It's almost that time

Beechwood Blaster

Yeah, it was a blast. There's some REALLY hard stuff there! A couple tough rock gardens, a large berm, tons of climbing. . . . .but totally worth the ride.

They had a great turn out, awesome swag, great food, great people, great times.

Now that the season is officially "done", it's time to lay low, have some fun, and think about what THIS off season is going to bring. 2008 kinda sucked in the mtb realm for me, but 2009 is just around the corner. I have a feeling it will be better.

It just doesn't get any better than this.

Yup. The rumors are true. I scored this sweet baby at the Sheboygan Raffle.


I absolutely LOVE her.

Today I learned

Where babies REALLY come from.


Welcome Victoria Elizabeth Degeler. 6lbs 2oz, 19 inches.


My sister is a lot braver than I am!

Senernity Now

This morning was it. I found the perfect 15 minutes of serenity.

Bill was already up, so I had the whole bed to myself. Bear was on one of her 84 naps of the day and she was actually QUIET. Thunder was still asleep as well, no sound from her. The sun wasn't up yet, the room was dark and inviting. The sheets were the PERFECT temperature to snuggle into them, the cool air swirled around my head driving me further into the warm, cozy sheets. My body felt light and dull, for the first time in a number of days the aches and pains didn't force me out of bed. I was warm, I was comfortable, I was happy. I fell fast asleep for a solid 10-15 minutes. I wish it could have been 2 HOURS.

It was absolutely spectacular. I want to go back. I miss it already.

Wow. I always wondered.

Weekend Review

Friday night we went to the symphony. We had great seats, but didn't care for the music all that much. That's ok, the tickets were free.



Saturday we hit Greenbush for a trail work day. Got there a little later than we wanted, but were able to jump right in and help (after riding our in our jeans to the far side of the trail to meet everyone). Loop 3 is now done. Go check it out if you have time.

Saturday night we surprised the Virgin for her birthday. It was back on Thursday, but we tried to make her think we forgot. She was surprised. Everyone seemed to find other things to do with their party hats. . . . it seemed funny at the time.








Sunday we headed up to Sheboygan to get a ride in. The course was ok. I'm not excited about that race this year like I usually am. Probably cuz I'm out of shape. That's ok, I burned a few calories and kept it rubber side down.

Now we've got lots of chores to finish, dinner to make (have to figure out what we'll even be eating) and misc stuff to do. I'd rather just go sit on the couch and take a nap. Maybe I will.

Where do the weekends go?

Today

Sixteen years.



Yikes. Where does the time go??

Creativity

Now THAT is being creative with your vegetables.

Petie Came Home

You may not know Petie. . . . .he's been missing for about a year now. He and his partner (for anonymity's sake, she will remain anonymous) used to camp outside our camper each race. One day Petie just disappeared. We didn't know what happened to him, he was no where to be found. And then one day the Ransom note came.

Apparently Petie had been kidnapped and had traveled around the world with his kidnappers. He managed to break away and send little notes throughout the past year, unfortunately these notes self destructed after only a few short hours in my in-box.

But a few weekends ago, on our team camping trip, he returned to the safety of the camper bringing along all the babies he had fathered along the way. It was a bitter sweet homecoming. While it was good to see him, it came as a great shock to see all his children. I think it came as even more of a shock to his partner (who again, will remain nameless). She pecked the hell out of him when she learned of his infidelities. He's been in a coma the past few weeks. . . . I've heard mumbling escape his beak only a couple times giving me hope. I can't understand why he's mumbling "Virgin". Obviously he's a father so that's not the case for him. . . . .

We'll keep a watchful eye on him over the next couple weeks. I understand he may be in a coma all winter, it's not un-heard of. All we can do is hope.



Get well Petie.

A weekend without racing

We skipped the race weekend for the first time. . . . . . .ever. It was an action packed weekend.

A fantastic night ride on the new Gila trails Friday night.

A OLD friend's wedding Saturday.



Lots of people we haven't seen in years.





Sunday we did some painting for/with a friend, rode the new trails at Greenbush (yes, they really ARE fun), and benched a couple sections of the Gila trail. It's almost completely ready to rock now.

Yeah, it was fun. It was a LOT of fun. Maybe I'm ready for retirement.

Good Luck

Good luck in the culvert everyone.

The secret Gila trail won't be a secret much longer

It's done. My secret trail is done. I have named it the Gila trail. Tonight will be the first ride on it. It still needs a little work, there are some areas that need benching and possibly a reroute depending on how hard a particular corner is. . . .we'll see.

I can't wait to try it! I hope it was worth the work.

What every office needs

I swear our office has one of these. . . .

All this crap is giving me a headache

All this bailout crap is just giving me a headache.

Doesn't anyone care how we GOT here? Wow. What a mess.

Feeling kind of lost

Do you get those days?

I don't like them very much.

Maybe humor will help.

Cyclocross

Did Cyclocross practice last night. Yeah, I think I don't really like cyclocross anymore.

I think I liked it a whole lot more when I was in shape.

Interesting.

How Many of Me?

HowManyOfMe.com

There is 1 person with my name in the U.S.A. http://howmanyofme.com">How many have your name?

Up North?

You know you're "up north" when you see this at the grocery store.

The Levis Trow Camping Weekend

It could quite literally be the best weekend I've had mountain biking/hiking/camping/hanging with friends. . . . . . . .ever.

Ahhhhh

I love "Massage Becky".

Although I'll probably hate her tomorrow. :-)

Rhinelander

Yeah. Wow. I loved that course last year. Still loved it this year, except I'm not as fast as I used to be, which kind of sucks. I'm also not as coordinated as I used to be, which the water volunteers saw first hand as I face planted in front of them trying to grab a water hand off. Somehow I missed my bottle hand off and got a bit nervous that I'd have to make it through a whole second lap without water. What was I thinking??

I've since learned to just STOP if you miss the hand off and wait for it (that would have taken a LOT less time). . . . . .and not to take your hands off the handle bars AND turn your body at the same time. For some strange reason the bars want to go where your body goes. . . . . .Duh!

Other than the third day with this head ache, a few bruises and some gravel rash, I'm fine. I'm feeling a little stupid. . . . .but then again I never said I was a genius, nor do I even pretend to be one, so whatever. Someone has to be the village idiot once in a while.

Monday and Tuesday had me in the Dells for a Realtor convention. That was relatively fun. Except now I've got a TO DO list the size of Texas and we're heading out on the team camping trip Thursday evening (or maybe Friday AM, we'll see how on-track I can stay). The next couple days will be interesting. I might need to be checked in somewhere. . . . . . . .will have to use alcohol & caffiene to cope (not together though, because that would be silly).

Kids

I can't even imagine having children, when I can barely cope with THIS ONE crying all night.

For some reason Thunder decided she didn't want to be in her bed last night. We listened to whimpers and cries from her crate all night long. Thank goodness that was the first time for that. Hopefully it was the LAST time.

While I know some people question my/our decision NOT to have children, I have to say the older I get, the better I feel about that decision. To have children now (for me) would mean I would have to come up with a whole lot more patience, empathy, time, energy and money than I currently have. I guess there's a reason our biological clocks guide us to having children earlier in life.

Not everyone WANTS to be a parent. I guess that's one of the great things about life. Most of us actually get to make that decision based on what's right for us.

More weekend fun

Sunday had us doing the ride for Heather. After my 2:19 race on Saturday, I thought I was going to DIE on this short little 30 mile ride. But I made it through. Hopefully we helped them raise just a little more money for this worthwhile cause.

Sunday evening we gathered up for a fire, after creating some most delicious home made pizza.


Somehow we managed to eat just about every morsel.

Then it was off for a fire. Unfortunately we decided it was too dry to bring the Christmas tree out, so that awaits yet another day. But a few cabinet & flooring pieces from the remodeled Swart house provided great entertainment.

Monday Bill had to head into work, I guess he had to rebuild a server or something, so I gathered a few peeps for our own Labor Day ride. We were a few peeps short of a whole package. . . . . .but we made the best of it. Off to ride around Long Lake we headed. We even ran into this shady character and his peeps, off on their own ride.

We forced a "newbie" out on this ride. . . . . ."massage Becky". We gave her an epic ride and ended up popping her a little bit,. Sorry Beck! But she learned some SKILZ and rode most excellently. . . . . .even for a newbie! Hopefully we didn't scare her off now.

About 38 miles in with the newbie we made a swing by Beechwood to visit some peeps who were doing some trail work. . .. . . .starting to prepare for the Beechwood Blaster. After visiting them for a bit, we realized we had given Massage Becky just a little too much of a first REAL ride, so we hitched a ride back home. After 3 decent rides in a row, 38 miles was fine for me as well.

Good times with good friends. That's what life is all about. Sure, one has to work sometimes to make that happen. . . . . . .but it doesn't get any better than spending an afternoon on your bike with friends, out in the absolutely beautiful weather with the sunshine warming your soul.

So far, so fun

Saturday was the Stump Farm race. We arrived in plenty of time to get our things together and get registered for the 3 hour. Standing around the start line for the rider's meeting, I realize I forgot my heart rate monitor strap, so I boogied back to the truck (which was on the other side of the parking lot and of course my bike was already "staged" so I had to jog) to get it. That was my warm up. Sweet. Ready to go.

They yelled GOOOO, we ran to our bikes, it was mass chaos, people and bikes everywhere. By the time I got to mine and grabbed it, wouldn't you know, I was the nearly the last person. CRAP! What is with my starts lately???

I put the hammer down and worked my way through the back of the pack to settle in when we hit the single track. I wasn't where I needed to be, but at that point it didn't matter if I was slowed a bit by others in the single track. After all, I did have 3 hours to try and catch up.

Finally about 1/3 of the way into the first lap, I caught the girl in front of me, Ann. We hadn't every formally met, but I knew her name from the race results. So I introduced myself. I have to say that was the first time I've actually held a conversation during a race, especially for that long. We tore through the single track chatting, which was fun, but also a bit more work. As we crossed over the timing line, I informed Ann that I had to stop each lap to exchange my bottle. I wished her a good race and off she went while I pulled to the side to get a new refreshing beverage and some more cliff blocks.

With my new bottle on board I stood up and hammered it out to try and gain back some time I'd lost. Soon after I hit the single track for the second time, I found Ann. She had just had a little scuffle with a tree and was just settling back into the groove of things. We rode that single track out together and I pulled out ahead when we popped out to double track. Since she pulled for most of the first lap, it was my turn. She stuck on my wheel for a while, I introduced her to one of my teammates as we passed her (way to go April!) and then somewhere, I'm not sure where, I somehow shook her loose. I really wasn't watching where she was, I was just trying to ride clean and have a good, FAST race.

Not knowing how far behind me she was, I stopped for my third bottle and cliff blocks. After a quick exchange there, I stood up and hammered again. Looking back, I didn't see her anywhere. I finished out the 3rd lap alone, with a little less speed than the first two as my back was really starting to get sore. My body wasn't used to racing hard for over 2 hours and it showed. I crossed the finish line around 2:19. . . ..not enough time to squeeze in a 4th lap. From what I remember (results still aren't posted) my first lap was 46 minutes, my second lap was about 10 seconds longer at 46 something and my last lap was around 48 minutes. Overall pretty consistent, and a very good time.

I wrapped up 3rd place and took home a nice Stump Farm mug. Now I have a set. Sweet.

Weekend plans

A little of this:

A little of that:

And a nice easy ride with some peeps on Monday.

Interested? Let me know!

Cats

They have a mind of their own.

The Boarder Battle

Nice place to ride. . . . .kind of a tough place to race.

First of all, I have to appreciate the fact that I was able to enjoy this race instead of having to pull over 52 times throughout the race. That, I am grateful for. However, being dead last at the back of the start chute in a women's sport race is not a good place to be. . . . . .especially when you're a fast starter.

Don yelled go and I found myself in a very bad position. We funneled onto the start hill and suddenly there were women weaving everywhere in front of me. Tried as I might there was no way to get around them. . . . .I took the cheap seats giving it my all. I guess it just wasn't meant to happen. A couple women weaved together in front of me, and off I was. If you were at that race, you know that start hill was LONG. I, unfortunately, had to run a good portion of that start hill, just to try and get a better position. I popped out on top seeing how VERY far back I already was and I knew I had NO time to rest.

I jockied for a few more positions but wasn't able to clear another pack of girls in front of me as we ducked into the first set of single track. Big mistake. We rode the first set of single track slower on that first lap than I rode it in pre-ride. I now understand in even GREATER detail how frustrated those comp boys were at ME when I was racing elite. I know it was that gal's race too, but she slowed us down big time through that section with no place to get around. Combine that with my less than optimal start and I guess I should be happy I finished mid-pack.

On the brighter side, I didn't fall, I didn't make any seriously stupid mistakes, I rode everything. . . . . . . I just wasn't fast enough to make it a great finish.

photo thanks to Mountaingoat

Time to let it go and focus on the next race. And hope for a better start. . . . . . .or at least a way around to MAKE it a better start.

Finally an update

First of all, I'm SO tired of hearing about STUPID drivers hitting innocent cyclists. It really pisses me off. And what's with all these DRUNK people out driving? It seems like most of the hit and runs we've heard about on the news lately have been DRUNK drivers. REPEAT offenders, mind you. Those people who were just hit in Illinois were apparently picked off by a woman who is a 4? time drunk driver offender. . . . . .she doesn't even have a license. Give me a break. I don't mean to be judgemental, but can you say that's just WRONG???

On a happier note, I'm almost ALL the way over the cold I seemed to develop the Monday after Sunburst. Woke up that day with a sore throat which just got worse and had me feeling like crap Tuesday. Most of last week was spend recovering and not training, but such is life. Now I'm feeling pretty strong, but still expelling a lot of mucus and getting tired a little faster than usual.

This past weekend we took time for some "fun" camping outside of racing. We headed up to WI Rapids to visit Bill's brother at their "camper".

They had mopeds and we took them out for a little joy ride.

Then we moved on to the 4-wheeler. Yeah, that was my first experience riding/driving a 4-wheeler. I now want one.

Now we just need to get that piece of land up north. . . . . . . .

On the way home from Rapids we hit Mt Morris for a ride. Yeah, I still hate that course. Other than the fact they're adding a ski run and there are a few areas you have to walk across this dug up dirt, the trail was very well maintained. Still harder then all get out. . . . .I thought I was going to DIE. . . . . .but a little fun anyway.

Now it's time to focus on the Boarder Battle. We'll have a full truck heading up there. Some return peeps, some new peeps. . . . .a possibility that someone might come out of retirement for this race. . . . . .a good time is guaranteed to be had by all. At least in OUR little hotel on wheels.

Sunburst

Ok, finally I get around to writing up my race report. We all know it was great fun, but I'll see if I can recap it like a real competitor for you.

Being my first sport race I had definite pre-race jitters out on warm up. I know there are so many fast sport girls I was concerned as to how I would fit in. I haven't been watching the Sport races in terms of knowing who's who and who finishes where, I just knew a few of my "peeps" and how their finishes have been. Looking around at the start line didn't help. . . . .I had no idea who I should be looking to be behind.

Don yelled GOOOOOO and I realized I was WAY in the back. Yeah, there were only like 15 of us (and that's because no one likes this race), but being in the back of 15 women when you KNOW you should be towards the front isn't a good thing. I dodged a few and put the hammer down to get towards the front. In my experience where I start in a sport race is typically where I finish (or close to it) and I wasn't prepared to finish in the back.

Lap one I managed to settle in about 4th or 5th on the way up the bunny hill. I hopped on Ann's wheel when I heard her shift and drop her chain. The girls parted as she hopped off and put her chain back on. I wasn't looking forward to the climb in the woods. . . . . .I hyperventilate every single time I do that stupid climb. And I knew today would be even harder. Sure enough, we hit the steepest pitch going into the woods, and I started to hyperventilate. I continued that all the way through the single track climb until we popped out up top and I got a little break of downhill. I'm sure the gals around me thought I was going to pass out.. . . .even I thought I was going to pass out. But I popped out up top in decent shape. I think I was in 3rd or 4th.

It's all a blur now, but Regina and I traded places a number of times throughout the race. She'd pull away on the climbs, I'd catch her on the descents and the flatter stuff near the road on the north side of the hill. I knew if I could get in front of her in those areas, I could pull a tiny gap. But then we'd eventually pop back out on the bunny hill and she'd put the hurt on me big time. I'd pull to the side and watch her grind her way past me thinking "wow, she's strong". I could hear her breathing hard as well, so I knew we were pushing each other to our max. And for some strange reason. . . . . .it was fun. :-)

On our last lap up the bunny hill she over took me. I paced myself as I knew that 3rd time was going to REALLY hurt, but I also reminded myself it was my LAST time up that bitch, there was NO way I was going to walk. Regina, on the other hand, HAD to walk due to her gearing, but she stayed right on my tail up the climb. When she hopped back on she hadn't missed a beat and was right on my wheel. Again, she pulled ahead and we closed in on some more sport boys. I was gassed and couldn't muster up enough energy to put the hammer down to get in front of both of them, so one boy separated us. I rode his wheel through the "singletrack" and I saw her pull away a bit. We popped out and I put the hammer down again to try and catch back up, but I was never able to quite close that gap, no matter how hard I worked. We crossed the finish line 2nd and 3rd, with some gal who I never saw a minute+ out in front of us.

Finally, a race where I actually got to RACE with someone. THAT was great fun. I didn't get yelled at, I didn't have to pull over, I was pushed to ride as hard as I could and it felt wonderful. While I walked away with a decent finish, I also realize there were only 15 women in our field. I also realize this was a purely physical course. Technical ability played some factor, as you needed to be able to ride the small stretch of single track well, and stick the off camber turns and fast descents, but for the most part one's technical abilities weren't challenged at this course. That's one of the reasons it has such low turnout as well.

The Boarder Battle will be an interesting race. Lots of out of state women who are way faster than most of the WI sport women, but choose to race sport anyway. More technical riding, a longer race, more traffic to deal with. . . . . .I've got my work cut out for me. I can't wait. :-)

My first Sport race

I know you're all on the edge of your seats wondering how today went for me. I'll give you the official "race report" at a later time. . . . .but right now I can tell you I can't remember the last time I've ever had that much fun racing. I can't say as I even remember racing "with" others all that much last year, much less trading places with some of the finest women in WORS. I finished with a smile so big, people didn't even need to ask whether I had fun.

It hurt like hell. . . . and it was a TON of hard work. . . . .but it was awesome. And it was absolutely the right choice for me.

That's the sappy update. Tomorrow I'll recap all the nitty gritty details. But right now I want to savor actually feeling like a mountain bike racer again. Thank you to everyone for their support. It's awesome to have such wonderful, supportive friends and competitors out there. . . . . .people who actually care.

Sweet. Thanks.

My puppy

My puppy is finally starting to grow up.

THAT sure took a long time.

Oh well, I guess I should be happy that it hasn't taken 18 years. . . . . .

Defeated

"Defeat is not the worst of failures. Not to have tried is the true failure."
-- George Woodberry, Poet

I haven't posted recently because I've been wrestling with where I fit into the whole WORS/racing picture. I wanted to make a clear decision, and have time to process that decision before I "announced" it to the "world", as I knew I'd likely receive some criticism. Seeing this quote today reminded me I shouldn't be ashamed of my decision, I tried and I failed. Time to move on. Time to remember what puts that smile on my face again.

Rather than become one of the "statistics" and simply stop racing, I've made the decision to "admit defeat" and go back to Sport for the rest of the year. This decision was actually made somewhat collectively, as I've had numerous supportive e-mails from friends over the past month concerned that I'm not in a good place in regards to racing. These e-mails really got me thinking, and after the race at Franklin, I realized I really am not having fun. I love to ride my bike, but I hate racing elite.

I knew it was going to be tough this year. . . . .but I hadn't anticipated just how tough. And I'm not talking about the fitness level, although that's surely part of it. More so (for me) is the HUGE speed differential between myself and the comp guys, who are on my ass pretty quickly. While I have to admit I've been overwhelmed by the support MOST of them have given me this year, especially these past few races, encouraging me, telling me to stay where I am and don't worry about them, even protecting me from other "less cordial" boys. . . . . .that speed difference is just too much for me. Try as I might, I feel an overwhelming desire to get out of their way so as to not be a "factor" in their race. And how can you let ONE go by, and not the string of 10 behind him? How fair is that? Now I've helped ONE guy's race, but hurt 10 others.

Couple that with the ONE guy who decides to be a jerk and snap at me every race (not the same person each time), and now I'm feeling like all I am is in the way. I'm already maxed out on heart rate, I'm trying to ride as fast and as clean as I possibly can, and now I'm being yelled at to get out of the way. It's like I'm being told "you're not doing a good enough job, just get out of the way". These are all the things that run through my mind during an elite race. THIS is why I'm not having fun.

While I'm not making excuses for my "defeat", I hope that reading what goes on in my mind during a race at least makes people a little more understanding of my decision. I've never won a Sport race, and given the kick ass women in that field this year, I doubt I'll have it easy to even TRY and be a competitor. Due to these factors, I certainly don't consider myself a "sandbagger".

Although I've already made my decision, I'm open to listening to what people have to say about this issue. In fact, I'd rather you voice your opinion here, rather than criticize me behind my back (if this is indeed what you feel the need to do). My decision is made, and interestingly enough, I made this decision only AFTER e-mailing with some of my sport & elite peeps, asking for their feedback on the issue. I was amazed at how supportive people were. . . . .. how they welcomed me back with open arms. How they told me they understood, and that racing was supposed to be fun. If I wasn't having fun, what's the point? I knew the WORS crowd was "different". . . . . .I guess I just didn't realize how absolutely awesome, caring and genuine these people truly are.

I would like to extend a big THANK YOU to those people who have been there for me this year. I'm glad I tried elite this year, but I'm even more glad I'm a big enough person to admit I just don't fit.

I'll see you on the SPORT start line at Sunburst.

Update

As funny as it seems, I squeaked in a 20 minute nap and then went for a 2 hour easy (endurance) spin and I'm much less tired. :-)

I think I'll make it to Tuesday now. . . . . .so there's no need to worry about me. It could be a hell of a lot worse. . . . . .SO. . . . . .it's all good.

I'm tired

I'm tired of having poor race results.

I'm tired of feeling like I'm going to puke while I'm racing.

I'm tired of working so hard at work and getting no where.

I'm tired of being the scapegoat for the market conditions.

I'm tired OF the market conditions.

I'm tired of being told I'm not working hard enough when that couldn't be further from the truth.

I'm tired of not being able to live up to every body's expectations, whether they're professional, athletic or personal. I don't really have as much "power" as everyone seems to think I should/do. I'm just a person.

I'm tired of Mondays.

Interesting quote

"if you care enough for a result, you will most certainly attain it"

-- William James, Psychologist

Geeze, I guess I better start caring more.

Volunteer day

It seems like my days belong to others lately. . . . . .which is strange considering I don't have any kids. But today had me out at the Superweek race in Cedarburg. I marshaled a busy corner. Between older people needing to drive through the course, slow pedestrians crossing the road and a road crash leaving 3 or 4 riders in need of medical attention, it was a busy day. Thankfully it didn't appear the crash inflicted worse than severe road rash. . . . . .but still, it was scary to watch. I think I'll stick to the dirt.

Yes, it is

Yes, it is my birthday.

No, I am not YET 40. Don't rush me. Come January I'll be writing "40" on all my WORS stuff anyway. Please let me have these last few months of "youth".

Yup, we just TOOK OFF

Since we don't have another "camping race" for a while, we decided to pack the "hotel on wheels" and take off to find someplace fun to ride this weekend. Wanting to stay under a 3 hour drive ruled Hatfield out. . . . . . .so Wausau was the next logical option.

We finally drove up through Rib Mountain to check it out. The views were pretty sweet.

The Thunder Puppy got her first real taste of a lake. She wasn't sure what to make of it when the waves from the boats rolled in.

After a couple hours of riding Nine Mile, we returned to our truck to find our puppy running around the parking lot. Apparently she pulled her corkscrew out of the ground. Thankfully she stuck close to the truck. That would have sucked otherwise.

After we got our ride in, we took her out for a bit. She absolutely LOVES to run in the single track behind my bike. It's her "favorite thing". After about 20 minutes of that. . . . . .we finally had a sleepy puppy.

Now it's time to kick back. . . . . .as we listen to the rain pour outside and watch the puddles grow. Safe inside the hotel on wheels, we'll soon pull out a movie. . . . or play a game. . . . . or sit and read . . . . .or surf the internet as we watch the poor tenters scurry for shelter. All while we crank up the radio and adjust our temperature setting for the air conditioning so it's not "TOO cold".

Sweet. I love camping.

On the wagon again. . . . . . .

I'm officially ON the wagon again. A few too many beverages yesterday made for a very shitty ride today. I can't afford shitty rides right now. Every ride I get needs to be a quality ride if I hope to be in any type of decent shape come cyclocross.

I met up with a few peeps at the Kettles today. Not only did I think I was going to puke during my ride, I actually almost passed out. Between the heat, the humidity, my dehydration, and just feeling like total crap, squeezing out a 2 hour ride was a chore. And there was no one to blame but myself. My heart rate was out of control, even the smallest hill would spike it up to the point of near hyperventilation.

BUT, the trails were in great shape. There are lots of nice, new re-routes, lots of new trails to enjoy. Overall, a good time, even if I felt like crap.

Now I'll work on that rehydration, rest and recovery. We'll see what the weekend brings. I have high hopes. :-)

Annual Realtor's Golf Outting

Today is our annual Realtor's golf outing. I don't know how this happens, but once again I managed to get "volunteered" to be on the golf committee. If you know me, you know I'm a very bad golfer. Despite the fact I actually took golf as a class in college, I seem to have retained nothing. In fact, the only time I would hit a good shot in class was when my instructor followed me around and reminded me what to do as I hit.

It's always a "crap shoot" golfing with me. Once in a while I'll get a great hit off, followed by 4 whacks where I top the ball and it goes 3 inches. One never knows. BUT, I'm told I'm "fun" when you put me in a golf cart and add a couple beverages. . . . . . .so I guess that's what today is all about (having fun).

Typically the golf outing falls on the week of my birthday. One year it fell ON my birthday. . . . .that's something you don't want a bunch of Realtor's to know. I don't remember that golf outing all that well (although there seems to be pictures). In fact that was the year people were STILL talking about it at the Christmas party. Yikes. Kind of scary to make THAT kind of impression on people. Thank goodness THAT doesn't happen every year.

I think this year will be a nice, calm day with some "work peeps" out in the sun. I'm golfing with my manager (who, by the way, can get become more "fun" than myself when beverages are added) and her husband. I think we may be a golfer shy, which probably means I get to drive my own cart around. Sweet. I apologize ahead of time if you're programmed into my phone and I call you today. :-)

After the outing we have a delicious dinner and an awesome raffle. I helped with the shopping for this year's prizes, nearly $1200 in prizes. Last year I won a TON of stuff. . . . . hopefully this year will prove as profitable. I have my eye on a few of the items. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Whatever YOUR day brings today, I hope it involves bathing in the sunshine, a little laughter, and a bunch of smiles. Those are MY goals for the day.

SOOOOO tired

I don't know if it's my cold that's almost gone that's making me so tired, or if it's the heat, or the training, or working, or not sleeping all that well, or taking care of everything and everybody. . . . . . .or a great big combination of all of the above. Whatever it is, it's making me REALLY TIRED.

I think I could lay down and sleep for a week.

Finally. . . . .some decent rides

While the cold I managed to catch took me out for a few days, I was able to return to the "land of the living" towards the end of the week and catch a couple nice road rides.

Friday was a nice, slow, leisurely ride with a couple peeps on the interurban trail. We hopped on in Grafton and headed North. 3+ hours later we returned nice and refreshed, and a bit hungry. It was a slow pace, but being that I'm a couple months behind everyone else. . . . .I guess base miles are a good thing. Plus that pace allows for lots of chatting, which is fun sometimes too.

Saturday I took the pace up a couple notches as I ventured out in the overcast day fearing I'd get dumped on. It was a strange ride. I started alone, picked up CK about 30 minutes in and rode with him for about 45 minutes. Then I branched off by myself again to head further north. My goal was to ride through Dundee, so I went for it.

At the corner in Dundee I stopped for the stop sign, only to look over and see my husband talking to an old friend of ours at the Hamburger Haus. He had taken off that morning with a couple other fast peeps to hit the infamous "hill route" (you'd have to ask them what that really is). We both wondered if we'd end up seeing each other as we figured we may be coming back through that area at the same time, and sure enough! So I took the pace up yet another couple notches and hopped on their little train to head back home.

After almost puking up my Cliff bar at the top of a hill 30 minutes later, I thought I'd better take a short cut back and let them catch me. I needed a bit of rest. We all pulled onto our road together (except for CK who I think was already taking a nap). That was the longest road ride I've done this season. A bit over 3 hours, about 54 miles, with an average of 17. And that left me COMPLETELY famished. :-)

Sunday offered up a day of work for me. I had a couple sellers who really wanted open houses, so I had to take care of that. Of course I didn't really have any interested buyers, but I guess that's the way the ball bounces.

Now it's time to get a few chores done, and then take the Thunder Puppy out for some exercise so she'll be a good puppy and do THIS:

Mother Nature

Mother Nature is really a bitch. She rained on my parade. No Kettles ride for us today. . . . .they closed the trails.

Now I'm waiting for the rain to clear so I can get some type of road ride in. Doesn't look like that's going to happen any time soon. What the hell? I thought it was supposed to be sunny and 90 today?!?!?

Stupid dope smokers.

More vacation highlights

What happens when you mix these 3 things?

You get this:

How does this happen?

It's in the 80's, I just spent 9 days pretty much cut off from almost all human contact. . . . . . and somehow I managed to catch a cold yesterday.

What the hell?

Tagged

Ok, I don't want to tag anyone. . . . .but I'll at least play along and tell 6 things since 2 peeps tagged me while I was on vacation. Here are 6 things you maybe didn't know about me.

1) I was born in York Pennsylvania.

2) I played the violin from 4th grade until I was in my second year of college. I also dabbled with the cello, guitar & piano. I played in the youth division of the Milwaukee Symphony (Music for Youth) for 2 years. I also played in a duet at one of our high school concerts, with our full orchestra accompanying. I had a few gigs playing weddings and a few other misc places along the way. Now I haven't touched my violin in at least 15 years.

3) I started college as an elementary education major (I actually wanted to be a music teacher). At the end of my 3rd year I wasn't sure I wanted to be a teacher anymore so I changed my major to sociology with a minor in psychology. I had no idea what I was going to do with that. . . . .I just knew I'd get that stupid Bachelors of Science degree everyone said I "needed".

4) I have great difficulties with people yelling at me. I think it's part of the reason I get so worked up in the elite races this year. I understand people aren't necessarily yelling AT me. . . . . .but I'm overly sensitive in that area. Talking nice to me during a race will get you everywhere.

5) I have an irrational fear of trains and "wind turbines". I'm also not crazy about deep water.

6) I have absolutely no athletic background. I was in forensics and orchestra and never owned a bike (except as a kid) until I met Bill. When I turned 30, I finally decided to become "active". I secretly hate those people who have that natural athletic ability. . . . .the ones who don't have to "train". I thought maybe if I trained really hard for a few years, maybe I could become one of them. Yeah, that's worked well for me.

I hope you enjoyed my little tid bits. I've probably got better ones. . . . .but I'm a little slow today.

Finally back

We're back from vacation, but yet I feel like I need another already. It will probably take me a week to unpack and clean everything up from the week. For some strange reason. . . . . .I'm already looking forward to the next weekend.

We kicked our vacation off at the Levis Trow WEMS race. That was great fun. I did the 25 mile race, which meant 3 laps. When they sent us out, I felt like a racer again. Nestled among a nice sized group of men and women, I worked my way up from the back to settle into a nice position going into the single track. I had to remind myself it wasn't a WORS race. . . . . .I'd be best off getting into that single track sooner vs later, since I can typically ride that stuff relatively well. It felt good to actually pass people and feel like I was among others of the same speed throughout the race. I forget how much I like that feeling.

The course was spectacular. The 25 mile race did the shorter course, but even that was great fun. There was one bridge I didn't feel comfortable with, so I walked it. Other than that, I rode everything relatively well. Unfortunately I didn't plan appropriately. I didn't have enough to eat or drink, and one hard lap was all I could muster. I scaled it back for the second and third laps and rode at an endurance pace. While that felt a lot better. . . . . .it was also WAY more fun.

I only had one, maybe two "near-death" experiences. . . . so that's always good. I also had a fellow blog follower identify me as he passed me, which made me laugh. I forget how many people end up visiting my blog and recognizing my name.

There were only 3 women in the 25 mile race and for various reasons, I was the only one to complete all 3 laps, I took the win. Although there was some mix up as they some how missed my finish. I must have crossed that line SOOOO fast they didn't see me. But it's all good. My fellow racer peeps straightened it out for me.

The rest of the week involved a few more rides at Hatfield (awesome, AWESOME trails), a trip to Standing Rocks (a little tight and twisty for my taste) and some down time to read and just enjoy life. Thunder puppy got lots of hiking time and actually almost died one time (which was scary). She got a little too close to the bluff and almost lost control. Needless to say the rest of the time we were atop the bluffs, she was on the leash.

We rounded out our camping trip at the Chippewa Falls race. The pre-ride was good. . . . . .I did nearly 2 laps. I hit a stump about 10 minutes into the ride planting myself face first in the dirt and adding a couple bruises and scrapes to my battered body. The race was. . . . . . . .well. . . . . . .less than perfect. A few altercations left me worked up and stressed out and had me pulling over time after time to let the comp riders pass by. I was just about to pull the plug and take my DNF when I decided, who cares? I was out there to ride, so I might as well ride. If that meant stopping to get out of the way at times, then so be it. I'm never going to get into race shape if I don't race.

That thought, and the fact that most of the comp riders has passed through had my second lap going MUCH smoother than the first. THAT lap was enjoyable. I felt strong, I rode just about everything clean and kept it under control. Of course I rode by myself, but that's ok. Lap 3 brought more fast boys and a few more pull overs for me, but again more relatively clean riding.

Now it's time to rest and recover. Find some more enjoyable riding, get back to the rides that don't stress me out. . . . .the rides that are fun. And if those rides are by myself (which most of them are), that's A-OK with me.