I'm a BikeHer

I joined a cycling club today.  I haven't belonged to a cycling group in many, many years.  6 to be exact.  I'm a lone ranger when it comes to riding.  I go when I want, where I want, and how fast I want.  I'm a maverick (yeah, you heard me, John McCain- you're not the only maverick out there). I'm a bike riding,  errand running, work commuting, adventure seeking maverick.

 So why did I join a group?  Because this isn't any ordinary group.

This is BikeHers.  Get it?  Bike Hers.  Bikers.  (it took me a while, too).
It's a women's cycling group.  Not a fast racing group.  Not a hammer group.  A group of women who like to ride, enjoy being outdoors, and want some company on the road.  Safety in numbers and all.

Welcome to the club!

I'm hopeful that this is the group for me.  I've wanted to share my love of cycling with other women in a non-competitive non-threatening way.  For the love of biking- not because we have to average a certain pace or go a particular number of miles.  Riding for the joy of riding.  Riding because being on our bikes makes us happier, stronger, healthier, more confident women.

There's nothing wrong with competition.  I wish I had a competitive bone in me, but I don't.  I don't fit in with racers for a number of reasons: the top two being that I'm slow and I don't need to win.  That kinda defeats the whole point of racing.
I just want to ride my bike, take pictures and enjoy the ride.

It's very exciting.  Very exciting, indeed!!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

A beautiful day for a neighbor- would you be mine, could you be mine? Won't you be... my neighbor.


Before I go on about my day, I have new BIKE BLING!
I ordered a handlebar bag from Trigo (an independent artist on Etsy).  It's made from recycled bicycle inner tubes.  It holds my cell phone and my inhaler on my stem where they are handy).
It's so cute!!!  At least I think so.  How can you be having a bad ride when you look down and see this cute guy staring up at you?

I digress..
It WAS a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  The morning's commute was chilly-willy, but since the wind was a north wind and I ride south in the mornings, it was at my back (thank goodness).  Not a lot of traffic out, so it was nice and quiet.  Just the way I like it.
Have I told you about the saweet setup I have at school?  I have an office at the back of the library.  Because my office was once part of the living quarters for the nuns that taught at the school years ago, I have a full bathroom in my office.  My bike gets parked in my office, and I have the option of showering if I arrive at work all sweaty and worn out.
It's a pretty sweet deal I've got going on there.

Me in my office with my bike in the background

The ride home was GLORIOUS!!!  The sun was shining, the wind wasn't too bad, and the lake was pretty deserted.  Score!!!  I rode 15 miles after work and dragged out the commute a little longer than normal.  It was so nice.  On the dam, the lake just looked so pretty.  Breathtaking.  Gorgeous.  I LOVE this lake!

It was such a nice day for riding, I almost didn't want to come home and have it end.  It was one of those days where I could have ridden into the night all the way to Texas (notice that I didn't say I wanted to ride north into the headwind). ;)

Thank goodness for the ability to ride!

Great day for a run- not so much for a ride

I wish this were taken on my run this morning.  The sun is shining here (it wasn't this morning) and the lake is calm (it most certainly was NOT calm this morning).  It's just such a pretty picture of the lake.   

Today was a beautiful day for a run.  I had considered biking instead, but with winds sustained at 25-30 mph, I didn't need to purposely feel frustrated for hours on end.  Turns out the run was just what I needed.
I headed out to run at 8:00am.  The sky was overcast, the humidity was high, the wind was blowing fiercely.  I ran to the lake, around it, and back home.  Battling the wind going south was hard, but it made me look forward to running around the other side and getting the tailwind that was sure to come.  Or so I hoped.  As I rounded the dam, I felt sadness at the level of the lake.  The water has dropped at least 6 feet and it doesn't appear to be getting any better.  Normally the lake level drops significantly in late summer, as the lake provides drinking water for north OKC.  However, the level is rarely this low in February.  It worries me that we're headed for a drought this summer unless the rains bless us this spring.
Anyhow- I rounded the lake and hit the tailwind on the way back north.  Can I get a whoop whoop??  The tailwind was glorious!!!  It was literally pushing me all the way back home.
My run was slow, but it doesn't really matter.  It matters that for 11.5 miles I enjoyed the beauty of nature and felt a part of it.  I smelled the delicious pine scent of the trees and felt the spray of the water on my face and the sound of my feet shuffling along the trail.
A great day it was!!!

"Snow day"

I'm home today because school was called off.  I'm not saying I'm upset by it.  After all, I just had a day off on Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, so I could definitely have used another day of rest.  Short weeks always feel much longer than the long ones.  I'll take any day off I can get.  I love my job, but I love my days off even more!

Today I have been farily productive.  Ran 4 miles (yes, on the treadmill), did an hour of P90X, and ate lunch. Now what to do???  What to do...??  I suppose I won't be above getting back into my pajamas and finding a comfortable lounging spot on the couch for the rest of the afternoon.  It is quite frigid outside, so I can't imagine myself getting very fired up about making my way out of my toasty warm house.  I think wool socks, a wool sweater and a heating pad on my lap to keep me nice and warm sounds about right for the rest of the day.  I might even start a fire (in the fireplace, of course).

Oh, and a very sad/strange thing happened at my Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday. I walked in to find out that my meeting leader had died during the week of a massive stroke.  So very sad, as she was only 56 and a really incredible woman.  I was so shocked and saddened.  I've been doing extra well this week in honor of Judy.  It's a solemn reminder that we are just a breath.  Just a passing breeze in the night and one day it'll all be gone. 
And that makes me want to be active and healthy all the more.

Raise your glass and toast to good health and living life to it's fullest.  Cheers!

Happy New Year... 2 weeks later

I wish I were better at keeping my blog current... but we all know about wishes...

Well, 2011 is upon us.  In full swing.  Whether we're ready or not!!

Things have been good.  I joined Weight Watchers again on December 10th last year, and have lost 5.4 pounds over the last 5 weeks.  Progress has been MUCH slower than last time, but I'm kinda making it that way on purpose.  I am not changing every little thing about my diet.  I'm altering here and there and hoping the slower loss results in permanent loss.  It has to be this time!  Plus, it was Christmas and New Years and let's face it: there was LOTS of food that was eaten.  By me.  And I enjoyed every bite!!!!

So far the year is going well.  I have some big goals that I'm wanting to tackle this year.  My schedule of events is growing as I type.  I have so much I want to do, and so little time to get it all in.

I started off the year taking a big leap.  Literally a big leap into the frigid water of Lake Hefner on New Year's Day.  It was frickin' COLD, but since I didn't die, I figured that was a good sign of the great year to come. 

I have big things planned for this year.  Marathon, Ironman, hiking the Grand Canyon again, 20 year high school reunion, and so much more.  Can't wait to see what the year has in store!!!

Carry on!

First frigid run of the winter season

Kona and I headed to Bluff Creek trails today to get some trail time in.  We (well, me) tried running, but the frigid air just burned my lungs to the point that I had to walk.  It was 20 degrees with a wind chill of 9 (and gusts of 22mph) when I left the house. Thankfully, the trails protect you from most of the wind, and it wasn't too bad once we got moving.  

Kona having fun exploring

Kona did a great job today on the trails.  She still struggles to stay out from under my feet when I'm moving, but she's learning.  For the first 2 miles she hardly stayed on the trail at all- darting back and forth from one side to the next smelling anything and everything she could; just taking it all in. She really loved watching the birds and taking off after them.

Taking a time out

We pretty much had the trail to ourselves.  We didn't encounter another person until we were almost done.  After about 2 miles Kona slowed to a walking pace and petty much stayed right by my side for the rest of the trail.  We stopped a couple times to let her catch her breath and to make sure that she was doing OK (and not getting ready to have a seizure).

Found a squirrel tail- and Kona kept picking it up to play with it.  Yuck!

By the time we hit the last section of the trail, the sun was out in full force and it was beginning to warm.  The sun felt good on my skin, and because we were heading mostly south- the strong wind (although somewhat protected from the trees) was at our back.
As we headed out of the trail on the newly cut, yet not quite open final section of the trail, I noticed that someone's driver side window was down.  I thought to myself "why would you leave your window down?"  Upon closer inspection, I discovered that someone had smashed the window of a car parked near mine.  Thieves just suck!

Someone will return from their run to find an unwelcome surprise

It was a great day on the trails.  Once home I jumped in the hot tub for a nice, long soak in the steaming water.  It felt amazing!!!!
Another successful day outside.   Although the weather is not acceptable most days during the winter, this wasn't quite so bad.

run dog run

Took Jimbo (the golden retriever) to Bluff creek earlier this week for a little run.
I'm horribly embarrassed to say that my dog is a jerk.  A really big jerk.  Oh sure, he's sweet at home, but take him out in public and he's a First Class A-Hole. He growls at strangers, snaps at dogs and snarls and bares his angry teeth if anyone or anything comes near him. It's so embarrassing.  I almost hate taking him out.  But I did.

 Jimbo leading the way

We went to Bluff Creek trails to do a short run.  He is really a fantastic trail dog.  Follows the trails perfectly.  Turns where he should.  Doesn't run too far ahead.  Stays out from under my feet.  I actually love to run with him.  I just need to do it when there is no other life forms anywhere near the trail system for us to have a successful adventure.

Good dog- follow that trail

We mostly ran, but stopped to take some sniff breaks and get off the trail as mountain bikers came flying by.  Just after this picture was taken, we saw a deer up ahead.  I didn't have him on the leash at the time, and suddenly became very worried that the retriever in him would be retrieving a deer for mommy to have.  I needn't have worried, though.  He stopped, sniffed, looked back at me, then just keep on going. 

We even stopped for a picture together- he was not too thrilled

All in all, it was a grand adventure.  I would love to take him out more often, but he really needs to be socialized better before I will to be completely comfortable taking him out in public.  Until then, we'll just stick to the path less traveled.