Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

Someone dumped this poor thing on the curb. So I brought it home. Hubby gave me the big snippers to cut the branches off. Those snippers are AWESOME! See??? Just like that, the metal snaps. Love those snippers. The pile of lights I cut from the branches. I was so hoping the lights actually worked. They didn't. Maybe that's why poor little tree ended up on the curb. The branches now adorn the window boxes. I think the little tree looks very happy!   And they also adorn the front porch as the wreath I made using an extra bicycle wheel, also a freebie from the local bike shop. Best wreath I've ever had.

Over the past few years I've been slowly redesigning the way I move through life. The first change I made was to get more exercise. Agreeing to do a sprint tri with a friend springboarded me into action. Since then I have completed several sprint tri's, several century rides, a cross country cycling tour, and lots of shorter mileage rides. I feel more fit now than I ever was in my teens and twenties. The second change I made was to bring home less work. Rethinking how I respond to student papers and implementing a new procedure involving more one-on-one time with each student made less take-home work a reality. As such, my evenings are now spent with my family, doing activities we all enjoy. The third change I made was to drive less and use my bike more for transportation. The first year didn't go so well. As soon as the temps dropped below 45 the bike went up on the hooks in the garage. I kept at it, though, and now I'm completely comfortable using my bike to go wherev

Three days after completing the Gravel Grovel, I'm still mulling over the ride and how it affected me. Riding 62 miles of paved rural roads is all well and good; riding 62 miles of rural gravel roads with steep inclines along with some treacherous mountain biking terrain thrown in is a totally different experience. The roads I normally ride are mostly flat with some small hills here and there. I have cell phone service no matter which direction I might decide to go. During Saturday's ride, in addition to cycling on gravel for upwards of 90% of the ride, I also had no cell phone service whatsoever. I was totally cut off from being able to call for help if it was needed. At one point, right around mile 53, I was exhausted, trying to climb yet another hill, up out of the saddle, my rear tire spinning to the point I knew I was going to go down if I didn't sit, putting weight back on the tire to keep it firmly attached to the ground. My stomach lurched with the effort I was expe

2012 Gravel Grovel In September, I signed up to ride the Gravel Grovel , a cyclocross event held in the Hoosier National Forest just south of Bloomington, IN. At the time, I had just bought my mountain bike and was looking for an endurance ride to test myself. When a cycling friend sent me the link for the Gravel Grovel, I didn't even think twice about paying the $45 fee. During the 8 weeks between signing up and actually going to Indiana, I prepared somewhat for what I knew was going to be a very difficult ride, but with work and family, the training was sporadic at best. The two weeks leading up to the day Hubby and I were scheduled to drive over, I toyed with the idea of not going. Every excuse I could dredge up I listed on a piece of paper: cost in gas, hotel, and food; not in shape; Thanksgiving weekend was meant for being lazy; and the weather was too cold. Then I reminded myself that I would be far more disappointed by what I didn't do rather than what I did do. So

Thrift store find. A beautiful vintage wool coat with an ILGWU tag sewed into the lining. $14.00. Cha-ching!

It's official. I ate way too much today. All day. Started around 8 this morning and finally took my last bite at 8 this evening. First morsel in was the delicious almond flour with coconut drizzle cinnamon rolls. Last morsel in was the homemade pecan pie baked by Lovely Beautiful Daughter. Now I'm thinking, "What in the world was I thinking?" I've not eaten this much food in one day in . . . probably . . . ever! Tomorrow, I'll get back to eating the way I know I should eat: a lot less and way more thoughtful about what is consumed. This being the first Thanksgiving without Mom, I was kind of dreading the day. So many of my Thanksgiving memories include her. She would always be up and in the kitchen early, way before the rest of us pulled ourselves out of our warm beds, fixing breakfast for us while at the same time prepping the turkey and preparing the stuffing. Along with the mashed potatoes and gravy, Mom always fixed a cranberry dish for Dad. He was the o

The Boston helmet campaign really pushed my buttons. To suggest a cyclist will eventually fall victim to a crash of some sort, and thus should always wear a helmet just in case, simply advances the same, old tiring argument: cycling is a dangerous activity. To the contrary: Cycling is a very safe activity. Cycling is a very enjoyable activity. To suggest otherwise misdirects the conversation. Come on, Boston. Sheesh.

Recently, because of my hyper-enthusiasm over cycling--for commuting, for fitness, for bliss--I was searching for other cycling blogs written by women. When I typed in "cycling blogs by women," one of the first hits on the results list was "Women's Bike Blogs: The List." Doing the ol' purse the lips in the "yeah, there's probably two, maybe three blogs listed," I clicked on the link. What I thought next was straight out of A Christmas Story --"and the lamp (in my case, list) blazed forth in unparalled glory." The next thought was, "Great. Now I'm going to fritter away time going through this list and reading all these blogs." I consoled myself by justifying that reading all the blogs was a good, healthy activity, almost akin to being on the bike itself. So I started reading. "The List" was compiled by Barb Chamberlain , author of Bike Style: The Quest for the Intersection of Style and Comfort, and I for one

I signed the pledge on Friday, and already I think I have two women ready to commit to riding a bike more often. Both have bikes, but those bikes have gathered dust in the garage for a variety of reasons. Because both are moms, busy moms at that, the idea of using a bike for transportation doesn't make sense to them when they have appointments to get to, grocery shopping to do, kids to pick up from school, kids to ferry to sports practices/events, and a myriad of other "stuff." I totally get their perspective because I was there for a long time myself. When thinking about all the things a woman/mom has to do, using a bicycle as the primary mode of transportation doesn't seem feasible. But using the bike once a week for a shorter errand, or using the bike twice a week to get small amounts of groceries, or using the bike three times a week for a half hour of fitness riding is feasible. Starting small, taking the proverbial baby steps, is the way to work the bike as

Day 3 into a 30 day healthy eating challenge with a friend turned into an epic failure for me. I did really well right up until dinner. I stood up to join the family in the kitchen, and I made it as far as the table then had to hold onto one of the chairs while I waited for the grip of dizziness to pass. That bout of dizziness was the second time today that I about went down. The first time happened when I stood from sitting at my desk in the office. Thankfully Funny Delightful Son was standing next to the desk and wanted to give me a hug right then. I put my arms around him and used our hug to keep myself steady. After the second round of seeing major black spots and feeling that telltale weakness wash through my muscles, I succumbed to eating not just one grilled cheese sandwich but two. And some Greek yogurt. After watching an episode of our current Netflix choice, I stood and waited. Nothing. Thankfully. Going cold turkey on giving up sugar and processed carbs is tough. I know I&

Three years ago marked my first 5k, the Jingle Bell Run. Lovely Beautiful Daughter ran with me to offer encouragement and support if I reached a point of wanting to walk. My goal was to complete the race without resorting to walking. While I wasn't fast by any means, and I can't even remember what my time was, I did jog the entire 3 miles, my daughter at my side. I ran the same race a year later, said no to doing it last November, then said yes to doing it again this year but with the intention of just walking. During these past three years of running, cycling, and swimming, I reconciled myself to the fact that running isn't my strong suit and swimming is just okay. Neither are something that I simply can't wait to do everyday. Walking, however, is much like cycling: I can do each for hours on end, enjoying every single second. So today I walked the three miles to the starting point (which happened to be my place of employment) then walked the 5k, giving me a total of 6

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go north, to Peru/Lasalle, to ride the I & M Canal. I've ridden part of the canal before, but I wanted to go further, around 60 miles, to give me a chance to see what this distance feels like on the mountain bike. With the Gravel Grovel only two weeks away, I knew I needed to get some distance in or I will be hurting badly in two weeks. Hubby dropped me off at the Lasalle access, and I started off under sunny skies and a breeze blowing out of the south. My goal was to try and average at least 15 mph. My first five miles showed 14. I noticed I felt tired, like I didn't have a lot of energy though I'd made sure to eat a good breakfast. The last two or three weeks, I've not had much of an appetite. I've basically been eating only to make sure I don't get so fatigued I can't focus or function. There have been a couple of times, too, when I do eat that I reach a point where I feel nauseous. Mostly, though, I find myself

I've been working on the business plan for my bike shop dream, and after completing the section on market needs, I scrolled down the outline I put into place to see just how much more I need to develop. My shoulders slumped. I felt like I was right back in grad school, writing that 20 page paper on The Tempest . After several hours of writing about the evils of colonization, I thought surely I was on page 20. Sadly, I was only on page 8. While some ideas come easily and I can write about them with little effort, other areas, really important areas, get pushed to the side and ignored. I thought I was getting close to being finished with the business plan. Ha! Not only do I still have over ten sections to fill out, but these sections deal with numbers, something I usually try to avoid. I didn't like algebra in high school, and I didn't enjoy trigonometry and statistics in college. Hence the degree in English. Why can't I just walk into a bank and tell the loan officer m

Hubby is a classic enabler. Today called for rain. My response: pack my rain jacket and hat just in case the ride home was wet. It was. No worries. I was prepared. When I walked through the door after work, he asked, "Did you get my text?" I shook my head. "I was going to come get you." How am I going to follow through on my desire to commute by bike if every time it showers or the temperature dips below 30 he is waiting at the door to load my bike into the truck and drive me home? I've reached the point where I don't mind getting a bit damp or feel a little cold during my ride. I'll dry off, and I'll warm up. Hubby, though, can't seem to wrap his brain around the idea of using the bike as transportation no matter what the weather offers up. I do understand where he is with his thinking. I was there two years ago when I first tried going car-less. I did okay as long as rain wasn't falling and the temps didn't go below 40. Once the

Bracelets from recycled bicycle chain links and valve lock nuts. Each one is unique. I've started adding charms to the ends and am working on the knots. With each bracelet, I'm getting more efficient and the end product is getting better. A very relaxing activity.   The black and gray is the very first one I made. Lots of imperfections in it, but I like it and think it looks pretty good on my wrist.    The orange and blue is the second one I made. This is the one I added the valve lock nuts to. I'm not a real fan of the colors, but again, I like the way it looks on my wrist. This is my favorite so far. This is for a friend whose daughter attends the University of Kentucky. She's also a cyclist, so she gets the whole chain link, valve lock nut thing. I've also made two pink with purple and one black with yellow. The pink and purple just aren't turning out for some reason, and I think it's because the purple string is much thinner than the other

I'm making a concerted effort to use my bike for my main transportation, which means I have had to do some deep-down, honest soul searching. This isn't my first try at leaving the gas guzzler in the garage; I tried to go car-less two years ago. I found out very quickly I wasn't ready to make the commitment and follow through. Now, after cycling all summer through wind, heat, rain, and thunderstorms, my mindset is quite different. Since returning to work in early August, I've cycled every day save four. Two of those days I simply had too much to carry to work than what I could put on my bike, and the other two Funny Delightful Son missed the bus, so I took him to school (which I only did because his school is on the same route as mine). With each day I cycle, the more determined I become to make the bike my only transportation source. Now, with the weather turning colder, I'll face the real test. Hopefully, I'll be able to stick with my resolve and cycle straight