Ehhhhhhhh

and that pretty much sums it up.

Lately it seems like we've have more overcast, dreary, rainy days that not. 7.17" of precipitation in September and already 7.52" for October and we still have a couple more days to go, with more rain forecasted for the end of the week. Blech! I know we've had some gorgeous sunny days, but those just seem so far and few between lately.

I've also been slower than normal to adjust to the cooler weather of Fall. Motivation to get up in the mornings to walk/run has been hard to find. It takes a lot just to get out of bed knowing that it's in the 60s, or cooler, outside; throw in some moisture and it just ain't gonna happen. If it wasn't for the dog I would never get up early until summer comes around again.

All of the rain leads to mud, which means little to no mountain bike riding except racing. While we are still racing, it has been in less than stellar conditions. In most cases race day has been nice, but the course has been sloppy. Wet trails lead to messy bikes and crapped out chains. I seriously think it would have been a good idea to buy a case of bike chains before the season started, as it seems like we have needed to replace the chain after almost every race.

We have one more race in the Fall series. Then the guys are racing the Mellow Classic (benefiting the Lance Armstrong Foundation) which will be held on Lance Armstrong's ranch west of the ATX. Would it be too much to ask for two dry races? I hope not.

In November Alan will start coaching another Team in Training group for the Ouachita Challenge in March. While I am not participating in the event this year (been there, done that, got the zip ties); I will be on the training rides.

Here's to sunny days and positive attitudes... Cheers!

Hey, that's mine!

I started to write something up last weekend, but then I got busy, distracted, rode my bike a little and then forgot what I was going to do. So here's a mish-mash recap.

The first race of the TMBRA Fall Series was at Camp Eagle was Labor Day weekend. As the course did not have a high *KFC rating I was not going to race, but I did pre-ride the course. I survived 99.99% (walking when necessary), but managed to go down on the part of the course that the 10&under kids race on. Yeah, I can ride a bike...

No worries, that kind of thing usually cleans up to show just a small scratch or two, the type that makes you wonder where all the blood came from.


Or... maybe not. :~/ I'm happy to report that I re-rode the section without inflicting further damage on by body.

Since I wasn't racing, I was called on to do feed zone duty for Alan & Kyle


Post race relaxation

Kyle was smiling for a reason.

The following weekend was the next race at the Huntsville State Park. The weather seemed to be suited more for ducks than mountain bike racing. We contemplated upgrading to something a little more appropriate for the trail conditions

But decided that wouldn't pass USA Cycling specifications.

This race was one for my memory book.

A bad start, followed by a dismal first lap. Things started clicking at the end of the lap and I moved up from 6th to 3rd in less than 1/2 mile. Now the challenge was to keep moving fast enough to hold my position and put a time gap between me and everyone else without blowing up.

Picture courtesy of Kevin Tokarski

I felt like I was managing to hold a decent pace, until I heard some riders coming up from behind. Thinking it was Pro/Cat 1 guys catching me I called out, imagine my surprise horror when the voice that responded was female. I went into panic mode, picked up the pace and pedaled like the hounds of hell were on my wheel (now, if I can just figure out how to do that every race).
Women - Cat 1 - 40-49
1 - Diana........1:33:8.00 - Bicycles Inc/Trek
2 - Catherine...1:34:58.00
3 - Kathy........1:43:43.00 - Matrix RMB
4 - Tanya........1:44:21.00 - Team Hammerhead
5 - Lisabeth.....1:45:4.00 - Bikesport/ION
6 - Cynthia......1:51:18.00 - Bike Barn/Gary Fisher/Subaru
7 - Pamela.......1:51:41.00 - Mad Duck/Max Muscle

As for the title of this post.

A couple of months ago I was at the grocery store. After perusing some of the fresh fruit, I turned to add my selections to other items already in my shopping cart... which wasn't there! I knew where I had left it. It should have been right behind me.

It. Was. Not. There.

I looked around, just in case I had been the one to wander off. Nope, still no cart with my stuff in it. I look again and I see my cart (I know it's mine, because my eco-friendly cloth bags are in bottom basket) being pushed away by an older gentleman. By time I figure out what has happened, he is already the length of the produce section and several aisles away. I really did't want to go running through the store yelling "Stop, Thief!", but I did want my cart back.

I finally catch up to the man and politely inform him that he has my shopping cart. He looks at me like I'm crazy, then looks into the cart and realizes that it wasn't his. We laugh about it (which I can do, now that the cart is back in my possession) while we both walk back to find his cart, which was no where near where mine had been.




*Kathy Friendly Course

Ketchup

Hmmm, it's been a month since I've posted anything. I'd like to say that I've been so busy that I haven't had time, but that wouldn't be true. Now, I have been busy... but busy with the mundane ins and outs of daily life. You know - exciting things like work, laundry, riding my bike, and sleeping - which pretty much sums up my day.

Not much can be said about work, can't really complain about my "boss" as I'm married to him. Well... I guess I could if there was something to complain about.

Laundry: sort, wash, dry, fold/hang, repeat. It's one of those things that is never, ever caught up. Spend all day getting it done and the next morning there's more... sigh. It's the same with dirty dishes - never ending.

Sleep. Sweet, sweet sleep. Never seem to get enough of that. The down side of semi-serious competitive cycling is that the weekends of sleeping in and lazing around are a distant memory.

Guess that leaves cycling. Surprised, aren't you? While everyday riding/training is fun and I look forward to the weekly rides with my girl friends, racing is what I really enjoy. Which is funny, because I'm not that great of a racer; but, if there's a mountain bike race in the area you will most likely find me lined up.

We've already had the first of the DORBA/N Texas Series races, which is held at local trails. That race went well, with both the AJ and I having good races.

Then a couple of weekends ago, The AJ & I road-tripped to Houston for the weekend to see friends, ride some new trails and do one of their local races. The race was fun and I was happy with my results, even if I did lose it on a bridge and slam myself violently to the ground. After a few unladylike comments I got the chain back on the front rings and continued with my race, catching and passing the lady that passed by while I was doing my impersonation of a flounder.

Last week, even with a sore shoulder, I kept thinking about how much fun the race had been and the knowledge of a 2nd race at the same location kept tempting me to make a return trip to settle my grudge against a certain bridge. The AJ wouldn't be able to go, as he had a welding/fabrication project that he had been hired to do and needed to get finished up. I made a few phone calls, found a place to stay, and with kitchen pass in hand I hit the road last weekend for a return trip and a chance to redeem myself.

Conditions were great for the race - cooler temperatures, lowish humidity (for Houston) and most importantly dry bridges! Although my race time was 6 minutes faster, everyone else's was faster, too. While I didn't improve on my race results, I was not caught by the lead men and I crossed all the bridges without falling down... YEA! Cool video taken of the race, I'm even in it!

Battle of the Brazos Mountain Bike Race: 08/30/09 from Paul Sedillo on Vimeo.

Thanks to KarmaBiker race pics are here, here, and here.

The Fall TMBRA season will be starting soon, so with that and the DORBA races I'll be able to get my "race fiend" fix for the next couple of months.

All for now... my comfy pillow is waiting for me.

49

A couple days ago I celebrated 49 years of existence.

I know people that contemplate the life they've lived either on their birthday or at the start of the new year. Are they were they dreamed they would be? Met the goals they set?

What about me? Am I where I dreamed I would be, met my goals in life?

I couldn't tell you because I don't ever remember thinking that far ahead. It seems that I'm one of those that just float along; but, floating along seems to have worked for me. I do good to make plans for tomorrow; so I'm not going to worry about what's going to happen next month, let alone the next year. Although there have been a few bumps and bruises along the way, so far I am very happy in how my life has turned out and given the chance I don't think I'd change a thing.

I've been happily married to an amazing man for 3/5ths of my life (he's the one that has been steering the boat) and we have a wonderful son that is the best of both of us. I didn't go to college, but I've been signing my own paycheck for nearly 25 years. While I can't retire anytime soon, I can pay off my credit card balance every month and still put some money into savings. My friends range from business executives to college students.

My biggest question in life is who is the old lady in the mirror?
Because in my head I'm still in my early 20s.

Obviously I'm not much of a deep thinker either.

MTB Nat's

Pictures from the trail










Colorado - a nice place to visit, but don't think I'd want to live there. Which just confirms that there is something "wrong" with me.

DFL > DNF > DNS
Well, I've been thinking about the race and over a week later I'm still trying come to terms with myself and the ride. It's not like I was expecting to win or anything like that. I was hoping that even if I wasn't competitive with the other ladies in my group that at least I could hold my own and not be too far off the back... yeah, right.

Pre-race nerves or just posing?


From what everyone keeps telling me, just finishing is a big accomplishment - especially for a flat-lander that has never ridden at altitude. I guess even the lady from Tucson had a couple thousand feet head start in acclimation.

Anyway, enough of the pity party.

The race was hard - as it should be. Here's a link to the start of my race that was taken by cyclingdirt.com, see if you can find my in my moment of glory:
Cat 1 Start Women 7 | 2009 USA Mountain Bike National Championships Cat 1 on CyclingDirt Posted using ShareThis
Alan's race is start is Cat 1 Start 9; Kyle's is Cat 1 Start 1; and, if you watch the Cat 1 Start 8 (15/16) they pan around the corner and show the rest of the climb.

Speaking of Alan, here's a couple pics of him on the stupid, steep descent on the Patriot Trail section




I'm off my bike because the racer in front of me is off...

...yeah, that sounds good, it's all her fault I didn't ride this!

In closing
Portable recycling taken to a whole new level



Maybe the bottles could be melted down and used as a Bondo substitute?

Been there,

done that and have the t-shirt; but, not a story yet.

I know it's been a week since the "big" race and I haven't written anything yet.

I will...


soon.

Maybe tomorrow.

Less than 12 hours to go...

until the start of the USA Cycling MTB National Championship Cat 1 race.

Sigh... why am I doing this?

I'm a back of the packer in the Texas races (although my times have been getting better) - BUT, these other ladies don't know this. Are they as nervous as I am?

Oh well, tomorrow morning will be here soon enough. All I can do is try my best and just hope that it will be enough to keep me from embarrassing myself... sigh.