Foggy

I don't remember the last time that I used my blinkie taillight at midday for a ride. The picture actually makes it look a lot clearer than it actually was. After riding in this on Saturday and being a little scared for my life at points, I decided to do a headlight and blinkie on Sunday. It was the kind of fog that when I heard a car behind me I talked to myself, "Please see me, please see me...Oh, good." There were a few of us out there. Nowhere near the usual amount of cyclists on the road for a Sunday.There's something about doing a ride in less than stellar conditions that gives me more satisfaction than a beautimous, sunny day. Whether it be a toad strangler rain, peanut butter mud up to eyeballs, ice, freezing appendages or a blanket of fog, I feel like I accomplished a little more on those days. Physically, yes, it's the same ride. Mentally, well, that's another story. Sometimes the brain needs the dreaded "t" word as well.

So I've been a little lax in the posting dept. I've had some good intentions. I even have three or four blog posts that I started. Just didn't quite make it to the execution stage.

I survived the holidays and now I have the month of January to get lots of work done and make sure I can take my annual AZ trip to "Camp Arlene" without having to do any work. Lots to do, but I want to get it done so I can completely shut off for two weeks. I look forward to the sun, desert and plants that bite back every year.

This past Sunday we ventured down to Philly for Lone Wolf Cycling's Crazy Train. For some reason no photos will upload so I leave you with this. There were a couple few lots of wrong turns, but it was an adventure to say the least, and a crazy good time. The unfamiliar, getting lost and adventure...all reasons I love to ride my bike.

Which leads me to this. I've finally broken down and purchased a trainer that I can actually get a workout on. Do I like it? Absolutely not. I loathe it. I'm trying to make nice because it's going to be a necessary evil. It kind of takes away from what I love about the bike and why I ride a bike: going places and exploring. However, if I want to get the most out of my vacay and not cripple myself by Day 6, I need a little trainer in my life.

Otherwise, I'm pretty boring. Just hanging in...

Well, it's the time of year when I usually go off on my annual anti-Christmas rant. Don't worry. Nothing has changed. I wouldn't want to give you the impression that I have sought help for my holiday hatred and anxiety that wakes me up in the middle of the night with my heart beating out of my chest and the inability to catch my breath. I wish I could say I was kidding. I need some sort of support group or medication or both. I'm one car with antlers and a Rudolph nose away from a full blown psychotic break. Speaking of cars dressed up like Rudolph, one almost clipped me on Clinton Rd. on Sunday when I was on the bike. Fitting, right? It could be payback from when I ran over Santa a couple of years ago.


Ringwood through a schweaty lens

I decided to escape to Skyline over the weekend for some quality alone time with my bike. I had a couple of goals: Release some of my Christmas crazy lady and do a quality post-injection wrist shake-down. Check and check. Unfortunately, the reduced crazy part didn't last that long, but the wrist fared well. If I can ride there with only a few whimpers, I'll be okay. I just hope there is ample time before I need the next round of injections.

Tonight instead of making my usual peppermint brownies for my work potluck, I'm making a batch of my "Power Balls". No I'm not doing it as a sick joke or punishment. I was actually asked to make them by a couple of people who were brave enough to try them. They are made to be in a jersey pocket or shoved into a sports bra during a ride. I never really thought I would be making them for co-workers. I could have made them into bars to make them more party appropriate, but then I won't be able to giggle when people talk about my tasty balls.

They look down right offensive and like some sort of fecal matter. They're good. Really.