Don't Make Change too Complicated: Just Begin!




Saturday, October 16, 2010

104.2 miles...........WHAT? 100 was not enough?

This is Sue our fearless support vehicle driver and alumni from Team in Training for the Lake Tahoe season. Cece met Sue when Cece was support vehicle (SAG) this past spring for the Santa Fe Century.  Between them, they have many stories to tell!!!! Sue, as you can tell, has lots of energy and joy and she promised us that she would meet us on the dirt in Placitas with much fan fare and flourishe....as we make it up that hill! Cece would also like a mariachi band! Well, you never can tell......one might appear!

Anyway......after that, the climbing is over and it is either downhill or flat the rest of the way...with the exception of a few rollers out Algonones way on the frontage road.

As Cece was looking at the route map last night, she discovered that the 100 mile ride was really 104.2 miles. " What? 100 was not long enough?" she said in her strongest New York accent? Oh well. She has been in for the duration..It turns out that the actual route was 114.2 miles!  The organizers just cut the mileage back down ...so we will see what the actual mileage will end up being!)

But today, she had a choice.... and it was too cold...so she sat this one out. It was a taper ride of 25 miles. She will ride tomorrow in the middle of the day when it is nice and warm...vs the 42 degrees it was at 7am this morning....with a breeze! None the less, she met the team and all bundled up, she took pictures and then met them for breakfast afterwards. There are a few people missing from the photo including Cece and Ellie the Shark who were taking the team photos.


Pre-ride,Kelsey and her mom Cindy and Ed were foolin' around. After the ride, we all went to The Flying Star, Corrales for breakfast and they were kind enough to seat us all together under their patio outdoors without blinking and eye!


It was great to see Betty again! We had not seen her in a while and she is so fun to be with! AND it was Cylde's birthday today...and yes we did sing to him...even though there were 5 different keys! HEY! We can cycle...not sing! And that Keith....he dared not tell me any jokes for fear they would be copyrighted on the bog.... or so he said! .LOL!

Clark and "Queen Victoria" joined us and we warned Vickie that she best stop her queenly waving while she cycles... as that is how she had her terrible crash! Her eye has recovered and she did show us all her scars and bruises that are still very evident even after a full month! Two hands on the handle bars, Queenie!

 Cece had to really work to get Tabitha to smile today.  But when she asked why she was sad, she found out her mom had a cancerous tumor taken out of her leg.  They are waiting for results.  Cece remembers her mom so fondly...92 with a renegade swatch of purple dyed into her bangs!  They met in Lake Tahoe.  Tabitha, we will all keep your mom in our thoughts and  prayers...she is a part of our team too!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

I Counted Five Fingers Today!

....even after I got my thumb caught in my floor pump lever! Snap!  OUCH!  Sting!  Shake it off.  I hoped that this was not a precursor to a BDOB!  Shortly thereafter, I saw a roadrunner and felt better accepting the blessing and moving forward! 

I got on the bike about 10:30 and it was still a bit cold and windy, but it warmed up by about mile 5 or so.  I rode out to the "bike magnet" on 528 and then back along Loma Largo to do "The Corrales Fingers!"  On my way back to the fingers, I greeted a woman and when she yelled back, I heard NY.    I asked ,over my shoulder,  "Are you from NY?"   She said yes, so I stopped and went back to meet Wendy and her little white Chihuahua "Romeo."  We had a grand talk about life and why we moved here and for how long we've been here etc....then Wendy told me she was out walking to lose weight and she showed me her fat suit.  She detailed how she sweated in the suit which she had under her sweat suit and showed  me the sweat rolling off her (TMI) and told me I could purchase in Walmart.  To me, Wendy did not look fat at all...but oh well....to each their own.  Turns out she is a "fragrance" distributor to all the large department stores. She asked me what I wore and when I told here Clinique she told me I should go down and buy some now because they were giving great gifts!  I was getting an education!  Off I went to begin the climbing...leaving the fat suit idea and perfume idea  behind with Wendy and Romeo.

On the way out, it is very flat, but on the way back, each road that goes off to the west goes uphill to Intel.
I told myself I would climb as many fingers as I could that were not dirt...and I  was able to count 5...and skipped a few...given what I am about to tell.

I found a new road called "Windsong!"  It goes up, up up and then up some more with several switchbacks and more ups.  Since now I compare everything painful to the "yoga foot" I determined that I could indeed keep cycling up becasue this was nothing in comparison to that foot!  So, up I went until I finally hit the top...which ended here.... and here.
 On my way down a man was sweeping his garage.  He told me, "I watched you cycle up this.  I do not even like to walk up this."  I told  him,  "It would be much better to ride up in a car."  We both laughed...and down I went.

I went up a few more fingers until I approached my last one called Cielo Vista.  I know this hill already and knew it would be ok.  Once at the top, I was surprised to see this horse and I petted his very soft nose.
I had never seen this horse before!  But as I dilly dallied with the horse, a cyclist passed me .  We were just about at the very top of the hill.  Then I watched him pull off and go through a gate and he stopped and took a breath.  It was at this point , that I abandoned the horse for the man.  I asked him...is that trail  for road or mountain?  What tires are you running?"  Once I got closer, I could see they were road.  Well it turns out that there is a virtual "secret" path at the top of this hill.  It is the Intel Sky line trail.  I asked the guy about it.  He invited me along and told me that it ended up on Meadowlark...that it was a hard grade initially and then it leveled out.  I looked up.  Hmmmm.....I don't think so.  It reminded me of the Cochiti dam road grade...not.... I told the guy I would watch him and see his line.  So what did he do?  He sprinted up all the severe inclines standing up!  He looked like he was doing a mountain stage in the Tour!  I determined at that moment, that I might try this another day...but not today!  Maybe Ellie the Shark or Randy would like to try this and give me a report? 

I will finish out my mileage this week with a climb to Placitas and then just some flat miles later in the week.  Not sure if we are on for the Range on Saturday or will do another ride.  Ellie thinks she is developing an unusual relationship with those cows on 313 who are making eyes at her after so many out and backs on her bike...  The powers that be are negotiating.  We will see who and what prevails.
Cece