Encouraging thought....

This morning, while driving back through the park after dropping off the oldest man child.... I had a very encouraging thought. In nine years, my youngest will be out of high school and in nine years I will still be younger than multitudes of people in Greenville, who can currently kick my ass on the bike. No, don't misunderstand....in nine years...I'll still be younger than they are now.

Granted, many riders are close to my age.... but many riders are also... closer to Rob's age...heh heh heh. So, as long as I maintain what little fitness I do have...hopefully, when the youngest has left the nest, I'll have many years and many miles left in my tootsies.

For some reason, that was a very sweet thought on a early Monday morning.

Happy New Year...

It’s February and frankly, I’ve spent more time lately planning my family vacation in July than my cycling season. I’ve had an awakening, so to speak, during my winter hibernation. My grandmother died on my youngest son’s birthday in January…and with that event, came a great deal of pondering, soul searching and focus on what really matters on this earth.

I have a full life. I’m blessed with a husband that I adore, that knows me, that shares my passion for all things athletic, hand-crafted, musical and joins me in my disdain for football, hypocrites, laziness, entitlement, pandering, large SUV’s, dishonest business dealings, etc. I have 5 children each pulling at me for their own time, their own events, their own dreams. Of my five children, I have good athletes, a few good students, at least one artistic child, a dancer, a musician, several that love the water and at least two that I think would be excellent cyclists.

I’m too busy with life to ever be an excellent cyclist. Yeah, I said it. I keep meeting people that seem very one dimensional….perhaps fast, but one dimensional. For starters, I have a job…during the day time, when the sun is out and the roads are begging to be ridden. My day is divided into 6 minute segments, of which, I day in and day out must “bill”. If you talk to me on the phone for 3 minutes, I’m charging you for 6. If I type a letter for 7 minutes, I’m charging you for 12 and on and on and freaking on it goes. Whilst doing this, I mentally plan my menus for the week, think about training, budget, reconcile my bank account, think about my training, field phone calls from kids who want everything from an afternoon snack to a physical for their track team, think about training, calculate when I need to plant the spring grass, pay the water bill, and spend countless other minutes wondering which kid is where, doing what.

AHHHHHH…. All this “thinking about training” makes me tired and actually makes me think I devote too much of my energy, physical and mental often to training. SO – this year, Rob and I agree, we ride for “us”. We ride when we want, where we want and as fast as we want or in my case as slow as we want, much to the chagrin of animated Christmas dinner party guests that get dropped on the mountains. Yes, I actually spent a Christmas party being reprimanded for my husband’s transgressions of “attacking” on a hill and not staying with the group. I clearly remember thinking, really???? REALLY? In light of economic hardship, poverty, starvation, the lack of world peace, countless other topics of interest, and even the other people at the table that would love to get a word in edge wise, we are going to waste two hours of a festive evening, with a wonderful meal, at the home of our lovely, gracious hostess, hearing that Rob should not attack on hills??? I’m just a bit disenchanted with petty, one dimensional thought processes.

SO – this year, we intend to have fun. If we want to race, we will. If we want to ride, alone, we will. If we want to do some triathlons, we will. If Rob wants to kill it on the first ride he can finally take in the week after all the daily, family duties are done…he probably will. Hopefully, we’ll add in to this mix more time with our baby cyclists, swimmers, and runners. Nothing would thrill me more than to see them excel at a young age in sports that I still enjoy.

Fortunately, if and when we race, we race for a team that is multi-faceted comprised of people with lives and loves and children and hobbies and jobs…whose focus is always fun oriented.

Overall, this year, I’m desperately seeking balance. Balance in activities that I enjoy, with people that I enjoy and if that brings improvement in my legs – I’ll take it…and if not, I’ll at least have a few drinks and many laughs along the way.

Our "off" season...

The warm glow of christmas lights, smell of pumpkin bread, the sounds of guitar strummin' and drilling and hammering can only mean one thing...it's the off season! I'm not sure what the off season means for you but for us, we're never really "off". Rob's playing and singing always gets really good this time of year, the house gets a bit closer to being finished and my kids get a few more baked goods in their gullets.

This season we're concentrating on the attic/bedroom for the boys, which includes completing the staircase to their room (Rob's learning a lot!). We love our house, though it's really too small for seven, we won't give it up. We can't beat the convenience, close proximity to downtown, the park, our jobs, our kids' schools, etc. So -- we make it work, this time building "up".

The boys will be moved from downstairs to their own little cave upstairs and I will reclaim our den. Air soft pellets, dirty socks, lizards, x-box games, football trophies, dirty sweatshirts, fish aquariums, candy wrappers, weight benches, stereos, pocket knives, cleats, football pads, will all be up, up and away.... and I will momentarily lift my voice to the heavens and like Nina Simone sing...

"It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me...and I'm Feelin' Good" and yes, for all of you who think that's a Michael Buble' song..... puh leeze....

So, when "race season" starts back and I'm a bit "fluffy" and out of shape and not very fast (as if I ever was!).... so be it. I'll have new stairs, a cleaner house, well fed monkeys, one very pampered pooch and the living room will actually have been lived in. I can't ask for more...

Our off season in pics...

Wedding....

Finally have some pics. We went into the week of our wedding with lots of rain and anxiety about our outdoor ceremony. In the end, it turned out gray, dreary, and raining off and on. It was very cold that weekend, the same day as the Paris Mtn. Downhill Race and in the same park. It was crowded, hectic but what can I say... guests were good sports as they weathered the rain and cold, bridesmaids were creative as the donned denim jackets over their taffeta and I suffered like a good girl and went with no sleeves (though, I did consider matching arm warmers).

My daughter, Clara, was my maid of honor, my sisters Lorri and Gina and my friend Doris were my attendants. Rob's best man was his father, John, and he had my 3 sons, Charlton, Jackson and Noah as his midget groomsmen (hey, at least all his groomsmen were sober!) My niece, Caroline was the flower girl and my youngest Gabriel was the ring bearer. We were fortunate to have our good friend, Al Olivetti, officiate the ceremony.

We were joined by family, good friends, dancing and great music provided by Russ and Russ. Some pics...

Wedded bliss...

It's obviously pretty good, since I have no time to blog. Currently working on getting back in the swing of things after wedding and honeymoon. We've been busy...early morning trainer workouts have begun in the garage, trying to finish up a bathroom remodel, cracking the whip over kid number one for grades, upcoming SAT's and thoughts of college... no official pics yet from the wedding from the photographer... but here's a few snapped by a friend....

Happy it's over... and yes I wore red!


My friend Danielle, now claiming the official title of "Ironwoman", my daughter who was my maid of honor and my oldest boy, one of the groomsmen....

Wrappin' up...

My first official season of riding and dabbling in racing has come to a close. I didn’t really intend for it to end or come to a close now, or at any given, specific time…it seems like it just sort of took care of itself. My season was a baby step into the world of bike racing. Two criteriums, one time trial and one road race. One DNF, one crash, one 17th, one 18th and one 31st place. Hmmmmm and I paid money to see results like that in print? All I really can do is laugh and learn, and this year I’ve certainly done both. I yielded my best result of the year in a relay triathlon that I did with zero planning and just for kicks, what’s up with that?!

I have learned…

1. that my leg muscles are prettier than they are fast
2. that even though all my every day clothes are now too big for me…I still look fat in spandex
3. that when you see light flashes, experience intense headaches and sleep for hours after riding it’s probably NOT just because “my body isn’t used to riding”
4. that women don’t like to work together when racing, even if they are on the same team… oh puhleeze, argue with me if you want… I aint seen it.
5. that the potty mouth in the pack belongs to none other than myself the elf
6. that some of my favorite rides of the season, took place AFTER I was dropped and got a chance to enjoy the scenery
7. that my favorite riding partner is still the boy that first introduced me to riding and that bob and molly run a close second
8. that kids think bike riding is dumb and “gay” until you add a mud pile to it. Also note that they also think helmets are dumb and gay, but they will don a football helmet to ride on a bike around the neighborhood and somehow that’s not weird at all.
9. that cycling is relatively clique-ish… or maybe it’s more gang-like, like the sharks and the jets

Ahhh so very many good lessons. I’ve laughed about most of the above and a great deal more. I can’t complain about the season – after all, I have nothing to compare it to…and ignorance is bliss, for a while anyway.

Next year I’ll be riding/racing officially attached – to a husband that is…. 13 days and counting…

Catching up...

Less than a month out now from the wedding, still lots to do...yes, I'm still breathing, but not much time to post. My duly betrothed is taking full advantage of me being busy and distracted and running with it. While I've been worrying about the caterer and the band and my dress being too big, he's been shopping for sweet little upgrades for his cross bike. The stash in the bike shop keeps growing, pretty new brakes for the cross bike, new bars for the time trial bike, new shifters.... I did manage to get a new trainer out of it for me... so hey, I'm not asking any questions! While he's in a spending mood, I even hit him up for a mountain bike and a cruiser... anything worth doing (like begging) is worth doing right!

Hopefully, I'll have new posts and some wedding pics soon! 29 days and counting...and he's mine, all mine (suckerrrrrr!)