Howdy!

Cold weather and recuperating from surgery have kept me off the bike for most of the year, but I'm eagerly awaiting being cleared for riding soon so I can again enjoy life on two wheels. My babies are primed and ready to roll. I even took Lily in to have the annoying clicking sound when I was in my favorite gear fixed (the rear derailleur was out of alignment, doh!).

I hope beyond hope that I get cleared to ride at my appointment on Thursday and can do the short route of Paul's Ride for Life on Saturday. Please, oh please, oh please.

See you on the trail soon!

Women in Cycling Seminar Tonight!

Local cycling ladies: the next installment of Upon a Bike's Women in Cycling Seminar Series is tonight at 7pm at the Vienna branch of Spokes, Etc. Tonight's class focuses on nutrition and weight management. Here's the blurb from Upon a Bike's site:

"Many run, bike, swim, etc to lose or control their weight. But do you know the facts? We'll discuss calories and food groups as well as how nutrition and eating ties into cycling and weight management."

Hope to see you there!

OMG

55F, sunny, 23mph wind gusting to 35mph: Yeah, sure. I'll happily -- well, maybe not happily, considering the wind -- ride in that for miles and miles and miles.

19F, sunny, windchill of 8F: Oh HAYELL no.

Call me a wuss. I can take it. I can also keep my toes, fingers, and nose.

Women in Cycling Series: "The Bike: How It Works and How to Buy One"

Kathy Rosen of Upon a Bike presented a lively and informative introductory seminar on the bicycle's parts and choosing the right type for one's planned activities. Kathy had a bike on a stand and detailed every part so that we'd know what to tell a mechanic when there was a problem to be fixed. She then asked each person whether they currently had a bike (and told me I was too "advanced" for the class when I answered with "four", heh) and how she planned to use that bicycle. The answers ranged from commuting to exercise to playing with the kids.

I felt that the lecture part of the class focused primarily on using road bikes for activities, but that might be my own prejudice flaring up since I'm still afraid of my own road bike. A few women seemed apprehensive about that choice, but Kathy took us around the Vienna Spokes, Etc. to show us the wide variety of bikes available. She outlined the pros and cons of each and that relieved the more timid in the audience.

Because Kathy had called me a "ringer", a few women asked me more about my bikes and my opinion on what would be good for them. I pretty much echoed Kathy's suggestion that they borrow a bike from a friend and test ride lots of bikes to see what felt good to them. While I LOVE my hybrid, that doesn't mean they'd love it as well.

I wound up talking one on one with Kathy about riding for weight loss because she'd mentioned that she'd lost forty pounds thanks to cycling. My experience has been nearly completely the opposite because I get so hungry when I ride. She asked if I was riding for distance and said that I should try interval riding instead. Happily, the February seminar will focus on nutrition and weight management. I'm looking forward to that. The following classes with deal with confidence on the open road and roadside maintenance.

One does not simply bicycle into Lego Mordor*

The husband and I enjoyed a Lego-filled Christmas what with him gifting me two sets from "The Hobbit" series and my gifting him with two sets from "The Lord of the Rings" series and the video game. We've been playing a lot of the cooperative version of the game and I've been cavorting through a Lego Middle Earth as a single player even more. Like obsessively, embarrassingly even more. (Which is yet more confirmation that I was right to never join "World of Warcraft" despite my brothers' pleading and cajoling...)

What does this have to do with bicycling? Hang on, I'm getting there...

So last night, as I drifted off to sleep, I began dreaming that I was riding Beatrix the pretty loop-frame bicycle through the landscape of Lego Middle Earth. It was a pleasant and picturesque trip until my tires skidded on some scree around Mount Doom and I lost control. I awoke with a full body jolt when I crashed. I think my friends summed it up best with both "I think that's about time we have an intervention for you..." and "You can't even ride a dreamcycle without crashing."

Obviously, I should have ridden Lily the hybrid.

*Yet another friend's input. This is my new motto.