J-Bolt doing a sick manual from David on Vimeo.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
2 rides in 1, a move and a possible job?
June is already looking to be a really busy month for me. I had another job interview. If I do get this job it won’t start for at while though. Coincidently, it was two streets away from a job interview I had in February. Either way, it’s really close to where I live now and having been out of a job for almost a full year (on the 27th it will be a year) I really need some income - bad!
But lets not forget that at the end of the month I have to move out of the house I’m renting. The owners of the house are coming back, so I can’t simply renew the lease, I have to be out of here and find another place to live and not having employment at the moment has definitely added to the challenge of finding an affordable a place to live. I do have a back up plan in case I don’t get this job and I can’t find a place to live. Basically I’m thinking of putting all my stuff in storage, packing up the ST3 and taking off to tour around the Pacific Northwest for the summer. And as much as this backup plan appeals to me and I‘d love to live on the road for a few months and explore new places, the money is gone and finding a job and a place to live is really what I need to do.
But the focus for June is sport-touring! I’ve been planning a 9 day long ride to Utah with Dalton and just found out that my friend Sandy was hoping to ride out to Colorado to attend the ST.N national bike meet which is going to be in Gunnison, CO this year. I was originally planning to ride out to Gunnison for the meet, spend one night there and ride back home the next day since I had an even larger trip already in the works so I didn‘t need to spend any more days riding around Gunnison since Dalton and I are planning on riding some of those roads around Gunnison on our way to and from Utah.
Sandy’s vacation was approved and now we’re also planning a week long ride around Colorado. Sandy hasn’t seen too much of Colorado, on the 10 day ride we did in 2006 we mostly rode around Utah, New Mexico ad Arizona. The one day we did spend riding through Colorado on our trip, we mostly rode highway 50 but it was a miserable day. It rained the entire day and it was cold.
So I’m actually excited to ride around Colorado again even though I live here now. Some of those roads I haven’t been on since my trip in 2004 and 2006.
But lets not forget that at the end of the month I have to move out of the house I’m renting. The owners of the house are coming back, so I can’t simply renew the lease, I have to be out of here and find another place to live and not having employment at the moment has definitely added to the challenge of finding an affordable a place to live. I do have a back up plan in case I don’t get this job and I can’t find a place to live. Basically I’m thinking of putting all my stuff in storage, packing up the ST3 and taking off to tour around the Pacific Northwest for the summer. And as much as this backup plan appeals to me and I‘d love to live on the road for a few months and explore new places, the money is gone and finding a job and a place to live is really what I need to do.
But the focus for June is sport-touring! I’ve been planning a 9 day long ride to Utah with Dalton and just found out that my friend Sandy was hoping to ride out to Colorado to attend the ST.N national bike meet which is going to be in Gunnison, CO this year. I was originally planning to ride out to Gunnison for the meet, spend one night there and ride back home the next day since I had an even larger trip already in the works so I didn‘t need to spend any more days riding around Gunnison since Dalton and I are planning on riding some of those roads around Gunnison on our way to and from Utah.
Sandy’s vacation was approved and now we’re also planning a week long ride around Colorado. Sandy hasn’t seen too much of Colorado, on the 10 day ride we did in 2006 we mostly rode around Utah, New Mexico ad Arizona. The one day we did spend riding through Colorado on our trip, we mostly rode highway 50 but it was a miserable day. It rained the entire day and it was cold.
So I’m actually excited to ride around Colorado again even though I live here now. Some of those roads I haven’t been on since my trip in 2004 and 2006.
The 1,200 miles route for the trip with Sandy
Now, the trick is to figure out two separate routes that don’t duplicate too much of the riding, although there are some roads I’d like to hit twice since they are that good!
Now, the trick is to figure out two separate routes that don’t duplicate too much of the riding, although there are some roads I’d like to hit twice since they are that good!
The 2,225 mile route for the trip with Dalton
So it looks like I will have two motorcycle trips this month and I will be riding a total of 14 days. But the weird thing is, I will not be able to come home in between the trips, the two trips will actually overlap by one day. So once I leave the house, I’ll be gone for two weeks and I’m leaving the laptop behind on this trip. So no posts from the road on this trip.
As far as riding, the ST3 got out on two occasions this month. On Saturday, June 6th I rode up to Estes Park and took the long way back home via highway 36 through Lyons and Longmont, 100 miles total. Unfortunately I was supposed to be attending a group ride that day, and I had even made a route of 300 miles for the group. But since life has been a bit hectic lately, I ended up leaving the house late and I was unable to catch up to the group on 34 on the way to Estes Park. Traffic was just horrific and I couldn’t pass the many RV’s that were going 25MPH in a 45MPh zone. When I knew there was no way of catching up with the group, I decided to head home. I had tons of things to do and I had already started packing for the move at the end of the month. I only had another week to pack and finalize stuff before the two trips started.
As far as riding, the ST3 got out on two occasions this month. On Saturday, June 6th I rode up to Estes Park and took the long way back home via highway 36 through Lyons and Longmont, 100 miles total. Unfortunately I was supposed to be attending a group ride that day, and I had even made a route of 300 miles for the group. But since life has been a bit hectic lately, I ended up leaving the house late and I was unable to catch up to the group on 34 on the way to Estes Park. Traffic was just horrific and I couldn’t pass the many RV’s that were going 25MPH in a 45MPh zone. When I knew there was no way of catching up with the group, I decided to head home. I had tons of things to do and I had already started packing for the move at the end of the month. I only had another week to pack and finalize stuff before the two trips started.
June 6 -ST3 taking a break on Highway 36 just east of Estes Park
Today morning I rode the ST3 down toward Denver to meet Dalton for breakfast in Thornton so he could give me a print out of the route I e-mailed him the other day for our trip (I have no working printer at home at the moment) and to go over last minute trip stuff since who knows if my cell phone will work on the ride with Sandy. The plan is for Dalton to meet up with Sandy and I next Saturday at the designated campsite. He also wanted to run his bike all packed up for the trip, since this will be the first long trip for his VFR, which he just bought a few months ago.
June 14 - Last minute trip details in Thornton with Dalton, he took these pre-trip ride pics
BTW, breakfast at The Egg and I was really good but I didn't have my camera
In a few hours Sandy is actually arriving at my house. She had already called me this morning from Nebraska and said she will definitely be in Fort Collins tonight. She was supposed to arrive tomorrow, but has been making really good time riding from Chicago on the interstates. So even though we were supposed to leave for Gunnison on Tuesday, now that she will be in Colorado a whole day early, we might want to try and leave tomorrow or at least do a day ride.
In a few hours Sandy is actually arriving at my house. She had already called me this morning from Nebraska and said she will definitely be in Fort Collins tonight. She was supposed to arrive tomorrow, but has been making really good time riding from Chicago on the interstates. So even though we were supposed to leave for Gunnison on Tuesday, now that she will be in Colorado a whole day early, we might want to try and leave tomorrow or at least do a day ride.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Complainers need not apply
One nice thing about running is that it requires no mechanical equipment. Sure, a watch or heart rate monitor might fail during a run, or even during a race, but this hardly impacts the quality of the run. The weather is a minor concern -- I’ve run in -36 degrees Celsius and +36 degrees Celsius. Neither is particularly fun, but both are do-able. For the most part, a runner doesn’t need to worry about anything except his or her body. And even if an injury or blister does necessitate cutting the run short or stopping altogether, it’s usually pretty straightforward to walk home (or even catch a ride if possible).
Cycling is not so straightforward. Part of what makes cycling so much fun is the ability to go fast -- sometimes very fast -- but this requires mechanical equipment. It also requires a litany of specialized and expensive attire and accessories: padded shorts, cleated shoes, gloves, a helmet, eyewear, etc. If it’s rainy or windy, cycling is miserable at best and dangerous at worst. If it’s snowy or icy, it’s downright suicidal. And because cycling involves going fast, it also means moving very quickly away from one’s starting point. It is not so straightforward to walk or hitch a ride home if the rider or the bike should malfunction.
The relative hassles of cycling were reinforced for my husband and me this morning. We got up today at 5:30 am, excited (sort of) to cycle together for the first time in over a week. We planned on a full 18 miles, hence the early wake-up call. It was cold, drizzly, windy, and foggy when we left the house at 6 am. This was less than ideal, but I tried to focus on the positive and use the opportunity to work on my drafting skills again! About three miles in, however, Zdenek got a flat. While he encouraged me to keep riding, it was sad to leave him and even sadder when I passed him on my first loop. It was a sight for sore eyes -- my poor husband at 6:15 am, about 1.5 miles from home, walking home in miserable weather wearing tight shorts and bike cleats. (His morning went from bad to worse when I returned home an hour later [after an awesome ride, but today I won’t gloat] and sat down to have breakfast with him. One tug of a placemat here, one movement of a laptop there, and suddenly Zdenek’s morning Tim’s was all over his pants and shirt.)
The nice thing about Zdenek is that he rarely complains (he has other nice qualities, too, but this is a particularly special one). I, on the other hand, have been told I can be a chronic complainer (whiner, some might say), and I'm not sure I would have handled a flat this morning with as much grace as he showed. It’s probably a good thing that I started as a runner and then moved on to cycling, because I may never have found my inner athlete if it had been the other way around.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Fun for one
I'm flying solo this weekend because my husband is off golfing in Pennsylvania with his buddies. I am glad that I don't have to spend every weekend alone, or even every other weekend, or even one weekend a month. But so far, I've managed to keep myself entertained.
After work yesterday, I went to get a massage from an enormous Egyptian man named Omar. This was the first time I've had a massage from someone that wasn't either female or a total hippy-dippy male. I must say, big Egyptian men can give a pretty mean massage. On the way out, Omar told me to drink lots of water, but I only heard the "drink" part. So I came home, made myself some delicious pasta, and cracked open a bottle of red. I then proceeded to watch that NBC Brian Williams special on a day inside the White House. It made me think that I really should go into politics, because it fascinates and excites me to no end. (Rahm was my favourite.)
This morning, I got up to do my first-ever solo cycle. The only other time I’ve cycled alone was one day last summer when Zdenek got a flat and he had to walk home (I kept cycling). I was a bit nervous to pump up my tires all by myself (is it always that hard or do we just have a really difficult bicycle pump?), but soon I was out the door and cruising around the Park. I think I only saw one other woman on a bike this morning. It was me and the boys for 30 miles. Pretty cool stuff. After a night of hard rain, the roads were filthy, and my bike and I both returned home caked in mud. It made me feel tough.
I spent the rest of the afternoon reading the NYTimes cover-to-cover, a total indulgence that I rarely enjoy. I’ve spent the last four or five hours trying to plan some accommodation for our trip to Atlantic Canada in three weeks (before I head off momentarily to a friend’s house to drink some more vino). My bright idea to visit Atlantic Canada over Canada Day (July 1, for my American friends) seemed like a good one, until I tried to actually find vacancies during that time. This is basically the route I’m planning, which should allow me to hit as many lobster, mussel, and scallop spots as possible. The trip is going to be a blast, and yes, of course I am using a spreadsheet to plan it.
View Larger Map
After work yesterday, I went to get a massage from an enormous Egyptian man named Omar. This was the first time I've had a massage from someone that wasn't either female or a total hippy-dippy male. I must say, big Egyptian men can give a pretty mean massage. On the way out, Omar told me to drink lots of water, but I only heard the "drink" part. So I came home, made myself some delicious pasta, and cracked open a bottle of red. I then proceeded to watch that NBC Brian Williams special on a day inside the White House. It made me think that I really should go into politics, because it fascinates and excites me to no end. (Rahm was my favourite.)
This morning, I got up to do my first-ever solo cycle. The only other time I’ve cycled alone was one day last summer when Zdenek got a flat and he had to walk home (I kept cycling). I was a bit nervous to pump up my tires all by myself (is it always that hard or do we just have a really difficult bicycle pump?), but soon I was out the door and cruising around the Park. I think I only saw one other woman on a bike this morning. It was me and the boys for 30 miles. Pretty cool stuff. After a night of hard rain, the roads were filthy, and my bike and I both returned home caked in mud. It made me feel tough.
I spent the rest of the afternoon reading the NYTimes cover-to-cover, a total indulgence that I rarely enjoy. I’ve spent the last four or five hours trying to plan some accommodation for our trip to Atlantic Canada in three weeks (before I head off momentarily to a friend’s house to drink some more vino). My bright idea to visit Atlantic Canada over Canada Day (July 1, for my American friends) seemed like a good one, until I tried to actually find vacancies during that time. This is basically the route I’m planning, which should allow me to hit as many lobster, mussel, and scallop spots as possible. The trip is going to be a blast, and yes, of course I am using a spreadsheet to plan it.
View Larger Map
Friday, June 5, 2009
In awe
Yesterday at work, my coworkers and I were talking about the relative ease with which one can obtain a PhD. As a card-carrying Doctor of Philosophy myself, and with two other non-practicing PhDs in the room, I commented that a PhD seemed impressive to me only before I actually had one. Having gone through grad school and then a short stint as a post-doctoral fellow, I've seen all sorts of people receive PhDs: smart; not-so-smart; insightful; dull; motivated; bored; and altogether absent. It seems to me that the secret to getting a PhD is enrolling in the first place, because most supervisors and departments are loathe to have a grad student not finish -- it simply reflects poorly on everyone. True, the very weak students might fail multiple committee examinations, suffer numerous dissertation re-writes, or, at the very worst, receive a "Master's degree in lieu of," but even that's not such a bad way to put an extra two or three letters behind one's name. Of course, I don't mean to disparage my own education or that of others. But it's funny how things can seem overwhelming or downright frightening -- that is, until we actually try them and (hopefully) succeed.
Marathoning is a similar phenomenon. A long time ago, when I was 20 years old, my boyfriend at the time used to run for 30 minutes a few days each week. I was amazed! How on earth can a person run, without stopping, for 30 minutes at a time!? Only when I began running myself and was eventually doing 45-60 minutes at a time did this cease to be incredible to me. When I moved to Toronto several years later, I met my now dear friend, Siobhan, who was training for a half marathon at the time. When Siobhan suggested that we train for a marathon together, I looked at the training schedule and was unconvinced that I could run so long, week after week. But as we plundered through our plans, 20+ km runs became, and remain, my norm. True, in those early training days, Siobhan and I would run, eat, and sleep away the rest of the day, whereas now I'm usually showered, changed, and out the door again within an hour or two of my long runs. But what once seemed impossible now seems merely average to me; I spend most of my time marveling at the elite and sub-elite runners who can complete a marathon in under three hours (something that I'm pretty certain will always remain beyond my abilities).
These reflections seem especially relevant this week, as Siobhan just had her first baby. Note that I have two adorable nephews and one very adorable niece, courtesy of my sister, and that my sister is the world's most amazing mother (next to my own). She does it all, and then some, and she has raised the three most wonderful children imaginable. She works her butt off. But she's always been my big sister (by many years), and so I've always kind of thought of her as being more mature and capable than me. On the other hand, Siobhan and I are the same age and I relate to her in many ways, so to say that I am in awe of the fact that she is now a mother would be an understatement.
I have a hunch that having and raising a child is probably more difficult than any PhD or marathon. On the other hand, the vast majority of parents seem to get through parenthood, and oftentimes decide to do it several times more! I imagine that most of parenthood is like running the final, difficult, but immensely rewarding miles of a marathon over and over and over again. As one who's never done it (that is, neither parenthood nor repeatedly running miles 24-26), I'm sure that's a wildly inaccurate analogy, but it's the only one I know.
Congratulations, Siobhan and Jeremy!
Marathoning is a similar phenomenon. A long time ago, when I was 20 years old, my boyfriend at the time used to run for 30 minutes a few days each week. I was amazed! How on earth can a person run, without stopping, for 30 minutes at a time!? Only when I began running myself and was eventually doing 45-60 minutes at a time did this cease to be incredible to me. When I moved to Toronto several years later, I met my now dear friend, Siobhan, who was training for a half marathon at the time. When Siobhan suggested that we train for a marathon together, I looked at the training schedule and was unconvinced that I could run so long, week after week. But as we plundered through our plans, 20+ km runs became, and remain, my norm. True, in those early training days, Siobhan and I would run, eat, and sleep away the rest of the day, whereas now I'm usually showered, changed, and out the door again within an hour or two of my long runs. But what once seemed impossible now seems merely average to me; I spend most of my time marveling at the elite and sub-elite runners who can complete a marathon in under three hours (something that I'm pretty certain will always remain beyond my abilities).
These reflections seem especially relevant this week, as Siobhan just had her first baby. Note that I have two adorable nephews and one very adorable niece, courtesy of my sister, and that my sister is the world's most amazing mother (next to my own). She does it all, and then some, and she has raised the three most wonderful children imaginable. She works her butt off. But she's always been my big sister (by many years), and so I've always kind of thought of her as being more mature and capable than me. On the other hand, Siobhan and I are the same age and I relate to her in many ways, so to say that I am in awe of the fact that she is now a mother would be an understatement.
I have a hunch that having and raising a child is probably more difficult than any PhD or marathon. On the other hand, the vast majority of parents seem to get through parenthood, and oftentimes decide to do it several times more! I imagine that most of parenthood is like running the final, difficult, but immensely rewarding miles of a marathon over and over and over again. As one who's never done it (that is, neither parenthood nor repeatedly running miles 24-26), I'm sure that's a wildly inaccurate analogy, but it's the only one I know.
Congratulations, Siobhan and Jeremy!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The importance of placement
Today has been full of all sorts of interesting developments. While these events may, at first glance, seem to be unrelated, considering them together offers a unique opportunity to highlight the importance of that oft-under appreciated part of speech, the preposition. (I also seem to be on a bit of a psychic kick today, foreseeing things before they happen.)
Behind: My day began at the crack of dawn with a short, but intense, bike ride in the Park. The weather was near-perfect, and Zdenek looked super snazzy decked out in his new SaxoBank jersey. It was a good day for speed. I decided to work on my drafting skills today, and so opted to cycle behind Zdenek for some of the time. This was a success, and we "posted" our fastest loops yet this season.
I think Zdenek looked like this,
Beside: On my way to work, I passed a young mother with her two children. She was pushing a small baby in a regular stroller, and her three- or four-year old son was beside her. Harmless enough, except for the fact that the son was on a scooter (sans helmet), and both mother and child were hurtling down the sidewalk, about as fast as she could run and he could push off. As they sped past me, laughing and having a blast, I thought (because I am clearly middle-aged), If they don't fall and either crack their heads open or break a leg, it will be a miracle. No sooner had I thought this, then -- CRASH! Yep, the entire family went head first and, as they say, a** over tea kettle, in the middle of the sidewalk. Fortunately everyone seemed okay, but this was truly one of the dumbest parenting moments I've witnessed.
Sad or funny?
Under: In an attempt to enjoy the beautiful sunshine during my lunch hour today, I purchased my most delicious (and rather pricey) salmon and grilled vegetable salad, and headed to a little courtyard on W 45th Street to eat it. As I sat down under the shade of a tree, a single question went through my head: I wonder if I'll get bird-pooped on by sitting under this tree? No sooner had I thought this, then -- SPLAT! A little plop of bird poop landed on my salmon. What a crappy lunch.
In my case,
Behind: My day began at the crack of dawn with a short, but intense, bike ride in the Park. The weather was near-perfect, and Zdenek looked super snazzy decked out in his new SaxoBank jersey. It was a good day for speed. I decided to work on my drafting skills today, and so opted to cycle behind Zdenek for some of the time. This was a success, and we "posted" our fastest loops yet this season.
I think Zdenek looked like this, but I can't be sure, because I was behind him
Beside: On my way to work, I passed a young mother with her two children. She was pushing a small baby in a regular stroller, and her three- or four-year old son was beside her. Harmless enough, except for the fact that the son was on a scooter (sans helmet), and both mother and child were hurtling down the sidewalk, about as fast as she could run and he could push off. As they sped past me, laughing and having a blast, I thought (because I am clearly middle-aged), If they don't fall and either crack their heads open or break a leg, it will be a miracle. No sooner had I thought this, then -- CRASH! Yep, the entire family went head first and, as they say, a** over tea kettle, in the middle of the sidewalk. Fortunately everyone seemed okay, but this was truly one of the dumbest parenting moments I've witnessed.
Sad or funny?Under: In an attempt to enjoy the beautiful sunshine during my lunch hour today, I purchased my most delicious (and rather pricey) salmon and grilled vegetable salad, and headed to a little courtyard on W 45th Street to eat it. As I sat down under the shade of a tree, a single question went through my head: I wonder if I'll get bird-pooped on by sitting under this tree? No sooner had I thought this, then -- SPLAT! A little plop of bird poop landed on my salmon. What a crappy lunch.
In my case, the bird had already been there for 14 minutes and 50 seconds
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)