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.