21st Century Mom

I have so much stuff to write about that I think I'll have to do a giant Hump Day Miscellany. I have yet to say anything about my version of CdA and then there's the bittersweet experience of having my kitty sent to the great yarnball in the sky and I think there's some other stuff. It can wait.

For today I'm going to write about the amazing thing I did yesterday because I did something I would never have done 2 months ago and this speaks to the power of training. Almost everyone who reads this blog trains for stuff so you can relate and if you are not an athlete maybe you can derive some inspiration to reach for something you've always said you could never do.

I missed my long ride 2 weeks in a row due to going to Canada and Couer d'Alene. I would have missed my long ride yesterday had the WS-100 not been cancelled but it was so in honor of the athletes that got aced out of their big event and in an effort to stay strong I wanted to do a really, really good long ride.

I started out with the FoMo Foxes as it's known which is the Sunday Ladies Ride. The Ladies ride sometimes includes men but no matter. The point of the ride is to be sociable and to provide an opportunity for people who can't hammer out the miles at 18 - 20 mph (which is what the Saturday ride is about) to go on a group ride. It is lead by one of my favorite riding partners who has also done quite a lot to help me get stronger and more fit (and she doesn't even know it!).

She asked what people wanted to do and I said I thought the air was kind of bad so we shouldn't climb Diablo because it made me engage in too much heavy breathing so we headed out for a relatively flat 34 mile ride out to Livermore. It was awesome. This area is nothing but cattle farms and brown hills and open space and there were almost no cars on the road. I felt that I was riding well, as opposed to my awful ride on Thursday. As it turns out my average speed was no better but I felt better and I'm pretty sure that my moving speed was much faster.

When we got back to Danville I still had about a hour on the plan and was trying to figure out what to do. Monica gave me a route that is flat and easy and works well to fill the time. And then I said, "or maybe I should go home via the junction". Monica lit up and said "I would be SO proud of you if you did that" so really, there was no turning back.

For the uninitiated, 'the junction' is where the roads leading up the south side and the north side of Mt. Diablo meet. It's a 2200 foot climb with the grade going from 6 to 12 percent most of the way. There are a couple of flat spots and a little bit of down but it's a climb, for sure.

artwork by John Finger

A couple months ago there is no way in hell I would have attempted this. I would have been sure I couldn't do it. I would have said my legs were too tired. I would have thought it would make me too tired to train the rest of the week or I would get injured or blah, blah, blah. Yesterday I knew it would be a challenge, and it was, but I was determined.

I was alone - I had no peer pressure - it was hot - my legs had almost 40 miles on them by the time I got to the base of the hill, I was having stomach issues and yet I was determined and so I just started climbing. There were many, many times when I thought about just stopping, turning around and heading down the hill but I did not. I pushed on. I stopped once at about 1500 feet to let my heartrate go down. I stopped at Rock City to use the restroom and was moderatly alarmed that I barely needed to pee in spite of having consumed 3 water bottles full of either water or Infinit but I wasn't sick or light headed so I didn't worry about it. I stopped at about 2,000 feet to ingest a Gu because my legs were on fire. And then I headed up. And then I was there!

I was pretty wrung out and there were a couple of older guys there so I said "Ta Da! Made it!" they said something about it being a tough climb and of course I just HAD to mention that I'd already ridden out to Livermore from Walnut Creek. They were appropriately impressed - mission accomplished! I got some water, drank some Nuun and then headed down the North side reaching a maximum of 32.1 mph which is very brave for me.

Total round trip was 60 miles. Total boost to my confidence was 100% - at least. Thursday was a horrible training day and I felt dead and incapable and it made me worry a lot about my ability to do Vineman in a reasonable timeframe. Yesterday's ride was yet another reminder that some days you are the dog and some days you are the hydrant. The ride wasn't fast but it was hard and I know it will make me a stronger, better rider. It reminded me that with determination and focus and a willingness to suffer a little bit the things we could never do come into reach and then fall behind us. Mostly it reminded me that never is a very, very long time and you just never know where your limits lie until you reach out futher than you ever thought you could and turn 'I could never....' into "I used to think I could never....". Chances are, you can.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 05:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)

(click to enlarge and do your best not to see a giant breast)

It took a little doing with SportTracks and MotionBased but I finally managed to excise an elevation map that really describes the "Cherry On Top" of Mt. Diablo much better. I've put it at the bottom.

Also - I'm not sure about the height of the Junction. I said 2200 then I found a grade map that said 1600 in one place and almost 2200 in another. Whatever. I knew there was a lot of climbing after that and I thought the rest of the climb was steeper and really dreaded the attempt but it turns out that until you get to the bottom of the cherry it isn't that bad. It isn't easy but it wasn't the killer pitch I was expecting. Then I found a page that details the grade up Mt. Diablo and discovered it's all about the same pitch all the way up except for the awesome part where you get some down at Rock City, just after the South Gate entrance. For the most part it is a 4 - 12% grade with the steep stuff coming mostly on the turns and not lasting very long. You just stand up and push down on the pedals until things flatten out a bit. And then there's this - the last part:

11.06 4% 3630 sign: detour ahead
11.16 4% 3660 day-use parking entrance to the right
11.18 8% 3680
11.20 10% 3680
11.21 6% 3700 road splits This is the bottom of the driveway
11.23 10% 3700
11.24 14% 3700
11.25 16% 3710
11.26 16% 3720
11.28 15% 3740
11.29 15% 3750 This is about where I freaked out and then clipped out
11.30 15% 3750
11.32 16% 3770
11.33 15% 3770
11.34 15% 3780
11.35 14% 3790
11.36 13% 3800 sign: summit elevation 3849 11.37 9% 3810 entering 20-min parking lot at the summit this is where you come over the top and SHABLAM - you are in the parking lot! of the mountain top museum,

The real summit is inside this building which they built around the very peak of the mountain and left a little spot open in the floor so that you can have a 'peak' experience (it really says that on the sign!) This guy has a photo in his Picasa Album. If you click through you can see some great shots of the vistas from up there.

The out of range spots on the final elevation chart are me walking around in the building where McBikey and I went in search of calories. He bought us each a Snickers. A big one. For the first time in literally years I ate a WHOLE Snickers bar and had not one drop of guilt or remorse about it. It had to be the very best, most delicious candy bar I have ever eaten. mmmmmmmmmmmm....... I think I'll do it again, next weekend because we all know that all of this training is about the food.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Saturday I set out, once again, with Dr. McBikey and some other people from FMRC to conquer Mt. Diablo. The goal this time was to make it all the way to the top, starting from the Danville side. My previous attempts ended at the junction which is labled 'ranger station' in the image below. That is at about 2200 feet or something like that.

I made it! All except the last little bit known variously as 'The Grind', 'The Wall', or 'The Cherry On Top'. In any case that last 50 yards is really steep and very difficult to climb and I was too freaked out about falling over to attempt it so I stopped and pushed my bike up the last part.

Here is an elevation map of the last 5 miles ending just below 'the cherry' (click to enlarge)

I made it up 3749 feet of vertical climb so I'm declaring victory! Now if you'll excuse me I have to go attend to my training tapeworm!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

I wrote recently about a ride up Mt. Diablo that was accomplished in spite of a slow leak in my rear tube. That was on a Saturday. On Monday I changed the tube. I think Tuesday's ride went fine but then on "Thursday I had the same problem - the rear tire kept going flat over and over and over - it was SO annoying. It made me stronger but what a lousy way to go.

I vowed to my riding partner, Dr. McBikey that I would get a new tire so we didn't have to keep stopping so on Thursday night I got out some tires I purchased some time ago and attempted to make the switch. I pulled off the old, got out a new tube, got the tire into the rim on one side and then, when I had all but the last 4 inches on the rim all progress stopped. I couldn't get it to budge. I pushed and pushed with my thumbs until it hurt too much. My head was screaming "USE YOUR PALMS!" but I ignored it and put on a pair of gloves and just kept pushing.

I gave up and took the glovee off and was greated with tihs:

That's a blister that split and then had the skin roll under, leaving a ridge of skin. mmmmmmmmmmmm... You can also see how swollen the joint of my tumb is. Owie.

The next day I took the wheel, tire and tube to my local Sports Basement and they were kind enough to mount it. It took 3 guys to get that last part on - the third one was the only one with strong enough hands. I was so vindicated.

After I got home I managed to unroll the skin so the blister looked like this:

I rode for 3 hours on Sunday and all was well with the rear tire. Dr. McB was out of town and didn't have the pleasure of my new tire.

Today my thumb looks like this:

Just a dead skin rim around some fresh pink skin.

So today's PSA is this - USE YOUR PALMS not your thumbs when you change the tire.

hshahahaha... to those of you who tought I would write some dirty. Gutter brains!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 06:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

Triathlon training is going very well these days. I have a new riding pal we will refer to as Dr. McBikey because he's a doctor and he's attractive enough to warrant the reference. This is just a biking thing so don't get excited. The thing about Dr. McBikey that's nice is that he wants to ride at 6:15 AM and that works for me and it is MUCH easier to get out there at the butt crack of dawn if someone is expecting you than if you lack that particular incentive.

Anyhow, on Thursday I had mentioned that I would probably climb Mt. Diablo on Saturday and he asked if he could come so I said sure! As it turns out no one else was available so it was just us. Friday night I noticed that my rear tire was completely flat so Saturday I got up extra early so I could change it (we didn't start until 8 AM on Saturday). I got it changed, took off, connected with Dr. McB and off we went. About 10 miiles later I could hear that things weren't right and I checked it and sure enough, the tire was mushy. I loaded it up with some CO2 and we started climbing.

OMG - climbing has never been so difficult! I got about 1500 feet up the mountain and I was red and sweaty and my HR was through the roof, I'm sure (only I don't wear a HRM so I don't really know). I could see McB way up ahead but I had to stop and sure enough the rear tire was totally squishy again. Pumped it up, rode on, met up with McB who was waiting and was happy enough to take a rest and then on we went. Lather, rinse, repeat once more and it this was getting annoying.

Here's the good news, though. My recollection is that the last 2 hills before you get to where the roads that head up the 2 sides of the mountain join are steep and hard to climb. They were not. I was stunned to realized that I had reached the junction when I did so I declare VICTORY! I love it when the hills get easier because it means I really am getting stronger - yeah!

All thoughts of going higher got dumped due to my equipment issues so we headed down the north side, stopped for an iced latte and headed to the Sports Basement for some more CO2. Dr. McBikey got a flat on the way and was glad I was with him because he has no experience changing a tire although to his credit he had everything he needed (levers, tire and pump).

After I got home the big msytery was why, oh why did 2 tubes go flat? I took off the tire and checked every bit of the inner surface. I found 1 tiny slit but it was nothing that would puncture a tube. I checked the rim - nothing. Then I pumped up the tubes and submerged them only to discover that there were tiny rends in the seam of each. Cheap tubes? Poor installation? What's your guess?

PSA -

I'd like to introduce you to a program called SportsTracks in the event you've never heard of it. It works with your Garmin and the cool thing it does is let you break the workout into pieces. You sort of have to get the hang of how to get the thing to break where you want it to but once you do it's awesome! I was able to break up the run and ride portions of the Golden Bear Triathlon. Once I broke them up I exported them to GPX format and then imported them into MotionBased so that I now have this:

Ride:

Run:

Okay- so that's a lot of work to be able to look at an elevation map but I love it! I'm a geek and technology that lets me play with numbers works for me.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This weekend I had my metric century ride up in Sonoma.

It was 4 hours of looking at this sort of thing

And maybe a little of this

It was one of those things where you ride for 10 miles gawking at the scenery and then stop for some food - maybe a 1/2 a banana and some M&Ms; and then you ride for another 15 miles picking out your favorite house and marveling on the splendor and beauty of life and then you stop for lunch where they custom make a sandwich for you and you can have cookies and pretzels and chips and fill up the bottles and then you go for another 10 or 12 miles and stop for another snack and then you do the last part which, of course, has the hardest hill but then you get to head downhill and go to a BBQ. Can you spell g-l-o-r-i-o-u-s?? It's the sort of thing where if you aren't careful you can gain a couple pounds by the time you finish.

Here's the elevation map which makes it look way harder than it was. I don't even remember that first hill but the second one is called Chalk Hill and takes some energy to get up, particularly when you've got 50 miles on your legs. I got up it, just fine, though even passing some people and leaving my friend Cindy in the dust and that's a first, for sure.

I highly recommend you click here and get the map of this ride and then make a point of doing it yourself sometime - probably without all the support and food.

This ride was super fun for several other reasons, as well.
1). At check in we bumped into a woman we swim with who was thrilled to have some riding partners. I was pretty impressed with the pace she was setting and then, after the first stop she met up with the guys she rides with from Berkeley and I learned just how much she had been holding back. Once she hooked on with them she was gone like a shot.

2). At lunch I bumped into a friend from college I've been meaning to call. She is an avid rider and I've been thinking of calling her to go for a ride together. No excuses now!

3). Riding is a lot easier when you are lighter. As Greyhound pointed out I've improved my weight to power ratio and I really felt it.

4). It's great to have some strategy for hill climbing. Thank you Monica! I was pretty awesome on those hills.

5). This was a ride, not a race and my average speed which was diluted by rest stops and slowing down in some spots to wait for my friend was 14.8 mph. That compares rather favorably to last years 11-ish. In fact, I did this 62 miles in 4:09 compared to last year's Wildflower 25 mile ride in 2:06.

6). The circular part of this route is the same as Vineman 70.3. It starts a little different and ends a little different but mostly it's the same and it is fabulous. I've told Jenny about 20 times how gorgeous this is - she is doing Vineman with me. We are going to have such a fine time! (if you are also doing Vineman 70.3 please let me know!)

7). I had 90 minutes of running on the schedule for Sunday and I whined about it all day thinking it would be awful. It was not - it was a great run and I averaged 10:40 mph which is great for me on any 8 mile run and especially good when I've had a long ride the day before.

8). I'm glad I got the sight-seeing out of the way so I can bust a move at Vineman. Jenny wants to do it together which means I'm going to have step it up quite a bit because that woman is a smokin' fast triathlating ma-sheen!

9). There are no cars on the back roads of the wine country between 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM and then there aren't many before noon. Bliss!

10). My first triathlon is Saturday - I'm feeling a PR coming on.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

It's Tuesday! So shoot me - I just didn't feel like writing yesterday. I thought about all of you all week and all weekend as I blogged in my head repeatedly. I thought about how it's the little things in life that make a lot of little smiles grow into a big one. Little things that happened that made me smile:

1). The cat ate a teeny, tiny piece of turkey that I didn't have to cram down her throat. And then she stopped and it was back to the force feeding. At least she tried.

2). The cat has started leaving my bed to come sit on my lap when I'm watching TV. This is HUGE

3). The cat visciously attacked my hand the other day while I was petting her - she's coming back to life!

4). I had a great call with Humbly Ann who was struggling with some stuff and I helped her feel better. Nothing warms a Mom's heart more than helping her child out of a shadow. (That and learning that she didn't get eaten by a shark - see previous post).

5). I was good about getting my 2 weekday rides in. I even rode the road that has the hill that kicks my butt and it did not. Good times!

6). The weather was gorgeous this weekend. My 90 minute run did not suck as much as last weekend's 70 minute run so I was very happy about that.

7). I ran out of book on the run and started listening to music and heard the most perfect, sunny day running song, Sunny Day by Hyim If you click on that link you can hear it, too. The tempo is a little slow but on a hot sunny day when you are out running it feels just right.

8). I went to a bike maintenance clinic and not only learned some stuff but was finally told I look like I've lost weight. It wasn't really the first time. Humbly Ann told me I looked skinnier in early April but I hadn't started noticing it yet so it didn't have the same impact as me noticing I'd lost weight and then not hearing that from other people. Now I SO appreciate both comments. I'm 6 pounds down and doing fine.

9). I climbed to the junction of Mt. Diablo again on Sunday. It wasn't quite as hard as it had been the week before. The rest of my group went on to the top but I just didn't feel like it was my day to do that so I'm scheduling that for May 17.

10). I have 2 events coming up! Next Saturday I am riding the Wine Country Century (metric) and May 10 I have my season opener triathlon, The Golden Bear. I'm excited!

11). I went to swim clinic Saturday morning and went from flailing in the water like a crazy person to actually pulling some water and making some progress. It was really great to have that experience BEFORE my first tri where I'm sure I would have gone nowhere fast for the first 10 minutes of the swim, otherwise. I love my race club!
And all of those little things add up to big things - sunny days, training progress and happiness.

This is my life with the cat now. We do this 2 or 3 times a day:

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

I was planning on doing my long ride on Sunday but one of my riding partners couldn't make it so we changed to today - why not? The plan had been to climb the back side of the Berkeley Hills and go to the start of my season opener triathlon, The Golden Bear, and then test drive the course. Alas - such was not to be.

My riding partner Cindy wasn't crazy about that idea and my legs were pretty tired from my smokin hot run Wednesday night followed by my ride on Thursday. Friday I swam. We decided to climb up the front side of the hills (front and back are totally arbitrary, btw - I just made that up) because we had done that before and knew what to expect. This was my second time making this climb and I didn't think I could do it and REALLY wanted to talk Cindy out of it. That Cindy is a wiley one, though and she said, "lets just get there and see how it goes. You just keep pedaling and pretty soon you're there." Uh huh.

My recollection from the last time is that I thought the first part of the ride from the bottom of Wildcat Canyon Rd. to Inspiration Point would be really hard and I thought that it WAS the climb. When we did it a year ago I remember thinking it was no big deal. What I didn't know about then was that we were just warming up and there was this whole OTHER hill to climb. That's the part I didn't think I could manage because I remembered it as being excrutiating.

As I remembered, the first part was fine - no big whoop (the part that is the same for both rides). The onl y problem was that the further up the hill we got the wetter and foggier it became. We passed Inspiration Point and kept going with me thinking I would beg to turn around at Lake Anza. My thighs were like that shirt in the Tide-to-Go ad that has the talking stain on it and the stain was sayiing "No freakin' way! Stop! - No No! Turn Back! We're Tired! No can Do!" - in stereo, no less. My mouth stayed clamped shut, though and on we rode.

Then we got to the part I remembered as being the beginning of the hard part. I just kept pedaling and it just kept getting wetter and foggier and the visibility went down, down, down. And we just kept going. I remember thinking at one point, "where is that really steep part that I don't think I can manage" and then I remember looking to my right and thinking, "isn't this just about the top?" Not that we could see anything but a whited out fog bank but there are some logs and stuff to keep the cars from driving off the edge and there was a water tank and I sort of remembered that part.

There was a possible turn off we stopped at but I was feeling okay so we just kept pedaling and it just kept getting wetter and the visibility went down, down, down unti you couldn't see 30 feet ahead of you. We were headed to a second possible turn off and when we got there and were thinking about what to do a lady in a HEYOOGE MBZ with NO lights on came puttering by. Decision made! We didn't know how near the top we were but at that point the thought of going down the other side in zero visibility with reckless drivers on the road lost all appeal.

We went across the street and headed down a road that is closed to cars in the winter and that is awesome! I was screaming down that hill, for me (is 30 mph screaming?). I had to exercise some caution because the road was wet but I pretty much let 'er rip. Once we got down that hill we could see again and were very happy not to feel so invisible. What I didn't know was what happened to that super steep part.

Here are the 2 elevation maps from last year and this year:

As you can see - we were at the top. There was no more steep part except that one extra climb that comes after some down. We could have come down any which way and it would been fine with me and my nattering thighs except for that part where no one could see us. I think we made the right move.

The real lesson here is that if you don't know where you are, if you can't see up the hill very far and if you have a terrible memory you can do stuff you thought was way too hard. I've sent my thighs off to stand in the corner and think about that while the rest of me mows through the kitchen.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 03:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Various people in my race club sponsor weekly events. There are Saturday rides and Sunday Ladies rides and Wednesday night runs and now that the days are longer, Thursday night rides are back. I really needed to get on my pony and go but I was pretty intimidated to go out with this particular group. However, faced with the choice of spending quality time with Coach Troy and going for a ride on a beautiful evening I had to at least entertain the latter.

I sent email to the guy who was leading and asked about the ride. He described it as a ride up 'Dog Hill' and I really needed to understand EXACTLY what that meant. He told me it was no big whoop and they used it most of the time to practice riding while staying in the saddle so I thought, "fine - I'll go".

I left work early yesterday because I was so exhausted - just fatigued. I've had a lot of that lately but I have not had the nasty crud that is ruining everyone else's life (that sound you hear is me, knocking on wood) so I assume my body is fighting it off. Anyhow, I came home and lay down for a power nap. Then the alarm went off the conversation in my head went like this:

Gallant: Get up - time to go for a ride
Goofus: Oh no - I'm so tired. I don't think I should go
Gallant: Get up - put the bike in the car
Goofus: I don't think so - I think I have a sore throat and besides, I'll get dropped like a bad date in the first 2 miles
Gallant: PUT THE BIKE IN THE CAR!!!
Goofus: I can't do it. I can't - too humiliating
Gallant: Just put the effing bike in your effing car and start driving!
Goofus: Oh man.. oh no.... oh God... PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME GO!
Gallant: PUT.THE.BIKE.IN.THE.CAR!
Goofus: Okay fine - I'll put the bike in the car.

And I did. I put the bike in the car along with the helmet, the shoes, leg warmers, arm warmers and gloveS. I had on shorts and a short sleeve cycling jersey and a wind breaker.

I just about cooked in my car. It was pretty warm out.

When I got there the first person to greet me was a woman who had been recommended to me as a coach. Great. Most of the the rest of the riders have done Ironman. Oh boy.... But I got on the bike and I rode. I kept up with them for a while, too and I thought "Stud!" But then we hit a hill and away they went and there I was - way behind everyone and all alone. And you know what? I didn't care. I just rode the fastest I could ride.

Dog Hill was not so bad and I realized that a year ago I would have granny geared it up the entire time. As it was I used the small chain ring twice in 4 miles of climbing - go me! Dog Hill was an out and back and just before I got to the end the group started coming back the other way. They were gracious enough to claim they had just gotten there themselves (fer shrue) and told me to go ahead and get to the turn around. That was very nice.

The way back was mostly down and I mostly kept up with people. It was really fun! And I rode. And Coach Troy will just have to find some other blind date.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 04:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Does anyone have any experience with these shoes?

I am feeling the need for new cycling shoes. The ones I have are okay but I had no idea what I was doing when I bought them. I don't really need new shoes but I got an ad for these today and I ♥ them

If you know anything about these shoes please speak up!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

First off I'd like to thank all of you very nice people for the compliments on my hair cut. I needed that. Actually, it was the compliments on my looks in general that made me smile - a lot. You are all the very best people in the world! The hair has calmed down a bit and looks better. It has been test driven through swimming, running and cycling and it really does seem to be easier to deal with which was the whole point to begin with so that came as quite a relief.

Speaking of swimming, running and cycling - on Saturday I swam 2600 meters with a lot of specialty (non free) work tossed in and I ran 5.5 miles. That felt pretty good. On Sunday I rode but only about 30 miles. I had wanted to do more but that just wasn't in the cards so I let it go. I'm not on a plan yet other than to build base so it was fine.

The thing I've noticed lately is that I no longer have to screw up my courage to get on the bike. Last season I spent a lot of mental time pep talking myself into riding against a barrage of gut level fear. Some fear was specific and some was just an amorphous specter wafting in my peripheral vision and telling me to stay home where it's safe.

The night before a ride I would go through a very long menu of reasons to bail out - I'm too tired, it's too cold, too hot, my knees hurt, I have too much to do... whatever. For me the beauty of riding with others is the inability to not show up without fessing up - it kept me going although now that I think of it I did precious few miles last year (610 in total!!!) because my riding partners were not as available.

The other problem arose when I first put clip in pedals in the bike. I was afraid of falling over even though it never hurt that much to do it and I did it quite a few times at first. There were many times when I would bail out on a hill for fear of just grinding to a halt and falling over like the tricycle guy on Laugh In (umm.. showing my age here). When the going got slow I would clip out and walk - ugh. I hate that and would use the occasion to indulge in yet another round of undeserved self flaggellation.

That's what lead to the real fear - fear of failure. Fear that I might get on my bike and just not be able to 'make it' whatever that meant. I was never really sure. I had these internalized images of me just stopping and sitting by the side of the road in tears, unable to go on. Not that anything like that ever happened - it was just an overwhelming sense of "I can't". I am nearly overjoyed to be on a path where I feel that "I can", not only because "I have" but because I'm starting to appreciate and trust my own strength, determination and ability to accomplish my goals.

I had a fantastic conversation with a guy on our ladies ride yesterday who a year ago realized my biggest fear - getting hit by a car. He had ridden 115 miles on Saturday and did the first 20 out of 100+ miles of his Sunday ride as a warm up with the ladies before he took off like a jet when we turned left to head back home. That conversation along with some other recent experiences have lead me to finding 'my word'. I'm working up to a post describing all of that.

I had no fear yesterday, though. I can tell I'm getting stronger on the bike and was able to keep up until the very end when I had to really work to catch the 2 women reamaining in the group. My legs were burning but I figured out that I really could pedal harder, go faster, and catch them and that's a whole new deal for me. The old me would just find some rational explanation for why I was way behind and then proceed to beat myself up for it. The new me says, "Go! Go! Go!" and go I do and even I can't l find fault with that.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 06:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

YTD I've had a little trouble getting going in the training arena. A certain someone who shall remain namelesshas suggested I need to HTFU and I am trying - I really am.

I have whined about "the cold" and I put that in quotes in deference to you poor, poor people living in the mid-west. My god it's cold where you live. I have suggested that running in 40 degree weather is just not acceptable and I have simply refused to do it. I almost hate to post this but out here it was gorgeous this weekend - so beautiful. And let me tell you - it is so much easier to HTFU when the sun is shining and the road beckons than it is when the wind blows icy cold and freezes the lining of your lungs.

Saturday I went on a 50 mile bike ride and it was fantastico! I was in leg warmers and arm warmers and a windbreaker and gloves but I was not cold - I was happy. It wasn't exactly the ride of champions - we stopped halfway through and had coffee and muffins and chatted for a while but be that as it may I rode 50 miles. After I got back I mowed the lawn, weeded and cleaned up this and that outside. I was outside all day long. The evening was uneventful but that was okay because I fell asleep on the couch at about 8:30. What a party girl! I really do need to HTFU and get a social life but that's another story.

Today I was going to go on another ride and climb up Mt. Diablo but I decided my hind quarters took all the beating they could take on Saturday so I just ran 3 miles, instead. I guess that means I am only part of the way to HingTFU but I'm making progress. I just have to keep this guy in my head to keep up the momentum.

(warning - not work or child friendly - but funny)

Grammy notes:

1). FU to the music industry for turning our sweet little Carrie Underpants into a BS ho-bag look alike. Ick
2). Tina! - Welcome to middle age. You're still the bomb.
3). Kanye - can I just tell you how much I hate your song Stronger? Disgusting. I thought you were supposed to be Mr. Clean. The song to your Mama was sweet and shaving Mama into your hair was...touching but that doesn't give you a hall pass on that nasty song. Sorry.
4). Foo Fighters - ROCK ON!

and that's all she wrote because it's bed time.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Praise Be! for the wine industry. Not so much because I love wine although I do rather like it on occasion. Were it not for the ever growing wine industry California would be wall to wall houses and malls. All available land would be paved over with concrete and asphalt save for the occasional small spot of sod and the air would be filled with the din of automobiles and trucks. Actually that second part is pretty much true but thanks to our expanding need for wine some of the land is covered in vineyards. I noticed some olive groves today, too. Right on! If your head is filled with visions of dipping sourdough bread in olive oil and sipping wine you are so my kind of person.

So it's really true - you really don't forget how to ride a bike . At least I didn't. I went out at 10ish with my friends and went for a comfortable and really beautiful 16 mile ride, mostly on paved trails. When we ran out of trails we rode through the vineyards. My friend Sandy wanted to stop at the Wente Champagne tasting room and see what they had to offer but I was hungry by then and was pretty sure that a taste of Champagne would have me lying in the gutter in no time so I demurred and we rode on.

I tried out the aerobars that Momo so generously gave me (in addition to the ones that DPR so generously gave me. Internet friends are the BEST!). The second I put my hands on them I rode off the paved trail and into the gravel. WHOA! To my credit I didn't freak out and just fall over. I actually managed to get my hands back on the handle bars, clip out and stop. I must be getting better at this biking stuff. I tried them several more times during the ride and I'm getting there. I'll have to practice on the trainer to get really confident though. Riding aero is kind of a wobble-fest, non?

The house is empty, the leftovers are gone and it is entirely too quiet around here. All I hear is the syncopated rhythm of my dog's toenails clacking across the floor against the clicking of my keyboard as I write yet another vapid NaBloPoMo! post. Thanksgiving was over way too soon but the end of this writing sufferfest won't come soon enough. Apologies for the constant drivel. I promise I'll step away from the keyboard after my final NaBlo post on November 30.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 06:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I have 2 opportunities to go for a bike ride tomorrow. I could go out at 8 AM when it is still about 40 degrees out but getting warmer. The 8 AM group are fast and ready to really hit it hard after a 4 day weekend of gluttony.

Or I could go out at 10 AM with a much slower, more relaxed group who ride recreationally and don't race.

Or I could snub my bike again.

I haven't ridden since SOMA.

I think I need to go out with the 10 AM group and just enjoy a leisurely ride - just to prove to myself that the old addage about riding a bike is true because at this point I have my doubts.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

My bike came home! Thank you FedEx for doing a fine, fine job and getting it there and back in one piece. Thank you to Momo for helping me pack it up and for being there when FedEx came to get it. It's all back together and I plan on going for a nice ride this weekend. The only bad news is that the aero bars DPR gave me don't fit my fat handle bars.

In other news - look at this:

That's right - I'm all in! I polled some women from my race club who have done this race and who have ridden with me and no one said, "are you kidding me. YOU can't do THAT!" In fact they all said, "this is a GREAT event - do it!" So I signed up myself and IronMomJenny who is coming to do it with me. It will be my first half Ironman distance race. Anyone else out there doing it??

Speaking of Jenny - GO JENNY GO! She is racing IM FL tomorrow, naughty ticker and all so think good thoughts for her!

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 02:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

I had a fantastic weekend of cycling - really fantastic.

Saturday I went out with a group in the rain. I had never ridden in the rain before and another guy and I were chatting while we waited for the leader to show up and pretty much had ourselves talked out of it. Then 4 other people showed up and of course there was no way to bow out so off we went.

It was okay! In fact I enjoyed it and one of the elite riders on my team gave me some personal coaching on the way back. This is a woman who in 2006 rode IM CDA in just a hair over 6 hours and then did IM FL in just over 5:30. She's what in California we refer to as hella fast. She's also hella nice and remarkably helpful. At one point in the coaching process she told me to just tell her to be quiet if I got sick of getting coached. HA! As if. I loved it and so appreciated the feedback.

We only went 20 miles Saturday but 20 miles in the rain is quite enough, thank you. That photo is of my socks which somehow missed getting into the laundry yesterday. EW! I also got the seat of my new car dirty. We were totally soaked and covered in grit as were our bikes. I was so frozen when I got home I emptied out my 50 gallon hot water heater. The bike got a nice shower, too albeit a cold one with the hose.

It was totally worth it, though!

Today we did 40 miles in nice, warm, dry but overcast weather. Perfect riding weather except for the headwinds in places but it wasn't ferocious - just a bit annoying. It was the ladies ride, lead by aforementioned super star, fabulous cyclist. She gave another woman and me a lot of coaching. She had me riding up hill in the big chain ring (of a triple), keeping up my cadence (if I could which I must admit I failed to do a couple of times) and holding my speed at something in double digits. That's a first for me.

Mostly I was able to keep up with everyone until the way back and then I sort of lost it for a moment. I just ran out of juice on this one hill but once I caught up to the pack (waiting patiently for me) I was able to hang on. There was also a moment on the way out where I think I learned first hand what the expression 'blew up' means. I never really got it before but there was one hill where I was trying for the 5th or 6th time to keep it in the big chain ring and stand up and power my way to the top and I could barely move the pedals. I dropped the gears way down for fear of falling over and still I could hardly pedal. I thought there was something mechanical wrong with my bike but it turned out to be a mechanical issue with the rider, not the ride. Fortunately I got my mojo back after some downhill.

Stats:
Saturday - 21 miles @ an average of 15 mph
Sunday - 40 miles @ an average of 14.5 mph

And that's 2 more firsts. It's the first time I've gone out riding 2 days in a row (I know - not the stuff a triathlete is made of but I'm working on it!) and it's the first time I've averaged over 12 mph on a hilly course over distance.

All of this is really great as I have an unexpected, recently scheduled Olympic (sort of) distance triathlon next weekend. It's the one I won an entry to at my last sprint. I intend to nail it!

Sunday I am going swimming with the sharks in the SF Bay again on the YMCA's Treasure Island to Embarcadero swim.

Good times.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 05:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

So Floyd lost. He has but one appeal left.

After the dopers got axed from the tour this year and the winners came in within 30 seconds of each other my perspective on Floyd's case changed. There are no miracle performances. There is determination and grit and pain but nothing is going to rocket you into the lead. You might be able to gut it out and hold on even though you have a bloodied and bruised hiney but you aren't going to shoot out in front.

I'm disappointed in Floyd but the finish of the Tour was so fantastic this year that I am hopeful for cycling. It might actually stay clean and sober and show us many more exciting finishes.

If you haven't seen the real story on the real clean athletes then click here. You won't be sorry.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Today I went on a ladies only bike ride with 5 ladies and another lady with cajones. I believe his presence was a case of new love that could not withstand a Sunday morning apart. His lady wanted to go so he went, too. The leader had said any men who joined had to wear a wig and some pink but relented in the end. He went in red teamkit.

I decided to ride to the start in spite of having done that last time and not made it by the appointed hour. I missed the group ride and ended up going out alone and then flatting. This time I left earlier and rode harder. I was passed every so often by men riding at something around 20mph but I"m used to that. At one point I noticed that I was fast approaching a man up ahead of me and I was ecstatic. I was going to pass a man! As I rode by him I looked back only to see that he was at least 90 years old. Be that as it may, I PASSED A MAN ON A BIKE AND YOU CAN NEVER TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!

I got the rendez-vous point in plenty of time and we all took off to ascend Mt. Diablo, at least to what is known as 'the junction'. It isn't all the way to the top but it does require climbing for about 5 miles so that was good enough for me. I was consumed with gut wrenching fear that half way up I would grind to halt and fall over but I smiled and pushed on. I was riding with our fearless leader (photo to the right) who happens to be a very competitive triathlete and a very good cyclist so I figured I could get some good coaching. I figured right. You may find this humorous in a woman who has been riding some pretty tough hills for the last 2 summers but there was a chink in my hill climbing strategy. I didn't know how to get out of the saddle and stand on the pedals - until today. She taught me how to do it so I could get some good momentum when the going got tough. I got quite good at it after just a few tries.

I made it to the junction with a huge smile on my face. The view from up there and really all along the route was spectacular. (not my photo but it does the job)
The skies were clear and you could see far and wide. There was also the view of this young Adonis in white cycling shorts that started below his navel and ended high on his beautiful thighs. It was blinding. But I digress.

We flew back down the mountain (well - I managed to get up as high 29 mph woo hoo!) and I returned home. I looked down at my Garmin and realized that it had recorded only the time - no distance, no map, no altitude. I was bummed. I really wanted that elevation map. But then I thought, "the heck with the elevation map - I got the ride!" and I was once again happy as a pig in mud. It was a glorious day and I ended that ride feeling vital and strong and that's what it's all about. The rest of the day was filled with eat, nap, shower, shop, have coffee with a friend, watch trash TV with daughter. Does life get any better than that?

Tons of people do that ride and upload the results to Motionbased so here it is. My start and end were a little different and my ride was longer but the hill part is the same:

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

First of all I completely forgot to mention that I met Bex a couple weeks ago. We had drinks and the most delicious Brie and pear quesedilla in the world. Oh how i love living in California with all this great food and how I love meeting my internet friends, not necessarily in that order but both at once is a real bonus.

Second of all thanks for the well wishes on my neck. It started feeling better Saturday so I rode on Sunday (even though I spent 1 hour in the trainer on Saturday). This is elevation map of the ride. It looks so completely crazy!

I let the hill win for a little bit on the way back. It's hard to see from that elevation map but there is a sharp hill with a summit that falls along a general incline. I gave it up about 60 feet from the top and at the time it seemed like a total defeat but overall it was but a blip in a pretty tough ride. The coolest part about this ride is that I went with a woman from my race club who just needed to find a riding partner for a 5 hour training ride for her next HIM. It was a huge win/win for both of us to find each other because I just needed to get out there. I went 3 hours to her 5 but we both had a great time. All hail terra firma race clubs and email lists!

Third of all I spent hours yesterday glued to IronmanLive watching people cross the finish. A great race was had by some and a race that resulted in a painful but successful finish was had by others but even that is a great race. Congratulations to everyone who got out there and toed the line.

I'll try to get back to being interesting soon.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 07:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Today I read one of the saddest statements I've ever seen with respect to the Tour de France:

"It's almost impossible to be at the front of the pack these days without doping," the Montreal lawyer said.

[ the lawyer being World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick Pound]

Where will it end? And what in the world does this mean (from the same article):

Race director Christian Prudhomme said the case showed that cycling's drug-testing system doesn't work.

"It's an absolute failure of the system," he said. "It is a system which does not defend the biggest race in the world. This is a system which can't last."

What is a failure of the system? Is he really suggesting that we should turn a blind eye toward doping so the show can go on? Doesn't sound like much of a solution to me but perhaps I have the wrong interpretation and he really meant something else.

Hat's off to Moreni for not engaging in a lot of lies and whining. If you get caught cheating please take it like an athlete. Accept the results and step aside.

Shame on him for trying to get away with doping, though. What are these guys thinking? Detection seems inevitable. I guess it all goes back to the sad statement of the day. And what a sad statement it is.

Oh how I long for the days when athletes had as much integrity as they had ambition and where the winners really were winners because they had the raw talent and the passion and the drive. Of course that pretty much pre-dates performance enhancing drugs. Those days are long gone and the last thing we need is the public shrugging their shoulders and saying doping is okay or that the result is more important than the process or that sports is just entertainment so so what? You hear that more with baseball and football but bear with me.

Athletes, like it or not , are role models. Children admire athletes and aspire to grow up to be just like them. Do we want our kids growing up to be brave enough to ingest chemicals that can harm them but that make them preternaturally strong so they can win? I'm pretty sure we don't. And do we want our athletically inclined girls growing up aspiring to be Playboy models? I don't think so.

Sports isn't just sports any more. It is a cash flow engine and that cash comes right out of our pockets. I've never been a pro nor do I play one on TV but I've got to believe that the passion that puts a fire in the belly of an age group athlete is soon altered when you go pro. And for boys in high school looking to become pros in any of the big 3 sports the lures that have nothing to do with a passion for sports are already there putting stars in their eyes - the money, the fancy houses and cars, the babes.

In addition to the money there is the desire to win and the hero worship that goes with that. Athletes are by definition competitive people and if you can out compete the next guy or gal by taking EPO or getting a transfusion or using steroids the temptation to resist that has to come from the proper reward/punishment structure. Getting caught cheating has to hurt not only financially but morally and spiritually as well. That's the part that is missing.

It is up to us to fix this problem because no one who is getting rich off the status quo is going to willingly shoot their cash cow. We need to voice our opinions. We need to demand tougher penalties for doping. We need to protest events by not buying tickets. We have to stop subscribing to magazines that turn a blind eye toward this behavior and that put hero worship ahead of laudable behavior both on and off the course. We have to demand news coverage that holds athletes who engage in criminal activity accountable for their lack of moral fiber .

If getting caught doping made you a giant loser in the public eye then maybe the risk/reward equation would favor rectitude over attitude, sweat over swagger and honesty over hubris. As it is bad behavior gets you good press and cheating costs you a few bucks and a couple of years. People forget and you move on and you are soon back in the game. As long as you win you are a hero.

Do you suppose that's what Christian Prudhomme meant when he said we have a failed system? Do you suppose when he said "defend" he meant "protect"? I certainly hope so.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)

When I was a kid we saw a film at school called Hemo the Magnificent. It is an animated film that describes how the circulatory system works by using graphics that were light years ahead of their time. In researching this post I just learned that this movie was made by Frank Capra ("It's a Wonderful Life", "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington") and has a lot of other famous film maker involves so it's no wonder it had such an impression on me.*

In the film, the brain is depicted as a control center, telling these little muscle men strategically placed around the heart when to push each chamber and how hard. It demonstrates the 'fright or flight' reaction in a deer by showing the control center issuing urgent orders to "pump faster! pump faster!" The film has shaped my personal internal narrative of what is going on in body ever since.

Today was supposed to be my Half IM test drive where I rode 50 miles and ran 6. Anyone who has ever trained for an endurance event of that distance knows full well you can't go out one day and make a test drive and have any idea whether or not you are prepared to train to go the distance at pace but I was rather enjoying my naiveté on that point so that was the plan. The best laid plans......

I arranged to have a friend meet me at 6 AM because we wanted to beat the heat. As it turned out it cooled way down Friday night so it wasn't an issue but I decided to keep the time. I woke up feeling sort of oogie in the tummy and couldn't eat any breakfast but that was okay because I'm pretty sure I OD'd on what we affectionately refer to around here as 'Easy Peasy Mac and Cheesy' which is Annies Organic shells and cheese with some peas thrown in. When it comes to cooking for myself that's about the level at which I function. But I digress.

As we were riding along, discussing the route I knew that I didn't want to do any really ferocious hills because I wasn't up to it just having raced a 5K a few days before. I didn't happen to mention that little factoid to my friend, though. We decided to take Happy Valley Rd and just do 1 of the Three Bears - no problem. Why I thought you could get to and area at the apex of some long hills without climbing is yet another mystery but I blithely rode along having no idea. It's like Pee Wee Herman stopped by to whisper "Today's word is"Naive" (heretofore referred to as WotD). Turns out we had to climb the second nastiest hill I have ever been on.

After we had been climbing for about a mile I was really getting knackered - my legs were shot. I almost stopped but my friend called out the lie we all love to tell each other when we're riding - "We're almost to the top!" I fell for it, too (refer to WotD). And then, when itwas clear that we were nowhere near the top my brain interceded and decided that I really should stop for a second.

I did my signature move - clip out right, fall left. As I lay there in the road under my bike with my left shoe still in the death grip of my pedal all I could think of was how really, profoundly good it felt to be flat on my back. I wanted to stay there forever but then I decided that if a car ran over me it wouldn't feel so good anymore so I forced my foot out of the clip and stood up. Then I was irritated with myself because I was on a steep incline and either had to ride down as I mounted then turn around ane re-climb the slope that had defeated me or I had to walk the bike up the hill for a bit. I picked door number 2 and really wished I had just stayed in the saddle but oh well.

It got a bit flatter and I got back on and rode the rest of the way up and then WHEEE!!! we were going down. That's when problem number 3 popped up (1 being my tummy, 2 being my beat up, post race legs). I was wearing a nylon jacket that has a lot of fabric in the sleeves and around the back. It is made for runners, not for cyclists. It was windy up there and I was going downhill. The jacket billowed out behind me and the sleeves flapped and slapped so hard that the slappage bit at my arms like a teething puppy. I might as well have had a big old sail mounted to my top bar.

Ultimately we got down that hill and then had to climb Papa Bear the back way and surprisingly enough, that was fine. The rest of the ride was sort of fine except my legs were suffering a level of fatigue I have never felt before. When I got to the bottom of Papa Bear (which required furious pedaling just to go 30 because my sail was in full bloom) and had no more descent to aid my forward progress I was sure I had a flat because it was so hard to propel the bike. I was practically in the granny gear and could barely move. I stopped and felt the tires - they were fine. I was just out of gas.

I kind of liked it. It gave me some idea of how it feels to be in the midst of a high volume training week where you feel totally beat up and like you can't go on anymore. It gave me some idea of what it is really like to train for an Ironman or even a half and I needed that insight so I could transcend the WotD.

I tossed the original plan in favor of being reasonable. I rode home the easiest way I could find back - total ride 22 miles. I took my ancient and somewhat crippled dog for a walk. I was done.

As I sat eating my scrambled eggs after the ride I could hear the little muscle men working on rebuilding my quads.

"Whoa - we have some serious damage here. Come in Control Center - we need an assessment"
"Yep - looks that these fibers aren't up to the load - time to reinforce. Bring in an extra crew"
"More myelin! Double it up!"

So Go Little Dudes - Go! I need you to be working like mad dogs in there because I'm looking forward to test driving my reinforced legs next weekend. When it comes to training it's really true that what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

*the other thing I learned is that you can still buy this film! I'm so excited.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I was scheduled yesterday to go cycling in the wine country with my race club. This was a golden opportunity as someone had made the arrangements and matched drivers to riders and there was a whole group going and I LOVE cycling in the wine country - it is fantastically beautiful terrain and the hills are just right.

As the week wore on I got more and more apprehensive of riding with this group because many of them are training for IM CDA and/or Vineman and this isn't their first IM and they are fast. They ride at 18-20 mph and I do not. I thought about cancelling. I was pretty sure I had a sore throat coming on - yeah. And you know, my garden really need some work and um... really I'd just be a drag. Then, right on cue my dog came up lame and I thought that was the perfect excuse not to go. After all, I might have to take the dog to the vet. Mustn't neglect a pet in favor of a ride, right? Of course I had just taken her in Thursday and dropped $95 for nothing but still.... and my son was home and could easily take her in but stilll.. I mean really..... really I should bow out.

And then Momo left me a comment and said "just who cares what speed you are, mom. just have fun out there and go your own pace" and I thought "yes - you are SO right Momo. I will ride my own ride". I Momo - she is so wise and so kind and such an IronStud who was I not to take her advice?

Up at 5:00, dressed and ready to go at 6:00 and I head over to the park and ride where we are all meeting. I met my driver and passengers, put the bike in the rack and hopped in. We chatted on the way up about this and that I just decided to head out with this group and see what happened. What happened was that I got dropped in the first 2 miles. I thought about pounding it out and catching up and just hanging on to someone's wheel but then I decided not to. I decided that I would go out for about 15 or so miles, call someone and tell them my plan and just head back the way I went out - and that's what I did. It was brilliant! I rode 34 miles to their 54 (the extra miles are from getting lost, of course) and ended up back at the cars at exactly the same time as most of the Ironpeeps.

Turns out there were some women who I could have kept up with if I had just punched it in the beginning but that's okay - I really, really, really enjoyed MY ride.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 08:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)

I sprang forward yesterday with one of the most spectacular bike rides I've ever been on. 45 miles of gorgeous scenery. Well, maybe 40 miles of gorgeous and 5 miles of neighborhood but still - it was amazing.

The most amazing part about it was that I used to see people biking up the Berkeley Hills and think ,"They must be crazy! How can anyone DO that? That's gotta HURT!" So now I'm crazy, too - crazy cool and crazy strong and crazy in love with that ride.

The day was perfect - PERFECT! We left at 7:30 from our respective homes and rendez-vous'd (you French speakers didn't know that was an English verb, did you??! ) at 8:00 to start the real ride. I was excited because I finally felt ready to tackle what I thought was 'the hill' - going up Wildcat Canyon Rd. When we got to the top I felt like such a stud because I DID IT! Little did I know that the real hill still lay ahead of us. First we got to go down and I was sure that was it - we were going down the other side of the hill but oh no. We got to a stop sign and after hanging a quick left immediately had to start going up again. 'WHOA! I yelled. WRONG GEAR!". Cindy called back, "I was going to warn you but getting a reaction from a first timer is too much fun." ha ha!!

I dropped the gears and started climbing. At this point we were back in a neighborhood where they had spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay. We all live on the other side of the hills where our view is of the back side of hills we had climbed (duh!) so we got all excited and started yelling "OH MY GOD! LOOK AT THAT VIEW!" and then realized it was 8:30 on Sunday morning and we were probably waking everyone up with thoughts of 'for the love of God be quiet - so what?" Well people who live in the hills please do NOT take your view for granted. You are very lucky people indeed!!

After climbing for what seemed forever we got to go down the back side in heavily wooded areas with wildflowers popping out of the undercover and the smell of eucalyptus and pine filling the air. I can't tell you how beautiful it was - you just had to be there. I took one picture with my phone but it hardly does the scenery justice so these photos are all culled from the internet. Trust me when I say they are representative.

More Pics including an elevation map ('cause I loves to look at those) after the jump.

Continue reading "I Never Thought I Could - And then I Did" »

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

*** Updated with long overdue attributuion to the photographers who took the pics I used (and an apology for being lazy about it to begin with) ****

When I left for my ride this morning I was excited but not confident. The plan was to ride the famous 3 Bears, so named for 3 pretty substantial hills - Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Baby Bear. I managed this ride 2 years ago on my old Schwinn but hills have not been my friend lately so I was at the least concerned and I was pretty sure I'd be bringing up the rear by quite a margin.

NOT!

I was the Queen of the Hills. I was so far ahead of my riding partners that I had to stop and wait at the top of the first hill because I was sure someone had flatted or dropped a chain or something. Not so. My new love machine just has some secret turbo booster thingie that kicks in when I least expect it.

The ride was short but beautiful and it did wonders for my confidence. I got a definite case of butt munch at the end but I think the distance was just right for that. I might even go for another ride tomorrow. That's how much love how I feel right now.

Here's the elevation map but it has a definite artifact. That spike at the beginning of Papa Bear is all wrong. Just figure the hill is continuous, which it was. I think I need a handlebar mount for my Garmin.

Here is an elevation map from another source:

Imagery from along the way (this is for you, Juls!)

Continue reading "Queen of the Hills" »

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Saturday dawned perfect and warm, the sky a beautiful cerulean blue. I was excited because I was going on the first real ride on my new bike (other than tackling 'the hill' I hadn't really ridden her) and I was going for my first ride with my fabulous race club. I had sent the organizer an email warning him that I was going to be the "B"-est of the "B" group and he replied "Great! Come on down!" so I was super stoked.

I rode from my house to the store where we started, getting passed on the way by a guy in team kit. I yelled out "tell them I'm on my way - don't leave without me!!" and tried to pick up the pace. I had thought it was about 5 miles from my house but it was closer to 7 and I was worried I'd be late. I characteristically took the wrong way into town but didn't have any trouble cutting over a block and finding a large, obvious group of cyclists congregating in the street.

I met the women going with the "B" group. There were 3 other women - 2 of them in Wildflower jerseys - my kind of people. Then team kit guy pulled up and said, "you made it - I didn't have to tell them at all". I'm pretty sure he must have stopped for some eggs Benedict on the way.

I told the "B" group leader I wouldn't go all the way because I had 14 miles round trip just between my house and the store and I wanted to do about 30 total for my first ride. After appropriately admiring my new ride (you just can't help it - trust me!) we took off.

The greatest minds on the planet could not have conjured up a more perfect ride . The women were super nice, the course was about as flat as it gets in these parts and it was beautiful - just perfect. I rode out to my 15 mile mark but by then I had been dropped by about 1/2 a mile so I had to keep riding to the turn so the other ladies wouldn't wait forever for me. I said my goodbyes and headed back but of course - took a wrong turn - and then another wrong turn. I'm not kidding when I say I could get lost in a walk in closet. Put a door on 2 sides and I will invariably walk out the one I didn't use to enter.

Distance = 34.5 miles; Time 2:42:56; Bliss - Total

I'm totally in love with this bike - it is perfect! I did get a case of SGS (smashed groin syndrome) but I think that is to be expected on a first ride. I'm going to give it one more go before going back to the shop for an adjustment. Admittedly, I was a little surprised this morning that placing my pull buoy made me wince a little.

Posted by 21st Century Mom at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (14)