Salvation via sweating

Interesting classes at the gym last night. I showed up to one class that has a 5-person max and there was one person. She was very anxious because it was class time and she knew someone else was coming, so she bustled out. I tracked down person #3 to come join us, and the others sauntered in eventually. The missing person turned out to be 14 or 15 year old S (I'm bad at making up names, so I'll just use her initial. Another reason not to have any kids. They would probably be named after whatever pops into my head based on visual clues, and then nick-named to high heaven. I think it's a genetic issue. I myself was named after a dog.) who was disgruntled from the start, surly, wouldn't practice any of the moves I was showing her so she'd be ready to start, and clearly wanted everyone to know that this was not her choice. Her outfit in which to workout was quite similar to the one here. I'm not sure where her aunt told her she was taking her to convince to her leave the texting, Facebooking, and premarital sex at home, but she wasn't really dressed the part.

Taking skills that I learned from my parents, I ignored the attitude, and figured I could teach her what she needed to know as she went. Within about 4 minutes, I could see a little transformation happen. She has no muscles to speak of, but insisted on loading up the weights. I think this is part cockiness and part naivete, to which I could relate. I let her load it, figuring that she would switch her selection when she realized it was too much. Nope. That would be to admit she was wrong, and teens are never wrong, so she was going to suffer through it. She got to one point and I told her that she had to lessen the weight load or stop, and she could blame it on me if she wanted. But back to the transformation: as we went through class, she stopped with the huffiness, smiled some, admitted it was hard, laughed with me a little bit, and might have even had fun. It was pretty cool -- and I had fantasies that maybe some focused exercise would save her from the collision course that her life is on (she said some things after class that were a little too revealing in response to a comment I'd made to someone else. She had misunderstood what I'd said and in prime teen-fashion, decided it was about her, and said that things had gotten so bad, her parents wanted to bring her to Dr. Phil. Hmmm. What do you think, Mom? Kids are acting out and making a mess of themselves -- I know! Put them on TV! I'm lucky to have had parents who were a little more into parenting than that. Of course, there's a lot I'm assuming and only a little I know.). Her form wasn't great and her aunt, who had tricked her into coming commented to her from across the room. I told the aunt that she was doing okay and not in so many words told her that 1) I was on top of the situation and 2) the success that S was enjoying was by far making up for the lack of form.

Aye. I'm kind of hoping she comes back. It will be good for my therapy-through-exercise fantasy.

This weekend marks the second annual trek up the Ink Grade in Napa. I'm nervous, but I know that I need to talk myself through it and focus on my ability rather than my anxiety. It was hard last year, but I did it (with some whining), and I'll do it again. Maybe I'll even do it better. I think I might need to start working tonight on what channel my head is tuned to so that I'm ready early in the morning.

You can sort of see what I'm talking about re: this ride here. If you're looking at that link, we'll be picking up around mile 30 of that ride (so not doing that first hill), and taking on those other two -- including Ink Grade that goes straight up.

I look forward to the day I can turn my alarm off for the weekend, get some sleep, get some stuff done around the house, and maybe even return to those weeds (that have become quite prolific in the last few weeks). Looks like I have a weekend off around May 9th.

If you build it

Remember those scenes in Field of Dreams when the guys would walk off the field into the corn and disappear into the mist? That's how Saturday's ride was (but without the corn. Or the dead baseball players. Or the plot. Basically, we just had a lot of mist). It was cold and foggy, but we had a great time, and we had the Farmers' Market as our destination, where they sell hot coffee and hot chocolate for 50 cents. Is this Heaven?, we asked? No, just the Farmers' Market.
A few shots from the ride:
Notice how he's blowing into his hands to warm them.
Jeff's always happy. Sometimes he's mad, but even that's funny. Mostly he's happy, though, even when it's freezing cold or burning hot. He rode a single speed on Saturday and loaned his road bike to a newbie -- thanks Jeff!

Hope! Hope joined up for the first time, and rode her beat up old mountain bike. By the end of the ride, she was asking me for tips on getting a road bike. She did fantastically, and I'm hoping she'll join us again.
Speaking of always happy -- here's the famous Mindy-smile.
Ron forced that smile out for the camera -- I think he was pretending to be happy because he was having such a good time. Hmmm. . . that doesn't make sense. How about, even though he was having a fabulous time, his cheeks were too cold to make a real smile.
New rider Dave, who is not sure if he wants to make the switch from mountain to road bikes (so he borrowed Jeff's). Come on, Dave! Make the switch! You'll be glad you did.

I suppose it's a good thing that we're finally getting some winter. Although, Sunday was sunny and warm and not foggy, so I'm not sure what kind of trick Saturday was.
There is a chance of rain in the forecast today -- I'm dreaming of a white Thanksgiving.

Thanks to all those of you who have made donations to NCAC via my donation page. Please keep it up! You can donate by clicking the link "All your friends are doing it" on the side bar on the right.

Starting off and ending up

I rode 60 miles on Saturday and a friend had to remind me that this is actually a long distance, and maybe my perception of a 'long ride' is a little askew. I was tired when I got home and whiny and didn't feel like starting anything on my list. Come to think of it, I don't know what I did when I got home.

I had some work done to my bike last week which made for a very different ride. Last year, I switched out some parts so that climbing would be [easier]. Climbing is never easy. As some other, related parts, started failing (just from getting old and handling lots of miles), I decided I wanted to go back to the non-easy-climbing gearing as long as I was changing out other things. It was an expensive switch, but the bike feels much better this way -- and I feel more connected to it. When I went to the Sports Performance Lab earlier this year, the guy recommended I get handle bars that are not as wide as it would help my back, so I switched those out as well, and it feels completely different (though in need of adjustments). I think it's going to take time to adjust to all the new feels of it.

Saturday was our first official ride for NCAC '09. Amazing. We had a fantastic turn-out and a gorgeous day. Lots of new folks and lots of enthusiasm. Only 7 months to go. Ha!

[I had ridden about 25 miles before meeting the group for the ride, and my camera was facing the wrong way in my pocket so it got a little condensation on the lens -- for a cool, foggy effect]





Saturday was also the LAST long ride before the Jill B Nimble girls hit the rode for our 74-mile ride -- the culmination of about 11 weeks of training. I'm so excited, and so impressed with the progress everyone has made. Only a few days to go!

Biking AROUND the Buttes, not OVER the Buttes

This past weekend, a small crew of us drove up to Yuba city at 5 o'clock (or so) in the morning to ride 100 miles around the Sutter Buttes. The ride is called Bike Around the Buttes, and some of you might remember that I did the same ride last year. Well. . . I signed up to do it. I drove up to Yuba City. I even got on my bike and started riding. After about 19 miles, I was just plumb fed up with wind, the 20 degree temp, and the pouring rain. Those might be exaggerations, but it's no exaggeration that I had rain pouring out of my shoes, and decided I am not *that* kind of cyclist.

So -- this year, clear skies, cold, no rain, and wind not predicted until after noon. It's mostly a flat ride. Rather pretty, but quite flat. Most of the day the Buttes were in view, which is good, because we really never got tired of the "Butt"/"Butte" jokes. And when they were in view, we were that much more inspired.
And off we go. 100 miles is a really long way. I captured a bit of the day on camera. I'll try to explain what the mostly obscure photos mean.

Here's the morning bathroom line. Jeff, my carpool buddy, and over-all good guy, seemed to spend most of the day in line for the bathroom.














Emily got a new jersey -- all those polka dots are types of sushi.


















Self Protrait.
















There wasn't a whole lot of food I could eat at the rest stops/lunch. Lots of processed meat and cheese, as demonstrated below, and it seems someone had entered the race into a 'how many snacks can you make with peanuts?' contest.











I don't know what's going on here, but it seems like processed cheese makes you happy.

Jeff is not allowed to work on his own bike. Parts fall off when he does. But I loaned him my tool anyway.

A view of (one of) the Buttes (this one is small after several years of doing at-home Buttes of Steel):
Another butte or two:
I can't quite recapture this monologue, but the cows hanging out on the hills eating, or laying in the shade under a tree inspired the philosopher (or maybe the bovine-psychologist) in Jeff. "Do you ever wonder what makes some cows wonder up there on the hill to eat grass, while others just lay around and don't go anywhere? What makes a cow decide to just walk a couple miles away from the rest of the cows for its grass? And look at those cows just layin' there. Maybe those are the lazy cows, and the other cows are more ambitious. Don't you think? Makes you think maybe cows have personalities."
Priceless.

The best snack ever -- it doesn't look like much, but here you have boiled potatoes, salted, with some fancy herb in them. Amazing. It was the best potato I'd ever had, or maybe I was a little hungry.
I know. They're just potatoes.

The end of the ride. Here's a happy rider finishing her first century and biking her Butte off.
















Comparison between this year and last year -- this is at the car getting ready to go home. On the left, rainy last year. On the right, happy (but tired) this year.

A few things, and some stuff, and some training.

Last week, I was riding home from work, and my fixie got a flat.

It was a bummer, but I didn't have far to go, so I just hiked it home. I thought it was some glass I ran over (after a mean truck cut me off), but turns out the tube split. Must have been because of my awesome tube-splitting riding. But she's back to new now, thanks to the nice folks at Bicycle Chef (I'd give a link, but their website got hacked and now it goes to some Turkish terrorists or something). It was good to visit the bike chef -- they reminded me I need to bring in my road bike to get a little tweak before the ride (a month from today!).

This weekend's ride was great fun - I taught spinning the morning, which made me late for the ride, so I had to ride fast and hard to try to catch them. It was basically the same ride I did a few weeks back on my own, which, if you remember, was one hill after another.

Sort of looks like I was there on wrong day. Darn.

So -- starting about 40 minutes after the group, looking at a big mountain in front of me, and deciding that what the hey?, I can do it.
Ha. The road between me and them just kept going up. My cue sheet said it was only going to be about 16 miles of that, but 16 miles of going up and up and up some more is like 50 regular miles. Good news, though. I caught up with them and found a bunch of relaxed, resting riders finishing up what looked like a nice, long break.
There was Mark with a flower in his hair:






and Jeff riding his banana seat bike:

As soon as I got there, they were ready to go, so back on the bike I went, ready for the next 30 miles or so. More hills. More countrysides, more baby goats.

Next weekend, a century (100 miles), and 45 miles of hills -- the last Benchmark ride!

Back to back

This weekend I did back-to-back rides. The first, an 86.76 mile ride from my house out to Lake Berryessa. The second, a 50 mile ride through the rolling hills in the Sierra foothills, plus one gigantic hill in Folsom, CA. I'll do the math for you -- that's 136.76 miles.
I forgot my camera today, so I don't have the excessive photo-documentation.
Just this one (notice the woolly sheep in the background -- we wondered whether the kids can also sheer and loom):
The ride was lovely -- a rolling 36.5 miles. A little slower than I'd hoped for, but I agreed to help out the ride leader by riding 'sweep.' So I hung with the folks in the back and sang songs to stay busy. It was an interesting exercise -- I spent some time focusing on my pedal strokes, my posture, and my cadence.

Before we did our last five miles, we turned off to tackle a gigantic hill. About 4 miles into the hill, we could see the 'top' -- if we lifted our heads, pushed back our helmets, and squinted real hard. The traffic lanes opened up to allow for passing. You know why they do that? So cars have lots of room to pass the slow vehicles on hills. You know it's steep when it opens up to three lanes.

I yelled on that hill. Loud. More like a scream, actually. I made to the top with weak legs, and a hoarse voice. Then we turned around to remember the deals we make with hills: I'll climb this hill if you give me a smooth, fast downhill. It's a good deal. My max speed was [close your eyes, Mom) 42.1 mph. Yikes.

I think it's time for bed.

Motorcycle Madness

Today's ride started off in Winters, home of the 2008 Vernal Equinox Ride -- hundreds of motorcycle riders cruising up and down the same roads that we struggled up and down, and then when we returned to Winters, they were all there. It was great. And mostly, they were considerate and courteous on the difficult-to-navigate mountain roads.



The ride was hard, but compared to last week's ride it Napa, it went fairly quickly. Three big hills and some smaller ones. Plus, we had a rest stop that one of our crew members provided. A welcome sight after coming down off the fabled "Cardiac Hill." The first 22 miles I rode with a small group of folks who are all strong cyclists, and all having a good time. Like last week, the best part of the ride was that we covered the same roads on parts of the AIDS ride last year, so there were some good memories, and a great comparison. I think I'm stronger this year than I was, at least on Day One, last year.
But after that, I wasn't really feeling like riding with the group was in my plan for the day. So I stopped at the rest stop, gave some high five's to the folks coming in, and headed back on my own. It was a cold ride, and I had no one to block the wind, but I found my groove and made my way back up the hills. And down again.
I hit 39 mph at one point, which is a little faster than I'm comfortable with, but this week has been good for pushing past my comfort zones.

This time of year is always frustrating -- aside from the sneezing -- it's gorgeous and sunny and tempting outside, so I take the bait and go out, and it's cold. Only a little bit longer and the temps will be up, and the wind will die down, and the promise of a gorgeous warm day, will deliver.

Next weekend we're back off to Folsom for another ride in the foothills.

The day that would never end

7 a.m. - hit snooze button for 4th time, got up to get ready for 40 mile ride. Rode down to meet some friends for coffee at 8.30 before the ride.

8.30 a.m. No sign of friends.

8.45 a.m. No sign of friends

9 a.m. No sign of friends, but folks start showing up for 9 a.m. start time.

9.15 a.m. One friend shows up, says they misjudged the time, and she got lost on the way. Other friend had to turn back for work.

9.30 a.m. Start off on ride toward the river -- to ride south along the Sacramento River.

9.30-10.30/45 a.m. Cruise along with fun group of cyclists at about 18-21 mph. Stop for quick pitstop, continue onto Clarksburg, CA:

10:45: turn around to head back toward West Sacramento, where I will break off from the group and head home -- about 12 more miles to go.

11 a.m. Curse and yell at wind that blew at us from all sides. Riding buddy and I tried to take turns drafting (hiding behind each other and using the other's body as a wind block), but eventually just settled on ride side by side because the wind was blowing from the sides as much as it was coming from the front. Averaged about 10mph for an interminable 10 miles.

11.30 a.m. Curse wind some more.

11.32 a.m. Continue cursing and wondering if I stop pedaling if I'll actually get blown back to Clarksburg.

11.40 a.m. Make a mental list of any and all friends I might have who would pick me up and drive me the last few miles.

11.45 through 12:15 inclusive: Remind myself why we're all out on the River Road on a blustery Saturday riding over streets that haven't been repaved since the Spanish Inquisition.

12:30p Arrive home with wind-burned cheeks, hoarse voice (from the yelling), and riding buddy in tow, as neither of us were keen to the idea of her riding another 20 miles home.

Fast forward to 3p.m.: gather up a few things I need to get done in Davis, call friends at bowling alley to say I'll be late for the birthday-bowling party, and head out to Davis.

3.45p: Get talked into playing one game (?) of bowling. Is it ten frames per game, or is a frame a game? I don't know. I lost AND I broke a nail. There's no beer at this bowling alley. Aren't beer and bowling like peas and carrots?

5 p.m.: say goodbye to birthday girl, run a few Davis errands, hop back on the Freeway to head home, change clothes, open and close fridge a few times before accepting there just wasn't anything in there to grab and eat.

6.30 p.m. hop back on Freeway, drive up to Placerville, CA to attend a Blame Sally concert. The Blame Sally girls graciously offered to advertise the ride, tell folks why I'm riding, and solicit donations.

7.30 p.m. Talked to several people about the Ride, handed out some brochures with my webpage on them, listened to people tell me why they wouldn't be donating, listened to a couple of women who apparently know more about cycling, AIDS, raising money, local bike rides, and bike commuting than I could every hope to, and who also refused to even take a brochure because what would it teach them that they didn't already know? They suggested we might meet again on an upcoming century. Yeah.

9p.m. Listened to amazing music with Blame Sally, blushed a bit when they gushed about how great it was that I was doing the ride.

9.45 p.m. Blushed again before the break when they touted the cause again and encouraged people to donate. Chatted with some folks during the break, and gave out more brochures. Answered questions about the Blame Sally t-shirts as though I knew what I was talking about.
Wondered if I'd have been more gregarious and forward if I hadn't been at the tail of 100 miles in two days, and a whirlwind of a week.

11.15 p.m. Concert ended with another plug for the ride. People filed out and gave me a few dollars here and there. I accepted with many many thanks. Thanked the band, and gave them a couple of brochures, and at least one promised to donate.

11.40 p.m. Finally back in my car, hopped on the Freeway again to head home. Changed car clock ahead an hour with a deep sigh, and a bit of a grimace. Reminded myself of the warm, light summer evenings to come. Rolled down window and sang along with radio to keep myself awake.

1.30 a.m. Arrived back home. Brushed teeth, fed cats, got into bed, set alarm for 7 a.m., and laid there waiting for sleep to beat out the exhaustion. Also made some promises to myself about eating better (more) this coming week, and giving my legs a chance to rest before the Benchmark ride next weekend.

Fundraiser: "Drinking for Dollars"

Last night, I hosted a fun, and successful, wine-tasting fund-raiser and birthday party at my house. Emily (fellow rider) played guitar, and sang, and entertained us all. Bill (a friend from my office) and his wife Kathleen put on an excellent wine-tasting. We tasted 4 whites and 4 cabernets, and we rated each wine according to our preferences. Bill gave us a bit of history on California wine production, and tried to keep us all on track. We had excellent food, and plenty of wine, and I got several bouquets of flowers for my birthday, and feel quite spoiled as I walk through my house. Unfortunately, I forgot to record the evening on camera, but here's a sampling of the flowers. Check out my (and Emily's!) fund-raising webpage(s) in the next couple of days for updated totals.
Many thanks to everyone who made last night so much fun!



The only bummer about today is that the training ride was canceled again due to rain. The weather people were anticipating another storm today. I got up this morning at 8 to a bright blue sky. No rain as of yet. I hope some people still got out there to ride out their own -- seems like a good day for it. I was lucky enough to still be entertaining good friends who stayed the night.

Starting Stats

Official training started last week -- with a Sunday afternoon ride through the rolling hills of Winters, CA -- outside Davis. There are about 9 miles of that ride that are among the best California has to offer. Alas, with all the stormy weather we're having, we had to cancel the ride.
Not to worry -- Winters is the starting point for many a ride. The infamous Cardiac Hill is outside of Winters on the way to Lake Berryesssa (see photo).

Even with all this rain, I've had plenty of time on the bike. I now teach 3 spinning classes every week, and 4 every other week. It's a great workout, and great training, but my word am I exhausted.

This weekend I'm holding my first fundraiser. There will be wine and music, and I have to suffer through the pain/formality of asking my friends for a "cover charge" when they come into my house. All for a good cause though. I'm moving right along in the fundraising. And there might be more events to come.
http://norcalaidschallenge.kintera.org/2008/hmr

As an aside -- I sent in my ballot today. Voted by mail. I'm glad to have it out of my hands. And I'm going to try to put it out of my head.