Spring Training

This is what approximately 16 lbs of cat food looks like crammed into a small messenger bag. And yes, I weighed it. I had this strange feeling as I was packing it that my impromptu ride to the Humane Society was going to turn into more of a pilgrimage than a ride. But luckily I was wrong. It was just a slow ride in the swooshy spring wind under a big bright sun. The cat food is what we collected at the alleycat a few weekends ago - one of the tasks during the race was to buy a can of cat food (NOT a can of potatoes as one, er, rider did). The kitties at the shelter have lots of tasty food to eat now. And I'll tell you what - it's a good thing I was on my bike yesterday because if I had driven there, all of those kitties would have come home with me. I made the mistake of walking through the shelter before I started for home - just the cat part since I couldn't bring myself to walk through the dog door - and now I'm trying to convince both Steve and Fausto that there is room in our house for one more cat. I guess we'll see....

Yes No?

So I bought a new hoodie today. And Steve hates it. I got it for $8 at the hoochie mama store in the mall when I went to the post office to mail some packages for work. I was just feeling like I haven't really bought anything fun and not practical in quite a while and thought $8 wasn't going to break the bank. But when I took it out of the bag at home, you would have thought it was a pile of steaming roadkill by the look on Steve's face. I don't know - I think it's great but I guess you can judge for yourself. Just be sure to tell me it's cool when you see me wearing it about town.

4 Realz

I didn't take this picture but Steve and I saw these at the hoopty Meijer last weekend and I'm so ticked that we didn't buy one! I especially like Dude Bunny - straight cold playa.

So we're finally past the Kisscross Alleycat and have pretty much recovered from it. What a riot - we had almost 70 racers (although we'd only planned for about 45....) and a gorgeous sunny day. What more could we ask for? For those unfamiliar, an alleycat is basically a scavenger hunt bike race. Alleycats originated in bigger cities where bike messengers would compete to see who could complete all of their tasks and stops in the fastest time. This was the third Kisscross alleycat here in GR and by far the biggest. Steve and I planned the route this year and we included a timed stop, a stop at the top of a 2-story snow pile, and (of course) the obligatory beer-chug stop with the added bonus of having to eat a marshmallow Peep before continuing on. Lots of pictures posted here - we're definitely already looking forward to next year! (And huge thanks to Rick and Cathy for bringing the alleycat to GR!!)

Not much else to report - my spring break is over and it was back to the grind this week. But I think we're pretty much done with winter. I saw my first robin last Friday and, aside from a few stubborn little snowpiles at the end of the driveway, our yard is clear. Now there's no hiding the fact that we didn't rake up the last of the leaves that fell before the snow hit.

Anyway - here's to sunny days ahead and no more snow. At least I hope so.....

I Heart My Surly

Yeah..... sorry to fall off the face of the Earth, there. Work, school, blah blah blah.....

Today is my first official day of spring break so I thought I'd give the blog an little update. Like I said, school and work have been keeping me very busy. This semester has been a little crazy because some of my classes have been starting/ending at different times and most of them have been accelerated to fit the other ones in. I guess it will be this way until the end of the summer - oh yay. Things at Velocity have picked up to a record pace - we can't seem to work fast enough! It's amazing how many rims and wheels we send out of that place in a day. Word seems to be getting out.

Bike-wise, I've been getting some miles in by commuting to work every day and riding the trainer in my basement. I'm not too sure what my goals are going to be this year - I really have nothing to train for (not yet, anyway) and I really don't want anything to train for since my school schedule is likely to be so nuts over the summer. Last year's training for Rainier just about put me over the edge of my sanity so perhaps this would be a good year to just chill out and enjoy the time I have to play. One thing I'm really looking forward to is heading to NYC in May to do the Five Boro Bike Tour with Steve, my dad, and my brother. What a way to see the city for the first time!

Today was a good day. A little cold (wind chill about 10 degrees or so) but I still managed a three hour ride outside. What started out as a ride toward Middleville (south) with some friends turned into a solo ride to Rockford (north) for me. Riding north to meet the others gave me a taste of the wind conditions and I wasn't really in the mood to ride home into the wind so it was just me and the Surly. The promise of new toe warmers lured me up to Rockford but wouldn't you know that none of the three places I stopped had them?! Dang. I did get a chance to renew my love affair with the Surly, though. Stripped of all its commuting accoutrements (fenders, frame pump, studded tires, etc.) makes it a lean machine and we had a great time. Hope the weather is this great for next weekend's alleycat!

Last but not least - an explanation of FABG. I guess this may be my project this year. FABG = Fat Ass Be Gone. I've realized that I'm not that young anymore and things (i.e. my metabolism, dammit) are just not working the way they used to. So this is my project. As of today, I'm down about 9 lbs since January and I'm looking forward to the weather getting better so I can get out of my basement and do some longer rides outside. Maybe I'll run this year. Ew.... maybe I won't. Anyway - there ya go.