unblog

i've only ridden once since last post with the girls in mke which was fun. other than that, i've got nothing going on but work, kids and stuff.
i have no desire for a new bike, i didn't think that could ever happen, i may have to check myself into a hospital or something. the walt, eriksen, cross check, steamroller and moots have satisfied my bike needs for now. yeah, there are some parts out there that i want... namely a dt swiss bolt on ss hub. but other than that, nothing really. well okay, the ferrous still has a spot in my heart, but i don't see me getting one anytime soon if ever.
my thoughts have been mostly on tattoos. finding inspiration for filler.
thoughts of unclutter, dumpsters and christmas lists. family and friends.

dermal pigmentation

i've thought about tattoos for awhile now. i got my first when i was 18 and have always wanted more, just really didn't know what.
i've been thinking about it a lot the past few months. doing a lot of research on what i really wanted.
it's easy to focus on something else when not lusting after another bike or part. i'm pretty content with the bikes i have. i don't remember the last time i felt this way, i'm not sure if i ever did (i hope it doesn't last). while being satisfied with my bikes i need to focus on something else. that something else is what i'm doing to my left arm.
i got my tara mcpherson piece done tonight. more done in february- the custom artwork. i can't wait, but i can.
i was reading a forum somewhere and one of the posters said he was thinking of getting his ink removed because tattoos were becoming so mainstream. whatever. i think its great.
girls ride tomorrow at the mke river trails. should be fun. hopefully the rain holds off.
i really should've looked at my bike. last ride it was making all kinds of noises. hopefully they were just dirty bike noises.
it's gamer night tonight... john has friends and their kids over. it was a nightmare trying to put zoe asleep, she knew there were kids having fun while she was forced to go to bed. i finished surfing the internet... again. i'll probably finish im'ing my sis and go to bed.

mke river trails

john and i made the 90 minute drive up to the mke river trails.
we met up near the pick and save to a group of people. bender, james lalonde, goat, lori, amy, bubba, meghan, a couple people i didn't know, and marty! jeremey had mentioned that bender was bringing some hayes dudes. i thought, i wonder if he'll bring marty? i kind of thought no as i still was gathering some parts for him. but there he was. it was good to see him and ride with him.
we headed out on the trails with bender, goad, james and john leading and then me. a big gap formed, duh. as i watched them in the distance i thought, wtf. i came here to ride my bike not race against the men's elite field. so i used the root steps i messed up on as an excuse to get to the back of the pack where the riders were. phew.
i love riding, especially this time of year. i love talking to people, making fun of them riding, making fun of myself when i screw up.
the ride was good. i didn't crash on the ground once, but i did hit a tree. just lost concentration which out there means not respecting the trail. there were a few things i'd like to try again. never having ridden there before you'd turn a corner onto something you weren't expecting in the least. i look forward to my next ride out there.

the color purple

i've noticed that lately i've been attracted to the color purple. thinking about the rig i had. and then shopping yesterday i looked at myself and the kids... zoe had purple crocs, purple sweatshirt, casey had on a purple vest and i was wearing purple shoes with a purple crumpler bag.

hilariously offended

casey jumped in the shower with me today. as she was cleaning me with the poofy thing she said "mom, its just like washing a whale."

food fest

we arrived at st. xavier a bit early. better than late i suppose. casey's team ended up in 2nd place. they were a little sloppy probably from only having one practice this past week. they have fun regardless what place they come in.
the competition was ahead of schedule which kinda sucked because there was so much downtime. they couldn't speed it up as there were set times for awards and team arrivals. i ate so much while i was there. i had a few pieces of candy, finished up casey's yogurt, a cheeseburger and a yogurt waffle cone. not to mention the mountain dew and a few stolen nachos.
all my sister's teams did very well. One of them bringing home grand champion.
got home, made a pizza, watched some football. john made a fire.
he was asleep by like 7. i put the girls to bed and went to sleep about 9:30 out of sheer boredom.
i'm finding today its hard to get motivated.

eggs

my day started out okay and then ended crappy.
rushed to buy some webkinz or something for mia's party.
picked up something from reese too as my sister's back is out.
got lost on the way to the theater. finally found the theater, dropped the kids off.
my sis and i went to lunch and then went to the gym to clean egg off of all the windows.
apparently one of the girls boyfriends thought it would be funny to egg their gym. "what's the big deal, it's not like they had to clean it, the janitors will". what is it with kids these days? fucking losers. the egg was caked on pretty good. they also left cartons and unthrown eggs on the ground in front of the entrance. probably 2-3 dozen eggs. two of steph's cheerleaders came out to help us. we were only able to get the reachable windows done. we also needed something stronger to break through the egg funk.
zoe ate dirt and created the smelliest diaper known to man while we were there.
came home and waited and waited and eventually ordered a pizza. casey bath, bed and wake up early and get to st xavier probably late.
at least we gain an hour of sleep tonight. i sure need it.

bike work

i have so many projects going on, yet i don't have all the necessaries to finish any of them. and it's all little stupid stuff... its driving me CRAZY!
i can finish the surly if i could find cassette spacers for a single speed or a chainguard and keeper to make it a 1x10. the road bike needs carbon brake pads. my spot has brake replacements but i'm lacking the longer hose for the rear brake.. my eriksen needs new grips that i haven't ordered yet. and then the steamroller... i'm too lazy to pull it out (it's buried in the bike "aisle") to put a handlebar back on it.
my next purchase will be a singlespeed rim brake 700c wheelset. cool but inexpensive.
i still can't believe i don't have enough cassette spacers...

always changing

the plan this weekend was hit milwaukee cross on saturday and casey's comp on sunday.
i just found out casey's friend has a party to see the bee movie tomorrow. bummer. so i can't go. i was almost done changing the cross check from grocery getter to a bike i could race on (hopefully tonight). not to mention i haven't been to one this year. are there any good movies out? we were thinking about possibly seeing one while the kids were at the party.

Happy Birthday John!

it's john's birthday today. he hates his birthday and will probably hate this post.

great fun

left work a bit early. went out trick or treating with my sis, bro in law, mom, john, casey, zoe, reese, audrey and met up with tony and josh. the weather was perfect. walking zoe over to my mom's she fell out of the wagon twice. poor kid.
we ended the evening with some pizza from beggar's (yum) and went home where the kids passed out from exhaustion.
there is so much candy here its disgusting.

gettin' ready

♥♥♥ BOO ♥♥♥

i only rode 4 miles yesterday... when forgetting to take my inhaler hit me. i was freaked out riding by myself anyway. real creepy.
casey is super stoked its halloween today. she has pretty much been talking about it all year. she's padmé from star wars. zoe is yoda. i'll hopefully get some good pics tonight.

procrastinating pack rats

john and i have pretty much ignored our house for 2 years now. we put hardwood floors in feb 05. we had to tear some railings down and still haven't put them back up. our basement is full of clutter and junk. not even fun junk.
our attic is full. you can't even walk into the office or kids rooms there is so much stuff.
i need to get a dumpster to make room. i remembered to make the call when i hadn't decided to get one for sure and now that i've decided we need one for sure, i keep forgetting to call!
to start i'm going through the clothes. i just filled over 6 garbage bags full of clothes to give to goodwill. i haven't even hit the cycling clothes yet. tons of good jerseys i don't think i wore more than once. socks. i plan on getting rid of everything i haven't worn in a year and maybe then some. and then when the new twin six jerseys hit, i'll get rid of more.
i used to not be able to part with anything. it was usually practically new. but i like new things. i like keeping it fresh. i never wear things i keep just in case. the last two years or so i get the urge to purge. it's that time of year.
now i just need to work on the shoe thing. i have a real hard time parting with shoes.
once we purge the basement and attic (and garage- yikes) the clutter upstairs and the other rooms will have a home.
the weather looks to be sweet tomorrow. 66 and sunny. i probably won't get a chance to enjoy it, but who knows, maybe i'll need to go home early. wednesday is halloween. casey is super stoked. she can't wait to dress up. sunday brings another competition at st. xavier college. another big one. at least its close.

ride n cheer

packed friday night for the first gal's ride. i had to leave at 6:early to be there on time.
thoughts of leaving my family for a day, friends and music filled my mind on the 2 hour drive.
it was a bit chilly, but not as cold as i had thought it would be.
i pulled into the lot and regina was hanging out. the rest of the girls slowly pulled in. amelia, angela, soni, sonia, brittany, christine, lori, amy, claire...
we all headed out overdressed. some of us stripped at the first bench.
blue to connector to emma and back.
i fell once. i don't even remember. i just sunk in some sand in a turn. when i was sitting on the ground i almost laughed out loud. i just toppled over.
the trails were in good shape. lots of leaves. big holes of water. some i thought you'd get lost if you rode through them.
i had a really good time. it was nice riding with people who weren't way above or below your own skill level. the pace was good. sometimes fast, sometimes perfect and sometimes easy.
i've ridden the connector once before. this was my second time on it. i didn't know what was different to be honest? perhaps if i rode it more before they changed it, i might've picked up on it.
afterwards bunch of us stayed for a small picnic. amy d joined us. good times. i look forward to more rides.
saturday evening had me bummed for a bit but then we started on john's costume and that cheered me up.
drawing question marks over his tight bod was a pretty good time. when he took the unitard off we had to wash all the question marks off his skin.
sunday i left around 10:30 for the competition already getting over the fact i was missing halloween cross. it was pretty boring. i wished i had given john the camera as i 'm sure his pics would've been way more fun.
it was in a small high school gym with one bathroom for a ton of women. casey's team took first. she was a bit of a crank today. afterwards my mom took me to get a belated birthday present, so that was fun.

scooter girls and hugs

quick 13

the drive home has been surreal this week. i've been getting home at 5:40. its amazing the difference between getting home before 6 and after 6. last night i beat everyone home and headed out for a quick 13. it was super windy but man was it great to be outside. i don't think i could've dressed more perfect. knickers, two upper layers with a windvest, wool socks. i could've used some toe covers though. riding into the wind the piggies got a little chilly.
saturday ride at kettle. dare i say they took the rain out of the forecast?
sunday isn't looking so fun. a suprise added competition for casey. kind of bummed as i was hoping to hit washington park with the kids all halloweened out.

the drive home

listening to the radio as i drove bos to the train station i heard blah blah blah wide open blah blah blah. i thought to myself the damn ryan is open. it sure as hell was! took me less than 40 minutes to get home (usually an hour and 20)... but having to hit the bank and the grocery store i was actually in the house about 6:30 or so. woo freakin HOO dammit. hopefully the inbound opens soon. i'm not counting on tomorrow. but soon.

funk

i'm in a funk today. i feel really tired and bummed. i'm super bored and lazy at work. i have plenty to do but just not motivated.
i'll leave here and by the time i get home it'll be dark. not to mention i need to go to the grocery store and bank after work. bleh.
i have bike stuff to do but just am not motivated to do it. remount wheel, finish casey's fisher, cross bike (but i guess i need parts for that) and they all need to be washed.
at least i have a ride at kettle to look forward to on saturday, provided the weather cooperates.

good times

we spent all day in peoria for casey's competition. she ended up 2nd out of 7 teams. it was a super long day but at least it ended on a good note. she stayed with reese overnight in the hotel room and swam til she couldn't swim anymore so i hear.
i wanted to try my hand at cross this weekend. but i didn't know if wanted to try it because i couldn't. there was no way i could go to janesville with john today because someone had to be here for casey to get back. i didn't want to ask anyone to take the kids again for 8 hours while i tried cross. as it was i already had to ask my gram to watch zoe for an hour or so.
woke up sunday not sure if i'd be going to the poker ride. not sure how that's fair, but whatever. i called my gram to see if she'd watch zoe for an hour or so. she said no problem. i had to leave at 9, but john wouldn't have to leave til, i was thinking 11 or so.
i left for the poker ride on an empty stomach. i had only eaten a piece of toast. when will i learn. anyway got there and helped set up a bit, took some registrations, got dressed and everyone started milling around to leave.
the lots at palos were packed. everywhere. i think everyone that owned a mountain bike was out there today.
i couldn't decide if i wanted to do the fast or intermediate ride. i saw people i knew in the intermediate ride and nobody i knew in the fast ride. then i saw tony, ed, stan, rick and ryan in the fast ride. ha, i can hang with them so i wandered over. i knew the intermediate was going to be on the slow side. which i don't mind, but its definitely more fun riding slower with people you actually hang out with.
the ride started. at times the pace was probably like a sport women's race and at times slower. but it was fun and i felt the burn more than a few times. it took awhile to adjust to riding rigid again as well as the 29er not to mention the singlespeed.
the route we went couldn't have been more perfect.
by the time we hit 3 ravines i was tired and hungry (i had a gel, but we were almost done, or at least i would be i had to get zoe). the rigid felt very well, rigid. i didn't even stop sweating and i was on my way to pick up zoe.
grabbed us some lunch, casey joined us and we headed back out to the ride. what else were we gonna do? it was too nice to hang out in the house.
it wasn't what i expected. the people i thought would still be there weren't. but that changed as i got into a different groove and casey started playing the games. she won the bike limbo. it was so cool. she was so excited. the crowd would go wild when she went under on her micro mini redline. she won easily of course. she got a new seatbag to match her new fisher.
she's still stoked.
we headed home around 5:30 or so and hit up the plush horse to get ice cream... for dinner. mint chip in chocolate sprinkled cones. yum. i think it was the first time zoe had ice cream.