Does Strawberry Shortcake Soothe the Soul?

Cece hosted the after ride party on the 3rd to celebrate Yun's birthday. We put some time between ride and party so that people could go home and change. But when Yun arrived at Cece's they settled in to talk and lost track of time. So, finally Cece said, "Yun ! You are in charge! Hold the fort while I hop in the shower!"A few minutes later, when Cece emerged, there was a house full of guests and most of them were in her kitchen cooking up a storm. She was sure she had the United Nations in her kitchen cooking up various specialty foods! What fun! Happy Chaos! Many had arrived already.

Cece got a phone call from Amanda needing directions. When she arrived, she was badly bruised with swelling and abrasions all over her body....but she had on a huge smile. This woman was happy! How did she get those bruises? She recounted how she took 2 bad falls during the ride. Cece made her a strawberry shortcake first, to soothe her soul....and then started to nurse her wounds with her special ice pack made out of rubbing alcohol and water....slush that is very cold and will bend around the body parts. She nursed her hip and elbow , back and other body parts and sat and talked and continued her happy project for several contented hours. She took the ice pack home to continue the project. Stephanie was able to join us in between patients and she looked radiant in her bright orange top ! Everyone was happy. cooking and eating and planning the next party!

Cece and Christine spent the morning riding together. Christine was worried about her knee as she has an injury that is painful. They have been friends for about 2 1/2 years now and have ridden literally hundreds of miles together. Cece knows what it is to ride with an injury that you are nervous about. It was a pleaseure to ride together again this day. Christine left the after ride to nurse a friend who had hip surgery. Cece asked her "Are you going to ice your knee ?" Christine replied, First I am going to ice Jan's hip and then I will ice my knee. " The wounded healers!

Here is the birthday girl on the right with our friend Gwen. Below is Emmy posing after a long night nursing her research in.....cement adhesiveness......does this girl know about cement...or is it concrete?

Warren made some delicious Moroccan chicken salad (this is what Cece calls it)
and she wondered how a 24 year old man learned to cook like this? Diane, Ron and Catherine livened up the party! And then there was Tom who informed us all that his birthday is on July 31st. Think he wants a party?

And finally, Eleanor the Shark. Guess what she asked Cece as she was leaving the party? She asked, "Cece when you plan our hill climbing route for Tuesday...do you plan on killing me?" Cece threw her heard back laughing!

Recovering the Body, Mind and Spirit

When you are recovering the body mind and spirit from a devastating car accident, you need to take your rehab slow and steady. Take the baby steps. Do the leg work. Work through the pain. Continue to work through the pain. You remember how you used to feel and used to look and you remember your former strength and confidence...but you also know that you have to work to get back to that place.

So, Cece continues to do all the above. And, she also knows that she has been amping things up a bit more lately. She feels great in every way! She has been pushing herself moderately ...and now it is time to amp up again just a little bit. Below is Cece's new friend Eleanor. They are on the cycle team together. She looks innocent enough right? Doesn't she look like Mary Poppins? So sweet. She really is sweet!

Eleanor agreed to plan our hill climbing on Tuesday and sent Cece the route and cue sheet. Luckily, Cece went to drive the route since it had many twists and turns and she was not familiar with the area. When Cece drove the route, she was sure Eleanor was trying to kill her! Did she think Cece was training for The Tour de France? She is sure she saw climbs like this in that race! Or maybe it was in the Sound of Music when the Von Trapp family was climbing over the Alps? Who knew that Albuquerque has it own Alps?

Cece ranted all the way home and emailed Eleanor telling her that she could not do those climbs. There were 19 miles of climbs between 7 and 10 percent grade....steep and long. The funny thing is, that these climbs made the climb Cece had put off seem like a piece of cake.

Cece directly asked Eleanor if she was trying to kill her and guess what she replied? She said she thought she would wait a while and get to know her better before she killed her. HUGH! Why does Cece end up with all these ruthless people in her life? They just come to her!

Anyway Eleanor confessed ( at the top of Elena Gallegos) that she is able to climb heartbreak hill...which not many can do... and Cece and Eleanor wrestled and sparred a bit on this topic because Eleanor is complaining that she is just learning to shift. It is very clear to Cece that Eleanor is underestimating her cycling skills and now her slip is showing. This is not Mary Poppins! This is Lance's sister!

So, Cece and Eleanor negotiated an alternative route. Cece determined that she would do something she considered hard and almost impossible since Eleanor wanted to do the impossible. Remember, Cece is just amping up a bit! Raising her sights. Not shooting for the stars quite yet....just climbing for the past 3 weeks or so.....

So, the agreement was made that Tuesday they will climb Tram and Eleana Gallegos...one is 4.3 miles at 5-6% grade and the other is 1.3 miles with up to 8% grade. It will still be very difficult for Cece but it will be something she can manage. She has not ridden this ride in 2 years. They will still ride about the same distance, but she will get to work that day without having CPR administered...and it will not be 12 noon when the ride is finished!

As they began. the sun was just rising. It was beautifully cool and Eleanor and Cece were met by a few of Eleanor's friends Trish and Chris who were triathletes. Off we went ...north on Tram and then up Eleana Gallegos. What a climb that is. It is interesting to watch the mind when you are suffering on the bike. It will either make or break you. It made Cece this time. She is corralling her breathing and relaxing through it and this helps her stay relaxed and focused as she suffers up. She is now comparing everything to the yoga foot in her stomach and nothing is that bad...so up she goes....breathing through the pain.

We miss so much when we are sleeping! We flew to the bottoms of each climb and
at one point Cece had to check her speed because she saw a sign for 30 mph. She was going 28...the others were going much faster!

We arrived at the bottom of Tramway all in one piece and began stripping off our clothing....into sleeveless..we all knew that the climb back up was long and hard and relentless. Again the mind is the worst enemy. But today the mind was relaxed and optimistic. Cece focused on moderating her breathing and was able to keep her heart rate much lower than it had been 2 years ago. All of us had a good day and good climbs and Trish was thrilled that she climbed so well and strong!