A Ride for Jonny Z.

I had a crummy day yesterday and wasn't in the mood to do much of anything but doing nothing always makes me feel worse, so Kenny and I did a big-loop ride after work. I felt okay starting out but then we hit the bridge and, damn. I hadn't ridden across that bridge since an acquaintance of mine tragically (and somewhat mysteriously) fell off it while riding his bike home a few weeks ago. The guard rail is a solid five feet high. I don't understand. I've been messed up over it and having weird dreams about it and was dreading being back on it.

The spot where he fell was covered in flowers and pictures and it made me cry. We stopped for a few minutes afterwards so I could pull myself together and I looked up at the sky and around at the beautiful afternoon and made the firm decision to just ride and enjoy the day as the gift that it is. Sometimes that's the best you can do, you know?

And it worked. It wasn't the fastest I've ever gone and I didn't overcome any new obstacles, but I fully enjoyed being outside, feeling the setting sun on my skin, wreathed in the smell of blooming honeysuckle and marvelling at how green everything is this time of year. Oh, and we saw a beaver! It hauled ass to get away from us and, I have to tell you, there's nothing funnier than a beaver hauling ass.

On the way home we took the winding uphill route via Riverside Drive and I was just plodding along (which is what I do on paved uphill surfaces) when I heard a strange whirring noise coming up fast on my left. Before I could even process it two road cyclists had passed me like I was standing still. I yelled to Kenny,

"Dang! I was wondering what that noise was. I guess that's what fast sounds like, huh."

The road cyclists got to the top of the hill and dammit it if they didn't turn right back around and go back down the hill.

"Heeey...did they do that whole climb just to pass us?"

"Yes. Yes they did."

"Losers."

Anyway, it was what I needed. I don't know that I'll ever cross that bridge again without thinking about Jonny, but that's what keeps someone's memory alive, is it not?

Yesterday Was Excellent...

So why do my legs feel like ass? I did my usual overzealous gym workout on Saturday and when I woke up Sunday my hamstrings were all, HERE WE ARE. Ouch. This did not stop me from driving with Kenny out to Pocahontas State Park to join a group ride. Whee! This is one of my favorite places to ride, hands down. It's loopy and technical and doesn't have a whole shit ton of climbing. Perfecto.

The first 20 minutes of the ride were pretty typical - painful and making me wonder for the 800th time why on earth I was doing this to myself. Then my lungs adjusted and my hamstrings unstrung a bit and I was good to go.

We did a lap of the green (easy) trail and then rode the whole Lakeview/Lakeview Too trail. I think we probably did 12-14 miles total (which sounds so ridiculous in road biking terms but mountain biking is quality over quantity, people! Plus, the pace is much slower.)

I rode pretty much everything except a couple of sketchy looking creek crossings. I was sort of trying to explain myself to someone in the group, saying the rocks looked really slippery and she was all,

"They really aren't. Actually, these crossings are the easiest of any I've ever done."

Oh...kay. I feel better now? Thanks for the boost! I did ride this funky little drop-off that I deliberately skipped the last time I was out there. Kenny missed me riding it so I did it again just to prove I could. Hmph.

The star of the day was the weather - it was in the high 70s and sunny with none of the suffocating humidity that I know is coming. When we got home from the ride we were both completely useless but it was still so pretty out! We both spent some quality time lolling around in the back yard with the cats just to get some extra nice-dayness in. I took pictures of cats because they were all being extra cute but I forgot to upload them. I'll try and add them in tonight.

The Evil Ivy.

The biking season has officially begun and I know this for serious because lo, I have my first tiny dots of poison ivy. I used to be one of those jerks who was all, "I don't get poison ivy!" like my skin was super-special and resistant to the lowly poison weed. Not so. Last year I noticed an itchy patch on my arm and it took me days, DAYS, to figure it out because I am dumb. Duh. Now I have several tiny patches on my legs and one tiny dot of it on my arm. It's going to be a long itchy summer, my friends.

So last night I got a ride in! I wasn't going to because I was really exhausted and jetlagged, but Kenny told me he was going to join the weekly "Mellow Monday" ride at Powhite park and I decided to tag along, even though I doubted the "Mellow" part. I'm like Charlie Brown with the football when it comes to so-called easy rides. They lie, people. Almost always, they lie.

But I was pleasantly surprised. A bunch of guys showed up (Lisa? Why has thou forsaken me?) and it was truly a nice easy pace. Not snail-slow, just a nice noncompetitive ride with a bit of chatting and some stopping to try various obstacles. I made it over one of the bigger logs I'd been leery of, which was a nice confidence booster. I really enjoyed myself and was SO GLAD to get out in the fresh air. Twelve hours in airports and airplanes will do that to a girl (travel hell details can be found at http://amblus-amblus.blogspot.com/).

Hey, I suck!

I haven't been updating because of something you said.

Actually, that's not true. I haven't been updating because I haven't been riding and it's hurting me greatly. I have had one thing after another preventing me from having a little bike fun, but I hope to be back in the saddle next week. I do have one ride from a few weeks ago that I haven't documented, but you know, it goes like this:

Big Loop, ow, pain! Fun! Ow! So slow! Yay for dinner!

More soon, kids. I promise.

I don't play well with others? Shut up, you.

My friend Skeezix just commented on my last entry that she's tired and trying to motivate herself to ride after work. Me too, my friend, but after wrestling with it for a while I decided tired wins today. My legs need a break after the insane amount of over-work they got this weekend.

Saturday started with a BodyPump class at my gym (free weights + music + perky instructor=Ugh) followed by many errands (fueled by peanut butter M&Ms) followed by an hour and a half ride at Powhite. I was satisfactorily worn out after that and happy to settle down with some fish tacos and a glass of wine. A good day.

On Sunday we drove out to a nearby state park to participate in an organized group ride for women. At least, that's why I went. Kenny came along to ride with the other men who showed up to do their own ride, which is great because it's a girl ride! A ride for girls! So why did I end up in a group with two men? This always happens and I DO NOT GET IT. I like men, and they're generally polite and easygoing, but if you have a penis at a women's group ride, maybe you go ride with other men that day, you know? But I didn't say anything because I think people already assume I'm a bad sport (which I am) and I'll chalk my other petty issues up to being a bad team player (which I also am.)

I will say this: A beginner belongs with the beginner group, regardless of gender, because what I don't need is some roadie on his be-panniered mountain bike wobbling and crashing in front of me. It makes me really nervous. Also, stop buzzing my tires, dude. (I'm sorry, did I say I was going to keep my issues to myself? Hahahaha.)

Please note: I love beginners. I was one of them for a long time, but if you are one, ride with the beginner group! It will be more fun for everyone.

ANYWAY, issues aside, it was a simply gorgeous day and we all settled down and had a really good ride once the group dynamic had sorted itself out. The trails out at Pocahontas Park are some of the best I've ever ridden - swoopy and fast and technical all at the same time. Brilliant trails that I could ride every day and never get tired of. Sigh.

Today I think the legs need some rest, so instead of riding I'm going to tend to my garden.

Look! Baby broccoli:

Lummox

I'm so incredibly bored. It's the slowest time of the week - the hour and a half before being set free for the weekend. SO DONE. I did, thankfully, get some riding in this week and I hope to get a couple of rides in this weekend. On Monday I managed to coerce my friend Lisa into riding with me at Powhite and Kenny came along to stretch his race-battered legs. It was a jaunty hour of me being fresh as a daisy and taking on all the spiderwebs because I was the leader. An easy ride, but just what I needed to get back in the swing of things. Plus, Lisa and Kenny are both good company and don't seem to mind how slow I am on the hills.

On Tuesday I packed up all my bike stuff (full size grampa car = mountain bike fits in the back seat!) and, after work, drove the 20 miles out to Poor Farm park for the weekly group ride. I was wise enough to pick a slightly slower but still challenging group and felt pretty good, though I'm suddenly being all wussy about the logs this season. I used to ride anything and I don't get why I'm all log-shy for no reason. Hmph.

One of the members of Tuesday night's group was a woman about my age who just started riding about a year ago, weighs about ten pounds, and seems to be able to kick my ass. How unfair is that? Maybe she just rides a whole lot more than I do, but it seems like there are some people who are genetically meant for sport and others who are genetically meant for reading a book in the dusty corner of the library. I'm very clearly in the latter group, but for some reason I just refuse to accept it. I don't know that I was ever meant to be an athlete, but I can't stop trying. It's what makes me a true Lummox.

What, I haven't told you about the team I'm on? Team Lummox! No, kidding. It started when our friend Scott, nicknamed "Lummox" because of his gangly stature, made himself a jersey with a logo he designed and a picture of a big lummoxy creature on a bike with Bettie Page flung over his shoulder. We all joked that he should start a team and make his design the official jersey. So we did. Team Lummox is all about not taking yourself too seriously. It's a team for people who wouldn't otherwise be on a team. Our Jersey completely kicks ass, assuming you have a sense of humor about that kind of things. Here's what it looks like:

And this is printed on the back:



The first race I ever won as a Lummox was because I was the only one in my category who showed up. THAT is a Lummox win, for realz. I mean, what can you even say? At least my race time was faster than some of the beginner men, I guess.


Have a good weekend, kids! Go ride your bike.

Here I am! I'm here!

Sorry, I've been busy helping to organizing an indie craft show (I know, what don't I do? Aside from math?) and I think I've gotten two rides in since my last entry. TWO. The weather was also part of the problem:



Look how sad our bikes look:




Wahhh. I know, poor me. Every time I complain about the weather being too cold or wet or whatever I think about Arcticglass and I cringe because, dang. I am a wuss. A big loser wuss. But you knew that. I've never made a secret out of what a fair-weather cyclist I am.
ANNEEWAY, here are the two sad rides:

Ride #1. Last Wednesday I did the big loop with our usual group of way-faster-than-me friends. Most of them were planning to do a race yesterday (the one I missed, sadly) so they were training. I? I was suffering. And weezing. Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad but I certainly felt slow and was certainly sucking wind. Also, I felt heavier than usual, like my frame had been filled with buckshot. Or my bike's frame had. Anyway, it was mostly really hard for a good long way. When we got to Forest Hill (five-ish miles of hills with a super twisty flat section at the end) most of the group decided to do the whole thing without stopping. I opted out of that nonsense and said I was just going to ride it at my own pace...until one of the group remained oh-so tantilizingly within eyesight of me. At one point he stopped to removed a branch from his wheel and I stopped too, just to be nice. Then he took off and suddenly I decided to not let him go. I chased him pretty consistently through the hills and totally up and caught his ass in the flats. Yay! It about killed me, but sometimes you just need a goal. I think he was probably unamused.

Ride #2. The race yesterday was at Poor Farm Park so on Saturday Kenny and I went out there and rode the course. It was the same story for me. Suffering for the first thirty minutes of the ride and full-on action when I got to the flats. I love going fast, what can I say? I will bust a gut to go fast, but not so much to climb a hill. Climbing a hill has no thrill for me unless not dying counts as a thrill. Sometimes it's nice to climb a tricky technical hill and make it all the way up, but it's more fun to catch some sucker on the flats who'd previously assumed you were too slow to ride with. What? Yes, it's me! That girl you assumed was a slow thing has just caught and passed your ass! How are you? Now excuse me while I go cough up a lung.

PS. My very own husband came in 8th place in that race! How excellent is that? I'm proud of him! It was a tough course and he is awesome.