Random Photos

Just some random photos to share, some new--some old:

In a former life I raced sailboats. Here's a pic from 2004, though I'm not in this one. Lake Lemon, Sailboat class: 505

Words to remember.....

While buzzing on a gin and tonic last week, I thought this little smore looked more like a marshmallow buddha. It was hilarious at the time.

The view from my living room. Ahhhhh. October is beautiful.

The view from my front door. This was the day before Hilly Hundred.

With different lighting...

Jason carved a pumpking for my mom one year. Lights on:

Lights off:

My brother being interviewed after receiving a purple heart.

My neighbor, Jade. She's awesome.

A pic I took from the plane today. Unfortunately, I missed the good shot b/c electronic devices weren't supposed to be on at that particular time. I just wanted to jump out of the plane and play on the clouds!

DID YOU KNOW BEN & JERRY'S MADE TINY VERSIONS OF THE PINT-SIZED PORTIONS????? Aren't they so cute? I was a good girl and didn't buy one.

My ever-smiling niece, Addison. She's a doll.

Hilly, Hilly, Hilly

Nothing like a hilly, organized touring ride to jump start my legs. AHHHHHHH. This weekend was wonderful. It was Hilly Hundred time--two days, 50 miles each day. The title doesn't lie; this is a hilly ride.

It wasn't easy to lift the images from the organizer's site, so here is a less-than-perfect version.

Day 1 made me want to cry. It was SO cold in the morning--high 30s? The cloud cover didn't help the cold seeping into our bones. Thankfully, my fingers were warm from Randi's recommended Manzella gloves. With wet leaves crushed onto the road, the first hill was slippery. We would have to pay extra attention as the morning's rain wasn't drying out. Sadly, our group saw the Emergency Rescue and ambulance headed toward a location behind us as we arrived at the first rest stop. We learned later the crash victim was an acquaintance that rode several miles with members of our group in the past few years. Rumors are indicating she has a head injury along with multiple other injuries. Yes, safety would be paramount.

The first rest stop had doughnuts. mmmmmmm. I enjoyed one along with a banana. No, 13 miles in to a 50 mile ride did not warrant the sugary treat. But the Hilly Hundred demanded it. You must eat while on this ride. I did.

Expecting cold, fried chicken at the lunch stop, I was not disappointed. We all ate the poultry, chicken, veggies, cookies, and Schwann's Ice Cream. Well, I didn't have any ice cream. I know many of you are confused. I was holding out for Ritter's that awaited at day's end. Also unexpectedly, the sun came out! Nothing had made me happier up to that point than to have the sun shining down. It wasn't enough to make me want to shed a layer, but it certainly helped my disposition.

I also want to note that two of our clan rode fixed gears on this day. To sum it up for the non-riders. This is HARD. One gear. Choose it wisely; it must be easy enough to go up hills and hard enough to go down the hills. Because when you go downhill, your pedals move--there is no coasting. Your cadence at times can be 50 rpms or 150 rpms. Both decided to make little foot pegs on the frame to unclip and rest their feet while bombing down a hill. It was silly to see; I wonder what people thought.....

The last rest stop. Mr. Wonderful finds is happy to be resting.

It was way too cold for shorts on this day....

Coach Battin and JL find us. Matt impressed us with his off-road skills to ride the ditch.


Just a shot of all the bikes.
The camera phone doesn't take great pics, but this one is a beauty. There's a tractor in the shed--classic Indiana.

Day 2 would prove to be sunny with warmer temps. While we started in the 40s, we ended at 65 degrees. Mer joined us today, and we had quite a group at the start.

We didn't all finish at the same time, but rolling out together was a treat. I knew the boys would throw the hammer down on Anderson road, so I was itching to take the bait. I rode 3rd wheel until the guys started getting twitchy at which point I fell into the pace line in 9th wheel. It was heaven. The engine started pulling, and I was going fast again. My heart rate hasn't been elevated like that in a couple of months, but I was still able to talk. AND I didn't even get shelled on the first rise! Nor was I the first or second to get dropped. Granted they weren't going ALL out or I would have been shelled at the beginning, but mid 20s was fine with me. I finally dropped off just before the turn into the forest. After a minute's rest, another group came past with Mr. Wonderful on the back. He gave me some advance notice to get up to speed. This group pulled us to the others who had dropped off the pace in anticipation of the Bean Blossom climb. I had been taking the hills easy and was happy to do so again.

Just like Day 1, cold, fried chicken awaited us at the lunch stop. The leaves, temps, sun, and atmosphere was glorious.

After the final rest stop, we found ourselves on another flat section. Scott started the train again, and we all jumped on. Into the headwind, Art passed us on his fixed gear. What an animal! We were already going 20+. I stayed on until I knew no one else would drop then backed off to rejoin Mr. Wonderful and Mer. I would ride the rest of the 8 miles or so with them.

Sunday turned out to be gorgeous and totally made up for Saturday's dismal weather. I was all smiles for 50 miles. The leaves were breathtaking, though the pics can never show the depths of the colors and enormity of the scenery. Below are a couple of Phyllis that are awesome. Congrats to her for completing 50 miles. Way too cool.

Brown County Breakdown

I waited all year for this event. This is the Hilly Hundred on the trail. For Indiana mountain biking, the Brown County Breakdown is the mecca. I registered early for the 60-mile option that took riders from Brown County State Park to the Hoosier National Forest on 95% single-track. Who wouldn't love this ride? Also, it's the biggest fundraiser for HMBA and all the sweet trails they build and maintain. Shameless plug: Support them! They are the folks that work with state legislators, DNR, and other representatives to permit mountain bike trail building. Then they go out and build the trails, maintain them, and organize super cool rides like this one.

Last year, I rode 60 miles and felt great. This year was different. Too many late nights at work resulted in my fitness level plummeting. I think I have been on my bicycle 10 times in two months! And it showed. Aside from dusty handlebars, it was a balmy 34 degrees at the start line. I don't like the cold temperatures when I'm used to it; let alone when I'm still missing summer. I loathe it when my body hasn't acclimated at all to the nippy air and breeze. But this day was different. This was the big event!

Our group started with 10 or so riders, mostly from the Bicycle Station. Mike P also came up for another year of fun! Quickly 3 fast riders separated as we opted to take the STEEP hill instead of the easy, Pine Loop. We all theorized the hill would warm us up; it did for a short time. Coldness rapidly seeped into my fingers and bones making shifting frustrating. I kept telling myself I would warm up.

With severe rains in the preceding days the trails were OK, but the roots and rocks were especially slippery. I witnessed 3 crashes before one of our own went down. Melissa, on her new fly Cannondale Scalpel, slipped on a rock and ended up with a pretty good nose bleed. Below is a stock photo of her new ride. Matt B. complemented the pink accents with some pink grips, saddle, and water bottle cage. Being the weight weenie that he is, her bike is sub 20 lbs! I'm only a tad jealous (because I'm not that enamored with pink).

We all made it to the top of Hesitation Point, which is a super cool vista within the park. The pic on this site does a good job of showing off this highlight. It was cold. While the sun emerged for a short time, the slight breeze reminded us that winter is approaching. Some turned around, some continued on, and 4 of us stayed a little longer to thoroughly lock our joints into place. Finally we started pedaling again. I was ecstatic to be moving again but still lacking some enthusiasm.

Matt L had gone ahead; when we caught up to him, he was patiently waiting for the crowd to clear so he could turn his bike around and head home. With gloved fingers, he explained he had just crashed and broke a finger. After several gasps and questions,

"Are you all right?" Everyone.

"No. I broke my finger." Matt

"Do you need anything?" Everyone.

"No. I just need to get through." Matt.

Turns out two fingers are broken. Did I mention the rocks and roots were really slippery?

Now we were down to 2--me and Mike P. I was indecisive in how far I wanted to ride, and the news report said the horse trails were a mess. Our plan was to ride to the horse trail and check it out. The first trail was an absolute BLAST! There were quite a few down hills that I just bombed down with a smile on my face the whole time. The 29er really rolls over that stuff so smoothly. My only concern was having to climb them on the way back out. I knew I had to enjoy it while I could.

Arriving at the second horse trail, the mud was a thin peanut butter-like substance that sucked the energy out of our legs. Because Mike had just cleaned his bike, or was it because I was still whining at this point, we decided to call it a day and head back. After climbing aforementioned hills, we stopped to eat the PB&J's we had packed. MMMMM.

We took the trail back this year and chowed on the pulled pork, beans, potatoes, and fried biscuits. And to top it off, Mike bought his girlfriend a bike! So, despite my bad attitude, the day could have been a whole lot worse.

Best wishes to the ones who didn't finish; heal quickly.

Below are some pics lifted from HMBA posters.

The Endo Side Drop explained

Finally! As Ryan Leech says, "The Endo Side Drop comes in very handy when you need to exit off the side of a sketchy or uneven obstacle."

New trails at French Lick

Saturday was the opening of Buffalo Trace at French Lick Resort. In an effort to support the private trailbuilding efforts of this tourist destination, I joined more than a dozen fellow riders, including Mike T, to hit the trails on opening day. With great flow, awesome scenery, and some cool rock formations thrown in, it rivaled other trails in the state. Currently the loop is only 6 miles in length (rideable in both clockwise & counter-clockwise directions). Here are some pics of the trail. In the interim, I suggest taking a virtual tour or at least the photo gallery (from menu on left side) of the West Baden and French Lick hotels.

I lifted these photos from HMBA posted by Alex.

Following the ride and subsequent drive home, I started preparing for my family's arrival on Sunday. Cleaning...cooking...more cleaning. I was a tired girl Saturday night. After 8 hours rest, I met the girls at Brown County State Park for some more riding before the parents & grandparents came. Ahhhhh--to be back on the bike. My work schedule has been hectic lately, so I'm relishing my time on 2 wheels. The time will change soon leaving us with darkness approaching an hour earlier in the evenings. This makes me sad as I know I will be on the trainer soon. GET OUTSIDE WHILE YOU CAN!!!!

In the mean time, I'm taking it super easy when I ride or run....stopping to smell the roses as they say. They sure are sweet. Life is still good.