The Master of Cycle and Fit comes to Women Riding Well!

If you live in Albuquerque and you cycle, it is likely that you know or know of.... Matt Caruso.  Cece calls him the guru of mechanics and fit.    She will never forget the first day they met.....she went to his shop called Caruso Cycle Works , and brought her 27 pound Colgnao , "Yellow Bird" with her.  The bike was given to her and it was way too big for her. She was also a brand new cyclist at the time. She was told if any one could fix the bike to fit her, it would be Matt.

Up, up , up the steep hills she went thinking nothing of it since she was driving her car.  She got out near the top and there was Matt's shop.  He set her up on a trainer and with his back to her working at his bench, he said, "OH!  Do you have a right knee injury?  I can hear the difference in your pedaling."  Well of course Cece did have a knee injury to that knee!  But on top of that remark, when he was finished fitting her on the bike  he said, "I want to watch you go up and down this hill."  HUGH?  Climb THAT hill?  If Cece had only known... she might have picked a mechanic whose shop was on flat ground.

And so it came to pass that Cece would have another opportunity to learn about bike mechanics and fit from Matt.  On 3/19/11, he came to Sympatico Cycling Studio and Women Riding Well to give a bike clinic.  He brought along his  huge Park Tool box and his bike stand...which probably most of us could not have lifted!  He gave a hands on repair class that discussed the repair of many parts on the bike including cables, derailleurs, tires and how to trim if your chain is rubbing.  It was a 2+ hour class that was very interactive and interesting.
Thanks, Matt.  Now Cece is going to get on her bike!  Really!

The Irish Condom Story......... I Promise I 'll Start Cycling!

Cece’s mom Helen and her mom’s best friend, also a Helen, loved to cook and bake.   And so, Cece had both of their recipes for Irish Soda Bread.
Just before St. Patrick’s Day in  2005  Cece called her mom and told her that she had her recipe for Irish Soda bread and that she also had her best friend Helen’s  recipe for Irish Soda Bread too!   She was  not sure which recipe she should use.  It was then that her mother told her  this story:

” In 2004, our friend Helen  was making her own signature recipe for Irish Soda bread.  She made several loaves and brought them to our  Sr. Citizens weekly bowling league.  This was our  snack on the Thursday before St. Patrick’s Day.  The loaves looked beautiful and no one could wait to eat them.  They had golden tops dusted with sugar and Helen brought along butter to spread on each slice.


The league started bowling and cutting into the breads.  All of a sudden there were shouts across and  down the alley! “Hey Helen, what were you doing when you were making these breads?”   What could they mean?   As they cut into the breads, they found what looked like condoms in the bread!  There were long plastic sheaths that baked into the loaves.

Our friend Helen turned quite a shade of red as she explained that she does not like to touch sticky dough and always wears plastic surgical gloves when she bakes.  Evidently she lost several “fingers” of the gloves while she was kneading the dough!”


Through the phone, Cece’s mom said, “So which recipe are YOU going to make?” Cece could almost see the sparkle in her mom’s eye!  Well,  ever since that phone call,  Cece has been making her mom’s recipe and sharing this urban legend!

Homemade Chicken Soup and the Uphill Grind? NOT!

Cece has not been cycling .  This is the first time in 4 years she has not ridden over the winter...AND she is now paying the price!  She got back on her bike in early February and since then, she has had several saddle sores (to read the definitive post on saddles sores, see this post by the Fat Cyclist), sore wrists,has worked to generalize her yoga lessons to work on her weaker cycling leg,  has had to squeeze into too tight lycra shorts, rebuild her cardio, has had to deal with a heart rate monitor that malfunctioned and a cycle computer on the blink.  But, none of this compares with her suffering on her  ride indoors this afternoon.

Cece, took a picture, but she can't post it because even looking at it, makes her nauseous. She is still queezy and on the edge. OK Don't laugh .  Promise?

Being a multi-tasker has some advantages....like today.  What was the harm in making home made chicken soup and letting it simmer while she did her Spinervals CD "The Uphill Grind?"  From high a top  her perch on her bike and trainer she could see over her breakfast bar and could see the large pot simmering on t he stove.  She turned it to medium and watched it gently cook. All was well.

But at about 5 minutes into the ride, Cece began to feel like she was going to throw up! Evidently,the delicious smell of homemade chicken soup does not smell very good to Cece when she is sweating to the uphill Grind.  Her stomach flip flopped this way and that.  Oh My!  When would this end?   She kept looking at the soup on her stove and thinking, I will just get off the bike and turn it off.  Then she thought, no...the smell will still be in the air , that will not work.  So, as she pedaled and climbed uphill, she dealt with the feeling of "Loosing her lunch" and hoped that soon it would abate.  It did not.

Finally, she finished her work out and went to the stove and turned off the soup.  She took a picture for this blog post,....but....urgh...she is certain she will not have homemade chicken soup for dinner tonight!