Coming Back To Life Yet Again

Just Because

2011-08-09T11:33:00.008-04:00

I've been very quiet this past year, doing a lot of working and thinking. After a rough first few months of the year due to some non-serious but aggravating health issues, I got a late start on the bike in May, doing 3 to 5 milers every morning to get some kind of a base and worked my way into longer rides. Since then, I've accumulated mileage averaging anywhere between 80 to 120 miles a week, incorporating some hill work as well. Not bad for an old fat girl.

I don't know where this drive came from, nor do I want to know. All I do know is I get up in the morning and I MUST RIDE. That's it. I have my coffee and a banana and out I go. My pre-work miles are 10-15 milers and I do my long rides on the weekend.

I thought about taking rest days and figured I would rest when it rained. Only one morning has it rained since May, so far, so I have pretty much been riding almost everyday. I have to ride. The one time I did take that day off, I felt awful all day.

It rained one morning last week but I decided I had enough base miles in that I would try running instead, since I'm guessing I'll be doing a lot of that this winter, along with being on the trainer. To my utter shock, I was able to run (insert the word "jog" or "crawl" if you prefer) a complete mile (albeit a 15 minute mile) for the first time in over 12 years, I think.

I've lost 16 pounds and have gotten totally used to my clip-in pedals, to the point where I don't even think about where I'm going to land if I have to stop. I'm plodding forward and doing better than ever.

I can honestly say that in April, I was in the worst shape of my life and heavier than ever by about 5 lbs. Now I am in the best shape I've been in in years (which is not to say I am in great shape, but better) and a bit lighter.

This morning on my ride, I found myself asking myself why I feel driven to ride at this stage of my life. I decided not to question it.

A bike was my first source of independence, since growing up we didn't own a car. Riding a bike has been a part of my life for over half a century. It is a part of me.

So I ride...just because.

Andy Got Robbed

2010-07-27T09:45:00.003-04:00

Ok, Contador didn't break any rules, per se, but still...

I knew when they interviewed Andy he would come out with what he did, saying that he would not have done that to Contador. But being the honorable competitor that Andy is, they rode together the rest of the tour with respect for each other.

Ok, at least Andy showed respect for Alberto. Watch out next year, Contador!

And Mike J., thanks for your support too!

On a side note, I was away helping a couple of non-cycling friends move last Thursday through the weekend. We had built int TdF / Versus breaks. By the end of my stay I overheard phone conversations to other non-cycling friends about how Andy got robbed.

Hehehehe...

Not A Bad Week

2010-07-18T14:25:00.006-04:00

I got a few rides in this past week and ended up doing about 50 miles total. Coming from nothing, I'm pretty happy about that.

I'm also pretty happy about my boy, Andy! He can climb hills! He can time trial! He can sprint!...well, ok...one out of three isn't that bad...

This morning I got a late start. It was really hot. Therefore I have learned some math.

Linda + 102 degree heat=less than 15 mile rides.

I have learned from several sources that the thermometer on my computer is actually pretty accurate because it also reads the heat coming up from the road, giving the rider a "feels like" temperature. I am very glad to hear this. It means I am becoming more heat tolerant. There was a time last month when I couldn't have even thought about getting on the bike if it was 90 out, let alone a "feels like" temp of 102 degrees.

During a couple of rides these past couple of weeks I found a nice spot by a lake on my main riding loop where I take a break on a tree stump in the shade to collect my thoughts and bearings.

It's great to be back on the bike again. I feel like I have come home.

I Almost Got Hit By...a Boat?

2010-07-12T08:02:00.003-04:00

Ahh...summer at the Jersey Shore. Gotta love tourists hauling boats.

I had stopped at a traffic light at an intersection near the marina, my right foot on the curb. A car pulled up on my left, hauling a boat about 20 feet long. It wasn't a very tall boat, just kind of wide. The driver saw me, I am absolutely sure, especially when the light changed and I waved him on. That gives me a hint that he was aware of me. However, I think that's all he was aware of.

He made a right in front of me while I waited. At the last second I saw that he had not taken a very wide turn as normal people do when hauling things like a boat, an RV or a trailer. Nope, this guy apparently totally forgot he had a boat. In the space of less than a second, I saw that the front of the boat was getting very wide and very close to my head. I dove down to the ground on my right and the boat just barely missed me. He drove on, totally oblivious to what had happened while other drivers were watching, shaking their heads in disbelief at his stupidity.

I got up, dusted myself off and had a nice 15 mile ride, with my head still attached.

I think Walmart rents brains for people who seem to have misplaced them, don't they?

I Think I'm Officially Back

2010-07-10T13:22:00.002-04:00

I managed to ride 77.5 miles last week. I wanted to ride on Friday to round it off to 80 but I knew my body really, really needed a rest day. Going from total desk potato to cyclist in one week was tough.

Friday morning I looked at my bike. I ran my hands over the tires and the tope tube. I held the handlebars. I realized I wanted to ride but was doing the right thing by taking the day off from riding. This was a great revelation since I thought I'd be happy to not be riding. My soul wanted to get on that bike. That's when I knew I had offically returned.

This morning I slept in late and got on the road around 10AM. My legs felt great. There was no soreness at all. During my little 10 mile jaunt this morning, I found myself flying over roads that just a few days earlier, I had struggled to push through. Granted, it was overcast this morning and somewhat cooler than the previous days of my riding this past week, but I still think I felt stronger.

At one point I realized I actually had to go into the large chainring so I didn't spin my brains out. I hit a long, flat stretch and suddenly, I was 25 years old again, crouched down on the bars doing 17 miles an hour for several miles. I was ecstatic.

I gunned it all the way home and felt great. I needed no recovery time whatsoever. This is the best ride I've had in ages.

Yes, I believe I have returned.

Succeeding

2010-07-07T07:29:00.005-04:00

Since last Saturday I've been totally committed to this new routine of mine. On Sunday I pulled off a 25 miler in 100 degree heat. I was toast but I did it.

Monday, since I was off, I decided to do a short ride because I wanted to give my body time to recover from the shock of actually doing something besides sitting at a desk. Instead I did another 15 miler.

Tuesday and today, I set my clock for 5 AM and was out the door, doing a 7 mile loop near my house. The temps have been around 100 so the early morning rides take care of 2 things at once; I don't procrastinate and I can always ride in 80 degree weather.

I think I put more miles on my bike this week than I have in years and it's not even a full week yet.

The problem now is staying motivated. I know I have the attention span of a gnat. I get bored easily. I found if I ride with an iPod at very low volume and only have the bud in my right ear, I don't hear myself breathing which tricks me into thinking I'm not that tired if I can't hear myself breathe. Shhh...don't tell my brain that.

I'm trying to do anything I can to keep this going. My boss even has me posting my bike computer's mileage for the day on her Facebook page. I told her that actually, I could cheat and just watch TV and spin the front wheel for 45 minutes and get the same result since there is no day and date reading on it. Of course, I wouldn't do that but I'm really trying to stay motivated this time.

The stupid thing is I love being on the bike. It's in my blood. I think once I get past this first month and feel stronger, it won't be as difficult to keep going.

Thanks, Buddy

2010-07-03T16:11:00.005-04:00

Somewhere along the line the last 6 months or so, I seem to have changed. I became someone I struggled to recognize. Nothing horrible or life threatening happened; I just shifted somewhere. I trudged along but I stopped doing all the things I love to do, except fishing.

Everyday I walk by my bike about 8-10 times. It is parked in my hallway, patiently waiting, like a horse who just wants to run. I always think, yeah, I have to get back on the bike. But then the excuses pile up and the bike goes to the bottom of the to do list.

But the last 3 weeks, I have heard switches flipping in my brain. I have started seeing things differently. Maybe it had to do with hooking up with some old high school friends on Facebook. Maybe it has to do with hearing some old James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Carole King music that has tapped me on the shoulder and has said, hey, come back. Remember who you were? You were an athlete. You ran, you biked, you water skied, you played tennis, you swam. But most of all, you were a bike racer. You may not have been the best, but by self definition, you were a cyclist. You are a cyclist.

On Thursday morning I walked by the bike on my way out the door as usual. I stopped in my tracks and stared at this beautiful machine that is begging me to get out there with it. While looking at it, I knew that something was going to change. Another switch flipped.

I was on the phone with my best friend Barbara last night and told her I was definitely riding today. I tried to explain to her how I knew I had to get on the bike today. I tried to explain that this machine is an extension of me. I tried to make her understand how, when you’re a cyclist, how the bike seems to have its own voice and persona. It’s like an appendage that you stop using when you stop riding. I don’t know if I made much sense to her, but I know for sure any one of you who follow my blog know exactly what I am saying.

My friend knows I have been in some kind of inner struggle lately and encouraged me, as she always does, to go for it and take that first step. Every so often she asks if I’m going to get on the bike on the weekend; never pushing, just gently asking. Somehow she knows that "being on the bike" is just different for me. She just knows. That’s what friends figure out.

But yesterday, I finally knew it was time. I don’t know why, but I knew. So when I went to sleep last night, there was no doubt that I was riding early today to try to beat the heat, since I am so out of shape and the heat seems to just kill me.

This morning I dusted the dog hair off the wheels, pumped up the tires, and pushed out the door. Usually when I start up again, I do short 5 mile rides. But since I have a 3 day weekend, I decided to ride 7-8 miles out and then come back, making it a 15 mile ride. There was no doubt I would finish it; I just wasn’t sure what condition I would be in when I got home.

The heat was hard for me. The course has 2 hills that made it tougher. I was out of breath the whole ride. I averaged 10 MPH, which was pathetic. My arms were fine, my legs were fine. It was my aerobic capacity that killed me. I am so out of shape that a ride that usually takes me 15 minutes to recover from took me 45 minutes.

But I started. I set a goal and completed it. I plan to ride another 15 miler tomorrow. I will leave the house earlier as it is supposed to be hotter tomorrow. But I will finish again tomorrow. And again on Monday.

While I was running some errands a couple of hours ago, Barbara called me to see how the heat was affecting me today to make sure I was ok. I told her I did 15 miles. The excitement in her voice was incredible. She sounded like the people who cheer you on during a race or a long organized ride. While on the phone, she was trying to visualize how far 15 miles was and she said it’s 10 miles from her house to the George Washington Bridge, and I rode farther than that. When I think about that in her terms, from a non-cyclist’s point of view, it does seem really far. But you and I know it isn’t; it’s just a short ride.

It’s just a beginning. She asked me how I felt after finally getting back in the saddle and I tried to put it into words. How can you explain what that frame, those wheels and those bars and the wind do to you? We finally agreed that I accomplished something.

My goal, after this weekend, is to get up during the week at 5AM so I can get on the road by 6 AM or so. I’ll ride for an hour or so just about everyday and eventually, I’ll get it back.

I could be wrong but I thought I caught my Dolce smiling today.

Little Dolce, It's Been A Long, Cold Lonely Winter...

2010-04-08T13:07:00.005-04:00

I have been following all of you on your exploits these past months. I feel like you're a bunch of long distance friends. I've been here, harmlessly lurking in the shadows cheering you all on. Some of you have moved, some of you have had loved ones move away, some of you just kept plugging away, and some of you won bikes and are able to ride without hands for .5 seconds.

Five months off the bike for me. I never want to do that ever again.

Long story short, during the winter there were a few changes here. I quit the 2nd job, I discovered the joys of freshwater fishing and I also discovered my genius of a doctor is an idiot. Other than that, it's been somewhat uneventful.

The Reader's Digest version of the medical issue was my doc put me on some meds. Before that, he asked me what I like to do in my spare time. I told him I like to fish, hike and ride my bike. He said ok, that's nice. After about 3 months I realized that the things I used to love doing, I no longer cared about doing at all. I went to work and came home. The Dolce sat in my living room on the trainer collecting dust. One day it got warmer out so I went fishing. I felt a little queazy. Then one day I went for a walk. I got queazy. About 2 weeks ago it got really unseasonably warm and I went fishing and just about passed out. I checked out some stuff online and it looks like I'm not supposed to be outside in the sun with these meds and they can cause lethargy.

Now, I may not be the brightest candle on the menorah but down here at the Jersey shore, where we are surrounded by water, fishing generally occurs outside in the sun. I've noticed that hiking in the beautiful protected Pinelands also coincidentally occurs outside, and often in the sun. The bike usually does too but yes, I have a trainer that I never used.

With that said, I have weaned myself off the meds but I am now in the worst shape I have ever been in my life. I'm sure it'll be a while until they are out of my system completely so I'm just hoping it doesn't get too warm too fast, like it is today, because the heat is killing me.

I decided to take a personal day today. I had yard work to do, some stuff around the house, maybe a little fishing and yeah, how about that bike? I asked myself this morning, if you only have the energy to do ONE thing today, what would it be? Or better yet, what SHOULD it be?

So I changed out the rear skewer, took off the clipless pedals and put the toestrap pedals back on so I wouldn't crash, pumped up the tires, dusted off the bike and out the door I went.

To be totally honest, I was amazed that I felt pretty darned good on the bike for the first few miles. I was also amazed that this bike was never custom made for me because it sure feels like it was. I wasn't breaking any land speed records but I was ON the bike and felt alive again. I decided to go for it and try for a 10 miler.

At about 5 miles, the sun was getting hot and I started not feeling so great. I sat under a tree in a local park and heard quite a commotion above.

It appears the crows were telling each other that roadkill might be right under their noses.

Duly motivated now, I got back on the bike and kept on going and when I got home, I felt the usual queaziness but it passed pretty quickly. It was shortly replaced by YES! I'm back on the bike again.

Here's to many more miles this year for me on a most awesome bike.

Graceful Maneuver

2009-11-11T14:05:00.005-05:00

Long story short, I’ve had some minor life bumps lately that have kept me off the bike. But I finally had some time to myself this weekend and it just happened to be 70 degrees and sunny at the same time.

In November.

In New Jersey.

I was getting on that bike no matter what.

Since I’ve gotten my new shoes and pedals, I’ve only ridden maybe twice. I’ve had some issues clipping in to the left pedal. It’s not the clip in to the pedal part. It’s the flipping around of the pedal to get the clip in side where it needs to be. Thanks to many well experienced people both at the LBS and on this blog, I’ve been very cognizant of making sure I can stop and land safely. So far so good.

I happily hopped on my bike and made sure to clip in on the left side first. I serenely rode down to the bay. I noticed a lot of sailing ships and decided to stop at the park that overlooks the bay.

Ok, I’m thinking. I need a landing zone. I pass by a police car parked by the pathway there where Vinny, a cop I’ve known for years, was taking a break and just looking out over the bay. I pass by a woman taking pictures of the beautiful boats on the water. I unclip my left foot and keep half pedaling with my right. I decide to turn onto a boardwalk path in order to get to a bench there. I’m doing fine until I also unclip my right foot just moments before I see that the boardwalk I am approaching is about 2 inches higher than the path.

The following things run through my brain in about the time span of one second:

A. I know from experience that the bottoms of these shoes are so slick that I can’t pedal without being clipped in. My shoes just slip off the pedals.

B. I know that once I hit that 2 inch bump, it’s going to slow me down too much and I’m not going to make it to that bench over there.

C. The grass is not only damp, which will make my slippery shoes slip, but it is also an EXTREMELY popular area for large groups of geese who spend a LOT of time there.

As my bike hopped up to the boardwalk, where it abruptly ceased to propel itself forward and instead leaned toward the grass, I said aloud to no one in particular, “Oh man. This is not gonna be pretty.”

My bike comes to a stop, my foot hits the wet grass and goose poop, slides like wax on ice, and I fall off the bike directly into a large pile of poop. I could not have made a more perfect landing into the most heavily concentrated area of poop if I had tried. Of course, I quickly get up to see if anyone saw me.

Vinny the cop is in his squad car, kindly looking the other way, probably laughing uncontrollably.

The lady taking pictures is still taking pictures of boats.

Ok, I only have to be embarrassed in front of one person.

Sure enough, as I rode out of the park, Vinny, with a big smile on his face, yelled to me, "Hey Linda, how's it going?"

I answered, "Slowly."

You would think it would be a "crappy" ride home.

But I actually laughed the whole way with this ridiculous grin on my face that said, "Yep. That's me. Grace in action!"

Autumn Sunday Morning

2009-09-21T08:44:00.004-04:00

There are days that just seem to start out in a dreamscape for no particular reason. Perhaps it’s just the newness of a season.

I woke up to a 60 degree, beautiful Sunday morning. I had to be at work earlier than usual at my weekend job and I had been on the late shift the night before. So on Sunday I slept in until the last possible moment and then jumped into Bike Mode.

To be truthful, I need to be a bit clearer on this.

It’s called “Let-the-dog-out-feed-the-dog-make-coffee-drink-coffee-eat-a-yogurt-and-a-banana-let-dog-back-in-get-into-bike-clothes-fill-water-bottle-put-water-bottle-on-bike-get-camera-put-in-pack-get-out-door-with-bike-Mode”.

The air was crisp and cool. The sky was cloudless. The only sounds I heard were the early morning crickets and the occasional car. The middle of September at the shore brings things back to normal and I once again, can feel blessed to live in such a beautiful area, and then on top of that, blessed to have such a great bike to take it all in with.

It was great to see that the waters of the Barnegat Bay once again belong to the locals and the fishermen who make a living from these waters. No jet skis and no power boats today.

On the way home I ride over a little bridge. I always look out over the river it spans to see the view. Apparently I wasn’t the only one taking in the peace of it all. This heron (in the middle of the shot) and I were both content to just sit and look for a while.

The beauty of life on 2 wheels…

Well, Almost...On Two Levels

2009-09-19T13:59:00.006-04:00

I have the day to myself today until 3:30 when I have to go to work so I decided that this morning I would go to the bike shop and get my new shoes and pedals so I could ride like the big dog cool people.:o)

The derailleurs needed a slight adjusting anyway. I was really looking forward to being able to ride in the big chainring without it sounding like I was dragging my metal cup along a jail cell door.

Now, to backtrack a bit, I received a comment on my blog yesterday from a guy named Frank. It turns out this particular Frank was The Frank that won the Orbea that Elden of Fat Cyclist gave away. Long story short, where does he live? About 2 miles from me. I have an actual cycling celebrity in my town! Holy Shimano! He was kind enough to tell me to give him a shout if I ever wanted to go on a ride. I told him if he ever wanted to go SLOOOOOOOOOOOOW, sure.

It turns out that he was also planning on being at the bike shop this morning for a group ride. Our emails crossed each other so he was unaware that I was at the shop at the same time but when I got there, there were quite a few people outside waiting for the ride to start. I asked an older gentleman if he knew who Frank was but he did not. I then thought I recognized Frank but if it was him, he was deep in conversation with 2 other guys so I didn't want to interrupt him. I'm sure we'll run into each other again in the near future anyway.

I brought the bike into the shop and told them I needed shoes and pedals. I got the pedals but they didn't have the shoes I wanted in my size. They're on order and I'll have them later this week. I did buy and take home the pedals (and a pair of socks) because I at least wanted to drool over the new pedals until I was able to put them on the bike. I was a tad disappointed but it's no biggie really; it's not like I can't ride the bike and golly gee whiz, now I'll have to go back to the bike shop again! What a non-bummer!

I got home much earlier than I expected and was able to get a nice 10 miler in. I haven't been able to ride much more than 2 days this past week so I wanted to really take full advantage of a sunny, cool Saturday where the shore traffic wouldn't be an issue. I took my time and on the way home, because I could now use the big ring without frightening small children and dogs, I was rolling along at about a 14 mph clip on the flats, which is really good for me. It seems it takes me about 5 miles to warm up to the point where I can start pushing it a bit and feel good. I am told the new shoes and pedals will make a big difference too so I have that to look forward to.

So I didn't get my shoes, and I didn't get to meet Frank, but I had an awesome ride so what more could I ask for?

Labor(less) Day

2009-09-07T13:38:00.007-04:00

Today was the first time in many weeks that I was actually off from both jobs on the same day. I had to work a lot of hours this past week and I haven’t had any time to ride. So I wanted to wake up really early today and get on the bike. However, my body had other plans.

I slept in until 8 which is very late for me. I couldn’t seem to wake up. I felt physically drained and my eyes felt like they wanted to keep closing even though my brain was awake. Even after 3 cups of coffee, I was still out of it.

I finally reached a point in my thought process where I decided to ignore my body. It was a cool, cloudy day, I was off, I had a new bike, and I was not missing out on this chance. Even if it was only a 5 miler, I was getting on that bike.

I was curious also to see how fast I’ve been going on it. Not that I felt like I was breaking any land speed records but I felt like I was at least hitting 15 mph once in a while where on the Trek I was lucky to break 10 mph.

As some of you are aware, I have an unfortunate history with bike computers. A friend of mine gave me his old, fully-functional-at-the-time-it-was-given-to-me VDO C3 because he was upgrading. Since I got the Dolce I have spent probably about 3 to 4 hours trying to get the VDO to work. I tried left fork, right fork, left handlebar, right handlebar, all batteries out, all batteries in, (yes, they are new batteries), one out at a time, moving the magnet up and down every section of spoke, having the magnet hit the sensor, having the magnet so close to the sensor that a piece of paper could barely fit through it and every variation of all of the above, including prayer. No matter what I do, I can’t get it to register anything when the wheel turns. It’s working; it has a display and the green LED lights up on the sensor when the magnet goes past it. However, it’s a case of “the lights are on but nobody’s home”. I finally took the Trek computer off my Trek and put it on the Dolce and in the process I messed up the screw on the Trek magnet.

I now own an original Frankenometer. Pieces of both equal one that works and I’m not messing with it!

I also wanted to see how the stem pack I had gotten would work on the frame. Instead of putting it on the stem where I have the Frankenometer, I put it on the top triangle off to the side where I can easily take my camera out when needed. I was curious to see if my knees would hit it.

Ignoring the fact that my eyes were half closed, I pushed the bike out the door and rode away in the opposite direction from the water because I figured that’s the place where all the cars would be heading. I kept riding farther out of town until I realized I was fairly awake. I decided to just go for a 10 miler and take it easy.

Once I got about 5 miles I felt better. There was nothing but the open road in front of me with very few cars and I was going to take full advantage of it.

Just as I was feeling my oats, some guy passed me on my left.

No, he did not say “onyerlef”. Obviously an amateur. Hmph.

I kept going and at about 8 miles my knees were feeling a little sore so I turned around. I wanted to go farther but I didn’t want to get stupid about it. I stopped in a park and sat under a tree, watching the kids around me playing and of course, admiring my bike.

The stem pack was working really well. I didn't even know it was there and didn't come anywhere near my knee.

I passed by a school where there is an electronic readout of your speed. It said I was going 12 mph. I looked down at the Frankenometer and it also said 12 mph so it seems to be working fine. At one point on the flats I was up to 16 mph. I was really surprised at that but I really shouldn’t be with this bike.

On my way back home, the traffic was getting heavier and slower. Although I am not a fan of his, there’s a line from a Springsteen song, Born to Run, where it says, “sprung from cages on highway 9…”.

Well, here’s a shot on my way home of the same Route 9 he sang about but it doesn’t look to me like anyone sprung.

I finished a great 15 mile ride feeling great and I am much more awake now. Nothing like a bike ride to snap you out of it!

Oh, one other thing…at one point in the park I saw the below sign:

But I felt the sign would have read much better with the following:

Old Bicycles Don't Die...

2009-08-29T11:56:00.004-04:00

After they have helped us to grow, they help other things to grow too.

I saw this around the block from my house and it really made me smile!

I'm Still Smiling With No Sign of Stopping

2009-08-25T07:20:00.004-04:00

This morning it was finally a little cooler out. Not that the very hot weather has stopped me yet from riding this new machine these past few days, but it made me want to get out there even more.

At one point on this morning's ride, I was just in The Zone. There was no sense of my pedaling. I was just gliding and flowing. I think I was breathing and there was a shadow on the ground ahead of me while the sun was at my back whose legs were rotating. (The shadow's form was pretty bad but that was ok.)

The fall is my most favorite time of year and is just around the corner. I am so psyched to be able to go on some longer rides and have this bike!

Yesterday Ed brought his camera to work so I could extract the photos he took while they were buying me the bike at the shop. The pictures are a little out of focus and actually, that pretty much conveys how it all felt to me.It seemed like a fuzzy dream and his shots are perfect.

My favorite part of the pictures is the look on Ellen's face! She was getting as much joy out of the situation as I was. She's the one in the pink shirt. Ed was beaming too and I wish I had my camera with me at the time. Actually, come to think of it, I did have it in the car but was too awestruck to think of it apparently.

Just an utter state of disbelief...

...followed by an utter state of disbelief.

This was not the bike I took home but the photo was taken when Greg was sizing me up for the 51 he knew I should have that I was certain I shouldn't have that he insisted he thought I should have that I finally realized I should have.

And here I explain to Greg that I am quite aware that riding a bike with Crocs is not conducive to good pedal action and had I known that I was going to get the bike of my dreams while dressing for work today (we have no dress code) I would have at least worn running shoes.

He was not convinced.

Next equipment purchase will be Look Elle pedals and Specialized shoes!

Maiden Voyage

2009-08-23T11:33:00.005-04:00

Yesterday morning I woke up, took Emma for a good walk, ran a few errands so that I could ride without any distractions, and came home to get ready to ride My Bike.

Right before I wheeled it out the door, I stood there looking at it. I still couldn't get over the fact that this was My Bike.

I almost lowered the seat before I left because I was pretty sure that it might have been adjusted by Greg at the fitting to be a tad too high. I decided to just bring a hex key and leave it alone, but at least if needed on the ride, I could take care of it.

The reason I changed my mind was a lesson I think I finally learned at the right time, and to my great advantage.

On Thursday when The Most Supreme Bosses were buying me the bike, I told Greg, the bike shop owner who was helping us, that I was absolutely sure I needed a 48 cm frame. He said,"No, I can tell by looking at you that you're a 51." We went back and forth a bit and I could tell he was getting a little miffed. He said he would put a 48 together for me if I wanted but then explained why I probably was a 51 due to the fact that bike frame top tubes are different now than they were 30 years ago. (HINT NUMBER ONE, LINDA). He was pretty insistent and stated that he was 99.9% sure the 51 would be better suited. He felt I would be too cramped on the 48 due to the shorter top tube and there would be a crazy amount of seat post sticking out.

I thought back to all the times in my life I was "100%" sure about something, only to have to admit later that I was wrong. It was like God was saying to me, "Linda...NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO LEARN THIS LESSON???"

Right then and there I told him I would go with the 51. Ed and Ellen were telling me to let him put a 48 together and check it out but my gut told me to go with Greg's expertise and not mine. Being as Ed and Ellen know me like a book, I said to them, "You know how there are those times I'm 100% sure about something and then I find out I was wrong?"

They immediately nodded in recognition of this trait of mine and that was that. We all agreed on a 51.

The second I got on the bike yesterday after Greg had properly adjusted everything for me, I knew he was right about the size and I was very happy I didn't lower the seat. I would indeed have been too squished. The bike felt like it was made for me. The word that came to my mind was "fluid". The bike just flows.

I rode it down to the bay. There was somewhat of a headwind as Hurricane Bill's winds were off the Atlantic but it was pretty easy for me to push through them. My first thought was, "Wow, I'm in better shape than I thought!" only to be followed a hundreth of a second later by, "Duh. It's the bike, dummy."

I sat in the gazebo by the bay for a minute and took pictures of the bike. There were people around looking at me funny. Did I care? Nope.

On the way home I inadvertantly rode through some gravel. Before I realized what I was doing, I leaned over the handlebars to gently run my fingers over the front tire to dislodge anything. I have not done that in 30 years and it was like breathing. I then reached down to my right and felt for the back tire. My first thought was, "Wow, where's the tire? This wheelbase must be a lot longer than my Cuevas racing bike's was."

Immediately I realized what the problem was and actually laughed and shook my head to myself.

"No Linda, it's your stomach fat that is now in the way."

Well, now that I'll be able to go on longer rides, I may eventually have an easier time of reaching for my back tire.

I rode home and got ready for work at the supermarket. I don't remember anything at the store except thinking about that ride. I even had printed the picture of my bike below and put it in my pocket so I could look at it at any time.

I am such a dork! And I don't care!

Speechless in New Jersey

2009-08-21T17:32:00.000-04:00

I haven't been on the bike since my dog Luke passed away about 3 weeks ago. I guess I feel as though if I'm off from my jobs, I need to spend time with my other dog, Emma. But now Emma is adjusting very well to our new "just us girls" status so I think it's time for me to get some bike time again. I also asked my part time job to cut my hours back slightly so that I could have the time to do some decent rides on weekends. So I am ready to ride.

With this in mind, yesterday my day time bosses, Ed and Ellen, asked me if I would mind taking a break from work and going with them to the other LBS about 10 miles from us because their son wanted to buy a bike and they wanted my feedback. Like I'm gonna say no???

I asked their son, Josh, what kind of bike he wanted and what kind of riding he would be doing. He pretty much explained that he would want a hybrid but would see what hit him when we got there.

I followed them in my car because I am a lousy passenger and I get queasy in the back seat anyway.

We pulled into the lot and converged. Ed and Ellen walked into the store ahead of me and an employee approached us, asking if he could help us with anything.

Ed pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket that looked like an email with a picture of a bike on it, handed it to the guy and said, "We'd like to buy this bike for this young lady", and turns around and looks at me.

Then I hear the words, "Specialized Dolce".

I wasn't sure I heard right but then I turned around and looked at them all and they were grinning ear to ear. It's kind of fuzzy to me but they told me I kept shaking my head and saying, "No, no, Josh is looking for a bike". I think I forgot to breathe but apparently I did. I'm still here. Ellen had to quickly explain to the poor guy that this was a surprise for me and I eventually will indeed breathe again, even if I faint to the floor.

I have never been so dumbfounded in my life. I think I kept crying on and off for an hour. I asked them why they were buying me the bike. The answer was a gift as well. They said they truly valued my work. I have a suspicion that had they given me money, they know I would have spent it on bills and they wanted to give me something for me. They called it a "summertime bonus". I think I call that a "bonus of a lifetime bonus."

Apparently they had been planning this and our business friend from California, Ray, who is an avid cyclist, helped them figure out what bike I wanted because Ray and I talk bikes all the time.

But these people are not only my employers, they are very good friends who I love a whole bunch, even before they bought me the bike of my dreams. I had known them for years before I started working for them and we all attend the same church. Ellen knew that I was saving up for a really good bike so that I could join the local bike club and go on their group rides and make some bike friends. I'm pretty much a hermit except for work and Ellen and Ed are extremely fitness oriented and they want me to be able to get fitter and socialize more, too.

The bike I was saving for was a Dolce Compact that had Sugino cranks and a Shimano Sora group. But the owner of the store, Greg, after talking to me about what kind of riding and mileage I planned on doing, told them that I would probably burn out those components in a year or two and recommended the Dolce Elite with the Tiagra group and that he had a 2010 model in my size that gave a lot more bang for the buck than the 2009 same model.

Ellen didn't skip a beat and came back with, "We want the better bike."

WE DO???

And that's what "we" got.

I am still in shock. To say that I still can't believe this is a massive understatement. Blessed; majorly blessed is how I feel. I believe I woke up 3 times last night just to go into my living room and look at the bike.

I did take it for a quick ride last night. A local triathlete happened to be running by and gave me the official nod that says, "Hi. I see by your bike that you are a bike person".

What employer takes their employee out on company time and buys them a $1200 bike?

Even as I am writing this I am sitting here, shaking my head and my eyes are getting watery. This is unbelievable. These things don't happen to me. I feel like I hit the lottery.

I went back to the LBS this afternoon to get fitted. I have to work tonight but you'd better believe I will be on this bike first thing tomorrow morning.

A Sad Day

2009-08-06T09:57:00.002-04:00

I never met Eldon or Susan Nelson but feel like I have through Eldon's blog, Fat Cyclist. As you all know Susan passed away last night.

My prayers, love and hugs go out to the Nelson family.

FIGHT LIKE SUSAN!

Soon...

2009-08-02T10:53:00.002-04:00

I plan on getting back on the bike this week as soon as I think Emma is better adjusted to being the only dog. She's doing much better and we are taking daily hiking or walking trips. Our new routine seems to be doing wonders for her morale. Now I just have to figure out how to keep up that new regimen and get on the bike too.

One reader of this blog, Jeff, was kind enough to give me a link to a blog written by a 7 month old puppy named Buster living in New York. I read it, loved it and showed it to Emma. Emma decided she wants her own blog too so if you want to check out what we're doing when I'm not working or on the bike, we'll be here-

http://emmaadogsperspective.blogspot.com/

I'm off to work again so keep on riding, and for those of you in the Northwest, hang in there!

New Chapter

2009-07-29T13:47:00.004-04:00

First of all, thank you all who commented on my losing Luke. You have no idea how much that meant to me. There's a warm place in my heart for each of you.

Monday morning I attempted to go to work and try to gain some semblance of normalcy. When I left home, my other dog, Emma, was looking out the window, thinking maybe Luke would appear somewhere. It broke my heart.

When one of my bosses came in, the first thing he did was give me a big hug and told me to go home, and it was not going to count as a sick or vacation day. I was so grateful because I was very worried about Emma. They were absolutely inseperable and now she was home all alone.

I rushed home and she was curled up under my desk. She didn't even get up when I came home. I decided we needed to get out of the house so I took her for a hike in the woods near a creek. She hates the water but I gave it a shot.

Long story short, the spot I wanted to go to had people there already so I went to another part. At the last minute I realized there was someone swimming in the creek. I apologized for disturbing him and he said, "No, no problem. Stay here with your dog, I like dogs."

Then I turned around and saw that he had a new Specialized 29er. I commented on how cool a bike it was. We struck up a great conversation and I thought to myself, how wonderful a God I have that He would, in my grief, direct me to a place where there was someone who was into bikes like I am!

While we were talking, Emma decided she liked water. I couldn't believe it. The water there is a really neat gold color because of all the pines in our area. Emma walked in the water and plopped down in it, just lying there and relaxing.

After about a half hour she was getting restless so we headed home. I will probably never see that guy again but what a gift that half hour was to me.

On top of that, my bosses are going to experiment with my bringing Emma to work with me for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I can't believe it.

I really want to get on the bike but each morning I've been taking Emma walking in the woods to try to get her mind (and mine) off missing Luke. It's becoming a habit now and I suppose this is our new chapter of life.

And the pages turn...

At A Loss

2009-07-27T10:16:00.003-04:00

Early this morning my 7 year old best friend Luke, my dog, passed away unexpectedly. He is the dog who always would insert himself in bike photos for this blog.

He always sleeps next to me at night. I got up around 4AM. He always sits up to make sure I come back to bed. This time he didn't move. He had been a little ill lately but he seemed to have fully recovered. He played with his toys yesterday as usual, jumped on me, jumped on the bed, ate well, etc. This was not expected at all.

I feel like my heart got ripped out of me. My other dog Emma keeps going outside looking for him even though she sniffed him goodbye as I put him in the car to take him to the vet to be cremated.

What a dog. He was my shadow. If I was sick, he never left my side. If I was sad, he licked my face.

I hope I'll see him again someday.

Just Rollin' Along

2009-07-23T12:49:00.003-04:00

Life is good. I have many blessings. I haven't posted much but I have been reading other people's blogs and have been excited for them, as with Lizzylou and her new bike she named Pixie (which did not get named Barbie as I suggested because that's what her Dad calls her Mom but at least I was in the running). I read about Mike and Jenny's double century with awe and a ton of respect. I have been reading Elden Nelson's Fat Cyclist blog in tears everyday because of the pain his family is going through from his wife Susan's cancer and what a strong person he is.

I have no complaints. I work a lot and I'm grateful for that. So many people are out of work. Just this week I was able to finally catch up on all my bills for the first time in 2 years. Now that is a major blessing, for sure.

I've been squeezing in short rides; 5-9 milers, and I'm ok with that. At least I've been able to ride and that's the main thing. I've even been thinking of getting a new road bike and Mike was kind enough to give me some great pointers on a bike I was looking at, a Specialized Dolce. I don't see myself buying a new bike anytime soon but I've been socking away money for it a little at a time; $10 here, $15 there, and maybe next year I'll be able to buy one. I don't need a great bike. Even the bottom of the line one with Sora parts would be fine. I can always replace a worn out derailleur down the road. I just feel like I'm ready to go that route.

I went to the NCLBS (that's the Next Closest Local Bike Shop) which is 10 miles away, only because they're a Specialized dealer. I had a great time talking to a young 16 or so year old kid there for about an hour who informed me that even though I was a girl and I was old, I knew my stuff. Coming from a kid, that's a big compliment!

So thank you all for sharing your riding adventures on your blogs. They are truly inspiring and because I really don't know anyone around here who is into cycling like I am, (and also because even if I did join the local club I wouldn't be able to go on group rides because I don't have a road bike yet,) you all bring a smile to my face.

Keep dancing on those pedals!

Shaking It Off

2009-07-05T11:40:00.009-04:00

Yesterday I was in a really foul mood all day at work. The customers were very demanding, which is to be expected as many of them were down here for the weekend. There were lots of strange faces with strong northern accents. We call them "bennies", a term that started long ago. They come from North Jersey, New York and Staten Island and for the most part, it seems like they think all of South Jersey is their playground with little respect for the environment and locals here. I also came from that area about 22 years ago but I brought with me a profound respect for this area. So in a way I don't mind working on the weekends because the roads are so clogged that there's nowhere I would want to drive to anyway.

Because I do NOT want to feel like that again today, I knew I had to get on the bike for a quick ride this morning. I rode down to the bay and stopped by the water to just try to get some peace. Then I saw the 2 idiots.

They were riding their jet skis really close to the rocks and spraying water at people for "fun". So here we are being idiots...

...and then here we are crashing into each other...

Sighing in resignation, I got back on my bike and proceeded home. To my delight, I saw an opportunity to possibly use an "onyerlef". As I got closer I saw that the woman was coming toward me so I said "hi" as I passed but even though I did pass her on her left, I think she was kind of aware of that.

I saw someone else up ahead that was actually on a bike and got excited for a moment. But I couldn't catch them due to the fact that I'm slower than I've ever been in my life.

On my way home a car full of kids with NY plates heckled me as they passed. I shrugged it off and then saw that they had pulled over up ahead as the driver was attempting to light his cigarette. As I rode past them they honked and chose to speed up to pass me while yelling some comments out the window about my quite evident lack of thinness. Gosh, I so love the bennies...

The highlight of my morning was catching the end of the TdF and seeing that spectacular sprint finish. Cavendish is awesome. But then came the commercial break and to my great surprise, it was an Andy Schleck commercial for Specialized. He's my favorite rider and it made me really smile, which I truly needed at that point.

So now I am getting ready for work once again. At least it's only 6 hours today. I also have next Saturday to look forward to. My wonderful boss gave me Saturday off so I'll go for a long ride in the morning in a direction away from the water. Hopefully that way I'll have some peace as I ride. I have to shake this off. I'm only making myself miserable.

Ah yes...summer at the Jersey Shore...

Flatting Out

2009-07-04T08:09:00.008-04:00

A little off topic...

It's been a strange 3 weeks. We had 2 weeks of rain and then just at the end of that 2 weeks I was under the weather myself with some weird stomach thing. I didn't ride at all until yesterday. We've had pretty much great weather this past week but it was lost on me somehow.

I can't explain it except that I feel flat. I haven't had any interest in doing much of anything. I can't put my finger on it, either. Both jobs are going great, I have many, many blessings, I've been at least walking every morning; nothing is really wrong. I'm not "depressed" either because I do have fun around the people I work with. I'm just in some kind of a funk.

Yesterday I had off totally from both jobs. I woke up and decided I had to force myself to do something to try and get some kind of a spark back. I figured I would go check out my favorite park around here and then ride, if I wanted to or not. Don't think; just go.

I headed out to Wells Mills Park. It's a huge nature preserve with a lot of hiking trails that I love to walk on in the winter. Oddly enough, I don't usually come here in the summer. I headed down to the lake and was met by a huge white goose. He had the biggest feet I've seen on a goose yet. His feet were about twice the size of the others and he was the leader. He wasn't aggressive at all. He just wasn't shy, although he honked pretty loudly to tell the others there was a human nearby.

I then learned why I don't go there too much in the summer-it's very buggy. But I walked around there anyway for a while and followed some trails I use a lot in the winter. It looks so different when everything is so green.

When I got home I got my bike stuff together and out the door I went. I didn't think about it; I just did.

I decided that I would ride my favorite ride into Waretown but I would take a slight detour and check out the rest of the bike path that extends from there down to Barnegat. I figured it would be around a 15 mile ride, which it was. At first I wondered if it wouldn't be a better idea to put the bike on the back of the car and drive part way there because we were being invaded by July 4th weekend vacationers and Route 9 was getting a little dicey. There's a section I have to ride down where 2 people on bikes have been hit by cars in the last few months. In the end I decided to ride down Route 9 but I would "salmon" it so I could see if I was going to get hit before I got hit and be able to get out of the way.

Once into the back area of Waretown I was glad to be on the bike. I saw my nemesis, The Dog Who Broke My Cyclometer, who once again chased me except that this time his owner yelled, "No". This was a vast improvement over last time when his owner did nothing.

I made the turn onto the bike path and it was so peaceful there. It was deserted. I was surrounded by all the green, which I love. I noticed dirt trails off to my right which looked like they might be interesting in the winter and made a mental note.

This trail is actually an old railroad route. I think this was originally built in the late 1800's. I was glad to see they left part of the tracks exposed because I love local history.

At the end I turned around and sat for a minute, just observing and soaking in the sounds of the woods. There were things craoking, chirping and singing. Next time I should bring something to record the sounds.

As I sat there I looked at my bike and once again thought about how great of a bike it is for me at this point in my life. Yes, it's heavy and a low end bike but it works for me right now. My goal is to get a Specialized Dolce or something of that nature but that's way off in the future somewhere. This bike I have right now is my friend; a loyal friend. Even if I ever get a great road bike, I have no intentions of ever letting it go.

Once I got home I was beat. I didn't understand why after only 15 miles I should feel like that until I realized that half the ride was on the gravel bike path where I had to push it, and not on a smooth road surface. I haven't ridden in a while, and I haven't ridden over 15 miles in quite a long time so I felt a little better about it.

So today, Saturday July 4th here at the Jersey shore, I am getting ready to go to work at the supermarket for what promises to be a killer 9 hour shift. Yes, I'll miss the Tour de France coverage, which stinks. But I'm actually looking forward to work a little because I do have fun with my co-workers. I'm hoping that my events of yesterday will pull me out of wherever it is I am. I do know that getting back on that bike was a very, very good decision and hopefully I'll be able to ride tomorrow morning again before work.

Aspirations of Coolness

2009-06-13T12:53:00.006-04:00

To my fellow bloggers Jenny and Mike:

Due to my unfortunate error the other day, I set out this morning to right the wrong that had been done; the erroneous addition of a t to my “onyerlef”.

Being as I have the world’s only Trek Incite 9i Weather/Work Schedule/Cycling Synchronizing Cyclometer, and I didn’t have to be at work until 3 PM today, it was a no-brainer that I would wake up to a sunny day. And it was indeed sunny this morning.

With a determination only second to my dog searching for his favorite chew toy, I began my ride in earnest, seeking out that which would propel me to New Heights of Coolness.

Now Jenny, since you are the Queen of Cool and have won a Lifetime Achievement Award in that category by having purchased a Madone for Mike this past Christmas, I know I will never be able to reach the summit of coolness that you have, but it does give me a goal; a finish line, a crest of a hill, a …well, you get the idea.

So Jenny, thank you for correcting my use of “onyerlef”. My only hope is that I can get the correct usage down in a short period of time.

I decided to set attainable, short term goals for myself so as not to deter my enthusiasm for the endeavor. My first attempt at an “onyerlef” minus the t was while riding alongside the river. I saw a boat filled with people and as I was on their left, I bellowed, “ONYERLEF!”

They didn’t hear me but I am sure it was good practice.

I rode by the lake in town next. There was a small group of people swimming. Once again I exclaimed, “ONYERLEF!”

This attempt was met with some puzzled looks. Had they been aware of the situation, I’m sure they would have been more supportive.

Once I approached the next lake in town, I saw the Canadians sunbathing on my right. Seeing as they were on my right due to the fact that I was on their left, I announced to them, “ONYERLEF!”

They kept sleeping but at least I was not met with any negativity. I pushed on with a new sense of purpose.

Around the other side of the lake I saw another chance at this; my first actual interaction with a human. This was my big chance. My heart raced with excitement and nervousness. I summoned all my strength and screamed, “ONYERLEF!”

Being as he was listening to his iPod at a volume so loud that I could hear it as I rode by, and seeing as if I had attempted to pass him on his right I would have been wearing a chain link fence, the man was unimpressed, to say the least.

I must admit, I was a bit downtrodden but I’m no quitter.

Then I saw my big opportunity. About a half mile ahead of me there was a group of kids on their bikes! And they were on my right! And I was on their left!

With a new adrenaline blast of determination, I rode along, quietly whispering “onyerlef’ to myself so that when the big moment arrived, I would show the world that I too, could be cool!

Suddenly, one of the kids saw me coming. I could be mistaken but I thought I heard him say to the other kids, “RUN! That’s the lady riding around town yelling "onyerlef" minus the t!!! Get in the house! QUICK!”

One day, Jenny…one day…

Answers and Open Roads

2009-06-12T15:50:00.008-04:00

This week I've been able to go for a few after work rides, albeit short ones, but rides nonetheless. I'll take a 5 mile ride over a no mile ride anyday.

This is actually an interesting phenomenon, this being able to ride after work. Whereas in my previous blogs I have whined about not being able to ride because of the weather being rainy or windy or a combination of both, I find that the weather is actually working around my schedule these days. On days I've had to go to work at night, it has rained. On days I've been off this week, it has rained all day, then cleared between 5 and 6 PM during which time I jump on the bike and go, and then it starts raining again after I arrive home.

I was amazed at this phenomenon until I realized why. And then, once I realized the answer, it was so obvious that I felt embarrassed.

It's my new bike computer. The old one was the bad weather maker. This one has some awesome controls that I'm not even sure Trek is aware of.

On yesterday's ride I even got to practice using some cool cycling verbiage. I saw the riders below and was able to pass them and emit my first "onyerleft" of the year. It was quite rewarding.

Notice the kid has the helmet on but Dad is helmetless. I wavered between yelling out, "What kind of example is that to set for your kid?" and "If you fall and crack your head open because you aren't wearing a helmet, then who is going to help your kid that also just fell with you who may be traumatized and scraped up but survived the fall while you suffer brain damage, which you obviously already have?"

It was all very tempting but I went with "onyerleft".

On Thursdays it usually stars getting pretty crowded down here in June. Summer weekend people are coming down for long weekends and the roadways, even the back ones, can get pretty dicey. It's supposed to be crummy all weekend so it was a nice change to have the roads to myself between 5 and 6 PM for a change. Not a lot of vacationers are willing to give up time for a rainy weekend down here when there's not much to do.

However, we do have some pretty frequent vacationers from Canada.

Instructions for the Stupid

2009-05-31T13:35:00.005-04:00

I got 8 hours of sleep last night. I woke up feeling great. Being as I didn’t have to be at work today until 2PM, I went to church, did some errands and decided to go for a quick ride, quick being determined by the amount of time I rode, not MPH.

About 15 minutes before my ride I started feeling really, really tired. My eyelids felt heavy and I became pretty sleepy. I figured I’d better get on that bike FAST so I could wake up.

I did an almost 7 mile loop in my area and my legs felt pretty darned good. My brain, on the other hand, was a sluggish as a bear in hibernation. I noticed I was still tired but I was honestly surprised at how my thought pattern was a bit more off than its usual offness.

At the 6 mile mark I decided to crank it up for a half mile or so. I decided to go into a bigger gear. I reached for the shift lever that I have reached for for over 2 years when I want to shift into a bigger gear. That lever and I have met many times and we are on quite friendly terms. So you can imagine my surprise when the bike came to a screeching halt without my knowledge.

That’s because I hit the brake lever instead of the shifter.

Once I arrived home I was really shaky and it was then I realized that I had totally forgotten to eat anything today.

Duh.

So, for those duh-type days, I have decided to install the following diagram on my bike. I call it the Lin-Duh-Gram. I will tape it to my handlebars next to my cyclometer that actually works.

By the way, it was 82 degrees outside. :0)

It's a Beautiful Thing...

2009-05-30T14:12:00.004-04:00

I took the photo below at exactly 4.1 miles into my ride today.

But wait, you say. How did she know what the mileage was? I thought she had a case of Cyclometeritus Noworkitis. Didn’t she just blog about Sigma Stigma?

Well, that’s because I rode the bike back to the LBS, Bicycles Unlimited, with the Sigma on it. At first Ken, the owner of the shop, looked like he was thinking, “Oh great; here’s the wacko again.” They checked it out and I did have it set up correctly, but neither Ken nor his employee could get it to work. I told them that I would take a store credit, whatever; but I didn’t want another Sigma.

So now I am the proud owner of a Trek Incite 9i. And it works!

Even my dog was happy about it.

Not only did they stop what they were doing to check out the dysfunctional Sigma, they also installed the new Trek Incite 9i for me, no charge. I suspect part of that was to make sure the wacko didn’t come back with another non-functioning computer, but mainly I think it was because I wasn’t being a jerk about it and they wanted to make sure it was working right for me. While they were setting it up I told Ken that I write a cycling blog and that one of the commenters, Jerry in So IL, had worse luck with Sigmas than I did. He had gone through 5 in 4 months!

The Trek computer even displays the temperature. This is an excellent feature for me because I keep my bike in my living room so now I will always know the temperature of my living room if I ever need to know that information for some unknown reason. Or the dogs will know the temperature. Or something.

So Long Live the LBS! I’m really fortunate enough to have a great bike shop near me that seems to really care about doing the right thing. Ken's a good guy and a pleasure to deal with. They’re building a Wal-Mart in town here and I really hope this doesn’t affect Ken’s business too much. You’ll never get the personalized service at Wal-Mart that I got at my bike shop today.

Sigma Stigma

2009-05-28T08:00:00.003-04:00

I am now the owner of my third new Sigma bike computer in the last 2 years. I like these units. The readout is very easy to read, it's easy to switch between functions on a ride, and they have a handheld unit at the LBS that automatically programs the cyclometer so that once you get home, all you have to do is install it on the bike.

I honestly like these.

Really.

I even brought the first broken one back to life in a previous blog post.

The second one died 15 miles into its short life. I brought it back to the LBS yesterday and the owner shook his head sadly and told me I'm the only customer he has that has any trouble with these units. He did replace it with a new one, no hassle there. He's a nice guy and recognizes me when I come in as a repeat customer.

So I went home happily with the new, third unit and set it up exactly as the instructions say. The magnet is so close to the speed transmitter on the fork that it's almost touching and is well within the 20mm distnace needed between it and the magnet for it to work.

I am somewhat mechanically inclined. I'm not a total idiot (usually). I set it and reset it, took it off and re-re-remounted it. But does it work?

Nope.

As a last resort I'll take the bike and cyclometer back to the LBS and ask them what I'm doing wrong. But the owner already thinks I'm probably using it for batting practice or something.

Anyone have any ideas out there as to why I can't get it to work?

Linda and Richard’s Excellent Adventure

2009-05-26T07:00:00.012-04:00

Yesterday was Memorial Day. This day has special meaning for me.

I wear a POW bracelet with the name of Richard Lebrou Whitesides on it. I have worn this bracelet since 2005. I had a POW bracelet when I was in high school in the 70’s but it had gotten misplaced through a series of moves. For some reason I felt a tremendous urge to order a new bracelet a few years back and left it to fate to see who it was. I was blessed with a bracelet with the name of this courageous man and have also been blessed to have contact with Judith, his widow.

Richard Lebrou Whitesides graduated from West Point and married a wonderful woman named Judith. Richard flew for the Air Force and he flew a Cessna L-19 Bird Dog observation plane into Southeast Asia. Richard experienced problems almost immediately after take off. On March 26, 1964 he was in the process of flying into Vietnam when the plane was downed by small arms fire about 20 kilometers from Quang Tri, South Vietnam. Richard Whitesides has been swept under the proverbial rug. I choose to remember him by the bracelet I have worn for 4 years to date.

Parts of Richard’s plane have been found. I know this because I researched Richard online, found out he graduated from West Point, made an inquiry to West Point which West Point forwarded to his widow Judith, and now Judith and I keep in touch a few times a year. Unfortunately even though parts of his plane have been determined, his remains have not been returned here to his family and country.

So my ride today was dedicated to Richard. Richard, I have a feeling you would have loved this ride!

I had today off from both jobs. Being totally psyched, I decided to adventure into an area I had wanted to check out.

I rode down the same streets through Waretown that I did on my Mother’s Day ride but I took a turn down Wells Mills Rd. This is a long wooded road that goes through the Jersey Pine Barrens and has a few county parks along side it. There's a lake there that has trails behind it that I have wanted to ride down for a long time. I decided today was the day.

First I saw this. No problem, I thought. I can ride on the outer edges.

I followed the trail out to the right and it came out on the same road as my part time job, on Volunteer Way. Boring. So I turned around and decided to head back to Wells Mills Rd and get some miles in.

But then I saw another trail that branched off to the right. I decided to give it a shot.

I was waiting for the trail to start turning to the left at some point but it kept going straight and toward the right, deeper into the woods. I couldn't hear any cars anymore. The trail was getting sandier and sandier and I started losing it in the sugar sand. Finally, I encountered...

The Land of Sand!

It was at this point that I noticed my new Sigma cyclometer had stopped working. My friend Mike had given me his VDO but I was planning on saving that for my road bike on the trainer this coming winter. So I bought the wireless Sigma and in less than 2 days on the bike, it is now dead.

Anyway, I kept having to get on and off the bike and pushing it through the sand. The trail seemed never ending and I kept waiting for that left hand curve to come up. I had already been in the woods about an hour, just pushing through. I could hear my blood pumping in my ears and I was getting tired.

Then finally...the left hand curve appeared and it was rideable with a thick layer of pine needles over the sugar sand.

I rode this for a while and finally heard a car in the distance. I don't know how far I rode but I have provided a highly technologically advanced map here to show you.

This is the actual trail:

And this is what it felt like:

Once back on the main road I took it back to Route 9. I was tired and happy to be back on terra firma until I saw another gravel path to my left, which I also followed. If I went down here I was gonna be a hurtin' buckaroo.

I finally turned around because it was killing my tires and my chain sounded like egg shells had wedged themselves into the rear cassette. I need to remember that although my bike is referred to as a mountain bike, it is only a mountain bike inasmuch as it has a front shock type fork, thick frame tubes and knobby tires. It's a bottom of the line bike with bottom of the line components. My intention was to ride home at that point but of course, my curiosity got the better of me. I had heard that there was some kind of a bike trail that ran along Route 9 but I didn't know exactly where the entrance was. I cut back behind the police department parking lot and rode down the side road of it when I suddenly saw...

The Entrance!

I rode down this path aways and checked it out. It's not a path that you could take a road bike down. It's covered with a very, very fine gravel which is great to run on or to ride a mountain or cruiser type bike on. Then there was an intersection. This road heads back into an older beautiful section of Waretown. It's relatively untouched by modern times and riding through it is like going back in time about 50 years. I started down this road to check it out and instantly loved the road. I suddenly looked up and laughed because of course I would love this road!

I turned back at some point and rode a little further down the bike path but it was clear that my chain was getting increasingly unhappy so I started back home.

I felt like a little kid who had just gone exploring and found some cool things. This ride was a lot of fun. And that's the thing-to ride and have fun. Just ride for the love of riding.

I went to mapmyride and it looks like it was about a 17 mile ride altogether. It felt like 27 because of pushing through all that sand but I'm happy with 17.

Heck, I'm happy to just be on the bike again. But Richard, this one was for you.

Unfrustrated!

2009-05-25T09:09:00.007-04:00

I think I need to have a slight change in my Bible for the verse I mentioned in my last blog entry, Jeremiah 29:11…”For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord” needs to be followed by, “and if you’d just stop your whining, cool your jets a little, be patient and chill, Linda, you’d see what I have in mind for you soon.”

I got to my night and weekend job Friday night to find out that I am being moved back to the department I started in, Seafood, where I sling salmon, fling flounder and toss tilapia. This means I can occasionally ask for a Saturday or Sunday off as well as having hours on the weekend such as 3 to 8, which allows me to ride in the morning and go to church Sunday morning (or mow, perish the thought) and have enough time to recover for work later in the day. This will also mean slightly less hours during the week meaning that I will be able to ride after the day job some days. Now if the rain and wind cooperate I’ll be golden. But I can’t have everything.

So yesterday, since I didn’t have to be at work until 3PM, and since it was neither raining nor windy, I was able to ride!

There’s a 9 mile loop near my house that I have creatively named The Nine Mile Loop and that’s what I rode.

It starts out through a residential area and then passes by some marinas that sit along the water. The boats are starting to get out on the water these days. This finger off the bay should be very busy this weekend as it’s Memorial Day Weekend at the Jersey shore.

The bay is nice but I am more of a lake person. Over 20 years ago when I visited this area, I walked around this lake and thought how wonderful it would be to actually live here. It’s funny how life happens because shortly after that, I ended up moving down here. It used to be a cranberry bog over half a century ago. Now it serves as a swim and boating lake. This kind of boat is more my style.

The ride loops around the lake. I know it’s Memorial Day weekend because I got honked at. Year round people here just slowly ride around you with no problem. But the vacationers are down here now and they have incredible honking skills. Mind you that the road was wide enough that a semi could have passed me but this guy thought I should have gotten off the bike and waved him through. Sheesh.

But on the bright side, I got The Nod. A guy on a beautiful white Masi (Jenny Interpretation: White Road Bike) was riding in the opposite direction and I guess I looked like I was kind of serious about riding. It must have been my helmet and gloves is my guess, but the guy nodded his approval as he rode by me.

On the other side of this lake is the swimming beach. It was slightly overcast and I’m sure the water was in the 60’s, but very soon this beach will be packed with families.

I got home and felt pretty good. Of course once I got to work I started feeling the energy tank drain, but I didn’t care.

In my head I heard Willie Nelson singing On the Road Again my whole shift.

Frustration

2009-05-23T10:52:00.003-04:00

I'm trying to maintain a positive attitude and it's getting somewhat more difficult.

I haven't been on the bike in many days and it's getting to me. This blog is supposed to be about riding but it's turned into not riding, so it seems.

Thank God for the blogs I follow and their love of riding. These people are the ones that help me through the days of not being able to get on the bike. Today is Fatty's 100 Miles to Nowhere and hundreds of people are on their trainers or very short loops riding 100 miles to raise money for cancer research. Not that I could ride anything close to 100 miles but I wish I could have done something today, at least.

I have to be at work in an hour. It's going to be the busiest and craziest 3 day weekend of the year at the Jersey shore...Memorial Day Weekend. I wanted to ride this morning before work but I got to sleep so late last night; past 1:30, as my neighbor was having a party. They were honestly trying to keep quiet, and he's a great neighbor, so I finally turned the AC up loud to drown the sound out.

I woke up, looked out the window and knew the lawn had to come first. It was getting kind of high and looked awful. I just finished about 10 minutes ago. But I did get some "bike thought" time in.

As I was mowing I saw a guy ride by on a Madone. He had to not be from around here because I would have recognized the bike. I watched him glide effortlessly by with a wonderful look of contentment on his face. I don't blame him one bit. I almost ran over a big stick because I was looking at the his beautiful bike and not paying attention to where I was mowing.

Then a girl rode by on a Mongoose full suspension mountain bike. Her seat was clearly about an inch too high and I wanted to yell out to her to lower it.

In between breaks I came in and checked Mike J.'s progress on the 100M2NW and rooted him on a bit.

Yes, my name is Linda and I am a Bike Geek.

I refuse to feel sorry for myself and I refuse to go near there. I am grateful to be able to support myself between the 2 jobs in this awful economy. I know God has plans for me and I hang onto Jeremiah 29:11 for dear life..."For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I hope His plans include getting on the bike soon.

The Motivational Cyclometer

2009-05-12T08:15:00.007-04:00

As I previously stated in a previous blog post that I previously wrote about a previous ride, my cyclometer bit the dust. Well, it actually bit the asphalt but I’m sure there was some dust on that asphalt.

I keep trying to see if it has miraculously come to life. No dice…up until this morning. I went for a quick ride. Well, maybe it wasn’t so quick. Apparently the jarring the cyclometer received on that fateful ride has resulted in a mutation of its circuitry. I ride and the speed is not displayed in numbers anymore.

I now present to you the Motivational Cyclometer...

Meet My Friend, Murphy

2009-05-10T08:25:00.006-04:00

I got to the night job on Friday and went to look at the schedule for the weekend, which is posted on Fridays. To my utter shock and amazement, I found out I had today, Sunday, off! Egad! Gadzooks! Eureka! (And stuff like that.)

The first thing I did upon coming home Friday night was to check the weather forecast for Sunday. Of course…wind gusts expected up to 23 MPH. Being as I live by the Barnegat Bay, the Forked River and a lagoon, it will be even windier. On top of that, the pollen count is high.

So upon this note, I would like to introduce you to my friend, Murphy. Murphy cannot stand to be alone and therefore feels the need to follow me everywhere.

Murphy is also very pushy and has a lot of rules. These rules extend to every nook and cranny of my life, sort of like a bossy Thomas’ English Muffin. It is especially frustrating when these rules apply to Linda’s World of Cycling, but at least they are expected.

Many of Murphy’s rules, which are more like laws, repeat themselves. Some of these laws are:

-If I am off and it is sunny, it will be windy.
-If I am off and it is not windy, it will be rainy.
-If it is sunny and not windy I will be at work.
-If I am off and it is on a Sunday, that will be the one Sunday that there will not be a race televised on Versus.
-If I am off and it is sunny and not windy, I will be sick that day.
-If I am off and it is sunny and not windy, I will ride my bike and be chased by a dog which will cause my cyclometer to fall off the bike and break.

I hope to get some kind of ride in today but right now it is so windy that there’s a tree branch repeatedly and annoyingly banging against the house. This branch, on a non-windy day, is about 6 feet from the house. And of course, unfortunately, Murphy will feel the need to get out there and help me today because the obvious solution is that I will need to move the house over a little.

Leave me alone, Murphy. I have work to do.

A Great Day, Part Two

2009-05-04T14:41:00.012-04:00

My previous blog, continued…

Once over the bridge the road runs through several boat yards. I have a feeling, due to the economy, many of these boats may not hit the water this year. It's getting very close to Memorial Day already and usually by this time, these yards are not this occupied with boats.

Further down the road, there are some marshes on the left and if you look closely, in the middle of the shot you can see a white crane standing in the waters.

On the other side is the bay and in the far distance is Old Barney, the Barnegat Lighthouse. It's there. Somewhere. Far.

In the midst of all this is a very small beach with a small pavilion. It’s a little known spot but it does get a lot of action early in the season. Many of the cars I passed had New York plates so the Jersey Shore invasion has already started.

Then I turn back into the land of little waterfront homes. There actually are little pink houses for you and me!

I I ride back through the previous little neighborhoods and I notice that my friend with the dog, the Cyclometer Killer, has decided to actually bring the dog inside. I am amazed he isn’t still standing there holding the dog. He seemed to like doing that. Oh well, everyone needs a hobby.

By now it is 2:40 PM, just enough time to get ready to watch the race.

I sit in my recliner and a beautiful sense of peace just washes over me. I usually am always thinking ahead so much that I miss the moments I am in. I make a conscious effort to just be in the moment. I have a great race to watch, a cool drink in my hand, it’s a perfect temperature and sunny, my dogs are happily playing together, I have just ridden my favorite ride somewhat surprisingly effortlessly, considering the lack of miles I have…I honestly could not recall a better day than that in a few years.

Phil and Bob’s voices fill my living room and I am happy. I am also happy that Craig Hummer is not commentating so it’s an even better day. I watch closely for one of my most favorite riders, Andy Schleck. He is fluid and effortless and usually ends up working for his brother, Frank. I could watch Andy ride for a whole race and be amazed at how smooth he is.

All of a sudden I see him attack and I jump up out of my chair and start yelling, “GO ANDY!!! GO!!!!!”

This changes everything. The calmness evaporates. The dogs scatter and my great neighbor Brian, who knows I am a bike nut and is outside working on his motorcycle, and due to the proximity of our houses can hear there’s a bike race on my TV, starts laughing and also yells, “GO ANDY!” Soon I will have the neighborhood yelling. Not really, but it’s a thought. It passes.

My blood pressure rises and the dogs realize I’m just being encouragement to some unknown thingie on the TV so they come out from hiding. Due to the fact that I am somewhat safety conscious I make sure I am properly attired just in case I fall out of my chair.

I keep yelling…and ANDY WINS!!! Could it get any better???

The next day at work I am still living in Sunday. I have a business connection, Mike I., who has turned into a good friend even though we have never met face to face but we end up usually talking everyday. Mike and his wife live in California and Mike is a major bike person. Major. Here is a photo of him and his wife after he won some major road race. This photo is obviously unretouched. Really. Sort of.

He is my brain break when we both get stressed. We talk bikes. It’s like phone Xanax. He tells me he is buying a new cyclometer that includes heart rate and do I want his VDO C3? Uh, yes! I thank him profusely and ride high in my head the rest of the day.

So now I wait for the next sunny day when I have the time for a ride such as this. We've had rain followed by rain which has been wet and dismal for a week now. But one of these days, the sun will shine, I'll be off and I'll be back in the saddle again...

A Great Day, Part One

2009-05-02T08:04:00.012-04:00

Last Sunday I had the day off. I mean, I had the WHOLE day off. Entirely. Completely. So of course, my priority was to ride.

It was a perfect day. When I had requested the day off, I figured I would wake up to a history making hail storm or something like that, but it was actually a beautiful, sunny, clear, lower 80's day.

As I woke up and did my morning routine I realized I was planning my day and pushing the bike ride as far into the afternoon as I could, instead of riding first thing. It's kind of like when you get a seafood dinner and you eat the veggies and potatoes first to get them out of the way so you can just enjoy the lobster. Of course the down side of that is that I get so full from the veggies and potatoes that I end up not eating all of the lobster. And that is almost exactly what happened.

My goal for the day was to mow the lawn so I could locate my mailbox, catch up on a few things, go to the LBS for an insulated water bottle, ride, and then watch Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Versus. I joyfully mowed, ran my errands and puttered around outside for a few hours. I then came inside and relaxed. While relaxing I decided to go to the Versus website to see what time the race started. It was usually at 5 but I figured I'd better check as it was now 12:45.

So I click on the schedule and EEEEEK! It started at 3PM! I exploded out of my chair, the dogs scattered, I threw on my riding clothes and out the door I went.

I even remembered to bring my bike.

I decided to go on my favorite ride I call the Rez Ride because someone I know lives at the halfway mark. It's a scenic 15 mile loop that rambles through some historic neighborhoods and along the waterways of this area.

Our ride starts out by having to ride down a major road, Route 9. The highlight of this road is the riding past the oldest nuclear power plant in the U.S. which has just been in the news again for leaking tritium into the surrounding water. I live within a half mile of this so I'm used to all the dangers and I figure when it's my time, that's it.

Once I'm about a mile down this road, I turn into a residential neighborhood of small homes that were originally supposed to be summer homes in the late 60's. These have now been turned into starter homes and I love these little houses.

Immediately, and I mean seconds after the above shot was taken, a dog started chasing me. I had my camera in my hand so I pushed it into my handlebar bag and in the course of doing that, my cyclometer came loose and fell off the bike. I stopped and the dog stopped. I just wasn't fun anymore. I got off and went back to pick up the cyclometer and there was a blank screen on it. Nothing. Well, SOMETHING had to go wrong so I was glad that was out of the way.

Meanwhile the owner of the dog comes out to hold him. I'm standing there trying to get the dead cyclometer to work and he is standing there holding the dog. He stands there for about a minute, which is a long time to stand with a dog for no reason. He yelled out, "He won't hurt you, you can ride." Note the owner did not bring his dog inside. NOOOO, that would be too easy. He was just holding him, standing there while I was mourning my technology death.

So I continued on my ride.

I passed by some small waterfront communities. People were outside preparing their boats for the summer. Neighbors were standing around catching up on news.

Finally I get to the part I love. It's a very wooded part of the ride that winds around the marshes of the Barnegat Bay. It's actually labeled a bike route, which is rare down here.

See?

I soak in the green and the open road. I am in a very happy place. I am riding, I have my camera, I am off, and I am extremely content. I soak up the moments, knowing I will be replaying them in my mind for weeks to come as I don't know when I'll get to ride like this again anytime soon.

The road turns left and runs through the historic section of Barnegat and ends up down by the bay. There's a small bridge that has a sign saying bike riders need to walk their bikes over. I don't understand that because if it is a blind spot, wouldn't a person who is actually ON the bike be able to get out of the way faster than someone walking a bike? So I ride and take a shot of the waterway below. I have developed a method of riding and clicking and my cadence is unaffected.

To be continued...

News Flash...

2009-04-30T14:44:00.003-04:00

I don't have time right now for details but I had the best day in ages this past Sunday and rode my fave 15 mile course.

Yes, I RODE! I've been replaying it in my mind all week. Took great pics. Broke a cyclometer. Avoided a dog.

More tomorrow I hope!

It's The Little Things

2009-04-20T17:17:00.003-04:00

I work with a great bunch of young people at night and on weekends. They know that I am a bike nut. They also know I don't get to ride much and that I wish I could ride more. We have also laughed about my getting home to watch the races on Sunday, but that's a whole other future blog entry.

So once again, this weekend I didn't get to ride at all. But one of these great co-workers of mine named Joey approached me after his break with this bottle cap below:

It's from a Snapple bottle. Joey said, "I got this and thought of you."

The cap reads, "The first bike was called a hobbyhorse."

Nope, I didn't ride, and some people may think a bottlecap is meaningless, but it really made me smile. I told Joey that thanks to him, this was about as close as I would get to my bike this weekend.

YAY! I'm OFF!

2009-04-12T13:28:00.008-04:00

I went to bed at 8PM last night. Exciting Saturday night, huh? I was pretty pooped from the pre-Easter rush at work yesterday which was a non-stop rushathon. Working in a grocery store before any holiday is a good workout. But at 8PM I said to myself, “Self? The earlier you get to bed, the more day OFF you’ll have tomorrow.” Having been convinced by myself that my self was right, I crashed for the night.

Today, Easter Sunday, I am OFF. (Can I type that like 32 more times? That was fun to say.) I woke up around 5AM and even was up and about before the dogs. I was tempted to stick my nose in their faces for a change while they still slept, but hey, it’s Easter, I’m OFF (yay!) and I was feeling very gracious.

I got to church early and was very surprised to get the royal reception from a lot of people and my former band mates. I used to be in the band before I had to work weekends and we are a close bunch. They treat me like I still play with them and I do have an open invitation to rejoin at any time if I am able. That’s a gift, for sure. I was asked what I was planning on doing today since I am OFF (tee hee, it never gets old) and I said the same thing to everyone who asked…”Ride!” The only person who didn’t ask is my day boss who also goes to my church who is also in the band who is also a wonderful friend who knows me like a book and knew the answer and almost said it right along with me to whoever asked me.

I had noticed a few things on my way to church. Yes, it was sunny. Yes, the thermometer said 43 degrees. And yes, it was windy. Again. When I got home I checked weather.com and it said it was 43 degrees but felt like 33 degrees with wind blowing from the northwest at 21 mph with gusts to 29 mph. The traffic lights that were swinging back and forth were a clue. I figured I’d wait a while to see if the wind would die down a bit.

During that time, I had one of my usual conversations with God. He has quite a sense of humor with me and our conversation went something like this:

Me: “God? Thanks, first of all for the reason we celebrate this day. You came back to save us. Secondly, thanks that I’m OFF. Thirdly, thanks for the sun today. But I gotta ask…what’s up with the wind when I wanna ride?”

God: “What, you want everything? I gave you OFF today AND sun today AND Paris-Roubaix today. Let me save the miracles for when you really need them, ok?”

Sigh. As usual, He was right.

By noon I couldn’t stand it anymore. I threw on my bike clothes and headed out. The wind slammed the screen door shut behind me. That was another clue. The wind was indeed gusting at 29 mph from the northwest. I knew that because my ride starts out toward the northwest. I was very happy to finally turn the corner and have the wind at my back. That way I actually look like I can ride at a good clip. Here is proof of my wind assistance:

In the summer 13 mph is no biggie but in the coldness of early spring when I am out of shape and overworked, this is a nice number to see, wind assisted or not.

One of the roads I go down has woods on both sides which provide a nice wind barrier.

I passed by one of the small, local lakes here. You know it’s windy when there are waves on a tiny lake and there’s even a duck who doesn’t want to go in.

I made it a short ride but hey, at least I rode. Any ride is better than no ride. This is the happiest shadow I saw on the road today.

And hey, I know it’s no road bike, but it’s my baby.

The Circle Game

2009-04-10T16:27:00.004-04:00

When I was growing up...well, ok, I've never actually grown up but I've aged...I really connected with Joni Mitchell's lyrics and music until she eventually took a left turn into jazz that I couldn't follow. Joni doesn't know it but she taught me to play piano and guitar by ear. I learned keyboard chord variations and learned open E tuning on the guitar. I could never sing like her or play like her, but she was one of my major musical influences. She came into my thoughts a few minutes ago. I haven't listened to her music in years (except in elevators, which is really sad).

I'm off on Easter Sunday and it's supposed to be a sunny, non-windy beautiful day in the upper 50s. I've been looking forward to Sunday because it will be the first full day off I've had since Christmas that I wasn't home under the weather.

Today, Friday, is my usual 14 hour work day. At the day job, however, my boss told me we would close at noon in observance of Good Friday. My first thought was, "I can ride!" My second thought was, "I can sleep!" By the time I got home, thought #2 won out over thought #1. I had 5 hours to do ANYTHING I wanted until I had to go to work again. I felt like I won the lottery of time. I laid down, closed my eyes and felt like the most fortunate person in the world.

When I finally did open my eyes, in that state between awake and waking up, I thought of how many regrets I seem to have in my life. The time just seems to go by so fast these days; too fast. One regret is wishing I had ridden more last year when I had the chance to. I know I have the trainer but that's not where I find that peace I get from riding. I love to be on the road and hear the tires, take in the scenery and breathe the air. I'm not riding to train for anything at this point in time. I just want to ride to ride.

Yet my time is pretty much spent these days working, sleeping and writing when I can and doing the ordinary things in life, such as laundry and food shopping. I'm not complaining; I'm grateful to have the stability of that. But it does seem like a big circle. I get to the end of one circle and start another.

I am told that at the night job, they're hiring a few new people so I might have another night off and at this point, I'll take it. Before I took on the second job, I would come home from the day job, quickly change clothes, hop on the Trek and I was gone for 10 or 15 miles or so. That was what I was thinking of last week when I rode that windy ride. That was my balance. And I seem to be missing that balance right now.

So my plan for Sunday is first of all, church. Then I'd like to do what a lot of my fellow cyclists will be doing as well; go for a decent ride, eat Easter dinner and then watch Paris-Roubaix on Versus.

But for now, as I get ready for my night job, I hear Joni singing in my head:

"And the seasons, they go round and round,

And the painted ponies go up and down,

We're captive on the carousel of time,

We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came,

And go round and round and round in the circle game."

Grumpy Old Bike Woman-Addendum

2009-04-06T17:34:00.002-04:00

So it's 5:35 and I'm just about to leave for my night job after a day of rain and thunderstorms, having been glad that at least I wouldn't be missing a possible good evening ride.

And of course, as I write this, the sun is breaking through the cloud cover, the beautiful blue of a clear, early evening sky is showing its bright promise, and I am once again, going to work.

Sigh. And grrrr.

Grumpy Old Bike Woman

2009-04-06T13:09:00.002-04:00

Last week went something like this:

Monday night I was off and did the windy quick 5 miler.

Tuesday night I was working and it was beautiful out.

Wednesday night I was off and it was so windy that I saw a bird flapping its wings against the wind like crazy, just trying to fly about 3 feet.

Thursday night I was working and of course, it was sunny, warm and no wind at all.

Friday night I was working and during the day it absolutely poured. I felt great about that until it cleared up around 4 PM so nicely that the puddles were even evaporating, creating yet another beautiful evening that I couldn't ride.

Saturday morning I had errands to run before work, and of course the day was beautiful.

Sunday morning I had nothing to do but the wind gusts were bending the trees and scattering debris. I didn't have to be in work until noon. I checked weather.com and of course, by the afternoon, the wind gusts were expected to diminish. By 5 PM it was beautiful out but the Tour of Flanders was on Versus and my VCR isn't working and I don't have Tivo.

Today, Monday, it's thunderstorming and pouring but I'm working tonight at 6. It'll probably clear up nicely at 5:59.

Sigh.

Quality Windy Time With The Trek

2009-03-31T08:28:00.006-04:00

I have come to realize that at this point in my non-fitness that when I ride in the morning before my 13-14 hour work day, I'm shot for the 2nd job so that doesn't work. Fortunately I have also come to realize that with any physical activity at all that I do, my body seems to respond to it after only a few days in a very positive manner. So I have started once again what has worked for me in the past; a simple and fast paced one mile walk in the mornings. In only a few days of having done this I can already feel a difference. I have more energy, I'm more alert during the day and I just plain feel better.

That being said, yesterday I had off from the 2nd job. I had walked in the morning and I felt great. At 5PM I decided to do a quick 5 mile ride after the day job. I had noticed that it was a bit windy during the day. Flags were straight out all in one direction, trees were bending and there were whitecaps on the less than one mile long lake I drove by on my way home. Still, I was determined.

I got in my door and I decided not to even change my clothes. I pumped up my tires, put on my helmet and gloves and out I went before I changed my mind.

I decided upon a 5 miler I have that has a lot of turns. That way I wouldn't be riding 2.5 miles into the wind at one stretch.

The first mile was ehh, no biggie, just a little windy and I was rolling along, feeling pretty good. Then I turned the corner by the lagoon.

WHAMMO. I felt like I got slammed by something. You know the feeling when you're climbing a hill and all too late you realize you're in WAY too big of a gear? If I had been going any slower I would have been pushed backwards. Fortunately I stayed on and downshifted. I have never been hit by a gust of wind that hard that I can recall. I almost did a trackstand on a non fixed gear bike.

I pushed through and was very happy to see the next turn. I'm still fiddling with saddle height and position as it's a new saddle so my knees were feeling a little achy but that was the least of my problems. I got to just ride a normal pace for a bit.

I turned back the other way on the road that I had faced the wind on. But of course, the wind had once again changed direction and as I turned the corner I felt it hit me again. KAPOW. (This is turning into an old Batman episode.) Ahead of me someone was walking and I saw the wind visibly shove the person back. I looked at my odometer to see how "fast" I was going; it was a whopping 3 miles an hour. I think I could have walked faster.

I kept pushing and suddenly, an overwhelming sense of gratitude (or was it endorphins) fell over me because it felt like the bike was saying, "C'mon, we can do this!" I felt that feeling that cyclists everywhere know when they love their bike; that feeling of oneness, where you feel like the bike is simply an extension of your body. I felt like the Lone Ranger in a windstorm riding on Silver, with Silver pushing through the sand and gusts with the Lone Ranger as a team.

Ok, no one has ever accused me of not having an imagination, and no, I didn't do LSD in the 60's. But once again, it shows me how much I love that bike.

I could hardly see because the wind kept making my eyes tear but I did finally make that final turn home. The rest of the night I relaxed and kept stealing glances at my trusty steed, comfortably resting in my living room as usual. I felt a great sense of accomplishment.

And yeah, I know it was only 5 miles but it was a good 5 miles. I do read Jill Homer's blog and I feel like a wuss but for me, it was a gratifying ride.

You think soon I'll have a day where I can ride and it's NOT windy???

Be Careful What You Blog For, You Just Might Get It

2009-03-23T06:50:00.003-04:00

I was determined to get on the bike this weekend. The unwritten ending to that sentence I last wrote is the phrase, "no matter what."

Oops.

Saturday morning as I pulled the old Buick into a parking space at work, the normally smooth as silk idle felt like it wanted to stall instead. This is highly unusual for this car so I was somewhat surprised. When I started the car to go home the "check engine" light came on. I got it home and was thankful for that.

So Sunday morning I threw the Trek on the bike rack and drove to the mechanics to leave the car there before it died somewhere and I'd be stuck. As I got on the bike to ride home I laughed to myself, thinking, "Well, here's your ride!" It was totally into a strong wind. I pushed along in a small gear and then realized I'd have this same wind to ride into in an hour when I had to ride to work in the same direction.

Once I got home I quickly got ready for a bike to work commute with a change of clothes in a knapsack, etc. I hopped on the bike again and the wind had picked up. I decided to just take it slow. Once I arrived I did the old quick change and sat in the break room, inhaling and trying to intravenously ingest coffee because the store was absolutely packed. I was already whooped. This was going to be interesting. At least I'd have the wind at my back for the ride home.

Sure enough, after an hour of my 5 hour shift I was running out of steam. We were practically running back and forth between customers. By the time the end of my shift came, I was totally whooped. I felt too tired to even drive home, let alone ride home. I shuffled to the rest room like a 90 year old womanand slowly changed my clothes back to my riding clothes. I was a hurtin' buckaroo.

But there is something almost magical about seeing your trusty steed locked up on a bike rack, just waiting for you. I took the bike around the side of the store where no one could see me and got on there, in case I fell off because I was so tired. Once I was on, I was ok. I turned to ride in the direction of home and actually laughed out loud. Living near the bay is always an adventure. The wind had apparently changed direction and I was, once again, riding into it. Story of my life.

Fortunately, my Mom offered me her car since I had to go somewhere unbikeable on Monday so I rode the extra mileage to her house and locked my bike in her shed. I knew I had ridden only last week about the same total mileage as today, about 10 miles, and I had felt pretty good so I wondered why I felt so sluggish on the bike now. Then it dawned on me...you knucklehead, what's your tire pressure? I pulled the gauge out of my seat pack and tested the tires. Duh. They were down to below 20 PSI. Sigh...

Upon closing the door of the shed, I had to give the bike one last look. I really love that bike. It was like leaving my dog at the vet. My bike has never spent a night outside and away from home. I know, come back to earth, Linda. But it's true; much like a dog, my cheapo Trek is faithful and steady. It never lets me down. It waits for me and once I get on and ride, it's a joy to own.

And it doesn't leave any poop in the yard.

Gettin' Better All The Time...

2009-03-20T15:38:00.003-04:00

I think the Beatles already snagged that title but I'm borrowing it.

After a week's worth of doctor visits and cardiology exams, I am very happy to report that my heart is as strong as an ox. I am also feeling a whole lot better, just tired as anyone would who works a 13 hour day. I haven't felt shaky at all. Maybe I was fighting some bug or something. I have found that my body does that. People all around me will be out of work for a day or two because of a flu or virus. My body just fights, and during these beneficial bacterial bouts, I feel extremely run down for a week or so but usually never get to the point of total illness. (Of course, now I've gone and done it. Next illness will knock me for a loop...)

During my EKG exam the doctor asked me what I do for exercise.

"I ride my bike!" I exuberantly proclaimed.

"Really, that's great. How many times a week and for how long?" he queried as he peered at my protruding paunch.

Dead silence. Crickets chirped and a clock ticked somewhere in the background.

"Well, I did for a while but I've been working a lot and feeling really tired lately which is kind of why I'm here." I sheepishly offered.

Sigh. The trainer in my living room is calling me and if I could even get one more evening off, I might be able to ride outside after my day job this week. But I'm gonna shoot for a ride this weekend on the road. I don't care if it's only 3 stupid miles. I'm getting out there!

Just Tired

2009-03-11T14:37:00.004-04:00

I did make it through both jobs yesterday but just barely. I was dragging by 9:30 PM and someone at work told me I seemed to be "stuck in 1st gear". I thought they were actually being kind because I didn't even think I was moving that fast. My mind wasn't focusing. I could hear what people were saying but I then had to process it for a second to respond.

I slept ok but this morning I am struggling to keep my eyes open at work. Being in front of a monitor all day adds to the eye fatigue too. At least I don't have to work tonight. Even the bananas aren't working as well as they did a couple of days ago.

I'm no hypochondriac. I hate going to the doctor and I can count the number of days I missed work from being ill in the past few years on one hand. But this just feels wrong. I'm not eating garbage. I haven't really changed my diet in a while but I was hoping to shed a few ounces in Mike's weight loss contest by riding more this week and doing some calorie burning.

And, OF COURSE, today the thermometer reads 60 something and it would be a great day to go for an after-work quick ride.

Hopefully I'll have some kind of miraculous recovery by Thursday night so by Friday morning, when I go to the doctor, I can just pass it off as being tired from working a lot of hours.

Just Slightly Scary

2009-03-10T12:31:00.003-04:00

This has actually been going on for a couple of months or so but I just dismissed it as my putting in a lot of hours and working a lot, which would account for being tired a lot. I've been feeling slightly more weird than usual; kind of shaky and weak. I noticed on Sunday afternoon at work during an extremely busy time that my legs felt like they were going to give, I was forgetting what I was doing in the middle of doing it, and I was light headed. I asked if I could take a break and I felt so out of it, I was actually hoping I'd make it to the break room without having to sit down somewhere before I got there. During my break I ate a couple of bananas with coffee and made it through the rest of my shift.

Yesterday the same thing happened again except thankfully, I was at my day job where I sit all day. I had brought fruit with me because it seemed to be the only thing that helped. After work, I asked someone I know who has diabetes if I could test my blood sugar with their kit. Turns out my blood sugar was at 70, and that was after the fruit, so it was even lower than that before then.

I have a doctor's appointment for Friday morning. If I do have diabetes, I know it's weight related and with diet and exercise, may even disappear in time. So I'm not too concerned. Whatever it is, I'll deal with it and maybe this is just the nudge I need.

In life, I have found there are no coincidences. I'm doing Mike's weight loss challenge this week as well as what's going on with me physically. Gee, you think "Someone" is out there watching out for me?

Yep, He sure is.

First Day!

2009-03-07T12:24:00.009-05:00

I have been following a great blog called The Adventures of Mike and His Bike. Mike and his wife Jenny have a contest going to see who can lose the most weight per week with fantastic prizes such as Not Having to Mop. Apparently some of the followers of his blog have decided they want to get in on the action too, so Mike came up with a great plan to encourage people to join in. The trophy is a $5 gift certificate to Starbucks. The losers have to donate to Lizzylou's Livestrong Challenge. There's no Starbucks near me so I'll donate that too if I win.

Works for me. Win-win scenario.

So having weighed myself yesterday and coming up with a number that will not be published, my goal is to have less than that number by next Friday.

I heard the weather was supposed to be fantastic this weekend. I don't have to be at work today until 4 so I got out on the bike this morning. I was a tiny bit nervous that I'd be trashed after 3 miles because I feel so old and out of shape. I actually got on the bike while leaning against my car; that's how out of whack I feel mentally.

The first thing I noticed was that my new seat is excellent. The second thing was that I felt like I never stopped riding. I was really surprised. I guess the part time job I have, which involves a lot of moving around quickly and lifting things, has actually been a benefit in other ways than just a paycheck.

After a mile or so I was moving along nicely so I decided to do a semi-decent ride, which for me at this point is anything in double digits. I rode down to the Barnegat Bay using some back roads. Lots of people were out enjoying the 70 degree weather. Kids were riding their brand new Christmas bikes for the first time, people were washing their cars and I actually got a friendly chase from a Yorkie named Bob. Bob saw me and decided he could run faster than I was riding.

Hmph.

I was dressed for 40 degree weather because I don't trust the weatherman. This, however, worked for me because it acted like a rolling sauna and may help me to move ahead in Mike's contest. I already had shaved my legs before the initial weigh in so I couldn't use that to lower my numbers.

Since everyone seemed to be outside, and since I have lived here and worked at a couple of different retail jobs in this small town for many years, it is never a surprise when I see someone I haven't seen for a while. Of course, it always happens when I'm rolling along and in a groove. This happened twice but I have come to accept the fact that I will probably not be racing again, and if I do it will be a few years down the road, so if I have to stop and spend a minute or two saying hi to someone, it doesn't bother me at all anymore.

Once I got down to the bay I once again took a moment to be thankful to live in such a beautiful area. Of course, that's during the spring. In the summer it's a madhouse down here at the Jersey Shore so I try to soak in the solitary beauty whenever I can.

I didn't break any land speed records but at least I got out there. I ended up only riding 11.5 miles and I felt like I could have done twice that amount, but I didn't want to push it as I'll be needing to run around at work tonight for 6 hours. I'll try to ride again tomorrow morning before work again too.

But I looked at it this way; 11.5 miles is more than I rode last week, or the week before, or...ok, you get the picture.

It's a start!

Moving Forward

2009-02-24T11:19:00.002-05:00

I got my new trainer and it's exactly what I needed. I also got the new saddle and what a difference. I put the new saddle on the Trek because that's my main ride so now I need another saddle for the Cuevas. I also found a dent in the top tube of the Cuevas which must have occurred during when it was stored in my Mom's shed, amidst the grandchildren throwing their visiting paraphenalia around. The tube isn't cracked; just pushed in a bit so I can Bondo it, but I'm not quite sure if it will cause any weakness in the frame.

I'm feeling pretty positive about this year. My goal is to drop at least 60 lbs. When that does occur (not IF that occurs) I may allow myself to invest in a semi-decent new road bike. This gives me time to do research and dream. I may not have the free time I had last year but I do have better equipment now to allow myself to squeeze some bike time in here and there.

Watching the Tour of California was awesome. Just the boost I needed. Motivation has always been one of my downfalls.

But I'm doing this for me because it's what and where I need to be.

A Newer New Start

2009-02-18T06:37:00.002-05:00

I’m fairly disappointed in myself. I’ve been accused of being too hard on myself but I don’t think so. I call it being totally honest about where I am at any given time.

January was already a done deal and I have done pretty much nothing but work, with the exception of some weekend hiking. So last Saturday I started working on the Cuevas. I glued a new tire on the rear wheel and remounted it on my very questionable trainer. I hopped on…er, well, make that climbed, in a very ungraceful manner, onto the bike and for the first time in about 2 decades I put my feet in the toe clips of this bike and started riding.

I lasted a full minute. I had to laugh to myself because here’s someone who rode 25 mile rides last summer with no major issues and I can’t go more than a minute here?

The time frame went something like this:

After 5 seconds: Wow, I can’t believe I’m finally back on this bike.

10 seconds: It feels like home.

20 seconds: Gee, I’m in a 52 x 13 gear.

30 seconds: Hmmmm, I’m totally spinning out on a 52 x 13 gear.

40 seconds: How did I ever ride on this saddle????

55 seconds: I am in extreme (expletive deleted) pain from this saddle.

59 seconds: That’s it, I need a new saddle. And I know I shouldn’t be spinning a 52 x 13 gear so I’m thinking I need a good trainer too, fluid with resistance.

As I climbed off the bike with pain shooting into areas where there should not be such pain, I contemplated my next move. Since I can rationalize pretty much anything, I decided to use part of my tax return as an investment in my health.

So I sat in a rather delicate manner at my computer and looked at trainers out there that I could afford. The best one I found for my price range and needs was on Nashbar. They had one that was $160 and they were running a 20% off deal. It’s a fluid trainer with 5 resistance levels that you can control from a handlebar mounted device. They also had an affordable $30 women’s gel saddle. I expect them both to arrive here today or tomorrow. I kind of feel bad about not supporting local bike shops but honestly, I don’t have much time these days to drive a half hour one way or an hour the other way to scope out what’s available.

Of course, the other factor that has really helped is the televised coverage of the Amgen Tour of California. Watching it and working on de-rusting the Cuevas at the same time really takes me back to where my heart is. I feel like I want to jump on my bike and hang onto the back of the pack along with them until I come back down to earth, look in the mirror and realize that although I have the maturity level of an 18 year old, I am indeed physically in my 50s. But to see racing on TV...I so vividly remember when it was such an unknown sport in the U.S. Now to be able to watch racing on TV; it's awesome.

So I have much to look forward to this week. I have to get moving here. The weather hasn't helped but it has just recently been somewhat steadily in the upper 30s temperature-wise so I'll be on the road again soon. But until then, hopefully I'll be on the new saddle on my new trainer soon too.

A New Year

2009-01-06T08:19:00.003-05:00

Ok, so it's a bit past the day that this year began, but better late than never. I'm not one to make resolutions and actually keep them.

About 10 years ago my friend Dave said that for his New Year's resolution he wanted me to quit smoking, so due to the pressure, I did. Almost immediately the pounds came piling on. So this year I will again attempt to de-pile the poundage.

I haven't been riding at all due to my crazy work schedule. But I have been moving a lot at my second job, and that job apparently is the calorie cruncher. Without really trying I have dropped 20 pounds since November. I've also gone for a few nice hikes on mornings off on the weekends so that helps too. I try to do that twice every week. But what I need to do is to set up the Cuevas somewhere in my house so I can use my trainer. The immediate problem I'm having is just where to set it up. I live in a very tiny house the size of a garage where every space is already occupied so I'm going to have to have it stick out somewhere and that'll be that. And just as soon as I finish taking my tree down, that's my next plan of attack.

I also realize I'm going to have to change my plans for racing in the near future, at least for the next few years or so. With the economy the way it is, I don't see me being able to quit my second job until I'm around 83. So I'm just going to ride for riding's sake, which is why I starting riding again in the first place, and if things change in the future, so be it.

I'm determined that by the end of this month I'll have the bike set up and I'll be riding it in my house somewhere at least a few times a week. I don't know how but I'll figure something out.

Sew Ups, Salmon Slinging and Serenity

2008-12-06T09:18:00.004-05:00

I can now say I have just about become acclimated to the new work schedule and its physical demands. Twice I haven't even had to take a quick nap at lunch and I was fine those nights at the second job, so I'm on my way to a new sense of normality.

I actually look forward to going to the second job, odd as it may sound. My day job as a customer service manager in a cosmetic ingredient distribution company can be somewhat stressful at times. Lately some of our bigger accounts have stepped up their requests for documents and materials. This past week one of these accounts from Europe was so demanding that I was ready to throw all my pens at the ceiling. When people puff themselves up to the point where they think the world revolves around them, that's when I'll actually go to another task because I don't roll that way. It totally turns me off and that account/person becomes the last item I will attend to. So when I left that job to go to the second job, I found I was truly looking forward to the beautiful simplicity of selling fish.

After about an hour slinging salmon and flinging flounder, I was in my happy place. I laughed and joked with the fish customers, I did an good job closing the department that night, and went home in a very peaceful state of mind. It just brings me to a totally different mindset.

I have also started walking a mile or 2 in the morning before my day job. It may not seem like a lot but it is certainly enough to give me an energy boost as well as a metabolism boost. I have been pretty sedentary since September so this is a definite step (no pun intended) in the opposite direction. I realize that I was so down about finances that I just stopped doing anything, yet I didn't want to get a second job because I'd have to give up the bike on my weekends. But I was a total couch potato slug on the weekends, so go figure. A few weeks ago I clearly saw the ridiculousness of the way I was thinking so I changed course (wow, I'm having a punathon). I can even see myself riding the bike again, even if it's only on the trainer, in the mornings this winter before work.

So I started looking once again into restoring my Cuevas. I stumbled upon a cheap set of 700c wheels on eBay and asked the seller if they would work on my bike and I gave him all the details. Well, there are actually some good, honest people in the world because he gave me a very detailed answer and his wheels won't work. In fact, he gave me so much good info that I now know that the only way I'll be able to fit a set of 700c wheels is if I have them built, due to the 120 mm rear span on the bike. Since this is not a financial option, I went on Amazon and looked for a tire being sold by Nasbar because I know their prices are decent. The tire with shipping was $37, I had a $23 Amazon gift certificate and Nashbar was running a 10% off deal, so I ended up paying $11.35 for a new tire. Sweet. When it arrives, then I'll have 2 good tires to mount on the wheels on the Cuevas, at which time I will be able to use my trainer. Also, my friend Mike in California is going to the Performance bike shop near him to see if they have any more of the gel saddle covers like the one he got me for my Trek.

It's funny how 3 weeks ago I was stressed and financially going downhill, and now, while I am still strapped, at least I now have that wonderful word that gives me the energy to press on-hope!

The Seafood Diet

2008-11-29T11:05:00.003-05:00

Due to some economic infringement upon my cash flow, I have been fortunate enough to find a 2nd part time job on nights and weekends. I say fortunate because no one is hiring around here. In fact, I discovered during my job search that they are laying off or cutting back instead. So some days I am, between the 2 jobs, putting in a 13 hour work day with an hour break from my main job for lunch, during which time I sleep. But it's not every single day, and my first check was a real blessing.

So, needless to say, I have glanced at my bike, even tripped over it and hung laundry on it, but that has been the extent of my bike time. My new part time job is in the seafood department of a local supermarket. It is a physically demanding job. My first clue was at orientation when we were all bunched together and the person orientating us said, "By the way, if you're in seafood, good luck." Of course, I just about slid down my chair but quickly regained composure. I still think that my last job, where I worked in a retail establishment under extremely stressful circumstances for 10 years, was the most demanding job I have ever had. So I felt somewhat prepared as I felt like I had been in a war, came out alive, and could now face anything.

You know the old joke, "I'm on the seafood diet; when I see food I eat it"? Apparently my new employment has put a whole new spin on that joke. I have so little time to eat that I just grab anything quickly and run out the door. When I come home after the 13 hour day, I am so exhausted that even though I feel famished, I just go to bed. I have lost 10 pounds in a week which I can well afford to lose. I am slowly adjusting to the work load and I hope to be acclimated to the extra demands soon. I see a massive improvement over my first 2 nights so I'll be fine. I know from past experience that all I have to do is anything for 3 weeks and then I adjust and it becomes routine.

I hope that I can at least get on the trainer a few mornings a week when I'm not working that night. But right now, I'm eating less, burning more calories and therefore losing weight while getting paid for it. Sweet.

The Motivators: Emma and Luke

2008-11-03T06:57:00.006-05:00

Yep, this is my home cheering squad. Both are the best breed of all, Mutts.

Emma, on the right, I have had since she was 4 1/2 weeks old, which is way too young to separate a puppy from its mother. The owner of the mother dog was a friend of a friend who just made some very bad choices in life and unfortunately, has since passed away due to those choices.

Emma, a beagle/shepherd mix, was the runt but had some very clear opinions on how she thought things should be right from the start. She is now 7 years old and is very independent, except when she feels like not being independent. She is very smart but thinks learning things is a huge waste of time. I frequently get "the look" when I tell her to sit, as if she is saying, "Why should I sit? I'll just have to get back up again." If I throw the ball, she looks at it, then at me, and wonders why I threw it. However, when she was only about 7-8 weeks old I started taking her for walks in the woods and letting her off the leash, teaching her to come back when called. As a result, when she is in the house she is very opinionated but when she is on a walk or free to run, she is extremely well behaved.

Luke was originally meant to be my Mom's dog. Her old dog passed away and I got Luke from a shelter. He was very calm and well behaved until about 2 days later when he realized that Mom was a pushover and went into manic mode. I told her I would take him home and train him and bring him back when he was better behaved.

That was 6 years ago.

Luke is extremely intelligent and loves to learn. I just started teaching him hand signals and he catches on amazingly fast. I had taken him on a few walks early on but he was bonkers and since I live on a semi-main street, I became fearful that I wouldn't be able to control him so I just stopped taking him. I have a fenced in yard large enough for them to chase each other and run around, but I felt bad for Emma who was being deprived of going places because I couldn't control Luke outside. Inside he is fine, just the opposite of Emma.

So last weekend I decided I would try taking them to a big field and practicing recall. The first day I took them separately. I took Emma first because she is the alpha dog. She was great. After all these years she behaved beautifully. She came back everytime I called and was excellent.

Then I took Luke by himself. Emma was really ticked off because she knew where we were going and felt she should be able to join us since she is perfect and would tell you so if she could speak English, but I had to see how Luke was alone. I started him out on a 10 foot lead and called him back a few times. He responded well. I then increased the lead to about 20 feet and he did equally well. I finally let him off the leash and called him back a few times and he wasn't as good as Emma but he was getting there. At one point he found a trail and went off into the woods. I called him but he wouldn't come back. I then panicked and ran to find him. He was just sitting on the trail about 6 feet in, waiting for me. After I calmed down from my almost heart attack, we went back to the car.

The next day I thought I would take them together. Since they are very close, I figured if I called Emma, Luke would also run with her. At first it worked. They took off together and sniffed together. But Emma, being part beagle, has an intense sense of smell and was very content to slowly sniff whatever was in front of her. Luke, who is a black lab/cocker spaniel mix, chose to RUN. After a few recalls, he was fine. I had also brought a squeaky toy for him to chase and that worked well. So I think we will keep doing this each weekend.

These dogs are my "kids". They listen to me talk incessantly about bikes. When I bring the bike in the house after a ride, they know to steer clear so I have room to hoist it back up where I hang it. They wait for me by the window to come back from anywhere and are always glad to see me. They love me even though I can be a jerk. They have unconditional love, something that I would love to have myself, but I think only God, dogs, and Down Syndrome people have that gift.

But what a great support crew to come home to.

The Motivators: My Bud Mike

2008-10-19T10:47:00.007-04:00

Here is a photo of my friend Mike and his wife Jen when Mike won yet another Tour De France, as usual...

Huh? Whaddya mean, that's not Mike?

Oh well, anyway...

A few things about Mike:

-He is a fellow bike person.

-He is also a fellow bike person.

-We talk just about every day during work days because he is one of my main contact people in our line of work which is at times demanding and stressful, which is why we talk about bikes.

-I have never even met the guy face to face in the 2 years I have spoken to the guy. Even though I have never even met my bud, and only know what he looks like because he sent me pics of himself and his wife Jen on vacation, I consider him a bud.

-He and I are mutual geeks in several ways…we like Star Trek, bikes, music, guitars, planes, musical recording equipment, furniture building, Food Network, and uh, yeah… BIKES.

-His wife Jen is a majorly excellent baker and I admire her baking skills. I’m lucky if I can get my oven to even ignite. She has won some big competitions in county fairs in California, so Food Network…BEWARE.

-All I have to do is call him on a business matter and say, something like, “Hey, by the way Mike, what are the best trainers to use?” and that will take about 15 minutes of time which will actually be a much needed break because we are discussing REALLY IMPORTANT stuff. Truly, it also leaves me rejuvenated to continue what I really need to do in a much more enthusiastic manner. It’s like a 15 minute vacation that pays off in much more productive future work hours.

-He is part Filipino. I was adopted and raised by a Jewish family. He can say, “Shalom” and words like “lox and bagels” but I was friends with a Filipino family for a few years and I can speak more Tagalog than Mike can. Go figure.

-He is also a fellow bike person.

So anyway, I would just like to give kudos to Mike because there are times I am lacking in the Cycling Motivation Department and he just brings me back to Motivation Land.

I have been so out of the “scene” for so many years. Obviously, there may have been a few changes in 30 years and Mike is more than happy to patiently explain stuff, like we have CASETTES now, not CLUSTERS.
We have really good 700c tires and wheels now, not sew ups.
There are actually seats that accommodate men and women’s respective anatomies. (Thank you, Jesus!)
We have gel saddle covers that are excellent.
We have handlebar wrap, not handlebar TAPE.
We have shifters that attach to our brake levers, not our down tubes.
We have helmets that don’t make you look like you might be scaring away small children.

So thanks, bud!

Finally!

2008-10-05T10:26:00.003-04:00

The old fat cyclist tore down the streets at record breaking speeds with a trail of smoke and fire emanating from her tires, bringing people to their windows, exclaiming, "What was that???"

Ok, I may have exaggerated just a bit. But at least the first 4 words were true.

Yesterday I took Mom shopping at Wally World. I was exhausted after walking around for only a half hour. I'm still not feeling 100% but last week I couldn't have thought of even doing that. I went to bed at 7 PM last night and woke up at 7 this morning. I decided to stay home from church and take it easy.

Then out of nowhere I got changed, put on my bike clothes and left. I even took the bike with me.

I only rode 5 miles but it's 5 miles farther than I've ridden in weeks. I averaged a "blazing" 10 mph and it took me over 40 minutes (EEEK!) but I RODE. I went down to the bay and back. The water was smooth and there was no breeze, just a nice, cool autumn morning ride.

Hey, if can do that everyday, or at least for 5 days this week, I'll be happy. I don't feel too bad right now.

Maybe this is all mental. Maybe I just had to get on the bike and not think about how I felt. At this point, maybe I'm so afraid of feeling tired that I do nothing, which makes me feel tired. I just want to stop feeling so tired so let me see what happens if I push myself to ride. Maybe that's all it is, just in my head.

Anyday Now...

2008-10-01T07:57:00.002-04:00

I seem to be getting slightly more and more energy back everyday but man, whatever this thing is, it really zapped me. Yesterday at work around 3 I absolutely lost all energy to think or talk, then about an hour later I got a second wind. I am really hoping to just get on the bike for a 5 miler Saturday. At this rate I'll be happy with a 3 miler...sheesh.

It's been really rainy here almost everyday too so I don't feel too bad that I'm missing some good fall riding days. I really hope both the weather and my body get their acts together simultaneously. I can feel myself losing all conditioning that I had gained. I know it takes about 2 weeks for my body to feel back in a physical groove once I start riding so I know I need to be patient and just plod through.

I wish I had a fluid trainer for my mountain bike but since I'm on the "Fundzalow Diet" I don't see that happening anytime soon. I saw some in a Performance catalog and that would be a good way to at least ride for a half hour, which is a 5 miler for me.

I have an idea...since I don't know what the freak is wrong with me, maybe I can rent my body to science?

Well...

2008-09-28T17:17:00.003-04:00

It's been a while since I've been on the bike as seen by my last post. I've been either having back spasms or been feeling flu-ey. You know that feeling when you have a temperature and there's that achy feeling that isn't exactly muscle ache but just a general ache where your eyes burn, your energy is gone and even your hair hurts? That's how I felt this week. This really sucks because I love the fall. This is MY season. I've been pushing myself to go to work so I don't lose any money. I have 2 paid sick days left this year and I only want to use them if I can't move out of bed. I am not a hypochondriac and refuse to go to the doctor if I don't have to, so I hope this will pass. Besides, I hate that freakin' nurse that weighs me and says, " You're overweight."

DUH!!!

I really think it's just a flu thing. Yesterday, Saturday, I skipped band practice at church and just rested. I took a "nap" at 5PM and woke up at 2:30 AM. I figured I would be up the rest of the morning but around 4:30 AM I got really tired again. I went to bed and woke up at 9AM only because the dogs had their legs crossed and were whining. (Yes, I let them out at 2:30 AM but they probably just thought it was fun time and maybe forgot to "go".)

I skipped church today and felt slightly more energetic when I woke up. I went to the supermarket aroundf 11 AM and just about fell into my recliner when I got home, exhausted. But I'm not really worried because this is what my body does. It fights and fights and I feel crappy for a few days instead of a full blown sick feeling and then I wake up one day and VOILA! I'm fine. That's because God knows I'm stubborn. Like what would a doctor do? "Yeah, you're sick. Rest." I'm not paying for what I already know to do.

Ok. Yes, I am a more than a bit stubborn. Don't mess with me when I feel crappy. I'll get back to you later.

Less Ouch...

2008-09-15T07:54:00.003-04:00

This weekend I took it real easy because of the continued back spasms. Saturday I went to my church band practice. I play the bass, which is a heavy thing to play and hold while standing there for a few hours. We arranged it so that I could sit on the side of the stage by the keyboard player instead and I realized that I was extremely comfortable sitting and playing and not being on the stage. I'm not crazy about being on the stage anyway. So I was able to sit and play just fine as long as I didn't move. All day Saturday the spasms continued. Then yesterday I woke up and after moving around for a while, I realized I had some back pain but not those gut wrenching spasms. I played the church services while sitting with no problem. The rest of the day I actually felt pretty good. If the weather wasn't 91 degrees with 90% humidity I might have gotten on the bike.

But all was not lost. I was able to look at my Nashbar and Performance bike catalogues also while sitting down.

Ouch.

2008-09-12T07:36:00.002-04:00

I've been having back spasms all week long. One minute I'm fine and the next minute there's a big shot of pain, like someone is grabbing my back muscle and clenching it in their fist. The length of time it lasts varies. Yesterday I was driving and had a spasm while turning a corner in a major intersection. I forced my arms to keep turning the steering wheel through the spasm, which thankfully was not a long one, but that could have been a really bad outcome. So I haven't even tried to get on the bike. I have no idea where this came from because my back has been fine lately, although in years past I have had back issues. But this is a strange one...it's on the side of my back, not near the spine. I think it was a bit better yesterday than in days past, so hopefully I'll get back on the bike soon. It's supposed to be rainy and yucky all weekend anyhow so I'll set my sights on a few days from now to get back in the swing of things.

Well, This is Confusing...

2008-09-03T08:04:00.003-04:00

I was running late yesterday morning so I figured I would do one of 2 five mile courses near my house where there is no traffic and thus enables me to fly for a time trial or is a good ride to do if I'm running short on time. Oddly enough, instead of feeling sluggish again I felt pretty good. I ended up doing an average speed of 12.5 mph. No, I wasn't breaking any land speed records but usually I push to average 11 mph, so for me that was pretty good. I'm sure being under a time crunch helped but the fact remains that I was able to do a decent ride and didn't feel trashed during or after the ride. I was also on an empty stomach which I usually can never do when riding because I run out of steam after 2 miles. But this is the first time that didn't hamper me. In fact, I had to remind myself to grab something to eat before I ran out the door to get to work on time.

I'm taking this morning off because I didn't sleep well and ended up waking up fairly late. We'll see if this helps me tomorrow.

So Much For Strong Fat...

2008-09-01T09:39:00.002-04:00

Again, I didn't ride all week. I planned on getting some miles in this weekend as it was a 3 day weekend for me. Things just didn't go that way. I just took a break from everything except going to work and church. The rest of the time I was home, zoning out in front of either the TV or the computer.

I think I am just summered out, so to speak. I am not a summer person. I can tolerate it for about 6 weeks and then enough is enough and I'm ready for the fall weather.

So today, being September 1st and Labor Day, I decided to start anew. It's a new month and to me, September is the fall. I did a slow 6 mile ride this morning and felt very sluggish. I wasn't out of breath or in pain or anything; I just felt content to roll along at a 10 mph pace and just get some miles in. And 6 miles felt like it was enough for today. Of course I have the option of riding again later if I want but right now I feel semi-lethargic. I have a list of things on my to do list for the rest of the day so hopefully I'll wake up later and get a second wind.

My Fat Now Appears To Have Endurance As Well As Strength

2008-08-24T18:43:00.006-04:00

Surprisingly enough I did a 20 miler today. I did 10 miles yesterday and it was a surprise to me that I could even do that after a 2 week layoff. But today, being as it was a Sunday, I normally try (or have tried) to do a longer ride on this day.

I live in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. It’s an area in South Jersey that has long expanses of roads running through woods filled with scrub pine and oak trees that deer and other such wildlife inhabit. I love it as it’s a beautiful place to be living in. It’s like living by the beach and the woods at the same time.

One of the lakes in my town, commonly called “The Second Lake”, was originally a cranberry bog decades ago. It has been filled in now with water and is a lake that people swim in during the summer. Years ago I used to frequent that lake in May and June, in the early months of summer before people flocked to it and little kids went there and did…well, you know… and I did laps from one end to the other which was about a half mile.

Other residents of my town had the same idea. One such man was a gentleman in his 70’s. He would show up every single day from May until somewhere in mid July and swim. He had a very unique swimming style. He did what is known in the swimming world as the “crawl”; the standard windmill action of arms propelling through the water while the head and body move left to right while taking breaths between strokes.

I would watch this man in complete awe. I had no idea how he stayed afloat. He would, for instance, raise his right hand out of the water over his head back into the water and roll onto his left side for about 10 seconds or even more. Then he would repeat with the right side. He must have possessed some superb floating powers because I never saw his feet kick. He would stroke…and pretty much move forward a foot or so. My friend and I nicknamed him “Driftwood”. Honestly, with no exaggeration whatsoever, if you put this man and Michael Phelps in an Olympic sized pool and asked Driftwood to do a lap, Michael could have done 20 to 30 laps or more in the time it would have taken Driftwood to complete just one lap. Still, I admired the fact that Driftwood was there at the lake everyday doing his thing. He had endurance and persistence.

So ok, it’s my long ride day and I head out to my favorite ride course. I wanted to try to fly but I thought that on second thought, I would just go for mileage if I felt good enough to do that because of the 2 week layoff. I checked my odometer at the 5 mile mark and I saw I was doing 9 miles per hour but felt like I was pushing it. I felt like Driftwood on 2 wheels.

Wow, this was not a good thing.

Still I decided to push on in Driftwood Mode. I was kind of enjoying the ride and somewhere around the 8 mile mark I decided I would try to do a 20 miler.

This particular course has a loop and at the end of the loop, which is the 10 mile mark, I have a choice of turning right or turning around and retracing the course I had just ridden. The turnaround point came and I decided to give a longer ride a shot.

Because I faced a headwind the whole ride I thought it would change if I reversed things. Well, well, well. The wind direction changed and again I was faced with a headwind. Still I kept pushing on, albeit slowly, but still forward at the blistering pace of 9 MPH.

Somewhere around the 14-15 mile mark I got my second wind and actually flew. I even made it onto the big chain ring (EGADS!). The end of the ride was almost effortless.

What shocks me is that I rode 10 miles yesterday and then 20 miles today after a 2 week layoff. It was mostly slow but you know what? If you had asked me to do 20 miles 2 months ago at any speed I would have asked you what drugs you were taking.

I guess I’m in better shape than I thought and for that, I am grateful. I don’t want to try a 2 week layoff again and test myself but I’m astounded that I could complete that distance at this time.

I can’t believe I have endurance fat.

Well, actually I can because I can’t seem to get rid of this fat because it won’t go away no matter what I do and has thus improved its endurance but it is a good fat. Sort of. I think. Maybe.

It is indeed an enduring fat. Driftwood would be proud of me.

Wow...Where Did I Go?

2008-08-23T16:12:00.001-04:00

Life gets in the way of my life sometimes. I’m still not sure what happened but I guess I needed a break. Maybe it was too much thinking or too much of non-routine. I am a person who thrives on routine and when both my friend and my cat died at nearly the same time, I guess it threw me somehow. Whatever…no excuses, life goes on and I have to get back to where I was.

I also had a bunch of photos to show for my next blog entry for my favorite ride that were on my main computer. Then my computer went for a ride down the road of needing repair so I haven’t written any new blog entries either.

Hello? Can you say Adjust, Adapt, Improvise and Overcome?

So here I am, on my laptop, and the blog of my fave ride will come eventually. Not that the world was let down because they didn’t see what I had to write. Duh.

So…

Finally, after 2 weeks, I got back on the bike this morning. I knew I had to in order to get back to normalcy. Early this morning I drove to watch my really good friends Ed and Ellen (who also happen to be my employers) run a 5K. They didn’t know I was coming but I wanted to yell, support and take pictures for and of them. They are awesome friends and I will ‘splain more about our unique friendship in a future blog entry.

In addition, my other friend Mike, who is also a business associate from California and is a total bike nut who happens to inspire me to keep riding, was kind enough to buy and send me a gel saddle cover which I had put onto the Trek saddle and I really wanted to see if it helped to cush the tush.

So after I came home from watching my friends run I knew it was time to just RIDE! Translated that means, “Linda, get on the bike. Just go. I don’t care where and I don’t care how far…just RIDE!”

I got myself ready, pushed the bike outside, and honestly, once I was on it I felt like it was a foreign object. I had to mentally remind myself that it’s ok, it will come back. I recalled how confident I felt on the bike only 2 weeks ago and it was so odd how only 2 weeks later, being back in the saddle felt so strange. I just decided to take it easy and not care about cadence or speed.

After 5 miles I was comfortable enough to move back into the bigger gears again and started feeling a bit better. I ended up doing a nice easy 10 miles. It was coming back to me.

I have to remember that not so long ago the idea of me doing a 10 miler was a goal. Now it was a starting point. So even after a 2 week hiatus, even though I have lost a bit of conditioning, I am still better than when I began this journey.

And yes, the gel saddle cover was great!

Singin', "I'm Back in The Saddle Again..."

2008-08-11T08:11:00.006-04:00

I just couldn't seem to get myself on the bike Saturday. I know I'll kick myself sometime in the middle of December, but mentally I just didn't have it.

But yesterday I woke up and knew I had to ride. I had only ridden 21 miles all of last week with a 4 day break due to not having the bike here and that is not a good thing. So around 11 I took the bike down from the ceiling and instead of looking at it, I actually rode it.

I decided to ride my favorite course that I call the Barnegat Bay ride. It's a 15 mile loop and it's a beautiful little ride which will actually be detailed in my next blog.

After about 2 miles I noticed that the sky was just not looking right. It was a little too blue, too bright and the air felt odd. I thought about turning around at the 5 mile mark but then the sky didn't look so bad. I started looking around for houses that seemed unoccupied, as many are down here due to being summer homes, searching for a carport or overhang to stand in just in case I was in trouble on my way home.

At the 7 mile turn around point down by the bay, I looked at the sky behind me and said, uh oh. So much for a leisurely ride. I gunned it.

Riding through areas that I love to look at, I didn't see a thing except the road before me. I moosed it all the way in a big gear and at 3 miles to go I heard the rumbling and the skies were very, very dark.

Now, I should explain. I have a tremendous fear of lightning. I have seen what it does and have known people hit by it. I am amazed at people who sit on their front porches during a thunder and lightning storm to watch the show in the sky. I wish I could do that too but first I would need a handful of Xanax. I prefer to sit indoors in an area away from a window and wait for it to pass. I also refuse to use the phone. So, for me to be on a bike near water and trees...let's just say I was not in my happy place.

The last part of the course is down Route 9, a main road that parallels the Garden State Parkway and is well traveled. Being as it was a Sunday afternoon at the Jersey Shore, and the skies were about to open, there was a good deal of traffic on the road with weekenders wanting to get home. At one point I was going faster than the cars were. I looked at my speedometer and I was going 20 mph, which is on the fast side for a fat old lady.

I did get home about 20-25 minutes before it started raining.

Oh well, so much for a nice calm ride. But I'm actually glad I didn't check the skies or the forecast before I went because I rode a good pace because of it and got a decent workout. Hopefully this will get me back on track again. I see now that if I don't ride for a day or so, I don't like how I feel. This is good. This means that the cyclist in me is back.

Returning To the Norm

2008-08-09T10:59:00.002-04:00

Last Sunday a very good friend of mine passed away. Christine and I have been friends for about a year and a half. We met through mutual friends and just clicked. She would come over to my house every week or so and we would just spend an hour or two talking about life in general and God. My dogs adored her. They would see the black Honda Accord pull up in the driveway and go nuts.

In early June, not even 2 months ago, she told me she was having bronchial problems. Then she was in the hospital a few weeks later for a collapsed lung. And then they found cancer. It was in her lungs and had spread. She was in ICU so I couldn't visit her and it was very frustrating, but I knew I could pray and put her on the prayer chain at my church.

And last Sunday evening her wonderful husband Raymond called me to say she had gone to be with the Lord.

Now I know where she is and all, and I know she is in no pain. In our conversations she had come to realize who Jesus was and had asked Him to come into her heart. I think it's just the short time frame of an email from her saying, "Hi, I'm fine" to now in less than 2 months that seems to shock me. I also know that our time span here is not guaranteed and that we are here basically to learn by walking through the journey of life that God has granted us.

Thursday night I went to the wake and I took yesterday, Friday, off from work. I was trying to have a normal day yesterday. I took my car to get a new tire, I washed the car, went food shopping, I drove around my favorite bike course taking pictures for my next blog, and I cooked; however, I was just drained, it seemed, both physically and mentally. I just couldn't seem to get on the bike.

This week my car was also in the shop for 3 days. I was fortunate to be able to use a loaner car but had to leave my Trek at their house to get the car so my bike wasn't even here.

So this week was no cat, gone friend, no car (meaning it wasn't my car and I drove it very little) and no bike. Very out of the norm week.

I guess I'm just going through a strange time but I hope to bounce back today. The Trek is calling me and it's a beautiful day out there. I need to ride to get back to the norm.

The Chutzer

2008-08-04T08:04:00.012-04:00

It’s been a weird week. I’ve done a few rides before work, 5-7 milers. On my usual longer ride day last Sunday I had just started my ride and the skies started rumbling. I was down by the bay and about 3 miles from home so I gunned it.

My head wasn’t into it either because in the back of my mind was this constant decision I had to make. I didn’t feel like riding and I didn’t feel like writing, my 2 favorite things. The problem was that my 17 year old cat, Chutzie, was not doing well. A tumor had developed in her mouth that she had been able to deal with for a while but now it was interfering with her being able to eat. One day when I came home from work and found that she hadn’t even eaten her favorite thing, real tuna, I knew I had to make the call.

Now I’m not going to get into a whole sob story here. I’m not a real cat person. I just happen to have this cat someone decided I needed. I’m a dog person. But this cat was different.

At the time that I was given this kitten I had 6 dogs. (Like I needed another animal???) I came home with the inhabited cat carrier box and walked in. Immediately the dogs could smell there was something in the box and gathered around it. I opened the box and this kitten, totally black, walks out and sits there while 6 dogs anxiously smell, lick and nudge it. She just sat there purring. I was amazed. She was in and that was that. Welcome to the pack.

But then of course there was another problem. What was I going to name this cat?

Having been brought up Jewish I have a love for the Yiddish language. Much of our language today has been influenced by Yiddish; for example the words “nosh”, “schpritz” which has been transformed into the everyday word “spritz”, and “chatchka”, which people now use as the word “chatchkie”.

So here I am, looking at this cat and the word “Chutzpah” came to mind. (Pronounced Hutspa.)Chutzpah means you have nerve and are gutsy. So that became her name. In time the nicknames Chutz, Chutzie, The Chutzer and Chutzie Chutz would all be names she knew were hers.

Being 17, she had outlived all the dogs she grew up with. But the dogs I have now who I have had since they were puppies, Emma and Luke, were dealt with by her as she dealt with all dogs; it was like she was saying, “Ok, yes, I’m a cat, sniff me and just get it over with.” Chutz became very doglike. She liked their toys, she slept with the dogs. I know she was a cat but it was more like having another dog that just happened to have a litterbox. She loved Emma and Luke and they loved her too.

Being as I live alone with these 2 dogs, as well as 6 birds, we are actually a pack. We all kind of understand each other and there is an unusual bond in this house. Now the Chutz is not here anymore. The dogs just know that she has gone on to the big litterbox in the sky. They check out her areas and sniff them and I think they just like to remember her.

Oddly enough, on my ride yesterday, a black cat crossed the street slowly in front of me. That cat had the same body shape as Chutz, the same face shape and the same walk. As I slowed down to look at the cat, the cat actually stopped and sat on the curb. I spoke to the cat and said, “Wow, you look exactly like my Chutzer.” The cat didn’t run or show any fear. It just sat there and blinked. I rode on and looked back and the cat was gone. I know it wasn’t Chutz but it was like the Chutz was back for a moment. I miss that cat.

Here are some moments in time with the Chutzer.

I was birdsitting for my friend's cockatoo. Here we are, all watching TV.

Oh well. I'll sit somewhere else.

Guess I need a bigger bed. Check out the eyes on the pillow.

Naptime with Emma in a ray of sunshine.

"I know it's a dog toy but I don't care. It's a great pillow too."

The Chutz with my Strat, here referred to as the Strat Cat.

Rest in peace, my friend.

What a Jaboni

2008-07-28T14:38:00.005-04:00

On a quick 5 miler this morning before work, I realized something. Way back when I used to

"race" I just had to have all the latest and greatest equipment then because it made me feel like I belonged.

As I pushed through the cool morning fog, I was having a great time and I knew I probably looked a bit strange, almost like a jaboni. A jaboni is what we used to call cyclists who were tourists or looked like tourists. I have no idea where the term originated but I know these types of riders looked very uncool. The men didn’t shave their legs and often wore tube socks and white sneakers and dorky looking Bell helmets. They wore T shirts instead of jerseys and often spun along in low gears while sitting in somewhat of an upright position.

Ok, I have a non-dorky Giro helmet and nice gloves, and my bike has toe clips, and I wear black cycling shorts (and yes, I do shave my legs), but I admit that I do wear my white Reebok running shoes that I also mow the lawn in, as well as a T shirt and after all, I am on a mountain bike. There are a good deal of avid cyclists around where I live, and I do get the “Hey, you’re one of us” wave. But they seem to look twice because here I am, usually pushing along in what we used to call a moose gear, and I’m stretched out and low on the bar ends of the handlebars in road riding position and not upright as one would be on a hybrid; yet it’s a mountain bike.

And for the first time in my life, I don’t care. I just love to ride. I don’t think I ever felt like this. There is an excitement and anticipation after work if it’s a cooler day because I want to get on that bike. I can’t explain it nor do I want to.

I have looked into the cycling clubs around here and they do have organized group rides for riders of different abilities with various distances. But they do specify ”Hybrids ok, no mountain bikes or bikes with fat tires” so I’ll have to wait until next year. The only way to be able to join these people is for me to get 700C wheels for the Cuevas, so that will just have to wait. I’m not really disappointed, to my surprise. It gives me something to look forward to. I’ll even warn them ahead of time that I’ll probably get dropped.

So if I look like somewhat of a jaboni, so be it. But someone do me a favor though? If I ever wear tube socks, someone please stop me and tell me to step away from the bike, slowly...

There’s a Voice in My Head…Hey, I Know That Voice; it’s Mike Fraysse

2008-07-26T13:12:00.009-04:00

“Tuck your knees in!”

“Ride that line! You’re all over the place!”

“Keep your heels down! You look like a damn ballerina!”

I have just now come back from my longest ride yet since riding again; my favorite distance, 25 miles. I am trying to ride the way I was taught, with proper form. When you ride the right way, it just makes it easier to ride and your energy is used more efficiently.

Once I get past the 5 mile mark and I’m rolling at a good pace and getting into the zone, Mike Fraysse is still coaching me. I realize my front wheel is not staying on that white line. Oh yeah, my heels are coming up too. Get those knees together. And it is then that I am at my most efficient and I just glide. I am an arrow just slicing through the air.

Well, ok…at my weight I may not look like an arrow, but at least I feel like one.

Back in 1975 when I began training and racing, I was fortunate enough to just happen to live in Teaneck, NJ, which was a town away from Ridgefield Park where Mike Fraysse’s bike shop was. Mike just happened to be highly affiliated with bike racing and the U.S. Olympic cycling team and he just happened to have his own team that just happened to have their own National Champions on it. You see, I don’t believe in coincidence. I believe God had me there at that time and place for a reason and I see it now, but back then, I had no idea what a gift it was for me to be a part of that team.

Once I started riding, Mike told me they had group rides every weekday morning and to meet at Votee Park if I wanted to ride with them. So I decided to do just that.

It is with vivid clarity that I remember my first ride with Mike. I was on my first Paris Sport bike which had regular clincher tires on it and no toe clips. I didn’t know anything about bikes yet so I assumed I would just glide along with all of them since I was fairly athletically gifted and even slightly underweight for my height. Within the first 5 miles I realized I was way, way, way (can I say WAY?) out of my element. We were doing a 25 mile ride and I knew I was in trouble but I refused to give up. Mike hung back with me and encouraged me the whole way, explaining proper technique and how my bike was not really a racing bike, which was why I was having so much difficulty. Of course that became my excuse immediately. That excuse would be revised as needed in the future to explain why I wasn’t able to stay with the pack, but back then, pushing myself along in the heat on that long stretch of Knickerbocker Road, I knew I wanted to be a part of this sport.

I remember when I finally got home I was so depleted of any energy that I couldn’t even stand without holding on to something. I was shaking all over, thirsty and knowing I needed food even though I couldn’t even think of eating. I remember that my thinking was so scattered and fragmented. My mother was off from work that day and saw I was in rough shape. She sprang into action and went to the deli to get me a roast beef on rye sandwich and a Coke. That did the trick. To this day if I feel extremely weak, that’s what I eat, but in smaller portions. (Thanks, Mom!)

My mother appeared to be really proud of me for doing that ride, to my surprise. I told her all about the ride and the things Mike had told me. I guess the idea of riding 25 miles on a bike really impressed her because she spoke to my grandfather about this new love of mine. The next day he felt led to buy me a better bike as well as a helmet, cycling shoes, shorts and gloves.

So once again, with my new and improved bike and now having the attire of a racer and looking like the part, I went on the group ride. It was a little easier but I was still unable to stay with the group. Mike was there for me again. This time he rode with the group, then dropped back to make sure I was still alive, then caught the group again. He did this repeatedly and coached me the whole time, encouraging me and making me feel confident that in time, I would get better. He continued to do that for many rides after that for years.

Mike loved to get new riders in off the street or from speedskating and develop them. He had a wonderful gift for it and probably still does. He told me that I would make a great team rider; a “domestique”, which is much like a rabbit in track and field. Of course, in order to be a domestique, one needs to actually stay with the pack, which I never did. I now know if I had put the miles and training in I would have been just that.

With his rapid-fire manner of speech, Mike would matter of factly explain to me that there were things I needed to work on. Anytime I decided I would give it my all again, Mike was there to encourage me on. When I got lazy, he laid back until I meant business again.

I remember Mike’s sense of humor and how he would bust my chops but at the same time would try to explain things I needed to address. One conversation we had was what I now refer to as the “Fat Knees Conversation".

Here I was, just 20 years old and pretty fit for an average person my age, and could now do a 25 mile ride just fine by myself at my own pace, so I thought I was rapidly improving. We were standing in the bike shop talking and Mike said that we needed to work on my muscle tone.

“For instance,“ Mike flatly stated, “there’s that fat around your knees.”

“WHAT FAT???” I looked down and of course saw perfect knees.

“Well, it’s in little places where you should have muscle and you don’t yet, that’s all”, he replied.

I then proceeded to ask anyone I knew if my knees were fat. I got replies such as “NO!” from my mother, “Not really…” from other riders (that one I hated), and “Well, maybe slightly…” (another answer I hated). But in retrospect, Mike was right. I saw knees on other racers that didn’t have any tiny pockets of fat and those knees were connected to some really fast legs. I quickly became a Knee Expert.

So now that I am starting all over again, I am amazed that Mike is still coaching me. He doesn’t know it but he is. He gave me so much of his time and energy back then and the good thing is that it wasn’t wasted. There’s a voice in my head telling me what to do on that bike and even after more than 30 years later, it’s still Mike Fraysse.

And my knees are still fat.

The Hills Are Alive...With the Sound of Cadence

2008-07-21T14:16:00.000-04:00

I have always had a love of music. The music a bicycle makes is a sound that only bike lovers really understand.

Years ago when I raced, the sound of many bikes together with everyone pedaling in sync would always thrill me. I don’t know why, but I love that sound. When riding alone, it’s a different sound. I guess it’s like the difference between hearing someone singing a solo and hearing a chorus sing.

On the Trek, the sound is awesome because I really use this bike as a road bike mostly. I took it in the woods once and will do that again but primarily, it’s my training bike. The fat tires make long rides easier for this old body but they also add a new feature. They sing louder.

On a quiet road, pretty much after a 4-5 mile warm up, I will get into the “zone” and my cadence is steady and then I hear it. That “zhing, zhing, zhing, zhing” the tires make as I pedal lets me know that the bike and I are one. It’s at that time that I feel young again and invincible. It’s a sound of steady power and control. It is then that I notice I am hardly breathing at all because there is such a connection between my mind, my body and the bike.

This Trek is really my second favorite bike ever, the first favorite of course being the Cuevas. I have the Trek hanging in my hallway which is in plain sight of my living room. After a ride and I am sitting in my recliner watching TV, I often find myself just staring at the bike instead. How a piece of machinery can be such a part of me is something I can’t even begin to describe. I took it to work one day and found myself going to the window a few times just to look at it. It was like a trusty horse waiting for me.

I work for my very good friend Ellen, who is also a musician. I used to play in our church band with her. We both play guitars and we both have been for a long time. Now, I know I can kind of go into artistically cerebrally odd places where people might think I did a bit too much experimenting in the 60’s, but as a kid I loved my guitar like this too. I would stare at it, practically asking it to show me where to put my fingers to bring out the music I knew it had in it. So on that day at work when my bike was there, I recalled times when as a teenager I would sleep with the guitar next to me.

Feeling somewhat nostalgic while staring out the window, I felt led to share this with Ellen.

“Ellen, “I ventured, “When you were young did you ever feel so connected to your guitar that you slept next to it?”

Silence.

“Um…no.”

Oh well, back down to earth I came but it was a nice ride.

The Special Bikes: Ah...My Trek :)

2008-07-20T19:36:00.000-04:00

I was in a stuck kind of place. Here I had a bike I loved, an old friend in the Schwinn that I had depended upon, as described in my previous post. Yet I needed something to ride. The Cuevas had sew-up tires, both flat, and no one around here sold them anymore, and the wheels were out of true.The Cuevas headset, rear gears and bottom bracket bearings had become gunked up over time from not riding it so I couldn’t ride the bike without ripping it apart and restoring the whole thing. I did not have the funds at all to attempt that.

Much as I loved the Schwinn Mirada, I knew that especially now that I was into my 50s, I should really get a bike that fit me because I was not the athlete I once was, to say the least. I had been in a very stressful job with long hours and had really let myself go because I had no time to try to train. If I was to get back into shape at this weight and age, I needed something I could handle and the Schwinn was not something I could count on anymore. Get new wheels to replace those that had become out of shape from the spokes pulling through the rims, and get new cranks and chainrings, or get a new bike? That was a no brainer. The parts would cost more than the bike cost in the first place.

I had been looking at Treks for a decade and I wasn’t getting any younger. A kid I had worked with had a Trek mountain bike that was my size. He rode it to work one day when his car was in the shop. I asked him if I could ride it and check it out because it was a smaller sized frame and I could get an idea of how the Treks felt. Once I got on it I was amazed at how my out of shape body and this bike seemed to mesh. I then knew that someday I wanted a Trek mountain bike.

So one day, here I am, stuck. I had just started a new job and finances were very tight and here I am, looking at buying a new bike? I thought I was being not too bright but I went to check out a new local bike shop anyway, just to ask about replacement wheels for the Schwinn and wouldn’t you know it….this new bike shop was a Trek dealer.

When he told me how much the wheels and cranks would be for the Schwinn and how much a new bike was, I had to make a decision but knew I also would have to put the new bike on a credit card, which I wasn’t crazy about doing. But it was really a no brainer. If I had the cash I would have bought the new bike immediately but I didn’t have any spare funds. I went home and thought about it for a week and made my decision. With a nervous heart I went there one day after work and put a deposit down on the Trek.

Now, keep in mind, this was and is not a top of the line bike. This bike would be a bottom of the line aluminum frame mountain bike, not another Cuevas. But it did have the front shock option that I valued because I had become increasingly achy and creaky with age. It also was my size, an 18” frame, and had fat tires to cushion the road even thought that would make it slower. But I figured, hey, I’m old and fat. I don’t care about speed. I need to exercise and ride.This might be a chance at getting unfat, even though I would still keep getting old anyway. So I nervously pushed forth the plastic and went for it.

This bike is now my training bike to “come back’”. I ride it like a road bike. Right or wrong decision, this is what I chose and wow, if I’m wrong, I’ll live with it.

The Special Bikes: The Schwinn Mirada

2008-07-19T08:35:00.000-04:00

Life is much like a stage in the Tour de France. There are some steep uphills, breath-catching downhills, blinding curves and flats where you freewheel.

During one of those steep uphills in my life around 1994 I was driving an old clunker Dodge Aries that was ready to die. I had no money to fix it and was just waiting for my income tax refund so that I could keep it running a little longer. I worked at a gas station part time at the time to try to make ends meet. One of the guys I worked with was really into bikes. He was a great guy and eventually became a good friend of mine named George Weber. He didn’t have or want a car. He rode his hybrid bike everywhere. He had racks and lights and the whole works. I clearly remember when it was pouring and in he rode with his magenta Bell helmet and total raingear and a great big smile on his face.

Of course the day came when the Dodge wouldn’t start so I had no other choice but to ride my $2000 Cuevas to work. I pulled in as George was pulling in and parked my bike next to his. He looked over at me and then looked at my bike. We hadn’t spoken all that much before that but he simply said to me, “Are you crazy???” I told him I had no other choice or other bike and I had to get here somehow. That started our friendship because we both spoke bike.

A new bike shop, a Schwinn dealer, had opened next to the gas station. I hadn’t ever gone in there because I had no money to buy anything anyway. George, however, was a frequent customer and had become friends with the owner, Gus.

One day George came rushing over to me with a big, excited look on his face. He knew my Dodge was still dead and he knew I was waiting for a $250 tax refund.

“Linda, you gotta go next door after work! “he blurted out. “He has this Schwinn mountain/hybrid bike that some kid bought a month ago and decided he wanted to get a better bike so he traded it in. I think it’s meant to be yours. It has toeclips, a Cateye halogen light and an odometer already. It looks like it’s a small frame and I told Gus to hold onto it until you saw it. You gotta see it!”

“How much?” I asked him.

“He wants to sell it for $300 but he’ll sell it to you for $250.”

Hmm…what a “coincidence”. Ok, I thought. It can’t hurt to look.

I walked into that shop and all the familiarity and comfortability of being in a bike shop came flooding back. I immediately and instinctively knew which bike it was. It looked brand new. It was a beautiful black Mirada that said Linda all over it. Gus told me to take it for a ride. As I pushed it out the front door of the shop I felt like a traitor, riding another bike instead of the Cuevas, yet I knew this might be God’s way of telling me that I might need this bike for a long time. The frame was about an inch too high, and it was a generally heavy bike but not too bad. As soon as I got on it I knew it was mine. It felt like home.

Gus was not the best businessman in the world, which is probably why the bike shop went out of business eventually, but he was a great guy. He saw the Cuevas and told me I need to keep that baby safe. I didn’t even have a dollar to give him at the time for the Mirada, yet he told me to take the bike home and pay him when the check came, if I wanted the bike. So I had to make a decision. Do I put the money toward the car or get a new bike? I stood there for about a minute thinking and went for the bike. A friend of mine came with her car and I put the Cuevas in her car to take to my house, and I rode the Mirada home.

My neighbor got the Dodge running again for a short time but soon after that, the transmission went and that was the end of the Dodge.

I was so glad I had decided to get the bike. It got years of use. I ended up putting about 5000 miles on that bike before I gave it away just last month. It had served me well and was my alternate source of transportation for many years. I had put racks on it and had used it in rain, sun and even snow. The frame was still strong but it needed new wheels as some spokes had pulled through the rims, and some teeth had worn down on the chainrings making some gears slip somewhat. I had to make a decision…do I get new wheels or just put that money toward a bike that would actually fit me and be lighter?

I loved that bike but I knew it was time to move on. Below is a picture I found on the internet. It’s not my bike but it’s the same bike, just a larger frame. I hope the new owner gets as many years out of it as I did. What a great bike that was.

The Special Bikes: The Cuevas

2008-07-18T08:25:00.000-04:00

Being as I was young and naive, I assumed that if I had a better bike I would stay with the pack during races and not get dropped. It couldn’t be ME, of course…it had to be that the bike just wouldn’t let my “natural bike talent” come through. I assumed that I needed a bike built to my specific shorter frame as I was only 5’4” with a 30” inseam and that the problem must lie with the longer top tubes of the stock bike frames available at the time. Sure…

Enter Francisco Cuevas.

In my profile photo I am riding a custom Cuevas track bike that this wonderful master built for me. This photo was taken at the Lehigh Valley Velodrome in Trexlertown, PA. I no longer have this bike but the reason for that is a compliment to the builder himself.

I rode a loaner, bottom-of-the-line track bike at the time which I was very grateful to be able to use. A track bike is a fixed gear bike; you cannot coast, the pedals constantly turn and there are no brakes. It is one gear due to a continuous connection with the front and rear chainring. My front chainring on the loaner bike had a slight, almost inperceptible bend to one of the teeth. I discovered this at a later time when someone else used the bike and had the same results as I did. I had crashed because of the chain coming off the front chainring once at the Kissena Track in Flushing, NY and flew over the handlebars, fortunately landing on the infield grass…but that’s another “glory story”…and therefore I had lost my confidence in the loaner bike.

At the time, the team I belonged to, Paris Sport/North Jersey Bicycle Club (NJBC), was run out of Park Cycle in Ridgefield Park, NJ by Vic, Vivian and Mike Fraysse, who were kind enough to loan me that track bike and put up with my thinking that my reason for not being a good rider was that it was the bike, not me. Since I thought I was so absolutely wonderful, they often subtly hinted that perhaps I could be lacking in the training department. I truly value their tact due to the fact that my mother had recently died and they were kind enough to tread softly because, well, lets face it…I was a mess but didn’t know it even though everyone else did.

Around 1977-78 they hired a custom frame builder from Spain named Francisco Cuevas. With him came his son named Andres. Francisco was an extremely respectful and kind man with old world manners. The word “gentleman” should have his face next to it in the dictionary. His son Andres was a very hard working man (as well as being really cute and I had a secret crush on him at the time) in his 20’s. Together they built custom frames in the back area of the bike shop.

After a time I introduced myself to Francisco and discovered he did not speak a lot of English. Since I had 4 years of Spanish in high school, yet seemed to master only the first year of the language and therefore considered myself an expert interpreter, I found myself gravitating toward the frameshop to spend time with this man I grew to love and respect. I can still hear him say, “Ah, Leenda!” everytime he saw me, with that beautiful loving smile and voice. I now chuckle at the memory, realizing that Francisco was a proud yet humble, Castillian speaking Spaniard who simply honored the fact that an American was willing to even try to communicate with him in a very limited version of Spanish.

I knew the 1978 NJ State Cycling Championships were soon approaching. Many people on the team were ordering custom Cuevas frames so I put my order in for my own custom track bike, too.

From the moment I first rode that track bike, I knew there was something different about it even though by that time I secretly had acknowledged that I just possibly might not be training enough. I started not getting dropped by that much in track races. (Interpret that to read that I hung onto the pack longer before getting dropped.) I was getting ever so slightly better and then talking to Francisco after races. He told me that I could do it. He said I was getting better and to keep trying. Because I really trusted this man by that time, I was making ever so slight progress, but progress nonetheless.Someone believed in me.This photo below is me getting 2nd in the 1978 NJ State Track Cycling Championship Points Race on that track bike and my first and only medal in my cycling career.

Francisco and I had become pretty close and I would visit him in the frameshop almost everyday he was there. I very vividly remember one time when I was invited over to his home for dinner. There was a huge table and all the family gathered around, with love and laughter, and I was made to feel like family. They treated me like I had always been there. Truly, many times when I look at my bike these days, I remember that moment.

Then there came a time that he confided in me about a personal issue having nothing to do with the bike shop and I gladly was able to help. I thought it no big deal and felt blessed to be able to give something back to this man who had given me so much at a time when he was working so hard, yet had the love and encouragement to give to me at any time I entered the frameshop.

The bicycle I now refer to as my Cuevas road bike was built by that grandmaster out of love. So thankful was he for my help that he decided to build a road bike frame for me on his own time with his own funds for all the materials. Andres painted it a beautiful metallic blue and the paint job was absolutely stunning. Francisco encouraged me to file the lugs a bit and sand some of the rougher brazing, but that was so that I could feel like I was of value to this bike. So instinctive was this man’s sense of my grief and struggle to have some kind of identity at the time that he felt led to make me feel a part of something I could label as, “Yeah, I helped, and it’s mine.”

As for the track bike…near the end of my cycling career I was at a track race and another woman much my same size was riding, warming up for the sprint races. During practice both her tires blew which meant she wouldn’t be able to race that night as she had not brought any spare wheels. Since I was not doing the sprint races I asked her if she wanted to borrow my Cuevas track bike. She did and won all her races on it. After the races that night she took me aside and told me if I ever wanted to sell that bike to please let her know first. When the time came and I was done with racing around 1980 I did indeed sell the track bike to her, and only because I knew it had gone to someone who knew the quality of that bike as much as I did.

But I knew I would never sell the road bike, pictured below.

Sadly, I have since learned that Francisco passed away in 2005. He lives on in my heart and memory. The cycling community lost a wonderful friend, as did I.

My Fat Sure Is Getting Stronger

2008-07-17T08:22:00.000-04:00

I know I’m making progress. I can remember a time not so long ago when walking 2 blocks made me need to sit down. I’ve been riding again now about 7 weeks and I’ve done a couple of 20 mile rides in 85 degree heat so I know I’m getting better. The first 2 weeks I lost 15 pounds but these days it’s about a pound a week. So I just think my fat is getting stronger.

My goal is to restore my beloved custom Cuevas road bike, maybe get my racing license back and do a Master’s race next year or the year after. It’s a big goal. I need to drop about 80 pounds from this 53 year old body as well as get a 30 year old racing bike back into riding condition on a very tight budget. Right now I don’t think I could even lean over to reach the shifters on the down tube because my mid section fat would make it a little tough to reach. Yes, I am being brutally honest but the truth is the truth. The condition of the Cuevas is not as big of a problem as is the condition of the Cuevas owner. Money can fix the Cuevas but only self determination and self discipline can fix its owner.

Long ago my friend Tom’s mother once commented that cyclists were an odd breed because most of us are loners. Most of us are a bit different from the norm, dancing to our own tunes and happily content to be by ourselves. That describes me to a tee, to a fault. I have to be persuaded and pushed to be around social atmospheres, yet I can walk into any bike shop and want to be a part of it.

It’s in my blood, I think. I have always had a bike. My first tricycle was a treasured possession even though my mother, who was a single parent to this only child, put it together for me and attached the front fender backwards (A for effort though!). We never switched it because she was just happy she accomplished that much by herself and at 4, I didn’t much know any better. My next one, a 20” bike, was green with solid tires (which my mother also put together and did a perfect job this time) and I still can remember when I showed her I could ride without the training wheels.

My first big kid bike was a beautiful 3 speed blue Schwinn. I had gotten it 2 weeks early before my 10th birthday and it sat proudly in our dining room of my apartment. My mother absolutely refused to let me ride it outside until my birthday. So everyday until my birthday I would rush home from school and sit on it, stare at it, even ride it 10 feet down our hallway inside the apartment, and dream of all the places I would go. That bike eventually became my major source of transportation since my mother didn’t drive. After I graduated high school and even now had a car myself, I would go to the bike shop a town away from me and look at all the 10 speeds, as we called them back then. “Racing bikes” they were thought of even though they were not. I eventually got a burgundy Paris Sport but kept wandering back to the bike shop where the real racers would all hang out and the thought of racing myself became a natural progression. It was a Godsend because shortly after I started racing my mother suddenly passed away and the cycling world became my sanity. I threw myself into the racing life in order to get past the grief and survive. To this day I can get on my bike and feel the peace as the cadence becomes a song that my body naturally sings harmony to, even at this weight.

The Beginning

2008-07-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

So many years have passed since I was a competitive athlete in cycling. I was not good by any stretch of the imagination...in fact, my nickname was "The Gap" because I would always get dropped off the back of the pack in races. But I loved the training, the comeraderie, the friendships, the equipment technology; the whole lifestyle. I embraced it and lived it for about 5 years, from 1975 to 1980. Then I just drifted off to other areas of interest, which involved music and coming to know Jesus as Lord of my life, when I let Him be just that, which with my strong self will is a struggle for me . But in the back of my mind I was also still a cyclist. If the car died, I knew I had a bike to ride and I could get anywhere. Funny thing is that once I got on the bike, even though I hadn't ridden in years, it was like revisiting an old friend.

The bikes have changed through the years and so have I. I have become a very much out of shape, middle aged, overweight person. I look in the mirror and have a hard time accepting that that fat person there is actually me. So, this point in my life is my attempt to turn it all around and get back to that athlete I once was.

I truly believe there are no coincidences and totally by "accident", I reconnected with an old friend from cycling, Tom. If he can do it, so can I.

So here I go, coming back to life, yet again.