Stepping Beyond

When Your Eye Doctor is a Cyclist

2011-11-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

Cece went to her annual eye exam. When she saw the doctor, the conversation went like this:

What rides did you do this past year?

How did your training go?

Are you getting outdoors now or are you indoors on the trainer? When will you move indoors? You like to ride in the rain and wind?

How did you hurt your shoulder (Cece to the Dr.)

Are you still able to ride?
Can you see your cycle computer with your sunglasses on?

Are the sun glasses protecting your eyes when you look out and over at the road?

Are your eyes drying out from the wind?

As you can tell, there was a lot to discuss.... and Cece giggled at the unique pre-exam questioning! Yes, they finally got around to the computer work and the looking from the computer to the paper....and the "can you see this?" ..."which is better" questioning...but it is nice to have a Dr. who understands your cycling passion and can help you to see as well as possible given those sometimes extreme rides!

The Glory of the Cottonwoods : Beauty Unsurpassed

2011-10-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

There are just some days that nothing will soothe you except nature. And so , on the day after Cece had to orchestrate the comings and goings of her staff and medically fragile clients during a multi-hour SWAT team stand off, Cece took the afternoon off to find solace...and....she knew what would soothe her.

On her way to work, she saw the glistening cottonwoods along the Bosque as she crossed the Montano Bridge. She saw the glimmer of leaves and thought they resembled gold coins flickering in the sun. She has been riding on her trainer indoors lately or not riding along the Bosque...and she thought that morning, on her drive in, that she should see the beauty along the way with her own eyes She did not want to miss the color before it darkened.. So off she went to ride a 22 mile loop.

As she rode along, even when this guy passed her, she did not care. She was soaking in the beauty. It was like a trip down memory lane. She has been riding her beloved bosque for many years now and she rides it all year round. She sees the seasons change and she feels like she knows every inch of this land....every turn, every tree...she is able to notice the small changes too. When she met Kind Daniel of the Open Space he showed her which tree to watch for the eagle when it gets a bit cooler and he showed her a picture that he took of it last year.

Today, she was remembering....

She remembered a berry fight she had with her friend Gilbert as he took her riding off road. They shot the berries at each other like kids....and rides with college kids and men in the army who taught her to go fast on the corners, rides with the team along this path to get to another path toward a hellish climb, then socializing with friends as we rode....meeting new friends...surprising friends along the way.....today it seemed sentimental to her as she remembered her friend Tom and how he taught her, years ago, to shift and how he made her laugh.....and how none of them could hear....

The memories were as alive as the fluttering of all the leaves...and the memories spoke to Cece. The old trees were speaking to her and reminding her to have gratitude for all the paths she has ridden down.

You never know where they will take you....

First Laugh on a Monday? 7:31 am

2011-10-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

Add sweat and suffering to this laughter!

Riding the drops and grinding through a grueling workout with...you guessed it...Troy Jacobson. Sweat is pooling and puddling on my glasses. Drip, drip drip I pushed through interval sets going harder, softer, slower and faster...with a 15 second break....up and down the gears and chain rings I went pooling sweat for over an hour. Then all of a sudden the sets were over and we got a break. "Guess what?" Troy said, "This time the sets will be similar except you will get a little more rest....meaning 20 seconds instead of 15 seconds." That is when I bust out laughing!

Wild Women and Water! What Fun!

2011-10-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

Put a bunch of wild women with a lot of water and what do you get? Hmm.....Let me see.

It was a beautiful and warm day in the North Valley of Albuquerque. The sun was out...there was no wind....it was a perfect day to......

Wash our bikes! Yes, that is right! Women Riding Well, the cycling club, had a bike washing party at one of the member's homes in the North Valley. It is so much more fun to get wet and wash your bike with friends! Cece's bike, Little Red, was absolutely filthy. She was sure she would get the prize for the most filthy bike! To show you just how filthy it was, she embarrassingly presents this photo. Too many rides after the monsoon rains. Dirty! Dirty!

It was a big job to clean her up real pretty! At first when she began, Cece could not really see the dirt, but then she met Diane...who became her assistant...well really she was the bike boss...as Cece cleaned the drive train, Diane "passed" her and gave her the green light to move on to the next part of the bike. These women take cleaning a bike VERY seriously.

She looks nice, but she can spot dirt a mile away! LOL! Actually, she taught Cece how to see dirt!

A fun time was had by all and our bikes have passed the Margie, Diane and Debbie "White Glove" test. Here is a pic of Debbie:

That is all she would allow!

The Virtual Boyfriend

2011-10-05T18:50:00.000-07:00

Every woman should have at least one virtual boyfriend. Cece has several and they really come in handy! She has the men at her bike shop...and of course...she has Troy Jacobson! And she called on Troy today to fill a void!

Cece has spent most of the week at the ER with her client. She had to hop out of bed at 7am and go to the ER and finally hours later, she dragged home. She had intended to cycle, but it was raining...and thus went her week. Lots of stress and little ability to exercise.

So finally, today, she called upon her virtual man...Troy. Before she could do so though,. she had to put in a different rear sprocket so her bike would fit on her trainer....and thus she began her suffer fest!

It was oddly comforting to feel the sweat begin to drip drip drip down her face and puddle up her glasses....to begin to feel her jersey get cool and wet and to hear the incessant clapping of her virtual man shouting, "push, push push."

As a curse escaped her lips, she did not have to worry about insulting her virtual man...see...everyone should have a virtual boyfriend...or two!

Chase the Balloons Ride: October 1, 2011

2011-10-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

The ride started early on Saturday morning at 7am. This was the opening day of Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. The ride promised many sightings of balloons and many opportunities for photo ops. Actually they say this is the most photographed yearly event in the world! The weather was a bit brisk, but comfortable with little wind! Ideal weather!

There was a rolling start ...and they were off!

The sun was just coming up and there was a beautiful silhouette over the river with the mountains as backdrop.

As it got lighter, we got a better view.

A fun ride in the beauty of New Mexico!

"Can You See Us Now?"

2011-09-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

High Desert Yoga and The Duke City Wheelmen sponsored the annual "Can You See US now?" ride in honor of cyclists who were killed by cars. Since they have been keeping track, 114 cyclists have been killed in New Mexico alone! There are many Ghost Bikes around town to honor these fallen cyclists.

Each cyclist was given a number for their back and on that number was the name of one of the cyclists who had been killed by an automobile. This is Cece's number and her name.

A crowd of over 600 cyclists gathered at High Desert Yoga to register and organize for the ride. While waiting, Cece met a man named Abel who had a prosthetic leg. She watched him with interest as he put his cycling leg on and as he spoke to a man about how his bike was specially outfitted for the leg. Cece knew that if she did not go over and talk to him, she would regret it later, so over she went. It turned out that Able is a wounded warrior and cycles with a team called "Amputees Across America" that is sponsored by Health South. They cycle across America doing various rides and bring attention to the fact that you can still be active and healthy and happy even if you have lost a leg with the help of a prosthesis. Abel told Cece that their goal is to get 2 more amputees on the team each year.

After an evening full of surprises and a grueling yoga class that morning at High Desert, Cece should have been soaking in a hot tub, but she was happily at this ride and looking forward to riding with 600+ cyclists down Rt 66 in Albuquerque.

The police support was outstanding! Yesterday a friend told Cece that the Duke City Wheelmen had requested 40 officers and Cece bets that there were probably that many cops present...on motorcycles, along the way and directing traffic to keep the cyclist safe. Thank you APD!

And...with much fanfare and flourish....we were off. The police guided us down Central Avenue (Rt. 66) and there were many spectators along the way clapping and cheering us on. We arrived at Tiguex Park without incident and proceeded to have a peaceful gathering that got quite emotional as the names of those killed were read one by one. There was a man who was dressed in white with a white face painted on... that symbolized the Ghost Bike and the cyclists who had been killed. He read the names.

This ride was meant to call attention to the fact that cyclists share the road with vehicles. The show of numbers and the phrase "Can you See US Now" was a powerful reminder of this fact and also that so many have died as a result of not being seen. Let us hope that not one more cyclist is killed by a vehicle.

On Call and On the Bike!

2011-09-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

The Two Italians!

The last time Cece was on call it was a 5 day Labor Day Weekend and she got a resentment. The crises kept coming and she was stuck indoors or in her gym the whole 5 days. She did not dare to venture forth on her bike because every other moment she had a crisis to deal with. She could not carry the on call book and a notebook and schedules etc. But, she resolved that the next on call, things would be different!

This weekend came all too quickly, but Cece still had had time to figure out her plan. Friday early morning she rode. Then she waited to see how things would go Friday night and Saturday. She watched the weather and plotted her strategy! Saturday was a disaster! She had to fire someone and there was police involvement. The Verizon phone network was down because they were upgrading (?) to 4G and in New Mexico they had failed. Each call was either lost, dropped or she could not hear the other person. Cece was stressed out.

She determined that she would go to a party of cycling friends that evening and she did that, but her friends saw that she had developed this strange appendage hanging out of her ear...oh yeah...it was the phone. In and out of the house she went...looking toward the sky trying to get better coverage...standing in the middle of the street trying to avoid the coverage of the ancient cottonwoods lining the North Valley along the Rio Grande.

No exercise,. No freedom! URGH. Cece was just about growling! But she was developing her plan. Come Sunday morning she planned that if she did not get any calls by 9am and things were calm, she would be off on her bike! She checked the Weather Underground

perfect weather,,little wind. Her plan was forming. She called the other on call....across the city and told him she was going out on her bike. Cece is in charge of the Westside of the city and her friend the east. She checked in to make sure all was calm on his end too. It was.

She looked in her closet for a jersey that had very deep back pockets and found a hot pink jersey by Terry with flames on the sleeves...perfect. She took the volume of schedules and things she would need if she got a phone call and rolled them up in a tight roll and taped the edges. That went into a back pocket along with a note pad and pen. The phone went into the bento box and she was off...finding matching pink watermelon socks to complete her pinkness on her way out the door!

She wanted to climb some hills today and that necessitated venturing out a bit from the city...but not too far that she could not get back quickly if she got an emergency call!. Off she went. Climb she did.

On the way back a little skinny girl passed her and that pissed Cece off. It was on. She put on the speed and caught that girl and they battled all the way back to where they both had inadvertently started from. A nice challenge for 2 women who were not at all competitive! LOL.

As Cece pulled into the parking lot and dismounted her bike, her phone rang. She answered with a breathless smile...what good timing! She was back to work, but this time without a resentment!

Horse Power...67 the new 40!

2011-08-27T17:08:00.000-07:00

At the end of a 75 mile bike ride today in the 98 degree heat of the day, these famous words were heard:

Friend #1."Well, what should we do now? "

Friend #2: "Oh! I thought we might go bowling!"

Cece could not believe her ears and burst out laughing!

The woman who said she thought she might go bowling is 67 years old. She also has a horse on her under seat bag. When Cece asked her about the horse, she replied, "That's my horse power." And so it was!

Cece was the support vehicle for a group of people who were riding with Team in Training and are training for the Honolulu century at the end of September. As Cece took stock of the group of riders at a rest stop, she realized that she was the youngest at 53. The median age of the other 5 riders was 64! Cece decided right on the spot that the middle and late 60's is the new 40. Lately she is surrounded by people in this age bracket and she is awed by their fitness and superb health and stamina. These are people who have worked hard to take care of their minds, bodies and spirits and have chosen an active healthy life style in order to prolong their health and happiness.

And so it was that on this day, Cece supported this group of 60+ year olds on a 75 mile cycling adventure that would take them almost to the bowels of hell and back...she says this not because they had any trouble at all...just that it was so blasted hot with no shade that it certainly felt like they must be approaching the heat of hell itself!

Down the Bosque trail they went. Then up up up Rio Bravo to the Snakes....7% grade climb anyone?

Then they cycled all the way down to Los Lunas with a few loops and dalliances along the way. Cows anyone (In honor of Ellie's Bovineophobia!)

All along the way there were flat flats and more flats! There was so much debris on the roads that the tires really took a beating. Clark got many flats, but his last flat ended him up with some good Karma. A man and his wife saw that Clark had a flat and stopped to help him giving him a floor pump. It turns out that this man's brother had leukemia and Clark, being an oncologist, had helped his brother and admitted him into the hospital. A chance meeting? Good Karma in action as Catherine said!

There was not a drop of shade to be had, but Ona took a breather on the cool grass in Los Lunas and a much deserved rest break!


And Finally, we had to tell all the cows, that Ellie was not with us on the ride today!

It was a difficult ride in the difficult heat , but all had a wonderful time and did a fantastic job coping with the heat in their own ways and pulling off a tricky ride that was a great challenge!

Her Time Has Come! Iron Will in the Water.

2011-08-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

Diana Nyad is in the water at last...swimming from Cuba to the Florida Keys. As of this writing she is 22.5 hours into the swim which has the potential for 60+ hours of swimming. Good Luck Diana! You can check her blog for updates at this link.

Succeed or Fail on Your Own Terms

2011-07-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

When you are out there cycling it is you, your bike and the road. It is a challenge as to how you will handle yourself in any given situation. You are alone. If you fall and get hurt, how do you handle that? If you have a mechanical...how will you cope with that? If the weather changes, are your prepared for that? If you have a steep up how do your propel yourself up that? No one will save you, rescue you and fix the problems. It is you, your bike and the road.

Cece has had this experience several times while on the bike. Once during a century she struggled to continue after her damaged shoulder gave out at mile 47 after she was hit and run. She pushed on.. pedal stroke after pedal stroke as the pain got worse. She realized, it was she and her bike and the road...just the three of them...stroke after stroke. What would she do? How was the pain speaking to her? How would she go on? In this situation, she was able to make it until mile 71 and then got off her bike sobbing because the shoulder had collapsed and she could hold on to the handle bars no longer.

A friend told Cece a story about a fall he had on the bike and how he could barely hold on after his wrists were injured and he still had 8 miles to go to get home. Somehow he was able to ride those 8 miles and get to his vehicle. How did he conquer this pain and move on? It was he,his bike and the road.

On a 96 degree day in Moab during the Moab century tour after almost being thrown off a cliff by a huge RV, Cece had to go on to finish her ride. It was so deadly hot and there was no water on the course. Her friend had collapsed and she was left to ride many miles by herself in the heat without any water. She knew that she had to go on. She had to finish. It was Cece , her bike and the road.

And so, as Cece watched Cadel Evans in the Tour power up those hills and set the pace and pull the peloton up the Alps, Cece had this feeling that for Cadel it was he, his bike and the road. He as making his destiny. He was determined that he would do it and he would succeed...and he was determined...she could see it on his face. This is what he had trained for...come for...worked for.. In the time trail chute, he was in a zen like state,. He was focused, he was still and he was breathing in a paced way. He
was in the zone. Cadel knew what he had to do and he was reviewing that in his mind.

As she watched him in the time trial, Cece was cheering him on...shouting at her computer,clapping her hands, shouting out affirmations, telling him to stick to his plan....to take risks, but not thoughtless ones...and as she watched him, it was another situation of man, the bike and the road, No one else could do it. It was succeed or fail right there...on two wheels spinning.

Santa Fe Triathlon..or..."Where is Ayoub?"

2011-07-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

When Cece and Stephanie arrived in Sante Fe for the triathlon, they were surprised to meet so many friends...some they had not seen for over 3 years!

Melissa

Ayoub

But it was not long until people started to come up to Cece and ask her if she was racing and if Ayoub was on her team again this year. People were scoping out the competition. You see Ayoub is an elite Moroccan runner who is here in New Mexico training and staying with one of Cece's friends. He was a ringer for their team coming in with a low 15 minute 5K...which he himself was not pleased with...the rest of us were...but he was not! LOL. People were very nervous that he would blow them out of the water once again. Cece assured them that she was a spectator this year and she had no Ayoub and she watched each person suck in air in relief!

The fastest runner came in at 17+ and was on a team. Cece watched them the entire day.. The cyclist lost time for the team, but the swimmer made up time in the pool and they were able to come in 2nd place overall and first place for the co-ed teams. It was nice to watch the race and cheer her friends on. Cece has the competitive bug once again and she is currently recruiting friends for the all women's tri in Rio Rancho at the end of August. It is called Live , Love , Tri.

Everyone did well and had a great time!

Stephanie

Little Boy Down...A Cautionary Tale

2011-07-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

As Cece left her office on Friday afternoon, she was later leaving than usual and was faced with rush hour traffic in the city. What to do? She contemplated the various routes she could take home. Too much traffic. Too much construction. That road is a parking lot at this hour. So, she finally settled on going home the scenic route on Rio Grande Blvd....much slower, but more restful.

As she drove north on Rio Grande, as she approached Matthew and the COOP, she noticed a little boy half in the road, lying on his back with his bike flattened out alongside him. Was he hit by a car? The little boy was not moving. Cece called 911 and reported this and worked to turn her car around given the median in the middle of the road.

Once on the scene she saw the boy move and sit up. She got out of her car and spoke to the boy. He wanted water. Cece only had hot water in her camel back bottle in her car. But, he said he wanted that. It turned out that this was Johnny. He looked about 9 years old, but he was a 17 year old boy with spina bifida. As they waited for the paramedics and his auntie to come, she discovered that he had not eaten and had had nothing to drink as he rode his bike in the 97 degree heat in Albuquerque in the late afternoon sun. His eyes were bleary and not well focused and he poured water over his head. The paramedics arrived and it turned out that he was exhausted and dehydrated and had heat stroke and had collapsed on the road because he just could not go on to get home.

Cece will never forget her ride in the Moab Century Tour last year when it was 96 degrees and there was no more water on the course with 20 miles to go on the ride back in to the finish. It was extremely difficult riding and many went down.

This is a good reminder to ride early in the morning if possible when there is this type of heat...to eat and hydrate well and be prepared with more water than you think you will need.

Girls and Legs!

2011-07-03T15:25:00.000-07:00

Can you guess whose legs these are? The other morning when we met, we asked this man on a commuter bike to take a pic of us and he asked us if we wanted the sexy legs in the pic. Cece told him "just the boobs" and off we went! But today, Cece herself took the legs!

This reminded her of another "leg shot" that was taken pre-century ride when we all decided to wear stillettos or as high as we could for a poignant leg shot!.

And this remidned her of another leg shot that was taken pre-triathlon in Santa Fe.

Anyway, this am we took another picture too. Ellie and Stephanie did a long climbing route and Cece and Jamey did a casual talk and bond ride with a few hills thrown in for good measure. The friends all met togehter at first then the groups split. What fun!

Here is the perfect triathlon team!The Shark will need more coffee though!

First Stage of the Tour with Street View

2011-07-01T04:02:00.000-07:00

Cece is by no means a techno expert...and she does not have cable...so she has to resort to her computer most days to watch the Tour! It was with great fascination that she discovered that at Steephill TV online, she can get Google earth and also a street view of the stages of the Tour De France! She was particularly fascinated by the street view which shows a map and then you can hit "Play" and you can ride along the exact route that the Tour will! So you get to "ride along" with the big guys from your armchair!Also, you can move the "little man" on the screen to, for example, just see what the climb looks like from the saddle. Here is an example from the First stage:

<p>&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;lt&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Cycling the Alps &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Streetview&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; Tours&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% yellow;" class="goog-spellcheck-word"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;lt&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/span&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;</p>

The Tour Starts this Saturday!

2011-06-30T03:58:00.000-07:00

You can watch the Tour De France live on Steephill TV. When you go to their site you will see a long list of live coverage options. They also feature profiles of each stage and historical backgrounds of the towns that are passed through.> Cece really likes this because it is like taking a virtual vacation.

Here is a teaser from the Tour:

"Cutting Off the Nose to Save the Penis"

2011-06-29T04:24:00.000-07:00

Cece read a very interesting article in the NY Times about a new adaptation to cyclist's saddles which decreases erectile dysfunction. Here is a picture of one of the saddles that have been tested out by many bike cops across the country. This may sound odd, but the fact is that putting your soft spots, whether male or female on the tip of the saddle nose...is painful and causes numbness. So, the article describes several research articles which are graphic to the mind and a bit funny...and mentioned several saddles variations that many bike cops have tried.

Anyone out there who has a serious problem like this and rides,knows this is not funny problem! Check this article out...you might be interested in trying out one of the saddles so you can get some relief and begin to enjoy riding again!

World Bicycle Relief Teams up with SRAM and +3 Network!

2011-06-28T03:15:00.000-07:00

You can join Cece and The Fat Cyclist in joining the Plus 3 Network. When you log in your exercise...be it cycling, yoga, housework, swimming, walking, carpooling and much much more, SRAM will donate money to purchase bicycles for women and children in rural countries so they can ride their bikes to school or to the Dr's office or to get food. You can go to the Fat Cyclist blog and see exactly how to join. He spells it out beautifully there.

As cyclists, we all ride for different reasons...but the woman below rides to feed her children. Others ride to get to school. This is Cece's favorite organization to give back to and here is an easy way to give which requires no money...just your sweat equity!

To join the Plus 3 Network! It is free! It is Fun! You are supporting a worthwhile organization! From the Plus 3 Network web site, here is information from their ABOUT page:

Mileage Rewards for Health, Fitness & Fun

Plus 3 Network is a mobile, GPS-enhanced social network that connects people with corporate sponsors and worthwhile causes on a lasting journey of personal fitness and charitable giving.

Making It Count

Plus 3 makes the world a healthier and better place by helping its members lead healthier better lives. Plus 3 Network will count millions of daily rides, runs, walks, or swims as mileage-rewarded fundraising. We are the social network that actively manages, motivates, validates, and rewards our members for participating in fitness activities. Plus 3 links our members with corporate sponsors and non-profits in a shared goal of worthwhile giving. Making It Count is our phrase for this process of bringing people, causes, and sponsors together for the good of everyone.

Each time you work out, you earn "Kudos" which turns into a weighted amount of exercise depending on the exercise,time and distance. In a week, Cece has earned over $11.00 toward a bicycle that costs $120.00. So you can see how quickly a bicycle can be earned!

Info about World Bicycle Relief:

Imagine if you lived in a very rural country and you did not have a car and had to walk everywhere you went. It might take you 4 hours to walk the 12 miles to your school! Or it might take you days to walk to the nearest health care clinic.

World Bicycle Relief is a non-profit agency that gives bicycles to people to help them to be more mobile in very rural poor areas of this world. Their mission is to provide access to independence and livelihood through The Power of Bicycles.

Founded by SRAM Corporation and Trek Bicycles in 2005 and supported by many individuals, foundations and corporations, World Bicycle Relief specializes in large-scale, comprehensive bicycle programs by providing supply chain management, technical knowledge and logistics expertise to poverty relief and disaster assistance initiatives.

Compared to walking, bicycles represent an enormous leap in productivity and access to health care, education and economic development opportunities. The simple, sustainable nature of bicycles empowers individuals, their families and their communities.

Here are examples of what a bicycle can do to leverage human ability:
* Bicycles increase carrying capacity, five times as much as compared to walking;
* Bicycles increase the distance a person can travel by four times compared to walking;
* Bicycles save time, approximately three hours for every ten miles traveled compared to walking

If you feel so called, please join the +3 Network and join Team Fatty and Cece in raising money to give bicycles that will change lives and communities.

Our 47th State is Missing: Part 2

2011-06-27T03:27:00.000-07:00

Well, after Cece finally got her luggage checked, she found her way to her flight gate only to find out the plane was running late. No problem. It ended up just about 15 minutes late and they boarded shortly thereafter!
Cece entrusted herself , this time, to carry bagels back to a friend...but would she be able to hold onto them...or would she pass them out like she did the biscotti on the way over?

Once everyone was seated on the plane, as it sat at the gate, an official came onto the plane and told them 18 people had to leave the plane or else the plane would remain sitting at the gate until 18 people got off…however long that took, that is how long they would sit at the gate…it seems the plane was too heavy.
So there we all sat, contemplating our schedules, agendas, reason we were flying in the first place…and immediately 3 people got off…15 more to go. In the next hour of hot sweaty breathless interior plane air, 15 more people got off and finally we were set….or where we? People were angry. People escalated. People threatened and cursed…mostly at the flight attendants. But. it was not their fault. It was the weather.
The plane pulled out of the gate and taxied for a bit and stopped. The pilot came on and told us that we were 22nd in line and that we would be off in a little while. Then, the airport closed. Nothing went up or down….and we sat…and we sat…and we sat. We sat for three full hours in one place on the tarmac. Looking out, we could see lots of other planes, parked…no one was coming or going at all.
People escalated even more as they realized that they would not make their connections. They threatened. They worried. They panicked. They drank. Cece’s seat mates asked for vodka….she asked for her drug of choice…coffee. It was ugly.

Cece is now certain that flight attendants must take mandatory classes in counseling! Watching the ways they handled all these upset passengers was amazing…including setting limits in no short terms about how much abuse they would take.

The Casablanca Plane:

And so it came to pass, that Cece missed her connecting flight and ended up in Denver at an ungodly hour. She was able to catch the last plane out and was ushered through the passenger gate to her plane. As she walked and walked down hallways and alley ways into the bowels of the airport, Cece wondered, “Where is her plane?” She walked down fight upon flight of steps. Where was she going? Finally, she saw her gate number 73 …handwritten on a piece of paper that was taped and flapping in the open breeze way of an open doorway. She showed her boarding pass and was told to get on her plane. Cece looked out. Once she left this doorway…she would walk down a gang plank and onto the runway. There she saw several tiny planes….she asked “Which is my plane?” The attendant pointed “That one” “Which one?”, Cece asked. Again the attendant said,. “That one” Now mind you…”that one” could have meant any one of a collection of planes that Cece considered way too small for her liking. Finally she said, “Tell me the color of my plane.” The woman heaved a sigh and said “Blue and white.” Cece looked and there was her plane. It looked like a Casablanca era vintage plane to her tired bleary eyes. The stairs to the plane folded out of the doorway and she had to walk up steep high steps and into the plane. Once she made it in, she felt like a sardine in a can. Several of them were packed in there tightly.

Well, needless to say, Cece made it back in one piece, with bagels in hand...very tired, but none the worse for wear. Really, the airlines need to have better and more efficient contingency plans for when things go wrong and Cece wrote several email to United’s customer service her first morning back to tell them just that. Perhaps there will be a part 3 post given their responses to her email….. or not.

Who Took the 47th State? Part 1

2011-06-26T11:40:00.000-07:00

A few years back, Cece had an incident with her luggage on United Airlines. Since then, she has carried on her luggage as often as possible! What was the incident you ask?
Well, her luggage was lost for 6 days while she was on vacation. When she called United Airlines baggage claim, she discovered that they had outsourced the baggage claim to Mumbai, India. When Cece heard the responder and asked politely if they were overseas, her reply was "No! We are not overseas. You are overseas!" Harumph!
The person answering the call kept telling her that her luggage was caught in a huge traffic jam (for 6 days?) on the Long Island Expressway...but since Cece just got off the L.I.E. she knew that this was incorrect.
Anyway, 6 days later, her luggage was delivered...just in time for her to leave and go back to New Mexico!
But United does do other good things...like make it easy to check in for a flight. Cece did this effortlessly...so since she has "luggage issues," from her past travels,she decided to check her luggage in advance. Somehow Cece's luggage is 5 inches too big and so she could not carry it on this time!
Checking her luggage, she pushed all the correct buttons on her computer and was typing in her credit card address when and all of a sudden the United Airlines system did not recognize that New Mexico was a State! The machine kept telling her that she had typed in an invalid state. New Mexico is not a State? It became the 47th state in 1912! United has not kept up with the times! They are almost 100 years behind. So, Cece was unable to check her baggage because our 47th state was missing!

Part 2 of the travel saga will be coming on Monday.

A Meal After a Day on the Bike!

2011-06-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

Meal? Snack? You Decide! It's got everything...protein, carbs and fat as well as 333 calories!

Stephanie and Cece took a scenic bike route out Loma Largo to Corrales and up to what we cyclists call “The Bike Magnet.”
This is the stopping place for every cyclist that passes by and the gas station, convenient store and restroom is a nice stopping place after you get there uphill.
After that climb and then another, they stopped by the Flying Star for breakfast. Cece knew just what she was going to have so she could stay on her meal plan: Their Breakfast Sundae! She has been making this for herself ever since. Here is the recipe that can be easily adapted to suit your needs.
Large wine glass
1 cup fat free plain yogurt
1/2 banana cut length wise into quarters
Blueberries, strawberries, honey dew melon and kiwi.
2/3 c Kashi Go Lean Berry cereal.
Put yogurt into wine glass. Sweeten if desired. Put bananas in the 4 directions.Place kiwi inside the glass so it shows on the outside. Add all fruit. Push down into glass. Add 2/3 cup granola. Top with a marachino cherry if desired! Enjoy!

The Clam Shell and "Wrap Rage!"

2011-06-16T03:54:00.000-07:00

Cece grew up on Long Island and as a girl learned the fine art of digging clams and mussels. If you have ever tired to pry open a clam shell, you will know that it takes patience and finesse…and a specific type of knife! And so it was, that Cece discovered recently that the packaging that her GPS came in what is called “A Clam shell.”
Cece is not sure if you have read her previous post on trying to get her new GPS out of its packaging. To summarize:
“Well. I got my GPS home and began to open the boxes and packaging. That took me almost 2 hours…yes, I did say 2 hours. Have you ever tried to open one of those theft resistant plastic packages? I contemplated calling the bomb squad to blow it open…but I kept telling myself to be a big girl and struggle through it…and that this packaging would not get the best of me! I contemplated using my teeth, but my mother told me never to use my teeth as a tool! I tried knives,…both serrated and regular, a screw driver, scissors, a butter knife to try to pry it open and finally after several attempts with a serrated mega shear….I was able to almost sheer it open,…and glory be, I did not cut myself in the process!”
Sometimes when you spend hours being frustrated by a plastic box, you think that you are the only person with this problem…but Cece is finding out, as usual, that she is not unique! Evidentely, many people need to resort to dastardly methods to get things out of those clam shells. And, there is even a word for this….”wrap rage!”
But thankfully, there is a solution on the horizon! These clam shell packages are very expensive. They are petroleum based… so when the price of oil goes up, so do the prices of the clam shells! They are also not eco friendly and of course they provide the most calm person with “Wrap rage.” Many have complained and companies are now trying to develop a more environmental and soothing “green” wrapper to put these theft worthy products in. Some ideas include going back to paper and putting a laminate on top so that it is hard to tear and will deter shoplifters.
So, we can only hope that new products will continue to be developed that will make it much easier to unwrap that wonderful gift that you were given…and put a smile on your face instead of having hours of wrap rage!

Snow in June and Catching up with Baby Ducks

2011-06-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

Cece met a new friend in the parking lot at the Alamdea Open Space and off they cycled! They are still remodeling down there and Cece now sees what she thinks will be a beautiful pond and a walking and running track as well as enhanced parking! Each time you are there, something else changes. Today the entrance into the bosque was in an entirely different place! Change occurs!

It was clear right away to Cece that her cleats had taken a beating yesterday given all that walking. She kept popping out of her pedals! Not Good! First thing on the agenda, new cleats. But the good news is that her back tire held and was fine for the entire ride of 21 miles! She had changed out her under seat bag and had gone to the bowels of her closet to find different shorts...so she was good to go. No holes, no flats...no problems! Maybe she should design a T-Shirt with that new slogan!

Anyway, what Cece calls " beloved" is the Bosque. She just loves to be there. Today Cece and her new friend saw lizards and a very interested coyote standing on the side of the pavement sniffing the air. She wonders who is the coyote in her life right now! She has some ideas! : )

But the real reason that she travelled the bosque this am was to check on a family of baby ducks she has been keeping her eyes on! She first saw them there when they were just learning to swim and still had their downy feathers. They were very funny because they were not quite sure how to paddle under water and frequently ran across the water and then kerplunk...back into the water, they flopped.

During this first glance, they were from beak to butt, as long as Cece's index finger.Very small. The mother duck was teaching them to swim and she tutored them to swim a zig- zag across the acequia...so back and forth they went. When they got a ways down,...the current became too strong for them and she honked and they swam back to her!

Father was watching on this side in case of emergencies.

So today, when the new friends were cycling south, they stopped and they did not see any baby ducks. But when returning north (above) Cece asked if she minded that they check again. The friend did not mind...so off they stopped. Well, Cece looked south. No birds... but when she looked north...she caught them swimming and shouted "Look! There they are !" in evidently.... her New York Holler...because the ducks took cover! At least some did! LOL!

Can you see the baby ducks in the upper half of this picture? There are 2 visible, out of the 4. Mother and the other 2 are hiding in the rushes on the right upper half of the picture.

It was a wonderful morning ride with "No Holes, No flats, No problems!" You might wonder about the snow in June? Well, the old cottonwoods are releasing their pods and fur and all along the sides of the bosque, it looks like snow has piled up! Quite an amazing site for New Mexico in June!

There are No Donuts In Hell: Part 2

2011-06-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

Cece has been climbing lately. For a big girl on a bike , climbing is hard. All the skinny girls pass her. She remembers when Santa Clause , in female form., passed her singing jingle bells while going up hill in full suit and boots...and that really got her mad!

Even so, Cece has been climbing again.....and doing some difficult ones at that...but today she ventured forth with one of those skinny climbing girls and climbed hell's hill. Why does she call it that?

Well, there comes a time on the bike when you meet the devil. In any sport there is that moment. In yoga it is when your teacher tells you, ":Well go ahead and die then...." in cycling it is when you are going uphill and you wonder if you go much slower whether you will just fall right over. There is no song in your mind, only the burning of your in breath and the heaviness of your legs trying to turn over the peddles. This is when you know you have met the devil. You are tempted to stop...to give up...who cares...and you tell yourself many thoughts....you just want the pain to stop...so what are you going to do? Will you quit or push through?

And so Cece organized a ride through what she calls Hells Hill.She rode with her friend Stephanie who when she saw the hill said, AH!! My beloved hill." See the difference? It is the hill that approaches the Star Center in Rio Rancho entering from Paseo Vulcan. In the pic above she was the she devil a top that hill one year and encouraged people upward...even one man wanted donuts and she growled,. "There are no donuts in hell!"

Well, just as they made it to the top of Hell's hill and began to come down, Cece started to have a series of difficulties that were almost beyond her control. First her under seat bag tore a hole in her shorts and skin was exposed. and each time she pedaled her inner thigh skin pinched and she yelled, "OWWWW!" She quickly discovered that if she did not pedal she would not get pinched...but that only took her so far......so she yelled to Stephanie to pull over. Cece thought she could take her socks off and put them in her upper inner thigh..,.here forth to be called the crotch area..... but when she discussed this with Stephanie, Stephanie suggested she use one of her arm warmers instead,. Cece said,"You don't want your arm warmer in my crotch do you?" Stephanie said "Well I do have a washing machine you know!" What a friend!

So, in the middle of the highway with all kinds of trucks and equipment drivers going by, Cece stuck her hand down her pants and adjusted the arm warmer into her crotch. She adjusted and adjusted it to get it just so...and commented that many passers by were looking....but what can you do ? Just say "Oh Well."

Off they went..none the worse for wear. The arm warmer was working perfectly! Down a nice hill and then up a tricky one....and as Cece arrived on a flat section at last, she realized she had a back flat. She yelled ahead to Stephanie and she came rolling back. They tried various cartridges they had to pump the tire up and it carried them a bit farther, but suffice it to say that the tire would not hold air.

Stephanie rode ahead to get the car. Cece asked if she wanted her keys so she could drive her SUV back (Steph has a little Audi) but Stephanie said no and took off. Cece started walking up the last long hill...with her bike and in her cleats. There is nothing quite like walking uphill in cleats...you are walking on your heels like a duck. The sun was hot and the hill was long and Cece walked on! All of a sudden back came Stephanie asking for Cece's keys! She had forgotten she had her mountain bike in the car too! So off she went again. Cece walked on.

Just as Cece reached the top of the last long hill, Stephanie arrived in Cece's car. They loaded up , and off they went back to the aquatic center in Rio Rancho, their home base for this ride.

Well, all was well in the long run and the two friends laughed at their unpredictable adventure in the early morning! They are already planning their next ride!

The Love Garden

2011-06-12T17:45:00.000-07:00

Today was the big event we have been cooking for! Yun's dad's 80th birthday party! Even though we have the big Wallow fire still burning strongly, the air quality today seemed surprisingly good although you can see the lingering smoke in the air in the picture below.

Yun's idea about the love garden was an idea that people did love and her dad was gifted with lavender, rosemary, a beautiful spreading poppy and some chocolate daisies, and many others. This picture is very early on at the party.

Yun's dad cooked up some delicious eggs rolls and Chinese noodles and people brought in lots of food.

Everyone agreed that Jamey's lasagne rocked the house!

At high noon, Yun toasted her dad with her friends and wished him happy birthday in Chinese! Everyone was happy!

It was a wonderful day with friend's sharing food and love! What could be better?

Oddles of Noodles.... or ....Cooking with a Friend!

2011-06-12T06:40:00.000-07:00

Cece and Yun met cycling. Cece and Jamey met on the yoga mat and then discovered they both cycled...so it seemed good that Jamey and Cece should cook together for Yun's Dad's party even though Yun and Jamey had not met yet. Yun and Cece already knew that Jamey would be an instant friend!

So, the new friends planned to make homemade sauce, a cranberry apple pie and then some lasagne. But when Jamey arrived, she had on a beautiful white skirt. Cece thought…,”hugh! This is not going to go well while making sauce.” She envisioned the beautiful skirt spattered with bubbling spots of sauce. NOT. Cece had a remedy! She dug into her pot holder drawer…way down at the bottom and pulled out her ex-ex boyfriend’s apron that he had left behind. Jamey put in on and was ready to roll!

Jamey flirted with the idea of writing a food blog called “Learning to cook at 45″ but Cece thinks, that Jamey may be underestimating her cooking skills. She seemed to do very well in the kitchen! It was Cece who made the errors…forgetting this, and forgetting that….all the while saying “Don’t worry, it will not make much difference!”
Anyway…..they got the sauce a cookin’ and then made the pie….then they started cooking the lasagne noodles and Oh MY! There were oodles of noodles! They had noodles coming out of their ears. They looked at each other …and tried to figure out what to do with all these noodles….hmmmm….neither could think of a thing…except to take a picture!

They had a happy day cooking up a storm and they will have even a better day eating all the goodies they made. Here is a pic of the apple cranberry pie that they made!

Apples and cranberries in!

Finished pie.

Voila!

The New Mexico Cyclist's Blessing: "I Hope the Air is Good For You!"

2011-06-11T07:36:00.000-07:00

Cece received a call from her friend Catherine early this morning asking if she was going to ride with the team this morning. Cece was not sure about whether the ride was on or not given the air quality from the Wallow Fire. Since she had not heard back, she decided to go about her day...she had a lot of shopping and cooking to do to prepare for a cooking lesson this evening and a party tomorrow for Yun's dad's 80th birthday!

It turns out that the team was starting from the exact location that Cece and Jamey had started from on Thursday and Cece commented to Catherine that she thought the air quality was better in the Northeast heights although her asthma was still kicking up a bit from her Thursday ride. Catherine was unsure whether they would ride or not. Cece is thinking that because we have "the box" here in Albuquerque, that it effects the air quality even worse. " The Albuquerque Box is a weather phenomenon where the lowest winds are moving in one direction and the higher level winds are moving in another. More specifically, in a perfect example of the Albuquerque Box, the high winds are from the south while the low winds are from the north."

As Cece, was saying goodbye to Catherine, she wished her the newly developed New Mexico cyclist's blessing...."I hope the air is good for you!"

The Wallow Fire and Cycling!

2011-06-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, the Wallow Fire in Arizona is sending its ash and soot into the New Mexico air. Just tonight, the fire is only 1/2 mile from the New Mexico border. Here is a YouTube video about it for those of you that are not in New Mexico! There are air quality warnings abounding...and so Cece and her friends were careful in deciding whether to ride this morning or not. They noticed that the air quality is best in the morning...by afternoon it is intolerable.

So, the friends decided to ride....well a few did...and a few decided not to given the smokey air. Cece has not given up on the Leg Burner...and today she did curse a lot ! So it ended up that only Cece and Jamey rode this am. Here is a picture of Jamey taking a picture of Cece who is taking a picture of her! Girls!

OK! Here is what Jamey really looks like!
Of course, Cece always has to take a picture at the top of the Piedra Lisa Trail head...because she is thrilled that she made it up. And today was no different...except that when she looked out onto the city from her perch on the mountain precipice, this is what she saw.....

SMOKE! See that ridge of dirty smoke that is hanging over the city? Although the air quality seemed good in the Northeast Heights, evidently it was not sooo good. Within an hour of finishing their ride, Cece started coughing! Her asthma was kicking up! Inhaler time. Cece learned that just because she cannot see the particles, they are still in the air. Tonight she is recovering quite well and wondering if she will ride again on Saturday or if she will put her bike up on the trainer?

Chinese Dumplings And the Leg Burner!

2011-06-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

Ah! The Sunday Morning Leg Burner! The famous ride that always makes Cece curse....although this time she just moaned and sang Johnny Cash out loud... and then she sang it in her mind after she could no longer talk because she was breathing so heavy! But she digresses....
It started out to be a beautiful early morning .....

This ride for Cece is just a "get up the next hill" kind of ride...with "little spitters"as she calls them...short steep hills that kick her butt. But the route is up, up and more up and just as you think you will die from that climb...another begins. Cece and Stephanie were rambling through the neighborhoods between the ups and greeted people out for their early morning walk and told people how cute their little "leashed" dogs were. (Last week when they rode, Cece was chased by a mean little dog biting at her heels...of course she was going uphill at the time!).

They smelled the fragrant flowers that lined the rich property in the north east heights and noticed their beauty. Stephanie stopped to take a pic and Cece was huffing and puffing and knew she needed momentum for the next devilish climb to Piedra Lisa Trail head...so she hissed to Stephanie, "I'm not stopping!" and up she went. 4 or 5 people passed her going up and she did, remarkably, have enough breath to return their greetings. WHEW!

AND YES! That is the top of the Sandia Mountains that you see in the background! We rested, had a drink and took a few pics.....and down hill we flew! On the way down, Cece said, "Yun lives right near here....we should stop in, her dad is in from China!" Well, Steph and Cece were up higher than they realized and made a few false attempts to find Yun's house...but they finally found it and in they rolled. It was still early. Yun opened the door and was surprised and happy to see her two friends. "Well come on in" she giggled, "this is just like in China! People just drop in!"

As Yun opened the door, there was her dad sitting at her kitchen table. "Guess what he's doing, she asked, He is making dumplings!" In they clip clopped in their cleats, sweaty, and with their helmets still on. Clip clop they went over the tiled floors....up the steps to the kitchen, hugging the dad and bowing a greeting. In came the boys...more hugs and talk about making a silencer for a spit ball shooter...go figure.

And then, seconds later the cooking lesson! Cece washed her hands and sat right down and talked to Yun's Dad...He speaks no English and she no Chinese...so you can imagine the conversation! But talk they did imagining that the other understood their every word. Some was demonstration, but much was talking as if the other understood...perhaps the universal cooking language!

In case you do not know, folding dumplings is a precise art. Cece sat and folded dumpling after dumpling and Stephanie and Yun talked. Cece was in the zone trying to perfect her folding.She did not even drink her coffee! Every so often she would show the dumpling to Yun's father and he would comment...and Cece would smile and say that this took a lot of trying to get it right. Finally Stephanie was ready to continue the ride, but Cece had not perfected the folding yet...even after about 50 dumplings. So a few more and Yun pronounced that she had received her Level 1 certificate in dumpling folding which allowed her to teach others to fold dumplings! Much giggling was heard around the kitchen table. More hugs were to be had...and off they rode into the early morning!

Cece had had enough but Stephanie had planned to extend the ride to include her beloved Tramway hill. Not Cece. She is going home to put her body in a hot bath of Epsom salts!

Cece and the Hissing Swan!!

2011-05-26T07:42:00.000-07:00

Now that the weather is getting warmer, Cece is back to her early morning rides! She arrived along the bosque at 6:15 am with her bike and her gear. She pulled into the Open Space and was immediately stopped behind a car. She looked and saw a man who was unlocking a gate. She has been to this spot many times, but as early as she has been here, she has not seen a locked gate that would prevent entrance. She rolled down her window and asked the man about the gate and what time generally it would be unlocked each day. Actually he was early this morning. He usually unlocks at 6:45! He explained that kids had been partying there at night so they lock the gate to keep the party cars out.
The Alameda Open Space is under renovation. They did the trail now they are working on parking. The bull dozers are out and they are flattening the earth. Cece hopes that they will make a huge parking lot. Currently only about 1/3 of the people that used to park there can park there now.

In the meantime, they have moved the porta pottys to along the trail and now they are slanted down hill. Cece feels that she has to hold on for dear life when she is in there…especially in slippery cleats…..but she remembers how much worse it was in a porta potty in Moab during the Century tour when one was precariously perched on a hill overlooking the river and when you shifted, so too did the porta potty…so in the long run, she is very thankful for just a down hill slant! Ahhhh! The things we have to worry about!

Anyway,off Cece went along her beloved bosque trail. She smelled the freshness of the earth and the wildflowers along the way, she greeted many animals…was blessed by a road runner .and she stopped to take in the beauty of water in the desert at Tingley Beach. As she walked her bicycle and herself in, she saw many geese and swans. A very large swan was right near her. As she walked by, Cece said “Good Morning Miss Swan…you are so pretty!” Well, Cece had no idea that swans were mean! This huge swan opened its big mouth and she saw tongue! Not only that. but that tongue hissed at her! Not only that, but the swan lunged at her….Cece was being nice….she was cordial….she was friendly…..Who knew that swans hiss? She was very intimidated by this sudden behavior. In retrospect and having searched about hissing swans, Cece realizes that this is very common when they feel threatened….maybe it was the wheels!
Here is a You Tube, you might enjoy about swans that hiss.

She thinks she is traumatized for life!
Even given the hissing swans, Cece had a wonderful ride in the great outdoors!

Please Check In!

2011-05-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, Cece gets a certain type of email from her women's cycling club Women Riding Well. The email makes Cece's heart skip a beat. The email Cece got this past Thursday morning began like this:

"This morning a cyclist was killed on Tramway. Please send us an email and let us know that you are ok."

This is the dreaded email. It make Cece think of how dangerous cycling can be and it also makes her worry that one of her friends...or someone that she does not even know has been killed by a car while cycling. In
the case this past Thursday, a car seems to have jumped the median and hit the cyclist.

Cece and her friends have attended several ghost bike memorials. A ghost bike is a bike that is placed at or near the crash site to honor the slain cyclist.

"Ghost Bikes are small and somber memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street. A bicycle is painted all white and locked to a street sign near the crash site, accompanied by a small plaque. They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists' right to safe travel.

The first ghost bikes were created in St. Louis, Missouri in 2003, and they have since appeared in over 150 locations throughout the world. For those who create and install the memorials, the death of a fellow bicyclist hits home. We all travel the same unsafe streets and face the same risks; it could just as easily be any one of us. Each time we say we hope to never have to do it again -- but we remain committed to making these memorials as long as they are needed."

Albuquerque has several of these memorials around town....and several.... is several too many.

The Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

2011-05-08T06:45:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, Cece was given a huge 600 page book with the above named title by Siddartha Mukherjee. Cece discovered the other day, that he has won the Pulitzer prize for writing this book! So, when she was asked to give a talk to the Leukemia Lymphoma's cycling team on Saturday, she immediately thought she might talk about this book.

Honestly, the book was overwhelming, emotional and very medical, and she was unable to finish it, but still it was one of the most fascinating books she has read in a long while....for the sheer fact that it informed her about where the field of cancer research has come from...all the way back to discovering tumors of cancer in Egyptian mummies!

This team in front of her and the ones she has ridden on in the past, are all raising money to fund blood cancer research and leukemia was the predominate cancer in the book. Cece wanted the team to hear about this book so they could "make real" the efforts that the raising of money to fund research and their efforts on the bike were realizing!

As she looked to her right, as she spoke to the team, she saw THIS man, nodding his head in understanding. This is Dr. Clark Haskins who is an oncologist here in Albuquerque. He is one of the beloved Dr.s that rides with the cycling team and is in the trenches every day treating people with cancer. At a rest area, Cece commented on his "bones" cycling jersey and he replied, "You should have seen me on Cinco De Mayo! I had on a big sombrero and a serape and I was all decked out." Cece said, I bet you got people laughing."

He stated, "I have to make people laugh!"

Loving Our Wheels!

2011-05-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

Cece was out today being the support vehicle for Team in Training as they trained for their upcoming century in Lake Tahoe. At a rest stop at the top of a long climb, she met these little boys and their sister and Cece thought, "Is this how we learned to love wheels?"

The kids were fascinated by the bikes that came into the rest stop. When they had a moment and stopped playing with THEIR wheels, they told Cece that they could pop wheelies and ride with no hands....ah the making of a cyclist begins to take form!

A Girl With Wheels!

2011-04-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

On this beautiful clear Saturday morning before Easter, Cece, set off to revisit her beloved Bosque Trail along the Rio Grande River in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has actually been waiting all winter for this visit and she chose the most perfect day to do so. The path had been re-paved over the later winter into early spring and she thought immediately about a post she had read by the Fat Cyclist called "Fatty's Inferno" Fatty had a dream that he ended up in cycling hell and had to choose certain paths with various road surfaces. Here is a short excerpt:

“This is amazing,” I said. “This is the most incredible pavement I have ever seen, much less ridden on.”
“And you shall never ride its equal again. This place has the best riding surface in the entire universe.”
“But I’m confused,” I said, with a confused look on my face. “You told me before that I was in hell, and then you take me on a place I’d gladly ride in for eternity. I can see there are long flats, curvy roads, challenging climbs, and fun descents. The road’s perfect and so is the weather. Everyone looks incredibly happy. How can you possibly call this ‘hell’?”

Cece would find that out later....but anyway, as she was enthralled by the perfect pavement, she cruised along and got reacquainted with the land. She was spinning away not concerned about much. She watched the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners grace by as they trained at altitude. She watched the river glide by. She was not trying to go fast or working on any of her skills...she just rode along and appreciated the earth! It occurred to her that this is the zen of cycling....just going along effortlessly so that you felt you were not even moving at all....very still, very quiet...

She arrived at Tingley beach and took notice to see any changes since she had last been here...her favorite little train was in place,

the birds, the men fishing with their sons...check...all was in its place.

But then, in the silence, you know,......there is never a dull moment. A man cycled by, "Are you the race official?" he asked Cece. "No," she replied, What race?" "There is a triathlon along this course and they will be coming by at any moment. I thought you were a race official." Cece rode a bit farther along the path and was stopped by guess who? The race official. She was told that she better go back north and try to out run the triathlon because after their run south, they were cycling north all the way to the Montano.

Off Cece rode, scurrying north to try to out run the triathletes. She made it, but ended up in a pile of runners from who knows where,...she thought she was in a crowd in Grand Central Station. Runners going north and south taking up the entire heavenly pavement...maybe this was the hell that Fatty mentioned? She shouted 'Bike back, going North" and hoped the sea of runners would part....she slowed to a crawl. Where did all these runners come from? The triathlon was the other direction. No one had race numbers on. Whew! She made it without incident.

She crossed under a tunnel on a blind turn and all of a sudden she saw a cyclist coming at her looking over his shoulder in the opposite direction......he was barreling right for her....no where to escape...only tunnel on one side, river on the other, She shouted " HEY<> HEY HEY" and the guy snapped out of it just in time to swerve and almost end up in the river himself. Too close for comfort.

The day started out so quietly! So restful.....well, she finally made it in one piece back to the Alameda open space parking lot.....and met friends and petted dogs and met a cute army paratrooper guy who had just run 8 miles....and was a newbie cyclist...he said, "If you see me on the trail again, don't pass me by!"

Oh! She won't!

Wind and Cycling. The Wicked Witch of the West Weather!

2011-04-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

Do you remember that picture of the Wicked Witch of the West (Miss Gulch) cycling in the midst of the beginnings of the Tornado? Later she appeared in the midst of the tornado at Dorothy's window screaming out her scary cackle? Then.... add in the witchy music that became her signature sound! Cycling and the Wind! URGH!

Well, the winds today in Albuquerque have reminded Cece of this scene from The Wizard of Oz! It is spring in Albuquerque and that means allergies and tremendous winds that spread dirt and pollen everywhere! Yes! Everywhere. You can look out your window and all you see is dark amber colored air because the adobe dirt has infiltrated the clean air....dirt is flying and grit can get in every open orifice! Not a pleasant picture of mostly scenic and bucolic Albuquerque...but the first time you even unexpectedly get sand your teeth or in your ears, you will stay indoors from then on in these conditions.

And so it was the Cece lamented not being on her bike on this warm, but too windy day for cyclists. She even saw a car with a bike on its carrier on top of the car and she wondered if it would blow off!

Well, good thing she still has her date with Troy Jacobson...he is so faithful! Irregardless of the weather, he appears on her DVD saying "push ,push push." some things never fail!

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

2011-03-19T15:47:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-03-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

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!

2011-03-13T17:10:00.000-07:00

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!

The Cycle Eggspress! Breakfast on Wheels!

2011-03-06T04:24:00.000-08:00

Breakfast is Cece’s favorite meal of the day,….and she loves eggs! She considers them the ultimate in comfort food. So, when she came across an article on Bill Wurtzel in the NY Times, she was thrilled to see his creative take on breakfasts! Oh! How much fun!

He has written a children’s book called , “Breakfast for Claire.” Claire is his daughter and he seems to get up and cook breakfast for Claire and his wife every weekend! What a man! Cece is lusting!

The goal of this book is to encourage children and adults to eat more healthy meals and to decrease childhood obesity. Check out his web site for more delicious breakfasts! His site is not fully running yet, but you will be able to see several of his breakfast creations!

Meanwhile, Cece is still spending time with Troy Jacobson indoors on her trainer and dealing with the "hell" of rehabbing her knee and shoulder. She is getting though it,.....and the eggs help!

Cooking Up a PhD Dissertation: 50 Plates at a Time!

2011-03-05T04:40:00.000-08:00

Well, you might wonder what cooking and writing a dissertation have in common. Well, we are about to find out from the Two Whos’ friend ” The Prairie Girl ” who is a cyclist, chef , scholar and friend. She just started her own blog. It is called the Prairie Dissertator . Her goal is to defend her dissertation by May 6th 2011 and in the meanwhile cook up 50 plates of food that are new to her that she has never cooked up before! The Whos know that cooking soothes the soul and we think our friend knows this too. With all the stressors involved in teaching in a large university, doing field work, creating research designs and dealing with 20 somethings who know it all, the Prairie Girl decided that she would quiet down on the prairie, hunker down to concentrate on her dissertation and cook and write! What could be better?
Here is a photo of her Balkan Pie. The Whos cannot wait to try this. It is made with Filo dough.
Go to the Prairie Dissertator for the recipe and to learn about her fieldwork and her research.

Dream Vacation #2 : Cycling in the Yucatan!

2011-02-21T03:10:00.000-08:00

Over the winter, Cece has been fortunate to have taken 2 different dream vacations. You can read about the first vacation on The Two Whos and the second one will be detailed here! She did all this without getting too hot or too cold.

On a Friday night in February when it should have been freezing cold, but was not, Cece ventured forth to her cycling Club "Women Riding Well" to pick up her new club jersey! No one will ever miss the club as they ride into the sunsets here in Albuquerque. The colors are so bright and feature the Sandia (watermelon) Mountains in the background.....and if you ask Cece, the club riding uphill on Tramway from 313! This is Cece's absolutely favorite ride (should be read with great sarcasm).....but none the less, perhaps the jersey will give her more good mojo for the 6+ mile climb!
But she digresses. Hills always distract her!

She arrived at the Simpatico Studio to pick up her jersey and was happy to see Margie and Pat all ready to give their slide presentation about their cycling trip to the Yucatan. Everyone settled in and the show began. Pat enjoyed telling some funny stories about Margie and the entire audience was laughing and giggling. They described their adventures during their 600+ mile- 12 days of riding. They had guides who directed them as they rode in 110 degree weather with their small group of cyclists. They showed photos of fabrics and shops, Mayan ruins and buildings that were very colorful. The people and children were very friendly and welcoming. The cycling was flat and hot but they had a wonderful time.

After Cece returned home, she was thinking about this trip. She had never thought too much about the Yucatan. But it looked like a great trip.

Later Cece went to sleep. In her dreams, Cece took the same vacation that Margie and Pat took. She was on her bicycle cycling on the flat land, meeting all the people, children, going into shops,. buying pretty dresses with ornate embroidery, buying a hammock, going into open markets that sold everything under the sun and swimming naked in the fresh water underground caves that were one of the highlights on Pat and Margie's trip! In her dream she climbed up the steep steps of the Mayan ruins! Cece dreamed all night!

When she woke up after a full nights rest and a full night of dreaming about her trip to the Yucatan , she had to laugh! She needed to take many other vacations like this! They are inexpensive and she has many memories to lean back on....and she does not even have sore legs from cycling all those miles!

Cece's next dream vacation? To South Africa. Her niece is there for the semester studying on a semester abroad. Cece has always wanted to go to South Africa so this particular Dream Vacation should be even more thrilling ! She is waiting for the slide show!

My Valentine Gift to Myself

2011-02-14T14:18:00.000-08:00

Being single, you have to get creative on Valentines day. There are no boyfriends, lovers , chocolates or roses although there were some cards and phone calls with wishes for a happy day. So, a single girl needs to think outside the box...what to do on Valentines Day?

Cece decided to be creative and gift herself with a day off and a ride outdoors on her bike with her friend Ellie the Shark. Cece had been watching the Weather Underground and chose a picture perfect day and time to take the ride.

At 10am she looked up at the cloud cover and shivered and wondered if the Weather Underground's forecast would be correct or not...but by about noon, as they had predicted, the sky was crystal clear with not a cloud in the sky, warming temps and about a 5 mph wind! Ideal cycling weather as far as Cece was concerned!
'
It is amazing when you get back into the rhythms that you are used to...the packing of your gear, the carrying it all in one trip with your bike down 20 steep steps...then loading the bike on the car....then unloading everything and outfitting your bike..pumping up your tires...all the familiar preparations.....that seems to effortlessly play themselves out once again....

Ellie was waiting and off they went! This was Cece's first ride outdoors since November so they decided to take an easy 18 mile ride with only one not so terribly bad hill. She remembered from last year, that being on the road and on a trainer were two different animals. She was prepared for her shoulders to be tired from maneuvering and balancing and they certainly were!

It was so wonderful to be riding the road...smelling the earth and having the wind in your face, the sun beating down its warmth on your body.....she and Ellie greeted many cyclists out and about on this beautiful, dare she say, SPRING day in February!

What a wonderful ride on a beautiful day. The perfect gift to the self.

Suffer Fest: Year 3.....more from The Cement Factory Spin

2011-01-22T15:39:00.000-08:00

Cement store? Factory? Well, it really is a cement store. A factory makes cement. This place sells it! None the less, Cece is thrilled to be be back to a grueling spin class that gathers cyclists in its doors…numbering around 100 for a 13 week odyssey of pain and sweat and family, fun and friendships that endure! There is no fee for this class. It is a gift that is given and at the end we have a wonderful pot luck and shower Tom and Bill with treats that they love! more......

It's 28 degrees in Albuquerque. What does that Mean?

2010-11-14T09:10:00.000-08:00

It means that Cece is riding indoors with her winter boyfriend Troy Jacobson! Yes, she said it...winter boyfriend! When you spend this much time with a man....he might as well be the boyfriend from afar! For those of you that do not know Coach Troy, he is the one who told Cece that if she had to throw up, she should do it while she was soft pedaling. He also told her that he "hopes that she now has a new appreciation of her ability to endure discomfort" She just has too many of this type of person in her life right now. URGH!

Here is Little Red all set to go on her trainer.

Now all Cece has to do is pick a Troy favorite like "Suffer O Rama, Mental Toughness, The Uphill Grind or Have Mercy the Sequel....

If you want to follow Coach Troy, who has been rehabbing a serious collar bone injury (at the Leadville 100) and then had to have surgery.... in his first post-accident Iron Man race, you can go here to do so.
Cece told him to try to have fun, but that will not be easy...especially at Iron Man Distances....

PS. Cece's friend Ellie the Shark is planning on riding the century (actually 109 miles) in El Tour de Tucson on Nov. 20th. We are hoping that she will give us a ride report.

PPS: Ellie confirmed that she is already thinking about her blog post and Cece did make it through a grueling 90 minute mental toughness DVD..she forgot about the squatting part off the bike... and all the high gearing and dripping sweat! She hopes that Troy heard the curses from afar...

Yes, Ma'am -o-gram! One Last Reminder...from Philly Jen on the Fat Cyclist

2010-10-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

This is a blogger friend who just discovered a lump as a result of her annual mammogram. She writes about it at the link below. Please go and read this! Then if you have not done so already, either get your mammo or prompt a loved one to do so. She speaks about the mammo machine in a very funny yogic way... Jenn is running her first marathon on 10/31, then will have her lumpectomy when she returns home and then she will have some ice cream!

Philly Jenn: Yes Ma'am-O Gram on the Fat Cyclist.com

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

2010-10-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

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!

I Counted Five Fingers Today!

2010-10-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

....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

Remembering Why I Love To Cycle!

2010-10-05T03:59:00.000-07:00

It is getting toward the end of the season for me....and honestly I am getting a bit tired of all the regimes and
routines and ultra early morning rising...driving 40 miles for a ride start... and sometimes with all the push, push push of riding with a team and completing certain goals and mileage, I forget why I love to cycle.

But today, as I cycled out to San Felipe, it all came back to me quite clearly!

I like to stop and talk to horses. This horse was so striking in his pure blackness.I saw him on the way out north... probably on the Santa Ana rez.

I like to adventure and discover new things. I like to see all the little things that I miss when cycling in a large group or travelling by car...the little out of the way places..the little stores, the homes tucked away..the bull that is for sale...or the homemade beef jerkey that is the specialty of the owner of the only market in sight!

I love to be outdoors with the wind in my face smelling the clean fresh air..smelling the fragrant undertones of green chile roasting.... going at a good speed, but never going so fast...that speed is my goal...I want to smell the roses and stop if I see a good photo op. Sometimes I have to back up...or scurry forward straddled over my top tube,.,,,skittering along uphill in my cleats....for a moment,,,looking ,,,looking.... to get that perfect shot.

On the bike,once the body settles into its rhythms and is not doing its initial complaining, you can find the contemplation and quiet in the movements. The body remembers. Then the mind chimes in... how it was that you rode this same road a while back...only you struggled up that hill with more trouble the last time! It remembers the rough pavement and how it decreased your speed....it remembers the weather, the wind, the heat or cold.....the senses do not forget.

Finally,when the mind quiets, the internal silences are cushioned by the hum of traffic far and near.... your tires and their friction on the road, the swish of the leaves and branches, the wind and the deep bases of low riders as they cruise by. It almost feels like you are flying though space!

It is wonderful to make the time to cycle for fun...without a goal....just to have fun and enjoy myself and reconnect with WHY I started to cycle in the first place!
Cece

Where on this Earth is Willard?

2010-10-02T16:37:00.000-07:00

We all thought he was a rat running around some where on the prairie...but it turns out that Willard is a VERY small town past Edgewood, through Moriarty through Estancia...then you see the train tracks...and there you are!

Willard...2 miles!

But Cece is getting way a head of herself.

When she got home from her 80 mile ride today, she turned on her computer...and there was a message from Lance Armstrong! AND it was a personal and formal message that began, "Dear Cecile..." He was thanking Cece for her work with the Fat Cyclist in their commitment for fight cancer. Cece wishes that Lance would know that she just got off her bike and that while on her bike today, she was throwing up prayer into the Universe for her client who is in her dying process from leukemia. She wishes he could have met the worker in the Giant gas station today in Estancia who got choked up telling Cece that his father died last night from Leukemia (Robert Coburn) and he told her the family was helped by the Leukemia Society and how grateful he was. Cece is sure that Lance has heard the stories...and he himself has a story to tell...but when you are out there..people find you to talk to.

Lance's email went on to assert,"We won't quit and we won't retreat."

That is just how Cece's day on the bike went. She would not quit and she would not retreat. When she can have supreme optimism like she did today, all will be well. 80 miles is a long ride in the saddle though, and when Cece finally got off her bike, she was very happy!

The day in Edgewood started out pretty brisk and chilly. Head winds...of course, and moderate wind at about 15 mph at times....a very pleasant day! Cece wore sleeves and then a long sleeve jersey on top and was perfectly dressed for the initial 10 miles, then she started stripping. She thinks she pretty much threw her jersey at Clyde when she stopped momentarily at the SAG to disrobe! Soon the sleeves came off too and then the jersey unzipped and then her temp was perfect!

As they approached Estancia, Cece was riding with Keith. He commented,"They have quite a night life here in Estancia. Cece looked around at what she would term a one horse town,. Cece said, "What? A Strip club?" Keith replied...no a bakery. You can go in there and watch the buns rise." Then Keith rode off because he gets nervous his comments will be repeated in the Blog! LOL.

On and on they rode until finally, they saw that train a comin' and knew they were approaching Willard...the turn around point. They kept looking and looking for the bar that they were told was the only landmark in Willard. Finally, they spotted it. They were so kind and gracious in t he cantina and let us all use the restrooms and all the workers were happy to be corralled by Cece for a picture. The team did not have patience with her as she chatted and encouraged them to smile and pose. She had to get then to come outside for the photo. Cece felt that perhaps she might do better touring around...because she loves to stop and explore. She was unable to stop at a farm stand that looked enticing. Cece thought she could give her fresh veggies, pumpkins and perhaps gourds to Clyde to put them in the car...but as it was,,,the team rode off without her... she was still posing the Willard Cantina bartenders!

It was a long day on the bike and the last 7-9 miles were all up hill in the heat of the day. Luckily they had plenty of water from 2 great support vehicles in Clyde and Shawn. Thanks Guys!

So , next week the team will ride another 75-80 miles probably with a lot more climbing .... and then the week after is a taper ride...riding out to the Range in Bernalillo for breakfast. Then finally the Century is on October 24th!

You may be interested to see the blog and pics from last year's ride of the Day of the Tread.

Part One of "Burnt Skin, Numb Crotch, Bugs in Teeth" The Perfect Ride!"

2010-09-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned for Parts 2 (Arches National Park) and 3 (Moab Century Ride Report) on The Two Whos on 9/24 and 25.

When a satellite engineer (Val) , a project manager(Catherine) and a program manager/artist (Cece) go on vacation together to ride The Moab Century Tour, you know that there will be lots of negotiating along the way! They are all used to being the boss! And so it was. The engineer was in charge of anything with moving parts or calculating gas consumption and anything that needed to be packed or organized. The project manager, was the back up for the GPs and also kept them all organized and on time and going in the right direction. And Cece? She made friends out of strangers across the three states and took them all on unexpected adventures, interviewed and photographed people as if she were Charles Kuralt…all the while claiming she is an introvert.

Their trip to Utah to ride the Moab Century Tour was going well. They had Karen, Cece’s GPS, hooked up and all was well on that front. The weather was beautiful and their bikes were securely on the bike rack. But soon, the adventures began…

It all started when Cece saw a cow. She made the engineer stop the car and turn down a back alley that had hay bales in either side of the path …so she could get a picture of it. No one saw the cow except Cece, so they were a bit disgruntled. Once they SAW the cow,they pulled right up alongside the cow…. Cece jumped out of the car, just about threw her camera at Catherine as the engineer watched from the driver’s seat…what the engineer saw was a bit scary. By now, Cece was next to the cow patting it… as the owner of the house leashed her German shepherd and struggled to get her gun…Cece means her screen door open…with poisonous eyes that reminded the engineer of Grannie Clampet getting her shot gun out. The house owner ran across the lawn and met Cece who threw up her hands in the air and asked , “ Can I take your picture with your cow?” The woman’s answer? “Heeellll no!” Cece was taken a back. “Well do you mind if I take a picture with your cow? “ Cece asked. That part was ok. And so they did.

Well, come to find out that people drive right up, just as they did and try to steal this cow… all the time. Her name is Bessie and her little one Daisy Mae is hidden in the garage. The father cow was stolen. The home owner designed them and her husband, who has since passed away...welded them and painted them. It all ended well with everyone laughing and making jolly of the potential cow napping event!

Once in Moab, Cece needed to sneak away and pick up cupcakes that she ordered for a surprise birthday party for Catherine. But first , she needed to talk to the hotel people to enlist them into allowing her to put them in their refrigerator. Yes, that was ok, but when they looked into the refrig, there was not much space at all. Oh, she would make them fit…some how….oh Val!!!!!. She enlisted her to keep Catherine busy as she snuck away. Once at Crystals’s Cupcakes Cece received the cupcakes she ordered. It was about 95 degrees and Cece had to park pretty far away…and now…she was looking at 5 large boxes of cupcakes. How could there be that many boxes? She towered the boxes up and tucked them under her chin…as she walked to her car. Trying to peer around the boxes that were piled high under her chin. Watch the curb! Watch that car! Balance…balance.. WHEW! Must be all that yoga! She got to her car and how was she going to use the key to get in? Well somehow she managed it and used the seat belt to secure the boxes in the back seat.

Once back at the hotel, she phoned the engineer and she came down and rearranged the entire refrigerator and got all the boxes to fit…it was just like magic! Unbelievable.

Well, then it was off to eat, early to bed and up early for the next day’s 69 mile bike ride of the Rolling Classic of the Moab Century Tour! Stay tuned!

Despite meeting a Roadrunner and Two Prince Charmings, Cece still Has a Bad Day on The Bike.....but it could have been worse!

2010-09-14T18:18:00.000-07:00

Cece had been off the bike for 8 full days...the last time she did that , she had shoulder surgery! But she was trying to play it smart. She was fighting off a sinus infection and it was winning and she had pulled a back muscle in yoga. Do not laugh. You should COME to my yoga class! She was making sure her health would be fine for the Moab Century Ride! Anyway,. she digresses......

When she started off her legs were stiff and she wondered if she remembered how to pedal.....and about 6 miles down the road, she stopped as a roadrunner crossed her path. Roadrunners are blessings. So, she took a moment to accept it. Later she wondered, after 2 rear flats and a rear blow out, how the upcoming events were blessings...but she remembered that it was at that moment, that she felt her rear tire....at the roadrunner crossing! What she felt was not good. Her tire was low...very low and 6 miles ago she had just put in 120 psi. She was going to ride longer, but not now. NOW she turned around to go home.

Not 1/2 mile later....she had a true flat tire. She questioned every passing cyclist as to whether they had a CO2 cartridge or a pump . Nope,nope nope. Cece herself had CO2 cartridges, and a spare tire, but the cartridges did not match her adapter...she must have grabbed the wrong cartridges!

But never fail. Prince Charming No 1 came to the rescue. Cece regrets not taking his pic but she was worried about riding home. .Check out the Lycra on him though! The prince stopped to ask if Cece was OK. She explained the situation. Did he have CO2 or a pump?. Nope, but he lives about a mile away and he could fix it there. Cece looked at him. OK Good energy. Cece rode and chit chatted with Prince Charming whose name was Wyatt. He works at Intel. Once at his house in the North Valley in a gated community, she discovered he was married with kids and had two dachshunds. He pumped Cece up and off she went back the way she came.

Once again in about a 1/2 mile Cece had another flat. This time she knew she had to walk. The tire was just not holding air. She contemplated the 6 mile walk back....in cleats.... URGH. She looked the opposite direction and realized she could call a friend and she could pick her up easily. But as she looked back, she saw prince Charming No 2! "Hey what's wrong Chica?" AH the call of the prince! It turns out this prince's name was Limo and he rides on the High Desert racing team. He just took charge and took the rear wheel off , put in a new tube and pumped it up as fast as lightening.Cece has no idea how she shot video! : )

Anyway. with Limo's help, she was able to get back to the open space where she had parked her car. Just as she did, she had a full blow out. Luckily she was just about off her bike when that happened! Where did Limo go? In a trail of dust he was off to ride Tram and then out and back to Algodones. Have fun, Cece wished him a great climb up Tramway! OH! How Cece just love, love, loves that hill!

So, it was a bad day on the bike, but Cece met many nice people and good things happened.

Guess where Cece will be going first thing in the morning? To her bike shop....

An Unexpected Adventure to Santa Fe

2010-09-12T09:54:00.000-07:00

Cece found herself in Santa Fe this past Saturday for a great adventure...and she did not have her camera as she did not anticipate the adventure! A new acquaintance sent her to the plaza and gave her directions as to how to get there and how to find West San Francisco Street and wished her good luck to find a parking space on the street. Cece was able to find the street and once she turned onto it, she discovered a parking garage to her delight! She pulled up and spoke to the woman in the booth.The woman told her how much to pay. "The parking is how much?" Cece asked. "Why is it so expensive?" The woman replied "It is Fiesta! This is special event parking." Cece asked her "What is Fiesta?" and the woman looked at her like she had two heads. The woman told Cece to go ahead and enjoy herself and then the parking fee would not bother her any more. Cece did just that and the woman was correct.... several hours later, the parking fee did not bother her.

Cece was on an adventure! She had to be back to ABQ for a party, but some how time orientated Cece did not care about the time. She was having such a good time gallivanting around that she knew she would eventually make it back to the city.

She remembered that this past Thursday was the burning of Zozobra...Old Man gloom. A large puppet is made to signify the trouble and problems of the past year and he is set ablaze to signify that the troubles of the past are burned away and forgotten. This is the beginning of Fiesta time in Santa Fe.

Cece learned that, "Fiesta has been celebrated in Santa Fe since 1712 by proclamation of the then-governor of the province Jose Chacon Medina Salazar y Villaseor, the marquis of Penuela. It is the oldest civic celebration of its kind in North America. ZOZOBRA, which has gone up in flames every year since Will Shuster created it in 1924, became one of the symbols of the city, a potent reminder of the madcap celebrations of those times and one artist's generous dedication to his adopted home."

In the plaza, there was a grand Fiesta going on with lots of live music and craft booths and food. When Cece finally got her party hours later and had not eaten all day, a friend asked her , "Well there is so much food there, why didn't you eat?" Cece said all she smelled was deep fried food." Her friend said, "And that is a problem WHY?" Cece just laughed. She did see some delicious looking roasted corn, but at that moment she was lured by live music.

One of the best parts of her great adventure was gallery hopping. She discovered some pottery by her Favorite Hopi Potter Al Qoyawayma.

"If I can see the beauty in my hand,

if it touches my inner heart,

and I can mold it into harmonious beauty,

then I have met the challenge"

Cece also saw pottery buy another of her favorite artists, Barbara Gonzales from San Ildefonso Pueblo. Barbara is the oldest great granddaughter of Maria Martinez and was given the name Sunbeam by Maria. Cece has been fortunate to have met Barbara and to watch her fire her pottery.

Cece Finally made it back to ABQ after finally leaving the fiesta and doing a few more errands around Santa Fe. The party was in full swing and they were just beginning to eat when she arrived! Perfect timing! It was wonderful to see friends and spend time with them!

Wind, Wind...and Yes....Even More Wind!

2010-09-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

Women Riding Well went up to Santa Fe this morning to do part of the 50 mile leg of the SF century Tour ride. We rode south on 14 and then took a left and ended up in Galisteo. On the way up and back in the car there was much hearty laughter, but on the actual ride there was only heavy breathing and the occasional curse uttered from Cece's lips. The wind was ferocious! We had a 20 mph headwind that practically stopped us dead in our tracks. It was very difficult riding against this wind. The wind was compounded by an extremely hilly course and there were non ending climbs. You would finally get to the top, only to find out it was not the top but the beginning of another climb. Cece kept comparing her suffering to "the yoga leg". The 20 mile return trip was entirely uphill and really took its toll on us. We were mostly going 6-7 mph into a head wind... and uphill... and on the rare occasion when we got to 10mph, Diane gave us a shout out in amazement! The picture below was taken at the turn around point. We found a water pump and were able to get some fresh cold water....the only to be had for many miles.

Before we got to Galisteo, we got stopped at a train crossing. the gate came down and the lights flashed....and flashed...and flashed. A string of bicyclists were waiting and soon the cars started lining to wait for the train to pass. We looked right and then left and still no train. We waited and waited. People got out of their cars. There was a corner we could not see around....Cece almost started to sing Johnny Cash again.....but thought better of it...and finally a woman from a car walked and stood in the middle of the tracks and told us to just cross....there was only a phantom train...meaning no train coming. All the cars then went through the lowered train gate too.

There was lots of beauty to be seen on this ride and Cece felt she was in a small town in Europe when they cycled through the twists and turn into Galisteo. There were fields of sunflowers lining the road and the smell of juniper wafted through the wind.

We were all so exhausted from this ride, that we were counting down the miles to the end of the ride.We were so happy to cycle in to the railrunner station where we had left our vehicles! We had a wonderful day with lots of great companionship and fun. We meet a new member..from New Jersey...and shared many good stories and laughs!

GQ at TNT or was it the Chippendales?

2010-09-04T14:14:00.001-07:00

OH MY! When Cece arrived this am with camera in hand, the men were all ready for their photo shoot! Some had told their co-workers about it and the women in the office requested a butt shot. Others were planning on showing some flesh.Cece is sure,. this is why her eyes are closed in this pic...she is just imagining the Chippendales TNT calendar that she could create as a fundraiser for TNT...and then she thought Aisha would probably kill her...but if we raised a lot of money for cancer research....it might be worth it....hmmmmm she is still thinking about this since the men were so forthcoming. Someone told Cece she would also have to take pics of the men on the marathon and tri teams too! She can imagine the calendar now. Aisha! Have we ever considered this? The firemen do it!

They are all soooo shy! Can you tell? And now for the women in Damian's office.......

A woman who saw these told Cece, "They needed to turn a bit more" Oh Well, next time.

We all made it to the San Felipe Casino and back in one piece, riding 54 miles. We all had some fun in the process too! Susan was our SAG person (Support vehicle ) and she was fun and silly and Cece called her the Viking Princess because she kept blowing a long "viking" horn much like they used in the World Cup Soccer matches each time they arrived at a rest stop. Thanks Sue for rescuing Cece with cold water and ice on her way south on 313. That road was a hot wind tunnel and it was hard going on the way back. The fresh water surely helped our parched throats!

Speaking of Susan our Sag person....Cece is sure there will be a bootleg video on You Tube soon! Susan turned the music up and the dancing started! . She took video of Gina, Sue and Cece dancing at the Casino rest stop. What got into these wild women? No one will know. They learned that their cleats could really add rhythm to their dancing as they boogied on down....the men just looked on in wonderment...as they danced and ate their PBJ sandwiches at the same time!

After the ride, Yun and Cece settled in for a nice lunch of a cold lemony red lentil salad,and brown rice, shrimp, vegetables and Yun's spicy hot stuff. Of course, Yun asked her famous words, "Do you need help Chop Chop?" and Cece laughed. They talked about their upcoming blogs on hate that will be on the Whos ... they hope... next week... and set limits about the points they want to make and not make.

The Icicle Sisters

2010-09-02T07:36:00.000-07:00

Burrrr! It was cold this morning,. Sue and Cece agreed that it took at a minimum of 9-10 miles before they even got warm . Neither of them had enough clothes on! Every body part they owned was freezing! Cece did amazing things with her headband...things she never imagined she could do. Use your imagination! LOL. They agreed that they were the icicle sisters as they made their way through Corrales cursing at the incorrect temperature readings on Weather Underground! They needed fingered gloves, long pants, toe warmers and under armour...at the minimum. They had none of it. As they tried to cycle faster to get warm, Cece learned that Sue lives almost in Bernalillo and they decided that their next hill day they would climb "The Damn Road." Cece calls it that for several reasons...the pavement is rough and the hills are tough. This is the road out to the Jemez Dam.

Finally after about 10 miles, the sun rose and that was just about when they started climbing. No coyotes this morning...they were probably warm in their dens...do coyotes have dens? They were smart to stay out of the cold. They did see some rabbits and some quail.There are lots of beautiful homes in Corrales and once the sun came up a bit, a picture had to be taken.

Here is Sue all happy to greet the day. This is not from this am, but from the other day. This morning's pic had ice on it and the camera froze that early. She had on shorts and her husband's over sized high Viz windbreaker which completely swallowed her up it was so big!

The team is riding out to San Felipe's Hollywood Casino on Saturday ...about 55 miles round trip. It should be a fun flat ride. Sunday , Sue was invited to join the WRW club for a ride in Santa Fe. We could potentially ride about 110 miles this weekend, although Cece does not want to ride that much...maybe about 90. We will see.

OH! And Cece promised the men on the team that she would focus on them in the blog so people know there are actually men on this team. Stay tuned...GQ on bikes. LOL.

Here is Cece this morning playing Rudolph with a red frozen nose.Well, we better get prepared for the cold....the warm summer mornings are gone. Cece prompted Sue to get some legs and a light...and told her we might have to start riding a bit later...AND check another weather service for more accurate reporting of early morning temps.

She Loves Hills, She Loves them Not!

2010-08-31T16:25:00.001-07:00

It is getting darker in the mornings now...and colder. Wheels down at 6:30am is pressing our luck a bit...but we have our lights and it soon gets bright enough to put on our sun glasses...but Cece is getting ahead of herself.

Tuesday is hill climbing day. But, Cece had been off her bike for 6 days due to a sinus infection and fever. She behaved well and rested. Finally on Monday, she felt well enough to do some cardio and weights and take her yoga class. Tuesday approached and she wondered if she should ride. That would mean early in the East Foothills. Burr! She could feel the cold already,. She checked Weather Underground...59 degrees with 2mph winds. Not too bad at all. OK. It was a go.

She texted Barb...who she found out was the birthday girl and asked her to suggest a ride.Do you know what she said? She said, "How About the Good Morning Legs Ride?" I am up for that one again." Cece calls this ride "Hell in Disguise." Cece rolled her eyes through the texting..."Is she trying to kill me again?" Should she be doing this hard climb with her lungs? Well, she determined to give it a try ...and by the way... she told herself,,,she would wear her favorite anti-hill climbing jersey! "She loves hills, she loves them not."

Truth be told, Cece loves a challenge and now that she is fitter the hills are a lot more manageable! But it is still very hard. Well, today, Barb and Cece discovered that they had made a mistake on the route a few weeks ago and climbed more than what was on the route...so today they followed the actual route and it was shorter and they escaped one hill that they had climbed previously. But they did not escape the worst hill!

Once again , Cece made it up to the dreaded Piedra Lisa Trail Head and it only took 2 curses this time. She was worried she would wake the neighbors who were still probably asleep at this hour, but then figured that if they lived on this hill, they must hear a lot of cursing from most who climb up it!

Once again, Cece's quick release popped open. She vowed right then and there that this was the last time she would ride with this skewer. What goes up, must come down and she did not want to risk an accident on the downhill. After the ride, she went right to her bike shop and had them install a different make skewer with a different quick release. Hopefully, this will be more safe.

Cece invited Barb for a ride in Santa Fe on Monday. OH! BTW, they are friends again after Barb told her that she had her cell phone in the ready last week to dial 911 in case the coyote bit Cece's legs! LOL. We will go with a few friends and our cycling club Women Riding Well as we journey into Galisteo and then perhaps on to Madrid. The hills should be alive!

Happy Birthday! Barb!

3 Weeks and Counting!

2010-08-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Cece saw the team off this am and pumped up Yun's tires (this woman thinks that tires do not need pumping!). Everyone said that they wish Cece would pump their tires up too! Then, she sent off the team with well wishes.

She came home and looked at her calendar! Only 3 more weeks until her vacation to Moab to ride the Moab Century Tour! Wow! It has come upon her very quickly! She is going with a few friends and they will ride the rolling 73 miles course. Here are some beautiful pics of what she has in store for her ride! The pic below is called the Stairway to Heaven and Cece hopes it is not on her ride profile! LOL.

Jeff at High Desert is going to give Cece a list and locations of some of his favorite haunts in Moab.. She hopes they will include some spots for great music! Knowing Jeff, the blues artist, they will. Lots of pics and funny stories will be coming you way in a few weeks....in the meanwhile, the training keeps happening!

Also, stay tuned for a ride report from Stephanie. She has just completed her 35 mile uphill race to the sun in Hawaii. There was 10,000 feet of elevation gain and she made it with grace...although she may tell it another way! We will see! Stay tuned...probably on The Two Whos.

Fingers,Coyotes and Falling Tree Limbs! OH MY!

2010-08-24T20:54:00.000-07:00

It was Cece's pleasure to cycle with Barb early this morning! They have known each other for several years by now... Cece considers her a good friend...that is..... until this morning!

The hill that you see below is called "Blue Sky" and is deceiving! It is one of the "fingers" in Corrales. It is a mile long climb that winds around turning this way and that and than it hitches up to a 9% grade. Then from the left side of this pic it goes up even further to 17.5% grade. Cece took this climb out of the route due to the steep grade at the end. But, it went back in when the first hill they climbed was no more than a little gulp of an uphill that could easily be navigated at 13mph! However, there was more to be navigated on this climb up Blue Sky than the terrain....and this is where the friendship got a little iffy! Cece was riding uphill ahead of Barb.... which is unusual in and of itself...when all of a sudden a coyote was seen by Cece up ahead. There was no way Cece wanted that to cross her path....Cece has seen many coyotes both in the male human and canine varieties.....and she did not want it crossing her path. She was a ways off from the coyote and watched it go back into the shrubs on the side of the foothills. Cece cycled on and poured on the power because she wanted to hurry up and get up this darned hill before she started to curse. Meanwhile, Barb was way back and out of view when Cece would turn and look and wonder where she was. So now here is where the friendship gets iffy. Later, Cece asked Barb, 'Why were you so far back on that hill?" She replied, "I was going slow and hanging back to see if the coyote would jump out at you and bite at your ankles!" This is friendship? Letting her friend take a hit from a coyote? Imagine!

Anyway, with lots of grace under fire, Barb made it up the 17.5 percent grade to the top. Cece did not even try because her heart rate was already at 168. Enough is enough!

After our climbing adventure was over and we were cycling back to our parked vehicles, we rode into the Flying Star parking lot. We saw a man in a tree and one on the ground. The one on the ground was waving furiously at us. It took us a moment to realize that the one in the tree was just about to make the final cut in a tree limb he was cutting down. We stopped dead in our tracks. The man did not make the cut. The man on the ground waved us through. As we looked back, we heard the chain saw and heard the crack of the limb go down...a close call. Who knew to look for that type of road hazard?

It was a brisk morning and both women wore their "sleeves" this am. Cece thought about how quickly the temperature changes here in New Mexico. It seems like mid to end of August comes and it is already fall-like weather. And even though they had a coyote sighting, a tree almost fell on them and Cece was almost served up for coyote food, Barb and Cece's friendship thrived despite it all!

Surrounded by Butterflies!

2010-08-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

As Cece and Emira cycled south from Bernalillo all they could see when looking right or left were hundreds of butterflies! Emira kept noticing how many there were....they must have loved the beautiful green fields on either side of 313. Cece is getting ahead of herself though!

Emira is Cece's new friend from Bosnia. She is a PhD Candidate and is writing her dissertation when she is not dreaming big thoughts...and then Cece finds out the next day, that she has carried them out! Emira cycles all around campus and has never owned a car...so she is used to cycling everywhere. When they met and rode together a few weeks ago, Cece invited her to join the team...and so she did much to Cece's delight. When they met yesterday to get situated for the ride today, before Cece hit the tree, she was excited to make a new beginning. Now Cece is her mentor! They are happy women...but this pic was taken before the climbs into Placitas and beyond! Emira rides a mountain bike and she has never ridden long distances, so she was very brave and stubborn too.....to undertake a ride with lots of climbing and 45 miles of road. Cece told her her strategy while hill climbing...to imagine the worst pain you can remember and compare the climb to that. Some how it helps to put things into perspective.
As they cycled up,Emira kept apologizing to Cece that she was going too slow. She felt like she was holding people up. Cece decided that she would have to fine Emira...and charge her $5.00 every time she said "Sorry" and Cece could have made a fortune...but then...she thought about collecting that money and just re-depositing into Emira's Leukemia Lymphoma fundraising account...she might still do this, if the sorrys continue....she is going to keep a tab !
Emira is riding a mountain bike. It is hard to push that thing uphill and to keep up with the lighter bikes. She did a fantastic job despite all this and made it up each hill. At the top of one hill, Cece prompted Clyde to tell Emira if when Cece had started cycling ...if she could have made it up the hills that Emira had . Clyde's response, "Maybe Walking!" And that is true! So, Emira gets kudos for sticking out a hard day on her first day as a team member!

Cece met Keith and cycled with him again a bit, and he told her a funny joke, which he commanded her not to put on the blog...so it is not. Sandy is tenacious and strong and spotted this "Go Fast sign" as the perfect location for a photo op.

Cece needs to get more men in these pics. Luckily we had Clyde this week...the others were well on their way...before she could take a pic. She will work on that next week!

Now Cece is off to repair her car and her tires after the fateful tree attack at the Frontier restaurant yesterday. But that's another long story!

Meet Two Very Interesting People!

2010-08-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

When a married man meets you at 6am , at his front door, in his bathrobe, you know it is time to take stock. What day is it? What time is it? Why is he not in spandex? Cece was unloading her bike, putting on her front tire, when Keith appeared. He was unsure if she was coming. He hurriedly got ready. His very kind wife Martha came out in her robe and kept Cece company.... and soon off they went!

Keith wanted to do some climbing and when he heard that Cece was not in a rush, grand plans started to form! They warmed their legs up before starting to climb and went by Tingley and then to the Hispanic Cultural Center and then back to warm up. Tingley is so beautiful in the early morning light!
Cece, Keith and Martha do not know each other very well. As a matter of fact, this was their first real time spent together. Keith and Cece had a bonding moment climbing Oak Flats last week when they both contemplated whether they were actually in hell, but that was the extent of their knowledge of each other! And so, as they cycled, they got to know each other a bit.

Cece always laughs when she discovers just who is that person under that cycling helmet? You never know. Later, over a wonderful breakfast of cheese, thick sliced fresh bread , yogurt and french pressed coffee....all of which Cece enjoyed tremendously, Keith handed her 8 business cards. Seriously folks! These just confirmed the enthusiastic conversation they had while cycling almost 30 miles together!

She had no idea she was cycling with the past president of the local and National Boards of the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, an Internationally known Motivational Speaker with big cooperate clients, a wine connoisseur and wine taster/master licensed corkman..... a professor of English literature, a coffee snob (Cece is too) a published author of soon to be 2 books and a travel cruise organizer for cancer survivors and wine makers. Yes, there is much more, but that is the synopsis! No grass goes under this man's .....or his wife's feet!

Meet Martha, Keith's wife! This is a woman with abundant joy! They have been married for 25 years and Cece could tell that they are a great team as they speak and organize around the world! Cece loves to hear the stories from married couples of how they met, their first date and then how it happened that they got married...and as they both told the tale, and giggled and giggled and interrupted each other's stories with more and more anecdotes, it was clear that they had that deep love that lasts and lasts. Sometimes, in Cece's opinion, a man like Keith can over power the woman, but not Martha! She runs a large EBAY business, is a Barter and Trade Broker and organizes "FunRaising" on cruise ships. Not sure how many business cards she has...but probably at least 8! She holds her own in every way. If you are interested in a wine tasting cruise or a cancer survivor cruise click the link.

Martha agreed to be a guest blogger on October 1st on The Two Whos .

The Whos have joined thousands of Women bloggers across the world to set aside October 1st to talk about cancer in women on their blogs. Martha will be the featured blogger.Check out the Army of Women and sign up to work towards fighting cancer.

And Finally, meet the most playful fun loving basset hound! Cece loves basset hounds. Cece had a wonderful morning full of excitement at meeting new friends who graciously invited her into their home. They are strangers no more!

HDOB or I Hear that Train a Comin"

2010-08-17T08:53:00.001-07:00

It was a hard day on the bike for Cece. They were doing a climbing route that Ellie called "Good Morning Legs!" Clyde called it, " The Afternoon Leg Burner." Cece called it "Hell in Disguise! " They should let Cece name these routes!

As they climbed yet another summit that ended in dirt at the top of a trail head in the foothills, Cece exclaimed to Sue,. "I should have worn my other jersey!" Sue said " Is it more aerodynamic?" Cece said, No it just puts into print my feelings about hill climbing!" Remember picking the petals off a daisy as a kid..."he loves me, he loves me not.....well.....she loves hills, she loves them not! NOT! Cece is not quite sure what euphoric state she was in when she heard Johnny Cash in her ears, she knows her heart rate was way high....and she was chugging up these hills when she heard "I hear that train a comin'.....its coming down the track...." She chugged and she chugged and it was only because she is so stubborn and was cursing that she made all the climbs of the day! She had to apologize to Sue about her foul mouth and her cranky attitude. It did not seem to phase Sue who cheerfully trotted up every hill with seemingly little effort.

Here they are the happy climbers Sue and Barb! You notice there is no pic of Cece...it probably would have broken the camera! Thank goodness for the great companionship on this ride. It actually made it fun!

Johnny Cash Singing Folsom Prison Blues......For your enjoyment!

Early Morning Ride in The East Mountains

2010-08-14T15:35:00.001-07:00

As the sun rose over the East Mountains, Cece got gifted with a beautiful array of sun and shadow. It was early and it was very cool and the team began to arrive and warm up for what would be a long morning of climbing up to Oak Flats. It is a 10 mile climb straight up and while you are breathing and trying to compare your suffering to other things you have survived, you can look out and see and smell a high pine forest...one of Cece's favorite places. The canyons are deep and the drop offs are steep and it is a beautiful place to be.

It is wonderful to have friends who know you and ride your pace and agree to ride and stay together! It is such a great feeling to work cooperatively with each other calling out road hazards and taking care of the other person! You know, if it is 10 miles up, it is 10 miles down...and none of us really want to go fast on the descents. Going fast on the descents could mean 40-50 mph...we try to keep it about 20-30 just to play it safe. We even stopped to ensure the safety of Toto...a cute black Scottish terrier who was running along the highway. Cece tried to give her some water but her little legs kept her scurrying along and then across the highway. None of us could bear watching that erratic little dog get hit by the fast moving traffic...and as far as we know, she did not. We tried to shuffle her off the highway.
Once on top and into the Gonzales Road loop, we were gifted with lots of wonderful rollers, sunflower fields and fast downhills that enabled us to just coast up the next hill. Ahhh! We all loved this. As we finished the loop, Cece made a point to stop into the Chameleon Cafe to see the owner Josephine. Cece rides in honor of her mother Geraldine, who passed on due to Leukemia. Jo was there and happy we stopped in. She told Josephine that visiting her is what gets her up this mountain each time! And this is true!
Yun and Cece decided to come back to the Chameleon cafe in the next few weeks and do the Gonzales Road Loop a few times. They decided they would drive up and park at the cafe rather than climb that hill any time soon! Just so you will laugh, as we climbed up, Keith looked down and saw the top of a red plastic pitch fork. He said, "We are climbing up the road to hell!" We already knew that! But Cece wonders if we were in hell or Oz....after all, we did have Toto!
Post Script: Many have asked about the person in the background. That is our 15 year old teammate who did not eat properly for the ride and she suffered and threw up as a result.

The Unexpected Beauty of New Mexico!

2010-08-07T05:27:00.001-07:00

Race Report: Santa Fe Triathlon 2010!

2010-07-17T09:58:00.001-07:00

For the pre-race repot, click here
We had to put these happy faces on our legs!

And....we were off.... Cece gave Monique the 3:30 am wake up call and it was answered by a Good Fairy- like voice saying sarcastically, "I am so glad to be awake!" Cece forgot her food and Monique forgot her swim cap and goggles but somehow it all worked out with emergency supplies that Cece and Barry both carried!

Ayoub ran like a gazelle and Cece thinks it is so beautiful to watch him run with such grace and seemingly little effort.But, she knows how hard he trains to get this result! Cece and Monique kept seeing a flash of red jersey as he weaved in and out of the course.....and we knew he would be first. And yes, he came in first to lots of cheers and disbelief at his very fast time.

Monique took the timing chip off Ayoub and put it onto Cece. She did her run in cleats and uphill with her bike and felt relaxed and confident. She was able to mount her bike and clip in without problem.

BUT.....in a matter of seconds, problems started to arise! Being the first cyclist out on the course has its advantages and disadvantages....this time it was disadvantage as the volunteers waved her the wrong direction and in a matter of moments, she was trapped behind a coned in, taped up barricade that she could not get though! She was yelling and she kept pedaling so as not to fall off her bike and was directed though a little 4 inch space that let rain through in the midst of a 6 inch high cement median. In order to get through she had to turn sharply through this narrow space at a 90 degree right angle then 90 degrees left angle and then another sharp right just to get back onto the ride course! She had the sense "I'm going down" but somehow she did not!

WHEW! Finally she was on the actual course! She had lost a lot of speed by this point though and it was not long before a racer guy with flashy specialized triathlon wheels , aero helmet and Asso skin suit passed her.... flying by her like a jet! Those wheels even sound like a jet engine passing when they whoosh by! "OH well." This is Cece's mantra that she has been practicing. She was prepared for this.

The rest of her ride was a blurr. At some point, she went into the zone and felt like a bird flying through the air with no thought at all...there was just movement and space. Soon, she was over the final hill and wondered how she got to this point already? Back into the transition zone , she saw Ayoub waving her in....he took the timing chip off her and put it on Monique.

Monique had a long run too. And she decided to do it barefoot and without her glasses. She had to run down and then back... along what Cece had to run one way...and then down a ramp and into the pool.

By the time Cece got her cleats off and got into the pool area, Monique was already on her final lap! How did she do that? She looked so graceful in the pool cutting though the water with ease...out she jumped and down she ran over the timing mat, and we were finished with our triathlon! We were all happy and pleased by our own individual legs of the race. We all met our goals for the race.

Ayoub went out for another run after he was finished... and we knew that this distance for him was just like a warm up exercise...but perhaps he got "the itch" for triathlon ...perhaps for later on in his running career.

Cece

Race Day at the Cochiti Triathlon

2010-07-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

When Cece left Albuquerque on Sunday morning, it was pouring rain. She remembered the last triathlon she was in with a bad shoulder when there was down pouring rain...hard to control the bike, hard to get warm and hard to see through the rain drops and fog on her glasses. Wet, wet wet! She hoped things would clear up for the race today and she kept reminding herself that going north might change things weather wise. As she travelled, the sun started to rise and Cece kept pulling over to take pictures, which resulted in her being late to the triathlon! But it all worked out fine! The lake was over cast and there was a great deal of cloud cover which made the 75 degrees with a slight breeze very pleasant for all the athletes.

Cochiti Lake is VERY rocky and we had to climb over many barriers made of rocks....hard on the feet!

Here is Cece's friend Ellie and her son Jacob. She told Cece the last pic she took of her made her look like she was eating a bug! Cece told her to get rid of the bug face then!
Remember our mothers told us not to make that face because it will freeze that way! She looks fantastic and Jacob won some raffles at the tri this am!

Stephanie, Cyan and Misty pre-race....working on their game faces!

The triathlon had a separate feature this year! In addition to the tri they held an adventure race. Here are the adventure racers taking off. They rode and then had to use GPS signals to find clues which led them to kayaks and they had to paddle 8 miles....then use the GPS continually to find their other destinations which involved swimming, rock climbing and much more. This was an 8 hour race! WHEW!

Cece had a bird's eye view of the transition area for the triathlon. She was at the Leukemia Society booth which she set up so that she could observe the transition technique! Cece will be doing this next Saturday! Running in cleats and then hopping on the bike and clipping in is not a graceful maneuver! She saw falls and near crashes, a person who lost their shoe, and many had to stop and fiddle around with adjustments just to get going. Many had their bikes in the wrong gear and were pushing too large gears and could not get their bikes to move once they hopped on! Then from that cold start, they had to climb the boat launch wall that was a 12 percent grade and then climb the dam wall. URGH! Lots of climbing with cold legs.

Misty did a fantastic job swimming in open water with a personal record that she set for herself today. Then Stephanie took off from the transitional area...with one of the more graceful exits Cece saw all day. Cece is looking forward to her own...graceful exit next Saturday!

This is Cyan getting her mojo on before she takes over the run from Stephanie on the bike. Focus. Cyan. Focus! She told Cece she has never run a 10K before...but Cece knows she is a capable runner and this should be no problem for her at all! But it was getting real hot by the time she started running.....

But still, she had no problems at all!

Besides a few open water rescues, it was a great day and fun was had by all. After the race, they had a big BBQ and handed out prizes and it was fun to hear all the stories of the day as people lay down and got massages to unwind their tired bodies!

Bernalillo Here We Come!

2010-07-10T14:44:00.001-07:00

It was a beautiful day this morning! Perfect cycling weather for our 30 mile trip to Bernalillo and back ...by way of Corrales. Coach Clyde gave the ride directions. Today we brought family and friends on the ride and we totalled about 30 cyclists. Cece rode with Amanda today. Amanda arrived all smiles and ready to ride despite having two very bad falls last week. She was still all bruised up, but she laughed and joked and smiled all through the ride. She is a lot of fun to ride with! We worked on clipping in and clipping out and putting your foot down when you stop. ...anticipating problems, watching for road hazards. Amanda is very strong and did a fantastic job today with no falls! HURRAY!

Does Strawberry Shortcake Soothe the Soul?

2010-07-03T18:03:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

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!

BDOB and Learning Valuable Lessons

2010-06-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

BDOB means Bad Day on The Bike! Well I look happy don't I? It was not a fully bad day on the bike, it was really just a bad moment...and I did learn some valuable lessons about bike mechanicals and bike checks pre-ride.

This is my friend Christine. She and I were both happy at this moment.

I was riding along just fine until about 3/4 through the ride when my back wheel started to fish tail and rub my back brakes. I was unable to turn the pedals over. My bike was shifting itself without any help from me and we were in huge traffic and having to cross about 4 lanes of traffic. Once stopped at the traffic light, I tried to ride though the intersection when the light turned green, but I could not turn the pedals over and I could not get any momentum. I did not know what was wrong and thought it was just operator error. As we left the meet up spot, and started to climb back up, it became more and more obvious that I had a serious problem and the whole team left me in the dust and I could not get my bike to pedal and it was shifting itself like crazy.

Luckily Coach Ed was behind me and was telling me how I should proceed. He was watching what was going on with my bike. We pulled over and he made one fix. We started off again and the same problem...dovetailing, wobbling and shifting itself. We pulled over again and I got off the bike and he took an even closer look. Well glory be! My rear wheel was not tightened down by the quick release. The wheel was flipping and flopping in the hub and it had caused my brakes to engage! It was an easy fix and then we smoothly sailed up hill the rest of the way back to the finish!

The moral of the story? Give your bike a serious check up before you ride it each time. Check all the parts that could potentially cause you trouble! I take the front wheel off and never take the rear off...so I always check the front quick release and never the rear. Big mistake!

Another life lesson learned!

I am off to have my car serviced now!
Cece

The New Yorker and the Black Leopard Cubs

2010-06-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

When a NYer goes to Santa Fe, it is like going to Big Game Country. So when Cece was cycling and doing her triathlon practice on Sunday morning, it did not surprise her to see big game! She saw 4 black leopard cubs! She was cycling along and she sucked in air...."OMG black leopard cubs!" Even though she was racing for time, she slowed down considerably and was a bit scared that the black leopards had come down to where she was cycling. She approached slowly as she watched them cantor across the road and into the bush. She was nervous that they would jump out at her....and maybe their mom would have her for lunch...where was the mom? But as she slowed and approached, she realized that they were 4 pure black kittens about 4 months old! Big game! For sure! She stopped and greeted them and then continued on her way laughing at herself. Black leopards...right!

She was doing the tri route in reverse saving the long climb back up for the end. She parked at the Indian Arts School

and saw this beautiful mural. She realized a lot about her fitness now compared to what it was this time last year. Then, she was riding with a shoulder that would eventually need surgery and that took its toll. Today the ride was so manageable and fun. She was relaxed and optimistic.

Once back at the Community Center, she worked on her running and counted exactly 200 steps she would have to run in cleats with her bike, before she could mount her bike. She practiced this. Not too bad.

Driving back into the city , she was taken a back by the beauty of the earth once again. It never ceases to surprise her and she remembered her first ride to SF when she visited over 17 years ago and fell in love with the land and sky! At that time, she knew she would move here.

She got off the highway in Bernalillo and came in from the north . It was a perfect day for a nice ride and a wonderful drive.<>

She was surprised that Bernalillo is undergoing a face lift. This time she came in from the north. Usually the opposite, so she only sees the older part of town...now there is new growth and development. She remembers when practically the only place to eat was the pizza place....now they have everything!

Cece thinks that for the next few weeks that she will make the trek to SF to practice. When you have asthma, even a few thousand feet elevation change is noticeable...so practice will be beneficial to help with the breathing!

And....We are Off!

2010-06-19T04:18:00.000-07:00

Today begins the first day of training for the new team! Each Saturday this blog will be updated with info about the rides with photos and funny stories.

I cannot believe I did not take one photograph this morning! It is very unlike me! So, I had to dig into the archives and get a pic that would do the person justice...even though it is several years old!

This is our coach Clyde! I was thinking that today we met lots of new friends who we will spend the next 4 months training with every week...some maybe a few times a week! Already , it is a happy group and we had many laughs and much hilarity.

Today we did a very short 17 mile ride to , as Clyde calls it , "The Bike Magnet" which is the gas station at the top of Corrales Road and 528. It just seems to draw cyclists in and not many are able to get past it without being magnetically drawn to it!

A good beginning with a few mishaps...but luckily nothing major!

Tomorrow I am off to Santa Fe to climb some hills and to practice running in cleats and to figure out JUST HOW FAR I have to run in them to mount my bike. I am going to count my steps and then train just that many steps. Yes, I am not a runner.

In Team in Training, we are all riding to fund cancer research so if you would care to donate, please click on the link on the right....and push the easy button! It is that easy to donate!
Thanks,
Cece

Update: From Ride of Silence/See Previos Post

2010-05-29T03:57:00.000-07:00

Paseo del Norte Mulit-Use Path
Posted on May 12, 2010, 12:19 pm, by Jennifer Buntz, under Announcement.
Good news for the Paseo del Norte Multi-Use Path where it runs adjacent to Paseo del Norte Boulevard. NMDOT has completed their study and determined a concrete wall barrier will provide the best safety option to protect path users. They are planning construction of this barrier from east of the Rio Grande to just west of where the bike path crosses Rio Grande Boulevard. Debra Bauman from NMDOT made this announcement at the monthly Greater Albuquerque Bicycle Advisory Committee (GABAC) meeting on Monday, May 10. The estimated cost of this project is around $85 thousand dollars, with a portion of the funding coming from Bernalillo County ($20k) and the remainder from the State of New Mexico. Construction should be completed sometime this summer

The Ride of Silence

2010-04-13T19:13:00.000-07:00

We met as a team to cycle in to the Ride of Silence in honor of Dave Anderson....we that are working to end cancer and find a cure ...came together to mourn another needless death.

Dave Anderson was out cycling with his wife and family on a designated bike path when a car careened off the highway and killed him. His wife was ahead of him at the time and looked back to see the crash.

As we arrived after riding to the site in silence, we immediately saw a crowd of cyclists and friends and mourners gathered at the crash site. Bike upon bike lined

the thin fence that could not have hoped to hold the car back from the cyclist. We watched the cars go by thinking what a very freak accident this was....and how easily it could happen again. Many cycling teams were present and dressed in their kits representing their

teams...a solemn show of support.....and it was good to see so many people all present to pay their regards. It was a quiet crowd...thoughtful, prayerful...mindful...cyclists who arrived on the scene during the accident were there, the police at the scene were there...church members were there ...

When we first arrived, we were each given a beautiful flower and we all put the flowers around the ghost bike...the symbol of the life lost so needlessly. Many prayers were said....many tears were spilled...

The Ghost Bike is now a permanent memorial to Dave Anderson. His wife and daughter placed the first flowers and they and their pastor greeted the mourners. It has only been a month since their lives changed forever. Let us hope and pray that not one more cyclist is killed by a car.

Silly Yoga?

2010-03-23T07:37:00.001-07:00

I have met a very nice woman in my new yoga class. I do not think, that at this moment, she quite knows what to do with me! She tilted her head after class and told me "I never laughed in yoga until you came along!" Thus, silly yoga was born!

I think that sometimes, in yoga we just end up laughing at ourselves, because we try so hard...when the goal is not to try so hard....but just to breathe and ease into in...but those times, when it does not ease in....are the times, I seem to have a battle with my body and try to muscle it and end up laughing at the hilarity of that!

Take the other day. We were into a pose similar to happy baby..only on the left side we were to straighten our leg. My leg would not straighten ...tight cycling hamstrings...and I started to roll around on the mat. I tried to "make" it happen, but the leg just would not stretch! This got me giggling. Then my new friend started to giggle and I think I heard my yoga teacher giggle too!

OH! Silly yoga! What a joy!

Sag Support! Try it, You'll Like It!

2010-03-21T14:26:00.001-07:00

I think many cyclists do not really like to give up their role on the bike, to drive a car and be the support vehicle for a ride. But I am here to tell you that it can be fun! It is also a comfort to the cyclists. Having been on the receiving end of the benefits of the SAG vehicle, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to give back!

Some of the Team is doing the Santa Fe Century while others will do the Century in Lake Tahoe.

The friends you make through Team in Training can be friends for life...and many become just that! It was fun to meet new cyclists and to see friends who chanted 'Thank God for the Internet!" We were reunited on this ride after many weeks of back and forth emailing!

I will tell you what! I was pretty glad I was warm and cozy today! The Team had to cope with some mean hill climbing and also a fierce wind...no matter which way they turned! Everyone did such a great job and everyone was happy!

Lots of wonderful bonds are being forged.....like with these two guys below...maybe they are the wolf brothers...or perhaps the Blues Brothers in disguise! And yes, Ed, I skipped the blackmail pic of your butt! ...but could not resist mentioning it! LOL

Where is Coach Mike? I never got a pic of him...he was busy cycling back and forth! I overheard him say, "I did not start to feel good until I started climbing!" In my world a statement like this is beyond comprehension! He is such a wonderful addition to the Team and to the Wolf Brothers below! Everyone is relaxed and happy...and supported! What a pleasure!

There is an entire family cycling this year and it was nice to meet a few of them. I look forward to sagging the SF Century for this team in a few months! GO TEAM!

Fighting cancer one pedal stroke at a time!

Women Cyclists! Take this Survey!

2010-03-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals are asking women to take a survey about what supports and prohibits us from cycling. After taking the survey, I continue to realize how bike friendly Albuquerque is. They are collecting data for a study and will use the information to improve cycling for women. Please take a few minutes and check out and fill out the survey. Sorry guys! They may have a survey for men in the future!

"Writing Women Back into Bicycling" Survey
Cece

Come Join us In Moab!

2010-03-16T15:46:00.001-07:00

Come join us for the Moab Century Tour in September. This is a skinny tire event so all you roadies..come and meet us in beautiful Moab! There are several of us going and then there are some from Women Riding Well, our cycling club, going too. We would love to meet you there if you are on Team Fatty , Team Clydesdale or ride with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society too! A portion of your entry fee goes to support cancer research. Let us know if you will be joining us!

Have you heard that my favorite coach Troy Jacobson has been named official Coach for IRONMAN? It is true. Check out his new blog!

Today at work, someone asked me if I have been back on my bike since my surgery. I told them that I only missed one week off the bike and have been on it ever since. It really is amazing when I think of it. I have been doing lots of PT and strength training and am working my mileage back up! I went back to yoga again last week and was so happy to return. I am practicing with Anil Poovadan at his studio in Bernalillo.

This weekend, I will be sagging for the Team in Training as they increase their mileage for their century rides. It should be a lot of fun and I will see lots of friends and try to take lots of pics. Stay tuned!

Cycling Rhythms

2010-03-02T18:02:00.001-08:00

If you cycle, you will know that there are familiar rhythms to it. There are rituals and routines and things to do..to prepare for... things to gather, hair to fix, tires to pump...IDs and medical cards to gather...water bottles to prepare...clothes, shoes and socks...all must match...we are all divas you know...male and female!

I was reunited with all these rhythms today as I took my first ride outdoors post-surgery. It was a very sentimental rhythm for me today. One that I appreciated and sort of bathed in...even the drive to the bosque was meaningful. Once on the path I felt the familiar headwind...that really should not have been there according to the weather...I felt the silence that was so full of miniatures sounds...rustling leaves, honking geese, the river, lapping down , stomping horses, cattle, dogs galloping with their masters who are rollerblading....and the multitude of cyclists who I wondered...were they all playing "hooky" with me on this beautiful and warm day in Albuquerque?

This was a test ride...to test the shoulder. It was so nice to finally be moving on my bike...rather than attached to my trainer ...the wind on my face...the smells...all made me know that I was finally home...at home...with the freedom of my bike. I took pics and tested the newly designed shoulder...yes I could hold on just fine !I reached for the water bottle with either arm. Still doing well. Standing up cycling...doing well! Took pics and held on just fine! All is well. I sauntered on... Absorbing the road shock and feeling the movement to create balance. All is well. At last!

I always sprint the last mile and as I threw it into the big chain ring and went fast..heart rate in zone 4...I thought WOW..a new beginning...12 miles down only 78 more to Go! I will be in Moab in September for the Skinny Tire Century as planned and as a matter of fact...my recovery is right on track! HURRAY....and thank you to my wonderful surgeon / cyclist Dr. Pachelli, my PT Char and my deep tissue massage therapist Stephanie! It takes a village!

cece

Back in Business!

2010-02-24T05:41:00.001-08:00

Many have been asking how my recovery is going and I know I have not written much on this blog...so here is the latest and greatest news!

On Monday afternoon, I saw the surgeon and have finally been released! This means that I am free to ride my bike on the road again! HURRAY! I am very excited about this! I have been getting itchy to do so...and I knew I would, so I put an orange Continental trainer tire on my back wheel so I COULD NOT ride it on the road. This helped a lot and I have been riding indoors 40-50 miles per week (still cursing at Troy Jacobson) including the famous Cement Factory spin class on Thursday nights!

The camaraderie in this class is fantastic and we are all having a blast! Nothing like 80-100 cyclists in a cement store...all jammed in and rowdy!

So, I am back in business again! I have been doing some easy pilates (which is still difficult due to the whiplash ) and losing weight (10.4 pounds) and beginning to lift some light weights and get back into strength training.

Monday, which looks like the best day in the next few, I will get on the bosque and do a flat perhaps 12 miles and see how I do...beginning to get those shoulder/neck muscles going on the road. It always surprises me how different the actual road is from the trainer. On the road, you have to steer and balance and deal with road shock...on the trainer it is mostly legs!

Many of you know Yun and we are writing another blog together which is keeping us both out of trouble. It is called The Two Whos Check it out!

As I said to my wonderful surgeon, "See you on the Road!"
Cece

Choose Your Destiny! Flawless Victory. FIGHT!

2010-01-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

Life is not always happy, happy, happy. We all have bad days that get the best of us. I had a day like that yesterday.

First. Let me begin by saying that my PT was also my sensei in karate and she is also my trainer. She and I have known each other many years. She is a dynamo and I always forget the power that this woman holds in her body! She is a ferocious but loving warrior woman who is really a peacemaker and healer…but she knows me sooo well that she can kick my butt..no holds barred. I respect her for that ability. When I need to get rid of “Miss Weepy” I ask her for advice. Then I buckle my seat belt! She tells it like it is and reminds me of who I am and how I am.

She has rehabbed my knee that was kicked back in karate and then has helped me to rehab the shoulder from the actual car accident. Now she is helping rehab the surgery that resulted from the very same car accident. She knows my body and me very well.

Yesterday, I was in agony when I walked into her door and said, “I don’t know why I am here because I am already in pain.” She said, “Because you are a masochist and love pain…and you also want to get better faster.” I said, Well, let’s set the record straight…. if I am a masochist, then you are a sadist.” She said “I can accept that role. Shall we begin?”

And so we did. She read the post –op report from the surgeon on what had actually been done…. Needless to say as the tears welled up in my eyes and I sweated profusely and she pushed me to literally purge the anesthesia, she kept telling me that my recovery so far was amazing! My range of motion was great, she felt no glitches when she rotated my shoulder every which way…and I cried from pain….she was very pleased. When I got dizzy she gave me a cold towel around my neck…let me sit down for 20 seconds…then up for another circuit. URGH.

Anyway, I lived. I have exercises to do at least 2x a day for now….also she wants cardio (even though I cannot wear a bra) on the light side and to drink lots of water. We had a quick and useless chat about her bra size and mine and the difference the bouncing would make…to no avail of the sympathy I was trying to get…..and off I went into cardio land…mild …to purge the anesthesia…but still bouncy!

I bought some dark chocolate with orange to soothe myself after this work out..and it helped…..then I slept for 4 hours….that really helped….then I did some of the PT exercises from today’s work out…..and realized that that phrase no pain no gain…is a good one.

We all have difficulties in life that we have to work through…and sometimes those difficulties recur…and we have to continue to work through them and hope to learn from them. I had to muster up the willingness to rehab an injury post surgery that I had spent the last year rehabbing pre-surgery. That was more an emotional willingness than a physical.

But today...today was another story....I was empowered by yesterday...already felt stronger....and I began to do my first workout on my own as part of my rehab for the shoulder surgery. I heard these words in my ears as I plugged in my IPOD:

Choose Your Destiny!

Flawless Victory!

FIGHT!

I Betcha Superman Didn't Wear a Bra !

2010-01-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

If you recall, the one thing that weakened Superman was kryptonite. If it came near him, he would become very weak and non-functional.

Well, yesterday, I discovered that putting on a bra, post-surgery had the same effect on me as kryptonite does on superman.

Sometimes, I think I am superman.

I can do anything. Nothing can stop me. A friend told me this morning that I am an eternal optimist.

But the bra....it conquered me!

I had shoulder surgery on January 7th. That was Thursday. By Friday, I had done so well, the surgeon took me out of the sling. I was supposed to be in the sling a week.

I was pretty non-functional for the next few days....resting and in not too much pain. By the way, I had a pain block and could not feel any pain....and started taking aleve right away...so I was in good shape.....happy... and looking to the future and doing my PT exercises. Signed up for the Moab Century Tour in September.... the surgeon told me I could do cardio the next week and by the 16th could be back on my bike indoors on the trainer. so, that was my plan.

When the next week came....that was Monday, I woke up and determined that I could go to the gym and do a VERY Light cardio...perhaps 10 minutes on the elliptical.

Well, let me tell you how short lived this thought was! I undid the surgery tee that was given to me. It had velcro on the neck and side seam. I carefully moved my arm and felt good that it was so functional. I chose a wide strapped sports bra and carefully hooked the back in the front and then turned it to the back where it belonged. Then I carefully put the surgery arm into the left strap and the right arm into the right strap and pulled the bra on up and over and onto the shoulders.

OMG! The pain from the strap on one of the surgery sites was unbearable! Somehow I got it off and went to get some ice. ... Iced my shoulder and put myself to bed. Horrible, horrible, horrible. BRA= kryptonite for Cece.

Well, today is Tuesday, and I remembered I have a strapless bra! That is perfect!

So, in a little while, a friend is coming to take me out for a walk...not some cardio. I am determined to be a bit more moderate in my approach to rehab.

Wednesday? I will see my PT and trainer and begin my rehab in earnest...in my strapless bra!

Amendment to above post: I lasted about a 1/2 hour in the strapless bra...and then went into agony. Now in a cami and we will see how that goes. What's next?

Happy Gene vs Grim Reaper Gene?

2010-01-07T17:54:00.000-08:00

On The Two Whos blog, Cece told a story about her sister Kristen:

“I am Glad You’re not Planning to Die! Thank you!” This was the 2 sentence sarcastic email I received from my sister after she received all 13 pages of my advanced directives, my living will and the “how tos” of fish and cat care. …also my plans for the funeral in case the worst happened in surgery.

You see, my sissy prefers to look on the bright happy side of life. She often says “I like to have denial.” She inherited my mother’s gene in this area of life. The Happy gene!

However, everyone seems to tell my sister about their dying. She told me, “This is the story of my life…including the calls with dad.” She swears that every phone call to my dad, she gets a death reference. So, she gets a lot ‘death reference’ in her conversations. It must be her ultra cheery attitude…The Happiness gene! Could it be that we are all just trying to temper it!

“Why not in denial? Grandma used to make me buy her very small bottles of vitamins because she did not think that she would live long enough to use them all and she did not want to spend money on a bigger bottle….but she made me keep buying the little bottles for years and she kept telling me she was gonna die soon….but she lived well past 100!,” she rants! My sister is on a roll! …..

Me? On the other hand, I inherited my father’s gene in this area of life. My sister calls it “The Grim Reaper” or ”Doom and Gloom” gene. I prefer to say that I see the pothole in the road and make a plan to go around it! I do not think it is doom and gloom…just taking a look at reality and what could possibly happen…and being prepared for it.

Possibly being a Girl Scout all those years taught me to “be prepared” ……but my sister was a Girl Scout too! Go figure! Gene pool?

For whatever reasons that we are different, it matters much less why we are different than the fact that we are different! So, then, does it matter that we see things, even the matters of life and death, differently?

No and yes! Different perspectives are just the way of life in our mind, no matter how we see life, life happens regardless. Like the ‘death’ Cece has been consciously preparing “in case” in past few days, or how her sister has consciously chosen to “have denial”. As long as we are conscious about what we are thinking, perspectives become our choices. When this happens, we can consciously choose the perspectives that serve our life for the better.

The happy happy or the grim reaper? The point here is not which perspective (attitude) is better than the other. Rather, can we see our perspective as perspectives, the product of our thoughts? Do we have the power to choose our perspectives to serve our life? Can we see the other person’s perspective as their perspective?

PS from Cece…as she is editing, she is back from surgery. All is well! Thanks for your well wishes! She developed ” the happy gene ‘ as she read the anesthesia disclaimer…and decided it was better to have denial than to embrace all those scary side effects…including death! She just signed the paper

Pre-Surgery Jitters

2010-01-04T06:03:00.001-08:00

On the Two Whos blog , we recently addressed the issues of Re-calibrate our thinking and “outing” our blind spots…both of which have been troublesome issues for me that have come up in the last few weeks! And, it can get interesting when your readers come back at you and effectively “point out” a blind spot that you did not notice!

Lately, I have had the “Poor Mes” re : my upcoming surgery. Lots of fear and resentment that I will once again have to rehab an injury that was not my fault in the first place. Fist my knee was kicked back in karate and then the hit and run accident that is pushing me into surgery on this coming Thursday.

So I emailed my personal trainer/ PT , who is a reader, and asked her for her sage advice on the topics of resentment at having to rehab ONCE AGAIN after I spent the last year doing it! Her repsonse? A KICK ASS REPLY that shook me out of my “victimhood!”

She told me that she had known me for a long time…..that this poor me girl that she was seeing at this moment was not the real me and that I needed to shake that off so that the powerful stong kick ass cyclist named Cece could re-emerge. She reminded me of all my victories over a stupid gym teacher in elementary school and a semi-concsious orthopedic surgeon , lots of weight loss.and yes, even a cycling coach who wanted me to take the easy way out of some serious swithcback climbing…which ….by the way I conquored in a century in Lake Tahoe! She told me that this kick ass Cece is the one that needs to be nourished…not the “Missy Weepy” victim.

Her final comment to me was this ,” I know you asked for my sage wisdom but I think you need to take your own advice and “Re-calibrate!”

And so I have done! I will ROCK this rehab as I have rocked others…with lots of hard work and determination!

Cece

I've Been Kinda Quiet.......

2009-12-28T16:46:00.001-08:00

I've been kinda quiet.....although I am still cursing at Troy Jacobson and cycling indoors...preparing for my surgery on Jan 7th and working at staying healthy until then......

Something has gotten me real busy and that is.....that my friend Yun and I started a new blog that we turned into a web site and we have had many fun and funny moments doing so!

It is called The Two Whos and it has been very challenging to put the blog up!

Here is an entry to let you know about our challenges!

How The Two Whos Travelled Down the Slippery Slope that is SEO!

Once upon a time there were Two Whos. One was Mz technology PhD in physics and the other Mz educator artist. They are Yun and Cece. One day Yun emailed Cece and said "Cece! We need SEO" Cece emailed back, "What is SEO?" That should tell you how large is the great divide between their knowledge bases.

One day Yun said, "Cece...just open it up in power point" ...Cece said "What is power point?" Yun said "How do you function?" Cece said "I do not have to!"

Cece keeps thinking that she needs a HE WHO or a SHE WHO Geek that will help us. Yun thinks this is a challenge and Cece thinks it is hell!

One night, Cece had a dream. She was dreaming she was writing HTML code. She woke up at 3:30am and started to research on the Internet.... but the problem is that she did not understand all that code language so she sent it all to Yun.

Yun woke up the next day and was bombarded by SEO optimization instructions. She read it all and tried to digest it...and downloaded many plug ins...but then said ,"Cece! Now we have all this complex stuff, but how do we work it?

What is a "tag Cloud" a " post tag" a "slug?" What does a slug have to do with computer? It's a whole new language! In Chinese we call it this: ...if you talk to me in something I do not understand , we say they speak to us like a cow playing the guitar!...We can see the cow playing the guitar... and we laugh as we think of the Geek wondering "Who are you guys?"

In China we have another way to say we do not understand. We say it is like a sky book. It means we are clueless. We are laughing so hard. We need a HE Who Geek...or a SHE Who Geek! HELP! We are having SEO nightmares!

Now what are we going to call this post on SEO language...women building business, women's emotional strength....clueless...we'll figure this out eventually!

As Cece was leaving Yun's house, the physicist said "You know Cece, it will just be the two of us, We will probably not find a He Who or a She Who. Maybe our business will be to develop the code for the SEO! By the time we are both done researching, we will be experts!" The artist sarcastically said, "OH! How much fun!"

Race Report: Muddy Buddy Arizona!

2009-12-15T03:27:00.000-08:00

Stephanie Tiger and friends, Char, Mary and Rob went to race in the Muddy Buddy Arizona! After I saw these pics, I greeted Stephanie with a "Welcome Back Oh Fierce Warrior Woman!" Her team took 5th place! Stephanie will be a guest blogger for us and give us a race report.

The Muddy Buddy is a mud-liscious race . Here is the description! Each race features a 6-7 mile course and 5 obstacles. At the start of the race, one team member will run and one will ride the bike. At the 1st obstacle, the rider will drop the bike, complete the obstacle, and begin running. The runner will arrive, complete the obstacle, find their bike, and begin riding. Teams will continue leapfrogging each other through the entire course. At the end of the race, racers will crawl through the infamous Mud Pit crossing. See Below:

Hey there Internet! My name is Stephanie and Cece has asked me to do a guest blog post. I recently participated in my first Muddy Buddy event in Phoenix, AZ. If you are not familiar with the Muddy Buddy event, this event is an obstacle course race that you run and bike for 6 or 7 miles and it benefits the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). You do this event with a buddy. One person starts on the bike, the other starts with the run. You both take off and get to the first obstacle. The biker drops the bike, does the obstacle, then takes off running. The runner comes in to the obstacle, does the obstacle, finds the bike then takes off to the next obstacle. You leap frog this entire course then finish together going through a mud pit, hence, Muddy Buddy. As mentioned, I participated in the event on December 13th in Phoenix, AZ. It.Was.COLD! Not as cold as Albuquerque but cold for Arizona! My buddies (Rob, Charlotte and Mary) and I arrived at the event, got our race packets and waited for our wave to take off. We decided I would take off on the bike first and he would run. There were 7 waves
and we were in the 5th wave. Bikes were taking off first then the runners would take off 2 minutes after the bikes. Each wave was separated by 6 minutes. Oh yeah, did I mention that there was close to 1000 participants! So, we finally get to our wave. The butterflies have made their presence known! 5…4…3…2…1 “Boom” and we are off!

The first leg was 1.5 miles and it was tough! All up hill! The first portion was on pavement then we turned onto singletrack trails. The trails were phenomenal and boy is 1.5 miles a lot longer than I remember! I thought I would never get to the first obstacle. Finally, I make it to the first obstacle. Crawling under nets on your hands and knees. This event is so well organized that they actually have 2 of the same obstacles. One course for the bikers and one course for the runners. This way we didn’t crash into one another. Splendid! My buddy and I decided that we would drop the bike at 11:00. He figured people would go to the left or the right and boy was he right! 11:00 was perfect! I found the bike every time! Even before the volunteers found it! Well, it also helped that I wrapped orange, electrical tape all over my bike frame ;) Anyway, under the nets, no problem!

Off running I go. That first run was tough! If you are familiar with mountain biking at all, you know what washout conditions are. Well, this portion was 80% washout, which means I may as well have been running on the beach! I was glad I wasn’t biking this portion ;) Sorry Rob, just keepin’ it real LOL! Second obstacle, what I was dreading the most…….THE WALL. You see, I have very strong legs but consider myself more like a Tyrannosaurus Rex in my upper body and I just dreaded do a wall. Well, the wall wasn’t that bad. There was no rope to climb but there were pegs like at a rock wall climbing facility. Still had to pull myself up and I did it! Then had to shimmy down ropes on the other side. Done! Found my bike that Rob had dropped off, and I was on my way. I had to climb a hill out of that obstacle and for those that know me, I LOVE HILLS! What a kick!
By this time, I am totally pumped! I pass Rob who is now running (Go Rob!) and get to the next obstacle. Balance beams. No problem! Drop the bike, run across beams and start running. This run for me was excellent! I am enjoying the course and the scenery so much! Everyone is so friendly and having a great time! Rob passes me (Go Rob!) and he is flying on that bike! I get to the last obstacle and it is a HUGE tower! I am terrible with heights but someone figured it was 30 feet high! Had to climb netting to get to the top and slide down the other side.
WHAT A BLAST! OMG, I was a little kid again just flying down that slide! One of my other friends ended up getting burns on her arms coming down that slide and that made me realize that I think I actually held my arms up and went “Whoo Hoo” down the slide! LOL! Okay, off the slide, find the bike, get some water and I’m off again. This time, the hill got me. I bonked! Had to walk my bike up that hill.

I see the finish line and vendor tents and hear the crowd cheering! I drop the bike, find my buddy and we proceed into THE MUD PIT. Holy smokes, the mud was FREEZING! I was so cold I didn’t think I was going to make it out! My buddy helped me through the mud pit by being the Marine that he is and barking at me “Get on your belly and crawl!” “You can do it!” (Thanks Rob! I really did need that encouragement at that moment!)
We crossed the finish line in 1:03! My buddy Rob kept telling me that he thought we did really well with that time. Well my friends, he was right. We came away with a 5th place medal for our division! I can’t even tell you how surprised and happy I was! Our first time as buddies and coming away with a medal! My other buddies, Charlotte and Mary, did really well also and had a blast! We are all looking at next year already!

What an awesome experience! Awesome buddy! Awesome friends! This event is very well organized and if anyone is interested in doing it, by all means DO IT! I am already looking at next year.

I would like to thank my other cohorts in grime! Our dear friend Barney took all of us in his RV from ABQ to PHX. Thanks Barney (and Quigley)! Also my other friends Donna and Judi came along for moral support and ended up volunteering at the event. Thanks guys! You all made this a very special time!
Next time, you’re going Cece! LOL ;)
Stephanie Tiger