Went to club...

...and hammered out 4.42 flat miles in about 18 minutes. Just needed to do it. Turned up some good angry music - Papa Roach; The Paramour Sessions - and hit it. Couldn't wear my biking shoes b/c somehow one of the screws came out of one of the cleats...so I wore my broken heart converse sneaks...seems appropriate since my heart is broken. Heh.


Had sort of a bad night last night...had a HUGE HUGE HUGE fight with hubs and will continue to be sad about losing a friend - well at least I assume I've lost a friend, that's where the signs seem to point - until I get over it.

Now I need to go take some pics and clean to make myself feel better. Gotta take the little one to a Halloween party at preschool in a couple hours. :)

And I thought my groom's cake was kick ass...

But this wedding cake...well...um...takes the cake!

Another clicky.

Beaver Dam Adventure

Today Maggie and I hit Beaver Dam's mountain biking trails. Beaver Dam offers 4 different trails: Inner Loop (1.1 miles), Outer Loop (2.2 miles), West Loop (2.3 miles) and South Loop (6.8 miles).

Beaver Dam Trail Head:


Beaver Dam Directional Signs:


I have a great pic of Maggie, but she won't let me post it. :(

So now the story of the ride. I knew going in that Beaver Dam was going to be a little over my skill level and that I'd likely have to walk a bit...I was ok with that. When we got there, the we decided to do the Inner Loop since it's the shortest, and I *thought* would be the simplest. WRONG FAT CHICK BIKER! I'm not very comfortable on downhills as it is, and add in the monstrosities we call roots around these here parts and I was NOT a happy camper. And this was just getting to the actual trail!

About 15 or so minutes into the ride, I stopped and told Maggie that I just didn't feel right...I needed to desperately. So I took my meds, (remember I'm taking a new one, and this is only day 2) hoping that they would "fix" whatever issue I was having. No such luck. I was just feeling off the whole time. It didn't dawn on me until part way through the ride that I was still allowing a personal issue to color my riding.

We got through the trail...finally. And lemme tell ya folks, that is NOT a trail for beginners AT ALL. It's tight, twisty, fast in places...tons of roots on the uphills...stuff you need to either be able to power through or have enough momentum to go over. I walked probably about 1/2 the trail...mostly the uphills and a couple downhills. I did do stuff I wasn't completely comfortable with, and that was cool.

Getting back to the trail head was KILLER. The uphill was INSANE as were all the roots. I walked it. I think Maggie rode it. When we got to the top, she called a friend who said we should have done West Loop. WELL SHIT! We went over there and she did a bit of it, and I started a little, but really just wasn't interested. My head trips were fucking me up and it was time to stop before I got hurt.

My overall feeling of the trail is that, like I indicated, it is NOT for beginners (at least the trail we did). I'm pissed with myself for letting an issue with a friend undermine my confidence in my riding...especially because I was really looking forward to this ride today. It's a LONG way from my house - 40 miles each way. But at least I can say I did it. And I can say with absolute certainty that I will NOT be at the group ride on Saturday. Haha. :P

I'm sure at some point I'll try it again. But for now, I'm going to stick with Harris - nail down the 2nd loop of the intermediate trail over there; and start working on Crabtree a bit, I think.

While I was waiting for Maggie to arrive, I went to take the pictures you see above, and I met a guy coming off the trail. Right before he came out, these 2 HUGE wild turkeys went running through the woods. It was hysterical. And these other huge birds went flying out. Weird.

Gonna ride Beaver Dam tomorrow (Thursday)

...this should be fun. I'm REALLY looking forward to it. Not sure which loops Maggie and I will ride, but definitely NOT South Loop. From what I understand, Inner, Outer and West Loops are technically similar to the intermediate loops at Harris, which is my "home" set of trails, since that's where I ride almost exclusively. Guess I'm lookin' for a little strange. :-O

A map for your convenience:


Why am I up at 3am? Who knows? I went to bed at 10:30pm, which is way early for me. So now I'm up. Lucky me.

People with a great sense of creative humor

I LOVE this (from mtbr.com). Sorry...ya gotta make a click.

I used to spend my days playing pac man. In fact, for the 2 months we lived in Oxford, MS, I would go up every day to this convenience store called Hugh's (my sister and I called it UGHs) and play. I rocked that game.

Anyway, happy halloween. Hope it made you smile.

OH OH OH! And I just remembered (at 3am!) that I still have the little desktop version...and it still works. It's shaped like a little video game and has a little joystick and everything. I'll have to find it and take a pic.

No riding today

Too dangerous.

I have a new medication. Took 1/2 of a pill and it's knocked me on my big ol' ass.

It's weird. Even though I'm sad about something going on in my life, I really wanted to go ride this morning...I was even willing to ride at Crabtree. I took this medicine and it makes me kind of flat...like I can't care about things as much. I mean, I'm still sad, but there's like this barrier there that makes me not feel the sadness in the same way I would normally. But it's still too dangerous to ride...or drive for that matter. I hope this side effect wears off before I have to go and get my babies from school.

It sucks to have fucked up brain chemistry. Lemme tell ya.

I've enjoyed reading Mountain Bike Magazine

I happened to see it at Wally Hell the other day, and since I have nothing else to read, I picked it up. I'm getting a lot out of it and will hit up mountainbike.com as well when I get a chance.

Anyone else care to share how they learn or keep up to date on new stuff?

Me and my crocs

Yes, I know this is supposed to be a biking...and sometime photography blog...but I have to ask how many of you know how much I LOVE my crocs? Seriously...I have attachment issues.

What I want to know is why someone...um, like Crocs maybe...hasn't come out with a shoe that can take an SPD cleat..damn them. I think these might be close to something they could use:



There's a chick on mtbr.com who added some cleats to her 2" black heels...why not my swirly pink crocs?

Maybe I should just break down and spend $100 on the keens I've been eying...

Went out and rode....

...and I had a good ride! :)

I did the beginner trail at Harris and guess what? I DID IT! You know that place I was talking about a few days ago where I ALWAYS stop? Well I didn't stop today. I slowed way down, like lidarman said to, and simply rode through it. So thanks for the tip lidarman! :) And of course after I did it, I let out a "WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO" so loud that I probably scared wildlife for miles. Tough shit. :P

Oh - and you know that place at the end of the beginner trail where I've never been able to get over the roots but I did the other day? I thought I'd introduce you to said roots. People, meet roots. Roots, meet people.



And now that I'm looking at them, they are NOT the right roots! Hahaha...but they are a good sampling of the types of big ass roots we have here in central NC. Next time I'm out riding, I'll be sure to stop and get the correct roots.

Here are some more pics of the beginner trail:
A bit of trail before a "bridge" type thing before a hella rooty uphill:


Near the beginning of the loop...a bit of up and down for fun:


I'm pretty sure this is the whoop-de that I like on the beginner trail...not very big, but it's enough for me:


Ok...so not only did I do that, but I rode the intermediate trail, loop 1, alone. Something in me said "fuck it...you GOTTA get some intestinal fortitude on your own Fat Chick Biker...you can't wait for someone else to give you that push." So I did. Granted, I didn't do as well as I did when I rode with Maggie, but I still did pretty well. I dabbed a couple times, lost my momentum once and walked a tiny bit up a hill until I could get the momentum up and I almost fell once. And I swear to you, if I had nuts, they would be a hurtin' right now. I was going up this hill that has a couple sharp turns and lots of roots and I guess I wasn't looking far enough ahead and I just about crashed...and crushed my invisible nuts (and thus my girlie parts) against the tube. HOLY INVISIBLE BALLS BATMAN! That hurt!

I got to the fork in the road



where you can go right and go to loop 2 of the intermediate trail



or go left and go back to the beginner trail, and for some reason, I chose to turn left.

Here are a couple of photos from the intermediate trail. I kept thinking to myself I should stop and take pics, but I was kind of on a roll and didn't really want to stop to take them! I even hit Wally Hell this morning to get a front pack for my beloved camera...I am not comfortable taking that much $$ in camera equipment on my back when I don't know the trails well...and plus that shit's heavy!. So I carried my camelbak (without water...don't ask) containing my extra tube, air pump, blah blah blah and hooked the new pack to the front of it with paper clips and spit. Ok...it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't completely ideal. It worked though and it was secure.

Oh...the photos:
Leading to the 1st bridge:


This is the bridge:


Jesus Christ...that post was a lot of work. I need a beer. Or sex. Or both. ;)

Struggling this morning...looking for that riding passion

Sad to think that I can allow personal life issues to affect whether I can ride or not.

Here again, I'm not relying on my own abilities to get myself going, but rather wishing for someone else to give me the attention and get-up-and-go that I need to do this.

I'm not feeling all that mature for a 36 yr old mother of 2. Maybe I should just go hide like I have been all weekend. That sounds like a fine idea. Drop the kids off at school and go back to bed. I'm tired anyway...went to bed at 7:30 last night, woke up at 9 for meds and went back to sleep...got up at 7:45 this morning. Not quite enough sleep, don't you think?

This is good...now I'm getting pissed off at myself. Maybe I'll go in spite of my own idiocy.

Took a road ride today

There are some trains and an old building I've been wanting to shoot. So since a friend and I were fighting, and I needed to burn off some negative energy, I decided to take my life into my hands and ride Gustav on the roads of Fuquay Varina.

SCARY AS SHIT.

But I got a couple pics of the trains and some (hopefully) cool pics of an old abandoned building...one that I would love to do some nude shoots in. The lighting was perfect. Too bad I didn't have a model handy.

I will update this post with photos once I edit them.

Here they are:
Bee


Entrance to spooky abandoned building:


What grows on yonder ceiling?


No Welding


Pallet Pattern

Skills Clinic Decision

I'm just gonna wait until there's one closer to home. No reason to drive 10 hours for a 7 hour clinic, spend all that money, etc.

Too bad - probably would have been a good clinic. Just too far.

Good decision, I think. :)

Stupid idea to think about going. Hubs didn't seem thrilled about it anyway.

Later peoples.
Fat Chick Biker

Best way to train for longer trail rides?

Is the best way to train for longer trail rides (right now I average about 2 miles, occasionally 3...and don't you dare laugh :P) by simply taking longer trail rides or is it a combination of my regular length trail rides plus some longer "endurance" type rides on flats or at the gym?

When I'm in the mood, I can ride around 10 miles in the gym...the last couple times I've chosen a hilly course - not hilly as in interval training hilly, but hilly as in I'm going up a hill for at least half of the tour - and I try to do it in a single speed (and not an easy one). But the gym is SO different from riding my bike...it's definitely not as hard because I'm not carrying the weight of my big ass PLUS the weight of the bike and my pack around. Not saying it's not good exercise, because on the days I can't get outside to ride, it's all I have.

So I'm wondering if it would behoove me to go out and ride something like Umstead State Park (that is EXTREMELY hilly and will kick my ever lovin' ass), which is not paved, but not dirt like a mountain biking trail...no obstacles in otherwords; or should I go for the American Tobacco Trail, which is a rails to trails deal where the steepest incline is probably 2%. However, the ATT kills me b/c of my tires (at least that's what I think). They are Kenda Nevegals and so are pretty knobby and dig into the sand/sifted whatever is out there on the trail...and so I get a good workout, but I can't get very far.

What should I do? How should I combine all these places? Pretty much I have 2 days during the week on which I can ride outdoors - and preferably on mountain biking trails...I'm obviously getting a good workout with the amt I'm riding since I've lost 12 pounds and many inches, and that's without even trying...no change in eating habits, etc. But since I'm on a roll...sort of...I figure I may as well get as much out of this as I can.

VERY seriously considering going to this

I'm totally psyched about it...and I really hope I can pull it off. My Dad, I know, will give me money to pay for most of it - the actual cost of the clinic is only $25, but gas and hotel will cost the most. I'll have to drive the Honda - it gets around 24mpg, and Greenville, SC is about 265 miles each way...so that's about $65 in gas (at today's $2.77/gal), if my math is correct. Hotels seem to be pretty cheap - I found one about 7 miles from Paris Mountain for $50/night. So I'll just have to pay for food.

I already talked to my Mom about watching the kids while hubs is at the ECU game on the 8th...hubs will watch them on the 9th and will take off work on the 10th so I can drive home that day.

So what's keeping me from doing this? I am. I'm not sure I want to go by myself. Firstly, I detest driving, and almost 5 hours each way is a long time for me to do alone. Secondly, I hate driving the Honda. And thirdly, I want to go ride on Saturday and won't have anyone I know to ride with if I go alone. But maybe this is a good opportunity for me to make some new friends from our sister SORBA chapter known as UpstateSORBA.

What do you y'all think? Should I do it? Is it worth it at my level of riding? At my weight? At my ability? I'm nervous about this, but I'm trying to get myself to work outside my comfort level.

And of course I'll take the camera...

Fat Chick Biker wants to know...

...how much does your mood affect your riding? Or is it the other way around? Or maybe a little combo of both?

I find that when I'm not in a great mood, my riding suffers. I'm not as confident, don't want to really try hard...just want to do the easy stuff and say I did a ride.

When I'm feeling like I was yesterday, really "on," my riding rocks. I was completely confident in my abilities (even in abilities I wasn't really sure I had) and felt like I could conquer anything...well, within reason, of course.

But sometimes, when I'm not in a great mood and I do get to get out and ride, it's just enough to take the edge off that moodiness and get me feeling ok.

I know that having someone riding with me encouraging me helps me a great deal both when I'm feeling it and when I'm not feeling it. But at some point, I want to be able to rely on myself.

That seems like a pattern in my life...needing to learn to rely on myself...from biking to having confidence about other things. It's a very hard thing to gain for me...and once I gain a little it seems that something happens that I allow to take it away. Kind of weird...most people think I'm quite the confident person, gauging from some of the photography I take. And I have become more confident, but I still find that confidence is based on attention from certain people.

Mental Stoppage

So...for all you experienced biker type peeps out there, how in the world do you get past a block that is mental? For instance, that place on the beginner trail that I stop at every friggin' time...how do I get past that mental block I have?

Here's the weird thing about it - first I'll explain what it is, then I'll tell ya what's weird. So after I go down this nice little...I hate to call it a downhill...it's more like a very low grade hill and curve where you can pick up a bit of speed...after I go down that, there is a little twisty part where I slow down and change into the easy gears and get up a hill - the trees here are thick together and close, but not too close. At the top of this hill are two trees, one a bit bigger than the other, and they are on either side of the trail, but optically seem very close together. I can see where people have scrubbed their handlebars getting through them. So I STOP (every god forsaken time), walk through them (while I'm still ON the bike, just not RIDING the bike) and go along my merry little way.

What's the weird part then? On the intermediate trail, on this rocky/gravely part of the trail that has bigger rocks lining it, there are trees together that are just as close as those trees on the beginner trail...in fact, there are a couple spots like that on the intermediate trail and I have NO PROBLEM getting through them.

So what the hell is my deal? And how do I get past this? It's really freaking annoying.

Wah.

Oh my GAWD!

Oh noes! For reals I need to post some pixels on this here bloggity blog! I know I have my handy dandy flickr linkage over there on the right side, but how many people really click click?

Some of these you won't find on flickr because they are from my "private stock" of photos that I post elsewhere. If you are faint (or is it feint?) of heart or don't like Fat Chick Biker or other women's body parts, PLEASE, for fuck's sake, DON'T LOOK! Cuz I don't want to hear you whine, tell me your eyes are burning or that you need to scrub your brain with a wire brush.

Ok...I got bored with this post...I'll upload pics later should I get unbored with it. :) I'm such a tease. :P

ETA @ 11:29pm...maybe these are on flickr...who the hell knows? I just like these. My mom actually has a framed print of the first one.

So now y'all know what kind of other photography I like to do. Random shit...whatever suits my overly active yet creative brain at the moment. I am going to look around for models soon...I need to learn how to shoot people...um...with a camera...duh. :D

Here are a couple that I really like...

My Ride Today

So I believe I have finally gone up to level 2 in my riding. Today I did so many things I've never done before and even had a witness!

Ok...there's STILL one place at the beginner trail at Harris that I simply can't do - it's mental and I know it is and it f*&%ing pisses me off that I stop every damn time. However...there was a part at the end of the beginner trail that I have NEVER been able to do and I DID IT today! +1 for me.

Y'all know I swore on a case o'Sunset Wheat that I'd never do the Intermediate trail at Harris...remember? Well guess what brothers and sisters? Today, not only did I do the first loop (and I don't think I even got off the bike at all on that one), but I did the second loop as well! I got off the bike a couple times on that loop...but for having never been on it other than walking, I'd say that's a pretty good day for me. +2 for me.

There were plenty of times Maggie would look back and say "I can't believe you did that...I thought you'd get off the bike and walk it." To which I would reply "so did I...but I told a friend earlier today that I was ready for some harder stuff...and here it is." So now I can go back and report to him that I did, in fact, do what I said I wanted to do.

It was fun...riding with the intent to ride and not walk. It was scary too...but not as scary as it once was.

So I can say with certainty now that I adore this sport (already knew that), I like the way I'm riding and I'm gonna beat those damn uphills that I either can't power through yet or that I do and have to stop afterward to rest. But at least I'm out there doing it. +3 for me.

Oh...and I've lost 12 pounds and god only knows how many inches. What a nice bonus. ;)

I've been sick

mentally, physically, emotionally...sick. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, those are the reasons I haven't been able to get a coherent post together. Well, unless you wanted to hear why my heart was broken in two.

But onward and upward...right?

I'm going on a ride today. With Maggie. At Harris. Because I need to.

I'm still trying to hack up a lung for most of the day, but if I don't get out and ride, it's gonna be B-A-D!

Another part of the reason I haven't ridden is b/c the hubs has been out of town since Sunday and I was kind of paranoid of getting hurt and not being able to take care of the ankle biters. Such a good mommy...I know. ;)

Drama

I likely won't be updating this blog for a few days until I get a few things in my life ironed out.

It always gets personal

Never fucking fails. A good discussion gone bad because people just can't agree to disagree. It's sad. We all have to be right.

I need to step away from the computer for a while, take my fucking pills so my head doesn't explode and go finish cleaning the playroom. I'm seriously about to cry - not because my feelings are hurt but out of sheer frustration...how girlie of me. :rolls eyes:

Can't we be a little nicer to each other?

I post on a couple mountain biking boards. I've been a little discouraged lately with the number of people being assholes to one another. It's like if you aren't perfect and don't read every word correctly, you suck. Cut people some slack, yo. We aren't perfect like you.

And something else. Yes, while I frequent these boards in an attempt to connect with other people who mountain bike, I also go to LEARN. *gasp* Yes...even though I'm "just" a girl, I want to learn how to take care of my bike, how to change components, which components to use when. But people seem to be too taken with the other shit on the boards...the drama...to actually bestow their knowledge upon newbs like myself. I have no problem doing research and learning on my own...I have a fucking History degree, for Christ's sake...I KNOW how to do research. But I like talking to people and getting their opinions because fo' sho' they have those opinions for a reason, feel me? I'm not trying to get out of learning for myself, I'm trying to tease out the reasons you like the Small Block 8s over the Nevegals for this area...I'm trying to understand why you'd put one tire on the front and a completely different tire on the back. I'm not down with the smartass responses. Maybe it's about respect. Maybe I'm showing my age...oy. Or maybe, just maybe, I have a valid point here.

/rant

On Riding Like A Girl

So I posted a little post over on mtbr.com called Is there something wrong with 'riding like a girl?' and it has gotten quite a few responses. I love talking about stuff with people...

...anyway what has interested me is the huge range of opinions on whether one "should" ride like a girl, whether it's something to be offended by, whether it's something to embrace, whether we should give a shit at all. Maybe we should all just ride like mountain bikers. My particular favorite phrase from the whole discussion thus far has been "Ride like a hermaphrodite."

So to you, my 3 faithful blog readers...is there something wrong with RIDING LIKE A GIRL, if, in fact, one IS a girl? Is it a way to embrace one's femininity in a male dominated sport? Is it offensive? Would YOU say it to someone?

I plan on making candy wrappers (yanno...when my candy wrapper business gets off the ground...hahahahahahahahahahahaha *breathe* hahahahahahahahahahahaha) with that phrase, and others like it. I want the pink socks that say "ride like a girl." I want a sticker for my truck saying it...I want the tshirt. Damn it! Someone buy me the tshirt! And if I can figure out how to get it on my license plate, I'll do that too. Because for me, riding like a girl means mostly that I'm a girl and I ride like the girl I am. It means that I'm proud to be a girl riding a bike...and especially since I'm a Fat Chick Biker, showing other fat chicks that we can have a great time on a bike (or off ;)). That being said, I just want to ride like me...cute, fat, Jodey, who IS, indeed (I checked this morning), a GIRL.

Now I Feel Like an Idiot

I realized, after reading a post on the NC/SC board on mtbr.com this morning, that nobody associated with TORC, that I'm aware of, took pictures of the kids on TAKMBD (Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day) actually riding on their ride with Harlan (I think he was with them). I too pics of the kids AFTER their ride and I took their group shot and lots of other shots of them, but none during the ride. It never crossed my mind.

Of course, I DETEST riding at Lake Crabtree...but I'd have done it for the kids.

Damn it. That sucks.

Woohoo!!! 9.5 miles baby

Yep - you read that right! I did a 9.5 mile endurance ride at the gym. And God...I HATE riding at the gym...but I made myself do it. You might wonder why I call it an endurance ride. Well...I did it as if I were riding a single speed (SS) bike. SS bikes have one gear...no matter whether you are going downhill, uphill or on a flat. This particular ride was a long, consistent climb starting about 1/4 of the way in. Before that, there were flats and a couple steeps.

After I was done, I picked J (my 4 year old) up from the child care center at the gym and we went and hung at a playground for a while. It was so nice to be outside and watch my kid have a good time.

Tomorrow, God willing, I ride at Harris with Maggie. I think I already said we are going to do beginner and intermediate trails...and if I have steam, I'll do a bit of the advanced if she wants to.

I have a goal, I want to lose 3 pounds by next week sometime. I've lost about 9 pounds so far and a good number of inches...but I definitely want to lose more.

Indoor Riding

No...I don't mean *that* kind of indoor riding, you pervs...though I do enj..never mind. I'm talking about the kind where you get on a bike, slap on your headphones, crank the music up and pedal until you want to die. I guess that's outdoor biking too - haha!

I went to the gym this morning and did 5 miles on the indoor cycle. B-O-R-I-N-G. Especially since I knew what a freakin' gorgeous day it was outside. I'd so much rather be rolling over dirt, roots, bridges, water...whatever...than pedaling to get nowhere. BUT, I need to work on my endurance and this is a good way to do it. I picked a medium intensity route and did 5 out of almost 7 miles. I need to work back up to the 10 mile rides I used to do. And I will...in a week or 2 I'll be hittin' 10 and feelin' fine. I can ride outdoors only 2 days a week currently as that's when the stinker (4 yr old) is in preschool. He may be going 3 days a week soon, if we can swing it financially...so we'll see. I'd love to have another day to ride outdoors.

Random thought: My husband has said to me on a couple of occasions that I should go out on the roads in our neighborhood and just "ride hard" and that I will get the same high as I do when I go out on the trails. He is SO WRONG. I could ride til I die out on the roads and never feel as good as I do rolling over stuff. I guess it's the adrenaline rush I get from doing over things most people would avoid. And that stuff keeps getting bigger.

OMFG...my left lip hurts?

Oh for crying the fuck out loud...you HAVE to read that. (Note: click the title of this entry to read). And you want to know the sad thing? I was searching to find the difference between a bushing and a bearing and how one or the other affects the mountain bike, and I came across THAT. Scary.

I found it really funny...her describing her bumpy left "lower" lip. Of course, I'm an evil Fat Chick Biker. I don't typically laugh at other people's misfortune, but I also don't go to Yahoo Answers telling people that my left lip hurts when I pee on it...um, or that it has bumps on it as compared to the right "lower" lip. And really people, can she not use the proper terminology? L-A-B-I-A. Or I could go to Urban Dictionary and come up with some really interesting things to call them. Oh...that could be fun! A field trip! :D

Ok...it's also 4am...I got woken up by my older kid telling me the younger one was crying. Now there's a sleeping 4 year old ON MY SIDE OF THE BED and nowhere for me to sleep. Damn it. :P 's'alright....my baby can have my bed. Hubs will be up soon and I'll just go to sleep in his warmed up spot. Hehe....

ETA (8:19am): Just so you know, karma paid me back for being mean to the bumpy-left-lower-lip-girl. My kid who was sleeping in bed with me peed outside his pullup, so I awoke in a nice spot of pee. What a way to wake up. Soaked with piss. Gotta love it. No...really.

So I Want to Learn About Tires

Yes, yes it's true...I know nothing about mtn bike tires.

Well, except that mine make me want to do dirty things...all those lovely knobs. KIDDING!

I run Kenda Nevegal 2.1s on my bike...listen to me "I run." What-the-fuck-ever *eyeroll* Fat Chick Biker! Haha...you run them b/c that's what came on the bike. HOWEVER! When I took my bike for a spin in the parking lot the day I bought him (yes...his name is Gustav and I looked under his downtube to see what he was sportin'), the very first thing I noticed were his tires. At the store I was told they were the 2.3s, but I looked closely one day and noticed they are 2.1s. I was slightly disappointed, going with the whole "bigger is better" idea (hey - it's worked for me so far :P), but I'm thinking at this point in my riding, that .2 really isn't going to make a whole shitload of difference.

Ok...so...went riding with K and E a week or so ago and E is looking at my tires and announces that he runs the same tires as mine, only TUBELESS. That's right children...TUBELESS tires. I'd heard of them...heard the RUMORS ...just never actually seen them in the, um...rubber.

I have a friend, who we will call "friend" hahaha, who is a tire whore. Or so he purports. I need to pick his brain about why he likes certain tires and not others.

I like learning...and will come back in a future post and have a tire class for you. Because that's just the kind of nice Fat Chick Biker I am. :)

Today was a GOOD day

Today my friend Maggie and I rode Harris. She's great - we ride for a bit, then "rest" and talk. :)

We started at the Cypress Shelter and rode half of the beginner trail then hit the intermediate trail. What was so exciting to me was that I was riding long sections of the intermediate trail without having to get off Gustav! It was great! Of course there were parts that I still couldn't ride, so I walked them, but it was no big deal. Then we finished up on the intermediate trail and hit the other side of the beginner trail...then did the whole beginner trail again. There are like 2 parts of the beginner trail that I can't do...I think it's mental, to be honest.

So here's the cool thing - I had totally sworn off the intermediate trail saying there was no way in hell I could ride it...too many roots, too many bridges, etc...

So we ended up with about 2.5 miles, I think. And I thought we'd done the whole intermediate trail. WRONG! I was showing hubs the map of Harris: and starting adding up the mileage in my head and realized there was no way in hell we'd done the entire intermediate trail! See, there's a fork on the trail where you either go right and continue on the intermediate trail to a second loop (the top loop in yellow on the map) or you turn left and close the first loop (the bottom loop in yellow on the map) and end back up at the beginner trail. I thought if we turned right, we'd be heading toward the advanced trail...which of course we would, but we wouldn't be ON it...I'm a MO-RON! Say it with me children...MO-RON!

Anyway, a good time was had by all, and we'll be back out there Thursday to ride the WHOLE intermediate trail. :P

All the old shit

If you want to read the old shit, click that link you just passed.

Now I'm doing this blog b/c I like the url better. I know, I know...I'm a little obsessive about shit. Get over it. Or go buy this...cuz if you can't get over it, maybe you need help too.

Me? I'll be busy playing with my new or reading . So go away...lemme alone. I'm obsessing.