Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

I did it again. I missed a turn during a century ride and went totally off course. Thankfully, because I know the area so well, I was able to make my own route back to the starting point. Unfortunately, I ended at 95+ miles, missing the 100 mile goal. As penance, I rode home from the starting/finishing point to get to the 100 miles. In the end, I went 103 miles. Most of this course I've ridden at one time or another. There was only one section I've never experienced. This section was hilly but manageable. And this section led into another that I've ridden before that I knew was very, very hilly. All last evening, I thought about one hill in particular and decided if I had to get off and walk, so be it. Century riding for me isn't a race. It's an opportunity for me to get out and ride a longer course than I usually do, enjoying the scenery along the way. The century route today was beautiful, and when I reached the section I knew was extremely hilly, I looked to my...

My lovely daughter and I spent the last five days as caretakers for my mom who is living with MS. My dad is her primary caretaker and has been for the last ten years. When my mom was diagnosed with MS in 1997, the doc told her she'd have at least ten years of being able to walk. In reality, she had about five years. She started using a wheelchair in 2002. At that time, she could still lift herself up, stand for a minute or two, and generally do things for herself with just a bit of assistance. By 2006, she couldn't stand for more than a couple of seconds, and because of inactivity, her strength began to lessen, making her unable to lift herself. At that time, my dad took over lifting her and doing so many things for her that she used to be able to do herself. He lifts her from the couch to her wheelchair, from her wheelchair to the commode, and then in reverse, many times a day. He's never complained. He's never expressed a desire to leave. He's never brought up the...

Recently I received an email telling me one of my short fiction pieces was accepted for publication. This came right after another short piece was rejected. The pattern has become one rejected, one accepted, which I'm perfectly fine with as this gives me a 50% chance of acceptance whenever I send two stories out. Today, I went to the literary mag publishing my story, and there it was. Seeing the title along with my name is just so satisfying. For anyone interested, you can read "When X is Twice the Size of O" at Berg Gasse 19 .

Time for A Clunk Upstairs to get a face lift. As I am not one to do anything in a hurry, the change will occur over a few weeks. My daughter, if she were here, would take over the typing of this post and tell you the change will actually take years. That's how long I've been working on an altered book I started for her over a year and a half ago and still haven't finished. I tend to get sidetracked, go to other projects, dilly-dally. I promised her the book will be finished by the end of the summer. By my calendar, I still have a couple of months. In any case, the blog will change some. I'm finding my focus changing from running and cycling to mostly just cycling, with tangents about the goings on in my life thrown in here and there. Since the Illinois countryside is becoming a larger part of my experiences, I thought the new banner appropriate. I'm sure there will be more pics of the countryside as time goes on. Change is good. Change is inevitable. Change is ...

The cycling was interrupted this week with the unexpected visit of a friend. She came in on Wednesday and resumed her journey late Thursday afternoon. Because I tend to be quite anal about the condition of our home when company is coming, I spent Wednesday cleaning before her arrival, so the ride didn't happen. While I longed to get out, I think not riding was a good thing after my 133 miles on Sunday. Having extra recovery days most likely didn't hurt things at all. During Sunday's ride, I thought some about the effects I would feel from cycling over a hundred miles. I found out day by day this week. Monday my quads were sore, like I'd done a lot of squats, and by mid afternoon I needed to take a nap. Tuesday, the soreness had eased, so Hubby and I went for a short ride, actually two short rides. The first was an early morning twelve miler around the lake. The air was cool, the sun was shining, and according to the turbines the wind was non-existent. The second ride ...

I tried. I really did. But after much thought, and though I feel like a complete failure, I've gotta do it. I've got to give up the running. I never enjoyed starting out for a run; I never enjoyed running three or four miles; I never felt like I just couldn't wait for my next run. So as of right now, the old tennis shoes, which haven't even been on my feet for the past month or longer, will only be on my feet for leisure purposes. Though it makes me sad to admit this, I have to to clear the path in front of me: my heart just cannot give itself to putting one foot in front of the other, repeat, repeat, repeat. Whew! I feel so much better now. Trying to be something I'm not, and trying to force myself to become something my whole body rebels against just by the very thought of it, ate away at me for a long, long time. I kept at it, thinking I would find the key to happy running. After all, so many people seem to have found the key and are extremely happy runners. I ...

One of my summer goals was to ride from my home to my parents' home which is 133 miles away, in another state. I've been keeping check on the weather for a while, never liking the wind situation, and kept saying maybe tomorrow. Well tomorrow came today. I started out at 5:35 am, and after ten hours, 7 hours 59 minutes being actual riding time, pulled into my parents' driveway. This ride was everything I thought it would be: fun but extremely challenging at times. Now, almost 17 hours after beginning my journey, I'm home and ready to call it a day. I'm pretty sure I'll sleep really, really good tonight.

Took off early this morning for a ride east of town. Many of the roads have been tarred and chipped, so the ride was bumpy to say the least. I turned south for just a short ways, hoping to find better roads, but the County has been very diligent about the road work this summer, much to the dismay of cyclists who have to deal with the gravel they use as part of the road surfacing process. Since this is one of those matters beyond my control, all I can do is suck it up and ride. So I rode, getting in a 58.5 mile ride. Chicory The route south did take me to some countryside I've never ridden before. There I found hills. Nothing terribly steep or long, just nice little ups and downs to enjoy. I finally found myself meeting up with a high traffic road that doesn't get the tar and chip treatment, and when I took it for about a half mile, I was in heaven. The smoothness was bliss. Interestingly enough, my speed went up quite a bit on this road. It's amazing how those bumpy, p...

Today, after a bit of a stressful phone call from my dad, after settling down in front of the computer at work to try and get something done, I just couldn't find it in me to be productive right then and there. I texted Hubby, asking him to come get me after only being at work for a half-hour. He was there in no time. He knows me so well and could tell I had reached my near bursting point. I had decided I didn't care if I ended up with the shape of a band-aid outlined on my cheek, I was going to slap one on to cover the scab and head out for a ride. Hubby said he would join me for a slow, easy 25 miler. Before we returned home to gear up, we stopped by my favorite cycling shop. I drooled over the Madone 4.5, talking with one of the shop guys about it, then checked out some new cycling shoes. I had picked out a pair that look like tennis shoes but have recessed clips that allow for walking. I thought these might be perfect for the long rides I do. Unfortunately, the shop didn...

The Tour was downright ugly today. I found it difficult to watch at the end when the peloton was taking that last sharp curve. I was certain another wipeout was in the makings. Thankfully, all the cyclists managed to stay upright and headed towards the finish line. The couple cyclists who went down, one a RadioShack member who is out of the Tour for good, and another from Quick Step who got back on his bike but was definitely injured and didn't catch up to the group, showed guts and determination. I loved that my two boys were sitting with me, watching the cyclists dig deep to finish off this stage of the Tour, and cheering for the guys right through the finish line. I can tell my mental state is much better today. Though the cheek is a bit swollen and hurts, I'm determined to ignore it and go about my day, getting things accomplished. So far, I've managed to gather some information my boss asked for, gotten a good start on a brochure for one of the programs at work, and ...

I'm always surprised about how a visit to a doc and having some kind of procedure done can make a person feel like sleeping for the rest of the day. I had to return to the doc today for a very, very, very minor procedure on my cheek, related to that super freckle that had decided to go ballistic on my ass, getting almost cancerous and all, and afterward, all I wanted to do, actually still do, is sleep. I've already napped once, missing part of the Tour de France, and another nap is beginning to shape up. I think it's the stress of the doc not being happy with the way I'm healing and lecturing me about my diet being the culprit, though I thought everything was looking super and I do get more than enough protein thank you very much--just look at my daily food journal which calculates how much protein I'm taking in--and the freezing spray he used to numb the area. It was kind of hard not to breathe some of it in as he was spraying it and saying at the same time that br...

71.05 miles yesterday! 300 miles for the week! The only problem with going farther and father each day is now all I think about is can I do even more?

Thanks to the century ride Sunday, I have been able to log more than 200 miles this week. So far, 227 miles, and I still have tomorrow to add more. A mere 73 miles will give me 300, so . . . .. Small town park: ready for July 4th Today I went west to a small town I've been to once before. Instead of heading south once I arrived, I continued on, going further west, the farthest I've ever gone, reaching the county line. I could see another small town in the distance, so I cruised along, deciding it would be my turn-around point. Small, sleepy summer towns are the best, and this one didn't disappoint. I pulled into the park near the grain elevator to call Hubby and let him know where I was, and to drink some water. Old Elevator From there I rode south about a mile, finding what looked like the perfect road to start the ride back home. This five or six mile stretch took me to a town I've been to several times before, and I was right about the road--it was perfect....