I was passed by a Skinny Size 8 Woman Cyclist.....

......who soon became a blue blurr..... in her blue windbreaker, blue helmet and matching blue Trek.

You may remember how well I handled myself when I was passed by Santa when I was going uphill in the Jingle Bell Triathlon last year. There are some things that leave lasting scars!

NEVER MIND that today my riding goal was to ride for speed........those of you who know me know that when a skinny size 8 passes me they have no idea that they have just thrown down the gauntlet. They become the rabbit and me the greyhound on the track....who just might be thinking of having them for dinner.....no I am not competitive! My mom always said that!

NEVER MIND that it is unlikely I will ever catch that blue blurr.......it is the TRYING that counts! And try I did as she took off down into the speed zone that is the straight and flat (mostly) path of the bosque that runs along our Rio Grande river!

I told myself to amp it up and that I did and came within 2 bike lengths of her. There were several times I could have passed her as I just coasted along her...but I thought,.,,,why pass her now when she will just pass me going uphill later and that will really piss me off! Soon, she stopped and spoke to a woman runner...but soon enough I heard "on your left" and she passed me again. I tried and tried to keep up and there was quite a head wind...I watched her hunker down and thought "if only I can get right on her wheel instead of 2 lengths behind I can draft off her...but alas I could not. We rode on and on until finally we came to an unexpected detour on the path. It was strategically placed at a bridge where we could make an easy turn around. She made it very gracefully, but as I pulled to turn another rider jolted across the bridge, which made me quickly clip out and stop my bike so I would not hit him. After he passed, I made my turn and took off after the rabbit which by now was almost a blue speck on the horizon! Soon enough, I caught sight of the blue and noticed it had stopped again to speak to the runner! AH ha! This was my chance! I whizzed past the man who ruined my graceful turn and my opportunity to catch up....and threw my big chain ring into operation. All I could think about was "will she catch me again? Will that light blue wind breaker catch me or will I make it back and be victorious? My phone rang...it was work. I had to take the call. Then I saw some beautiful photo ops...and had to take a few pics...all the while looking out for that whiz of blue to pass me....but it did not happen.

I got safely back to the open space parking lot and saw her car. I took a picture thinking "I need a memory of this day." Well what do you know? She owns a kennel and specializes in problem dogs! She sure handled this greyhound real well today!

In a minute, I looked and there she was in her light blue wind jacket. We greeted each other and said what a beautiful day it was. I thanked her for being the rabbit for me and I the greyhound chasing the rabbit around the track! She laughed! I asked her if I could take her pic and gave her my blog address. Her name is Deena and she lives in Los Lunas. I invited her to join Women Riding Well and gave her the web address and made a new friend! I hope we get to be friends and get to know each other!
cece

I Just Think that Aleve Should Sponsor Me!

Well, I woke up this am and was surprised by shoulder pain. I have been keeping the mileage down and so the pain is down too...but not this am! I popped 3 aleve (which I call a therapeutic dose) and voila! The pain disappeared. I think Aleve should sponsor my new cycling career! I would wear the jersey very proudly!

Women Riding Well took off about noon today on THE most beautiful day I have been on a bike in a very long time! It was warm and there was a very slight breeze and we planned to ride an out an back that I was familiar with...but I thought the miles were about 30 but they ended up at just under 42! However, that aleve did the trick and I had a wonderful pain free ride with no real mishaps...except perhaps after I applied more chamois butter and then slipped off my saddle.....wow that stuff is slippery. Well, that is not exactly what happened! But I did not fall....and I am really exaggerating! LOL. This is Catherine . You can see the beauty of the Sandia mountains as we go north past the Sandia Pueblo and into Bernalillo.

This is a pic from the way home crossing the Rio Grande river. The cottonwoods are so lovely in their rustic colors.

Another shot of the valley as we go north along the reservation land. We ended up stopping at one of our favorite places the Flying Star. The one in Bernalillo is my favorite because they have wonderful colors on their outdoor awnings and the interior decor is very beautiful...with painted murals.

It turns out that we had a birthday girl among us and we sang and made a surprise for Priscilla who turned 37....no...not 37...maybe it was 37 in reverse...no that is not right! ...I really do think it is 37....although she told me how old she is and I do not believe her!

Here we are outdoors in 70 degree weather singing happy birthday! We are spoiled this week in New Mexico! I hope the weather holds! Let us hope!

A mural that I like at the Flying Star in Bernalillo! We had a great day on our

bikes today and could enjoy the beauty that is New Mexico. We really are very spoiled living here. We can practically ride year round! I know I recently complained about the cold, but on days like this, I tend to forget about my complaints!

Cece

GPS gets the Best of Cece!

Well, yesterday, I was gifted with a GPS!.. Those of you that know me, know that this is a much needed piece of equipment as I just mastered left and right when I had moved from NY...only to discover that in NM there is north, south , east and west! LOL. IN NY we just went up and down...or right and left...we did not have to maneuver with 4 directions! I can hear you laughing!

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? This is what is left of the packaging for the friction mount for the GPS. 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! Then I assembled all the parts and tried to make sense of them. I looked in the teeny tiny direction manual and searched for the chart that labels all the parts...to no avail. I looked at garmin.com on the Internet to find the full manual and had to download a 76 page manual all the while telling myself....why can't you be green? Printing out all this paper.? I knew if I had this much trouble in such a short amount of time, I had better print out the manual for future use. Well, there still was not a chart labeling all the equipment pieces...and there were NO numbers on any of the 76 pages I printed out that would tell me which was page 60 when looking up a topic. So, of course, I had to count and number each page and check that my numbering was correct. Do you feel like this is taking me all evening? I have not even gotten to the MOST fun part yet.

Here is the most fun part....so far! It is harmless looking enough isn't it? Well, that little ball's head is supposed to go in the little round hole in the pic below. I said supposed......

Try as I might. that ball would not go into that hole. The directions told me to snap it in.

Sorry about the fuzzy pic....perhaps it is just a reflection of how foggy my brain felt last night......the pic shows like a rocking or a levering of the ball into the mount. This did not work. To me, it seemed the ball was too big for the hole! I looked in the product manual to see if the right mount was purchased....not wanting to contemplate trying to open another one of those tamper resistent packages ...but I found out it was the correct product! Well, I twisted and I leveraged and I turned it this way and that...and I took cleansing yogic breaths and tried to remain calm. Finally, after about another hour of maneuvering...there was no more miss nice guy! I discovered that the directions should have read...........

"Shove the ball into the damn hole!

Needless to say, I have not had a chance to read the voluminous directions as to how to configure the GPS! Perhaps I have already gone through the hard part..... yeah right!

cece

YES! I am a Yankees Fan!

Last night, Andy Pettitte struggled to pitch in the 3rd game of the World Series in Philadelphia. To quote the Philadelphia Inquirer, "The 37-year- old Pettitte, who extended his major league record to 17 postseason wins in the Yankees 8-5 win last night at Citizens Bank Park, was in deep early trouble, laboring to locate his assortment of pitches."

When Pettitte was interviewed after the game, he said this:

"It's a grind when you're out there by yourself. There's not a whole lot of anything that can help you, except trying to just keep battling."

This is my motto when hill climbing...it is how I feel....but I think this is a great life lesson too for when the times get hard on the many fronts of our lives...and they do......

Cece

Cold Weather Cooking

I have noticed that when it gets colder, I want to eat differently! Out go the salads and in come the cooked veggies and then I want to add in some soups and things that will warm me. I have kept it a secret up 'till now........but I get cold if the temperature goes below 70 degrees! AND it is certainly below 70 degrees in Albuquerque. As I write this, it is 27 degrees!

Last week I watched Good Morning America and saw an interview with the Thai chef Su-Mei-Yu who wrote the book "Elements of Life." I have always liked Asian food and watched the interview with interest. She spoke about eating different foods when it rains and different foods when it is hot or cold outside. This made perfect sense to me as I seem to do this automatically. She also spoke about finding out your natural element as far as earth, water, wind or fire. For me, I am 3/4 earth and one part fire! So, for me, I have been adding in some heavier and warmer foods like pumpkin muffins, squash, green chile stew and homemade soups with fragrant herbs on top.

Last night, before I went to bed, I put the crock pot on and made some pinto beans which are a staple of eating in New Mexico. Check here for a good recipe:
http://www.myhomecooking.net/ Go to Mexican food recipes.

All throughout the night, I could smell the beans cooking with that little bit of salt pork and when I woke up, I had the most delicious beans imaginable. I wish I could transport the delicious meaty smell to you through the computer! To me, beans are very nurturing.

What I also learned from the book is that for me, in the winter, I need to eat more bananas, dates, applesauce, walnuts, kiwi, cranberry, beans, corn and swiss chard...to name a few. I have identified a few good recipes in the book and will start to try them.

Here is one of my favorite recipes for the colder weather. This is a great snack for when you get home from a long cold day of cycling or being outdoors.

Harvest Apples

3 apples of your choice cored in a cone shape with the larger part on the top of the apple. Do not core through bottom and make a hole.

3 TBS peanut butter

2 large boxes of raisins (3 oz)

2TBS sunflower seeds

Mix all ingredients and stuff 1/3 of the mixture into each apple. Place apples in an ovenproof dish and bake 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees or until apples are soft, but not mushy. I find if I put the apples in a loaf pan, they do not roll around while cooking!

324 calories, 7g protein, 55 g carbs, 11g fat, 79g sodium and 8g fiber. If this is too much food for your snack, cut the apple in half! To reheat, just zap for a few seconds in the microwave!


How does all this fit in with training , being healthy and weight loss? Very easily. Eating in moderation is the key.
Cece

This is a Simulation...Do not Try this at Home

As I was driving to work this morning, I was crossing the Montano Bridge and right at the river crossing, I saw a clothesline full of bras! The line of bras was to remind us that YES it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! There must have been about 100 bras on this clothesline and I heard that there was a traffic accident during rush hour from someone looking at the bras and not at the road. Do not try this at home!

I heard a piece on the news this am that created quite an uproar. A TV channel in Washington DC put a story on the evening news showing an actual breast self-exam so women could know how to do their self check ups. Evidently there were some who thought it was sexual! The woman commentator said it very well when she said, "if you want to look at breasts that are sexual there are many other venues available to do that. This is not one of them!"

And so, once again I will say...If you are reading this and have not gotten your exam....turn off the computer...pick up the phone...and schedule your mammo. The life you are saving could be your own! Cancer Sucks!

cece

The Shoulder, a Winter Training Plan and a Fantasy Vehicle

Being indoors on the trainer doesn't cut it for my shoulder injury. Meaning that even though the trainer is great cardio and keeps the legs rockin' and rollin' it does nothing for my shoulder strength. When on the trainer, I do not really use my arms or shoulders....other than to hold on! When riding the road, I need to balance myself on the bike, steer, navigate and deal with the changes in the road. I found this out last weekend, like a grand surprise, when my shoulder had to struggle to keep up with the rest of me while at the Day of the Tread! I struggled to hold myself on the bike. Plus the wind compounded my troubles! It took a lot of energy just to stay on the bike!

So, what does that mean for me? Even though it is now winter in Albuquerque and the mountains look like beautiful snow covered tin foil... and it is freezing cold....that I must get outdoors on my bike. So, now I need to plan how that will happen.

I can do a split shift...and ride early in the afternoons and then go back to work later in the day. OR. I can ride after work but that will be a challenge as it gets dark real early...although I now have a light! LOL! But we've already been THERE.....so that leaves mornings and weekends. In the mornings, it is literally freezing...AND I hate the cold...and have to go to work....so that leaves weekends.

This weekend, when the team is riding, it will be 27 degrees! In Albuquerque we always have wonderful wind...and we are known for "The BOX" which is why we are so balloon friendly! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albuquerque_International_Balloon_Fiesta

We are always blessed with a head wind ...no matter if we think we will get a tailwind on our return ride. We always get a head wind! This is why the balloons go in a box...they go across the valley and then go back up and across the valley...head winds both directions! URGH! With my shoulder, I cannot fight the wind to stay on the bike...it is very hard.

So, what are my options? I can suck it up and "man up" and get out in the cold and wind (which I did last year complaining all the way) or I can ride later outdoors on the weekends when it is a bit warmer perhaps 50 degrees. Or I can do a split shift at work and ride in the very early afternoon when the temps are more moderate. That sounds better to me.

I really need to develop a better back bone on this cold and wind issue and I am reminded of a very functional picture that the Fat Cyclist's (http://www.fatcyclist.com/) daughter drew for him. Oct6th blog entry) it was...a vehicle that protected him from the snow and the elements....perhaps I can fantasize about this vehicle , which I hope Fatty will patent...and I can channel the warmth and protection that the vehicle will afford me.

Other than that...I just have to get my butt out in the cold and wind and suck it up!

Cece