Weather Update: 16 Days to Go

So, who knew this would turn more into a weather blog than a biking blog? I haven't been able to ride this whole week because the wind never gets below 20mph. See the lean on that tree?? As I type, Euless has winds up to 30mph!!! Can you belive that?!?!? It's been this way all week. I'm hoping once the storms pass through, the wind will die down, and I'll be able to get back out there. There is a small issue of my knee still being angry for trying to fight mother nature on Sunday, so I'll have to keep my eye on that too. I REALLY wanted to ride to Lisa Moore's house tomorrow, but I guess that will have to wait. I've been telling her since January 2009 that I was coming to her house. There's a big hill to conquer to get there, and I'm determined to conquer it :-) Stayed tuned for further updates, as this wind saga continues.

What was I thinking???

No, not about doing 40 miles in 40 days, but you're close! I said in my first entry that I am trying to doing something outside my normal m.o. I'm trying to push past this slump I've been in for quite some time, especially since Mom passed away. WHAT WAS I THINKING doing this around Mother's Day?!?!?!!! A glutten for punishment, or just clueless sometimes. I only slump more during the holidays...geesh! But, like I said before, I pushed through the holidays and came out with a new holiday towel and an Elvis experience. I'm going to keep riding, keep looking for Elvis, who knows what else.

DUDE!!! STOP THE WIND ALREADY!!!!!

Ok, so if you have had a bad day, and don't want to hear anyone else complain about anything, now is the time to stop reading. This angry cat pretty much captures how I'm feeling about all this right now. WHAT IS UP WITH THE WIND?!?!??!!!! 23mph today. Not all day. It was only about 10 around noon. BUT, when I want to ride, 23. My knee is killing me from yesterday's attempt at fighting 27 mph wind. So, what did I do??? I went to the gym. Well, that's boring now. I didn't last long before I got bored. I didn't want to go in the first place, but my "coach" Kevin made me get up and go. And for what?! 15 minutes of boredom, and aggrivation of my knee.

Why the knee, you may ask? I was in a motorcycle accident back in 1997 in Honduras. Had surgery in Houston to place 3 screws and replace ACL with my hamstring, which is now only 3/4 where it should be behind the thigh, and 1/4 as a stand-in ACL. Should I have kept it in shape all these years? Probably, but I didn't, so this is where I am.

I'm angry this isn't working out the way I wanted it to the past week. I haven't had what I would consider consistant rides since I couldn't pull it together last Monday night. It's like there's always something trying to get in the way. Two long rides, two short rides. I had hoped to be pushing 20 mile rides by now. I've made it to 18, but I want to keep going. It's supposed to be windy for at least the next two days, then rain with lightening for the three days after that. Arg!!! I'm very upset about all this. I haven't figured out what to do about it yet, and that frustrates me more. Usually, this is when I start eating, but I'm out of cake. Church group gobbled it up. I guess that was the point. Actually, I'm just so disappointed I want to go to bed now. It is 10pm. Not that outrageous a thought...

And just as an interesting fact, now that I'm back home from the stupid gym "work-out" winds are down to 8 mph...sigh...

I looked Mother Nature in the Eyes: 20 Days to Go

Mother nature looked back at me and blew as hard as she could!!! Mother nature is killing me today!!!

Conditions: 76 degrees, sunny, 17 mph wind with gusts up to 27.

I felt every bit of it!!! Mother nature won this round. I had to go home. I couldn't do it. She took her big fat shoe, and kicked my big fat bicycle all the way back home. I only made it 5 miles. Those 27 mph gusts were more often than JUST the 17mile an hour wind. I will confess that I wasn't, and still am not, in the best of moods for this today, but I thought I would try. NOPE. Go home she said, so go home I did. So, I'll get after it again tomorrow. I can't say that I'll be in better spirits. One thing is for sure...mopey attitude leads to not the best bike ride. Maybe I should eat cake :-)

Whew...21 Days to Go

So, this is one of the new hills I'm treking up. It's a killer, yet part of my "next level."

Last night's ride's conditions: Sunny, 90 degrees when I started - 85 degrees when I finished, winds at 10-12 mph.

I was out there biking along the hard hill route, finished it up, and thought, "I wonder if I can do it twice?" So, off I went to do it twice. AND I DID!!! Now, if you read "knooks, crannies, crevices, and fannies" I'd like to add "and cleavage" My chest muscles are SOOOO sore. TOTALLY NOT expecting that!!! I didn't even know I had chest muscles!!! Maybe that's part of the problem. Anyway..I rode a total of 18 miles yesterday. It took me 2 hours. I got some good ol' vitamin D from the sun. Getting a bit of a farmer's tan/reddening. I guess here you'd call it a bikers tan. Don't know if I can make it out today because of the soreness, but we'll see what later on holds for me.

It's interesting because I run into the same people out there each day. The one's that get me revvvvved up the most are who I like to call "the wagon people." They are a couple with what looks to be about a 2-ish yr old daughter. The daughter rides in the wagon, and they take up the whole sidewalk. When I say my "on your left" thing, they just look at me like I'm crazy, and keep on about their business. So, last night my choices were to either hit the brick wall on our left, or go out into the street into oncoming traffic. Or I supposed another option is to run them over, but I just can't bring myself to do that...yet. So, I waited for oncoming traffic to pass by and out on the street I went. Fortunately, the cars were understanding in the two lanes available and everyone moved over for me :-) Don't think I didn't take the first opportunity to get back on the sidewalk though. It just scares me is all. I don't want to be run over by a car, and all they have to do is form a single-file line and let me pass. Anyway...the wagon people.

Knooks, Crannies, Crevices, and Fannies

So, there are places I didn't even know existed on my body until this bike riding started cleaning out the cobwebs. My goodness!!! When I started this blog I said that I was out of shape and overweight. The overweight thing isn't as much an issue as the out of shape bit. I won't go into too many details, but I'll just say I didn't realize that hamstrings were so long and calf muscles got so angry. I also now know where the term "pain in the neck" comes from. I can tell I'm losing some of my "shapeliness" which is a good thing. AND...did you know that angry muscles twitch...no matter where they are located on your body?? ;-) So, I just thought I'd share :-) It's very rainy today, so we'll see again if I ride in the rain, or if I just go to the gym. I wouldn't mind riding outside if it's not too bad.

25 Days and Counting

I set out to find additional routes since I'm needing more road to ride. I was disappointed to learn that we don't have very many complete sidewalks around here. Some of them even stop about 50 yards before the intersections. Did they run out of concrete?!? So, I'm thinking I may start hitting the trails. I'm a bit intimidated by actual trails...there are REAL bikers and runners and whatnots. It's kinda like the first day of high school, when you think, "ok, who's gonna be the one to embarass me for not knowing where to go or what to do?" Wow, that takes me back. I was more scared about the fact that there were 3 floors in one building for high school, than I was about the 2 floors with 3 buildings that were in jr. high. Interesting how our minds perceive things. Anyway, back to biking. I'll have to do some research, but I know the trails are calling my name. Probably safer than next to the freeway anyway...lol!! Oh yeah...I went to Stratford High School and we are the Mighty Spartans!!! Explains the pic today :-)