Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Yesterday was my little Angel Baby's birthday (now 13, he'd probably not appreciate knowing he's being referred as such in the blogosphere, but I've called him Angel Baby since the day he was born so he's just going to have to continue to deal with it), and my dad's birthday is in just a couple of days, so we traveled over to Dad's to take both out for a birthday lunch. Despite our server's challenges (my first inclination was to think she was on something given the blank look one second, the confused look the next, and the slightly unsteady walk as she approached our table near the end of our meal, but then I thought maybe she was ill, facing something that caused her to appear to be in a condition she really wasn't), we had a wonderful lunch of BBQ ribs, salmon, and prime rib. Just as we were finishing, Beautiful Lovely Daughter called to offer happy birthday wishes to the birthday boys. While the lunch was good and we enjoyed ourselves, I couldn...

The new trainer arrived yesterday, and after mere minutes, the Madone was in place and ready for me to ride in the comfort of our living room. We selected a movie to watch while I pedaled, making the next hour slip by as I enjoyed the movie while getting my sweat on. Compared to our old trainer, this one is whisper quiet. Well, maybe not that quiet, but it's much better than the one now in the attic over the garage. At least we didn't have to turn the TV volume up all the way just to hear the dialogue. The only downside to trainer rides is it wears tires quickly, as was evidenced by the pieces of rubber littering our hardwood floor when I was finished. So today I bought a trainer tire to put on the bike since a regular road bike tire doesn't last long due to the heat generated by the friction from the trainer. Hubby and I worked to get the trainer tire on, and with everything looking good, I pumped air into the tube. When the needle reached 100 psi, the tube blew, bringin...

Two weeks ago, my institution brought in a rather well-known individual who offers workshops to help those of us dealing with students interact with them in a more meaningful way. To begin the three-day workshop, the question offered to the group was, "How big do you want to play?" While that question was geared for me to think about what I do as well as what I want to accomplish in the classroom, I've been thinking about it from the perspective of what I want to accomplish with Bike the US for MS. Over the last week or so, I've begun to realize just how big the fundraising and the ride are getting, way bigger than I am, and while it scares the heebie-jeebies out of me, I find the prospect of raising money for an excellent cause and then cycling almost 4000 miles for that cause incredibly exciting. For the first time in a long time, I have a sense of purpose on a daily basis. Much of my waking hours are spent thinking about the fundraising, the upcoming ride, Mom, a...

Today my boys and I went to lunch at my most favorite place of all--Denny's. Just love Denny's. They often send me coupons for 20% off my bills, so yes, I love Denny's. After we had ordered, Hubby looked at me and asked, "Have you checked your Bike the US for MS profile today?" (Yes, if this sounds familiar, it should. He asked me the same thing yesterday.) I shook my head no as I made a promise to myself that I would only check it once a day from now on, later in the evening. He turned his phone towards me so I could see the screen. My total had jumped again, to $2356, putting me at 62% of goal. Another dream donation had been made, this one by a dear, dear friend. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Dear Friend. Yesterday's dream donation put me into a daze state. I went to the cupboard to get a glass for some chocolate milk. I pulled out a bowl and started pouring. When about a quarter of a cup pooled in the bottom, it struck me that I had a bowl inst...

As I was walking down the stairs at home, getting ready to go shopping, Hubby called to me, asking if I'd seen my profile at Bike the US for MS today. I replied no, to which he said, "You gotta come see this." I turned around and went back upstairs. Looking over his shoulder, I saw my total thus far at $1978. I could feel the silly grin on my face as I scanned the list to see who had made donations to get me to this amount. My grin got as big as it possibly could when I saw there'd been only one donation made--my dream donation of $378, one-tenth of my overall goal. Someone had fulfilled my dream, and that someone was our family dentist. In just a matter of two days, I went from being at 42% of goal to being at 52%. I am now past halfway because of all the wonderful people in my life. Many, many thanks to you all.

More Bike the US for MS goodies arrived today, bringing out the little kid in me as I hurriedly opened the box. I had run out of stickers and had asked for more of those, but the box was too big for just stickers. When I opened the flap, I could see dark blue material. My heart leapt with joy: a Bike the US for MS sweatshirt! All I've been talking about for weeks is wanting one of these sweatshirts. Could be my angel watching over me working her magic! Speaking of magic, yesterday an anonymous donor gave $220 towards my goal. How incredibly generous is that? When I logged into my profile to see if my amount had changed, and I saw that donation giving me an even $1500 raised thus far, I looked across the desk at Hubby and sputtered something completely unintelligible due to the shock. When I think back over the last two months of deciding to do the ride, talking to people about it, setting up the Facebook page for it, and receiving encouragement as well as donations, the best wa...

The day of Mom's funeral service, after we all returned to my sister's house and after we had spent a few hours eating, playing bid euchre, and reminiscing, my dad took me aside, saying he wanted me to go over to his place. I followed him into the little cabin he had built very lovingly from the ground up, wondering what was on his mind. In the bedroom, he placed Mom's jewelry box on the bed's puffy comforter and said, "Take whatever you want. Your mom wanted you to have anything you like." For a second I stood and looked at the family photos Mom had slipped into the frames built into the jewelry box lid, one for each of her children. The smiles captured during special moments eased a bit of my sadness and I started picking up the different pieces. I knew several of the broaches had been my grandmother's, so I selected those. A couple of the bracelets came from Mom's early years following the diagnosis of the MS, when she would sit on the couch, watc...

During break I worked on the letters to be sent out asking for donations for Bike the US for MS. I tailored each one to the specific person I was sending it to, and after much tinkering and rewording, was satisfied enough to print them off, seal them in the envelopes, and slip them in the mailbox yesterday. Now I have to wait and see what happens. I'm trying not to constantly check my fundraising total, and have declared I will only check it once a day. I have nearly five months to raise the rest of the money, so I have time, but part of me is worried I'm not going to make my goal. Because of this worry, I've started brainstorming other ways to raise the funds. One idea struck me Saturday as I rode out to the lake. Alongside the rural roads I observed energy drink cans, pop cans, and of course beer cans (which is very scary--the only way a beer can can get into the grassy ditch is to be thrown out after it's emptied by the drinker, meaning someone is drinking and driv...

Who knew the first week of January I'd be cycling upwards of 100 miles? That's what I call a great way to start off the year. Wednesday I got in 33, Thursday 12, Friday 19, Saturday 33, and today 23. Not a bad week at all. Unfortunately I have to report back to work tomorrow, and with that, I won't be able to get out like I did this week. The weather is supposed to take a turn, as well, so what cycling I'll be doing will be either inside on the trainer or at the rec center on the stationary bike. Unhappy face. This week's cycling was also the first time I've cycled with a friend. I usually ride alone, so having someone there to chat with and to laugh with showed me cycling with someone can be a lot of fun. Today we rode to a cemetery then to a pub out in the middle of nowhere. We didn't go inside, but we did get a pic of my friend in front of the Bikers' Blvd sign tacked to the side of the establishment. A yellow kitty decided she wanted to be a part o...

After a great day on the bike yesterday, I sat for awhile and made this video. Though I cried during most of the making of it, being creative and doing something for someone who means so much to me brought about much joy. The juxtaposition of sadness and joy seems to be how most of my days are right now. The song is "Remember Me" by Bella Ruse and is available on Jamendo, under the creative commons license.

Only a few more days remain until I have to report back to work, and so far, I haven't accomplished any of the work-related tasks I wanted to complete during break. On one hand I feel like a slacker for not getting these things done. On the other hand, I've not had the gumption to work on them at all. My mind has been elsewhere. The things I truly want to do are not work related in the least, and since these things are what bring me joy at this moment in my life, I'm going to do them. Cycling is first and foremost. Being out, feeling the cold air, seeing the bare fields, and not having anything or anyone tugging at me create a peace within that I haven't felt for awhile. Today offered up sun and enough warmth to offset the chilly wind, so I happily accepted an invitation to get out when a friend texted, asking if I was up for a ride. I'd already done 17 miles on the bike at the rec center, but there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to ride on such...

2011 was the year I wanted to improve as an athlete. Being a 47 year old mom way past her prime, I knew improving as an athlete meant competing against myself. Going in with the attitude that I just wanted to shave minutes off my previous sprint tri time helped me focus on my weak areas and put time into those, which meant mostly the swimming and the running.  2010 was the year for my first sprint tri, so an easy goal to set was to improve upon the time I'd achieved for that one and only attempt. 2010 was also the year I began cycling longer distances, and by the end of October, I knew I wanted to continue cycling, but on a better bike. While I enjoy swimming and can tolerate the running, I learned cycling is where my heart is. I was determined, though, to give the sprint tri another go to see if I could improve, and I did: 3 times. The time I posted for my very first sprint tri was 1:43. In 2011, I really wanted to shave 15 minutes off. I wasn't sure if I could do this as I...