Mountain Biking as a Foreign Language

Never dull, the week after Christmas is proving to be quite exciting---and exhausting. It's Tuesday, and I've already ridden frozen trails twice; yesterday Cheryl & I did a snow ride. It was awesome! I think the reports were between 1 & 1.5 inches, so there wasn't so much that it taxed the legs; rather, it made it fun without sliding too much.

Instead of sliding around corners while grabbing a handful of rear brake, we just pedaled our bikes and tried to stay upright, with success I might add. While we were riding, I was reminded of a dream I had a couple of nights ago. I was racing in the mud and kicking a$$! I was telling myself to keep pressure on my outside leg in the corners; my weight was perfect. Not only was I not sliding, I was cornering with perfection!

In my undergraduate studies, I recall being taught that it takes 7 years of study to truly master a foreign language. Note that it was only 3 months for Jake Sully to learn the Na'vi language in Avatar. (It was a spectacular movie, btw. Go see it!) And when you start thinking in a second language, you start dreaming in it too. It happened to me only a couple of times when I was taking Spanish classes in college. Having been years since I studied, it's been years since I've dreamed in another language--until now.

My muddy race dream was the 2nd where I've had flawless technique. In the first, I executed perfect bunny hops. I could literally float over obstacles.

While I don't think I'll "master" mountain biking in 7 years, I'm ecstatic that some of this stuff is becoming more intuitive. For some, the physics of riding a bicycle, especially at fast speeds, is natural. They inherently understand the gyrations of the wheels, the significance of weight distribution at the proper times, etc. For others, like me, it's not so intuitive; rather, these lessons are learned--sometimes the hard way--like grabbing a handful of front brake during a descent with my weight towards the front.....and over the handlebars I go! I would like to reach the point where I can do a controlled skid around a corner (and not mess up the trails, of course.) As they used to say in my karate classes, the weapon should be an extension of your body. The bicycle can be too. We are one going down the trail; we should be connected (and not just by the pedals!)

So, I will continue to pursue mastery. Yesterday I was also thinking how, after being on a road bike, I would have to slowly "adjust" to my mt bike when riding on girls' nights. Not any more--hopping on is 2nd nature. Time to free myself!

Another foreign language I don't care to master is construction. As I've detailed in previous posts, hubby and I are remodeling the house during our building phase. Since I've used so many words above, I'll try to detail yesterday in pictures.

When I got home from the bike ride, I was told, "I have a task for you to do." This means it's something easy but labor intensive since I'm still in the "unskilled labor" category (see previous post). Where this lack of knowledge used to get me out of work, I can no longer use the excuse.


First task: Follow Jason in car with emergency flashers on while he drives 5 miles from his brother's house to ours in the skid steerer (aka bobcat). Ahhh, heat and an audio book; it took 35 minutes. He had to have been COLD as there is no heater in this piece of machinery.

Second task: Sit on forklift and steer it to the garage while he pushes me with the bobcat. I gracefully bowed out of this duty and gave the forklift-driving glory to our neighbor and took pictures instead.

Third task: Put all drywall remnants in trash and start unscrewing all leftover drywall screws from studs, including the ones overhead on the ceiling. UGH.

Fourth task: Break up tile in our basement, throw it in trash bins, sweep up mess, and smooth leftover grout. This is awful. As I write, Mr. Wonderful is hacking away at the tile in our basement. In a protest of my mundane duties of picking up sharp, fragments of tile & operating the shop vac, I grabbed the machine at one point and started hacking away. It was fun for several minutes; then, like so many things, it became work.

Nevertheless, life is good, and I'm getting double workouts! My back, shoulders, arms, and legs are quite stiff, but it only makes me stronger. And I sleep without ANY problem.

Have a Happy, Happy New Year!!!!!

The Day After

I hosted Christmas this year. 9 kids and 11 adults. My house is halfway between the southern and northern families. It made sense. That is, it made sense until the kids started screaming, running, and putting their grubby fingers all over everything.

Yes, I have a little bit of a complex. (No, I am in no way a neat freak.) I don't like grubby fingers. My husband sums it up quite eloquently, "It's OK to live in your own dirt. But someone else's dirt is gross."

Exhibit 1:

I wasn't quick enough to get a picture of a different kid eating what he dug out of the mine.

Anyway, Christmas was a success. No broken bones. The food was awesome! AND I got leftovers this time. I think that's the bonus of hosting and paying for the Honey Baked ham (formerly known as Heavenly Ham). mmmmmm goodness!

Last week proved to be a dismal, rainy, cold week--perfect to play w/ my own new toy: a PowerTap. Numbers are so intriguing; now I need to read up on how to analyze the numbers. I can totally see how pros would want to record every variable and put them in fancy algorithms. I hope I don't become a slave to the numbers. Actually, there's no chance of that. I'll likely get bored before I dive into the deep, deep end.

So, on Christmas Day, I packed away my beloved new toy, bike, and trainer making way for my guests to walk in and out of the kitchen and living room. Not having exercised, I wondered why my knee and hip were acting up. Oh yeah--b/c I was on my feet for 12 hours! My specialty is noodles. From Grandma's recipe, these are hands-down the BEST, most awesome, fat-laden, packed-with-calories noodles one can make. Let's just say, for 5 batches I used 40 eggs. (the secret is using just the yolks--no whites)

Knowing my love for bicycling, my mom made me something special:

My very own bicycle sugar cookie

(which someone ate when I wasn't looking)

The kids were pretty good--most of the time. Some adults liked to instigate noise and rowdiness. For instance, below is a great shot of several of the kids (I think 3 are missing) shouting at the top of their lungs, "Pre-sents! Pre-sents! Pre-sents!" This must be what Christmas is all about, folks. I keep thinking that there is no way we would have gotten away with that when we were kids. But my mom and the parents/grandparents in the room seemed to think it was funny. At what point does this transformation occur? Must I have kids or grandkids to understand this paradox?


Oh yeah, AMC played Christmas Vacation (in the background on the TV) REPEATEDLY throughout the day. SCORE! If only I had been able to watch it.

Funnier than the "presents" photo is the one where Grandma Mo (my mom) actually got some of the kids to pretend they were asleep. For 90 whole seconds, the house was silent. The adults didn't quite know what to do themselves. However, the underlying vibe was in the air as seen with smiles on their faces with their eyes closed in fake sleep.

And then....CHAOS ensued. Below is a pretty good portrayal.


Note

1) one purple-dressed child already bored w/ toys and seeing what she can pilfer from the Christmas tree.

2) Sponge-Bob Square Pants Christmas lights, age-appropriate I might add.

3) Mother w/ black hair (my sister) turning her head with obvious Christmas joy plastered on her face.

4) Cute kid in cute sweater mesmerized more by wrapping paper than the gift itself.

5) Other kids looking around for more presents to open and not playing with newly acquired gifts.

6) Beer on coffee table.

7) Funny coffee table book, "Why do Men have Nipples?"

8) Crayon art on coffee table developed during boredom waiting on this wonderful time of the day to come to fruition.

9) Wrapping paper all over floor.

10) ??? Fill in the blank. You get the picture.

Hopefully the kids were delighted and fell asleep for their parents on the drives home. Would have liked more pics, but I'm a terrible photographer and didn't take many.

Today, back to the grind of working on the house and getting my exercise in--until I get sick from all the sick kids. I've been pondering the answer to my own question, "Am I being a prude not wanting to be around sick people?" On one side of the coin I know it's a fact of life and it will probably make my own immune system stronger. On the other, I consider myself an athlete and take my own good health seriously. Being sick affects my livelihood in a profound way. Shouldn't I protect it? C'est la vie, right?

Temperatures are notably colder with frozen ground in the forecast. Perhaps I'll get some trail riding in this next week. Ahhhhh.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and may your New Year be safe.

Lazy or not lazy?

It's that time of year. It's cold outside. There is so much good food going around, I could swim in all of it's sugary splendor. I'm being relatively good; only 2 cupcakes last week--both were on the same day. Granted, I ensured there was at least 2 hours between the feedings. They were so delicious, I didn't even feel guilty afterwards. Later, I learned they were made by a 5-year old. I wondered if she had washed her hands.

I consider myself a lazy person; many I work with would disagree. I guess it's perspective. On any ride, I don't think anyone has ever heard me say, "Let's take the long way!" or "Can't we go just a little bit more?"

I consider working out the highlights of my days and justification for sitting around the rest of the time. I thoroughly enjoy curling up on the couch and reading a book or watching a movie--not so much television. Surfing the internet is another popular time filler.

This time of year is perfect for all of those activities and more.

So, after Saturday's run, I had to do MORE physical labor and help Mr. Wonderful with the new building. My job was to wipe the drywall dust off the walls (read: wash the walls) to ready them for painting. Have I mentioned this is a BIG building? I got done with the little room and the loft when I decided to make myself some supper. Jason has an uncanny ability to work without breaks--including food breaks. Apparently I have the opposite philosophy. Several minutes later he came in and said the big room was done? Huh?!?!?!!? It took me hours to get to that point, and he gets twice as much done in 20 minutes? I was confused. When I asked him about it he replied, "Well, that job sucks and I'm not as worried about it in the big room. I'm tired." Thank goodness it wasn't just me. The rest of the evening was spent masking the doors and windows.

So, my laziness is one reason I considered getting a coach. I need someone to kick me in the rear and say, "GET OUT THERE!" By being accountable to someone else, I'm committed to doing more. I did some reading and research trying to find what every good American wants: something for nothing. Coaching services have sprung up every where. I found a few that were noteworthy and that I felt confident in to provide expert advice and a good personal training plan. Unfortunately, I wasn't willing to pay for it. I'm planning to spend some $$ fixing up my 29er for next year's race bike. (See future post.)

So, I'm going it alone. AND I know I can do it. The exciting part of this is I'm committed to myself!

Will I get it right?
Not all the time.

Will I be faster?
I certainly hope so. I must trust and follow the plan. (repeat 3x)

Will I learn a lot?
Most definitely.

My first astonishment is from Saturday's aforementioned run. I needed to keep my HR in a specific zone. I've prided myself on my running accomplishments over the last 14 months; I AM A RUNNER--when I want to be. That is SO exciting. My goal was 1 hour, 10 minutes and to keep the HR low. Naturally, on any hill, my heart just wants to pound and get me over the hill. I can do it. I want to do it. But the plan says LOW HR, so I mustered a walk. In fact, the whole exercise was much like that.

Slow down, Angela, you're going too fast.

But I can do it. I'm ready to go further, faster--MORE!

Yes, you know you can do it, but this exercise serves a different purpose today. Follow the plan. Trust the plan.

And so I walked a couple of times bringing the HR down to an acceptable level--when cars weren't coming. (-; I don't want anyone thinking I'm a wimp, do I?

So, Sunday was another day when I wanted to be lazy, but I was consumed with rolling around Mr. Wonderful on the scaffolding while he spray painted our building. I had other jobs like filling the paint bucket; ensuring the cords and hoses weren't snagged; etc. Below are some pics from the excitement. When it was finished, the sun had gone to bed. Boooo. I reluctantly rode the bike inside before finally fixing something to eat. What a long weekend.

Jason gets the scaffold ready to paint the ceiling.

I didn't venture to the top. It's pretty high.

Ready to paint!


After.....

Aren't we cute???

Me in 50 years.

Numbers, numbers

Mr. Wonderful and I stayed home this year for Thanksgiving; at first I was sad. But I must admit not spending the $$ and plans to work on the house seemed like a good consolation prize. Unfortunately, he came down with some sickness, so the house progress has been zero. Of course that means PLAY TIME for me (until I get sick, anyway).

I'll summarize in numbers as they were buzzing through my head last night. And NO--I'm not sharing any HR, cadence, or watts numbers. I don't even know where my HR strap is and I don't care right now. Life is good.

• 7 of the last 8 - days I've exercised. Thanksgiving Day was the exception.
• 34 - eggs I used in making my famous homemade noodles and awesome molasses cookies.
• 6.7 - miles in my longest run of this year on Friday. I'm so proud since I've never thought of myself as a runner. I set out feeling awesome and that I could run all day. Thankfully, I had the good sense to turn around when I did!
• 9.33 - pace in km/hr of the jog above. I'm practicing for my Europe trip. (-; No, it's not a superb pace, but I'm more than pleased. Plus, I think the GPS lies; my treadmill paces are usually slower.
• 1.5 - molasses cookies I ate on Thanksgiving day (+1 piece of Chocolate Eclair Cake)
• 7 - # of brothers, sisters, half-brothers, step-brothers, & step-sisters that I have. I saw 3 of them this week.
• 104 - degrees of the water temp in my hot tub. Ahhhh.
• 83 - years old is my grandmother.
• 6.99 - dollars that it took to surprise my grandmother last week with a birthday cake. She was beside herself in having been surprised. Sharing the cake with her card playing buddies the next day, she actually made a long distance call to me to ask where I bought it b/c it was so good. It made my day.
• 2 - hours of trail work I did today after riding my mountain bike to Wapehani and back home.
• 17 - the number of large pizzas I wanted to eat after the trail work. I was worried about bonking on the way home since my lunch consisted of an apple, a banana, and 5 shot blocks. Those don't go very far with 30 miles and 2 hours of trail work.
• 3 - lbs I've lost in 3 weeks by trying not to eat molasses cookies, homemade noodles, and pizza.

And I'm looking forward to another road ride on Sunday providing we can beat the rain. Fingers are crossed!

Not a lot of news

Last weekend was superb for exercise, high 60s in November. Those days are special; perhaps not as special as warm, sunny days in December or January. Nevertheless, Saturday I headed out for a 5-mile jog.

Living on top of a ridge, my first 2.5 miles are down hill. Naturally, I had the misfortune of having to stop at "Creepy House" when one of the 3 barking German Shepherds came out to the road to greet me with snarling teeth. The lady who owns it yelled for it to return home after I had stopped and turned to face the mutt ready to put my foot down its throat. Amazingly, the dog abruptly halted on the pavement, slid a little looking very awkward, minded her command and fell back.

I continued in peace until I reached the 2-mile point. Does everyone mark their routes like I do? The 2-mile point is denoted by the 2nd pole past the old lady's house with the garden. (The 1-mile point is Creepy House.) Anyway, a cow in the pasture had his big head through the fence wire and proceeded to stare. I've never been stared at like that before! His big eyes and the way his head followed me down the road creeped me out almost as much as Creepy House. Yes, I was looking behind me while running. My mind pondered all the things I should say aloud to the cow while I reminded myself to avert my eyes. Don't want it charging, right? As if.

So, the return trip featured the same beast eating the greener grass on the other side of the fence. As I jogged by, it turned & engaged the creepy stare, stopped chewing, and followed my every move. The long grass was literally hanging out of its mouth looking like a green, misplaced mustache was there was so much of it sticking out. It was hilarious. At that point I was wishing I had my camera b/c I think Cheryl would have enjoyed the pic of a silly-looking cow.

After the uneasy human-animal episode, I came upon the house that had the flannel-jacket, thick mustache & caterpillar hat wearing dude who was working on his Chevy. The moment I passed, he started revving up the engine multiple times. Was it for me or for him? I'm not sure. Nevertheless, I wanted to tell him he wasn't hitting on all 8.

Then--THE HILL. This thing is steep! In my car, I have to shift down to 2nd gear to get up; I managed to NOT walk it and found 3 more dudes at the top wondering why anyone exercises, let alone on THAT hill.

Once more I had to go by Creepy House. This time, the man & woman were both outside with 2 of 3 dogs unchained. Luckily, by the time I got to the house, he had encased both dogs in the cab of his crusty pickup. Whew.

The last 3/4 of a mile produced a tailwind. Ahhhhhh.

Sunday's adventure was a long mtb ride. I had a fantastic day technically and physically. I messed up technically only when I tried to choose other-than-normal lines through the rocks. I was trying to mix it up and do new things, but floundered a couple of times. Oh well. It's good to see what works and what doesn't.

On a whim, I decided to purchase a ticket for New Moon tonight to watch w/ my neighbors. My buddy Jade is a huge fan. I liked the books, so now I'm succumbing to pre-teen hysteria and will stay up past my bedtime. Party on!

Slow Motion

It's November. I feel like everything is going in slow motion...the house, the building, my ride speed, etc. But if that's true, how did Autumn get here so fast? Why did the leaves fall so fast? It's like one day they were here looking beautiful painting the landscape, and the next, they were brown and on the ground.

Anyway, the house progress is extremely slow and is limited to 6-7 hours a week due to various other projects. Hubby and I worked Saturday putting siding up; I was relegated to cutting (yes, with a saw! Yay for tools.) and handing up correct measured pieces. I think I would have enjoyed hammering more, but I don't think I would have liked walking on the awning. So, the top is done--we still need to finish the bottom. Looks a little clunky still with our siding scraps, scaffolding, and ladder outside. Nevertheless, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all the windows!

The building has also had some down time. With the electrical finally finished, the drywall and insulation experts are on scene this week. We made a last minute decision to spend some extra $$ and have spray foam installed under the installation. This should better insulate and help seal the place. Angela's translation: I should expect to never see a spider or lady bug inside the building. LOL. As if. But I do dread the upcoming chore of painting which will fall on our shoulders. Any volunteers? We'll supply beer.

With temps in the high 60s, I wanted to ensure I pedaled my bicycle on such a glorious day. Again, I was reminded of slow motion. I am SO out of shape, but I'm OK with it right now. Running errands in town, I decided to hit the Wap instead of driving to Brown County. The trail was covered with leaves! At times it was difficult to spot which way I should go. In fact, on the first lap, I took a wrong turn and ended up back at the parking lot way too early. Oops. A group of guys had just finished a lap and headed out with me; they assured me the leaves were dry. Guess what! Dry leaves are slick too! I didn't go down but had a few close calls. Perhaps it wasn't from the leaves--it was more likely the roots hiding out underneath. A couple of people are doing mucho trail work out there; I think the new reroutes will certainly help take the 'ouch factor' out of some of the steep hills on the backside while hopefully adding some more miles.

Somewhere along the way, I ran through dog poo. Yuck. I took my bike to a car wash after the ride! It was on the way home and I had some quarters. I say it was $2 well spent.

One slow thing I'm grateful for is the onset of Winter. The Old Man can stay away for a little while longer. I want to play outside some more!

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.