Beautiful sunset from a few weeks ago.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Fall
Fall seems to officially be here now and I'm having a hard time adjusting to the colder, shorter days. I am so much less motivated to ride my bike in weather like this, yet it always seems more rewarding than being active on a beautiful day. Something about being the only one brave enough (or stupid enough) to go out in miserable weather makes me feel good about doing it.
I'm going to New Mexico in December to take a week-long course on the personal chef industry. I think it will be a really useful and interesting class, which should help me in any facet of the culinary field.
Heading to Walla Walla this weekend for some more 'cross fun. Perhaps we'll get to taste a little wine also.
I'm going to New Mexico in December to take a week-long course on the personal chef industry. I think it will be a really useful and interesting class, which should help me in any facet of the culinary field.
Heading to Walla Walla this weekend for some more 'cross fun. Perhaps we'll get to taste a little wine also.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Stupid Human
I am currently dog and cat sitting for my parents who are enjoying themselves on the Italian Riviera. I sprung Gretel, the miniature Schnauzer, from the vet's yesterday and will be taking her back later today; hopefully it broke up the monotony of cage life a little bit. Blueberry, the 19 year old cat, is also quite glad to have company, though she would surely be happier to have Gretel still in the kennel. Blue was frankly thrilled when all of the other Beall pets died, leaving the house and humans all to her, so she really is not happy when she has to share with the young, wild pup.
I was looking forward to a lazy evening here last night, so I threw on some PJs and headed out in the garage to scope out the wine and food. I selected a couple things and headed back in, only to find that the door was locked. Normally, the door connecting the garage and house is never locked since people are frequently going between the two, so I had not even thought about it when I closed it behind me. And, of course, I had locked the front door and had no shoes on. My car keys and phone were also inside. Great. I tried to open the front door by inserting cardboard between the door and frame, but no luck with that.
I decided that the cat door on the locked door would be my only hope, so I proceeded to lie on my back with my arm through the cat door (and Gretel whining on the other side) and use numerous objects to try to turn the nob on the other side: a hammer, a mallet, a running shoe, a sock, pliers, bungee cords. After numerous failed attempts, I was pretty frustrated, but still found it amusing when I looked up to see a deer just outside the garage, watching me flail about on my back in my apple print pajamas and stocking feet. He was literally fifteen feet from me, just watching me, and probably thinking... "stupid human."
As a last attempt, I removed the cat door (thank goodness I was in a garage with a bunch of tools, not that I know how to use 98% of them), hoping it would give my short arm just enough leverage to turn the nob. My fingertips barely brushed it, but after a few minutes of trying, I was able to get it to turn. Thank God. It would have been so embarassing to have to call someone.
Ted and I are going to Seattle again this weekend for another cyclocross race. Someone told me last weekend that I didn't look like I was having fun while racing; after watching a few other races, I realized that no one looks like they are having fun while doing cyclocross.
I was looking forward to a lazy evening here last night, so I threw on some PJs and headed out in the garage to scope out the wine and food. I selected a couple things and headed back in, only to find that the door was locked. Normally, the door connecting the garage and house is never locked since people are frequently going between the two, so I had not even thought about it when I closed it behind me. And, of course, I had locked the front door and had no shoes on. My car keys and phone were also inside. Great. I tried to open the front door by inserting cardboard between the door and frame, but no luck with that.
I decided that the cat door on the locked door would be my only hope, so I proceeded to lie on my back with my arm through the cat door (and Gretel whining on the other side) and use numerous objects to try to turn the nob on the other side: a hammer, a mallet, a running shoe, a sock, pliers, bungee cords. After numerous failed attempts, I was pretty frustrated, but still found it amusing when I looked up to see a deer just outside the garage, watching me flail about on my back in my apple print pajamas and stocking feet. He was literally fifteen feet from me, just watching me, and probably thinking... "stupid human."
As a last attempt, I removed the cat door (thank goodness I was in a garage with a bunch of tools, not that I know how to use 98% of them), hoping it would give my short arm just enough leverage to turn the nob. My fingertips barely brushed it, but after a few minutes of trying, I was able to get it to turn. Thank God. It would have been so embarassing to have to call someone.
Ted and I are going to Seattle again this weekend for another cyclocross race. Someone told me last weekend that I didn't look like I was having fun while racing; after watching a few other races, I realized that no one looks like they are having fun while doing cyclocross.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Cyclocross
My first cyclocross race of 2006 is officially under my belt. I was definitely a little rough around the edges and had my first experience racing with the A women, finishing at the tail end. I had a good time and absolutely got a fantastic workout. Ted's experience was pretty much on par with mine. The amazing thing was how many people showed up - last I heard was around 500! I suppose the sunny skies and mid-70 temperature contributed to that; we'll see how many people show up once it's raining, snowing, muddy, and 40.
We got to visit with Ted's family over the weekend too, so that was fun. We had some good food, watched Ted's niece play soccer, and just relaxed. Heading over that way again this coming weekend. The kitties sure hate it when we leave - Shamus likes to leave presents for Ted - about a foot from his litter box.
We got to visit with Ted's family over the weekend too, so that was fun. We had some good food, watched Ted's niece play soccer, and just relaxed. Heading over that way again this coming weekend. The kitties sure hate it when we leave - Shamus likes to leave presents for Ted - about a foot from his litter box.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Lessons from Bermuda
Bermuda was fun while it lasted. Thanks to Ms. Florence and her anticipated 80+mph winds, I had two less days in Bermuda than expected. Much more a vacation than a bike race, there was a lot of time spent on the beach and out on the town, which was good for me since I had not raced in well over a month and wasn't exactly at my peak of fitness. Thank goodness I had absolutely no expectations for the actual racing part of the trip or I would have been extremely disappointed.
The opening reception for the race was held at the headquarters of Bacardi International and featured an open bar. By the end of the night, it was obvious that skinny cyclists who do not normally drink much should not be allowed near an open bar.
Lesson # 1 from Bermuda: Do not tell a Bermudian bartender that the Dark and Stormy he made for you (a mixture of rum and ginger beer and Bermuda's national drink) does "not look very dark," unless you want your drink to taste solely of dark rum. The featured quote was from my teammate Gina and led to us both watering down our drinks, and later feeding them to the lawn.
Riding our bikes around the island was fun, though it was challenging to remember to ride on the left side of the road. Plus, I don't think I have ever sweated as much as I did there; it was so humid. It was a nice way to get around, though, and the beach was an easy ride from our host house. The water was so blue and clear. Unfortunately, I never actually remembered to take my snorkel and mask to the beach; I remembered to take them to Bermuda, but then never remembered to use them while there.
Lesson # 2 from Bermuda: Do not ride your bike home in your bikini unless you want to be pulled over for "indecency." We were riding our bikes home from the beach when two female police officers told us we needed to cover our bottom halves because it "caused the men to honk." In retrospect, we did get a lot of honks, and even some applause, but none of us thought anything of it. Apparently, you can wear your bikini top off of the beach, but you must have your bottom half covered.
We originally planned to just get around the island by bike, and occasionally by bus. Scooter rentals are available all over the island and seem to be the way most people get around in Bermuda (not surprising since gas is nearly $7/gallon). We decided we would rent three scooters, putting two of us on each one, so Eric and I walked down the hill from our house to the scooter shop. Jenn and Meg had already picked up their scooter, so they were all set.
We were given our helmets, followed by a brief lesson on how to ride the scooter. Eric did his test ride up the hill by our house, and then it was my turn. I immediately gave the scooter too much throttle and found myself heading straight for a wall. The guy was yelling at me to use my brakes, which I figured out just in time. The guy shook his head at me and gave me a repeat lesson. I looked at Eric and said, "This may not be a good idea. Maybe Gina should drive it instead." He told me I would be fine, so off I went up the hill on my test ride.
I got to the top of the hill and stopped to turn around. I had been instructed to just push myself around with my feet, rather than actually trying to ride the scooter around (I think I had scared the man a bit). I put my feet down and suddenly the scooter was out from under me, but I was still holding on. I tried to grab the brake, thinking the right hand was the brake (WRONG!), and was totally out of control. Finally, I managed to grab the brake, which caused the scooter and me to spin around in circles together before crashing right in the middle of the street in front of our host house. We went down hard. I was very frazzled and ran into our host house to get Jenn to ride the scooter back down to the shop for me. In my haste, I had not only left the scooter lying on its side in the middle of the street, but had even left it running! Needless to say, that was the end of my scooter riding. I ended up with a nasty bruise on my right thigh and a scratched elbow. Oh, and just maybe I had a little bit of a bruised ego.
Lesson # 3 from Bermuda: If you nearly drive your scooter into a wall, it is time to call it quits. Throttle takes practice.
We got word that the last two stages of the race would be cancelled, and that we needed to make arrangements to change our flights. Fortunately, we were all able to change our flights to the following day (Saturday), which ended up being the last day to fly out before the hurricane hit. Everyone went out Friday night and had a good time... and probably a little too much to drink. I managed to end up having a local guy follow me around all evening, which got really old. Even after several people told him I was not interested and that he should leave me alone, he followed us down the street to a different bar.
Lesson # 4 from Bermuda: If someone is creepy and will not leave you alone, do not make efforts to be polite and kind. Straight-up tell the person to get away from you.
I knew it was going to be tight to swim with the dolphins and make my flight on-time on Saturday. Jenn was nice enough to drive me on her scooter to the end of the island where the dolphins are kept. They are kept inside the maritime museum, which is really interesting. I wish I would have had more time to walk around there.
Swimming with the dolphins was a wonderful experience. I lucked out with being the only person in my session, whereas the next session had ~15 people. I got the full half hour to myself, which meant that I got to interact with them a great deal. They are fascinating, adorable, intelligent creatures. As my last experience in Bermuda, I could not have asked for a better one.
The opening reception for the race was held at the headquarters of Bacardi International and featured an open bar. By the end of the night, it was obvious that skinny cyclists who do not normally drink much should not be allowed near an open bar.
Lesson # 1 from Bermuda: Do not tell a Bermudian bartender that the Dark and Stormy he made for you (a mixture of rum and ginger beer and Bermuda's national drink) does "not look very dark," unless you want your drink to taste solely of dark rum. The featured quote was from my teammate Gina and led to us both watering down our drinks, and later feeding them to the lawn.
Riding our bikes around the island was fun, though it was challenging to remember to ride on the left side of the road. Plus, I don't think I have ever sweated as much as I did there; it was so humid. It was a nice way to get around, though, and the beach was an easy ride from our host house. The water was so blue and clear. Unfortunately, I never actually remembered to take my snorkel and mask to the beach; I remembered to take them to Bermuda, but then never remembered to use them while there.
Lesson # 2 from Bermuda: Do not ride your bike home in your bikini unless you want to be pulled over for "indecency." We were riding our bikes home from the beach when two female police officers told us we needed to cover our bottom halves because it "caused the men to honk." In retrospect, we did get a lot of honks, and even some applause, but none of us thought anything of it. Apparently, you can wear your bikini top off of the beach, but you must have your bottom half covered.
We originally planned to just get around the island by bike, and occasionally by bus. Scooter rentals are available all over the island and seem to be the way most people get around in Bermuda (not surprising since gas is nearly $7/gallon). We decided we would rent three scooters, putting two of us on each one, so Eric and I walked down the hill from our house to the scooter shop. Jenn and Meg had already picked up their scooter, so they were all set.
We were given our helmets, followed by a brief lesson on how to ride the scooter. Eric did his test ride up the hill by our house, and then it was my turn. I immediately gave the scooter too much throttle and found myself heading straight for a wall. The guy was yelling at me to use my brakes, which I figured out just in time. The guy shook his head at me and gave me a repeat lesson. I looked at Eric and said, "This may not be a good idea. Maybe Gina should drive it instead." He told me I would be fine, so off I went up the hill on my test ride.
I got to the top of the hill and stopped to turn around. I had been instructed to just push myself around with my feet, rather than actually trying to ride the scooter around (I think I had scared the man a bit). I put my feet down and suddenly the scooter was out from under me, but I was still holding on. I tried to grab the brake, thinking the right hand was the brake (WRONG!), and was totally out of control. Finally, I managed to grab the brake, which caused the scooter and me to spin around in circles together before crashing right in the middle of the street in front of our host house. We went down hard. I was very frazzled and ran into our host house to get Jenn to ride the scooter back down to the shop for me. In my haste, I had not only left the scooter lying on its side in the middle of the street, but had even left it running! Needless to say, that was the end of my scooter riding. I ended up with a nasty bruise on my right thigh and a scratched elbow. Oh, and just maybe I had a little bit of a bruised ego.
Lesson # 3 from Bermuda: If you nearly drive your scooter into a wall, it is time to call it quits. Throttle takes practice.
We got word that the last two stages of the race would be cancelled, and that we needed to make arrangements to change our flights. Fortunately, we were all able to change our flights to the following day (Saturday), which ended up being the last day to fly out before the hurricane hit. Everyone went out Friday night and had a good time... and probably a little too much to drink. I managed to end up having a local guy follow me around all evening, which got really old. Even after several people told him I was not interested and that he should leave me alone, he followed us down the street to a different bar.
Lesson # 4 from Bermuda: If someone is creepy and will not leave you alone, do not make efforts to be polite and kind. Straight-up tell the person to get away from you.
I knew it was going to be tight to swim with the dolphins and make my flight on-time on Saturday. Jenn was nice enough to drive me on her scooter to the end of the island where the dolphins are kept. They are kept inside the maritime museum, which is really interesting. I wish I would have had more time to walk around there.
Swimming with the dolphins was a wonderful experience. I lucked out with being the only person in my session, whereas the next session had ~15 people. I got the full half hour to myself, which meant that I got to interact with them a great deal. They are fascinating, adorable, intelligent creatures. As my last experience in Bermuda, I could not have asked for a better one.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Vote for Pazza
Pazza is taking part in the "Ultimate Mortal Pet Combat" and she will win. Vote for her here:http://www.thatantonguy.com/blog/
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Back from Bermuda
Back from Bermuda. Unfortunately, Hurricane Florence cut my trip a couple days short. Bummer, but I'm glad I'm not stuck there. I have yet to get all my photos back (a full Bermuda report will follow with those), but I have a few to share. I got to do something I have always wanted to do - swim with dolphins. It went by way too quickly, but it was very cool. Dolphins are so cute and intelligent. They're really amazing creatures.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
When all else fails, RUN!!!
Ted and I decided to do some cross practice last evening, so we headed to the local high school, which has lots of fields and gravel - perfect for a simulated cross race. We set up a course and each headed out to practice. Eventually, we ended up back together again. I led down a short, relatively steep descent, and then headed up a short hill. Suddenly, I had these bad stinging sensations on my ankle and back, and did not know what was going on. Ted yelled at me to keep going, but I had lost my momentum by that point. As he rode past me, I could see wasps following him, and simultaneously felt more stings everywhere.
I dropped my bike and chased after Ted on foot, still getting more stings. You know in cartoons how they show bees chasing characters? Yeah, they really do that; they chased us for a couple blocks.
Ted grabbed the car, his winter coat, and some jeans, and picked my bike up from where I had dropped it. All in all, I have at least 10 stings, while Ted got the better end of the deal with only (!) about 5. Not fun. The worst part is the itching I have now. I popped a couple Benadryl this morning after spending much of last night tossing and turning from the itch.
The lesson from this? Keep moving (like Ted did) when bees/wasps are on your tail. Do not stop like I did because they will really get you. Nasty buggers!
I dropped my bike and chased after Ted on foot, still getting more stings. You know in cartoons how they show bees chasing characters? Yeah, they really do that; they chased us for a couple blocks.
Ted grabbed the car, his winter coat, and some jeans, and picked my bike up from where I had dropped it. All in all, I have at least 10 stings, while Ted got the better end of the deal with only (!) about 5. Not fun. The worst part is the itching I have now. I popped a couple Benadryl this morning after spending much of last night tossing and turning from the itch.
The lesson from this? Keep moving (like Ted did) when bees/wasps are on your tail. Do not stop like I did because they will really get you. Nasty buggers!
Friday, September 01, 2006
Getting older
Lots to do in the next few days before I head to Bermuda on Monday. My trip to Bermuda is going to be awfully long, as I fly to Salt Lake City and have a 9 hour layover there before taking the redeye to Newark, and then on to Bermuda. I decided today to get a hotel room in Salt Lake City to help pass the time. At least I'll be able to watch a movie or take a nap vs. sitting in a terminal all afternoon/evening. On the plus side, my trip home will be much easier with only small layovers.
I'm having puppy cravings again. I should say that I always crave a puppy, but that it gets more intense from time to time. Right now I covet every puppy I see walking down the street! To make it worse, I torture myself by looking at the available shelter puppies online - I always find at least three I cannot live without.
I can tell I'm getting older because I can no longer do a hard physical effort without a pretty decent warmup. Last night I attempted to do a time trial with only 0.4 miles of warmup. Didn't work so well. Just a few years ago, people older than myself would insist that they had to warm up before a hard effort, which I didn't really understand; now I do. Scary.
I'm having puppy cravings again. I should say that I always crave a puppy, but that it gets more intense from time to time. Right now I covet every puppy I see walking down the street! To make it worse, I torture myself by looking at the available shelter puppies online - I always find at least three I cannot live without.
I can tell I'm getting older because I can no longer do a hard physical effort without a pretty decent warmup. Last night I attempted to do a time trial with only 0.4 miles of warmup. Didn't work so well. Just a few years ago, people older than myself would insist that they had to warm up before a hard effort, which I didn't really understand; now I do. Scary.
Friday, August 25, 2006
Congrats to Rusty
Congrats to my big brother, Rusty, who is officially done with his pilot training today. He is now an official employee of Pinnacle Airline. It only took him nearly 28 years to get his first "real" job. Tee-hee. Just teasing!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Not much
Not a whole lot has been going on lately. It has actually been kind of nice to have a couple weekends without travel, though I'm sure I'll get "itchy feet" again before I know it. Staying home has given us the opportunity to do some things we don't do all that often - watch movies, eat at local restaurants, do local group rides, and cook. Basically, I've kind of been lazy lately.
This weekend we'll be going to a wedding, and possibly going out to a few bars with our friend, Ben. Otherwise, more laziness will probably ensue. I do really need to get some good practice in on my cross bike, though.
This weekend we'll be going to a wedding, and possibly going out to a few bars with our friend, Ben. Otherwise, more laziness will probably ensue. I do really need to get some good practice in on my cross bike, though.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Crazy skill
Now, this is what I call bike handling skill:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8867862777896510907
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8867862777896510907
Monday, August 14, 2006
Kidney stone?
It looks as if I may have had a kidney stone last night. I had one back in 2000 that was severe, requiring a couple trips to the ER and lots of pain meds; it had blocked my ureter, but I was finally able to pass it.
I woke up sometime before 3 am last night and had a lot of abdominal pain, which spread to my left side, and then around to my back. I was also really queasy, but I think it was mostly just the pain that was making me feel that way. I tossed and turned for a few hours, contemplating a trip to the ER, but eventually fell asleep when the pain had lessened. Called my boss around 4 to tell him I wouldn't be in this morning. Feel okay now, except my lower back is a little sore.
I woke up sometime before 3 am last night and had a lot of abdominal pain, which spread to my left side, and then around to my back. I was also really queasy, but I think it was mostly just the pain that was making me feel that way. I tossed and turned for a few hours, contemplating a trip to the ER, but eventually fell asleep when the pain had lessened. Called my boss around 4 to tell him I wouldn't be in this morning. Feel okay now, except my lower back is a little sore.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Bermuda bound
I'm going to Bermuda the first week of September to do the Bermuda Grand Prix: http://www.bermudagrandprix.com/ I bought my ticket last week and I'm starting to get excited. From what I understand, the racing is pretty much secondary for most of the people who travel to this race; it's really about relaxing at the end of the season and having a good time. I offered to buy Ted a ticket, but he can't take the time off of work, so I'll be heading down there with some of my fellow TRIA teammates. Should be a good time.
Ted has suggested that I hit the tanning salon a few times in the next few weeks to build up my tolerance to the sun a little. I'm actually considering it since I am so naturally white. Never did I think I would ever go to a tanning salon!
Doing a time trial tonight. Not sure how I'll feel since I'm still kind of sick. Uh-oh, the radar shows some storms heading straight for us.
Ted has suggested that I hit the tanning salon a few times in the next few weeks to build up my tolerance to the sun a little. I'm actually considering it since I am so naturally white. Never did I think I would ever go to a tanning salon!
Doing a time trial tonight. Not sure how I'll feel since I'm still kind of sick. Uh-oh, the radar shows some storms heading straight for us.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Ted crashed
Ted crashed hard yesterday - his first bad one in about four years. During the sprint finish, someone cut him off, taking out his front wheel in the process. The guy behind Ted went down hard too, riding over Ted's head. He has an awful lot of road rash and bruises, but thankfully nothing is broken. His forehead is pretty badly bruised, which is the thing that concerned me the most, but he has been lucid ever since the crash and has never seemed concussed. He's currently in the shower, scrubbing out his wounds as well as he can (and occasionally screaming in pain). For those of you who are fortunate enough to never have experienced road rash, showering is pretty much hell for the first few days after a crash.
Don't forget to take your rings off when you ride/race. I often forget to take mine off, but I think I will remember from now on. Ted forgot to take his ring off yesterday (he usually does) and his finger proceeded to swell enough that they had to cut it off.
Photos will follow shortly.
Don't forget to take your rings off when you ride/race. I often forget to take mine off, but I think I will remember from now on. Ted forgot to take his ring off yesterday (he usually does) and his finger proceeded to swell enough that they had to cut it off.
Photos will follow shortly.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Tour de Toona
Where to begin? Back from Altoona and sick with a nasty cold that began on the final day of the race. Not feeling so great at all. Went to work this morning and just slept all afternoon.
Overall, the race was a positive experience, though I did not have a great personal result. Our team did well overall, so that was great. I had a crash which caused me to plummet in the overall results, and then did a fair amount of work to help teammates, which hopefully did some good. It was just nice to finish the race this year. It's a long, tough one that wears on you mentally and physically. It is also the only race I know of where the women do the same courses/distances as the pro men for the entire race, and where the women's prize list is actually BIGGER!! I did about 430 miles in the past week.
We had some horrible rain a couple days. It was coming down in sheets! I thought it was hail a couple times because it was stinging as it hit my arms and face.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos.php?id=/photos/2006/jul06/toona06/toona065/mz06toona5_31
Overall, the race was a positive experience, though I did not have a great personal result. Our team did well overall, so that was great. I had a crash which caused me to plummet in the overall results, and then did a fair amount of work to help teammates, which hopefully did some good. It was just nice to finish the race this year. It's a long, tough one that wears on you mentally and physically. It is also the only race I know of where the women do the same courses/distances as the pro men for the entire race, and where the women's prize list is actually BIGGER!! I did about 430 miles in the past week.
We had some horrible rain a couple days. It was coming down in sheets! I thought it was hail a couple times because it was stinging as it hit my arms and face.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos.php?id=/photos/2006/jul06/toona06/toona065/mz06toona5_31
Monday, July 24, 2006
in Pennsylvania
I'm in Altoona, PA now. Thank God it's not as hot as it was last year, as we are again staying in non-air-conditioned dorms. Last year I held off on buying a fan, telling myself it would cool off. It never did cool off and I bought a fan after four sleepless, sweaty nights - definitely a worthwhile investment. This year, I'm not fooling around and already have my window fan in place.
The racing begins tonight with a three mile time trial that has 16 corners. The women don't start until after the men, so it'll be getting dark by the time we go. I'm just hoping the cloudy sky doesn't give us any rain.
The racing begins tonight with a three mile time trial that has 16 corners. The women don't start until after the men, so it'll be getting dark by the time we go. I'm just hoping the cloudy sky doesn't give us any rain.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Recap of the week
I figured I'd do an update while I wait for my toenails to dry, so here's a quick recap of recent happenings.
Last weekend:
Racing in Missoula was fun. The weather was scorching, the courses were pretty, and the fields were small. Ted and I shared a room with Ben Rhodes, which saw us all grabbing ice cream and then sharing a pizza one night (shouldn't it be the other way around?). All in all, it was a positive weekend, with all three of us having decent time trials. Poor Ben won the 1/2 TT, only to find out that the officials had later changed some of the times, moving him back several places; they didn't follow the rules, as they changed the results after the next stage had begun. In fact, I think it was after the next stage was over.
Monday:
The bakery was closed so I had the day off. I guess there's not enough business right around the 4th to make it worth staying open. I pretty much just relaxed and watched the Tour, which I love having on daily. It is a bummer that a lot of the big names are out because of the doping scandal, but it is also fun to have it be less predictable.
Tuesday:
Didn't do a whole lot for the 4th. Went for a short ride and had the tiniest baby bird crawl/hop out in front my wheel. I was inches from running over it. We stopped and looked at the little guy who was chirping and lost, and obviously abandoned. We started riding again after moving it off the road a little bit, and I decided we should bring the bird (I temporarily named it Stanley) home. I know... it was a stupid idea, but I just felt sorry for the little thing. We never did find him anyway. In retrospect, it's probably good I didn't bring it here, as I saw Pazza's reaction that night when she broke her cat teaser, "catching" the bird part of it; she proceeded to run from Ted and growl whenever anyone tried to take it from her. Yeah, Stanley wouldn't have lasted long here.
Wednesday:
My mom and I "won" a "facial" from Mary Kay, which ended up being a typical sales pitch at the woman's home. She had us try a bunch of products out and then tried to sell them to us at the end. Now, she did say that we each had won a $10 gift certificate - the only catch was that there pretty much are no products available for that price. I was pretty shocked when she was listing off the prices for things. To think that I survive on my $1.50 Dove bar soap and grocery store moisturizer.
Had dinner out at Sakura, a Japanese/Chinese place in town, followed by ice cream.
Thursday:
Planned on doing the Lewiston time trial but the weather was awfully iffy. Thunderstorms were all around, so we opted to stay up here and do intervals instead.
Today:
Pretty uneventful day. I discovered this game/promotion that Volvo is doing in conjunction with the release of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. If you have a lot of time on your hands, give it a try. The first clue you need to start the game is "Black Pearl." Some of it is pretty tricky. http://thehunt.volvocars.net/us/thehunt It's addicting. I spent a chunk of today playing with it.
I convinced Ted to dress up (along with me, of course) in goofy cycling gear/clothing for our spin tonight. I wore a pair of Rusty's old Prime Alliance shorts, which I pulled down to my knees, along with a huge jersey of Ted's, yellow sunglasses, and calf-high socks. Ted wore a ratty old jersey of mine, as well as a pair of my shorts, which are short on him. He also sported his old helmet and Oakley M-frames. He said he'd kill me if I post photos, but I think I can handle that.
This weekend:
Heading to Seattle tomorrow to do a big money crit, followed by a road race on Sunday. Here's hoping it's fun and we come home with all of our skin.
Last weekend:
Racing in Missoula was fun. The weather was scorching, the courses were pretty, and the fields were small. Ted and I shared a room with Ben Rhodes, which saw us all grabbing ice cream and then sharing a pizza one night (shouldn't it be the other way around?). All in all, it was a positive weekend, with all three of us having decent time trials. Poor Ben won the 1/2 TT, only to find out that the officials had later changed some of the times, moving him back several places; they didn't follow the rules, as they changed the results after the next stage had begun. In fact, I think it was after the next stage was over.
Monday:
The bakery was closed so I had the day off. I guess there's not enough business right around the 4th to make it worth staying open. I pretty much just relaxed and watched the Tour, which I love having on daily. It is a bummer that a lot of the big names are out because of the doping scandal, but it is also fun to have it be less predictable.
Tuesday:
Didn't do a whole lot for the 4th. Went for a short ride and had the tiniest baby bird crawl/hop out in front my wheel. I was inches from running over it. We stopped and looked at the little guy who was chirping and lost, and obviously abandoned. We started riding again after moving it off the road a little bit, and I decided we should bring the bird (I temporarily named it Stanley) home. I know... it was a stupid idea, but I just felt sorry for the little thing. We never did find him anyway. In retrospect, it's probably good I didn't bring it here, as I saw Pazza's reaction that night when she broke her cat teaser, "catching" the bird part of it; she proceeded to run from Ted and growl whenever anyone tried to take it from her. Yeah, Stanley wouldn't have lasted long here.
Wednesday:
My mom and I "won" a "facial" from Mary Kay, which ended up being a typical sales pitch at the woman's home. She had us try a bunch of products out and then tried to sell them to us at the end. Now, she did say that we each had won a $10 gift certificate - the only catch was that there pretty much are no products available for that price. I was pretty shocked when she was listing off the prices for things. To think that I survive on my $1.50 Dove bar soap and grocery store moisturizer.
Had dinner out at Sakura, a Japanese/Chinese place in town, followed by ice cream.
Thursday:
Planned on doing the Lewiston time trial but the weather was awfully iffy. Thunderstorms were all around, so we opted to stay up here and do intervals instead.
Today:
Pretty uneventful day. I discovered this game/promotion that Volvo is doing in conjunction with the release of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. If you have a lot of time on your hands, give it a try. The first clue you need to start the game is "Black Pearl." Some of it is pretty tricky. http://thehunt.volvocars.net/us/thehunt It's addicting. I spent a chunk of today playing with it.
I convinced Ted to dress up (along with me, of course) in goofy cycling gear/clothing for our spin tonight. I wore a pair of Rusty's old Prime Alliance shorts, which I pulled down to my knees, along with a huge jersey of Ted's, yellow sunglasses, and calf-high socks. Ted wore a ratty old jersey of mine, as well as a pair of my shorts, which are short on him. He also sported his old helmet and Oakley M-frames. He said he'd kill me if I post photos, but I think I can handle that.
This weekend:
Heading to Seattle tomorrow to do a big money crit, followed by a road race on Sunday. Here's hoping it's fun and we come home with all of our skin.
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