Biking biking biking

I've been biking a lot this week. Well, a lot for me. I did a 7.6 mile ride this morning and I am spent. Biking everyday, when you aren't used to it, really takes it out of you. But I feel good. Isn't that weird? Tired, but good.

I can tell that my legs are getting stronger...I am able to do hills a bit faster than I usually can.

I really need to figure out what to eat prior and after riding. I have to wonder if that is a part of my energy issues both on the ride and after.

Anyone got suggestions?

Well it's about damn time

Fer reals peeps. I finally got my big ass out on my bike today. 5 miles. Mile 1 was hard, mile 2 better, miles 3 and 4 even better and mile 5 was back to hard cuz I was getting tired.

BUT...it needed to be done. And hopefully I will get out and ride more often. I can feel the weight creeping up, and god knows I don't need anymore of that. I've got enough, thank you very much.

So yay for me for getting out there and doing it, despite the chilly weather this morning. :D

Female Riders! Your Chance to Help by Riding

If you don't know about this ride, it's time for you to check it out...it's called le Tour de Femme.

Here's some info about it from the website.

I'm gonna do my best to be out taking awesome and inspiring photos of these ladies giving their time and money to do this ride.

If you haven't signed up already, do it now!

The Ride
le Tour de Femme is a women's only full and half metric century bicycle ride scheduled for October 10, 2009 in Cary, North Carolina. le Tour de Femme is presented this year by Grab My Wheel to Benefit the LAnce Armstrong Foundation and the local Angel Fund of Rex Hospital.
The Event
The mission of our all women's ride is to raise community awareness and funding for Cancer Research and Cancer Survivorship programs. The ride is open to all female cyclist, at all skill levels, to participate in a ride of 15 miles, 31.2 miles or 62.4 miles in length. The post-ride celebration will allow or participants to celebrate their accomplishments while enjoying refreshments and intermingling with one another and sponsors.
Packet Pickup
Packet Pick up will start at 4:00pm this Friday at Cycling Spoken Here in Cary. Packet pick up will go until 10:30pm that night and reopen the following morning at 7:30am.

Made myself do it...and I'm glad

I'm not feeling great this morning. Thought I was getting sick yesterday, but had a race to shoot and ended up feeling ok throughout the shoot. Got home, wound down, started feeling not so great, but not horrible.

Woke up this morning coughing and sniffling but decided I was gonna go for a bike ride. The weather is GORGEOUS and I need to get back on the bike. I'm sooo huge...well, huger than normal...and I feel it. That's what makes it worse for me.

So I hopped on the bike, bout hacked up a lung on the first mile. Had to stop and adjust my seat angle (yay multitool!) cuz my womanly parts were screaming, and off I went. Just did 5 miles, but I think that's what I'm gonna keep with until I can do it without feeling winded.

Today was better than a couple weeks ago. I plumped up the back tire to about 35psi, left the front where it was (probably 32psi or so) and everything felt good. I did drink 2 week old water out of the camelbak. :shrugs: It didn't taste bad. :O

Overall it was a good ride and I'm glad I did it regardless of being sick. Sometimes you just gotta do shit. Yanno?

Shit.

I haven't ridden in over a month...I've barely looked at the bike. I've been so busy doing other things - jewelry, house, kids, etc - that the bike took a back burner position.

I decided this morning I would ride. Trails at Harris are closed due to wet conditions, so around the neighborhood I went. Fuckin' 2 miles before I was toast. TWO FUCKING MILES! I guess I shouldn't expect to be able to ride a normal 10 mile ride if I haven't ridden in over a month...but 2 miles? Jesus. That's just embarrassing.

And the funny part is that it wasn't my legs that made me quit. They were fine and probably could have gone another few miles. It was the pain in my side that made me stop.

Oh well...I'll just have to get back to that level by riding more. I can do it...and even though this ride was pretty much not fun, on some level it was still enjoyable.

Happy Kid

Hubs took the day off to put up the pool, and we were hoping to take him on his first trail ride at Harris...but it was closed due to wet conditions (as was Crabtree). So we decided to go ride the American Tobacco Trail again. He'd ridden it before, but not on the new bike. Since our older son was home (he's still tracked out from year round school), we took him too. He LOVES to ride.

Hubs and I figured it'd be a fairly short ride since M was coming with us, and we were right. We stopped probably 6 times for one thing or another, but all told, we rode 4 miles. I am SO PROUD of my kid for riding that far! He has never ridden more than a couple miles, so this is his personal best. He even rode almost all the way up the hill back to the parking lot (we parked at the closer trailhead...not usually where I park)! He got frustrated at the end because it was raining and he was tired and couldn't make it all the way up the hill, but I headed that tantrum off by telling him how awesome it was that he had ridden that far and what a proud mommy I was. Then...

...he told us about the frog he put in his pack. He was all excited about the baby frogs that were ALL OVER the place and picked some up during our various stops along the ride. Apparently he found a big frog and slipped it into the outside pocket of his hydration pack...once we found out about it, we made him let the frog go. It was a cool frog, though. :D Boys...

And on a more personal note, I rode up the damn hill...go me!

It was a good ride. Hubs got to wear his new biking shoes and clipped in for the whole ride. He liked it. Kid did a long ride. I got out and rode. All good things.

Check me out!

10.1 miles today! 62 minutes. 9.76mph

Aren't you proud of me? 33.8 miles in the past 6 days.

I would have gone further, but the sun was starting to set and I don't trust the Fuquay-Varinians to see me. Hell, I almost got hit by a fucking semi standing at the corner of Ennis and Main. And I was OFF MY BIKE to cross the road!

Mother's Day

It was a nice Mother's Day...I got to sleep in until 10:30 this morning. I've been sleeping A LOT since we got back from vacation. Guess my internal clock is all screwy or something.

Took a shower and the four of us went to TGI Friday's for lunch. I was STUFFED. They gave all moms a free half brownie/ice cream or cupcake. I had the brownie and it was GOOD. I think brownie/ice cream has to be one of my favorite desserts.

Then we went to the bike shop in Apex...The Bicycle Chain...so hubs could try out a Gary Fisher bike (and I scored some black spoke nipples!). We're debating whether to get him a mountain bike. Right now he has my Dad's 20 year old Diamondback...and for what he uses it for, it's fine. But the geometry is all wrong for him. He can ride my GT Avalanche, and likes it, so we went to Performance last week and tried out the 09 model. He likes it a lot - and the price is right...a little over $400. The components aren't top notch, obviously, but it's not like he's gonna be out there catching air, hitting rocks, etc. If he gets to that point, we can upgrade. But I told him that he HAD to try other bikes before he decided on the GT, because you never know if you don't try. So like I said, today he tried out the GF..can't remember what model..and said it didn't feel much different from the GT. Then we went to Cycling Spoken Here and had a great time talking to Lucas. Hubs tried out a Trek 4300 and a GF Wahoo. He liked both. I was surprised that he liked them because they ride way more upright than my GT...when I was trying bikes out, I specifically remember trying out the Trek and thinking it felt like a cruiser. I like the feeling of leaning over my bike and having it under me as opposed to having my arms extended so far and my back straighter. But as with everything, it's totally personal preference. I do remember the GF wasn't as tall feeling as the Trek.

The kids started getting squirrely, so we came home after that. I decided I was going to take a bike ride - a longer one than usual. Just felt like it. So I got out and did the first 3 miles that are always the hardest. After that I just kept pedaling wherever I felt like going...and ended up having the most wonderful ride on a gorgeous day - smelling the honeysuckle and feeling the sun on my face. I logged 13.1 miles in a about 87 minutes - that's an average of 9 mph - way faster than usual. So I'm willing to entertain the idea of leaving the increased pressure in my tires from when hubs rode my bike and didn't release all the pressure the other day.

It's been a pretty nice day.

Sometimes you have to prove things to yourself

and today was one of those days for me. I haven't ridden any length worth mentioning since April 7...today is April 26. Something is wrong with the air conditioning in the house and it's like 87+ degrees outside, thus hot in the house...and moods were flaring around here. So I took that as a sign to get my big ass out of the ass and on a ride. I was going to do my normal 8+ mile ride around Fuquay, but really really wanted to see if I could do 10. I knew if I challenged myself I could probably do it.

I got around Fuquay and back to my neighborhood with no problem - in fact, I purposely passed my street entrance and went to the neighborhood behind mine because I wanted those extra miles. I got to 8.6 and thought I was gonna fall off my bike. So I stopped, drank some water (I drank close to 100oz of water on my ride today - it was HOT and I was sweating like the cow I am), and rested for a couple minutes, then went on my way. 8/10 of a mile later, I was telling myself that "I can't do this...I really can't do this"...then it was "shut up and ride bitch! You can do this!" So I rode up the hill toward my house...another 1/10 of a mile and really really considered giving up. But I didn't. Instead, I rode around at a nice pace for the last 7/10 of a mile and was thrilled to see TEN MILES pop up on my cyclometer.

I rode for over an hour...it may not sound like much to some, but for me, it's a marker in my riding showing that I CAN ride 10 miles - and it wasn't all flat.

I'm proud of myself. And fucking sweating my ass off!

On a side note, I've got a good farmer's tan going and some really cool tan lines from my Keens on my feet. Pictures coming soon. :P

20 miles since Saturday

That is a new record for me! HEHEEEEE! I just got back from a 7.6 mile ride around Fuquay doing a couple errands. I can't believe I did it, though. The wind was N-A-S-T-Y. So much so that I almost turned back after a couple miles. But I didn't. Go me!

I had to laugh though. One my errands was to stop at Walgreen's to pick up my son's prescriptions that I had dropped off earlier this morning. So I roll up on my bike, pink jacket, black pants and black camelbak on (and blue helmet, OF COURSE!) and this woman in the other pick up lane is staring at me with her mouth slightly agape. I said hi to her and went about my business. I'll be damned if I was leaving my bike outside the store where anyone could walk away with him while I picked up meds. I'm a vehicle too, so I figured why not use the pick up window? :D

Off to make reservations now for the upcoming trip to NM/Moab. No biking involved, though I did think to myself this morning that it will probably be a good idea to pack my Camelbak to hike around with, instead of trying to carry bottled water with me. I'll make hubs carry it since I'll have my camera with me. :D

Nice weekend

Hubs and the kids went to the grandparents yesterday a couple hours away and I stayed home thinking I was going to get stuff done around the house...NOT! But I did have a nice relaxing evening messaging with a friend and reading til around 2am. Edited some photos too. Katherine and I thought we were going to get to ride yesterday, but she ended up doing stuff and I ended up being lazy. Around 3 I decided to ride up to Blockbuster and get a movie for myself. I got Quantum of Solace, the newest James Bond movie. I started watching it last night, but couldn't get into it. I got up to Blockbuster and Kirsten called, so I sat on the sidewalk in front of Blockbuster in the beautiful sunlight talking to her for 1/2 hour. Then I rode home. All told it was about 4.5 miles...and a really nice, easy ride.

Since I went to bed so late last night, I slept in today...til 11am! I thought for sure today I'd paint the living room, but I didn't...instead I read, made a necklace (which took about an hour - I worked hard on that one, stretching my beading and wire skills) and watched the rest of my movie. Hubs and the kids got home around 3 and I futzed around for a little while longer, then decided to take a ride around town. I figured the trails wouldn't be open anyway since we've gotten so much rain and I didn't feel like driving over there anyway. So I rode around Fuquay for about an hour, did 8 miles. It was a GREAT ride. I pushed through the fatigue that always occurs after a few miles and really pushed myself...the head wind was HORRID and became a cross wind at times, but I didn't give up. I was having too much fun. It's amazing how sunlight and a beautiful day can energize you. I'm proud of myself - I'm getting faster. Here's my proof:

All in all, a nice weekend for me. :)

Well.....

...I rode a couple miles yesterday. Not a smart idea, most likely. My foot hurt for the rest of the day and that tetanus shot has kicked my ass. My arm is sore, hot and itchy at the site of the injection and I have had one bitch of a headache for a couple days, as well as feeling run down and tired. I NEVER take OTC painkillers and I took Tylenol TWICE yesterday...and it barely touched the pain in my arm.

Absolutely bizarre, if you want to know my opinion about this reaction to the shot. Course, I react strangely to most meds....so I shouldn't be all that surprised.

Nailed My Foot & Update on J

Literally. I kicked my foot into a nail that was sticking up from the board on our back deck yesterday morning. Just fucking great. I wanted to ride yesterday since I didn't get to ride Saturday (cuz I was way tired from walking around - and having fun, mind you - I'm not complaining about that - at the trail workday). Yep...I took my cup of coffee out to enjoy the beautiful weather and ended up bleeding. Not pretty.

Today we had an appt to get J's cast on at 9:15am. Well...after being called back and 9:30am and not seeing the Dr. until 10:30am, at which point we were told he didn't have time to do the cast b/c they only do casts in the middle or at the end of the day, we left. Thank GOD my Mom came...

I ended up getting an appt with my doctor to look at my foot b/c my Mom said she really thought I needed a tetanus shot. Not only did I get a Tdap (Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis) shot, but antibiotics as well. I have a low grade fever and the site of the wound was really painful to the touch. I guess all that can equal infection? In any case, hopefully keeping it clean and taking the abx will keep it from getting infected.

My Mom took J back to the ortho at noon, while I went to another appt. She said they did 4 xrays and everything looked like it was healing well. When they took the half cast off and the ace bandage, his arm was all bruised at the site of the fracture. :( Poor baby. But she said J did a really good job getting the cast on. The people doing it said he was "perfect." He picked BRIGHT orange. I will post a pic when I get one. He seems no worse for the wear, which is great.

I am going to try to ride tomorrow. Hopefully my foot will handle it ok. Right now I have a sterile pad folded into fourths with a bandaid over it and it's pretty cushy. But I'll test it out and see how it feels later tonight.

Enjoy it

Makes me want to go out and ride like a maniac. :)

From Big Bikes Blog

"Anyway.
If you're new to the sport, just go ride your bike. Ride your bike with faster people. Get hurt. Go too hard. Bonk. Find your limits. Next time you're up against them, ignore the flashing red lights. Shatter yourself. Ride home in your granny gear - on flat ground, then pull a chair into your cupboard and eat until you feel sick. Let your fitness come up as your skills increase. Buy new equipment as your break it. Don't upgrade it until you earn it. Look like an idiot, a barney, a Fred and then rock the shit!

Enjoy the act. When I was kid my buddy would say "Hey, you wanna go ride bikes after school". That's what we'd do, ride around the neighborhood on our Sears bought Columbia Apaches with their banana seats and chopper bars, no plan whatsoever. Jamming our toes in-between our tires and our fork crowns to do ghetto endos, sometimes getting it stuck, landing on our lips with our foot still wedged in there, our legs twisted at obscene angles. We'd do skids. We'd put a board on a chunk of telephone pole and jump over a trash can. We'd eat shit, we'd get hurt, it was funner than hell.

I'm trying to get myself stoked as much as anyone. I am guilty of losing focus of the fun. Focus. Not on nutrition, abstaining from beer, or the numbers. Focus on the fun. On the act.

Let's go ride bikes. "