Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

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...

"I can't get the pump to go beyond 10 psi. All the air just comes right back out," Hubby said, coming into the kitchen where I was fixing my pancake breakfast before setting off for a group ride. "You broke the valve." I wasn't happy. I only had one spare tube. Now I had none to carry with me on the ride. I ate while he worked on the tire then went to the bedroom to get dressed for the chilly morning. With temps in the 30's, I knew the only way to stay warm was to wear the wool socks and thermal leggings. A longsleeved undershirt was a must, too. "You need a new mechanic," Hubby said when I returned to the kitchen. "Really? You broke that one, too?" I could feel the anger churn. I'd been looking forward to this ride all week since I'd not been able to get a ride in because of all the "stuff": work, dentist appointments, more work. I'd had my heart set on riding Sweetness, but now, if I wanted to go,  I ha...

Spent a wonderful day on the I&M Canal path. Hubby and I started out from LaSalle and rode to Ottawa where we had lunch at an ice cream shop. Because my tooth/gum issue has reared its ugly head again, I stuck with a vanilla milkshake. Hubby had a decked out hotdog and onion rings. We then headed back to LaSalle. We hadn't gone more than a quarter mile when we saw a cheese/deli shop. The promise of fudge spurred us to turn off and check out the place. Unfortunately the fudge was gone, but Hubby was able to get some farmer's cheese, and I found a coffee I wanted to try. We started out again, making our way back to Utica where we found a candy/fudge shop. We left with a quarter pound each of peanut butter chocolate fudge, Belgian chocolate fudge, cheesecake fudge, and toffee chocolate fudge. Hubby felt drawn to try out the chocolate covered bacon but couldn't bring himself to actually buy a strip and follow through. From there we cycled back to LaSalle, passing the locks n...

One of the local bike shops loaned me a beautiful mountain bike to play with for a couple of days. Unfortunately, rain moved in and drenched the trails, leaving them too muddy to ride yesterday as well as today, so I didn't even get to try out the bike in a proper setting. And I have to return the bike tomorrow. Sad face. Just to get some idea of how the bike feels, I took it across the street and rode up and over piles of rubber playground mulch the school district had dumped a couple of days ago. While not the same as riding trails, I had a bit of fun. I confirmed, too, what I had initially thought: I could really get into this mountain biking thing. The thrill (I know, that's probably overstating how much fun I was having) of feeling the bike maneuver up and over the piles just made me want to do it over and over. I was like the kid out having fun and being called to come inside by Mom because it was getting dark. The problem I see with getting the mountain bike is spend...