excited about this weekend

So many things to look forward to on a Saturday morning!

» Firstly, I'm excited that I'm excited on a Saturday morning. I can't tell you how many weekends I've started totally down in the dumps, despite the fact that the preceding weeks were productive, successful, happy-making. The culprit? I'm guessing the end-of-week sugar indulgences and Saturday-morning pancake-breakfasty habits. Score one for making a healthy decision (the week in review & its lessons) and sticking with it!

» Yoga! Actually, Body Flow at the Y, which is apparently a mix of pilates, yoga and tai chi. I'm looking forward to the stretching and core workout I expect I'll get out of this class. Also, it's this morning (I'll finish this blog entry and head out the door!), and I have a feeling it'll be a great start to the weekend.

» Making more spent-grain bread, which I think Patrick and I should do our darndest to document so we can share it with you all in detail (and pretty pictures). This stuff is so good, I think we'll make a double batch and freeze the finished loaves that will be in excess. Also? I'll make some malt syrup from his leftover, unboiled wort! It's earthy and sweet and I plan to use it in an upcoming batch of buttercream frosting for god-knows-what.



» A "real" bike ride. Patrick's gonna lead me through my first "real" training bike ride. Meaning it'll be long (I've asked him not to tell me how long until we're done), and that I should attempt to pedal continuously (Patrick observed in a previous, casual ride that I coast a lot, which is a no-no for group road rides and if I plan to ever compete, which maybe I do ...). I'm so looking forward to the challenge, and to spending quality time with Stinger.

» My first "follower" through blogger that I don't know in real life! Liz Loses! I can't tell you the little thrill I got at seeing that someone was following my blog who lives in Ohio (where I have never been), and who's doing the kinds of things with her food and exercise that I aim to do. Thanks, Ms. Liz Loses, for making my day!

a sunday of home work.

I'm excited for Patrick and me today. We have a hike ahead of us (Tinker Ridge to Hay Rock Overlook). We're going to bake and make (Italian bread, granola cereal, granola bars).

I'm going to find my camera USB chord so I can upload all the food photos I've taken this week. I'm going to write some blog entries about our beer-grain bread, about my meals throughout the past week, my goals for the week ahead.

day of indulgent productivity

I believe in a day of rest, but there's this interesting thing I've noticed my past few weekends: I'd much rather get my full-on restfulness out of the way on Saturday.

Yesterday we rode our bikes along the greenway and up Mill Mountain. Then we headed to our first Star City Brewers Guild meeting (for homebrewers and those interested in homebrew). We indulged in lots of scratchmade beer, good food and excellent company.

I suppose we didn't rest, per se, but we also didn't do anything that I'd consider work.

Today, though? After the hike, all that baking and making is what we need to stock our pantry for the week ahead. Maybe we should add hummus to the list, in fact. And we *do* have a lot of frozen blueberries on hand (Patrick woke up early this morning to start our coffee and make us delicious scratch muffins). I think I should turn the extras into quick jam.

And I'll come back to my blog and edit photos, think on the work I've done and the work I want to do. I get to steep in thoughtfulness about the lifestyle I'm trying to attain.

I like Sunday for this kind of work because it feels like I'm gearing up for a productive week ahead. I like the fact that restfulness is starting to feel like a chore I know I need to get done (if I don't take time for rest, I will crash after a few weeks and find myself useless for an entire weekend and in terrible condition at the beginning of my work week).

And I'm not sure how much better it gets than filling a home with the sweet and savory smells of scratchmade food.

hikes & bikes move me.

I've written pretty extensively about how much I love my bike, Stinger. I'm excited for the onset of warmer weather so I can climb back on and up some of these mountains we moved into. In fact, Patrick and I might go out for a ride this afternoon.

So it's clear I love biking.

But after a hike up McAfee Knob with Patrick and my brother-in-law, Eric, last Sunday, I rediscovered my love of hiking.


{thanks to eric beeson for documenting our hike! all photos in this entry are his. see the whole collection from his visit.}

not all movement is the same
I have to drag my ass to the gym. I make myself do aerobics (and eventually I'll make myself do weightlifting again) because I know it's good for me.

Maybe I'll find a groove, or even a love, for these things. But that's a way's off. For now, they're work.

What has never been work, in that mental sense, is hiking. Yes, physically I get tired and sore. But mentally I'm engaged 100 percent. I even enjoy the strain of it: My favorite moments in a long hike are on the stretches of trail that require a little full-body climb, or a steep, lunging ascent. My legs are involved, my abs, my arms for balance.

Engaging these same parts of my body in a gym wouldn't do much for me. But on a trail? Exhilerating.

And this is what I take from that difference: Movement is very personal, and most people likely have a specific activity that engages their body, but also get their whole self excited. I'm thinking of dancers, soccer players, runners, gym rats. Being physically engaged is only part of the reason they commit to the activity. Or maybe it's no reason at all they're engaged. Doing that thing, whatever it is, excites their brains, their spirit.

Hiking is this for me. And biking. These things aren't easy for me, but I'm not put off by the difficulty.

what do they mean to me?
There's something similar in hiking a trail and hopping on a bike: I can do both in a pack, but even when I'm surrounded by people it's perfectly acceptable to exist within my own thoughts. The hike Sunday was full of good conversation, but equally full of a peaceful, easy quiet. When I ride with Patrick we speak occasionally, but I mostly concentrate on the road and my bike.

I know the solitary nature of hiking and biking plays a big part in why I enjoy them. But they're different in these simple ways (for me, anyhow):

My biking is an exercise in constant challenge. When I first got on a road bike last fall, I was challenging myself. When I first travelled a road by myself, that was a challenge. When I see hills, I dare myself to climb them with as much vigor as I can muster. When I find myself on a straight-away and with reserve energy, I attempt top speeds.

The fact that I even wished to push myself so hard in a physical way was an exceptional surprise. I did that through cycling, and I'll probably continue to channel my athletic ambitions through a bike.

So, there's that.

And then there's this ...


{the summit at mcafee knob}

Hiking gets me to a calm space, by way of the ground around me. The views on all the good hikes I've done around Roanoke are quiet and magnificent. The work is hard but the pace I choose is steady and easy. I haven't found a hike yet that escapes sounds of the highway or of planes traveling overhead, but the rest of the soundtrack is crackling and light. It allows me to reach some quiet and very comfortable place in myself that I couldn't get otherwise.

As I'm working to gain a more healthful lifestyle, isn't this supremely important? To be at peace with myself, at ease? I think it is.

so incredibly important
And what if I had never discovered them? I would probably make myself go the gym, and exercise would be a chore. Only a chore.

But I did discover them for myself. So I have a chance to experience exercise and movement in a very positive context. And potentially I get to explore it as a means to get to something else in my life. I've found a way to tap my ambition and to start to move toward a more peaceful, easy place within myself. Won't that lead to something?

It feels like it already has, but it also feels like there is something huge looming ahead.

PS: Look at this dog face. We are two lucky folks, Patrick and I ...

{saazie knows something we don't know. i can't wait till she tells us what it is.}

weekend warriette

We are drinking BEER and eating BARBECUE and buying COFFEE & CHOCOLATE.

Then we are RIDING BIKES & watching WATCHING WILLY WONKA and HAVING MORE CHOCOLATE (thanks to Bike Roanoke and the Shadowbox and chocolatepaper).

I'm excited for the weekend ahead, and intend to be reasonable in my food decisions. I'll be faced with delicious rich foods, so I'll just eat less of them. Grab the veggies and fruit when I can. Drink lots of water. Gravitate to any whole-grain options, and vow to enjoy every bite when I *do* reach for the less healthy treats (because there's nothing more tasteless than a delicious bite of food that immediately trips a guilt complex).

Here's enjoying a full weekend.

Out, living

I took a little break from this blog, but I wasn't taking a break from life. Some things I've done in the past two weeks:

Rode 33 miles on Stinger, all by myself and exuberantly. I celebrated by getting myself some Chinese food for dinner that night ... vegetables, steamed rice, spring roll, wonton soup. And I usually go for duck sauce but opted instead for the mustard. It was delicious, and didn't add unnecessary sugar to my meal.



Cleaned our house, tip to toe, and kept it all pretty while Patrick was on vacation for a week (so he could come home to a nice, cozy home ... I bought flowers, too!)

Made Italian bread, twice

Make strawberry quick jam, from scratch!

Made peanut butter (it's just salted peanuts, in the food processor ... easiest from-scratch thing ever)

Raked the leaves in our front yard ... two and a half hours of exercise on a beautiful day, with a dog who went absolutely crazy over piles of dry leaves.

Rode 15 miles on my bike just because, including on a new backroad that was nearly all uphill.

So, some things I realized about me and my bike: it keeps me in the moment; I don't think about how many miles are ahead of me or how much work I've done to get where I am. I just climb hills and speed along straight-aways. Also, I like cycling. It's the first exercise I've ever looked forward to. I'm so glad I found it.

sunday rides are here to stay

Because I love them. Patrick and I headed out to recreate a ride we did several weeks ago, when I still just had a mountain bike at my disposal. I listed it as one of my Stinger goals when I knew the bike was headed for an overhaul.

I'd originally thought a long ride on a road bike would be harder for me; mostly I was nervous about what seems to be a more unstable posture over the bike ... and those hand positions: so far from my seat! But honestly — and I've said it before — that road position is ultimately more comfortable. And the thin road tires make for a smoother, quicker ride. I find it easier to keep my speed up on Stinger.

ride highlights


Coffee & donuts. By a stroke of good luck, we ran out of coffee beans at home, so just had to stop by Old City Java to get our morning cup. Where we also got an apple spice donut. Fuggedaboutit. Also, a fresh pour of coffee is exactly right before 15 more miles on a bike.

Pedaling along the flats at 14 mph. Half the reason this feels good is I know I didn't have to keep up a good clip but I did anyway; the other half is that I felt like I was in good shape as I was doing it. It's not an incredible speed, but it's faster than I usually rode at zero incline. Progress!

Learning how to shift. I've got some experience on bikes, but I'd never ridden one with shifters affixed to the stem. Changing gears means I have to balance my ride with one hand, find my shifter with the other, and keep pedaling as I shift. I'm new enough that this is still a freaking big deal. It's meant until this ride that I usually spend more time in the wrong gear than I want to, because I've not been comfortable enough to make the change. But by the end of this ride, I was feeling a little expert.

Riding down the hill of doom. There's a slope just after one of the left-hand turns. The first time we did this ride, I turned and jumped off of the bike; it was ominous. I knew it was coming this time and I was nervous but determined. So this time: we turned and I immediately put on my brakes, but I stayed on the bike. Accompanied by screaming and expletives. "Mother flipper [actually said it] I feel like I'm on a f-cking rollercoaster holy sh-t!" Patrick, meanwhile? Laughing. Hysterically. So next time my goal: no cursing. Time after that: let off the brakes.

Riding up the hill of doom. Different hill. When we got back to the neighborhood, I deviated from our normal ride home because, see, there's this hill. I felt so good from my other feats that I thought I'd at least give this one hill a go. My little monologue: "doesn't hurt to try; it's OK if I get off my bike; there's only one way to know." I sped through a little downhill that precedes the up, shifted to my lowest gear (!!), then I climbed. And did it. And seriously: huge grin on my face all the way home. I even swayed on my bike.

weekend warrior

Productivity, fueld by coffee (PS: I totally photoshopped myself a clear complexion ... forehead pimple! I almost gave myself more eyebrows, too ... )

OK, OK. So I admitted to falling down a little with the no-tracking thing. That's Step 1.

Step 2 is to get back into warrior stance and do some stuff. Including starting to track food again. Hey, wanna see my spreadsheet? I knew you did! I'll explain how it works in a future writeup.

It's nearly ridiculous how much focus this tracking thing brings to my food decisions.

I recorded my breakfast, and I've already written out my lunch (hummus sandwich with veg and feta). I'll be going out to dinner with Patrick this evening and I know I have 6 points left for the day (plus a few extra weekly points if I want to use them). I'll probably drink a beer (3 points) and have a piece of pizza (5 points).

And you know what? I don't feel deprived. I feel in control and happy to know I'm making good choices.

other plans for the weekend
A nice long walk. I haven't exercised since our long ride along the Creeper Trail. I could go to the gym or get on my bike, but after such a long absence — and being in need of re-centering — a walk is perfect. I love, love, long walks. I like the fresh air and the time to reflect.

Brewer's Jam! Patrick and I are going to help man the homebrew club's booth, and I plan on having fun, drinking beer (counting points, of course), and helping my husband hand out tasters. I also designed the homebrewers' tab cards, which was a super fun good time. Aren't they nice?

Write up the next entry in my tracking tools how-to. I can't just let a series sit unattended! I may even write up the third entry, too. (My first entry in the series, by the way).

23-mile bike ride! It's one of my Stinger goals, to replicate a ride Patrick and I took several weeks ago when I still just had a mountain bike. When I originally set the goal I'd assumed it would be a big deal to ride that far on a road bike, but after our neighborhood tour a few weeks ago, I think it's gonna be pretty comfortable. Still, it's sitting there, unfinished. Oh, and it'd be our Sunday bike ride. Another goal, chipped away!

Here's to getting up and dusting yourself off ...

tiny celebration of old accomplishments

Patrick came across this photo on the right from our very first trip on the Creeper Trail (we started in Damascus for that trip, up to White Top, back to Damascus for 28 miles). It also coincides with my very first few weeks on Weight Watchers.

While I'm in the midst of trying to get in serious shape these days, it would do me well to remember how far I've come since I first decided to get my weight under control.

creeper trail, fall 2010

One of my goals, completed! And we had views like this all along the Creeper Trail.

So, how can I sum the whole thing up? Something like this: It was beautiful, difficult, painful, rewarding, long, arduous, fun, body-killing. And I want to do it again.

Patrick's brother, Eric, joined us. We started in Abingdon and the three of us rode the 31.5 miles up to Green Cove Station. Patrick (who is amazing) added an extra 8ish miles to his trip by getting up to White Top Station.

Math: Eric and I clocked 63 miles; Patrick, 70 miles.



the fun
The first 10 miles or so were beautiful and carefree. Abingdon to Damascus (about 16 miles) is nearly flat. As the first leg of the trip, it's great: constant pedaling but without strain (I'd say I averaged about 13 miles an hour); lots of pasture to ride through; a faint whiff of optimism in everything.



A few miles before you hit Damascus, the path gets more loose-gravely, which provides just a little resistance. I started slowing down (not too much, but noticeable, probably down to 11 mph).

We took a nice long break in Damascus, where we snacked on peanut butter sandwiches and apples (Patrick has gotten expert at spotting apple trees; he picked us about half a dozen).

From there on, it was a 14-mile climb to Green Cove Station. And this is where I started to work. The first 8 miles or so of this leg of the trip wasn't so so bad; I probably kept it around 10 mph. But then the grade increases ever so slightly, and I could feel myself dragging. If we do this ride again, it's one of the places I want to improve significantly: I slowed to about 9 mph, then 8 mph, then I'd say I hovered around 7 mph until we hit Green Cove.

Awesome Husband Move No. 1: Patrick could tell I was dragging, so he decided we'd celebrate every single mile. We called them out and cheered. It helped, if only to know he was trying to make things easier.

When we got to Green Cove, we bought snacks (trail mix for me), Patrick set out on his extra ride, and I totally napped. On the porch of the station building. I woke up refreshed.

the pain
But wait. Then I got on my bike. And my butt was sore as hell, and my thighs were burning. And I had 31.5 miles ahead.

Some lessons I learned:

1. Your rear end may be sore at first, but if you just get over it and keep going, it's not so bad after a while.

2. Your thighs will not stop hurting, no matter what, so just live with it.

3. Nearly all 14 miles between Green Cove and Damascus is down hill, and it's fun as hell to hit 20 mph around little mountain curves.

4. My husband is the best husband in the world. More on that ...

When we hit Damascus again, I kept riding while Patrick stopped to buy us some Starbucks in a can (Doubleshot: easy and quick). He caught up with me about four five miles down the road (that's awesome husband move no. 2). I was proud that I'd been pedaling that entire distance at about 12 mph average, but after we stopped to take our drink break, I was slow in the saddle.

And that flat ride that was so pleasant as a first leg was painful as a last leg. Patrick helped me to push my speed when I could, he rode slowly when I couldn't push, and (oh did I mention this? there are gates all along this stretch of the trail) he rode ahead to open all the gates for me so I could glide through.

Overall, I probably averaged around 8 mph in the final 10 miles of the ride. I was in serious pain (my seat, but mostly my thighs, which seemed impossibly used up). And by the last seven miles, we were  celebrating every, single, mile.

The last three miles, I set my sights on being in the car, collapsed in the passenger seat. If I thought about what I was doing, it was hard to comprehend that I had what it took to finish.

And awesome husband move no. 3? This is the best one. The last mile, Patrick — who was tired but much more able than I — reached over as he rode alongside me and placed his hand on my back. And he pushed me.

My body and defenses were so warn by the ride that I nearly cried, it was so goddamn sweet. "You love me!" (I totally said that; twice.) And whereas I'd been going about 7 mph at that point, his help got me to 12 mph.

Just knowing he was there to help was a great relief, not to mention how good it felt to go faster, which meant being done faster.

When we got to the car, I did collapse into that passenger seat, and we set out to eat some Pal's (sauceburger, fries, vanilla milkshake).




And now? I'm ready to go again.

lessons for future long rides
Drink more water!! My muscles may have been less sore if I'd been more hydrated. To do that, I either need to learn how to balance on my bike as I reach for my water bottle, or be willing to stop more and drink up what I need.

Train on the bike more. I probably would have benefited from more experience on long rides before I set out for a 63-mile stint.

Work on my core. As much as I hate standing on my bike to pedal, it would have been a great help if I'd been in the kind of shape to do it more often throughout the ride (both for climbing and for relief as we neared the end of the ride). I was able to stand a little bit, but with great effort. What will prepare me more for those moments is a stronger core, to help keep me stably in that upright position.

ps
Eric B. gets a special mention for flying down the 31.5 miles from Green Cove to Abingdon in 2 1/2 hours (despite probably being as sore as I was) so he could return his rented bike by 6 p.m. The world should know.

happy anniversary to us!

Patrick and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary Monday.

Scratch that. We started on Saturday. We've done a great job in the last few months of enjoying our time together as much as possible; maximizing our adventures, stretching out our weekends. It's especially fun to act like the entire weekend was a celebration of something: our anniversary, my 29th birthday.

I have a feeling this is part of the secret to me getting serious about healthfulness. I know how to have fun. I'm having a lot of positive, enriching experiencing. I'm getting off my butt.

I don't know; it makes sense somehow that having a full life means having more room to make sound decisions. Positive energy breeds positive energy. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. That whole thing.

In any case, our weekend looked like this:

saturday: neighborhood bike ride!
I was getting over a little cold (that Patrick had gotten over a few days earlier), but I'd really wanted to ride from our house to the start/finish point for the 10th anniversary of this neighborhood ride. So we did, damnit. Six miles there and back. A little over ten miles through Knoxville neighborhoods. Twenty-two miles total!



I felt a little like I made up for missing our Sunday ride the week earlier. And let me tell you, this was my first long ride with Stinger, and she was freakingamazing.

I'm gonna sound maybe, I don't know, obsessed? But this bike feels so much better than the mountain bike. Maybe because it's a road bike, and I'm riding it on roads? Right? Also, I love the positioning. I thought I'd feel unbalanced hanging my torso over the bike, arms outstretched. But there's something strangely comfortable about it. (My neck and shoulders are extremely sore, but I expect I'll develop better upper-body support over time.)

Also? I loved riding with a group. Whaaa? I was scared as heck at the beginning of the ride that I was going to crash into the (hundreds of?) other riders, but that didn't happen. Instead, I felt a great energy. Which I noticed only once Patrick and I headed back home by ourselves, and suddenly I got a bit sluggish.

Even then, though, the bike felt easier to maneuver. And I know I made it up some hills with more ease than I had a few weeks earlier on our 23-mile ride around Knoxville.

Progress: it feels good.

Things we did after our ride: brewed beer! I helped. Kind of. Mostly watched. I even took a nap in the middle of everything.

And then we sauteed up some veggies and fried up some sweet potatoes (lesson: acorn squash, skin it!).



sunday
I worked on spreadsheets! I'll write up a series of entries about these tools I built and how I use them. In the meantime, preview:



And we went to see The Social Network, which I loved. I liked it more as a metaphor for the generation than a biopic on one man.

And that was us on Sunday. Spreadsheets? Movies? Perfect Sunday.

monday, our anniversary!
I worked at the bakery, then came home and off we went to Cades Cove to ride our bikes.

Original plan? Park at the foot of the road that leads up to the park, ride up it, around the park and back down. But not so much. The ride to the park is seven miles and straight up. One: I was still a little sore from Saturday's ride. Two: I'm scared of being run over and killed by a car on two-lane roads; especially ones with sheer drops down a (admittedly small) mountainside. And while it's something of an irrational fear, it makes me a nervous rider (which is what would be the more likely culprit if I ever got in an accident). So until I'm more comfortable, I'll stick to wider roads on flatter land.

In any case, that's a long way of saying that what we did do was ride the 11-mile loop around Cades Cove and had a really spectacular, chilly, invigorating ride. So many deer and wild turkeys. And some familiar old churches and log homes.




Note of progress? There's a hill that, when we've riden the park before, I had to hop off my bike to walk up. But after our Monday ride, I couldn't tell you which one it was, because I didn't get off my bike once.

Also? I love Stinger.

We followed our ride with lunch at Tomato Head (our first trip to the one in Maryville), where I had my favorite healthy meal (hummus plate), and where I forgot to take photos. Arg! I'll get the hang of this food documenting soon.

Before we headed home, I picked up ... pumpkin cake! I made up extra pumpkin layers that morning and made a friendly request that it be decorated for our anniversary. Request granted by the best cake decorators in Knoxville.

Then home for a nap (for me) and grocery shopping (for Patrick ... best husband ever).

We rounded out the day with roses (aww), a mixed tape (best one!), and a famous Lindsay & Patrick meal: chicken cordon bleu with rice and veggies (asparagus). Patrick made me this our first Valentine's Day, and the night before he proposed to me, and for various happy celebrations in our five years together.




All in all, perfect day.

stinger, rebuilt

Isn't she a beaut?



I still haven't taken it out on a long ride, but Patrick and I tooled around the neighborhood on Saturday. I may have fallen hard for this road bike.

new goal: sunday bike rides

So, in the midst of our 14-mile bike ride this past Sunday, I had a thought: What if Patrick and I make weekly bike rides a thing? And what if I push myself a bit and say they should aim to be at least 20 miles?

reasons i love this idea
Spending time with Patrick, on a bike. My husband has loved riding since he was in high school (middle school?). I grew up in a house of cycling boys, but I never picked it up myself. So I have the tools to join in, I just don't. Well, I think Patrick would feel all warm and fuzzy if he could share in one of his favorite past-times with his wife. (I also plan on helping him brew beer, but that's a whole other blog entry.)

Getting my butt used to being in the seat. The notion of just getting on a bike and going ... it's so appealing. It's liberating, it's exhilarating. But when I get on a bike now, my butt gets sore and fast. My legs wear out easily. Labored breathing, squinty eyes, sweating, grimacing. A whole bucket of things. I figure the more I get on the bike and set out on a long ride, the faster those things will fade back. I doubt they'll go away, and if nothing else I may simply get used to living with them. But the bottom line is that I'll be able to focus on the liberating and exhilarating.

The landscape from a bike. How about soaking up the sounds and smells of a place? There are no walls (or rolled-up windows) between me and what I'm passing alongside. And the landscapes themselves will be different. Patrick'll plot out our routes and I'm certain he'll choose as many back roads as possible. Life is better on a back road.

short-term plans
Sunday, September 26 - Patrick's going to put the finishing touches on Stinger today (so excited!!), and we may head out to House Mountain. Some challenges: Patrick's sick today, so he might not be well enough to hop on his bike; and this'll be my first ride on a road bike. CAN I HANG??

Monday, October 4 - Our two-year wedding anniversary! So we'll shift our Sunday ride to Monday. The day will go something like this: I'll bake that morning, come home, hop in the car and we'll head to Cades Cove, armed with a picnic lunch and snacks. The loop is 11 miles, and we may even park our car in Townsend to add 9 miles to and 9 miles from the park ... total of 29 miles!! Not to mention that the ride to the park will include a steady climb up the side of a small mountain (if I remember correctly). We'll picnic at Cades Cove, and when we get home, make each other our traditional dinner: Chicken Cordon Bleu (made by Patrick for me, by the way), and I'll make him a surprise dessert (top secret!).

long-term plans
I'd love to steadily add about 5 miles to these rides as I feel like I'm ready for a new challenge. And one day, I'd love for these to be 50-mile rides. I have no idea if this is more than I should be able to expect of myself, but I'm not ready to impose limits until I actually push up against and am pushed back by those limits.

my bike (as of yet unnamed ... maybe stinger?)

Yeah, I think Stinger. She'll be yellow and black (with a little extra color thrown in). And we're Beesons in this house. Stinger seems just about right.

She might not look like much right now:



But Patrick's in the middle of a rebuild. The frame used to be a whole bike, which used to belong to my mom, who gave it to me several months ago. It sat unused in our garage, and then after lots of casual conversations about how to update it, Patrick got a fire under his butt and did it. (Thank goodness, because if it was up to me, it never would have gotten done; I love a husband who knows how to take apart and put together bikes).

He'll add these bull-horn handles (to be covered in black tape):

(by Nitto)

- a new seat
- new break levers
- tires that Patrick had (on another bike? laying around? It's a mystery.)
- and a new helmet for me (in black)

Hey, so you know what this means? I actually have to ride my bike. A lot. Because there's this effort put into it now, and purpose.

Maybe I should set up some little goals for me and my new bike.

goals for me & my new bike
This whole being best friends with a bike thing is completely new, so I'll start pretty green. That's just fine with me. I have plenty of time ahead with my butt planted in that seat.

Best friends forever (??)

Neighborhood ride! Start simple. Our neighborhood is quiet and family friendly, which means I'm not worried about the cars riding up and down the narrow-ish roads. Another thing about it, though, is the hills: just challenging enough for a newbie like me. I'll see if Patrick can hook up the bike speedometer for me so I can work on increasing the length of my rides. I wonder if I can do a 10-mile ride without any backtracking ...

Neighborhood ride, phase 2: take the puppy. Patrick, who has not only bike mojo but puppy mojo, sometimes takes Saazie on a bike ride. I've tagged along once, on my own bike, and it looked easy enough (except for that one moment that she decided to dart across his path and kinda sorta knock him around). If I could conquer the bike with a dog, then ... "hi, I'm awesome; how are you?"

Recreate our 23-mile bike ride from Sunday. I took a mountain bike on our last ride (another hand-me-down, from Patrick's mom. Pattern?). The positioning will be different on this new bike, the tires a little narrower, a different braking and handlebar setup. I mean, it's a road bike, which I've never riden. Ever! Well, once. And it was this very bike, but probably 15 years ago. And it frightened the hell out of me. Something about the handlebars being so low.

Ride to Metro Pulse. I do part-time work for Metro Pulse once a week, in the afternoon and into the evening. I want to wait for the weather to get cooler so I don't get to the office stinky. But autumn is officially a week away. So I won't be able to use weather for an excuse much longer. My biggest challenges with this ride will be 1) being in shape enough to make it and look respectable; and 2) feeling confident enough sharing the road with cars to make the ride by myself (having Patrick on long rides gives me an incalculable boost of confidence).

goals: ride the entire virginia creeper trail

I've actually already ridden the Creeper Trail with Patrick, twice. The entire thing runs from Abingdon, through Damascus, past Green Cove Station and finally to White Top Station in Virginia.

The typical trail biker takes a shuttle to Green Cove and coasts down to Damascus (with a little pedaling). If they catch you riding up the trail, they'll likely give you a "You're going the wrong way!" and a friendly laugh.

The first time Patrick and I got on the Creeper Trail, we started in Damascus, headed to Green Top, then back to Damascus. About 30 miles total.

The second and most recent time we rode (three and a half years ago), we road from Abingdon all the way to White Top, back to Abingdon. That was 70 miles.

So why is this a goal? What do I want to do differently?

Well for one, I'll be about 30 pounds lighter than I was on the last ride. I'm just curious to see how that changes my experience.

Also, no more tears. NO TEARS!

Ummm, because I totally cried at the end of the last ride. And by "the end," I mean the last ten miles. My butt, etc., was sore. My legs kinda stopped working. And I kept getting slower, in the most excruciating way: When I was 7 miles out, I looked at my speedometer and it read 7 miles an hour, and I thought "Yes! Just one hour!" Except that when I was six miles out, and I looked at my speedometer, it read 6 miles an hour. Sisyphus, indeed.

I'd like to finish the ride with a little less pain; I'd like to enjoy the ride up a bit more. And I'd like to be an overall better cyclist by the time we tackle this.

Patrick and I are planning to head to the trail in November. For the first time in years, I got on my bike yesterday for a serious ride. It was about 23 miles and not challenging at all (except for the length of the ride). And I was wiped out. My heart was actually in pretty good shape, but my legs -- it was ridiculous. I got to a point about halfway through the ride that I lost all will to push harder. Luckily, I have a cyclist husband who's willing to slow down his pace, guilt-free.

goal strategy

- I've been attending spin class at least once and week, and I'll keep that up. I'll focus on building up my resistance to those climbs the instructor pushes us to do.

- I want to get back on the road with Patrick for some long, leisurely rides. They'll be warm-up versions of the Creeper Trail, but I want to spend as much time with my butt in the seat as possible.

- I think working on my abs (I'm attending at least one ab class at the gym a week) will help me tolerate a lot of time in that seated, hunched position.

- And going prepared will help: plenty of water, hearty snacks. I think I may have been able to handle our 23-mile ride better if I'd had some nuts and fruit.