A Girl With Wheels!

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!

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!

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.