after

so my knee and hip are still a bit sore. my left arm is a little stiff but my right wrist is the worst! i have full range of motion, it doesn't hurt to the touch but it just hurts when i move it, but not enough to make me say ouch. its a strange uncomfortable feeling. it feels like it wants to pop or crack.
i made it to the eye docter. it was everything i expected. stop running. get over here. no, you can't play hide and seek and definitely not tag. at least nothing was broken. a pair of eye glasses made it to the floor and the magazines "fell" off the desk, but all in all not so bad. 5-7 business days and i can take my contact out at other times besides bed time. i kind of miss that.
i've worked at SRAM for almost 8 years now. there have been a few things while i've been here that have been truly exciting for me on a personal level. the X.0 rear derailleur was one thing. getting to ride prototypes etc. was way cool. seeing it from start to finish was awesome. the derailleur is just bad ass. i'm not sure if being in the industry numbs you to stuff or what. perhaps it's age, etc. there have been a number of products that we have done that have had the industry in a flutter... the mission control forks- lyrik and totem- but really i have no need or desire to ride these, the road group (don't get me wrong, i am super excited about it, but i'm not into road stuff like i am into mtb stuff, that could change) and code. i'm talking about what speaks to me. until right now that is- there are two things that have me super excited.
the new sid and the 1090 cassette. i have not seen or held a new sid yet, but i can't wait to get one! i'm not really a weight weenie but the reba world cup was heavier than a sid. i never had any issue with the sid as i'm 130lbs and racing and riding here in the midwest, so never felt i had to have a reba. but this new fork with the ti spring tube and hollow legs have me geeking out on bike parts again. the new 1090 cassette is just, well, fucking cool. i've held this in my hand. it's absolutely amazing.
tonight i need to go shopping (dress) and hopefully eat some good food.
group rides saturday and monday. sunday is the wedding.
the forecast looks to be fantastic so get your asses outside this weekend.

funky

my funk is dissipating. i showered last night and time takes care of the mental stuff. i'm trying to get my doc to prescribe this in case i ever feel that way again.
i rode last night (all by myself). usually not a big deal but wednesday nights are the nights i enjoy riding with people.
i ended up riding the palos meltdown course. i was slow. my tires kind of sucked for the "a bit more than tacky" sections of the trail. but that's not why i was slow. i just was working things out in my head. which is kind of a disaster on a mtb ride.
i slammed my foot into a rock. ouch. i should've just rode my singlespeed as i forgot to shift gears the whole time any way. i was either in way too easy of a gear or way too hard. the way too hard ended making my aching back ache even more.
it was a beautiful evening actually to be in the woods. it wasn't too hot at all.
i saw two people the whole time i was out there. they were coming down stair steps. bad ass hill is super technical right now. the rocks are really loose as well as there being a nice water rut down the middle. there were a few trees down. more than i would have expected. there was actually a tree down on every trail.
i started to head back to the car a bit before 7. i was still on the trail back to the parking lot but my mind wasn't. i don't know what happened. all i remember is seeing the spray painted root and then sitting on the ground. my guess is i leaned the bike over a bit too far and my "not so great in the more than tacky" tires must have broke free. my handlebar spun completely around cutting the top tube. i couldn't get it back spun around. i had to undo the clamp on the brake lever to spin it back. my bar had turned up as well. that kinda sucked. luckily i was done. my knee and hip are pretty sore today. my knee being pretty bruised. it took the majority of the impact. i had like an inch of mud caked there with some blood. i had leaves and dirt in my teeth. and something burned my wrist. i haven't had my bell and body rung like that all year. it was like a shock. luckily nothing to keep me off the bike. just a reminder that you're never off the trail until you clip out and get off your bike.
today i would like to get my rx filled for my glasses. i only have a pair of riding rx glasses and would like some just regular glasses. i was hoping to go right now, but it's zoe's nap time. when she wakes up it'll be time to pick up casey and josh from school. and then i'm not so sure i want to bring a couple of 5 year olds with me. but in reality i'll just suck it up and be one of those moms yelling the whole time i'm out to tell them to get back here or stop running. it's also casey's open house tonight. that should be neat. i'm sure she'll be excited to show us around her school.
in exciting news we got a big ass box from zappos yesterday. casey has grown out of all her shoes so i got her a few pairs. she's in love with her camo with pink skull circa shoes and her vans. i thought she was going to sleep with her circas. she's not as excited about her vans all star type shoes. while i was at it i also ordered john and myself some chucks. believe it or not i haven't bought a pair of shoes for myself in awhile. i love shoes.

funk

i'm in one. mentally and physically.

CAMBr Palos Meltdown

Palos Meltdown is September 9th!
you have to pre-register by Aug 31.
if you don't pre-register you will have to register off-site the day of. (can't do any business transactions on forest preserve property) which really is a pain in the ass.

yawn

went to marios for dinner last night instead of a bike ride. i haven't been there in awhile and it was sooo good.
today i need to go dress shopping as i have a wedding sunday. nothing like last minute. i need to get john some stuff too.
pre-ride palos this weekend and then hit the other trails out there provided they aren't under water still. i'm sure there are some nasty spots, but i'm hoping for the most part they'll be dried out.
still catching up at work from being out all last week. luckily i had someone filling in for me while i was out as i'd be screwed this week.
i need to get my helmet set up with my light so i'm ready to go when i need it (possibly tomorrow).

the weekend

friday i ended up on the road (duh) as i think the singletrack here may still be under water. i haven't checked lately. i took the walt out. 32:19 on flat pavement with your seat too low for 13 miles kinda sucks. but i was glad to be out.
saturday was zoe's second first birthday. this time with my family. we shared the day with my cousin erin and my niece audrey. great food, good people and fun times.
there was tons of chicken, beef, pasta and beans to enjoy all day long. not to mention like 5 cakes! i wish i was there right now.
sunday came and we decided to hit the kickapoo race right outside of danville, il.
i used to ride down there years ago (like 8). i forgot how cool the trails were (even cooler now) and how much singletrack there was (even more now). it was a 10.3 mile loop of essentially all singletrack. it was all singletrack except maybe a 1/4 mile of double track and about 1/2 mile of open field singletrack. the rest was up and down and back and forth in the trees. 3 killer climbs, some awesome decents, tons of jumps, roots, logs, etc. my race was 20 miles. the trails were in perfect condition!
you couldn't have asked for a better day to be out on the trails.


i took 1st overall, john took 7th. Ben was there- he took 3rd (he has a great write up of the race). nice job ben.
i remember being nervous at this race. i don't even know why. i knew what to expect. we mass started with all the men. i remembered surprise hill (cruising on the singletrack in the field, sharp ass right turn into a steep short hill) and knew i'd be walking. no biggee. i started as second woman and stuck on her wheel for the first few miles thinking this was a good pace. then it dawned on me, this is singletrack- GO. i passed as the trail widened a bit and just pedaled. we came to this creek crossing and then it went up with rocks and roots strewn in just to make it hard (it was sweet). i know if i wore a heartrate monitor it would have been over my max i'm sure. i was breathing mouth open and super loud. i don't think i closed my mouth and quieted for another 3 or 4 miles. it took me a long time to recover from the effort. i was hurting but knew i'd recover and just be able to go faster. i didn't know where the other ladies were and i was determined to get a 1st here (per jeremey). for the rest of the race i traded spots with a few guys. every time i heard someone i was convinced it was another woman so i'd pick it up. i didn't have a rear brake for the entire race. i don't know what the deal was. i'm guessing some of the chain stuff somehow got onto the rotor. i was hoping it would burn off but it never did. it didn't really matter, in fact it probably helped me as sometimes i'll hit the rear brake to scrub speed when i really don't need to- it's like a safety thing (habit) i guess. the only time it got me was on this steep downhill section that went sharp left after a root drop off. i had no idea it was coming. i went to use the rear brake to skid the turn and it wasn't there so i had to lay it down for fear of going off the edge. no harm really just a nice scab today. next lap i was fully prepared for it. i finished in 2 hours and 7 minutes. it was over 20.5 miles. i still suck at eating on the bike. so sucky that i might as well just stop and pull over to eat. i'm ordering a gu bottle or whatever today. it was impossible to drink water on that course! it just never stopped. i didn't even get to use my bar ends. that's how much tecnical singletrack there was.
john came in after his 30 or so miles and said he just didn't have it today but had fun regardless. he was ready to throw down with a guy who said "fucking singlespeeders" when he got bounced off of a steep short hill until he looked over and saw the dude was on a singlespeed. good fun.

i will say it was nice to see the way our bikes looked at the end of a race for a change.


the drive home was uneventful. i mean it was a nice change of pace from driving in and out of wisconsin. but 57 is a very boring drive to say the least.


once we got home we cleaned out both trucks, cut down a tree and mowed the lawn- not to mention laundry, unloading etc. we never sat down (except for driving) all day. i think we both passed out about 9pm.

what a drag

i don't feel like doing anything. i haven't had a vacation in over 3 years and i pick this week to take it. i'm still in awe of the amount of rain that's dropped. i'm in denial and keep thinking that if it doesn't rain today (yeah right) palos might be dry by sunday (no effing way).
zoe's second first birthday is saturday for my side of the family. hopefully it's at least dry for that. we are celebrating with my cousin erin and my niece audrey so we weren't competing for weekends and my family wouldn't be on birthday overload in august.

more

this is different radar from my last post. these are the scary storms. where your trees are touching the ground and your bushes are tapping the windows. you'd swear the lightning and thunder were in your backyard and sometimes in the house with you.

i like listening and watching. but as a home owner there is a fear of something going wrong. luckily the tree missed the shed.

here it comes again

(insert your own expletive here)



tornado warning sirens. downed tree in the backyard.



crazy. it went from 92 to like 67 degrees in less than 10 minutes. i was just emailing jeremey, what a shitty week to take vacation. who would have ever thought?

dressed up alligators

so i took the mud bike out. i didn't know how bad the trails would be so i hit the paved path for about 12 miles and then turned into the mesa. the usual entrance mud. i've seen it muddier. wow. way better in here than i ever would have imagined.
got to the lake bypass and huh? no mud. YES. rode down to racoon alley. okay, muddy. but i would expect this, i mean it's essentially a creek bed. the entrance climb to the mesa off of raccoon alley was pretty slick. it's root filled and kid of steep. i ended up walking it. i was far from being discouraged. not even close. rode over his bridge no problem.



and came across this:



the chainsaws will have to come out for this bad boy.

i was amazed at the conditions of the trails. the trails were fine. the roots, rocks and logs were slick as all get out.

i did a log slide on this one and ended up crotching the toptube.



i didn't do one of the bridges. it comes off of a little downhill with a funky turn and has rocks in front of it. i was weary. and rightly so. i put my front tire on it to roll up to get to the other side and it slid out. the off cambr section after that bridge was pretty slick. it has a lot of little finger roots too so i walked it. but really i never had to walk again until this rooty climb.
there were only two super wet spots. by 420 and the usual water runoff spot on the outer leg. but that's muddy even when it's dusty.



it's steeper than it looks. i rode down it fine, but climbing out, it was super slick.

my bike and me. yep- that's it. some mud ride. i would have killed for this look after this past saturday.

surprise

storms this morning... storms this afternoon.... storms tonight and tomorrow and friday. next week when i go back to work looks nice. my allergies are in full force. must be mold. i feel like poo. can't breathe very well. going upstairs is a chore. hopefully i feel better as the day goes on.

mud bike

i finished it. tomorrow it gets tested. i'll post pics if i remember to bring my camera.
it's been 9 hours since it rained last. i think we need 2 days which i don't think we are gonna get.

@#%* rain

i can't believe it's still raining!!!

from rusty

a big thank you to rusty for giving us WORS racers tons to do on mondays.

em you dee

it's funny, i was just reading a bunch of elite peeps blogs and they talk about how great the race was and i believe them. but i'm sure the comp, sport and citizen racers have a whole different outlook and it has nothing to do with experience.
there was never any doubt in my mind as to whether or not i would race. i was going to race. when it started raining i was almost a bit stoked as the course was so dry it needed some moisture badly. my weakness is loose dirt turns and there were plenty of them.
i was 2nd place until we came out into the open road. my lack of warming up really reared it's ugly head as i felt like i was going backwards. i guess sometimes i forget the importance of warming up. i was cursing myself for not (again).
words can't describe how thick and slick the singletrack was. the trail was just begging for a tire tread to grab hold. a tread i didn't have because i was so indecisive about changing my tires (duh). by the time i thought to change them it was too late and i just had to deal. crossing the field to get to the other side i took a nice fall down one of the drops. i was passing some dude and the trail threw him my way sending me off down the short steep area where there wasn't really a trail. as if i weren't muddy enough.



i think i ran most of the second lap. too muddy, bike was caked, lines of riders, it was craziness, way worse than alterra. i never once thought i wouldn't finish, never even wanted to quit. but thought about how dumb it was that we were out there. thinking about how trashed my bike was. i mean i had weeds wrapped around my hubs, wrapped in my rotors. sticks in my pulleys, some small animal's or bird's home between my bottom bracket and seattube. you couldn't even see my large and small chainring, they looked like discs. i couldn't believe the noises my bike was making. (but it was still all cool and stuff, the orange spokes were still all shiny.)

it was miserable and fun. i mean i was still riding my bike even though it was just a little bit.




i just wished there was a bit more riding and a bit less running. and i'm sure i'll forget (again) to pack my toe spikes for my next WORS race.

i feel bad about all the time and effort put into this course and weekend to have the rain kill it's potential.

i ended up 7th overall and 3rd age.

pics stolen from mg.

zoe's first party

zoe's first birthday party of two happened tonight. she absolutely hated the cake. she was switched at birth. there is no way a kid of mine can't like cake!
packing for tomorrow so we'll be late and can't preride. hope to see a bunch of you on saturday.

ha HA!

no rain. we didn't get hit all day. it didn't hit til after we rode a fantastic loop out at palos. it was nice killin' trails on the walt again. it had been a long time since we've paired up. thanks to beth, tony and ed for making the ride all the more fun.
taking off my helmet back at the parking lot the thunder rolled in. perfect. got home, no rain. sweet.

dreary

ick. what a blah day. the radar looks super ugly and of course not looking good for a ride tonight. maybe waterfall glen? i've got my mind set on doing something.

more rain

wtf? i can't believe the amount of rain we've been getting. i so remember in just recent years past that august was the month of brown grass (straw really) and all kinds of watering bans. as pretty as the grass is i'd rather be riding off road.

monday

work sucked. the drive was suckier. the weather was nice for a change. no offroad tonight, but at least i rode. i'm trying to find whatever it is that's making the irritating noise on my bike. still no clue. it's starting to tick me off.
tomorrow ride? doubt it. it's john's night. wednesday... palos 6pm.

sunday sunday sunday

sunday started off with fresh hot cinammon rolls out of the oven and some freshly brewed coffee. read the sale papers to see if there was anything we had to have. and then tried to get a sitter so john and i could go for a bike ride together. we've rode our bikes together i think once or twice this year. i know, boo hoo, but i miss it. it ended up working out but we weren't able to get out until 1pm and it was a hot one yesterday. although, i will say that with it being in the 90s for so long, it doesn't seem as bad as it did a couple weeks ago. i think you just get used to it.
we met tp and beth at the staging area and headed out for a pretty mellow mtb ride... up the staging area singletrack to pipeline to psychopath to turf one up the road to 3 ravines up ho chi minh back to pipeline to the out n back. we had to call it a day as john's parents needed us back so they could go out to dinner.
the trails were a little muddy from the surprise rain the night before. by the end of the ride you could tell that everything wash drying up. even the singletrack back down to the staging area appeared to be dusty in spots. next time i'm out at palos we'll preride the race course. it'll be interesting and boring at the same time. there are so many cool trails it'll miss not to mention 3 ravines is so awesome downhill.




once home we headed over to my aunt's for my gram's birthday dinner and a nice swim. i think casey and zoe would both live in the pool if they could.

responsible

saturday turned into a day of responsibility. choosing to race every other weekend pretty much means you neglect your home responsibilities. this weekend instead of driving up to wisconsin to ride kettle we decided to get caught up on some much needed yard work and house cleaning. since we've neglected it for so long there was plenty to do.


my plan was to fit a ride in at some point but with all the work to be done and it being john's mom and my gram's birthday- i literally just ran out of time. i tried to get a night ride going, but that wasn't working either. i'm too chicken to go by myself. there are sections of the forest preserves here that scare the crap out of me.
today the only objective is to ride. it rained like crazy last night so i'm hoping off road is doable.

for sale

my lemond is for sale again. if anyone is interested let me know.
49cm steel, orange and badass...



different saddle (that one is on my mtb) it has a ti vitesse now.
different stem- itm (if you want the 80mm carbon it's yours- it was too short for me)
different post- carbon truvativ... but you can have your choice of use alien or bontrager.
$800

sucky road ride

i just got back from a road ride. i didn't ride the moots as the cockpit parts aren't in yet to make it rideable. so the lemond got the call. i quickly remembered why i haven't been riding this... when the moots came in i took the saddle off of there to put on the new bike and put the hated vitesse on their with a setback post. ughhh!!! i came back only 12 miles later with the start of a saddle sore. i coulndn't bare to ride any longer. i'm sort of bummed as i have no motivation to do anything else now... wash bikes or take the tape off the moots to get a head start or laundry or get the bmx bike out of the element.

ho hum

tonight is usually my ride night out at palos. with all the rain we've been having it's for sure a no go. even waterfall glen i'm sure is under water by the tracks.
kind of depressing. looks like a road ride tonight. possibly kettle this weekend? but that could be under water too.
tonight after my ride i'd like to get my bike cleaned from this weekend. no, it's not still caked in mud, we did rinse them. but it needs a real cleaning now.
fingers crossed i don't need new cables and housing.
i'm off the week of the 20th. hopefully the weather cooperates as i think jeremey wants to bring the juniors down to ride palos and the mesa. should be fun.

happy birthday zoe

it's zoe's first bday today.

lotsa rain in the past few hours. off road riding looks to be a distant plan.
maybe that'll motivate me to change my bar on my road bike so i can actually ride it.

tagged

by regina. I’m guessing this means I have to answer these questions?

jobs I've held:
through high school worked in the car business as a cashier
richard’s bicyle shop through my short college stint (it's changed so much since i've been there)
SRAM Corporation from then til now

movies I can watch over and over again:
goonies, napoleon dynamite, harry potter, breaking away and many more.

guilty pleasures:
ooh lots… some music, cup cakes, portillos chocolate cake, fountain drinks with lots of ice, strawberries and whipped cream,
anything harry potter

places I have lived:
blue island IL
my bike
oak forest IL

shows I enjoy:
house
fuel tv
discovery channel and history channel stuff
i don’t watch too much.

places I have been on vacation:
boundary waters MN
does racing in WI and MI count?
monterey and san fran CA
kauai HI
mt snow VT
seattle WA
i’ve been to other places for work.

fave foods:
mexican- love tacos
corn on the cob
pizza
spicy jambalaya

websites i visit daily:
every blog that’s linked on my page and then bloggers linked off their pages
various news web pages
weather
cyclingnews and velonews

awards i've won:
spelling bee district champ in 8th grade
state hoop shoot champ in 5th grade
perfect attendance in school every year except when I had the chicken pox
many bike medals and trophies

nicknames:
spicy, rae, rae rae, mom

i won't tag anybody as i'll be bummed they didn't play.

franklin

ha ha. what a mudfest! what a blast! popped it in the big ring not realizing the mud that was ahead after cresting the climb. forgot i was in that big ring and pushed through. passed like 5 gals. slip, slick, slide... down. bar end, grip and shifter sunk in the mud with my hand.
got up and was sliding off the handlebar. now i realize i'm on the big ring and can't shift down. hmmm.... my teeth... i'll figure it out. just keep going. finally made it to the gravel. i can see brittany just ahead. okay i'm not doing bad. now use your other hand to try and shift down. nope, too slick. glove off. that worked. phew. the singletrack was awesome. slick to make it interesting which is what i like. pass people get out to that moon climb thing and everyone passes me. it would have been nice if i warmed up. but to have time to warm up i need to leave my house in time to get there before 11:18. thanks to everyone that helped me get on the bike to make the start. my warm-up consisted of big ringing it to the bathroom and then downhilling to the start. i don't remember any details really after that moon climb. just passing people, trading places with people. the second lap was worse than the first and third. the mud just before the singletrack was obnoxious, but i'll remember this race for a long time because of it. i still need to work on the food thing... perhaps taping the gels to my stem or wrapping them on my bottle. i have a hard time reaching in my jersey as it's kind of short. on that third lap i really needed a gel. this guy's kid, meghan, and i traded places a couple times at the end, but she killed me on the final climb to the finish line with her smooth pedaling skills. i wish i had that much energy at the end... i saw amy walking and i think i was riding as slow as she was walking as she didn't seem to be getting any closer. the elites and comps i know were yelling at me to get her... i stood up to give it an extra go and sat right back down again. didn't matter. i was happy with my finish. 2nd age and 5th overall chick.
this was probably the first race in a long time i didn't have thoughts of quitting. which to me says i wasn't going hard enough...
thank to john and jeremey (he has pics from the race) for giving me water. how rad is it to have people give you water? i won't get used to it as i think next race i'll have to carry it in my pocket or something.
congrats to everyone today... john for taking 2nd age on his singlespeed, jesse for taking the overall, marko for following in for second and ronsta coming in 4th after his grueling win last weekend. it made for a fun watch of the elite race. congrats to dave and jerry for making mars the majority on the comp ss podium. congrats to the juniors nate and mitch for killing it as well.
as i was walking around the event today i thought about how it's cool having a blog. i've met so many people i wouldn't have otherwise. you know people's names to cheer them on and they know you.

*photos courtesty of mg and rusty

hilarious

casey just told me that she is very very hungry. that she has a worm in her belly that gets bigger and bigger and eats all her food. it gets bigger each time she eats. it makes her hungry all the time and that's why she needs to eat candy and snacks all the time because that's what kills it...

yes!

it's been a weird day. lots of weird errands. casey's last day of swim lessons. she can't wait for next year. dropped my gram off so she could get a perm. work, tried to clean, work, gave up on cleaning.
finally saw harry potter. it was pretty good actually. i won't geek out on it here... i'll just have to wait for my sister to get her lazy ass to see it.
tomorrow- work and i dunno. saturday- maybe go out to breakfast (hint hint) and i dunno. and sunday- franklin. i hope i finish.

bishop

very cool.

more of the same

back to work, trying to fit rides in... you know the drill.
i've been meaning to put barends on the eriksen but have kind of been too lazy.
i think i'm stalling because i don't know if i want to cut the grip or just slide everything in a bit.
moots went out last night... i really need a shorter reach bar. i have my eyes on a cheapie aluminum to check out and if it's all good i'll invest in a new stem for my rad bar i have sitting in the bike part closet.
franklin is this weekend. hopefully it won't be too much of a scorcher! start drinking now.
it's wednesday night so i'll be out at palos. it'll be nice to get out.
pasta bowl for lunch today. if you are ever in the city it's definitely a place to check out. the farfalle pollo is to die for!