Friday, June 23, 2006

Yesterday's Ride

22.6 miles in 90 degree heat in a bit under 2 hours.

All in all, a very good ride. The funniest part of it was that I had no bike bag and my dad's mountain bike (I was down in Sullivan County again) has a water bottle spot but no water bottle. So, I took Anna's small ballerina backpack - think bright pink, ballet shoes, with a nice bedazzled jewel - and filled it with 3 cold bottles of water and my mom's cell phone. I'm sure I looked very "special" riding down the road with a preschooler's bag on my back.

No soreness today (a teeny bit stiff when I first got up this AM but totally clear now) and I could have ridden longer. Luckily I dodged a huge storm. 10 minutes after I returned it let loose and POURED for the next hour and an half. Unfortunately, I had planned to ride as far or further this AM but the rain was continual during the time I needed to go. Next time, I'm riding 50. :)

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Lest you think I Jest



Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Ow...

Ow, Ow, Ow.... I am sitting at my computer with a very sore neck/back, an incredibly bruised right upper arm, and a nice rub burn on both my arm and my neck having recently returned from the Immediate Care center near our house. Luckily, no major damage, everything is superficial and I didn't have to have a tetanus shot but OW.

So how did I find myself in such a predicament this fine afternoon? Well I hopped out on the mower, hoping to get the yard mowed this afternoon (it's halfway done at least). I was zipping along in the backyard on the riding mower, near the swingset. I went under the swings on one pass, no problems - this is something I do all of the time. The next time I went through, something went dreadfully wrong and folks I ended up with my neck caught in one of Anna's swings with the mower, in 4th gear mind you, continuing on a trajectory toward the big pond. As I gagged, several thoughts went through my mind - not too different from Becky T.'s (sensitive ears or small people reading, be mindful) tale of falling off of the porch but a bit more serious.... crap, omg I am not going to get this thing off of my neck, crap crap crap, it could take my head off, even if I do get it off, I'm going to end up in the pond, this is going to jerk me off of the mower, this is going to make for one heck of an obituary, Brian is going to have to answer the question "She did what?" at the funeral...

As the doctor @ the Medcheck place said - the good Lord kept me from serious harm. And while I'm achey, she said ibuprofen and rest should take care of it. Really I wasn't overly inconvenienced (have to finish the yard tomorrow, missed my spinning class tonight) and the biggest bruise was on my pride. A doctor friend of mine noted that I should have got it on tape because I could have won AFV... I was glad no one saw.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Cancer, Church Splits, Divorce, and a Good Bike Ride

So I have plenty that I could blog on today... some good friends are traveling the path of divorce, my mom was recently diagnosed with a skin cancer spot and two good friends are currently in cancer treatment, my childhood church (6th grade through beyond college when I would go home) is going through a messy nasty split with lies coming from the Sr. Pastor, but I what I'm choosing to blog about is an awesome bike ride I had yesterday.

Many of you know that this year I've made the most firm commitment to fitness that I've made well ever. I've been consistently in the gym at least 5 days a week for the entire year, changed my eating habits, and have been training to ride the RAIN ride (we'll still see if that happens). As a result, I've dropped about 17 lbs (yes I am bragging a little). Anyway, yesterday, while celebrating Father's Day with my parents, I took a wonderful country ride on backroads near their 10 acre property.

I saw 5 deer on 2 different occasions. 2 ran right in front of me as I pedaled along. It was the perfect temp as I could work up a good sweat without becoming dehyrdrated. While it was a bit windy, that kept me comfortable. I got a little lost, which made me nervous because while gangs will kill you, hillbillies will keep you. But I saw some beautiful country, rolling hills, creeks, trees, flowers, cornfields, birds singing, and good tunes on my iPod... ah, home. As a side note, "Boondocks" and "Wide Open Spaces" fit much better with a country ride than "The Humpty Dance" and "Gonna Fly Now" sure moved my butt down the highway (YEAH for the Tennessee mix!). I did both road riding on SR 63 and some gravel roading it which was a great resistance exercise built in. And in the end, I cleared close to 13 miles (12.8) in a little under an hour, moving at a fair clip. I felt great, not even worn out and today I'm barely saddle sore. It was the best part of the weekend, by far.