29 MayCountry Roads

An unforeseen and pleasant finding with my new cycling hobby has been the amazing country roads I have rode down, and right here in my own backyard. I have seen places I’ve never seen before, and probably never would have.

I’m a city girl, always have been, always will be. You put me in the country for too long (more than an hour) and I start to shake. Why aren’t there any sirens lulling me to sleep or waking me up? Where are your neighbors and why can’t I see into their living room from your kitchen? Sidewalks, street lights, walking distance to a Stewarts anyone? But for some reason when I cycle through the country I absolutely love it and it has been a surprisingly enjoyable experience.

Along these roads I:

Heard a cow sneeze. No lie. I heard a sneeze, looked towards the field, saw only cows.

Peddled along side galloping horses. When they see our pack coming, they run with us. Truly, honestly, amazing.

Have turned onto roads and been stunned, jaw dropping stunned, with its beauty. A perfect line of trees, or one standing alone, farm houses worthy of a magazine covers, fields of wild flowers, the beginnings of this seasons crops.

See quaint little towns (with yummy little bakeries) I only heard about and thought were so, so, so far away.

Ride alongside lakes and rivers that sneak up on me as I come around a bend, making that climb absolutely worth it.

Smell the lilac trees reminding me of what a perfect Spring day it is. Even seeing white lilacs among the purple.

Think to myself, I should bring Tom here to see and smell and experience all of this.

So no, no moving out to the country for me. But yes, yes I love all of the new discoveries cycling has brought me…along the country roads.

22 MayHot Pink Tweets

I liked my most recent background theme, the notebook looking one, but it didn’t like me. It wasn’t user friendly, in my opinion. And to spare my husband the aggravation of needing to help me with every little tweak I found a new theme. A hot pink one because hot pink is my Summer ‘09 color.

And I dusted off my twitter account. I did this with the intention of having it run on my blog, see right hand column. There are many times when I have a thought or two I want to post but for various reasons it doesn’t make it to the blog: it was a fleeting thought, I’m not home, too tired to turn on the computer, forgot what I wanted to say, would only be a one sentence post, etc, etc. So I thought if I added twitter to the blog you could keep up with my day to day. No, no, don’t thank me, it’s my pleasure. And if you mention that I have a twitter account to my husband he will, I promise, deny it. The horror!

15 May33.75 Miles and a Cranberry Scone

This Saturday I did my first bike ride with the Mohawk Hudson Cycling Club (MHCC) (and on Wednesday I did another 20 miles with them). Since buying my road bike this March it didn’t take me long to realize that I really, truly enjoy this sport and want to make the most of it. So after a couple of rides with a friend in April I decided to take it up a notch and see what the club had to offer. And I wasn’t disappointed.

At this point in the post I was going to go on and on about all the details of the day, from why I chose this ride, to the people I met, the bakery we stopped at (hence the cranberry scone reference), and the challenges I faced (good challenges, challenges that make me want to go out and get better). But instead I am just going to get to the bottom line…I love cycling.

I am so happy to have found I sport I want to pursue and excel in. I have only had positive and inspiring experiences so far. I have started riding almost everyday with two long rides a week. My husband is pretty excited for me too, and amazingly supportive. We even cruise around the neighborhood together in the evening.

And I would like to add a shout out to my brother, City-C, for all of his support and encouragement. He has been cycling for a few years and has been instrumental in helping me get started in the sport. Thanks bro.

And don’t forget I will be doing a 50 mile ride in the Tour de Cure on June 7th and am accepting donations for this really important cause!

10 MayHot Pink Purse and Onesies

My friend’s grandson is in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the local hospital. He is going to make a full recovery, but it was touch and go there for a few hours. I learned through this experience that the NICU takes clothing donations for it’s little patients. Hmm, shopping for baby clothes? I’m in. So last night Tom and I went to Macy*s and bought some cutie patutie newborn outfits. And since we were there no harm in checking out the other departments. Like the Kate Spade purse collection. Hey I saw clearance and Kate Spade in the same sentence. I’m stopping. And sure enough we left there with 15 onesies and a hot pink Kate Spade purse.

From the Dalai Lama to Kate Spade in less than one week. Shame on me.

My past experiences with donating clothing has been handing a bag of clothes to a person who doesn’t really care and watch them dump them in a pile of other clothes they don’t really care about. But today at the hospital couldn’t have been more different. The nurses were so appreciative for the little newborn outfits, showing them off to the other nurses. Even a little surprised about the trip to Macy*s. But like I said, any excuse will do.

The little baby boy we were visiting, Jayden, is such a different baby from the first time I saw him. I changed his diaper and got to hold him, something that wasn’t possible not that long ago. Then Tom sat with him and held him. When I asked if he was ready to go he said, “in a couple more minutes.” There is just nothing like an infant snuggling on your chest, nothing. The hospital is still monitoring his kidney and liver function but we are hoping the lab results on Monday will give him the green light to go home. A place his family can’t wait to welcome him to.

06 MaySomebody pinch me.

I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I saw the Dalai Lama today in person. He was invited to speak in town and as he said, “I had an invitation, so I accepted.” I started taking notes because I thought I would never remember everything he said. But without writing a word the message of unbiased compassion, inner value, inner peace, happiness, and affection would be impossible to forget. This was an event I will look back at for a lifetime.

The ticket to see the Dalai Lama was a gift from a colleague. A very generous, undeserving gift that I dearly appreciate and will always cherish.

I also got a new water bottle today from another colleague. And if you saw the state of my old water bottle you would know how much that meant to me.

All that and a phone call from my nephew to wish me a happy birthday, that would be 35 if anyone is counting.

Off to dinner with my hubby who has used my birthday as an excuse to finance my new cycling hobby. No complaints here. Just tons of thanks.

Not sure how I got this lucky.

19 AprHooked

I finally made it to the open road on my new (used) road bike. Thanks to many early birthday gifts I went out for the first time with new cycling shoes clipped into new pedals. I was so, so, so nervous about my feet being attached to a bike but guess what? I didn’t fall over. As a matter of fact I can’t imagine NOT being clipped to my pedals.

According to Map My Ride, Becky and I did 19 miles today. I insisted on our river route since it’s mostly flat. I definitely underestimated how long it would take to adjust to a road bike, because it took all of two seconds. I was instantly hooked to the smooth ride and quick pace. I was even a little disappointed when we got back to the parking lot. That’s it? We’re done? Time to go home?

Going forward we will add more hills and miles to our route as we are “in training” for our 50 mile Tour de Cure ride in June. There are a couple of tweaks I want to make to the bike, minor things like moving the seat back and bringing the handle bars a little closer, but all in all it was a smooth ride today.

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09 AprTesting, testing…bra, two, three

So, Victoria’s Secret called me on Saturday. After some standard survey questions they asked if I would “wear test” a new Victoria’s Secret bra. The bra would be mine to keep and they would call me in two weeks to ask some questions. Heck yeah, count me in. Bra’s are expensive.

And sure enough, my new bra arrived today. Along with the pretty lace number were some instructions. This bra is to be worn only by you. Please begin wearing this bra immediately. Etc. And a Bra Home Diary to be completed at the end of the two week testing period.

Just one hiccup.The bra is white and I always say, “I have no use for a white bra.” Reason being you shouldn’t wear white under white clothes and if I have on something other than white I try to color coordinate. And since I wear a white blouse to work a couple times a week I am going to have to shake up my wardrobe for maximum usage.

Let the testing begin.

29 MarPretty Red Bike

This year my bike riding partner decided to put away her mountain bike and invest in a road bike. After many years and miles of riding the Tour de Cure with knobby tires and a heavy bike frame that it was time for something that can really move. And if I wanted to keep up I needed a road bike of my own. So I too decided to buy one.

Seemed simple enough. Until I actually went to a store (or five) to buy a bike. Never mind the sticker shock (I love how $800 - $1,500 is considered entry level) what I really wanted to know was what the hell is a derailer? You shift it how? Who is this Shimano guy anyway? And now you are telling me that the bike doesn’t come with pedals? And those pedals I need to buy SEPARATELY require expensive shoes and those shoes, while hooked to the bike, will make me fall over and embarrass myself at least once, if not numerous times? Not to mention a good pair an expensive pair of riding shorts, because my ass will hurt, I’ve been warned. What have I signed up for?

With so many questions and a whole new vocabulary, I went back to the drawing board and did a little research, which mostly consisted of calling my brother. However, over the course a few weeks I got a pretty good picture of what I wanted in a bike, not only that, but what I really needed. Guess what, you don’t HAVE to clip into your pedals and risk falling over and embarrassing yourself. But I still wasn’t comfortable with the price tag. Especially for me, a weekend warrior that lives in a very snowy state.

So what’s a girl to do? Swipe the credit card and go for it? Not so fast. There’s must be a list of used, more reasonably priced bikes for sale in my area, somewhere. And there it was, a road bike, my size, with the components I wanted, with a price tag that didn’t include a comma, even the color I wanted, and PEDALS.

So after a few emails I found myself in the parking lot of a fraternity house just across the river. I hopped on the pretty red bike, took it for a spin, knocked $130.00 off the asking price, handed over the cash, strapped the bike to the back of my car and was off, grinning ear to ear.

As happy as I am with me pretty red bike, there is a trade off to buying used from a private party. Mike, the fraternity brother who sold it to me, didn’t include one year free service, he didn’t take my measurements (he may have noticed my measurements) and adjust the handle bars and seat to my exact specifications. And the pedals and clips that came with the bike are actually too nice for what I need and therefore I will have to buy pedals after all (and one day I will clip in, I promise). So the great deal came with a little work. I haven’t made it onto the open road yet, but I’m getting there. And once I get going, there may be no stopping me.

Totally wanted to add a photo here, but once again I need assistance from my lovely husband and he is sleeping. So stayed tuned.

PS I am now accepting donations for this year’s Tour de Cure. Thanks y’all!