Post-ride Nutrition

No hay nada como una cerveza bien fría con un buen amigo después de un viaje de 75 millas!

Lemon Flavored Reflections

When the morning air becomes cooler and morning metro traffic becomes crowded with the sputtering, flashing start and stop of the big yellow school bus, rest assured that not only has school started, but that my life has become a chaotic series of events over which I feel like I have very little control. I do the job that I do because I'm passionate about improving education for children with disabilities, but there are days that the goals I'm trying to achieve become daunting and seemingly unreachable. Today was one of those days. My spirit is broken and instead of relishing the challenge I was given, I requested a meeting with the executive director, unloaded my concerns and ended up using half the box of tissues in his office and likely, all of his confidence in my ability to do my job.

As I drove home from the office 3 hours later than I had planned, I reflected upon the reasons why I became so upset. With each possibility that crossed my mind, I became keenly aware of the similarities between my passion for my job and my passion for cycling. Both activities bring me extensive joy and fatigue and engaging in both activities within the same day requires planning and strong organization. I am motivated by the growth potential I see in myself with regards to both activities, and despite the fact that I'm still working towards becoming "as good" as I want to be, I'm still successful enough at both that my self-confidence improves each time I engage in either activity.

But the problem lies in outpouring of emotion that I feel when I become stagnant and cannot produce the level of change that I equate with success. Today, I was upset that I had experienced only a 1% growth in Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) data at a school where I've worked hard to sustain a steady pace of improvement (despite the 13% growth I've experienced in two weeks at the school to which I'm newly assigned). Yesterday, I became upset that I was unable to sustain the pace needed to participate in one of my favorite training rides. In both activities, I've become stagnant and I feel ill prepared to produce the performance results I desire.

So when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade, right? Wrong. When life hands you lemons, you contemplate what you want to do with the lemons (make lemonade) and then you follow a methodical set of steps (a recipe) that ends with accomplishing your overall goal. As I thought about this saying, I realized that the importance is not the end result, but what you do to get there. Moving LRE is a lofty goal, just like winning bicycle races. If I am to accomplish either, I need to develop short-term goals and realize that performance is not only a measure of accomplishment but of the efficiency and reaction needed to fulfill a specified purpose. I need to go back to basics and make sure I'm using the right ingredients if my goal is to quench my thirst.

Win Susan

Touching and beautiful is the only way I know to describe Elden's words. Just by reading his blog, I feel as though he and his wife are a part of my life. Please keep Fatty and Susan in your prayers. When you aren't praying, please acquaint yourself with an incredibly strong man and gifted writer: http://www.fatcyclist.com

The Injustice of Words

The hardest times for me to write come when I attempt to relay an experience for which I have little prior experience. As an educator, I understand that we link what we learn to what we've previously explored so that our knowledge begins to create a web of experience to define who we become as individuals. Once we are adults, we live our lives under the false pretense that we are knowledgeable and experienced. We forget that there are opportunities for growth in every experience and every event. We also forget the excitement of new experiences and the importance of absorbing the opportunities around us.

I visited "the gaps" today in search of confirmation of my strength as a cyclist. As silly as it sounds, I've always feared the gaps but felt like I would finally prove myself as a cyclist when I could ride them without finding myself in a heap of tears, pushing my bike up the likes of Neels or Hogpen. It's always seemed like a rite of passage - an experience that might seem excruciatingly difficult but would somehow make me "wiser" or "stronger." By my own definition, I proved myself as a cyclist today. I found the strength to ride the gaps and learned that the strength I was looking for was not in my legs buy in my personal desire to improve and succeed.

When I sat down to write this, I wanted to paint beautiful pictures with words so that anyone stumbling across my entry might "see" the beautiful trees that line the mountains or understand the way the millipedes scurry across the pavement. It almost seems as if there aren't words to justify the sensation that accompanies my memory of the beautiful scenery I experienced as I climbed Neels. I don't know how to describe the sensation of flying that I felt on the descent from the top of Woody's gap to the rock pile at the bottom of the mountain. I saw sunflowers and smelled gardenia flowers; I found myself soothed by the sound of cascading water that trickled around me as I pedaled my way to the top of each climb. The images swirl in my mind but the words to describe the feeling of exhilaration I experienced just doesn't exist. I am a richer person, regardless of my ability as a cyclist, because of today's experience.

The "Weehoo" and other cool things!

Nope, the "weehoo" is not what naked, wiggling men say when naked before their shower - it's a super cool new "mommy-must." This seems like the perfect tool for teaching my "super scared" daughter to ride a bike!!! She fits the weight/height parameters and could learn to pedal without being afraid of falling over! Dear old Dad could pull the Burley with my little dude inside. Before long, I suspect "little dude" will be racing me down the driveway! Just in case he isn't, he could use this once his sister is through with it.





Cool bike item #2 is my next cycling helmet - the one I have will make it until spring, right? Check out the press release for the specs - it's crazy light!!!






Last but not least...The Oryx TT bike - Oh. My. Goodness.

Measuring Up

I've had a good week on the bike and when I do, it never fails that I begin to get the "race itch". I have a hard time judging my capabilities because I've spent my entire season riding with men who are ironman triathletes, cat 2 racers, elite classification mountain bikers, and a woman who just kicks ass at all of it. If I am to judge myself by where I fall in with them, I fall short. However, when I remind myself of my classification - I realize I won't be racing against Mike, Max, Joey or Brenda but I WILL be racing against a bunch of people with abilities beyond my awareness. I am always so afraid of the unknown; riding with new riders is like riding a new course - until you know what lies ahead, behind and all around - it all seems difficult and scary.

I talked it over with my "coach" last night who told me to "try on the race like a new pair of shoes". I'm not sure if that means I should only attempt to do this with my right foot (if the shoe fits my right foot then its a "go" - my right foot is larger than the left), or if I should expect someone to bring the race to me while I sit in a comfy chair and dictate exactly which race I'd like to try. Either way, comparing it to shoes makes it seem very do-able so it was a good comparison even if I am still in the dark about the general meaning of his fluffy metaphor.

I really prefer a single category race for my first real race and this one is a 3/4 mix but that just means it'll be a greater character building experience (thanks Max!) because I'm more likely to be last across the line. So do I register? I have one week to make up my mind.

A letter from the editor...writer...biographer...

To my dearest readers (all two of you),
I haven't given up on blogging - I'm just out riding my bicycle. Check back daily - I think Big Ring Betty sparked an itch in me... You never know when a new post might appear.

I updated my mileage log although my Garmin was on the fritz for a few days so I suspect I missed a few in there. Several entries are missing "info" but that's what happens when you keep track numerically but you don't have the memory capacity to hang on to the details - the Garmin did the numerical work. I'll try to do better keeping up with this - it helps me see when I'm working hard/not working. The low average speeds you are seeing are probably days that I ride in the Buckhead area. I now lead the Peachtree Bikes Sunday morning ride in the Garden Hills area of Buckhead and the hills are really making me strong. On paper, the rides seem slow. These rides aren't about speed and 15 mph in those hills is not exactly slow! I have to match the pace to my riders. Typically it's the same riders but we get a newbie from time to time and it slows us down a little since the route is not marked and we all have to stay together.

Not much else to report - I've been working at Peachtree Bikes this summer and it's been a great learning experience. I'm the only chick so I get a lot of harassment - lucky for me, I'm pretty good at giving it back! :) I'm learning a lot about bikes - especially my own and it's been fun to sell bikes - particularly to women who would otherwise be sold whatever was on-hand just b/c it was a close enough fit. I've worked hard at disseminating knowledge and it appears that it pays off - I've had a few "noticeable" sales! :) I think consumers appreciate it when you take the time to educate them about what they are buying. Oh, and btw - PTB wouldn't sell a bike to a woman just b/c it fits - but I believe that many shops do. PTB is very woman-friendly and they are one of the wonderful Sorella Sponsors!!

Last but not least - I'll leave you with this: To race or not to race - that is the current pressing question. I gotta make up my mind quickly...