nope

A few posts back I commented on being in the A Group on a long ride.
Do I cut it? Or am I a poseur?

Mostly I am B Group material. We did a 42 mile ride yesterday that made me want to quit 10 minutes into it. It was hilly, then rolly, then really hilly, then more hills on top of that. I finished though. Total B Group fashion. The saving grace is that by constant repetition of hills, I learned how to do them more efficiently. (and with a lot less pain) I'll continue to work on the technique and also think about going a little faster. (10 mph is pretty demoralizing.)

I'm actually committing to a better diet and way less alcohol so the training goes a little easier. Maybe I'll even lose a little bit of my beer belly. The final goal is to kick some ass on the fundraising ride in Tucson. What? Less drinking??? Ya'll better sit down....I've decided to hang out my liver for a while.

Working on and up the hills

This weekend's ride is called the Medina Meander. I missed this ride last year. I hear it is not fun...because the hills are sickening.

Let me say this about that. I am not good at doing hills. Something about the gearing. Something about trying to muscle through them. something also about getting psyched out by them.

So this week is all about the hills. Mind you, it is also about regaining some aerobic fitness. I hadn't ridden in 16 days. Monday was rough. Had flown in on the red eye that am. Must, must, must ride on Tuesday or get slaughtered this weekend. Did a short 5 miles including one hill. We'll call it Storey Road hill. I had to stop half way up as I tried to pop it into granny gear and my chain balked at the idea.

Readjust, start up again, cannot get left foot into pedal cage. Can't get it into granny gear. Crank a few more times, get it into granny gear. Spin the rest of the way up the hill and die at the top.

Forward to today. We had gone farther to warm up. We did a big uphill having cranked it up to speed on a pretty steep downhill. Then a few more miles of warm up. A quick pop over what was last year's nemesis hill, the Sneaky Hill. No problems there. Then a quick stop to stretch out before Storey Road hill.

Today was better. Way better. I popped it into middle chain ring to start with. I somehow couldn't get it into granny gear, again. So I did the entire hill in 2nd gear and avoided granny gear. It really hurt, but I did it. I didn't stop. woo hoo. I finally did it.

One or two more days to hill train so Sunday does not actually kill me. I must get better at this or Tucson will kill me

Living Las Vegas

We stayed at the Mirage and it was a surprise until we pulled up to the lobby. (There's one driveway for Treasure Island and Mirage and I didn't know exactly where we were!) The days were filled with sunshine by the pool, lots of Rum and Diet Cokes and lots of dips in the fabulous, cool water. The pool at the Mirage is fantastic. Lots of palm trees, lots of nooks and crannies and a huge rock outcropping with yet more palm trees and circled by a waterfall.

First nite: Dinner at California Pizza kitchen including 32 oz. Miller Lites. Then off to the room for some special cocktails and bed. But wait, it's 10 pm Vegas time, we're a little tipsy. Let's get dressed and go out!!! We end up at Tangerine at Treasure Island. (Treasure Island has actually changed it's name to TI, who knows why) There were 3 "burlesque" dancers wearing tangerine fringed bikinis. The would dance to the lounge type music. Then a three piece band trotted in and played three songs. While they played, the blond dancer cavorted behind the bar. Think 60's bikini dance and you've got it. We felt old, tired and fat compared to all the young twenty-somethings, so we left. We proceeded to the sports bar at Mirage and played video poker and kept after the cocktails.

Next day: A little crispy. Very hungry. Lunch/breakfast at the diner. A nap for DD, very crispy day for him. I lounged by the pool. Got a pedicure....blah, blah, blah.

So it went for what seemed like days. Out to the pool to grab chairs before they were all reserved. Sunning, lunch, shopping, napping, dinner, shows. All of it was pretty much heaven.

Just a few insights on Las Vegas.

• We mentioned to a cab driver that we couldn't believe the amount construction on the strip. He commented that he thought that when he first starting driving a cab. When was that? Thirty years ago!
• Wynn is really lovely, but unless the rooms come with a 24 hour butler, I'm not sure why you'd stay there. It's the same story with Bellagio, Venetian and Mandalay Bay.
  
• There is a Jo Malone store in Wynn. I spent most of my gambling allotment there!
• If you are a man, do not go to a strip show with your mother and father in law in tow. It will most likely scar you for life.
  
• Fake Red Bull is a drinking "no-no" If you are going to do Jaeger or Cherry bombs, make sure you have the real stuff.
  
• Surprise birthday vacations Totally Rule. I had a blast. (We had a blast together, too) I got a tan. I drank a lot of rum and diet cokes. I didn't lose too much gambling. All in all a very sucessful Vegas trip! Thank you DD for the fabulous trip. Yes, I did have a great time!
  

Viva Las Vegas

We are headed out tomorrow morning for Sin City. I am so excited to be going on vacation. DD planned this trip as a surprise. Well, I figured it out last week.

It will still be a surprise, because I don't know where we are staying. I am ready to lay by the pool, drink funny colored drinks and get a suntan. Maybe a little shopping and a visit to the spa, too. That's really about all we have planned.

We need a vacation and we are actually going on one. Long live vacation time from work. Long live fun in Las Vegas!

sleeping....again

We didn't go on our team ride on Sunday. We won't know whether we are "A Group" material for at least another 2 weeks. So you will have to wait until then.

Sleeping again?? Well, I'm really good at it. And, I went to the chiropractor on Weds, Thurs and Friday. My upper back was all wacked out and I needed some serious adjustment. I haven't been to a chiropractor in A long, long time.

When he pulled on my skull to give me much needed "traction" it felt like several M-80's going off in the base of my skull. Then he did my spine between my shoulder blades. That was like someone hitting me with a pick axe. So, I went home Thursday nite and slept. Then I napped Saturday and went to bed early. Then I napped more on Sunday and went to sleep late Sunday nite. Very restful.

I went back this am and found that I didn't need a whole lot more adjusting. Just a little tweaking was necessary.

And, well, maybe a bit more napping later....
zzzzz

sleeping now, come back later

Time of Departure: 9:10 am

Temperature upon Departure: 85 degrees F

Miles completed: 44

Miles for August: 44

Saturday was our first longer ride. We completed one of our favorite loops around the west side of town. It starts thru the metro parks, winds thru a cute suburban neighborhood and then into the cornfields on the southwest side of town. Then onto 5 miles of a busy, narrow street with lots of bone jarring bumps and holes. OK, that part sucks. If you make it thru that in one piece, you are rewarded with a great view of Lake Erie.

Our view on Saturday was fantastic. Not a cloud in the sky, nice white caps on the lake and lots of big sailboats. You ride along the lake for a while through a tony, older neighborhood. It seems like it might be against the law to work on your lawn and expansive gardens yourself. I bet you're not even allowed to turn on your own irrigation system . Your gardener or landscaper must do that.

Sorry, I digress. Back to the ride.

Now it's just a few more busy, city blocks and a few busy corners until the joy of a nice downhill. Ripping down a shaded, curvy hill to the finish line is the icing on this ride. Greet everyone on the team with a few high fives and then a quick ride home to hit the shower and then the couch.
(sleeping is good, I slept all day Sunday to catch up....)

DD and I both worked very hard. Something pretty puzzling happened too. We're still trying to figure it out. Last year our average speed was 12 mph. Last Saturday it was 16 mph. And, the weirdest part...we were in the the lead group of all of the 15 riders. The fast group. What the hell is that all about? Add 4 mph average and that does it, I guess. Were they "slumming" or is that as fast as they normally go?

We'll give it a test this weekend to see how it compares. Will we get smoked? Or will it be good? I'll let you know.

One more Friday nite

The show I saw on Friday July 14th was as near my 20 year Grateful Dead Show anniversary as could possibly be. I didn't realize it until I was there. Actually, none of our group of attendees knew it was my 20th year Dead Reunion. I made it a point to dance with all my friends near the end of the 2nd set to truly celebrate my Grateful Dead soul mates. I thought I met my soul mate at my first show, but I was actually with my Dead mates at my 20th.

Great line up. Some of my absolute favorite songs. Great musicians. Great venue. Great friends.
Read about the details here. Uncle Crappy describes the what, when, how and who so much better than I. My Dead Bliss reached its peak in the second set when they started into "the Wheel". Really, I needed the duct tape, my head almost exploded.

(Joan Osborn was fabulous. I love her. I want to be her. As a matter of fact, I'd even hit it. That's how much I like her.)

Seeing a show like that makes me want to take 2 or 3 months off and follow Phil. He and whatever line up is available is the best!

Part Deux, the first show

I remember running into Uncle Crappy and giving him my shoes. They were not good dancing wear. I then disappeared into the crowd. I danced the entire show. I ran into a couple of other friends from my high school. We danced a little bit and hung out. I remember Danno walking up to the top of the rubber bowl to use the bathroom.

I remember meeting Petey's friends who were going to continue following the Dead that summer. Petey's friend, B-man and I danced for about two songs and decided we were Dead Head Soul Mates. Wow, were we messed up. We were such great soul mates that I never even saw him again. He wanted me to go to the Rainbow Fest with him for the weekend. That didn't happen. In hindsite, thank God.

I was a little too polluted at the show to be able to give you too many details. But here's what I remember. It was mystical. I saw the whole world before me. I was happy. Then, therefore, the whole world was happy. Little ghost like creatures kept coming out from the stage to say hi to me. Jerry was alive on stage but he was also a spirit flying around the stadium. All in all, a great show.

Well, the show fianlly wrapped up. We walked back to the car. I walked without my shoes because Uncle Crappy had them (I think he had them for like 5 months) I sat in the back seat and continued to hallucinate. I thought I was still at the show and the Dead were still singing "Sunshine Daydream" I couldn't sleep at all because my mind was still racing. I know that I wanted to follow the Dead that summer. I've wanted to follow them ever since.

My first show

T"he summer between freshman and sophomore year in college I saw my first Dead show. I was 18 going on 16. I had to lie so that I could go.

I lived at home with my Grandma that summer. She was a little strict. I told her I was going to see the show with my friends Danno and Petey and Danno's girlfriend. The only way I could go with two older "boys" was if it was a double date. So I lied. And then I went to the show just with Danno and Petey.

We rode to Akron in a cute little honda. We listened to the dead the whole way there. We pulled into the Rubber Bowl parking lot. There seemed to be no real sense of lines or lanes for the parking. We got there just in time. We walked a good 15 minutes to get into the show. It took so long because we were surrounded by hippies. Real hippies. Real hippies in all their unwashed, rattily attired glory. There seemed to be people selling things, overtly and covertly. Food, tshirts, trinkets, stickers, toys and of course, covertly, intoxicants. Yeah, I know, hard to believe. What an eye opener for an 18 year old white girl from the suburbs. Well, luckily we didn't have to buy anything, we had our tickets and everything else we needed.

It gets a little bit sketchy beyond this point but I will try to give you the highlights.

The bill was incredible. Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and the Goddamn Grateful Dead. Mind blowing, even now. As we walked in, I slunk over in front of the stage to see Tom Petty singing Straight into Darkness. My head nearly exploded.

My friends, Phil and his friends

Baseball weekend in May with Uncle Crappy and The Wife was great. During the weekend, I was informed that my attendance was mandatory the weekend of July 14th. What? Where? Why? Mandatory? Holy crap, that sounds like college or something.

Technically, it is. Well, maybe more like a "refresher" course. We are all meeting in Columbus for an evening with Phil Lesh and Friends. I am totally stoked. I love to hang with my buddies. I love to get a little polluted, from time to time. And, I'm needin' me some hippie music. I need to cut loose and dead dance a little bit.

It's all Juan's fault. He gave me a cassette tape with American Beauty on the A side and Shakedown Street on B. I was 15. I'd been listening to AC/DC and the like. Given the general weirdness of some of the Dead's music, this was a really good choice. FRIEND OF THE DEVIL, BOX OF RAIN and CASEY JONES were the "hits". And I use that term loosely. I don't think "hippie music" and popular have ever been used in a sentence together. (Eventually, they broke the Top 10 with TOUCH OF GRAY)

Well, that was pretty much it for me. I loved the stuff. Blue grass, blues, honky tonk, funky, freaky, whatever. And I'd yet to go to a show. That really blew the doors off. That was in 1986 at the Akron Rubber Bowl.

But, that is a whole 'nother story. I'll save that for the next installment.

Grand Prix of Cleveland

I guess I'd never really watched the masses at the Grand Prix before. Maybe I'd never been in a healthy mind set at the race before. I guess I will never really know for sure.
(the race is just like a huge outdoor bar...people walking around with cold tall boys of beer and cigarettes or cigars)

4 or 5 of us put our bicycles on stationary trainers and "rode" to raise money. Yep, we rode in the 90 plus degree heat and blazing sun, heckling the crowd, asking for money for charity. Over the 3 day race, we raised $800. Not too bad for technically "selling" air. Thanks to all those fine people who each donated a buck or two to the cause.

We were also able to provide a lot of information. People were interested in raising money, learning more about blood cancers and learning more about what the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is all about. There were a number of people with questions and comments about their own friends and family members who are battling blood cancer. We helped them out, too. I went down there thinking I'd spin a bit and provide some moral support for my Team in Training team members. Well, it was that and a whole lot more.

If anyone wants to donate to DD and I as we ride for a cure in November, visit our fundraising homepage to donate securely online.

vroom vroom

OK, we're somewhat officially on our way. Northern Ohio Team in Training will have a large tent set up at this year's Cleveland Grand Prix. I think there is going to be some sort of "race track action" suppporting Team in Training, plus we will be cycling on trainers in the tent. I'd prefer the trainers be set up in a pace line. I'm pretty used to training and looking at a butt or two in front of me.

Our coach is so excited about this weekend. He loves cars, he loves car racing and he loves Team in Training. I'm pretty sure this is the ultimate event for him....a combination of his two favorite things.

I'm pretty stoked too. I like things that go fast. I like to go fast. Too bad I can't drive a race car this weekend. I'll have to settle for my bike going 10 mph while hooked to a trainer. What the heck, maybe I can hit 55 mph in my SUV on the way to the race. Hhhhmmmm, maybe even 60 mph.

My husband, DD, well, he's probably not so stoked. I "volunteered" him to ride this weekend too! He didn't know about it until I told him. He can't be too thrilled. Wives are allowed to do that, though, right? "Volunteer" their men for the greater good.

Guilty Pleasure

OK, I have to admit it. I am addicted to celebrity gossip, stories and photos. I really don't like most celebrities, but still I am fascinated. People like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Brit-Brit make me laugh. Michael Jackson absolutely scares me. Oh, yeah, Tom Cruise now scares me too. The latest on Brangelina and Vaughniston, however, is riveting.

What is wrong with me?

I love to read snarky comments about celebrities even more. Check out this blogger rag to get the latest details on people you may have heard of, and some people, well....
If Kathy Griffin is "D list" then these people must be E and F. At least.

I check out blog-0-sphere almost every week day. I check my work email and voice mails quickly so I can get to the good stuff. Then on to my favorite: the celebrity gossip. When I've had my fill I go to my favorite writers, then I check my yahoo mail.

I am totally addicted, that's all I have to say. Is admitting you have a problem the first step to recovery?

ooof

My neighbor has a 2.5 week old infant. She wanted to go out drinking tonite. I think I am getting too old for this. (she is on a real rip, not having been drunk for 10 months)

Too much Miller Lite makes me want to swim in Lake Erie and cleanse this filth from my pores. Can anyone help me? Does anyone have any Great Lakes or New Holland?

Even a cosmo with tequila instead of vodka. Helllllllppppppppp, please.

Shameless Plug

Here's some good stuff. I found Mrs. Kennedy through our gal, Penny Pressed. They both rock.

She has some really cool merch, too. Remember, it's all about the merch.

I have ordered some of fussy.org merch for certain reporter type friends of mine. So don't jump the gun and get some yo'self. (Doorprizes will be awarded at next official or semi-official FOG outing. Prize quantity and quality may vary, no prizes or goodies are inferred or implied. Legal details can be found on the reverse side of this label.)

long time gone

It's been a while. Sorry for the delay.

It's been a combination of lots of work, projects in the yard, selling advertising and doing mountains of laundry. (ok, just kidding on that last one)

No really, I did work in the yard as mentioned in the last post. Next weekend, I planted 75% of my flowers. Why only 75 percent?? My husband, DD, always wonders too. The leftovers are always sitting by the side door. After 4th of July, I usually throw them away. Another testament to my inability to finish everything I start.

Work is totally cool. Believe it or not, I've reached some sort of a threshold on the internet. It seems I can only be online about 8 - 10 hours per day. Most of this time is currently spent working for the Man. This threshold means that I've not been getting lost in someone's blog or writing my own blog. Apologies to the two or three people who currently read my blog.

Go Tribe!

Yikes. It's summer all of a sudden. Only last friday, May 19th, it was 50 degrees and rainy. Today it was blazing hot, sunny and lovely!

With all this loveliness, you have to work in the yard. Yesterday I went to visit grandma, we planted flowers at the cemetary and then the craziness began. We dug up two shrub type plants from her yard. Remind me never to dig up hydrangea bushes again.

So, today I had to dig holes for the bushes.... so, I dug holes for the bushes. Oh, I also cut the grass, edged, weeded, trimmed hedges and a few other things. The other things I did were: put in new flower bed, remove sod from top of new flower bed, scrape up scummy sod by side door and transfer the pretty sod to the new hole by side door. Then I put all my toys away and went inside.

Wow, that was a lot of stuff. Oh, did I mention it was hot, too? OK, it's still hot. We are going to turn on the AC now!

See me after class

As I said early on in this blog, I've never been good at writing a journal. I think the only other time I did anything near this was for my English 101 class, exactly 1000 years ago. The only reason I did that was because my cranky prof required it. Actually, it was pretty cool. He wanted us to write at least once a day for 5 - 10 minutes. He preferred stream of concious stuff over anything polished or thought out.

Hell, I could do that. It seemed the more insane it was, the more he liked it. That says something about him, I guess. He never told us the purpose of the exercise, he just wanted us to do it.

Here are some snippets, as I remember them:
"My roomate is insane, everything she's brought with her to school is monogrammed. Like anyone would want to take any of that preppy shit. But boy does she love to borrow my slouchy Girbaud ankle pants. She's so freakin' rich, why doesn't she buy her own pair?"

"stacy down the hall is really cool and funny. She has a teddy bear named "wittle bear" how cool. I have my own stuffed animal. His name is Peeg. no, not pig. Peeg. he's French. He wears short pants, a waist coat and a pink velvet jacket. His previous life was spent as a Beatrix Potter character"

Back to the cranky prof.

I like to think of myself as a funny person. Our next assignment was to write a short, humorous essay. Something that we thought could appear in a newspaper column. I was totally stoked for this. Wow, I was funny, I like to write. I could do this. I wrote a short ironic story about the food in the dining hall, I think. Much like the theme Ralphie wrote in "A Christmas Story", my essay was a masterpiece.

Here's a synopsis of the prof's comments: Not remotely funny or even cute. D+
See me after class.

That's all I remember, the rest of the week is a fog. Freshman writing dreams ripped at the seams.

Thanks for tolerating my "not even remotely funny or cute blog". Ya'll are the best.

Ohmigod, this is great

Perfect for any NASCAR race, OSU tailgaiting or fun around the neighborhood

TNT 2006

OK

All serious and stuff. This post is not about drinking, the Weather Channel or my husband's band. Nor is it about my drinking problem or lack thereof.

We rode a Century Ride last year and raised over $7000 for TnT, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Yep, we rode 100 miles. And that was in ONE day. What? Yah, I know, we're insane. We plan on doing another Century Ride this November. Yes, we plan to raise over $8000 for this endeavor.

OK, I'm down with the ride. I did it before, on a mountain bike with slick tires, and I can do it again. (buying into the bravado? I am at 80%) The 4000 simolians apiece?? Help a brother out. That's a lot of cash-eesh. Anyway...

We were also selected as "mentors" for the team:

• One, we were willing.
• Two, we rode last year.
• Three, we will ride and raise funds this year.
• Four, we are social and willing to commiserate.

OK, no foolin' around. We're on board this year. Holy crap, we need to raise money, train and complete the ride. You know what? I love this cause, it's near and dear to my heart. I'm confident I can train....can I fundraise again??

Can I fundraise again?? Yeah, I think so. As we progress, more training details, less drinking details. OK? I hope you have the program. I hope I have the progam. Comments and smart ass remarks, that's up to you.