Remembering Why I Love To Cycle!

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?

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!"

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!

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

 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!

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?

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.