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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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


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

Homemade Chicken Soup and the Uphill Grind? NOT!

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

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

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

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

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

The Cycle Eggspress! Breakfast on Wheels!

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!

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!

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

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!
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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.