Today Mike and I embarked on what I knew was going to be the hardest ride that I've done in my approximately 3 month cycling career. We basically took the hardest climb I've done to date and added to it. To make it even more fun, I rode without having been on a bike in three weeks... life's just been too darn busy! Finally, for whatever reason, I just had one of those days that I just plain wasn't feeling it. Fellow athletes out there, you know the feeling - it's not that you're in any better shape, it's just that some days you don't want to.
Well, I did it... all 28.44 miles, all 2,280 feet of climbing. I did have one little mishap... you guessed it, I fell off my bike. I'm not sure, but it may be even more embarrassing than the first fall I had. You see, as we climbed the Rams Horn (that's the part we added on - it's about 2 miles of steep) I was suddenly swarmed by a massive cloud of gnats. Those little suckers stuck with me for the entire climb. I spent a good deal of it not focusing on my rhythm or breathing and focusing instead on swatting. It was awful. On the final ascent (the steepest part, I might add), one of those little suckers made his way under my glasses and got stuck in my eye. I was so busy trying to get him out that I stopped pedaling and tipped right over. Don't worry... I'm just fine... some minor scrapes and a little sore. My ego hurts a lot though... to Mike's credit, he did a damn good job about not letting me see him laugh. I know if the tables were turned, I probably wouldn't have done as great a job!
Even with Gnatfest 2011, I'm super glad we did this ride - it's been something we've talked about for the last few weeks. I did a really good job on my descending - I hit 35.8 MPH at one point! Since descending scares me the most, I'm really glad I'm forcing myself to practice it... I'm feeling better and better about it!
I had grand plans of taking pictures at different points throughout the ride, but as it turns out, I was just trying to keep myself on the bike. Maybe once I get a little better I'll remember to take pictures - the beauty of living where we live is that our rides are absolutely stunning... most of today was along a little creek-river and in the woods!
Showing posts with label cycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cycling. Show all posts
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Cycling, Burgers and Cake
Great title, isn't it? Basically, I do the first one so that I can have the second two!
We went for a fantastic bike ride yesterday. I know I keep going on and on about this cycling stuff, but I'm really getting into it. I absolutely love running, but a lot of the time it hurts. Whether it's an upset tummy or sore joints, there is a lot of mental pushing to get through a decent run. Don't get me wrong, part of what I like about running is the mental aspect. But what I love about cycling is that I don't really have that kind of pain. Since I'm getting ready to marry a billy goat, we've been doing a lot of hill climbing and descending (that's the part that is the hardest for me!). Yes, it is hard and yes, my muscles hurt. But there's something about that kind of hurt that I really like.
Yesterday was the longest ride of my short cycling career. We did 25.17 mile ride with 2,091 feet of climbing. It was fantastic. However, on the way back down the mountain people were barbecuing in their yards... nothing on this planet smells more fantastic than barbecue when you're as hungry as I get when I ride! We had planned to have chicken kabobs for dinner, but made a stop at 88 Burger (or "Happy Burger" as I call it) on the way home instead. To be fair, we ate the kabobs tonight, so no food was wasted.
Our second great feat yesterday was to meet with the baker who will be making our wedding cake. I'm very excited to say that we picked a cake! I'm not going to give it away here (there have to be some surprises at the wedding!), but it's absolutely delicious! Our baker is Ingrid Fraser and the cake that we picked is absolutely amazing! She's going to do some great stuff with the cake to make it really pretty. I can't wait!
We went for a fantastic bike ride yesterday. I know I keep going on and on about this cycling stuff, but I'm really getting into it. I absolutely love running, but a lot of the time it hurts. Whether it's an upset tummy or sore joints, there is a lot of mental pushing to get through a decent run. Don't get me wrong, part of what I like about running is the mental aspect. But what I love about cycling is that I don't really have that kind of pain. Since I'm getting ready to marry a billy goat, we've been doing a lot of hill climbing and descending (that's the part that is the hardest for me!). Yes, it is hard and yes, my muscles hurt. But there's something about that kind of hurt that I really like.
Yesterday was the longest ride of my short cycling career. We did 25.17 mile ride with 2,091 feet of climbing. It was fantastic. However, on the way back down the mountain people were barbecuing in their yards... nothing on this planet smells more fantastic than barbecue when you're as hungry as I get when I ride! We had planned to have chicken kabobs for dinner, but made a stop at 88 Burger (or "Happy Burger" as I call it) on the way home instead. To be fair, we ate the kabobs tonight, so no food was wasted.
Our second great feat yesterday was to meet with the baker who will be making our wedding cake. I'm very excited to say that we picked a cake! I'm not going to give it away here (there have to be some surprises at the wedding!), but it's absolutely delicious! Our baker is Ingrid Fraser and the cake that we picked is absolutely amazing! She's going to do some great stuff with the cake to make it really pretty. I can't wait!
Friday, July 22, 2011
It Was Bound To Happen
"And one night it did". Sorry, lame Garth Brooks reference. No, I'm not talking about Papa driving a truck into a hotel, I'm talking about falling off my bike. I decided yesterday afternoon to take my bike out for a little spin close to home. We've got some great hills to climb (and I've got a big hill in the Alp d'Huez to climb next year) and I figured that since it was my first solo ride, I'd be able to walk home if something went terribly wrong.
I was aiming to do two loops (there's a solid climb in there) but it was really hot out (90+ degrees). On my way back up the first loop, I started to get really hot and thought I'd pull over to take a little rest. Apparently unclipping while heading uphill is much harder than it sounds. I pretty much came to a very slow stop and then VERY slowly started tipping over. In fact, I even had time to think "yup, this is the first fall" before I hit the ground. Again, very low speed, so all it really did was scrape up my elbow and scratch the left side of my bike a little. Badge of honor, right? I did manage to land on my keys, which got all scraped up and tore a little hole in my jersey. Maybe now that everything is a little banged up and doesn't looks so new, people will think I am a real cyclist!
The one good part of the whole experience was there was not a soul around to see me bite it. I'm told that many people do this at a busy intersection or parking lot, so I guess I'm lucky there. I made myself get back on and keep riding just so that I didn't end up with a mental block.
In other fun and exciting news, I mailed our wedding invitations today! I can't believe it but three months from today is the big day! It seems like there's so much to do between now and then!
I was aiming to do two loops (there's a solid climb in there) but it was really hot out (90+ degrees). On my way back up the first loop, I started to get really hot and thought I'd pull over to take a little rest. Apparently unclipping while heading uphill is much harder than it sounds. I pretty much came to a very slow stop and then VERY slowly started tipping over. In fact, I even had time to think "yup, this is the first fall" before I hit the ground. Again, very low speed, so all it really did was scrape up my elbow and scratch the left side of my bike a little. Badge of honor, right? I did manage to land on my keys, which got all scraped up and tore a little hole in my jersey. Maybe now that everything is a little banged up and doesn't looks so new, people will think I am a real cyclist!
The one good part of the whole experience was there was not a soul around to see me bite it. I'm told that many people do this at a busy intersection or parking lot, so I guess I'm lucky there. I made myself get back on and keep riding just so that I didn't end up with a mental block.
In other fun and exciting news, I mailed our wedding invitations today! I can't believe it but three months from today is the big day! It seems like there's so much to do between now and then!
Monday, July 18, 2011
Pork Chops & Cycling
Don't you love how a lot of my posts are about food with some sort of mildly athletic activity thrown in to offset the food? Well, today it's not even my athletic activity I'm going to talk about, but it is my food.
As I type this, the love of my life is bringing in bacon & apple stuffed barbecued pork chops. Ladies, this is why you marry a firefighter. They can cook.
I'm not gonna lie, these things were awesome. I'm not a huge pork chop fan because I haven't really found a great way to keep them... moist. Remind me to do a whole other blog on how much I hate that word. Anyways, these were fantastic. Mike sauteed bacon, butter and apples together, stuffed the mixture in pork chops and threw them on the grill. YUM.
The cycling part I'm going to talk about is yesterday's Tour de France stage. Those of you behind the times (seriously? it's a rest day... catch up!), stop reading now.
In cycling, it's pretty much a given that at some point, you will fall off your bike. Most of the time, they're not terrible falls (more blows to the pride, I suspect) than anything. The crashes in professional cycling are a little more dangerous. They tend to end in broken collar bones, concussions, etc. Just this year, pro cycling lost a rider to a high speed crash. Most of the time they're caused by nervous riders, bad weather conditions or just bad luck.
Yesterday's crash just makes me mad. It was caused by a French television car who was trying to pass the group of breakaway riders. The road narrowed a little bit and the car had two tires on the dirt shoulder. A tree leaned into the road and the driver veered to the right to avoid it, clipping cyclist Juan Antonio Flecha. Flecha then tumbled across the road (the impact ripped the front wheel of his bike off) and into Johnny Hoogerland. Hoogerland did some fantastic gymnastics - directly into a barbed wire fence. The impact literally ripped his shorts completely off and tore up his skin. Both were able to eventually get back on their bikes and finish the stage.
The action starts about 13 seconds into the clip:
Absolutely horrifying, if you ask me. Hacing just started cycling, stupid drivers are one of the things I fear the most - in a day in age with texting and talking on the phone, it seems like no one is focusing on driving any more. What makes this so bad to me is that the driver had other options. Hit the tree. Hit the brakes. Nope, he/she chose to hit the rider, who had absolutely no defense or warning. Needless to say, the cycling world is outraged today. The very minimum punishment (that has already been enacted) is to pull the driver from the race. I'd pull their license if it were me.
As I type this, the love of my life is bringing in bacon & apple stuffed barbecued pork chops. Ladies, this is why you marry a firefighter. They can cook.
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| Apple & Bacon Stuffed Pork Chops |
The cycling part I'm going to talk about is yesterday's Tour de France stage. Those of you behind the times (seriously? it's a rest day... catch up!), stop reading now.
In cycling, it's pretty much a given that at some point, you will fall off your bike. Most of the time, they're not terrible falls (more blows to the pride, I suspect) than anything. The crashes in professional cycling are a little more dangerous. They tend to end in broken collar bones, concussions, etc. Just this year, pro cycling lost a rider to a high speed crash. Most of the time they're caused by nervous riders, bad weather conditions or just bad luck.
Yesterday's crash just makes me mad. It was caused by a French television car who was trying to pass the group of breakaway riders. The road narrowed a little bit and the car had two tires on the dirt shoulder. A tree leaned into the road and the driver veered to the right to avoid it, clipping cyclist Juan Antonio Flecha. Flecha then tumbled across the road (the impact ripped the front wheel of his bike off) and into Johnny Hoogerland. Hoogerland did some fantastic gymnastics - directly into a barbed wire fence. The impact literally ripped his shorts completely off and tore up his skin. Both were able to eventually get back on their bikes and finish the stage.
The action starts about 13 seconds into the clip:
Absolutely horrifying, if you ask me. Hacing just started cycling, stupid drivers are one of the things I fear the most - in a day in age with texting and talking on the phone, it seems like no one is focusing on driving any more. What makes this so bad to me is that the driver had other options. Hit the tree. Hit the brakes. Nope, he/she chose to hit the rider, who had absolutely no defense or warning. Needless to say, the cycling world is outraged today. The very minimum punishment (that has already been enacted) is to pull the driver from the race. I'd pull their license if it were me.
Thankfully, both Hoogerland and Fletcha seem to be doing as well as they could be under the circumstances. Both lost tons of time (and any change of placing in the Tour), but it sounds like both of them are going to return to the race tomorrow. Hoogerland said today that he has 30+ stitches and Fletcha is obviously very sore. Absolutely incredible spirit, in my humble opinion.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
My New Scarf & TDF Update
Ok, cycling friends, if you haven't watched today's Tour de France coverage, you might want to skip this post until you're caught up. Translation: spoiler alert. I'll discuss my cool new scarf first so that you can make the decision to close the browser if you want.
My mama made me an amazing new scarf that she brought with her yesterday:
I love the colors - it totally reminds me of the beach and is neutral enough to go with just about everything... I can't wait to wear it!
Now on to the TDF news. I'm so, so, so bummed that Chris Horner is out of the Tour. Earlier this year Mike and I saw him blaze up Sierra Road in the Amgen Tour of California (a race he went on to win) and he's been one of my favorite riders ever since. He gives some of the most awkward TV interviews not because he doesn't know what he's talking about, but because he starts talking super technical race strategy. I love listening to him because he's just really passionate and energetic.
Yesterday he was a victim of one of the big crashes that ended up taking out another top contender. The cameras were all focused on the other guy and the announcers had said something along the lines of Horner being involved and that he was up and back on the bike. He finished the race (VERY far behind) and was whisked off to the hospital. Today was saw video of him being put on the stretcher and asking "Did I finish?". Talk about a whack to the head! As it turns out, he broke his nose, banged up his legs and has a concussion. You have to hand it to an athlete who finishes a race but is so out of it that he doesn't know he did it!
My mama made me an amazing new scarf that she brought with her yesterday:
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| My Beachy Summer Scarf |
Now on to the TDF news. I'm so, so, so bummed that Chris Horner is out of the Tour. Earlier this year Mike and I saw him blaze up Sierra Road in the Amgen Tour of California (a race he went on to win) and he's been one of my favorite riders ever since. He gives some of the most awkward TV interviews not because he doesn't know what he's talking about, but because he starts talking super technical race strategy. I love listening to him because he's just really passionate and energetic.
Yesterday he was a victim of one of the big crashes that ended up taking out another top contender. The cameras were all focused on the other guy and the announcers had said something along the lines of Horner being involved and that he was up and back on the bike. He finished the race (VERY far behind) and was whisked off to the hospital. Today was saw video of him being put on the stretcher and asking "Did I finish?". Talk about a whack to the head! As it turns out, he broke his nose, banged up his legs and has a concussion. You have to hand it to an athlete who finishes a race but is so out of it that he doesn't know he did it!
Monday, July 4, 2011
An American Independence Day Tradition
Yup, that's right, we're watching competitive eating. It's on ESPN right now and again, I find my self both disgusted and in awe. The best part is hearing the announcers say things about the competitors like "They've really made a huge contribution to the sport". Seriously? The sport? I suppose it is trying on your body, but if you compare that to, say the dudes riding 21 days in the Tour de France, I hardly think they're even close. However, some of the stats are pretty impressive. For example, one of the guys ate 275 jalapenos in like 8 minutes.
This morning we went for a fantastic bike ride. It's the same road that we were on last week, but this time we went earlier and I didn't have my mocha first. I think both of those were good decisions. We added some distance this time, so we ended up at roughly 16 miles with a total of 1,200 feet of climbing. I felt great when we got back to the truck!
Yesterday we went to the Blankenheim's house for their fourth of July BBQ. It was a blast - Nicki, Sheri and I brought our bathing suits and spent about an hour playing in the pool with the kids. It's been forever since I've just done handstands in the pool or did tube races! Today we're headed to my parent's for their BBQ... that's right, we've had three solid days of food, fun and fireworks!
This morning we went for a fantastic bike ride. It's the same road that we were on last week, but this time we went earlier and I didn't have my mocha first. I think both of those were good decisions. We added some distance this time, so we ended up at roughly 16 miles with a total of 1,200 feet of climbing. I felt great when we got back to the truck!
Yesterday we went to the Blankenheim's house for their fourth of July BBQ. It was a blast - Nicki, Sheri and I brought our bathing suits and spent about an hour playing in the pool with the kids. It's been forever since I've just done handstands in the pool or did tube races! Today we're headed to my parent's for their BBQ... that's right, we've had three solid days of food, fun and fireworks!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Bicycles & Paper Shredders
This morning we headed out for a close to home ride. Today was the first day that it's actually been pretty warm when we started out. I ended up doing 10.46 miles with a total of 760 feet of climbing. It's no Death Ride, but it wasn't a bad workout. I think the heat got to me a little bit because I didn't make it as far as Mike did (he added another 9 or so mile loop on). It was a little disappointing, but I'm trying to remember that I haven't ridden in the heat, that this was only my third ride and that I need to build up. That said, I'm getting way more comfortable both physically and mentally on the bike. I'm hoping that in our next few rides we can start building up the distance and the hills that we're riding.
On a completely different note, today I bought a paper shredder. I know, I'm a total office supply nerd. This thing is cool though. Seriously cool. Almost as cool as my label maker. I decided it was time after I heard about identity theft again in our marriage class yesterday. I actually know someone who's laptop was stolen and the thieves got his social security number from it. They then proceeded to file his taxes and take the money he got back. Does that blow you away? I guess I would be a bad thief... I would never think of that! I've spent half the evening running around the house finding things to shred. The downside is that poor Shadow seems to think it's a vacuum cleaner without wheels. For those of you who don't know, the vacuum is the bane of Shadow's existence. To him, it apparently represents all that is evil and scary. When it even makes an appearance (on or off), it must be attacked. I'm assuming that it's the two noises that he's associating, but it's funny either way. Note to self: don't shred unless the dog is outside.
On a completely different note, today I bought a paper shredder. I know, I'm a total office supply nerd. This thing is cool though. Seriously cool. Almost as cool as my label maker. I decided it was time after I heard about identity theft again in our marriage class yesterday. I actually know someone who's laptop was stolen and the thieves got his social security number from it. They then proceeded to file his taxes and take the money he got back. Does that blow you away? I guess I would be a bad thief... I would never think of that! I've spent half the evening running around the house finding things to shred. The downside is that poor Shadow seems to think it's a vacuum cleaner without wheels. For those of you who don't know, the vacuum is the bane of Shadow's existence. To him, it apparently represents all that is evil and scary. When it even makes an appearance (on or off), it must be attacked. I'm assuming that it's the two noises that he's associating, but it's funny either way. Note to self: don't shred unless the dog is outside.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
I Want To Ride My Bicycle
Yup - that's a Queen reference!
Since I was a lazy bum this morning, I decided that tonight I would do some sort of workout. Now that it's completely hot out, I was not entirely inspired to leave the coolness of my house. Then I remembered that I have a snazzy new bike and we have a trainer I can put it on. So I set everything up, popped in a movie and got pedaling.
No helmet (seriously, if I manage to fall off my bike in the trainer, I'm pretty sure Mike is going to take it away) and no snazzy jersey - today was all about just getting the exercise done! At first, Shadow was very intrigued and patiently waited to figure out what I was doing:
However, once he realized that there was nothing fun for him to do, he promptly did what every good dog would do:
I rode for about 45 minutes before I started to get hungry (the danger of riding before dinnertime!). I did notice when I got off my bike that there was a new addition:
Hopefully that gets me out of any cycling tickets I might get! :)
Since I was a lazy bum this morning, I decided that tonight I would do some sort of workout. Now that it's completely hot out, I was not entirely inspired to leave the coolness of my house. Then I remembered that I have a snazzy new bike and we have a trainer I can put it on. So I set everything up, popped in a movie and got pedaling.
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| Getting Ready To Ride |
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| Shadow Watching Me Ride |
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| Flat As A Pancake |
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| My CAL Fire Sticker |
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Catching Up
Well, I've been pretty bad at blogging lately. Life has been super busy!
The bike ride on Sunday went really well... we did just over 19 miles and had a fantastic time! I didn't fall over in the clips, but did have a near miss. I had unclipped my left foot, put my weight down and got a cramp in my hip. In trying to stretch it, I started to lean to the right, forgetting that my right foot was still clipped in. It was almost like slow motion - suddenly the horizon just started to tilt. Fortunately, Mike was on my right side and caught me. But I had the best time - it was so nice to be out in the sun and riding with my boy!
On Tuesday I finished my last biofeedack class. For those of you who don't remember, back in April I started a biofeedback class at Kaiser. Over the last couple months I've had several sessions, where I've learned that I carry a lot of my stress in my neck and shoulders, which contributes to my migraines. Part of the idea behind the biofeedback is to be able to recognize what that stress feels like and then be able to relax it. When I started, my shoulders were at a 20 (don't ask me what the levels are). By my last session on Tuesday, I had it down to an 8! Big progress - in fact, I haven't had any truly bad migraines in about a month. Ironically, I ended up with one on Tuesday, but I'm 99% sure that was caused by my horrible allergies. Can it please just be hot for like a week so that all of this grass dies off? I'm trying a new allergy medicine - hopefully it helps!
Finally, I got a new purse! Those of you that follow me on Facebook probably saw my post office rant earlier this week. Here's the deal. I ordered this purse on Amazon.com and paid to have it shipped overnight. The mail carrier didn't even bother to come up to my house to try to deliver it - he just put the little "sign me and I'll bring your package later" slip in my mailbox. Apparently, it's the price I pay for having moved to a smallish town. The slip said to head to the post office between 7:30am and 4:30pm, so I dropped by before work. The posted hours on the post office were 9am to 4:30pm - not exactly helpful for those of us who work between those hours. Finally, a woman from the post office called me and agreed to stay late so that I could come pick my purse up. Without further ado:
Yup, it's Coach. Apparently I've developed an obsession. It's very summery (I love the light blue leather handles and ties on the side!) and fits all of my stuff. Yay!
The bike ride on Sunday went really well... we did just over 19 miles and had a fantastic time! I didn't fall over in the clips, but did have a near miss. I had unclipped my left foot, put my weight down and got a cramp in my hip. In trying to stretch it, I started to lean to the right, forgetting that my right foot was still clipped in. It was almost like slow motion - suddenly the horizon just started to tilt. Fortunately, Mike was on my right side and caught me. But I had the best time - it was so nice to be out in the sun and riding with my boy!
On Tuesday I finished my last biofeedack class. For those of you who don't remember, back in April I started a biofeedback class at Kaiser. Over the last couple months I've had several sessions, where I've learned that I carry a lot of my stress in my neck and shoulders, which contributes to my migraines. Part of the idea behind the biofeedback is to be able to recognize what that stress feels like and then be able to relax it. When I started, my shoulders were at a 20 (don't ask me what the levels are). By my last session on Tuesday, I had it down to an 8! Big progress - in fact, I haven't had any truly bad migraines in about a month. Ironically, I ended up with one on Tuesday, but I'm 99% sure that was caused by my horrible allergies. Can it please just be hot for like a week so that all of this grass dies off? I'm trying a new allergy medicine - hopefully it helps!
Finally, I got a new purse! Those of you that follow me on Facebook probably saw my post office rant earlier this week. Here's the deal. I ordered this purse on Amazon.com and paid to have it shipped overnight. The mail carrier didn't even bother to come up to my house to try to deliver it - he just put the little "sign me and I'll bring your package later" slip in my mailbox. Apparently, it's the price I pay for having moved to a smallish town. The slip said to head to the post office between 7:30am and 4:30pm, so I dropped by before work. The posted hours on the post office were 9am to 4:30pm - not exactly helpful for those of us who work between those hours. Finally, a woman from the post office called me and agreed to stay late so that I could come pick my purse up. Without further ado:
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| My New Purse! |
Saturday, June 11, 2011
My New Pony!
Today was a crazy busy day for us. Mike and I got up and headed down to the orchard to finish the fencing. Basically, Mike built Shadow a pen about a year ago and today he finished the pen for me. :) This one is 6 feet tall and hopefully keeps the deer away from my apple, apricot, orange trees and my artichoke. He made it big enough that I could expand the orchard, which I just might do! We spent some time uncaging the trees in there (they each had fencing wrapped around them, but it made it hard to do any pruning).
After that we showered and headed down to Mike's Bikes in Sacramento to look at a road bike for me. This store was absolutely fantastic! The customer service was excellent and they had really great prices. I came home with a Specialized Dolce Elite Apex Compact. It's a size 44 - apparently the smallest women's bike that Specialized makes!
The pictures don't do it justice - this is a beautiful machine! I bought the clip in pedals and all of the goodies that go with it (including the nifty biking shoes!) and my personal mechanic helped get the whole thing set up:
The other big purchase I made today was a new little cycling outfit. They make all sorts of nifty pants and while I balked at the idea of paying $100 for spandex shorts, Mike assured me that I would be super satisfied with my well padded posterior. He said that while I was at it, I should get a jersey, so I chose one that not only makes me very visible, but also reminds me of the beach! I think Shadow likes it...
Finally, once I was all dressed up, it was time to get on the trainer and test it out!
For those of you who don't know, "clipping in" basically makes your feet stuck to the bike pedals, which then allows you to pedal more efficiently. The one downfall is that it takes getting used to when it comes to clipping and unclipping. Every experienced rider tells me that you will fall over with your bike at least twice because you can't get your feet off your pedals and that this almost always happens at a busy intersection where lots of people can see. I can't wait... I also took it for a little spin out on the driveway - and managed to clip and unclip on the hill. Tomorrow morning we're going to take it out for a real ride - I can't wait!
Our other big adventure for today was taking a trip over to Shane Co. to look for wedding bands. I have to say, I've been nothing but impressed with their service. The sales people are not paid on commission and there is absolutely zero pressure to buy. The guy that helped us today was funny and very patient. I'm so happy with the bands we both picked out, but you'll have to wait for the wedding to see them!
After that we showered and headed down to Mike's Bikes in Sacramento to look at a road bike for me. This store was absolutely fantastic! The customer service was excellent and they had really great prices. I came home with a Specialized Dolce Elite Apex Compact. It's a size 44 - apparently the smallest women's bike that Specialized makes!
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| My New Pony On The Trainer |
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| The Blankenheim Household Bike Mechanic |
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| My New Bike Outfit |
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| First Ride On The Trainer |
Our other big adventure for today was taking a trip over to Shane Co. to look for wedding bands. I have to say, I've been nothing but impressed with their service. The sales people are not paid on commission and there is absolutely zero pressure to buy. The guy that helped us today was funny and very patient. I'm so happy with the bands we both picked out, but you'll have to wait for the wedding to see them!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
My First Bike Ride
Ok, not exactly my first bike ride. But today was my first bike ride on a road bike. Oh, and it was my first time on a category 1 climb. For those of you who don't follow cycling, they rate climbs on a scale of 1 to 4, with one being the hardest climb (technically, there is also an "HC" which means it's out of category because it's so hard). Basically, this was a serious mountain. We covered roughly three and a half miles of road with 1,800 feet of climbing in one hour and twenty minutes. I thought that wasn't that bad until the pros did it in about 20 minutes. Yikes! Here's the first picture of me at the top... don't I look invigorated and happy to be alive?
Mike also made it to the top (duh!). This is us after I've had some time to cool down and eat a PB&J!
The winner of this stage was Chris Horner. The poor guy rides for Team Radioshack, which also happens to have Levi Leipheimer. So, of course, everyone was cheering for Leipheimer, thinking he was Chris Horner. It wasn't until he was right up on us that we realized it was Chris! He finished a good minute ahead of anyone else... absolutely amazing!
This one is of Jens Voigt - one of cycling's most loved people. Poor guy took a very nasty fall yesterday (see that big bandage on his knee?) but apparently didn't think to grab a new pair of shorts (check out his left upper hip!). I'm pretty sure my face looked like this all the way up the hill.
I did manage to snap a good shot of George Hincapie on his way back down the mountain to the team bus. This was probably the coolest part of the race - as we all headed down, the pros joined us! Apparently this is pretty rare (seriously, it'd be like professional football players heading out to the parking lot to stretch after the game).
Finally, the peloton came by - a good 30 minutes behind Chris Horner!
As always, there are the fun cycling fans:
Finally, I left today with the mark of the cyclist - grease on my calf:
We just watched the playback on Versus and Mike was on TV!!! Ok, my leg was too, but I'm going to let him have the glory. They caught us cheering for the 2nd group in. Woo hoo! What a great day - I'm tired and sore and going to chill out a little now! I definitely think I'll be getting a road bike!
I have more pictures - I'll post them to Facebook tomorrow!
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| I Made It To The Top! |
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| We Did It! |
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| Chris Horner Making The Final Climb |
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| Jens Made It Too! |
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| George Hincapie On His Way Back To The Bus |
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| The Peloton |
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| Moose! |
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| Grease Is The Word |
I have more pictures - I'll post them to Facebook tomorrow!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Death Ride 2010
I'm just going to say it... my boyfriend is a stud. Yup, that's right a certified grade-A stud. On Saturday, he and a couple of his buddies got up at the bright and early time of 3:45am to get ready for the 2010 Death Ride. For those of you who don't know what the Death Ride is, let me fill you in. It's known as the "Tour of the California Alps" - a 129 mile ride with 5 mountain pass climbs that total 15,000 feet of climbing.
Here's Mike and I at the top of Carson Pass (the last pass where we sat and cheered):
Note that he doesn't look like he's just been riding for the last 11 hours. I have no idea how all of these guys looked so good! There was a downside... about 2 hours into the ride, Mike had a pretty bad crash. His chain broke, which promptly tossed him off his bike and onto the ground. He ended up with some pretty crazy scrapes and bruises... I suspect that most of the soreness he's feeling now is not from the crash but rather from the fall. Here's a side picture that doesn't do the injuries justice:
He has some pretty good scrapes down his legs, too. Here's the part that just absolutely amazes me... this crash happened 2 hours in. He had to sit almost a full hour waiting for one of the course mechanics to come around with a new chain (his was completely broken in two). I'm pretty sure that most people would have stopped there, but not my dude! He hopped right back on that bike and rode for another 8 hours! I'm absolutely blown away!
We were also there with Sean and Erin:
Rich and Clarissa:
Of course, we set up a fantastic cheering section - Erin and Clarissa brought cowbells (who doesn't love a couple hours of cowbell ringing?!). We had a blast cheering for all of the people coming up the last pass! Here are the "cowbell girls" doing their thing:
My parents also came and brought Tucker... who woofed along with us when we cheered and rang the bells!
Tucker and Dad eventually got sick of the cowbells and walked over to the side of the road to look down on the beautiful lake below us:
Who doesn't love a good "boy and his dog" picture?
In other cycling news, it looks like Lance Armstrong is pretty much out of contention in the Tour de France. He had a couple of crashes yesterday that put him way too far back to make up the time before the end of the race. Sort of sad, since I would have loved to see him go out with a win (he's said that this is his last Tour). He's had a lot of crap thrown at him this time around... some crazy crashes and flat tires at times that were just very bad luck. I think I might have to start cheering for Andy Schleck!
Here's Mike and I at the top of Carson Pass (the last pass where we sat and cheered):
We were also there with Sean and Erin:
In other cycling news, it looks like Lance Armstrong is pretty much out of contention in the Tour de France. He had a couple of crashes yesterday that put him way too far back to make up the time before the end of the race. Sort of sad, since I would have loved to see him go out with a win (he's said that this is his last Tour). He's had a lot of crap thrown at him this time around... some crazy crashes and flat tires at times that were just very bad luck. I think I might have to start cheering for Andy Schleck!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tour de France
My name is Anna and I am a Tour de France-aholic. That's right, I'm hooked. Last year I sort of paid attention because Mike liked it, but it's really grown on me. We went and watched Lance and the boys ride the Tour of California and I just totally fell in love with this sport. We tape it on Versus in the morning (it's broad casted twice a day, but the morning version shows everything, while the afternoon version is clipped) and watch it when we get home from work.
The first three stages (well, two plus the prologue) were absolutely amazing. The weather was pretty crummy in Holland and Belgium (they started there and reached France yesterday), so there were TONS of crashes. It amazes me to see these guys hit the cement at 30 miles an hour and then pick themselves right back up and get on the bike again! There were several guys that had to drop... broken jaws, collarbones, thumbs, etc.
Last night we watched Stage 3, the dreaded cobblestones. They made the riders race over 7 different spots of cobbles... one those crazy skinny little bike tires. It was an absolutely insane race to watch... I was totally on the edge of my seat for 2 hours! In fact, when I went to bed, I couldn't sleep! Lance Armstrong was pretty amazing - he lost a lot of time, but after getting a flat tire made this incredible charge to catch up to one of the main groups! I would love to see him win, but don't know if he has it in him this year. I want to at least see him beat Alberto Contador! Lance dropped down to like 18th place and I'm not sure that he can make up the time that he lost, but there are still 18 or so days left to go!
The other cool thing about professional cycling is the team aspect. Obviously, the riders are in it for the big individual win, but they're also riding for their teams. And they have some pretty neat strategy. For example, they'll "watch over" the guys that they are pushing to win the race. There are some guys that know they will never win, but are still excellent cyclists, so their sole purpose is to get their man up the hill, to the front of the pack, over the cobblestones, etc. If fact, in one of the Stage 2 crashes, a Saxobank rider actually got off his bike and handed it to Andy Schleck so that he could keep going. But it's not just the team spirit that amazes me, it's the excellent sportsmanship. After a serious crash took out most of the teams, a couple of the guys in the lead decided to hold up the group so that they all crossed the finish line together, neutralizing any advantage that they would have had due to the horrible crash. This happens time and time again - it's almost as if they feel they only want to win if it's a fair race. Very cool to watch!
I can't wait for Stage 4 tonight!
The first three stages (well, two plus the prologue) were absolutely amazing. The weather was pretty crummy in Holland and Belgium (they started there and reached France yesterday), so there were TONS of crashes. It amazes me to see these guys hit the cement at 30 miles an hour and then pick themselves right back up and get on the bike again! There were several guys that had to drop... broken jaws, collarbones, thumbs, etc.
Last night we watched Stage 3, the dreaded cobblestones. They made the riders race over 7 different spots of cobbles... one those crazy skinny little bike tires. It was an absolutely insane race to watch... I was totally on the edge of my seat for 2 hours! In fact, when I went to bed, I couldn't sleep! Lance Armstrong was pretty amazing - he lost a lot of time, but after getting a flat tire made this incredible charge to catch up to one of the main groups! I would love to see him win, but don't know if he has it in him this year. I want to at least see him beat Alberto Contador! Lance dropped down to like 18th place and I'm not sure that he can make up the time that he lost, but there are still 18 or so days left to go!
The other cool thing about professional cycling is the team aspect. Obviously, the riders are in it for the big individual win, but they're also riding for their teams. And they have some pretty neat strategy. For example, they'll "watch over" the guys that they are pushing to win the race. There are some guys that know they will never win, but are still excellent cyclists, so their sole purpose is to get their man up the hill, to the front of the pack, over the cobblestones, etc. If fact, in one of the Stage 2 crashes, a Saxobank rider actually got off his bike and handed it to Andy Schleck so that he could keep going. But it's not just the team spirit that amazes me, it's the excellent sportsmanship. After a serious crash took out most of the teams, a couple of the guys in the lead decided to hold up the group so that they all crossed the finish line together, neutralizing any advantage that they would have had due to the horrible crash. This happens time and time again - it's almost as if they feel they only want to win if it's a fair race. Very cool to watch!
I can't wait for Stage 4 tonight!
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