Doin' the 78-mile Shuffle


The time has come to recap my biking adventure of August 4th, 2007.



There were three goal levels for this event, chosen in hopes of completing at least one of them:



Primary: to finish

Secondary: to avoid injury

Tertiary: to not die



Goals accomplished: all



I had not been very positive about the event leading up to it. I was envisioning a rather large trailer hauled by a black-smoke chucking tractor piled high with dead bodies and mangled bikes, with my poor bones draped right on top. However, the day before the race I read some advice in a biking magazine (I guess they are good for something). The advice said to be positive. How generic, yet so true. I decided no harm in trying. This trick came in handy for the last thirty miles, half of which were pure uphill-hell (Vail Pass, not recommended if you are looking for a good time). Whoever wrote "The Little Engine that Could" never knew how many people they would save.



Fun facts about Blaura the Biker this past week:



1. The Monday prior to the race I went out for Thai food and received the following fortune cookie after dinner: The climb up the mountain is worth the view at the top. Seriously, I have a knack for acquiring fortunes that really mean something.



2. Floyd Landis (the guy who one Le Tour last year and is now under investigation for doping) participated in the very same ride as yours truly. Apparently he began his trek after I did, meaning at some point he passed me by. We could have rubbed elbows.



3. I cried like a baby when I finished the race. A part of me really believed I couldn't do it. It was pure shock to reach the end--intact!

4. Time to complete: 7h 34 m, Average speed: 10.3 mph, High speed: 40.8 mph, Average speed on uphills: 4.2 mph

My Life is a Cycle



pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal pedal



That is what my life is all about right now. I wake up and walk Oscar (walking motion is very similar to pedaling), and then I eat breakfast while watching the Tour de France (lots of men pedaling), and then I go pedal my bike. I practice efficient pedaling. It is my weakness right now, because I have just discovered how to use all my leg muscles to pedal and now I have to train myself not to pedal the way I have been pedaling my whole life. Ultimately, it will help me climb up all those mountain passes on August 4th, the day that is looming ahead, and the one that worries me on a daily basis.


Thank you, "Pigs Eat Corn," for calling me The Man, because it is a male dominated sport, and maybe if I think more like a man, I'll get through all this just fine. However, I have included a picture of one man who didn't know when to quit. May I never wind up like him (although my rear is way cuter).



I rode 20 miles today, I thought of it as my warm-up ride. Tomorrow I'll kick it up a notch and aim for 30, and this weekend I'm doing a 50 mile ride. This is all good, except that those of you who have been to Denver might have noticed how flat it is. I need some mountain training. Someone, please, call me King of the Mountains? I think I can trick myself into believing it, especially since I look good in polka dots.

It's Been Ages

This is the first week I feel somewhat settled in Denver. The first week was a flurry of unpacking and decision making about what I could live without for the next two to three months. Then I took a trip to Dallas to visit my friend Kristin, and due to heavy holiday travel, wound up spending an extra day in the airport trying to get home. When I did get home, I was looking forward to some stability, which would have helped when I fell off my bike and hurt my wrist. Along with the wrist injury came an annoying head cold, and finally, this week, I am on the mend.

I suppose I owe an update in other areas as well. We're still looking for a house. We viewed a gorgeous bungalow with the highest ceilings, and I was getting that I-really-want-it feeling in my stomach until we walked to the backyard and saw the most atrocious carriage house backing the property. Half of the backyard is taken up by a giant, red, adobe-looking square thing with windows that is apparently a residence. And owned by someone else. Grrr. I really was hoping for a two-car garage. Why does every home have its compromise?

And the only other update is that I'm training for a 78-mile bike ride in the lovely Colorado Rockies on August 4. The ride goes over the Copper Triangle, and as of right now I am not in any sort of shape to do this thing. This has made my little wrist injury and head cold especially annoying. But, with some heavy training over the next three weeks, lots of goo and water, I will hopefully make a decent showing (and by decent I mean I'll finish).

That's all from Colorado Land for now. I'll be on the computer all week, perhaps with something interesting to say.