Mr. Wonderful and Projects

I complain sometimes about how long it takes Mr. Wonderful to complete a project. However, this week, he out did himself. With a sudden cold snap, Doc Breeden needed a warm place to stay while we work. After buying an electric heating pad, Jason decided to build a dog house.

And how awesome is this custom, insulated doghouse?!?!?!?

Doc seems to love it; it only took 90 seconds of coaxing with some chicken to get him to appreciate the labor endured and $$ spent. Or was it the 9 degrees that had him convinced?

Later in the week, I received my new Ikea drying racks in the mail. If you're like me, you have tons of clothes (especially workout clothes) that don't go in the dryer. These require "air dry" and my cheap, collapsible wooden Wal-mart rack finally broke. Eager to try these out, I pleaded with Mr. Wonderful to help me hang them--just in time to get my favorite tights dry for a weekend run!

Again, how awesome are these?

(or how lame am I for loving something like this?)

THANK YOU, MR. WONDERFUL!!!! Love, Ange & Doc.

Testing something

Just putting up some pics to test something.

Blog Less Do More

"Blog Less Do More"

This was a bumper sticker quoted to me over a year ago. The question to myself now is, "What shall I do?" I'm pretty certain training for mountain bike racing has halted and I won't be committing myself to racing during the 2011 season for multiple reasons. While I enjoyed tremendous personal success during 2010, I'm not ready to make that level of commitment for the next year. Additionally, I would have to learn to train differently than this past year--another learning curve!

But back to the original question, "What shall I do?" In this new world of discovery, I have taken a giant rest break to ponder the possibilities. The current focus is Doc. Mr. Wonderful and I adopted a belgian malinois from the local shelter (see previous post); not recognizing the amount of time and energy this little guy required, we jumped in to the paperwork happy to have a canine in the household. But this one is far different from Maximus Breeden's temperament. You'd think we would have done a little more research, but Noooo....

In my quest to now keep from gaining 600 pounds and continuing to eat as much ice cream as I want, I've taken up jogging. Not only can I do it from my house, on a trail, in less time as cycling, I can take my new, ever-abundant-energy-dog, Doc. He loves our time together! Granted, he's better at sprinting; though he doesn't seem to tire even after 6 trail miles full of stimulation.

As I ponder my question, I'm dabbing into behavior modification techniques, jogging, and general laziness as my next obsessions. These bring me to new websites, new blogs, and go figure---more ways to spend $$ for gear!!! Perhaps something will strike me as much as cycling did; only time will tell. Or perhaps I'll become bored and jump right in to pedaling again. Please don't get confused--I'll always ride my bike; it's a tremendous feeling and exercise. I just may not ride fast.

In the mean time, I might learn from donkeys or find what I believe in the same way Jon Katz has.

As always...blog pics.

Here's Doc on the Dam of Yellowwood Lake

Here he is showing off his water pack!

Helping clear branches from a downed tree...

And going the wrong way with his "help"

Socialization day with Jake...

Enjoying the soft pine needles.

I like this section of the forest that marks the trees...I should really study up on some of these.

2nd Annual DCSSP&IC Ride

YAY!!!!! Thurston and Mom headed up another great ride around Washington, IN affectionately known as the DCSSP&IC (Daviess County Slow Spokes Pizza & Ice Cream) ride. Guess which part I named????

Mapping a 33-mile route, setting up a SAG stop, and bringing nice weather, these two also ensured we had a fun day. We had only 8 participants this year, including a couple fairly new riders. Lori & Penny did AWESOME on their first semi-organized ride. In fact, Lori's longest ride of the year had been 10 miles; when the day was done, her odometer read 27! Phenomenal.

There were some ups and downs--not only the hills, but the wind! Mr. Wonderful was competing in a sailboat race, so he welcomed it. We, however, were not so excited about the hindrance. But the sun was shining and the temperature was darn near perfect around 75 degrees. I have to admit my legs are a little sore b/c I haven't been riding much. And the 6-mile jog at Paynetown around Lake Monroe the same morning probably didn't help my performance on the DCSSP&IC ride.

Of course the pizza at Bobe's afterwards made it all worthwhile. And since we didn't have ice cream (as we were supposed to) I made up for it on Sunday by eating half a pint. The other half is still beckoning me.....

Some of you recognize this guy, Mike P, with his sweetie.

Story time with Thurston...

Meet my mother, everyone.

Starting the ride...

The girls in the group: Me, Mom, Penny, & Lori

The illustrious Dan Henrys

Our bikes at the SAG...or are we running away from the

atrocious GPC smell (corn ethanol plant?)

Helmetless Bernie decides to race one of the 109523958193 tractors we saw on the ride. It's harvest time, folks!

Doc and life

My life has changed a heckuva lot more than I thought it would with the new dog, Doc. He's a handful. Waking up in the wee hours of the morning, the canine can't seem to sleep longer than 5.5 hours. UGH. This only confirms my choice to not have kids.

But he's such a COOL dog. I've been hiking with him every weekend and play incessantly during the week. He's adjusted to our abode quite well and even seems to love me and Mr. Wonderful. He still has bouts of anxiety but is getting less anxious and more confident every day.

Yesterday, Cheryl went on a hike with me to Griffey where we saw a couple with 2 dogs on a leash. I wondered what Doc would do. For the most part, he was pretty good. At one point, the strangers allowed their big golden lab to sniff Doc. They practically touched noses, and Doc snapped. The owner apologized, but I don't know who did what first. Thankfully, that's all that happened as Doc was not on a leash at the point. The couple was friendly; I thought it was super cool of them to allow this interaction with a strange dog whose reaction would be unknown.
(Thanks, Cheryl, for helping with socializing him!)

In other news, I've officially given up racing this year. Last weekend, I missed my first DINO race in 4 or 5 years. Actually, I didn't miss it at all--I skipped it. Having gone way off the training plan and getting burned out, I decided fun would be choice from here on out. I ride when I can and jog at other times. Sometimes---ok, a lot of times---I just take a night off and spend it catching up on Netflix with Mr. Wonderful. I'm no longer stressed about workouts.

I had a terrific season and achieved at least 2 major goals; Even though I'm leaving the DINO series early, I've particpated in just over 10 races in and outside of Indiana this year still making it a solid effort. Now I'm really excited about the Fall events coming up: Hilly Hundred, Brown County Breakdown, some 6-hour races???? We'll see.

Here are some pics from a couple of excursions over the past month:

Belted Kingfisher--I didn't take this pic, though. Saw one on yesterday's road ride.

Morgan Monroe, Rock Creek Trail

Hocus Focus

A post is long over due. Unfortunately, I haven't enough focus to write about anything.

I thought of a title called "The Biggest Loser," but I don't really think of myself like that. After placing last in both Short Track and the XC race @ Muscatatuck, I thought it was a rather funny description. Short Track was hard. During the XC race I felt great! But my bike didn't. I DNF'ed due to a mechanical. It's kind of a cop out, I know. I could have kept going if I had left my chain in one gear; I'm not willing to do that. I like gears. So, my mental frustration exceeded my willingness to continue.

But that's been my biggest problem lately--my willingness to continue. I call it--BURN OUT. After 7 months of hard, dedicated training, I accomplished my big goal this year. I have had a successful first half of the race season--by my standards (and perhaps by others' as well). So now, I'm just "doing some time" to finish out the year as my focus is no longer on racing.

Sad? Perhaps. That's OK. I can accept my lack of motivation. I don't have the internal drive that pushes some people. If I were really that committed to racing, I would stop feasting on pizza and ice cream all the time paying attention to my power to weight ratio. I would be more committed than I have been this year. Ahhh--to strike the balance between fun and work. I'm going back to the fun side now. (Not that it's been dreadful or anything; I've learned much and am quite pleased with my efforts.)

Quick race report: I participated in a race in Chattanooga on Raccoon Mountain. AWESOME trail. Another bad race for me, though. Lack of training and proper gearing made this one hurt.

Note to self: When "mountain" is in the title of the location, a granny gear might be a good option!

In fact, I almost cried (seriously) at the finish at the sheer relief of being done. The trail has everything--rocks, roots, uphills, descents, switchbacks, cool, loud spectators, etc. I ran out of water with about 40+ minutes left and had been rationing some up to that point. Doh! Not used to the "longer" races--those being over 2 hours. But the location is certainly worth a road trip to just ride. Anyone? Also great road riding in those there parts of the country.

Thanks to MRL for the pics.

Confession: I have another excuse for my lack of focus. Mr. Wonderful and I are dog owners again! I've been wanting a dog since our Maximus Breeden (RIP) died last year. (He was the bestest dog.) I can tear up just thinking about him. Of course Lucy followed Max to the grave 3 weeks later with a completely unrelated illness.

Anyway, meet Doc. He's a rescued Belgian Malinois who has some rather special needs. Being neglected and abused, he has some issues. We're going to try to give him a wonderful home and lots of love. We've been on several hikes. Despite his issues, he's a very obedient dog and has come a long way in the 5 months he spent at a trainer's house after his rescue. I can't imagine the patience and nurturing required to bring him to the state he's at now. I also can't believe the heartless people of the world that could do what they've done to animals and humans alike. May karma get them.

Too Cute!

Couldn't resist....this is my neighbor, Will, who comes from an entire family of gorgeous, awesome people. I posted a pic of his sister in a Random Photos entry previously.

Like all boys, Will loves the tractor.

Click on photo to make larger

Independently Wealthy-2

Part 2 of my Independently Wealthy series where I will highlight at least one thing on my mind recently that I want or want to do--if I ever strike it rich.


Garmin Edge 705 WITH maps and all the cycling accessories

Yes, this little gadget fits a lot into the mix.

-Heart rate monitor
-Speed/cadence sensor
-Stores custom created workouts
-Pace alert
-Interval training
-Barometric altimeter
-Unit-to-unit transfer
-Power meter compatible w/ ANT+ enabled power meters
-MAPS
-MicroSD card

With all the goodies, it's still under $1K, but I already have 2-3 gadgets that do most this stuff. (Maps are the exception; my GPS unit downloads the waypoints, but I can't view them while riding.)


So, I'm too cheap to buy this and can't justify it. Therefore, it goes in my wish list. And by the time my other techno widgets become obsolete, maybe there will be a better version of the Garmin Edge 705--like one that automatically routes my bike rides around ice cream parlors!

A Bad Case of Hubris

Bicycle Station Team Pic

After race pic. See my tan lines?

Down hill to the finish. Sweet!

Thanks to Matt L for the pics.

I've been on a high from the Brown County race a couple of weeks ago. With it being one of my top goals for the year, I achieved success. I raced my best and felt good doing so. Following the race, I attended skills camp. Learning good, solid techniques felt very empowering. Upon leaving, I felt I was equipped to go out and gain some seconds here and there.

So, yesterday's race at French Lick didn't go as well as the past couple of weeks. I had a superb start at the line, but when I got in to the singletrack, that LONG, long, long climb began. I thought I could try to hang with the other girls for a little while. I thought I had it in me to minimize the time gap at the finish. I thought the girls behind me would stay behind me. I thought I could push harder. I thought I wouldn't get beaten so badly. I thought I could handle what was thrown at me. I thought I wouldn't get lapped by the pro men. I was wrong on all accounts.

At some point, halfway through the lap?, I knew I had to back off. The peanut butter mud covered rocks were slick, and I was doing some really stupid stuff on the bike. Perhaps I should buy a lottery ticket b/c I didn't crash. But I knew I should back off. So I did.

One by one they passed me--Katherine and Meredith went by. I was off my bike when Meredith came up to me. She asked if I was OK.

"Yeah, I'm bonking." I said. But that wasn't it. I had plenty of food and had eaten well. What's the word? It's something else that's going on--I just couldn't think of what it was. Why did I feel like throwing up? My stomach wasn't that bad earlier. Why did my legs have NOTHING? What was wrong with my lungs?

"I'm not going to finish. I'm pulling out at the lap." I told her. She told me not to.

I was now in last place and Meredith was pulling away. It didn't matter; I wasn't finishing anyway.

I got back on the bike and pedaled some. My HR was down to an acceptable level, and I was riding quite freely now. I caught back up to Mer and started chatting.

"I'm not bonking. I think I overheated." The temp was in the high 90s, I think. For some reason, I felt a need to clarify.

We chatted some more then came upon a Cat 2 Woman rider who had blood all over face. It looked bad. We stopped to check her status. Extremely swollen cheek, cut on her face, pupils seemed fine. She was resolute in wanting to finish the race, which was this lap. However, we told her we would find someone to come back and check on her. She seemed a little shaken but got back on her bike and tried to follow us. We asked her to just take it easy and finish.

While chatting with my teammate, I forgot to pull out of the race at the lap marker. We came around and started that awful climb again, so I decided I would give it another go. This second lap felt good, so I pushed it again trying to back off when I felt bad.

On a double track section, I caught up to Katherine and passed her. With 3-4 miles or so left to go, the pressure was on to stay in front of her. I had to really focus now and try not to blow up.

Success! I finished 4th and had a pretty good 2nd lap. Unfortunately, I lost much time on the girls in front of me when I was hoping to minimize that gap.

Good news: I learned my lesson. I must keep working hard and not let one good race influence my judgment. Conversely, I must keep working hard and not let one bad race influence my attitude. So, I'm more than pleased I kept going and finished strong despite the blow up on my first of 2 laps. As for skills, they didn't come soon enough. I flailed around and am looking forward to some parking lot time to work on drills. Cheryl? When are we going to do that slow race again?

French Lick Course Map lifted from DINO's website.

Skills Camp - I'm Stuffed!

Three days of mountain bike skills camp was phenomenal! Cheryl and I headed to North Vernon to brush up on our trail skills with a Gene Hamilton clinic. We have many drills to do now! Thankfully, we can perfect our techniques right in our very own yards. The instructor was terrific, the trail conditions weren't so terrific, and we totally lucked out with the deluge of thunderstorms and rain that encompassed much of Indiana the entire weekend. Oddly, North Vernon is quite a mystery as it escaped much of the lightening, wind, and hail from nearby storms. Bored one night, we decided to cruise town snapping photos of some of the local spots. Enjoy..

Fancy Yard Sale

Storm a brewin'

The sign that started the photo rampage.

They don't make 'em like they used to.....
way back in 1985

A people shot

Creepy or Classy? Wait...that could work for the photo above, too.

Muddin' (the white truck--not the red one)

Oddly, the prettiest thing in North Vernon was on a public restroom at the park.

Who wouldn't want to eat here?

"I'm Stuffed" is the name of the dining establishment.

HOT!!!!

Hmmm. Horse on a Porch!

Glamorous--indeed.

Another statue outside a restaurant!

Sadly, we had no gold nor silver parts on our bikes.

If you're ever looking for a carpet store...

Too bad we didn't see this place BEFORE dinner.