Sunday, February 26

Poor Pet, Part 2

DOZER got bit. Not by a rabid racoon or a saber-toothed squirl. But by Rot-mix up the street. There are two perfect puncture wounds. Not too deep, but not too shallow either. He whimpered all nights, his ego is probably hurt too. Maybe a trip to the vet on Monday.

COMMENT OF THE DAY:

"In the spring, by the end of the day, you should smell like dirt." This is posted outside the Fallsvale School in Forest Falls. Pretty much my new moto for life. I might as well adopt it since it is already a reality.

SHORT TRACK:

So, i guess when i go to SEA OTTER, i will be doing the Short Track event. So i hit up SOUTHRIDGE for the Short track race. There were 6 of us! Teri was the only other chick there, and Eddie Arnet (mountain bike action dude) led the pack. I ended up on the podium with him and some other experts, we were all put together. What a dream come true!

The race was really fun! Very low key, perfect for my first one. Teri and i hit up the XC course for a lap which of course was a lot of fun too! Lots of good technical decsents to work on, and i didn't eat it at all. Killer.

Funny thing is that i left my helmet in the woods, oops. Problem with being a mountain hermit is that when something is left at home, there is no retrieval until the evening. I have bought about 5 pairs of flip-flops because i go for rides before a day on the town, and then i have no shoes to wear. The last pair were pink with green alligators on them. Jason hates them. So i wear them every day.

I stopped by Shelli's house uber-early and bummed one off her. Now that is a true friend. She said the perspiration wouldn't be so bad because i have spit on her and snotted on her. This is true.

SICK:

Everybody is sick, so sometimes i feel like i am too. So today i am going to grab some Airborne, Emergen-C, and garlic. You have to eat garlic when you feel ill, really. Mix it up with some fresh lemon and if you are really ambitious, put some cayanne pepper in there, and you will be fixed. True story!

FONDUE:

I went to a fondue party last night. There was cheese and chocolate, all i would ever want in a meal. Hosted by Shelli and Tara, for Heidi R. This was pretty cool, end delicious! Fruit and vegetables for dinner and some fake meat (this was Loma Linda), very low-carb. Pictures to come!

BASKETBALL:

Oh yes, we lost. But those girls from Calimesa are going to state Finals. Good work ladies. I will be cheering from my bike.

BACK:

I broke up with my chiropractor because he made me hurt and hung me in one of those rack things. I also broke up with my massage lady because she sucked. And now, i went where i should have gone in December, to the wise physical therapist. Now i didnt actually go to my primary care physician, that would take about a month. I just dug into my friend pool and found Mr. Bennie - thank you Katrina for sharing your husband.

Word is my pelvis is tweaked and my sacro-iliac joint messed up and the hamstring insertion and glutes medius over worked. I just like to talk smart, no idea what i said, but i know what it feels like. THings are balancing out though and now it just hurts its not painful. Huge difference. I can tie my own shoes now and pick toys up off the floor. yippee!!

Happy riding!

Sunday, February 19

Finally, its WINTER

DOZER:

i always thought Dozer was white with a few coffee spots on him. But then it snowed. He now has a yellow hue, like he got peed on.

Yesterday he snuck off into the snow. Although he is not a jumper like others, he thinks he is a child and should be aloud to play with the neighborhood kids. He loves to chase the kids down the street on their sleds and maul them when they fall. But this time, he really snuck off. I was down the hill and got a phone call from the breeder (they live 2 houses down) that the other neighbors were with Animal Control and Dozer was in the truck. I FREAKED OUT! Then they told me he was actually riding in the FRONT seat with the Animal Control Lady, which is actually hilarious. He looks like impending doom, yet he is just a little snuggle bunny. I guess one neighbor called Animal Control on another one who starves their dog, leaves it tied up with no water, etc, and Dozer was just helping out. End of the long story was he spend the better part of the day IN THE SNOW and tied to his Dads chain outside their house. He was shivering at point, but he will recover, in like a month.

JEEP:
I bought a 4x4 so that i could safely manuver the trecherous mountain roads in the winter. Funny thing, when weather hits, the jeep is always in the shop. Oh the irony. I traded the Bronco for a little pickup, which is awful in the snow. So i stole the Subaru back from Jason for my trips down the hill. The chains are nowhere to be found, so first gear it is, slidding everywhich direction. There are huge "CHAINS REQUIRED" signs and very important CalTrans workers trying to inforce these rules. But I have a Subaru they think it is all-wheel-drive. ITS NOT!!! But i tell them it is, go on my merry way, and try not to run into things, pets, or people. Gotta love the sub.

Do you want my jeep????!!!!

BIKES:
I have been on leave from the bike, hopefully back on tomorrow. I am trying to tame my wild back before D-day in April. Things are working better, but not where they should.

Changes:
After a hiatus and time with Backbone, i have gone back to the guys at Jose Ole. So once again i can work for CalTrans if i choose in the bright orange.

NEW CYCLIST:
Griffyn turned 1 and my brilliant sister hooked him up with a "bike" GOOD GIRL!!!! He doesnt like his helmet, but that will come!

Wednesday, February 15

Could i have some DRAMA with that, please?

FOR SALE: 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I won't tell you why, because then you won't buy it!! But really, if you have someone in mind or someone you don't particularly care for, tell them to buy my Jeep. I will throw in the bike rack for free! What a deal!

As you can see from the title of my post, my life has been encased with DRAMA. from the Jeep breaking down in Moreno Valley, waiting 2 hours for a freaky tow truck man (have you EVER ridden with a third shift tow-truck driver??????!!!!!!!) $120 to get the car to Redlands....UGH

STAND-IN: I have a really nice boss who has a really nice husband who has been letting me use his cars since last Wednesday. Here is the one i have now...it is the car of my high school dreams, i always wanted this truck!!! But it is a three-on-the-tree meaning you have to shift on the steering column, something i had to have a driving lesson yesterday to figure out! I felt like i was 16 again.

BIKING: Pretty chill lately due to basketball playoffs and work and a lot of back pain. I did sneak in a ride at Fontucky during last weekends race, with Mandy Eakins and Carolyn Popovic, yet another daunting day on the bike. They are super cool though and we spent a large amount of our time cheering on the racers and scoring their wrecks. OF course everyone got a ten and a round of cheers.

CHARMS: Here at school, we have had a Korean exchange group here and one of the little girls hooked me up with a cell phone charm today! (Yes, that is my archaic phone...) The 8th grade girls and I decided to name her Tawanda after the character in Fried Green Tomatoes old school i know. We also have a running bet that She will be destroyed within a week.

Sunday, February 5

Ouch

BASKETBALL: We will start with the more simple subject to discuss. We had our 2nd to last league game last night against those crazy girls from Calimesa. They are dominating league, and usually us. (Remember our "devistating" loss to them by at least 30) However, it was sneior night last night - flowers, tears, stat recalls, you know the deal. We were LEADING the game at one point and ended up losing by ONLY 9 POINTS! The closest any team in league has gotten to them. They also pressed the whole game and basically played their starters. It was a huge victory in many ways. We have one league game to go them off to play-offs where the drama definately continues!!

CYCLING: This could take awhile. But i will do my best to be brief.

THE EVENT - Boulevard Road Race, somewhere near San Diego
THE GOAL - Do really good, duh.
MODIFIED GOAL - Not to finish last, create a mtn bike allie (more later) and to pick some people off. Oh yah, and to not quit.

RUN-DOWN:
Wake-up time: 2:45 am
Drive time: A bit under 3 hours
Race Time: Around 2 hrs 20 minutes (round it up to 3 hours...ha)
Mountain Bikers Present: 10, i think. Wimberly, House, Eakins, Pleiss, Flaherty, Strayer, Bono, Throop, Me, and Popovic. All those, except me and super-Throoper, are pro now OR SHOULD BE....Eakins even went as far as wearing her CamelBak and came in 7th, probably made a roadie or two mad. Flaherty made a solid 5th finish, as the highest finishing mtn bike chick.
Recap: Once I saw all the girls who dominate on the dirt, i knew i would have a delightful day. It was actually really cool to see the girls of dirt again, all of who i totally enjoy and respect. I started in the middle with everyone else, but about half way into that first lap, there cadence picked up and i couldnt hang. This is when i modified my goal for the day and began making friends and working together to pick people off. We decided that it was $30 group ride with a bunch of crazy girls. I picked up Throop, expert mountain biker. I knew that she would be a good one to work with for two reasons: Make an allie for the season (we will probably be racing against each other quite a bit), and find her weaknesses. However, she ended up being a cool kid(17) and she would walk all over any of my high school PE kids. I am always so impressed by the Juniors. I coasted a few times after some climbs so that she could grab onto my wheel again. Thus the low motivation to catch the pack. At this point, it was better to work with someone than to hammer it out on my own. She ended up dropping back on a climb, and me and another girl kept going. Sara, my new friend, flatted with 3 miles to go, leaving to "finish" on my own only to be met by the little mountain bikers. They said this race was slower than most or just different, which could of course be blamed on the mtn girls.

The whole day was quite an eye-opener for what i need to work and where i am actually at. I just have to remind myself what i was doing this time last year: NOTHING so then i dont feel so bad.

I think i thought about dropping out more in this race than in all mountain bike races combined. But of course i didn't, and i never really got the urge to do so, just the thought.

Unfortunatly, since i had to come back and coach, i didn't get a nap, much of a cool down or stretch. My legs were cramping the entire game and i didn't even get home until 10:30 PM!!

Time managment.....hmmmm......
Dozer and I are off for a hike and then another nap!