Wiggly Nerves

SPRING BREAK: First off, the NUMBER ONE bonus of being a super cool teacher is VACATION!!! I have the whole week to do everything that i havent done since Christmas. Awesome.

NON-TRAINING RIDES: Sometimes i get a bit lax in my understanding of where i am going for a ride. Since i began these crazy group rides, it is all i can do to get into my shorts and arrive on time. SOmetimes i even forget food and the such, rarely will i give any thought as to where we will go.

Saturday morning found me floundering once again to find stuff and follow Christie's wheel. We hit up the Rotary Ride in connection with the Redlands Classic and we picked the 60 miler. I should have known when Jon Reth gave me the look, and the laugh, and said "come on Joy". The rest is ancient history of too tall hills and miles that sent the heart rate up. Like who was the demon who got those private landowners over on that Smiley road to open it up?! Gosh! It was a good ride though, very good.

THE CRIT: The past few days i have had a wiggly stomach. I finally realized that it was due to the fact that i had to race today. I dont really count Boulevard as a race, just a "big training ride with really fast girls i dont know." So the last time i suited up was for the Fall Classic in October.

Today there were some goals:
1.) Warm-up on the trainer: CHECK
2.) Don't get Pulled out of the race: CHECK
3.) Don't let *someone* infront of me: CHECK
4.) Don't eat it: CHECK

However, near the VERY end, we got lapped. I dont care though. LAst year was a disaster of sorts on my part with getting dropped like in the first 100 yards and being pulled and really sucking.

But today, we were the CHASE GROUP! Much better than some alternatives i could think of. Also, as the excitment mounted, the announcer called out that whoever was crossed the line first for the CHASE group on the next lap, got some SNACKS!!! So i had to throw down! I ended up with TWO boxes of CHEETAH BARS!! i was SOOOOO excited. Also, they will make a great replacement for my CHeeto addiction! They sound the same, almost, yet are all natural fruits squished together in a block! Much better than processed cheese! (Christie, i know you are very proud of my improvement)

Christie and Teri Finished with the pack, good girls! Although Bev said she was able to take better pictures of me due to the MUCH smaller size of my group!! Yet another benefit for finishing behind all the crazy girls, more press!

EXCUSE OF THE DAY: "Well i havent ridden my bike in *(insert number here) months, i am just not up to par." Well, as you know, i only ride my bike 3 hours a week, so....

Also, BEWARE the trash talking!! It will almost always bite you, and when it does, that is not cool!!I know, we all do our fair share, but COME ON....

The Binge

I spend my life on the verge of OCD, leading me to binge on many a thing. I consistently forget to purge, however. I have begun eating large amounts of Cheetos in any form. My fav, today, are the Jalapeno Chedder ones, oh yum.

So my newest binge was lifting weights and going to the gym period. Since the days are rainy and long, i get to the gym by 5:30am, ride the bike there, then go to work. Then after work i go back to the gym to throw some weights around, must maintain my muscle status. But i always over do it, i cant get enough or seem to find the effort to stop going and pushing a bit too much.

JEEP: I am not really going to go there, but it has been gone for 6 WEEKS!!! Here is a rundown of what i could have really done with 6 weeks of my life:

Completed 2/3 of a quarter in grad school
Riden my bike from SF to Wash DC and at least half way back. In winter.
Gone through a complete workout cycle or phase in the gym
Most of the summer holiday would have come and gone

You see i have borrowed 4 different cars, two of which have died upon return to their owners. Suspect, i know. Then my hot water heater decided to leak, a lot all over the kitchen carpet. Whoever carpets a kitchen should have terrible things done to them.

Alas, there are lovely things about life. The 4 inches of snow that falls per night.
The fact that i teach pe which means i chat with jr high girls about boys, movies, tv, clothes, you know, all the things i care little about
I also get to play badminton with them and wear shorts, sweatshirts, and sneakers to work. Then on my lunch, i check blogs and the such.

Then there is always the Pet. He has a few extra names:
Snoop Doze
Pup-pup
Pet
Kitten
Creature
Puppy
Dooz
Snooz
Snuggle Bunny
Pupples
Pupples-T
Muckles-B
Muckles
and DOZER
He comes to all of them, freak.
He also SUCKS on his new bed and whines as he sleeps. Sick sick dog. He's got some mama issues!

Why is Hell so cold this time of year?

First off, i just wrote a killer blog, then the computer rebelled and turned off. man, karma or something.

WHEN I GET REALLY NEGATIVE, I LOOK ACROSS THE STREET:

As you all gaze up into the snow-capped mountains, or as you sat your your dinner table watching the hail fall and thinking of the wonder and heaven-like land up in the hills, YOU WERE WRONG!!!

And this is why

All the IDIOTS!!!

You see people who live in the mountains are smart, know what snow is, understand the physics and concept of ice and tires, and they wear boots. People who live down below, otherwise known as Flat LAnders, are dumb, and should stay below 2,000 ft or where ever the snowline is. THEY are the ones that made the winter wonderland into a cold, snowy, icy hell, run by CalTrans.

In the history of this place, mountain folk have never been required to chain up. THe gods of CHP and Caltrans took it upon themselves to make history this weekend, and enforce the chain law. Out of control. I had already borrowed an AWD Subaru, then had to borrow chains, which broke at 9pm when everything was closed and WalMart was soled out and then i drove to San Bern to get chains that were just a bit too big and when i was testing them the borrowed car dumped a pint of "something" on the driveway of someone i barely knew in high school.

So, i chained up, or cabled up, drove past the CHP over the hump in the road, pulled over, took the chains off and drove home easier than any snow storm last year!!!

To say the least, all cycling options were thrown to the wolves. I shoveled, A lot, hunted for chains under the house, under the bed, in the yard, never to be found.

Then we went sledding. THis should be a professional sport. We hiked through 1.5 feet of powder to a secret spot where the sledding was pristine.

Sled of choice: Target Boogie Board, sprayed with silicon. Awesome.

Dozer ran with every sled and beat most of them to the bottom. He also worked as a good pulling dog. Check them out:

Uriah, Jason and Dozer, ready to sled!
Jason "ridin the bull" check out Dozers ears!
Uriah, what more could a 7 year old want?
Getting a pull home in the snow

Thanx, Girls!

And yes, there is about 3 inches of snow in Forest Falls

SO....

As you know, i lose everything. In the near past i lost the digital camera, which of course was awful. After tearing apart the house (where i found other things i had lost) and the car, and the office, nothing. But then the Girls Kaitlin and Mindy, cleaned the office on friday. YOu see, Kaitlyn is Jan's daughter who is my boss who shares our single-wide trailor/office together!! They found it!!!! This is a little shot they took of themselves!!

FONDUE: I promised you a picture.. Shelli, Heidi (the birthday girl) and me, duh

FLOODING: The flooded road that made me late to work a few weeks back

DESTRUCTOR: For Dozers birthday i gave him a little toy with feet, which he took off in about 32 seconds

Breaking the Trend

I know, it is not Sunday, so i am breaking the trend. I have a few other trends that i am working on breaking, like the reinstatement of everything 80's, but that will take time.

This is Koho and Glacier. Missing from the photo is Sherpa, the third Husky that belongs to Jeremy and Suzanne!! They are my brother and his wife from Colorado. Perhaps they will be racing at the national in Aspen, little Family Podium time! Jeremy is Cat 3, Expert Mtn, Suzanne has taken the year off to crash through nursing school, but usually hammers it out at the road races! They kinda run a team out there Blue Sky Velo which is pretty cool! It used to be Acme Racing.

RACE FLASHBACK: CASTAIC, 2005

Yup, thats Shelli and I on one of our HUGE very important Beginner races! Oh how things have changed!!!! That course was not my favorite by any margin and well i am glad it is at the end of this years racing season! I just remember climbing, climbing some more, then descending. THen we just did it again. This race got my feet wet for Sea Otter, which was much needed!Now i just have to find my cool Jose Ole half-hat in my closet again!! Hopefully, i can stand on the podium at this years Castaic race too!!

Isn't it Ironic, don't you think?

Jason has a theme song for me. Its from the late 70's or early 80's, have no idea what it is actually called, but when i get in a tizzy, he just starts singing "ahhh, FREAK ou!!!" So I told Christie and Nicole about this on our way back from a delightful girl's brunch in Claremont (Christies bday) and then it CAME ON THE RADIO!!

You see i was having a near freak-out week.

TUESDAY: Mudslides in Forest Falls, couldn't leave because I HAD NO JEEP which could have made it across the debri in and THEN the little g-ride pickup truck i am borrowing ran out of gas, because, well i was probably freaking out.

WEDNESDAY: Lost, misplaced, whatever, my digital camera in either home/school/car/gym bag. yah, thats cool.

THURSDAY: I locked an unsuspecting Grandma in the girls locker room when we went outside to run the mile. She had to call the front office and inform them of her entrapment. That was awful. I was quite ashamed of my inappropriate behavior.

SATURDAY: Driving this loaner car and all, i forgot to turn the head-lights off when i got to GFE for our little group ride. When i returned over 4 hours later, the battery was excessively dead.

SUNDAY: I was 20 minutes late to Christies for our trip to Fontana to do some mountain biking. This is because, well, i am always late, and i left my leg warmers in my office, brilliant. Then, already on the 10, i blank and feel as if my cycling shoes were left at the house. Back at the house i find clarity and realize that they were snug in the back of Christies car the whole time. I must say, Christie has emense patience, and i will make a birthday oath to her to cease my tardiness...

Oh yes, on the way home, i re-chipped my front tooth. You see, in college i had an issue with my pavement driveway. I wasnt wearing a helmet (genious I know, i was just going to class..)which meant i split my forehead open, and my chin, and chipped the majority of my three front teeth out. Today, a big chunk fell off the right one, probably when i was eating a nerd rope. Now you can't tell from far away, but it probably looks grey or irridescent.

DOZER:
Is ONE YEAR OLD! It is his birthday today and we celebrated with an invigorating round of frisbee and wound cleaning. He can actually catch the frisbee in flight! At least he did once, but all the other times it just hits him in the face and we laugh.

His mom, the neighbor dog, if pregnant, so if you have been very jealous of my dog, you can buy your own.

CYCLING:

Of course i got some excellent riding in this weekend! Finally back on track, but hurting. On the saturday ride i went to that place i have never really gone before, which lasted well into the ride, then abruptly stopped. Then i had to will my legs home. But at least that "place" is there, and attainable. Quite exciting actually.

Sunday was Fontana with Christie working on technical descents and those quick climbs. The weather has been very kind to the course, so go check it out quick before it gets too dusty!