new goal!

STAY. ON. BIKE.

i realize how ridiculous that may sound, but seriously. i have some major balance issues, or SOMEthing... i fall  every single time* i'm out on the road! (no need for any asian woman "driver" jokes here... i'm not operating heavy machinery (thank goodness) and it's not REALLY driving...or so i'll keep telling myself)

HOWEVER. in the past 3 weeks, i have fallen... 3 times. this past saturday was probably the worst... i could even see the entire fall happen in slow motion... i knew it was coming and i had no way to stop it. that's probably the worst. in any case, i skid in some sand trying to keep to right-hand side of the lane so this woman could get around me in her car... (i get nervous with traffic!) and in doing so, i completely wiped out.

mmm...just a little dirt & blood (really, not so bad)

you can't REALLY tell, but there are some nice scrapes going on between my knee & where my bike shorts ended

the bruise actually got bigger after this picture was taken

and for good measure, this was my first injury last july. i'd like to think i got in a fight with Wolverine. or a badger. but no. i had a mild disagreement with my bike. he won.

things to be thankful for: i fell over the curb and into the mud/leaves/bushes/sidewalk (instead of the road).  i was fairly close to home.  no permanent damage (as far as i can tell) to me or the bike.

things that sucked: i punctured a tire and needed a new one, bruised myself (and my ego), oh, and did i mention? i totally wiped out. in traffic. lovely.

interestingly enough, i've noticed in only really fall/damage the right side of my body... all my bruises/scrapes/scars/parts that hurt... are on the right side. too bad i'm also right-handed. if i make it through all 200 miles without falling, that will be cause for celebration... *sigh*



*this may or may not be a slight exaggeration...

insert clever title here...

i have a love-hate relationship with the silver comet trail here in georgia...

i love that it's paved, (mostly) flat road dedicated for runners/bikers/horseback riders (though i've yet to see a horse), etc. but i hate that it's so...remote. which means that i always need to find someone to go with (hey, i'm not crazy...i don't want to end up a statistic), and go early enough so that 4 hours later, it's  (hopefully) still light out. but i hate having to beg someone to go with me (i have no friends...at least none that want to ride 40+ miles with me... or if they do, they are the hardest people to get in touch with and once you DO... getting them to commit. but hey, i understand the commitment piece of that. ;))

in any case, last weekend, i went out to SCT with new friend chuck! it was a lovely 45 mile ride (though chuck ditched me at mile marker 12...he only wanted to do 25) so i was solo out until mile 23.  let me tell you... that's the last time i do that alone. not necessarily because i ran into anyone, but because i DIDN'T run into anyone for the last 8 miles (i swear). and when you pass by the sign that says, "REMOTE AREA AHEAD! NEXT 14 MILES! do you have your... cell phone? sun screen? extra tubes? lip balm? water?" it makes it sound like you're off the edge of civilization NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN! and sadly, i was afraid that my cell phone might not get reception out in the boonies... paulding county was it? i have no idea. i just turned around and went straight back to chuck and then... back to the car.

let me tell you though... those last 10 miles of the ride were TOUGH.  the entire way back was straight into the wind...i was tired... i was hungry... i just wanted to be done... and it just went ON and ON and ON... and i was thankful that chuck told me to just ride at whatever pace i wanted to (he's a bit slower than me), because really...i was "booking it" just so i could be done. "booking it" for me...was probably something like 12mph. i don't have a cyclometer (next on the things to purchase), and i know i was going way slower than on the way out.

all in all, it was a good day. i fell asleep on the car ride back (surprise surprise), and then i ate my weight in chipotle afterwards (best post-exercise food... chipotle or willy's. i'm serious.)

things i learned on this ride --
-- 40 miles is doable. on flat land.
-- 100 miles is going to suck. and then turning around to do it again, is going to suck more.
-- i have a long ways to go.

ps -- i haven't done anything as far as any of my other "goals" go... i swear, training takes a crapload of time! i need to find something to do that's not so physically draining..all i (want to) do afterwards is eat and sleep... meh.

now the pain is my pleasure...

'cause nothing could measure... (S&M, Rihanna)

 thank you ri ri. now those are some words to live by... ;)

happy (belated) valentine's day to all my lovely friends out there...i hope you were able to celebrate with those that you love... and all you singles out there that are jaded and bitter, please don't be... just because you don't have that "one special someone" doesn't mean that you're not surrounded by people who love you unconditionally and they deserve some recognition too. but please don't send me chocolates. they will not help with any sort of "training" that i'm doing ;)

this past weekend was Spin to End...a 6-hour spin event to raise money for Action Cycling in order to help with funding the AV200 ride... going into it, i had decided to challenge myself to do at least 3 hours on the spin bike (one on, one off, etc.). but then in my endorphin-induced haze, i ambitiously ended up doing four hours (two on, one off, etc.) and realized that it was probably 2 hours too many after getting up and realizing that all the muscles south of my waist were incredibly sore. not nearly as bad as post-half-marathoning, but bad enough that i was walking like i'd been the inspiration for rihanna's song. in any case, i figured now was as good of a time to figure out what it's like to be on my butt for an extended period of time... what have i gotten myself into?!

happy (lunar) new year!

fine, that was a couple of days ago, but i'm just now getting around to celebrating this evening with some friends at casa ting.  things have been busy in the kitchen for me since january 1... i typically don't cook this much, but i'm getting adventurous.  and getting adventurous in the kitchen involves adventuring to the asian grocery marts. now i'm not a newby to asian grocery store shopping, but it never ceases to amaze me how busy they get, or how vicious the little asian (and sometimes mexican) grandmothers can be in the produce section...  BUT, last night, i was in the produce section, probably looking quite lost and distraught as i perused the daikon, wondering..how does one choose a "good one"? and this lovely elderly asian lady asked if i needed assistance. and so i asked her in chinese how to select "good" daikon, and she picked some out for me. and then said, "well -- all of these look like crap, you should really go to [the other asian supermarket] but since you're already here, you might as well get it here" (how practical of her.) pleasantly surprised indeed.

fast forward >> it is now wednesday... that was a saturday dinner.  i clearly need to focus more on "finishing things i begin"....blargh.  IN any case, dinner was a success! i only had to make 2 phone calls to mom (this is quite the improvement for me) to make sure things didn't go disastrously.... i can confidently say that my guests enjoyed dinner... or at least they're all still talking to me and no one has said anything about vicious stomach pyrotechnics as a result of dinner. as for the conversation POST-dinner... very interesting indeed. i suppose i shouldn't be surprised that at a 4-person table made up of 8-ish degrees that conversations can get a little...heated. i say it a. makes for great entertainment, and b. makes me realize how unaware i am of current events. or maybe not unaware, but disconnected i've been and i should really make an effort to be more informed so i can actually form an opinion other than, "i really don't care *that* much" (and while that may still be the case, i *should* at least pretend to care a little more than that...)

putting that on my list...

in other news, i'm taking a break from spin class/cycling today... i realized in class yesterday that my legs were telling me to "F. OFF." after a busy weekend and i was moving SLOWER THAN MUD. not an exaggeration. so instead, today... i'm going to go learn some elementary bike maintenance techniques... i figure now is a good time to know what to do if i get a flat tire... how sad would i be sitting on the side of road trying to hitch a ride if i pop my tire?  very.  and really... the potholes on atlanta roads are a little ridiculous... i think i'm going to break an axle on my car every time i drive over one, much less bust a teeny bike tire...  wish me luck. i'm not good at "fixing" things, but man am i good at being destructive.

and FINALLY, to all my loyal readers (that would be YOU, ADAM M. WEAVER), we're putting on a fundraiser this saturday for the AV200 ride... it's a six-hour spin-a-thon called SPIN TO END at the WoodPEC cycling studio on campus.  come on out and join us if you'd like! noon to 6. this saturday. win fun things like a jersey, or some awesomely designed shirts (i don't know WHO WOULD HAVE DESIGNED THEM...) meet some lovely folks, get in a workout... donate a couple of coins... whatevs :)  we would love to see you there!  i hope to stay upright for at least 3 hours... here's hoping.

and we're back...

to the cold. and rain. and winter. *sigh* i knew those 2 days of glorious GLORIOUS sun were too good to last. yesterday was my day off from doing anything; instead, i ate everything in sight (somehow i feel justified in doing it? why dieting would not work for me...)

today, i'm going to join my friend leon over at the Athletic Club (of Atlanta) for a spin class. i think by the end of this journey to 200 miles, i'll probably have gone to EVERY fitness club in atlanta and taken at least one spin class at each place. (not a goal, mind you.) surprisingly, i'm not as achy as i thought i'd be after sunday... considering i couldn't bend my back after my little outing. i'm going to go ahead and assume that all those aches and pains are partially from that spill i took and not actually from riding. with that attitude, i'm hoping that as long as i don't fall, i'll feel JUST FINE... ha. haha. haaa....

now the question is, should i chance it and "race" the toughmudder w/ iljin & hoot-daddy in march? it's exactly two months before the ride...and it looks like wicked fun; i only worry that if i inadvertently injure myself in the process of jumping through fire or running up/down greased hills or leaping over 12 foot walls that i'll be really really sad. on the other hand... i want to be a total BAMF, and clearly, the only way to achieve total BAMF-ness is to complete the TM and kick those boys' asses along the way... (yes, everything is a competition). thoughts?

finally, i'd like to make a quick shout out to my girl COUNTESS who graciously donated to the cause yesterday... whooohooo! she's really the bomb-diggity. aside from all the hell we put her through at work, C does a lot for the community and you know, is a overall do-gooder. plus, she tells the best stories :) i (non-jokingly) say i want to be her when i grow up.  so countess... thank you :) and i promise i'll go and take a class on how to fix a flat tire so i'm not stranded in the middle of georgia somewhere. that would indeed be tragic.

oh. and out of curiosity, i mapped out sunday's ride on mapmyride.com ... overall, only 340ft. of elevation gain/loss. but that's 320ft. too many for me ;)




what's that? you don't know what a BAMF is? let me tell you... that's one bad-ass mother f***er... yes, that's right.