Oh My

It’s been a while. So what have I been doing? It’s time again…for the bullet point list:

• Getting over the “New Office Cold”
• Riding the trainer as I get over the “New Office Cold”
• Getting buff…for a future buffness contest with Russell
• Baking my sisters wedding cake
• Planning some awesome mtbing to be had while on the way back from my sisters wedding
• Planning the Ladies Weekend at Ray’s trip:
  • Got a bunch of ladies signed up to go, set up with carpools/hotel…it should be an awesome weekend and I cannot wait!
• Started volunteering at my church with the Adult Confirmation classes
• Plotting my Lenten goals; so far I’ve come up with the following action items:
  • I’ll repeat last years goal of attending a weekday mass each week. I want to repeat this goal because I found it very meaningful last year and a nice way to spend some time with God during the week and refocus.
  • Pray the Stations Of The Cross at least once
  • Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation
  • Focus on gratitude as opposed to complaining – 1 Thessalonians 5:18 – Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Jesus Christ.
• Planning a trip to visit The Dad in NYC!
• Getting into the groove at the new office, making my mark, plotting my course, figuring out what I can do to really impact the business. Sounds scary…yep, it is!

So that’s what I’ve been doing…now time to get back to work on my long to do list!

A New Commute

Last night and this morning I commuted to my new office via bike. I opted for a drive in, ride home, ride to work, drive home idea for this, the first commute. Simply because the commute is now 12 miles. Bonus…the new office has a SHOWER! So I’ve now determined how long it’ll take me to ride in/home and plan to do that at least 1-2 times a week. Friday is looking good for a round trip!

Tuesday Commute: 12

Temp: 30F

Wind: N/NE 5-8mph

Wednesday Commute: 13

Temp: 28F

Wind: E 8-12mph

The ride is nice and there are no major hills or anything to speak of. The only complaint I have is that my toes get cold (and I’m working on getting some winter riding shoes, finally). Otherwise, the ride is peaceful and fun. Chris outfitted the worlds heaviest cx bike with some lighter wheels and a carbon fork…which has helped a great deal (so thanks again!). It really just comes down to the fact that I love to ride my bike.

The Happenings

It’s been a busy week for me. So to catch everyone up here’s the run down. Last weekend ended my career at Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. I was excited about leaving since the position was not what they had originally said it was going to be. So, I took a new job with HB. In my new role, I am sort of creating my own job, it’s an entirely new position in their Powersports Division and after my first week there I’ve already developed a length task list. Next week I review it with my new boss and then I’ll have a much better idea of what my new job is. Of course they’ve given me a basic job descriptions but this job is what I make of it and that, alone, is thrilling.

I’m also back on the training bandwagon, sans powertap, training for a fun year. Time to enjoy training and not punish myself, time for some fun on the bike, time to live for the ride and not my schedule. It will be a fun year for me, this year. Starting with todays snowy ride. I hit the tosa trails with the Roommate and a large crew. I pedaled past the section of trail that broke my bum last time, without issue this time. But I only made it part of the ride, since I don’t have awesome winter shoe my toes got frozen and I turned for home.

Then I came home, rode the trainer for a bit to get myself warm…it worked, I’m now warm! And hungry…

Tonight I’m headed to this awesome event with everyone. It’s going to be awesome!

Inspiration

Russell was kind enough to give me the greatest inspiration for my commute into work this week.

Thanks Russell, you're the bestest ever!

Family Photo Time

Me, The Dad, The Sister

Me & Aunt Annie

Me & Uncle Greg

The Dad, Me, The Sister, The BIL

Becca, the sister, is getting married on Feb 4th to Phil (future Brother-in-Law aka The BIL)! So here’s a picture of our little family with Phil!

Me & The Grandpa - he's not a fan of pictures...

Uncle Earl - Not a fan of pictures, so this is the best I got

And the greatest friends a girl can have:

The Dad & Me

Me & The Sister

I had a great time with the fam over Christmas and can’t wait to get back to see them again soon. Maybe with less rain/snow though!

Ray’s MTB Womens Weekend

I thought the start of the year would be a good time to begin planning for the Women’s Weekend at Ray’s Indoor MTB Park. Let me know if you’re interested in going!

Still being a slacker

In my theme for the month of December I have spent most of my time cooking. So check the vegan blog if you really want to know what I’ve been doing. I’ve also spent some time thinking about next year, training, racing, what I really want to be doing. I’ve come to think I spend too much time focusing on structured training and not just enjoying the ride or the race. Sure, I still plan to train, to have a training plan, etc. But I’m going to try and not be obsessed with it, if I miss a ride it’s not the end of the world.

That being said once January rolls in I plan to actually do some sort of training. I’ve just been riding for fun or for commuting purposes lately and I think I need to focus on something in the off season. I managed to go out for a mtb ride with the Roommate and went skidding down a few hills and finally landed right on my rearend. In my glorious crash and screaming out in sever pain I managed to break my tailbone…again. I actually haven’t gone to the doctor nor do I have actual proof that it’s broken, again, but the pain of the crash and the way I’m walking around now is exactly like it was over summer when I did know it was broken. So, based on those assumptions, it’s broken.

On Tuesday I headed out for a road ride to test the tailbone out. It worked out well, although cold outside, I did manage to get about 1.5 hours in and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s been a while since I had that much time on the bike. Then wednesday I headed down to see the Fam and enjoyed some QT with the Dad and the Sister. It was awesome.

And now I’m back in MKE! I’m looking forward to the new year (and the new years day ride)!

Slacking, Santa Rampage, Life

I have been slacking, on all levels. Only riding my bike to work and for fun social events (woot! off season!), maybe I’ll start doing something structured in January, we’ll see. Anyway, not too much happened during the work week…Tuesday was the Metro MTB meeting, good times as always, Wednesday was the blizzard that wasn’t, at least here in MKE.

Thursday we went to A Christmas Carol (I won tickets from Alterra Coffee!). The show was great, but the funniest thing happened two rows behind us. Some lady, who apparently did not either enjoy the show or was very tired, fell asleep. She proceeded to snore, loudly, while I debated tossing my program at her wake her up. I never did, the groups he came with final roused her from the deep slumber…twice. It was seriously annoying.

Saturday was the all important Santa Cycle Rampage! It was a blast. Chris & I rolled out from Fuel Cafe with a few folks and once at Cafe Hollander he scored some Fat Tire beer and I found the coffee! The ride was amazing and we stopped at some pretty good locations, even getting a police escort later in the day. That was pretty rad, they’d fire up the lights and block intersections for us as we rolled on through. I’m totally inspired for next year…

Saturday night we headed to UWM for the Senior Student Film festival. Chris’ friend Logan had a short film showing the wire, turned to spokes, built into a wheel, and then being ridden. It was pretty rad. Some of the films I totally didn’t understand, but that’s to be expected. Either way it was a good night.

Sunday was the day to relax…yep, being a slacker is pretty damn awesome.

Santa Rampage

Santa Cycle Rampage 2009

I scored a sparkling Santa Hat so I’m ready to go! Are you ready??