Maybe this one'll stick

So, I have about 50 half-written posts saved up here in my Blogger dashboard. I have plenty of stuff going on and lots to write about. But, I'm a s-l-o-w writer. I'll start writing something, lose interest, decide to finish it later and then it quickly becomes old news. So, I move on to the next thing.

Looking through them all...I have half-written posts about the trials skills I've been learning from my boyfriend, Matt; how I can now do trackstands like a pro (slight exaggeration. But I have gotten pretty good); various rides I've done; how I had my ass handed to me on my first xc group ride of the season; my plans to build up the ti 29er frame I've had since last summer; my change in plans to sell the frame and go with a FS 26er instead; scrapping all bike buying plans in lieu of saving $$ for a downpayment on a house; the realization that I will not be doing any 100-milers this summer since I hadn't even started training and it was mid-June; the trip Matt and I took to Michigan for Asparagus-fest; our ski/snowboard trip to Maine where I came down with the flu; our trip to New Hampshire for his family's annual beer-pong tournament; saying goodbye to my dog. And there's a few more.

All of them would have been VERY interesting, I'm sure, had they been completed. But, I can say with certainty that that's not going to happen :)

So, what am I doing these days? It's been a little lonely in my house for the last few weeks since Chelsea (my dog) is now gone. The month or so leading up to the decision to put her to sleep was stressful since her condition was deteriorating and I was spending most of my free time just being home for her. She didn't seem to be in any major pain or discomfort. But, was starting to have a harder and harder time doing basic things. Her balance was getting really bad and her back legs were giving out on her. I had a short list of things that I felt she should be able to do in order to have a good quality of life and, once she couldn't, I knew it was time.

Making that decision and then going through with it was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. It was a terrible day. I'm just thankful that I had Matt there to go with me. I honestly don't know how I would have done it alone.

The first week without her was rough. But, now that it's all behind me, things have gotten back to normal and I've been getting in a lot more riding again.

As I alluded to above, Matt has a background in trials riding. He also has an extra trials bike and LOTS of patience. So, you know what that means...I get to learn a whole new style of riding.

One of the things I love about riding is that there is always something new to learn and I've had a lot of fun taking on this challenge. Trackstanding was the first skill I needed to get down. It's the most basic of basic skills for trials. And, to tell you the truth, when I started...I was convinced that I wasn't going to ever be able to do it. I was so shaky and couldn't hold my bike still for more than a half of a second. But, it's one of those things like snowboarding or walking or riding a bike. Just a matter of training your inner ear and muscle memory to do it. Once I got it down, It's hard to believe I ever couldn't. I can stand there for a couple of minutes like it's nothing...no problem at all.

Having that down, I've now moved on to new skills. I'm learning how to lift up my front and back wheels to place them exactly where I want them and also have gotten the hang of pulling my front wheel up far enough to do a wheelie. I'm hoping that by the fall I'll be able to hop on my back wheel. If you would have asked me a few months ago, I would have said, it wasn't possible. But, now...I don't know...I think it's within reach :)

Spring!!

Woohoo! Thank goodness it's here. I've been dying for it to start being consistently above 50 degrees. And I think we're over the hump...at least for the forseeable future.

I've definitely been a fair-weather rider this year. No crazy 4 1/2 hour rides on 5 degree days; no rides in sideways sleet. Just an occasional sunny day ride here and there and a lot of hanging out with Matt. I like it!

In light of the above-50 temps, I've decided to switch to an earlier work schedule. If I mange to get into the 7:30-4:30 groove, then I'll have plenty of time to hit the trails for a couple of hours after work. Sounds like a swell plan, I know. But, that's turning out to be a lot easier said than done. So far, in the last 2 weeks, I've made it into work before 8AM a whole 2 times. It's a tough thing for me to do, apparently.

The sad part is that getting up early isn't even the problem. I'm usually up around 6AM. But, then I loooove to hang out for like an hour and a half...wearing my PJs...watching the news...drinking coffee...checking my email. Pretty much anything but what I'm supposed to be doing. It's so hard to get up off the sofa and into the shower. But, starting tomorrow...yeah...that's all gonna change. I know it is. Really.

Seriously, though...I hope it does. The forecast doesn't look too bad for the next 10 days and I'm itching to get my riding season started.

Ringing Rocks Park

14

I can't believe it's already time for another birthday cheeseburger. Seems like just yesterday that Chelsea was scarfing down the last one.

Over the past year, she's definitely started to show her age. Arthritis, cancer, and some minor hearing and sight loss have slowed her down. But, believe me, she can still eat a cheeseburger like nobody's business.

Happy Birthday old girl!

Happy New Year!!!

Gosh, almost five months since my last post. I think that's officially my longest absence. But, I haven't been completely absent from the internet. I do work on the web after all :)

More recently, Facebook has become my virtual drug of choice. Less time to update and there's been a dizzying amount of friends, old and new, that have turned up there. This is mostly a good thing but can be embarrassing when your old high school classmates start tagging you in photos from the late 80's. Oh the hair...what was I thinking??

Seeing as this is the new year, I feel like I should throw out some of my riding plans for next year. The last two or three years were all about 100-milers. That was fun and all. But, I don't have the same desire this year to do all of the training that's required for a season of long races. I generally lose my motivation to train about 3/4 of the way through anyway. Also, there are a LOT of other things that I like to do in my free time so spending most of it on training has lost it's appeal. But one of the things I love about biking is that there is always a new challenge to be found.

So, this year, I want to spend more time "just riding" and less time fretting about how to fit in the workout of the day. My main focus will be to become a better technical rider. That IS part of the reason I moved out here to PA, after all...and it shouldn't be too hard. There are a lot of rocks out here and, based on my current skills, I can't go anywhere but up.

Don't get me wrong, I will be doing at least one 100-miler but, definitely not four! I'm pretty sure, at this point, that my 100-miler of choice will be Wilderness since it's arguably the most technical. I also have a bone to pick with that course since it was the one that got the best of me in 2007. haven't checked through the old results yet to determine what would be a good time to shoot for. However, if I wanted to do better than the last time, simply finishing would be sufficient!

Of course that will definitely mean buckling down and sticking to some sort of plan for three months prior. But, I think I can manage that.

And that's pretty much it. I mean, sure, I'll do some other local races as well but probably won't decide which ones until the time comes. For the most part, I just want a season of fun riding and conquering my greatest fears on the bike. I'll emerge next September with either a hugely improved set of riding skills or a lot of broken bones. Either way, it should be interesting :)

Ok...this officially sucks!!

Well, my surgery went fine on Monday. I wasn't nervous about it at all. Just anxious to get it over with so I could get on with the healing.

I've never had surgery before and I have to say...it was a weird experience. All I remember is the nurse covering me with a heated blanket and then, what seemed like 30 seconds later, the same nurse saying "you're done!"

I looked at my hand and where there was previously this...


there was now THIS...


Don't worry, it didn't switch hands. I took that second pic in the mirror and was too lazy to flip it :) It's actually on my right hand. Thankfully, I'm a lefty.

Seriously, though...I can't believe how big this cast is. All for one broken bone in my little finger. Ha...the first thing I thought was "I look like Popeye." And my hand movement is far more restricted than it was in the splint. I feel like I'm dragging around this big useless club hand. Oh well, I guess it could be worse!

So, I now have two titanium pins holding the bone together. I have a copy of the post-surgery x-ray but I won't bother posting it because it's just a really bad Xerox. Every time I ask for copies of my x-rays, the nurses act like it's the oddest request they've ever heard. This one didn't have a clue how to get a digital copy so that's all I was able to get.

Anyway, the pins will stay in until it's fully healed then they'll be yanked out. Hmmm...yeah...that doesn't sound painful at all!

Speaking of pain, it hasn't been too bad so far. I woke up in the middle of the night the first night and it was just starting to hurt so I took half of a Percocet. Took another half at 6AM and a couple more times during the day on Tuesday. I went to work and, other than feeling a little spacey, I was doing ok until around 3:30 when I started to feel like my lunch was going to end up on my keyboard. So, I went home early. As the Percocet wore off, I started to feel better and, honestly, the pain was completely bearable. Way better than the nausea for sure.

Since then, it's been feeling better every day. But that doesn't make it any less annoying. There's just so much that is really hard to do. Things I've always taken for granted. Getting dressed, putting my hair in a ponytail, opening a can of dog food, typing, driving (thank god I don't drive a stick). I have a newfound respect for one-armed people, that's for sure!

I've been able to bumble through most things but, adequately doing the dishes has been next to impossible. Finally, my environmentally responsible self gave in to my practical self and I went and bought paper plates. ha...now that I think about it, maybe I should just go one step further and have pizza delivered for the next month and a half.

Another issue that I have is that my "club hand" won't fit through the sleeves on a lot of the shirts and sweaters that I wear to work. I don't know if anyone at work has noticed yet but I've only worn two different shirts so far this week :)

All of those thing would be easy to deal with if I could at least ride my bike. it's starting to sink in just how long it'll be before I can. I'm sure it'll fly by but right now it seems like forever. I hopped on my trainer briefly this evening and I just don't think I'm going to be able to get into that. This time of year...I need to be outside. So, I'm exploring other options. Hiking and running are probably my best bets.

"Just ice it and take some Percocet. You'll be fine."

That was one piece of advice I got on the trail. Good thing I didn't follow it :)



Yeah, I would definitely say it's broken.

Did it on a ride Tuesday night. There was part of a tree jutting out next to the trail at handlebar height that was obscured from my view by some branches. I smacked into it HARD with my right handlebar. It could have been worse. I could have gone into the ravine on the other side of the trail but managed to stay in control of my bike.

My hand hurt but didn't HURT. Looking at it, though, I could tell something wasn't right. Taking off my glove confirmed it. My little finger was looking a little...ummm...displaced. My first thought was "damn, I didn't bring my camera". My second thought was "I hope my new health insurance has kicked in" (it had). Next thing I know I'm spending my evening hanging out in the ER.

The ER told me I needed surgery to put pins in it and referred me to a doctor that turned out to be a neurologist! When I called the next morning, the woman on the phone told me they had the wrong first name and gave me 2 numbers to call for the "correct" doctor. Calling those numbers resulted in 1. another doctor that wasn't the right one and 2. a number that had been changed. Calling the new number...I got a furniture store. WTF???

So, while trying to figure out what to do next, I found out that my coworker's husband sells the pins that they use for that kind of surgery and knows a ton of doctors. She called him and he picked one of the best ones he knew of and made me an appointment within 15 minutes. Talk about lucky!

Surgery is scheduled for Monday afternoon. As far as biking goes...I asked about riding pavement in a few weeks and the doc said "absolutely not". Guess it's gonna be a while.