and getting off course twice he managed 21st. Not too bad.We saw many others come in, but I can't remember all the placings now. Everyone did really well. Just finishing that race was an accomplishment in itself. My hat is off to them all.

Fitzy chugging along.

Matt after the race thinking "why'd I go so fast?"

Taylor IPoding up to finish the last 20 miles.

Wes looking way too fresh after a 50 mile race. Amy just couldn't stop riding after crossing the finish.

Marc wasn't happy, but he did great. Proud of you babe!

2007-06-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

Itchy Scratchy

The other day I'm going through the mail and get an itch on my arm.

scratch scratch...

I continue flipping through the mail.

scratch scratch scratch...

I look and think oh bumps, that's odd.

scratch scratch scratch...

Finally it dawns on me, it's Poison Ivy. Ahh, no more scratching.

Today I got an itch on my other arm.

scratch scratch...

I go to scratch it again and I pause. Make a mental note, ok to scratch, it's not the Poison Ivy arm.

scratch scratch scratch...

This went on all day until a few moments ago when I realized there's bumps on this arm too! Oh no, it's spreading!

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Noodling

Went noodling yesterday with Marc.

No not that kind of noodling. Just needed a nice easy day on the bike. Rode into town and got some water ice.

mmmmm... Just what I needed.

2007-05-26T06:14:00.000-05:00

I Love Puppies and Chicken

Had a busy day yesterday. Got up, made a list and then just started going through them and checking them off. One of them was my friend Fahey was bringing over her new puppy to show me. Her name is Natalia. She is a 16 week old Great Dane. She already weighs 36 pounds and is almost as tall as Riley, who is a 6 year old lab who weighs 86 pounds. She's so cute!

Riley and Natalia playing together.

Later in the afternoon met up with Amy for a ride. It was blazing hot and humid. After 2 hard days of riding, I wasn't sure how this was going to go. We tried to take as many shaded trails as possible stay out of the fields of fire. Unfortunately, though we had shade, we also had thick humid heavy air that just hung with no breeze. And yes I complained a lot. But it was fun.

Even better was after the ride when Amy pulled out some left over Walt's chicken she had brought. It was so good.

See I'm smiling. mmm...Amy had a little frothy beverage to wash hers down too.

All gone.

2007-05-22T14:06:00.000-05:00

Granogue

Sunday was Granogue. I spent most of the day here doing registration. For some reason there seemed to be a different weather system under the tent. It was cold and windy all day. We took turns standing off to the side in the sun trying to gain warmth.

Jan was my table buddy at registration. He runs a tight ship. Don't mess with an angry German.

Liz and Wes. It was great to see her.

Once registration was over I was able to catch FFA finishing up the enduro race. 2nd place. Way to go Amy!

This was the only riding Marc was able to get in. Riding back and forth from registration to the top of the Coppenburg keeping everything running smoothly.

Dennis got 2nd in his race. Figured I'd take a picture of him, since he always takes pictures of all of us.

Amy and her new toy. A marshmallow blow gun. How cool is that!
Paul was able to turn it into a machine gun with his powerful lungs.

This must be the largest podium I've ever seen.

I don't know who's dog this was, but he was so cute. And yes, he only has 3 legs. He got along like a champ.
However when I was trying to catch him to take his picture, Jan said "like it's that hard, he only has 3 legs".

2007-05-17T07:06:00.000-05:00

Obsessed

A girl I work with told me about this game she just got, Fish Tycoon. The premise is that on the island of Isola something terrible happened that messed up the environmental balance and all the fish died. So you have to find the right balance, grow more fish, find the 7 magic fish and repopulate the island. In order to finance your mission you have to sell fish along the way along with caring for them and doing environmental testing to get the right balance so all the fish can survive.

I thought this sounded cute. kinda like a fishy version of Sims. I love Sims, but had to quit because it was soaking up way too much of my time. I was obsessed. I played it constantly and couldn't walk away. But I figured this sounded more simple, it'd be something I could just mess with. Wrong, I started it yesterday and aside from some time to eat (which Marc had to keep saying "we have to leave, are you almost ready?") and playing a little guitar, I've been glued to the computer. Obviously whether it's people or fish, I can't play these type games.

2007-05-10T14:10:00.000-05:00

Bread Anyone?

So yesterday I was sitting at the computer reading emails and what not and I hear crinkling behind me. It was brief, so I didn't think much of it. Then I heard it again. So I looked to see what it was only to find Layla with a full loaf of bread and a bite taken out of the side of it. When I said something to her she just looked at me like "is there a problem?".

2007-05-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

New Ride
This is my new bike. I actually got it two weeks ago. But I couldn't ride it much since I was still sick until Lodi. I have to say it's awesome.
Marc found it and then I just had to go talk to Rick about size and what I wanted on it. Yeah, I'm not aloud to go to the bike shop by myself anymore.

2007-05-07T10:38:00.000-05:00

Lodi Farm

Well we did it again. Another endurance race. Every time I agree to one, I think, "wow, it'll be so fun". On the way there and waiting for it to start I always think "why do I get myself into these things?". During them I don't think, I just do. Afterwards I remember "because there is something so cool and fun about pushing yourself further than you thought you could and racing with friends that makes it all worth it".
This race was no exception. Since the Bakers Dozen I've been focused on this race. I rode my ass off for a week until I could no longer breathe. This sent me back to the doctor thinking I had really bad allergies. Nope, still sick! So round 2 of antibiotics, plus a ton of allergy medicine and a week of rest brought me up to Lodi.
Saturday morning we all pack up and take off for VA. It was a beautiful morning. On the ride down I fell asleep as normal, only to awaken to pouring rain. No!!! I wasn't supposed to start until much later. We get there get set up and me and Uncle Mike head off for a pre-lap to see the course while it was still light out. Looked like a nice course, but I wasn't happy about the rain.
It was time to register. We headed up to registration not knowing exactly what to find. Let me explain. When we went to register originally a month prior, we noticed there was no women's class. Only a men's duo. So Marc very kindly contacted the race director and asked him if we could have a class. He responded that they hadn't had many women, but if women wanted to come he'd give us a class. Later we saw an email go out that they were adding a women's class due to pressure from the North. However, a week prior we still did not see a class. At registration we told the people working that they had said that we would have a class. So they went off to ask. The race director came back and said "who's Marc's wife". I said me. He said "if you want a class, you got one". He told us he'd still score us with the men, but he'd have a class for us too. So that was cool.
Then we went back to the compound to wait and wait and wait. I laid down trying to get some sleep, but instead woke up to pouring rain at 10pm. I lay in the car trying to go back to sleep, only to do so and have a horrible nightmare and a panic attack. I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to ride at night and in the pouring rain would be worse. I just wanted to be home. Despite the 50 degree temperatures, I was sweating out of control. I tried to tell Marc, but he said "I don't want to hear about it. You know how to do this". End of story.
So I got up and did my lap around 2am. Amy had already done a double. I just had to do a single and she had said she'd do another double to help me out with the night laps. Amy is great! I'd like to say it was better than expected, but not really. It had stopped raining, so that was a plus, and the temp's had gone up some too. But the course was soaked and very slippery. Tie this in with a ton of roots and bridges. Not my favorite combo. I went on and finished my lap with an absolutely awful time of 1:28. That's pathetic.
Then came panic panic attack #2. I was sleeping and couldn't get warm. I just lay there shaking uncontrollably. Meghan told me it was time to get ready. As I was getting dressed Tom saw me and said you're not cold. He had me touch his hands and then mine. I was hyperventilating and not knowing it. Yeah, I just keep getting better. Tom calmed me down and I got myself together and took off to wait for Amy. Luckily the dawn was just starting. I took my light, but was hoping not to use it. Amy came in looking a bit drained after two back to back doubles with only my one single in between. I told her I'd give her some rest and take my time. As I took off and could see as the sun started to come up, I got so excited I could see I started going faster and faster. I was riding things I had walked during my night lap. As I came around to the transition I told them I was heading out for another lap. I stopped by the compound to have them tell Amy she can rest more I was doing a double. Good thing, she was still asleep. So I unloaded my lights and took a Gu and took off. It was excellent. The trail was drying up. Now the sun was up and I could see clearly. I was bombing through the trail. I was fatigued and sore but didn't care. I just kept going. When I came in I learned I had pulled a 1:12. I was super happy.
By now Amy was awake and rested (as much as you are during these things). We quickly discussed strategy. Yeah we were only racing against ourselves. But we were racing against the men too. We decided Amy would do another double and I'd take the final lap and Amy took off.By now it was a beautiful day. People asked how I was holding up. I said "great, it's like night and day out there". They laughed at me. By now everyone was tired and fatigued, but we also knew the end was near. We all sat discussing how we felt and who was up next and who would be taking the final lap. One of the conversations we had was what songs we had pop into our heads while we were riding. They were great, I wish I could remember them all. A very odd assortment. Matt's by title I am guessing were something his son Hunter listens too. Poor Matt. Mine was "Rawhide". That rolin', rollin', rollin' part always gets stuck in my head. Bob's was Suicide something, which we later listened too and the best song to have stuck if you head to pick one.
As people came by going out on their final laps, Ethan sat in the lounger with the heckeltron 2000 and cheered them on. When Amy came past I yelled, "come on, this is it and you're done", to which she stood up and took off like a shot. I think that ended up being her fastest lap of the race.I took my final lap. It was beautiful. Almost no one out on the trail anymore. But I didn't care. I had the beauty of the day to myself. My legs were tight and sore, but I pushed on. I had to reason with myself on the hills, "yes this hurts, but walking would hurt more", and up I'd go. I bobbed and weaved through the flat whoopty section towards the end hearing Marc in my head the whole time, "your Rudy the rabbit". I loved that section. I kept my pace up all the way to the finish and finished with another 1:12, yeah! Later when we saw the results sheet, we got 5th place with the men's duo by 3 minutes. I had a guy on my tail, but I never saw him.
Overall, it was a rough start, but an absolutely fun and great race. I loved the course. It was so fun (dry). Amy was awesome and we work really well together. All the teams did really well. I do hope that more women come out next year so we can have a real women's class. So any women reading this, please get a buddy and mark it on your calendar. This race is worth doing. If we don't show an effort on our part, we can't expect the promoters to show an effort on theirs.
In closing, I just want to take a moment to say thanks to Tom and Meghan for all their hard work and support. Without you guys it would be so much harder. Everything you did was very much appreciated by everyone.

2007-04-25T17:46:00.000-05:00

Hope

I went for a ride today and it was great. It wasn't superb and I'm no where near back to where I was before getting sick. But today at least gave me hope. After the other day I needed some.
Monday I came home and it was a beautiful day. Sunny and 84 degrees. Can't get much better right. So I had to do some yard work first, then I was able to slip out. I just wanted to do something easy to spin out my legs from the weekend.
As I took off down the street I knew I was in trouble. My butt was killing me. It was sore in ways I couldn't believe. I just kept fidgeting around and after some time it quieted down to an acceptable level. Then I tried to find a nice easy pace. So I clicked down, and down again, and again. Oh crap, you have got to be kidding me, there is none! My legs felt like lead and they refused to open up. But I continued on. The rest of the ride was more of the same. Towards the end my butt flared back up to searing pain by the time I got home. (Luckily no monkey butt like Marc's was last year, just irritated and raw) I came home cranky and disgusted. Marc kept asking me what was wrong. I said "nothing, I'm fine, just had a bad ride". Which was true. But I just couldn't get it out of my head. It was so bad.
Today I got back out. Not knowing what to expect. Found a nice comfy pair of shorts, put on all my favorite clothes so maybe that would help rub off. The sky looked gloomy and threatened rain, but I figured I'd get as far as I could before the rain hit. It turned out to be a great ride. I wasn't super fast, and my climbing legs seem to have left me, but I did as many of the logs as I could muster up. I woosed out on a couple, but did a few I never have before, so that was cool. As I came out I looked at my watch and noticed I had just turned a better time then I had all last year. Yeah! There's hope for me yet!

2007-04-22T14:24:00.000-05:00

99 Problems But the Bike Ain't One

This title came to me last night around 10:30pm or so as I was out on my night and final lap of the Baker's Dozen. A 13 hour race down in Virginia. I participated in the 3 man class with Marc and Kerry.
Due to being ill the past few weeks I did not get anywhere near the amount of riding I wanted or needed to get in. Before my illness I was riding great (for me anyway). I was feeling stronger than ever this time of year. Maybe stronger than ever. I had gotten my riding times up and had a nice solid base going. Then all hell broke loose.
Friday I got ready for the race in normal fashion. Still doing wash and packing 10pm the night before. Which drives Marc crazy. When everyone was pre-riding I decided to hold back to save myself because I had no idea what I had in the tank only riding 2hrs and 15min over the past 3 weeks. Yup 2hrs 15min, horrible! Marc did persuade me to go take a look at this one drop off so I wouldn't be surprised, get hurt, and could ride it. It wasn't far from where we camped, so no big deal. Then the race began.
Marc started off by doing a double. I was second in the line-up. I was ready and waiting to go. No problem. Nerves in check. Had everything I needed. Marc comes in yelling "monkey". That's when I notice I lost the nipple to my Camelbak. I scramble around and Amy gives me hers for my lap. Marc trades off the anklet and I'm off. My legs and lungs are tight as I expected. I push on, thinking they will open up. The more I ask of them, the more they laughed at me. On top of this my head is draining profusely so I'm constantly blowing huge snot rockets and coughing up gobs of crap. Nice! I shift down and move into survival mode. Then the heat starts to get to me too. I love warm weather, but a 30 degree change in one day is just too much to race in. As I ride along people keep asking me if I'm ok. I think that's odd and just keep going. Later I found out my face was bright red and they were worried about me.
Lap 2- I ditched the undershirt to help with the heat. However, Amy needed her nipple back, so I had to use my Camelbak with none. This doesn't sound hard, but it is. Luckily I do have an on/off valve. However, what you have to do if leave it switched off, then put it in your mouth and start sucking as you turn it on, suck as much water as you can get and then turn it back off while still sucking. Oh and you have to do all this while riding, which means you can't breathe throughout. But I had no other choice since if I didn't do this, as soon as the valve is opened, the water recedes back into the bladder, causing it really hard to get it back out without sucking up a bunch of air. And due to the huge amount of cow pies that littered the course, water bottles were not an option.
Lap 3- by now my ass is killing me. As I jump back onto my bike I quickly realize that 3 weeks of little to no riding took away my cycling butt. The pain was horrible for the first 10-15min until it worked back in. I also had the sunset lap. This is good and bad. Good because I wouldn't have to night ride (yeah!). Bad because the sun was at such an angle through the trees that I was blinded. The heat of the day was finally going away as well and that was great. Though I was tired, I felt like I finally got a second wind.
Lap 4- my last lap, however it's now almost 10pm. While getting ready to go out, another guy on another team comes in saying he just saw a guy fall on the course, and how he was screaming in pain and just went on and on about how gruesome it was. I was already having reservations about riding at night, I hadn't night ridden since 1998, I just got new lights and wasn't sure how they were going to work, I don't see well at night as it is, and now this horror story. He just kept going on and on. I got so worked up by the time I took off I was almost in tears not wanting to go because I was so afraid of suffering the same fate.
I hit the first part of single track and it's not too bad. I can see fairly well and I just chug along. My butt still hurt and my back is aching, but hey, that's endurance racing. As I get into the next section it's more tricky. There are a lot of freshly cut saplings scattered on the trail. During daylight I missed them with no problem. At night it was like they were magnetic drawing my wheels to them. I was bouncing off of and running over everything. It was out of control. Then I came across one of the zillion tri-logs and realized I couldn't see the back side. The light cast a shadow, so it looked like it dropped off to nothing. This wouldn't be an issue except on my prior lap, several of the tri-logs were loosing their back sides and getting sketchy and I didn't want to go flying over the handlebars. Some I flew caution to the wind and went over anyway, others I erred on the side of caution and would pause and dabble at the top making sure something was there on the other side.Finally, I made it back and I was in one piece. Luckily out of all the issues I had, my bike was the one thing that didn't let me down. Luckily I was flat-free and no mechanical issues throughout. It must know I'm about to replace it, so it wants to stay on my good side.
Kerry and Marc rode their asses off throughout. Neither had any issues other than Marc ripping the palm of his hand off riding rigid on such a rough course. We ended up getting 8th place. So it was a good race.

2007-04-10T12:55:00.000-05:00

Being Sick Sucks!

These past couple weeks have sucked. First Marc got sick. Marc is so fun when he's sick. First he denies being sick, so he's grumpy. Then he finally succumbs to being sick and then he just curls up into a ball until it's all over. And all over doesn't mean that he's better, just well enough that he can resume his normal activities with some lingering effects of his illness.
Once Marc got sick I tried to stay as far away from him as possible. Usually it's me getting him sick, not the other way around. We tried everything. I wouldn't touch things he had touched, like the remote or the computer. When we were in the car and he sneezed he rolled down the window. He even slept on the couch trying to keep me from catching it. It went pretty well until last Wednesday.
I hadn't felt quite right for a couple of days, but it's allergy season, so nothing out of the norm. Then Wednesday I woke up and had a empty hollow feeling in my chest. I went to work and went down hill all day. Damn, I was sick. I came home and went straight to bed. Marc came home and gave me medicine, hoping that if I caught it soon enough I wouldn't go through what he had.
Well, now it's Tuesday, almost a week later and I'm still sick. It sucks. It seems to be a flu because nothing seems to make it go away any faster. It's just running it's course.
So now I've been off my bike for over a week. I missed the first race and had to be replaced. I haven't been able to go climbing. I haven't been able to go to work (which I really don't mind). When I talk to people they stand at a safe distance with a concerned look on their face and half holding their breath afraid they'll catch it. I can't wait until this is over.

2007-03-29T14:05:00.000-05:00

Upside Down

I've been thinking about climbing all day. Then I realize it's only Thursday, yuck! I want Saturday to be here.

I thought this picture was neat. Marc took it of me messing around in the cave. Yes, the picture is the right direction. I am upside down. I wasn't able to follow the colors though. Just being able to move grabbing anything was hard enough. A month ago it took everything I had just to hang in place.

2007-03-23T08:37:00.000-05:00

Change of Pace

It seems like the first day of Spring is always shitty. As it was this year too. Cloudy and 50, blah. Yesterday was great though. I rushed out of work and took off on the road of course since the trails are still too wet to ride. I decided I needed to mix it up a little. The road gets so monotonous after a while. The first change I decided to make were my shoes. I always wear these really old pair of silver Sidi's when I'm on the road. But I figured, hey I'll take a walk on the wild side and wear my black ones (which I haven't worn since about last August). I finished getting ready and took off. Almost immediately I realize why I haven't worn these shoes. I had forgotten that last summer I had messed up the cleat and it was quickly apparent I did not fix it correctly. My right foot was was severely pigeon toed. However, I just didn't feel like going home, so I just fought it throughout my ride.

Next I decided to takes roads I usually don't to help mix it up some more. There's reasons I don't take these other roads, they're hilly. So I have now a crooked foot and riding hills. I keep going and ride further and further away from home. Eventually I figure I should head back so I take off up this road that looks pretty steep, it even feels steep when I drive on it. Very shortly into my climb I hit my last gear. I think "No, this can't be". I look up ahead and it just gets more steep. I'm struggling to go up. I try to shift again, thinking maybe I just didn't push hard enough. But nope, no more gears. I'm now fighting so hard that I'm weaving around. I'm thinking I haven't had this much of an issue going up a hill in years. This is crazy. Cars going by are giving me tons of room as I look like I'm totally out of control and about to dart in front of them at any moment as I thrash around fighting to get up the hill. It was pathetic. But eventually I came to the top. Ugh!

I was working my way back home and took another detour down a road I never even drive on, not alone ride. So I was just casually spinning at this point. Just taking in the day when this guy comes flying past me. He practically brushes me as he goes by. It takes me a second, and I survey my options. A. I could let him go. Or B. chase him down. Well of course I had to choose option B. So I clicked up a few gears and took off. I caught him and just sat on his wheel as I still didn't know the road and wasn't sure what lay ahead, but was pretty sure it was a hill. Sure enough it was, and he noticed I was there and was fighting ever so hard looking back and cranking harder in his drops. When we hit the hill he popped and I just went around. Mission accomplished.

I kept working my way home. My foot still bothering me. By now my ankle and my knee were too. But it was a good day. The clouds rolled in and it dropped about 10 degrees it seemed just as I was about 10min from home. So it was a good day.

2007-03-20T16:06:00.000-05:00

Beached Whale

I got to ride and climb yesterday. So I am exhausted today. Yeah maybe not the best idea to ride and then try to climb. But it's the way it worked out.
So last night I was having a rough night. I couldn't make several reaches. They just seemed to be a million miles away. I have developed a bad habit too of getting to the second to last hold and then panicking and giving up. So after numerous efforts and failing I went over to work on this one route I've been messing with for about a week. It comes out of a cave, around a wall, and then up over the top of a overhang. A picture would be better, but I don't have one. Anyway, you basically have to hug the wall and have almost no holds, (foot or hand) and you have to get out and around and up on top. The inside of my legs are all sore and bruised from attempting and failing numerous times on Saturday. But last night first try, bam, around and up I went. When I got on top though I did what Marc refers to as the "beached whale". Instead of gracefully and confidently standing up and walking my way up the slope, I decided as much surface contact was best and flopped my body up and wiggled to safety. But hey, I still made it, yeah!!!

2007-03-18T06:46:00.000-05:00

St Patty's Day

I love St Patrick's Day. It's a great Holiday. You get to wear green (which is one of my favorite colors). And it's a day dedicated to fun. What's a better holiday then that?
Last night we celebrated St. Patrick's Day a little differently then normal. Usually we go out, get in the mix of the festivities, throw back a few and just enjoy the madness that is the day. This year we went climbing. We were supposed to go on Friday so we could still go out last night, but it snowed. So then we had to make a decision. What to do, climb or go out? After much discussion we finally decided on climbing. I was still torn all the way there. Once we got there though everything else faded away.
Climbing takes me to a place that cycling and playing doesn't. It's hard to explain. I can talk about riding forever. How I rode, how I felt, what it was like, etc... Playing is the same thing. Whether I played something clean, or am all thumbs, or learned a new piece. But climbing I have trouble with. It's all so new. It's hard to tell a bad day from a good day. Some days I finish a lot of routes I try (this happened once), other days I don't (which are most), but I can pick something else good out of it, like I learned how to hug a wall (which really hurts by the way) or I got part of the way through a problem that I wouldn't even have considered a few weeks ago. But it's more than my performance that's enjoying. There's something in the way it makes me feel. It gives me such a sense of peace. While I'm climbing of think of nothing else. It's like I've entered into another world and everything else is briefly washed away. The social aspect is great too. Everyone is so nice and friendly. We kinda kick back and talk a little and climb a little and discuss how we can attack it differently. Meanwhile Marc is flinging his body across the mats as he can't help but jump around on the floors.
So anyway, that's what we decided to do this year for St. Patrick's Day. A little quieter, a lot more sober, but still relaxing, just more peaceful. I would say less painful too, but really just a different type of pain. Instead of a hangover, I can't move my fingers and my muscles ache.

2007-03-16T15:51:00.000-05:00

Marc said I'm not allowed to write about the weather being nice anymore. Every time I do we get this. (this is all ice!)

2007-03-15T14:51:00.000-05:00

In Like a Lion Out Like a Lamb

A week ago it was snowing.

The other night this was the beautiful sunset and 62 degrees at 7:30pm.

See I have proof. 62 really.

Last night was 75, but I have no proof. I was on my bike instead of in my car.
Riding is so much better than driving.

2007-03-02T17:09:00.000-05:00

Spring Is Here!

Well not really. But it sure does feel like it today. Wow is it a nice change. When I went to work this morning it was pouring. I even had to take an alternate route due to flooding. I figured another night on the trainer, ick! But as the day went on I noticed it starting to clear. I didn't think much of it until I walked outside and the wind hit me in the face. I braced myself for the shocking cold, only to find a nice warmth instead. mmm This is a nice surprise, I thought it was supposed to be crappy into tomorrow sometime. I checked the temperature when I got to my car. 62 degrees! OK, that's it, the race was on to get home and get on the bike. Luckily I hit very little traffic. I checked out the roads and they looked dry, yeah! I got home, changed super quick and took off. I was determined to soak up as much warmth as I could.
It was amazing. I just kept on riding further and further away from home and didn't even care. It was great. I didn't have to dress like the Michelin man for a change too, so I felt nice and light. It makes such a difference. I did make one mistake. As I got down to Newark I decided to go down Creek Road. Yeah, I should have known better just by the name being Creek Road that it might still be wet. Well wet is actually an understatement. It had streams running across the road. Where everywhere else was sunny and dry. Here it was soaking wet, dark with heavy shade, and then I hit the ice. ICE! I didn't see any all day and here was a giant patch across the road. I figured I'd ride it since it had to be slushy. ha ha ha Yeah right. It wasn't. I caught myself just a moment before falling into the rushing swollen creek that the road runs beside. The next ice patch I was smarter. I got off and walked. After getting off that road I was back out in the sun and warmth of the day. I ended up riding a little too hard and a little too long for what I had planned, but it was awesome and just what I needed. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Old Phil said it'd be an early Spring. Just not sure how early that is though. I doubt today, but it was nice anyway.

2007-02-28T20:44:00.000-05:00

Danger!

All is right with the world. Ahhh... I think I just needed a shower. Sunday I got a shower after my ride. Monday morning as it was freezing when I woke up due to the lack of heat neither Marc nor I took one, we just got dressed and went on our way. No problem right. Just one day. Then came Tuesday morning.
I get up and turn the shower on to heat up and brush my teeth then I check the shower and it's still cold. mmmm So I do something else, and check again, still cold. At this point I'm running out of time, so I quickly wash my hair and tell Marc there's no hot water and I leave for work. A couple hours later I get a call from Marc. Turns out when we ran out of propane our pilot went out on the hot water heater. Great.
So last night I come home and I ride, thinking I'll get a shower shortly when Marc gets home to light the pilot. Then I had to go to guitar. Yeah I was funky. But hey, what ya gonna do. I had to ride. So I piled on deodorant and changed into fresh clothes and headed off. When I get home Marc is in the basement reading the instructions. Turns out they're not real easy to follow and there's only about a billion warnings you could kill yourself. So we get more and more nervous. After numerous phone calls trying to get a hold of someone that could give us some kind of guidance, Marc reaches Tom. Yeah! So Tom walked us through it. Finally we got it lit and it started working. Unfortunately water doesn't heat up immediately, so off to bed we went.
This morning it was great. I got up and turned on the hot water and there it was. I filled the bathroom with steam, ahhhh so refreshing. I've been in a better mood all day.

2007-02-26T15:10:00.000-05:00

Cold and Tired

Sunday 8pm - go to bed early because I don't feel good and want to be well rested.
12:45am- fire alarm goes off. Takes another 15min to track down which one, replace the battery and then another half hour to get back to sleep. So much for a good nights rest.
4am- alarm goes off to get up and go to work. Notice it's unusually cold. Check the thermostat and notice it's only 58 degrees. Crap, no heat!
4:15am- go in the basement to see if pilot is still lit. However, I don't know what that looks like. mmmm
4:20am- decide it's not the pilot, maybe we're out of propane?
4:25am- out in the backyard with a flashlight digging up the propane tank so I can check the gauge, which I shortly found to read zero!
4:30am- finally leave for work, while Marc calls for emergency fill up.
4:45am- receive call from Marc, the gas company is not doing emergency runs due to weather and call back after 8am. So basically screw you.
7:00am- Marc calls and tells me that the house smells of gas, so he's taking the dogs to his parents. Great, the dogs will be ok, but maybe no house when we get home.
8:15am- Marc calls and says they're coming out sometime today, but didn't ask why they didn't fill it last week when they were in the neighborhood. Also, that they said they'd fill it today, but they're going to turn the gas off and we'll have to turn it back on and he didn't get instructions on how to do this.
9am- I call myself, woman tells me the guy was supposed to come Friday, but just didn't. They don't know why, so he'll be around some time today. Nice. She did give me instructions on how to turn the gas back on though.
2:15pm- I get home and check the tank and it's full and gas is turned off. I turn it back on, go in the house and turn on the heater and nothing! Oh no! I wait a few minutes and finally, WE HAVE HEAT!!!!
I'm hoping to get a better nights sleep tonight.

2007-02-23T14:47:00.000-05:00

I couldn't help but think of Buddy.

2007-02-23T14:36:00.000-05:00

The Burp

I was talking to my sister on the phone and I could hear my nephew's running around in the background. We were talking about Justin almost turning 2 years old and I was asking how much he's been talking. So she called him over and said "say hi Aunt Di". Then I hear Justin heavy breathing in the phone and then clear as day he says, "hi Aunt Daaaauuuiiii". He had burped my name. We both cracked up and Jen says, "well how many 2 year olds do you know that can burp your name?"

2007-02-16T14:31:00.000-05:00

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

When I came home the other night I saw this as I went to enter my bedroom. mmmm?

I followed it around, into the bedroom, around the dresser, and then I realized it was a roll of toilet paper. It just kept going....

Finally at the other end I found the remainder of the roll in the bathroom.

I quickly turned around and called for Riley and Layla to see who was the culprit. Riley was there in a snap. Meanwhile I had to go looking for Layla. I found her hovering at the bottom of the stairs and she wouldn't look at me.

Hummm, who do you think did it???

2007-02-13T19:00:00.000-05:00

I Heart Climbing

I have had a rough week or so. I already hate winter. So nothing much going on. It's cold and blah and I don't get out as much as I'd like because it's so miserably cold outside. Then I got sick a week ago. It came on kinda slow, thought I'd be ok, but alas, I succumbed to a week of snot, sore throat and low grade fever. Lack of sleep also accompanies these symptoms, which seems to make a week last forever. So anyway as of yesterday and several boxes of tissues I am better.
I thought ah, what a nice day to finally be feeling better. Right? Well turned out to be the day from hell. I was so mad and upset by yesterday evening that I hated all people. That is until last night when we met up with Marc, Christian, Wes and his friend Genia and we went bouldering. All my worries of the day just melted away. It was so awesome! I love climbing. We had done a little bit of climbing years ago when visiting a friend who had lived up near the Philly Rock Gym. But it was a haul and he no longer lived up there, so we stopped going. That is until last week when we met up Wes, a couple of his friends and Rob at a new gym not too far from home.
This time no ropes. We've been strictly bouldering. It's been so much fun. Last week I was sick, but I went anyway. I had a lot of fun, but paid for it the rest of the week as I ached and think it took my cold for a turn for the worst. This week was better. Felt a little more comfortable. Though I still panic when I get too high, or just think I'm high. I fell once and held on for dear life dangling around, tore up my knuckle, skinned my forearm, bruised my butt and drug my back down the wall as I finally released, and it turned out I was only about 3 feet off the ground. Yeah, I'm a chicken. After that little incident Wes's friend Genia showed me how to fall correctly. Genia is great. She is so nice. Wes has some of the nicest friends. She is so friendly and helpful. She was giving me tips on how I could do things and move to make things easier. She was great.
I would like to say that the euphoria of climbing held over until today, but it did not. As I drove home my stress slowly crept back in. As I tried to sleep last night my mind raced with the problems I had to deal with today. But at least I found a little reprieve and I guess I don't hate all people.

2007-02-01T16:35:00.000-05:00

Where will you be at Midnight on 7/21?

It's finally been set. Saturday July 21st the 7th and final book in the Harry Potter series will be released. Many bookstores are already taking pre-orders. Borders actually sent me a pre-order request a couple weeks ago. Which I found very odd as there was still no release date at the time. But now there is. So pre-order away if you want to be assured you will be one of the ones to get one on release day.

I will say. I did not pre-order book 5 and I did manage to find one the same day it was released. It take several trips to several different stores. But after some hunting we did find an ample supply at Walmart.

For book 6, I wasn't taking any chances and I pre-ordered with Borders. This is one of the few stores that was releasing the book at midnight. So yes, I was one of the goofy people out there standing in line for what seemed like forever to get my book. And though all I could do is go home and go straight to bed, it was still worth it, because as soon as I woke up on Saturday morning I could begin reading instead of heading out to the store to pick up mine.

This may sound a little obsessive. However, it's not that I can't wait to read it. Well actually I can't. I do want to find out how this whole thing plays out. But also, I hate spoilers. I can't stand all the rumors about what is going to happen. Or the people who say they got a hold of the manuscript and leak out what is supposedly about to occur. Whether it be true or false, it just spoils it. I want to read it as it comes and not know something might be coming up.

Shortly before book 6 was released there were a ton of rumors about Dumbledore dieing. I figured no way, she can't kill Dumbledore, he's a vital character. But low and behold damn if they weren't right and Dumbledore was killed. Now the rumor is that Dumbledore really is alive. However, Rowlings has squashed that one and said no, Dumbledore really is dead. And no one can come back from being dead. She has been consistent in that. Except for Voldemort of course. But he never really died either due to the horcruxes.

So on July 13th the 5th movie "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" will be released. And on Saturday July 21st the final book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will be released. It's going to be a very Harry July. His fate will soon be known.

2007-01-22T08:33:00.000-05:00

The Goldilocks Ride

I didn't ride Saturday due to the cold and wind. Though I wanted to ride, I'm having a rough time motivating myself to actually go out now that it's cold. Marc said he heard it was supposed to be better Sunday and no wind. So I said ok.
I slept in a little too much and missed leaving with Marc. So he took my bike over for me and I went over later. I wasn't going to ride with his group anyway. So no big deal. And I still can't haul my bike around as I haven't put the rack back on my car since the garage incident.
Anyway, I get up, grab as many warm clothes as I can find and head out. When it's cold as a general rule I do not like to turn the heat on in the car so my body can get acclimated to the cold and not be all warm and toasty and go into shock. But I found I was loosing more heat that I felt I'd need later, so I had to turn it on a little. Then I checked the temperature. 24 degrees! That's just crazy.
I arrive at the park and put the rest of my clothes on as quickly as possible. It's so cold, but it will be better soon as I get moving. That's what I keep telling myself anyway. As I'm hauling my bike out of Marc's car I see James, he's out riding too. We say hi, he says he headed over to Middlerun and asks if I'd like to tag on, I decline, I'd rather stay close to the car because I wasn't so sure how long I could talk myself into staying out in the cold. He takes off.
I get on my bike and unfortunately the beginning is a fast open field downhill. AHHHHH! The wind is so cold, my face is burning, my eyes water up so bad I can barely see. Oh it's just torture. I'm bargaining with myself, if the next hill doesn't warm me up I'm heading straight back to the car and calling it a day. Just as I reach the top of the climb I run into a huge group with Fitzie at the lead. He stops and asks where I'm headed. I say I've just started, as I really had. So he says goodbye to his group and heads off with me. Now that he just left his group I can't hardly call it a day so we keep going. We talk as we go and I do warm up some. It was really nice to ride with someone and it helped to keep the cold off my mind. After a while of riding he tells me it's the Goldilocks ride. Of course I have to ask what he means by this. He says, he started out with Marc, Buddy and Todd's group, but they were too fast. Then he pulled off and went with another group, but they were too slow. Now it's just the two of us and it's just right. I laughed. Good analogy.
We ended up riding the entire park. Actually he rode some of the trails 2 and 3 times due to the group switching. But I didn't freeze, I was really really cold, but I didn't freeze. It was a good time. Thanks Fitz!

2007-01-12T15:08:00.000-05:00

Week of Pain

I think I'm loosing consciousness. Well, not really. But maybe it would be a good thing. I think I am slowly starving to death. The worst part is it's self inflicted.
Monday we started the Lisa/Paul diet. Cross season wasn't kind to me and I gained some weight and then came the holidays, which are never kind to anyone. So I spoke to them and others that had done their diet. All said it was hard, but they had great results. It's only 9 days (which sounded short enough) and you loose a bunch of weight and give a boost to your metabolism. So a win win right?
HA HA HA HA HA
The first two days are cleanse days. Which basically means you don't eat anything solid. You're flushing your system and what not. So you drink some stuff and a ton of water and get a small salad for lunch. Not so bad right.
Day 1 - No issues, everything went smoothly other than I had to pee every 15min from drinking so much water.
Day 2 - I measured wrong and forgot one of my drinks. Ooops. I bonked so hard that I couldn't get myself to recover that night. I was like a zombie, I could barely find energy to speak.
Marc and I went to the grocery store to get stuff we needed for the next few days as we were entering the eating days. We get there I look at the sheet and it says to eat lean protein and 2 green vegetables. Alright, so we pick up some chicken and then I stand staring at the vegetables. This is when it occurs to me I do not like anything green! Yellow, orange, white, all good. But not green. Finally I decide on string beans and carrots. Yeah carrots aren't green, but I needed something.
Day 3 - now I get food and shakes. I had my chicken, string beans and carrots for lunch. It tasted so good, I devoured them. Now on an energy high after getting some food after not having any for a couple days I decide I can go to the gym after work. For some reason too I decided this would be the day I'd run 2 miles instead of just 1 1/2 miles like normal. I don't know why I do these things to myself.
First mile all is good. Soon into the 2nd mile I start going South. My pace is slowing, I can't control my breathing, my stomach feels like it has little razors in it trying to get out (it was the raw carrots I had for lunch). I finish the 2nd mile and walk to cool down and try not to hurl. I can't get the feeling to go away. It was bad.
Day 4 - same as day 3 only no carrots. I decided to give my stomach a rest. Also, no gym. I didn't want a repeat. Day 4 brought on a new sensation however. Strong uncontrollable cravings for sugar! I love sugar, candy in particular. I hadn't had any candy now for days. I got home and saw the box of Gobstoppers sitting there whispering to me, "you know you want some, 1 won't hurt". I gave in. I had 1. I put it in my mouth and just let it sit there. Oh, it was so good. I miss candy so much.
Today - I was so irritated that I couldn't have candy or anything else, that I didn't pack my food appropriately. I paid for that. I didn't have my shake, so instead I ate an apple. I didn't have my veggies, so lunch consisted of a bowl of chicken. I think I'm getting to the breaking point. I'm not sure there will be a day 6. We will see.

2007-01-10T16:14:00.000-05:00

This is why we have no screens on our windows.

2007-01-08T17:21:00.000-05:00

Beautiful Weekend in January
(what an oxymoron)

This past weekend was jammed packed. Not that most weekends haven't been lately. But usually by this time in the winter it's cold and dreary and no one really goes out or does anything. It seems to be a quiet time until things resume in Spring, or Spring training for some. But lately with it being unseasonable warm, it's been awesome. Saturday Marc and a huge group were planning on riding Elkneck, which I despise. So Amy agreed to ride with me on the road. Well as Friday nights weather did not cooperate, the Elkneck ride became a road ride. So we all headed out in one big pack.
It was still cloudy and wet when we headed out, but crazy warm. There was 15 in all. It wasn't long before everyone was peeling off layers as the sun started peeking through the clouds. Buddy, Marc, and Paul were riding their fixed gears. It was crazy being behind them going down hills as their legs flew around in circles. Or better yet their back wheels hopping as they had to come to a halt. It was quite a sight to see as they all seemed to do this so easily. Give me gears and brakes any day.
We rode the road more mountain bike style. We'd be in a pack and then kinda string out and then come back together. There were peppy sections and I think maybe a sprint or two. Not so sure as I was at that back during those. Whenever I got too far behind though, a hand would be on my back to give me a little help. I had one bad stretch on a false flat and there were numerous hands. I really appreciated all the help. Thanks guys! It was great to be out on such a beautiful day and with a great bunch. I miss group rides. It's been a long time.
Saturday night we did some relaxing/partying before riding again on Sunday. Sunday's group was even bigger. This time we did make it out on the trails. We ended up splitting into two groups, but we came back together a few times throughout the ride. It was pretty cool. I was the lead ass of the ride on Sunday. I felt like ass and Jamie decided to find every climb he could that day. At one point, after already climbing for a while, we stood at a cross section of trail trying to decide where to go. We didn't know exactly where we were, all I knew is we were getting dangerously close to "skip a trail". I said I didn't care which way, as long as we didn't take it. Jamie turns and darts off down this nasty rocky downhill and then we climb and climb some more, we were on "skip a trail". I really need to learn that side of the park so I can stay away from that thing!
Overall it was a great weekend. Got in lots of riding, rode with great people, caught up with some people I hadn't seen in a while and the weather was beautiful. Who could ask for more.

2006-12-28T16:43:00.000-05:00

A Book for Monkey

I used to be a snoop when it came to Christmas presents. Curiosity would get the best of me and I just couldn't take it. My sister and I would hunt through the house looking for presents. Then my parents caught on and started locking them up. So we resorted to unwrapping and re-wrapping the gifts. They caught on to this as well and my dad would take hours to painstakingly wrap the gifts so precise and with as little tape as possible, so any extra crease or added tape would be noticed.
When Marc and I started living together I carried on my snooping until I realized it was just too easy, the game was over. He never hid what he got me very good, if at all, and then the surprise would be ruined. Not that the surprise wasn't ruined before, but the stealthness just made it so much fun. So then I'd bug him and ask him questions to get hints of what it was, anything to peak my curiosity. But he'd practically tell me. So again, I had to stop this as well. Eventually he broke me of my snooping and questioning and now it's too the point that if I think he's about to tell me something, I tell him "stop, don't tell me, I don't want to know".
Well this year Marc not only kept it a secret, but he managed to totally surprise me. I did get some bike stuff, which I figured I would as he was just asking too many questions about what I was thinking of getting. However, the other part to my gift was a book. Not just any book, but an actual hardback book written and put together by him. It's a photo documentary of my season this year. It is the coolest thing ever. He said it took him 2 weeks to put together. He would stay up after I went to bed and work on it. If I popped back downstairs or into the room, he said he'd have to quickly change screens to hide it. I just thought he was telling me to go to bed early because I looked tired and needed some extra sleep, but apparently I was just in the way.
Anyway, Marc got it done and said he had a terrible time waiting to give it to me, but he managed without a peep. It it the coolest, most creative, most thoughtful one ever. He's so awesome! And who would have thought he could have topped the envelope full of money he gave me last year (yes, that really was my present).

2006-12-21T17:08:00.000-05:00

It's Been Finalized

I received a call from Ethan informing the title to book VII will be, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". He read this on CNN of all places. However, still no word as when the book will be released.

203 days until "Order of the Phoenix"

2006-12-18T15:27:00.000-05:00

Traveling With Dumb and Dumber

I have found myself in a sort of lull lately. I haven't blogged, I haven't checked my email except for about once a week. I've gotten out and ridden some, but I feel as I don't have a purpose. It's taken me a bit to get a handle on it. Basically cross is over. There were times through November when I was looking forward to the end of the season. Being able to have a life back, actually having time to play my guitar, get into the holiday season and what not in the place of just work, ride, eat and sleep. However, now that it's here I already miss it.
We just got home from Nationals today. It was a long and tiring weekend. We went up early so we could try to see a little of Providence. We were in Providence last year for 4 days and all we did was eat there one night. Through years of going to races I've been all over the Northeast coast primarily. But it's basically all the same. I can tell what the park looked like, or what the weather was like. I couldn't tell you anything about the actual town. This year, we left late Wednesday so we could walk around some Thursday before all the racing began. Marc, Ethan and I just strolled around town aimlessly just taking it in. We stopped at a local deli and grabbed a bite before heading off to pre-ride the course and help set up the compound. It was a good day.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were all about the races. The days flew by watching everyone try their hardest in their respective races. Some racers were disappointed due to the more mild weather we had this year. It was around the 50's each day and no rain. The course was dry and super fast. I did not share their disappointment. Though I can understand why it would be to their advantage if it were sloppier. I was much happier with the warmer and drier weather.
There were many high and low points to the weekend. I'm really bad at remembering all everything, and I know Marc will go into them in much more detail. Basically, everyone busted their ass and did the best they could do and it was amazing to watch. Overall it was a great wrap up to an awesome season. I'm already counting the days until next year's.

Marc relaxing prior to his pre-lap. And yes, he is sporting the trucker mustache.

Marc taking the inside line around the tree.

I felt something bumping into me while I was watching the race. I turned around to see this green guy. Not sure what he is. Kinda freaky. Amy wasn't as freaked out by him as I was.

Betsy, Amy, Fitzy and I cheering one of the races.

Betsy flying by in the elite race before getting a flat.

Katie at the start of the elite race.

I just thought this was cool. That's Marc up towards the top of the hill. This was several laps in and they're still all packed together.

2006-12-18T14:50:00.000-05:00

This is an ice rink in the center of Providence.

Inside Providence Place. It's a giant mall around 4 or so stories tall. It is neat to see. But still a mall.

The infield of the course. A bit going on. I didn't see much of it. Too much other stuff to see.

Every chilling inside the compound.

And finally, but not least, the mullet. Yeah, Ethan with the mullet and Marc sporting the trucker were my traveling companions for the weekend.
Oddly enough, this wasn't the only mullet we saw. However, it was the only one with racing stripes.

2006-12-02T16:39:00.000-05:00

Harry Potter to Curious George

Back in the Spring my sister and her kids were over the house for dinner. I was trying to cook something that wasn't going too well, so dinner wasn't exactly on time. In order to help keep the kids entertained we turned on the TV and in flipping through the channels we happened upon Harry Potter. My nephew Jake, who was not quite 3 at the time, sat mezmorized watching the movie. From that day forward he loved Harry Potter and he wanted to watch it constantly.
My sister doesn't really like him watching too much TV, so I figured I'd try to help and burn Jake the soundtrack so he could listen to it instead of watching the movie all the time. Well, the CD turned out to be a little bit of a challenge at first. He was very excited when Jen announced that they'd get to listen to Harry on the way to school in the car. She popped the disc in and the music started and Jake asked very confused, "where's Harry". He wasn't putting it together that a CD is different then a DVD and he wanted to know where the screen was. Jen tried to explain it to him and he eventually understood. He then would ask to listen to his music Aunt Di got him all the time, to and from school. Plus, he still wanted to watch the movie when he got home. So now my poor sister, who doesn't even like Harry Potter, is totally encased in it. She couldn't escape it. She started telling fibs to Jake that she forgot his music at home when they'd be on the way to school, but then mysteriously she'd play it on the way home. He never questioned it.
Last week I figured that the Harry music was such a hit that I'd burn him another CD. This time it was Jack Johnson and Friends from the Curious George soundtrack. Jake had never heard of Curious George. It was just the music, I didn't give him a movie nor did he see it. I just told him I had some more music for him.
The other day I get a call from Jen and I asked is she had played Jake's new CD yet. She replied with "oh, yes". Apparently they were on the way to school and she had popped in his new music and Jake says out of no where, "mommy, I think I want Santa to bring me the Curious George movie for Christmas". I think I'm ruining my nephew. Now he thinks all music have a movie that go with them. Jen hasn't banned me from giving him any more music yet though. She said at least it's better than the music they actually make for kids. She said she got one once a while back, popped it in one day and about lost her mind listening to "the wheels on the bus". She said that one got lost really quick.

(222 days until Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

2006-12-01T16:17:00.000-05:00

Secret Santa

I had to run some errands today after work. At work we're doing this secret Santa thing where not only do you not know who you are receiving the gift from, but you also don't know who you are giving it to. This has made it a little hard to shop. I do have a little to go on, as a couple weeks ago we all had to send in a list of 3 things we like and one thing we don't. The first time we did this we all sent in actual items we like and dislike as we thought it was going to be a secret Santa thing. Then we were told that wasn't what we were doing and we were to put our actual likes and dislikes. It was going to be part of some kind of get to know your co-workers thing. So we all re-dis it and then found out it was a secret Santa thing, only now we all have these really crazy lists. When they gave me my person I got a list that said they like to travel, cook and work in the yard and they dislike coconut. So I've been wracking my brain as to what to get.
After some discussion with a couple of my co-workers (which we weren't supposed to be doing) we decided a cook book would be a good idea. So I headed off to Borders. I haven't been there for a while, so I was looking forward to going. Upon entering the store I glanced briefly at the new release table before heading over to the cooking section. I stopped dead in my tracks. To my surprise the new release was a new Michael Crichton book. I stopped and picked it up. I love his books. I first read one of his books by accident. I had picked up "Rising Sun" when I was looking for "A Raisin In the Sun". I've been hooked ever since.
So after grabbing the book I head off again towards the cooking section. I keep glancing at the new release tables as I go by and I see another book that sparks my interest. Now I have two books for me and none for my person. All I can hear in my head is my mom saying "you're supposed to be shopping for other people not yourself". I'm the worst Christmas shopper.
Finally I make it to the cooking section and I peruse through the numerous books. Everything looks so complicated. I realize this is harder than I thought. Me being a non-cooking person, I found it very difficult to pick out a cookbook for someone who likes to cook. I finally settled on a cookbook that looks like it has some interesting things, but nothing too overly complicated that real people wouldn't make it at home. Also it was on the sale table so that was a plus as it turns out cook books are quite expensive, and I have a budget I have to keep within. It must be all those pictures. I also found a recipe book to go with it. So now with the two books for my person and the two for myself I decide to check out as I still have another stop.
Next stop, Home Depot. I had a little left I the budget so I wanted to try to touch on the working in the yard like. I decided to try to find something plant like. As it's winter there isn't really too much in the way of out doors stuff available, but I did find this cute bulb thing that's in a vase and it grows into a pretty Christmas flower. So I figured that would do the trick. They can take care of something indoors, since they can't work outdoors.
So my shopping is done now (for secret Santa, not my actual Christmas shopping), and I think I didn't do too bad considering what I had to go on. I do feel bad for the poor person that ended up with me though. I put down my likes as riding my bike, playing my guitar, and summertime. And my dislike as cold weather. Yeah, they're hating me about now.

2006-11-26T07:59:00.000-05:00

Getting In the Holiday Spirit

Last night Amy, Les, Kathleen, Marc and I went to stroll around Longwood Gardens along with about a billion other people checking out their holiday lighting, ice show, and Christmas displays in the Conservatory. It was festive.

2006-11-26T07:38:00.000-05:00

Here are a bunch of pictures of what we saw. Our camera isn't really made for these type of shots, so they don't really do it justice.

Les and Kathleen.

Marc sitting in a bush waiting on the ice show to start. We had a great spot until the guy made us all sit on the ground. Marc ended up in a bush. An English Speading Yew matter of fact.

This was the fountain of lights show. This is Amy's favorite. She stood right up front in awe.

These are actually lit to look like flowers. It was really pretty. Bigger it looks a better.

This was just a lot of blue.

Tab, I thought of you when I saw this one. It has the ruby slippers and the yellowbrick road is made of flowers.

Isn't this pretty. This was the main entrance into the Conservatory.

I liked this tree. It was in the cacti room. I liked the cacti room. It was the only one that where I could breath. My allergies were killing me with all the flowers. But they were so pretty.

More flowers.

2006-11-26T07:21:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had Thanksgiving with my family this year. Herer's the turkey. I usually don't care for turkey, but this one was really good. mmmm

Marc and Jake relaxing on the couch after dinner.

My nephew's Justin and Jake.

My parent's dog, Nikki. She walks on her back legs and smiles an evil little grin. It's really weird.

2006-11-22T17:01:00.000-05:00

Cross Practice Anyone?

Irving was all excited about his first cross practice, but looks like we're getting rained out. So it's rollers in the garage.

2006-11-21T18:01:00.000-05:00

It's Just Another Day

I had off today. Great right? A day to get some stuff done, relax, get a ride in and what not. Well things don't always go as planned. I got up at 6:15am. Not exactly a day off time to rise, but I had to take my car in and I made an early appointment so it wouldn't take all day. So I get up, take off, all is good. I'm riding down listening to music and then I see a sign, "congestion ahead at 695". I look at my directions, no problem, I'm getting off before then. I get off and look at the next step in my directions, aghhhh, back to 695. Traffic comes to a halt. I'm running late now, but it's just a car appointment no big deal, so I relax and make my way through. End up being only about 10 min late. Not too bad considering.
They take my car back, tell me it'll be about 2 hours and I say I'll wait because I don't want to have to drive back down again. 30 min later they call my name. Uh oh I think, that's not good, something has come up. Turns out I need new brakes and routers and all 4 tires because they are bald. Nice! Luckily the brakes and routers were covered in my inspection and free, so that was an upside. As for the tires, my dad actually told me a couple months ago, but I blew it off being in denial not wanting to have to replace run-flats. All I've heard is how pricey they are. Well now was the day. All had to be replaced. They said it would take longer and asked if I wanted to take the shuttle over to the mall. I declined, thinking they'll leave me there or something or work faster maybe because I'm still waiting. I know I'm crazy. They always make you wait regardless. So I wait.
Hours later the guy comes out to inform me it will only be about another 30 to 40 min and another guy will be helping me because he's going to lunch. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to inform me he was going to lunch as I sat there all morning starving to death. I look at my watch, it's already noon! I say ok because I have no choice at this point and wait some more.
40 min later another guy does come out and tells me my car will be ready in about 5 min. I go and settle up with paperwork and what not and take off.
It's now pushing 1pm and I still haven't eaten. I see a McDonald's, the only food place on the strip, so I decide to pull in. It's packed. So I leave. I figure it's a sign that I shouldn't be eating McDonald's. I now have to drive to Marc's work cause he called me saying I didn't sign some form for insurance that he had given me last night and it had to be done today. Funny I say, usually they give you more time. He says he just got it Friday. Mmm still odd. I don't know about anyone else, but everywhere I've worked they allow way more than 3 days for benefit elections. Anyway, I now have to drive all the way to West Grove, PA from Towson, MD. I don't know a direct route, so I take the roads I know and it takes me almost an hour and a half. I call when I'm close and tell him to run it out so I can get home to grab something to eat, cause I still have a dentist appt to make too.
I sign the paper, go home, get some food, brush my teeth and head off to my dentist appt. Luckily it went fairly quickly as dentist appt's go (no cavities). I was out by 5pm. I then had to go home, grab my guitar and books for lesson and take off yet again. On my way home between the dentist and guitar it's just dark enough that everything looks black except for the glow on the horizon. I'm thinking about my wasted day and then as I'm just about to drive under a bridge that connects the two sides of the Fair Hill park I see the outline of two big deer standing on the bridge as if they're watching the traffic go by below them. It was so peaceful looking.
So though my day didn't go as expected, it was a good day. I got to see deer standing on a bridge watching all us crazy people hurrying around. I'm going to eat some dinner now before I have to go to bed.

2006-11-21T17:54:00.000-05:00

This is what my shoes look like after stomping around the race last weekend.

I really need to get some boots!

2006-11-19T20:26:00.000-05:00

This is just too funny...

2006-11-19T19:57:00.000-05:00

Mudder

(very few pictures this week, I was too busy bitching)

Oh where to start. It was a hell of a weekend. It was the second weekend of doubles, so I wasn't real sure how it was going to go. I went to tell Marc to only sign me up for Sat just in case, but by the time I had asked him about it I was already signed up for both days. Oh well no biggie. As the weekend came closer I became more and more warey. I don't know why. I was riding well, I wasn't burnt out or tired really. But just wasn't feeling this weekend.
I woke up Saturday morning and was in a horrible bitchy mood. I tried everything to shake it off. I went through my normal pre-race routine; had every thing packed, had all the right food items I wanted. All was good except my frame of mind. As we drove up it did not improve. I kept trying but to no avail.
Then we arrive. The venue is completely flat. No hills, no off camber, no run-up's, just flat and long sections before turns. Great, a race of speed, but wait, the majority of the course is saturated with water. On my pre-lap I'm grinding through just trying to keep moving. The ruts just get deeper and deeper. So I already didn't feel like racing, and now I'm racing on a flat sluggishly slow course. By this point I'm so pissy that I think I may be able to get to the point I'm so pissed off that I can find that fighting spirit.
We line up, the gun goes off and I take off. Had a great start, found my pedal on the first take, had the hole shot into the first turn and then into the muck everything started to unravel. Women are passing me left and right. It's so rutted the bike is kinda taking me instead of me taking the bike. I'm slugging through a long section I knew I should have got off to run. This is confirmed as I come around and Tom yells at me, "run it next time, it's faster". I continue on, I'm having to stand way to much to keep going. It sucks. There's always points in a race when you're not happy with how things are going and you can't wait until it is over, but this was the first cross race I actually contemplated dnf'ing.
I kept at it though. I came back around near the pits and I hear Marc say, "Henry is coming up, he's the leader". Beautiful I think, it's almost over. I just need him to lap me and put me out of my misery. That minute or two it took until he finally came around seemed like an eternity. All I kept thinking was "there's no way I'm doing another lap". Finally he passes me and I finish the last bit until I'm done and then it's over. My worst race of the season. Not necessarily results wise. But just overall riding/attitude.
Afterwards I said there was no way I was racing Sunday. I was pre-reg'ed but I didn't care. I couldn't possibly do that to myself again. We went home, got cleaned up, and by the time I went to bed I was contemplating Sunday's race. Sunday morning, I got up and my back was killing me so I decided I made the right choice, but still on the drive up I wasn't so sure I had. That is until we pulled back onto the race property. As soon as I viewed that slopping wet flat ass mess. I knew, I had made the right choice. I had a great day cheering on and supporting everyone else that did decide to put themselves back through it. Great job to anyone who did. I know it sucked.

2006-11-13T16:24:00.000-05:00

Double Header

This weekend was a double race weekend. I tried to go in with an open mind. I went in preparing to suffer, hurt, be cold, wet and muddy. Luckily Saturday was a beautiful day with temperatures around 70 and sunny, so it was only 2 of the 5 (suffering and hurt). Suffering is a must at every cross race. If you're not suffering, then you could be going harder; that's just part of the game. Some days I'm just better at doing it than others. I was still very achey from my fall a few days prior, but I resolved I was going to hurt and delve straight in and go for it. It did hurt, but it turned out to be a really good race. And it didn't hurt that I really liked the course.
Sunday's weather was a complete opposite. It was kinda cold, oddly muggy, foggy, misting most the morning before a complete pouring rain in the afternoon. The course was a muddy rutty mess during my race. I hurt from the day before. I had a crappy start and an even crappier first lap. I was slipping and sliding all over the place. Ran through the tape and off the course at one point even. But I managed to pull it together and slowly started picking back some spots. Ended up with the best finish so far in the MAC. So I can't complain.

I just thought this was a cool picture of the pit.

Lisa dicing it up during the women's A race.

This was just one of the many dogs I pet at the race Saturday. I love dogs. Ethan was making fun of me for messing with all the dogs. But look at that face. How could you not want to pet him.

Sunday on the drive up the Jersey turnpike we were stuck behind this truck and minivan for a while cause they didn't want to speed in front of the cop. Only it's not a cop. It's a S.P.C.A. vehicle!

Marc doing what he does best, muck around in the mud. He did well Sunday. He likes getting muddy.

Wes during his race. Not that you can tell. It looks like a mud man. I don't think he likes getting muddy as much as Marc does. But he had a hell of a race.

The changing poncho. Just watch out when the wind blows.

This week I remembered everything. So when Ethan needed an extra base layer, I was able to help out. Just a little short in the mid-driff.

2006-11-10T16:51:00.000-05:00

Candyland

I am a candyaholic. I can't help myself. I love it. If I can see it, I'm eating it. If I know where I can find some, I go back for more and more. The only way for me not to eat candy is to simply not have any access to it. Last week at work the admin came around with a giant box of assorted candy and snacks. She plops it down next to my desk and says, "here you go", and she walks off. I quickly call her back and ask what I'm supposed to do with it. She tells me to put it in my desk, it's for the team. I try to get her to take it. I try to get one of my peers to take it and hold it with their stash. No one will. I reluctantly cleared out a drawer and filled it up. Since this time it's been terrible. I can't stay out of the drawer. I've tried locking it. But that doesn't work because I need the files in the top drawer and the lock locks or unlocks both drawers. I've tried forgetting about it. This works for a few hours. But not long enough. I've tried eating something else when I think about getting into the drawer. This only works until I've finished eating what I got from the cafeteria and then I reason it's ok to have a little something. I've practically begged others to help me out and take my stash. But they just laugh at me.
Well last night I think all the sugar has gone to my subconscious. I had a very odd dream. I don't remember it exactly. But what I do remember is that there was a cake. A big 7 layer Napoleon cake. There really is no such thing as a 7 layer Napoleon cake. This is something that only exists in my dream. And by 7 layers, it's not 7 layers of cake, but icing! One layer of yellow cake, then a chocolate/strawberry/chocolate layers of icing, another yellow cake, another chocolate/strawberry/chocolate, yellow and then the outside is all chocolate.
Besides making up this imaginary cake. I was also fighting over this cake with my mom. I don't know why, but it was her cake and I wanted it. Which is also odd, because I don't even like chocolate icing. I woke up feeling oddly upset at the loss of my cake. I think I need help.

2006-11-09T18:54:00.000-05:00

Falling Leaves

Today was such a beautiful day for this time in November. Who could ask for better weather. 68 degrees! That's crazy talk. Thursday's are normally a rest day for me. As I drove home though I decided it was just too nice not to go out and do something. So I figured I'd run just a little. Not long, but enough to say I got out and did something. I made it home, got out of the car and turned my knee oddly and it kinked and hurt. So I decided I'd go for a little ride instead. It'd be easier on my knee as it wasn't quickly working itself out. I got dressed headed out just to ride a little trail by my house.
I turned off the road into the trail and it seemed nice enough. Hit the first hill and it was very heavily leaf covered. No problem, just be careful because I can't see what's underneath. I'm slipping and sliding around. Finally I realize there's a very wet under layer under the leaves and I'm just kinda gliding along the top. Some sections were just down right soupy. So I cut out as soon as I could and decided to head out on the road. No biggie.
I'm dirty now, no reason to head home just yet. So instead of making a right for home, I take a left and head down a small back road. I pass a sign that says "Road Closed". I see a giant tree down over the road and figure that must be why, so I just hop off climb over the tree and proceed on. Now the road is very heavily leaf covered. As I go around this hard 180 turn in the road I'm looking up ahead to make sure there isn't another reason the road is closed, (like a bridge being out), then wham! I'm on the ground. I didn't even know what happened until I was sliding along the pavement. And yes, since it was nice out, I had shorts on. So I get up, brush myself off and notice there was a big stick under the leaves I had hit and took my front wheel out. Nice. Now I'm all skinned up so I decide I'm not following with the closed road anymore and head back. On the way back home I get two bugs in the same eye. Yikes! I obviously was meant to take today off.
However in hind sight, it may not be the riding. I may just be having that sort of day. Earlier in the day I had gotten a papercut on my thumb, shortly there after I was in the cafeteria at work and got my bagel stuck in one of those toaster turning machines and started a small fire and burnt the same thumb trying to reach in and unjam the bagel. Mmmmm...
Luckily today is almost over and I can start fresh again tomorrow.

2006-11-06T19:06:00.000-05:00

Country Road

I'm working a really early schedule at work now. It's a little rough getting up in the morning. But the afternoons are totally making it worth it. I was thinking about this this afternoon as I rode through the backroads somewhat near my house. I say somewhat cause I took a new loop today. I had plenty of day light so I figured I'd experiment a little. I don't know why I ever think that's a good idea, but today I did. I took off and I was a little cold, but I figured I'd warm up once I hit the first few hills. Yup, didn't happen. So I'm hoofing along, trying to get warm, but also enjoying the day. At the beginning of the ride the sun was out and I could smell the smell of fall as I passed the farms. I don't know what that is. Maybe a mix of rotting cow shit and hay that's been harvested; but for some reason it smells good. So I'm ridding along and it's a little chilly, but over all a beautiful fall afternoon so I decided to take a new turn.
Well, the new turn ended up taking me a whole lot of new turns until I had no clue where I was. The sun was gone and a thick grey sky lay overhead. The wind picked up and the temperature must have dropped about 10 degrees. I was lost, and freezing, my toes were going numb and by now had to pee. Great. I thought about calling Marc, as I did have my phone with me. But I felt that would be like admitting defeat. So I kept at it. I wasn't really totally lost. I was on a loop that was marked. The problem was it's marked for a 25, 50, and 100k. And somehow I got on the wrong one and it was taking me very far away from home. I figured if I just followed it long enough that it would lead me back to a road I knew and then I could cut back home. The only problem was I was absolutely freezing and my feet were almost completely numb, making it very hard to climb. But I didn't give up, I plugged on and eventually it finally linked to a road I knew and I made my way home. I was very cold, feet very numb, and bladder about to burst. But I did it. I hadn't given up and I found my way on my own and had a really good ride.

2006-11-06T18:54:00.000-05:00

Mmmm Cookies...

This past weekend was great. We did not go to a race, hell we barely road. It was just a nice relaxing weekend. I need those every once in a while. I ran around a little bit. But for the most part it was quiet.
Went out with some friends Friday night and Marc drank too much. I can always tell when he drinks too much cause he starts talking to all the people down Main St as we drive home. This time was particularly interesting as he's talking to them, but hadn't realized that the window was back up. So they could see him, but not hear him. That made for far less retorts, which was good.
Saturday was freezing by my standards, but I managed to get a ride in. Some kids showed up part of the way into my ride to have flag football practice on one of the fields I ride on. No biggie. There weren't that many kids and they were only using part of the field, so I just rode down the side (further away from the sideline) as not to be in there way. However the parents were still asses. I wasn't anywhere near interrupting the practice or bothering the kids and they ran screaming from one line to the other. Why screaming is a necessary part of practice I do not know. But they did this several times. Anyway, there 7 or so parents that were there just hanging out. They stood on the one corner I was cutting through and actually looked irritated as I came by. I slowed a ton so as to not startle them and passed carefully. But they still glared. Mmm, I was there first, I moved my loop as to stay completely out of the way, and yet they felt the need to give me nasty stares as I came by. I guess I was interrupting their conversation.
Sunday I decided to bake cookies. I've never baked cookies before. I've helped my mom back in the day. But never actually made them myself. So I decided to make some Tollhouse cookies. Just the recipe off the bag, but hey that's still from scratch. They turned out good, mmmm.

2006-11-02T17:24:00.000-05:00

Spell Bound

I was flipping through Entertainment Weekly and came across a list of the top 5 movie magicians. Yes, I don't know why I was looking at Entertainment Weekly either. For some reason it's been coming to the house. I don't have a subscription or anything, but it keeps showing up. Anyway, the list was:

#5 Merlin
#4 Gandalf
#3 Albus Dumbledore
#2 The Wicked Witch of the West
#1 Yoda

I couldn't believe what I was reading. For one, though Yoda is a bad ass, he's not a magician, he's a jedi knight.
As for the wicked Witch of the West. #2, really? What did she really do. So she could look in a crystal ball and have a minion of flying monkeys. She couldn't even cast a decent enough spell to be immune to water. She must bave been one smelly B*&^#.
Now Albus Dumbledore on the other hand. He's awesome. He is not only a really powerful wizard, but he also has compassion and understanding. A really likeable guy. And where's Voldemort in this list? He's supposed to be the most powerful wizard of all. He's bringing himself back from the dead even. I never saw the Wicked Witch of the West do that.
Gandalf, again, another great choice. That fight on top of the tower was awesome. Yes, I'm a super geek.
And Merlin as #5? He's the one that started it all. He's the ubber magician. However, I'm not familiar with the particular film they're referencing. So maybe that Merlin sucked.
So my list would be as follows.

#5 the Wicked Witch of the West (only because I do not consider a jedi knight a magician)
#4 Dumbledore
#3 Gandalf
#2 Voldemort
#1 Merlin

2006-11-02T15:29:00.000-05:00

Happy Trails

I can't believe the weather the last few days. It's been absolutely beautiful, especially for this time of year. I was home earlier then normal the other day and trying to decide if I was going to go for a ride. It was awesome out, but my back had been paining me all morning (and I was whining). I went back and forth and resolved that I'd take a day of rest and just enjoy the day. Then Amy calls. She too was out of work early. After very little prodding, and the promise of a nice easy spin, I agree to meet up with her and go for a ride at White Clay as long as I could get my bike in the car; as I have not yet put the roof rack back on. After practically dismantling my bike to get it in the car, I manage to fit it in and the ride was a go.
We decide to meet at the bird sanctuary. Which I thought was odd since we were riding White Clay, but ok. I arrive first. I get out and try to get my bike back together before Amy gets there so we get rolling. As soon as I get out of the car a guy comes over and says, "I have a silly question, could you tell me how to get to Bike Line?" So I gave him directions. Afterwards I proceed to pull out my bike and I hear grumbling. Then one of them says, "I think it's called a cyclocross bike". I told him it was, and he in turn asks if I could ride it here. I said I don't know I hadn't before, but I'm about to find out. Mmmm, actually that is a good question. I've never really ridden my cross bike on single track.
Soon Amy arrives, we get ourselves together and head off. It's beautiful out. I'm in shorts and short sleeves and comfortable. The trails are in awesome condition. They're nice and dry, with just a little leaves on them to kinda make it more interesting. It's great. We head over to White Clay. We end up climbing a lot more than I had anticipated. But it was just nice to get out and have an enjoyable ride.
It did get a little interesting when we get to shock and awe. Normally it's called this because it's a fast twisty burmy piece of singletrack you can fly through. However, with cross brakes, that aren't really made for breaking but really slowing, it gave shock and awe a whole new meaning. We both were squeezing as hard as we could and just rolling along. There was no stopping. Eventually we did manage to stop and we had to rest are hands for a moment as they had seized up from white knuckling for so long.
Overall it was an awesome day, great riding, my back loosened up and felt good. We don't get too many more days like this anymore. So it's nice to be able to make the most of them.

FFA messing around on a make-shift teeter-totter. We passed up riding on the real teeter totter on the skills trail.

Look how pretty the view was. And I don't mean of Amy's ass.

We ran into Fitzi and rider heading out for a run on the way back to the car.

2006-10-30T15:53:00.000-05:00

Suit Up?

Yesterday was Beacon. I was scared half to death of this race. All week people kept telling me how hard it was and of the ampitheater of death. I didn't even want to do it it got so bad. Marc had pre-registered me, so I was stuck. There was no way out. Ah, but then I got hurt Satruday. I don't know exactly what happened. All I know is that by Saturday night my back and hip had seized up so much that I couldn't stand up straight or put hardly any pressure on my one leg. I tried to rub it out and made it worse. I took Advil; didn't help. I tried hot balm. Felt good. But I think it just disguised the pain. I went to bed without packing for the race. I wasn't even sure I was going to make it to the race, not alone actually getting on my bike.
Sunday morning comes, I get up and move around gingerly. I feel stiff, but no sharp stabbing pains. So that's an improvement. I take more Advil. Grab a little something to eat and throw some crap in my bag as Marc is rushing me out the door.
We get to the race, I'm moving ok. I pick up my number, go to get dressed and oh no not again! I have my shoes, but this time I forget my kit. I have arm warmers, leg warmers, gloves, shoes helmet, everything for my extremeties, but no kit. Luckily Mike lent me one of his skin suits. He had an extra, though it was a men's medium. But hey, beggers can't be choosy.
Oddly enough the shorts weren't bad. I filled out the butt just fine. It was a little loose around the leg, but the kneewarmers held it in place. The upper body was another story. My oh my was it anything but tight. At the line one of the girls actually laughed at me. Another said that it made it look like I lost a bunch of weight. I laughed. But it did the job.
Thanks Mike!!!
My race went well. Amy came through with some stuff called Biofreeze that did wonders on my back. It felt great. It Seized up a little later again. But just reapplied and good as new. Also, turned out I liked the course a lot. I did hate the ampitheater of death with a passion. That is a hateful thing to make people run up. Especially someone as short as me. Those things weren't stairs. It was like climbing a wall each time. But other than that I really enjoyed the course. Even the beach wasn't so bad. Overall turned out to be a good day, and now Beacon is one of my favorite courses so far.

2006-10-30T15:13:00.000-05:00

Itty Bitty Pit Tid Bit

Below is an actual conversation Amy, Paul and I had regarding handing off a bike.

Amy, "here catch for me".

me, "no I can't, I'm no good, I get hurt".

Amy, "ok hold this, I'll catch, I like to catch".

Paul, "if you're gonna catch, you have to catch from behind".

Amy, "oh I know, I'm good at catching".

me, "ok, as long as I don't have to catch".

2006-10-23T18:02:00.000-05:00

This is Laura, she's great. She'll give you the shoes off her feet. Well, maybe not off her feet; but out of her trunk.

Thanks Laura!