life/appassionato

Does anyone want to help me clean my classroom tomorrow from 10:30ish-1?  I think it'd only take about an hour and half with more hands and I'd be happy to buy whoever comes lunch (can we say, P. Terry's?!)

Man, I love corn.  Not on the cob, but frozen corn, corn from a can, cream corn, mexican corn.

Yum.

I tossed some pasta with this amazing basil pesto from Whole Foods with a can o' corn and it has been my staple the last three days (Well, besides last night's amazing sushi dinner).

At this point in time I have midway through my last conference period of the year.  One last class to go and I'm free.  In the meantime I have been googling "jobs in the cycling industry".... It's a pity a lot of positions require a business degree/experience or engineering.  What about events coordinating!? I dig that kind of shit.

There was a Advocacy position up in Chicagoland that pays just as much as teaching and I was tempted except for the fact that Chicago is retardedly cold.

hmm, my chest kind of hurt this morning. and my right arm feels funny.. a numbish, dead log feel.

according to google i must be having a heart attack.

wow, the last week or so has felt like breakneck speed, although everytime i look at how many days of school i have left it makes me want to strangle some kid.  one day and three class periods to go.

i actually took a break off the bike yesterday. i was suppose to ride with Wally on the last leg of his 200 mile ride, but he stopped early before I could find him.  So i rode 10 miles and felt like complete crap, so home i went and rested instead.  my energy levelare plummeting and i feel like i am heading into a freefall approaching terminal velocity, yet i am crawling like a snail.

my hr has been all out of wack because of a series of stressful events.  and this weekend doesn't look so great either.

Friday: work, leave for Houston

Saturday: ride, attend brother's graduation, drive back to Austin

Sunday: ride, work at the shop, vox, meet with Peter about P297

Monday: morning drive to Dallas, race insane crit, drive back to Austin.

thanks to Andrew Lee most of the driving will be done by him or Myra.  I am blessed to have friends who understand my hatred for driving (its not just pollution, etc, but the act of driving is not so fun for me) and are willing to schlep me and my bicycle around the state of texas.  And I am super lucky they have similar plans to mine this weekend. Who would have thought it?  Austin-Houston-Austin-Dallas-Austin.

I think on Tuesday I am going to do absolutely NOTHING. Well, besides ride my bike since we have team time trial practice.

I need a massage.

Women
1. Lori Barnett
2. Cindy Alton (Actually, it's Lindy...) BergGirls
3. Marsha Vongehusri (sp)? BergGirls
4. Jennifer Joy
5. Whitney Schultz
6. Holly Ammerman
7. Kate Sherwan
8. Lori Morse

I like the latest edition of my last name.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure." - Helen Keller

A bit of inspiration that I take to heart.  Last night during the Ride of Silence (rideofsilence.org) I made a promise to myself that as long as I have breath in me I will swing my legs over my bike and ride. Ride because I can, because one day, hopefully a LOOOOOONG time from now, I won't be able to.  I remember reading somewhere... there is time enough to sleep when you are dead.  Cycling has become an extension of living for me... an analogy for life if you will...There are times to drop the hammer and GO and other times to recover and appreciate the daises and puffy clouds... Sheesh, I'm a bike geek.

Live!

Something that makes me sad is season finales.  No, not like I'm going to miss watching such and such show.  It makes me sad how people get sad over season finales.  It's a freaking tv show.  I can't comprehend scheduling in tv time in my schedule.  Of course I suppose a lot of people can't imagine spending 20 hours a week on a piece of metal with two wheels, but shit, it's freaking TV.  It rots your brain.  You want to relax? Take a nap.  Go do yoga, some breathing exercises. Run. Call someone you love and have a chat with them. Get 8 hours of sleep.  Pray. Do that thing you've always wanted to do, but never have time for. Skydive.  But zonking out in front of the tv? It makes me feel dead.

Do something to remind yourself that you are alive.

It pisses me off in the morning when I turn on the radio and what do I hear? People talking about such and such show and how much they love such and such character or show and omg what am I going to do for three months without TV.  Sheeeet.  I'm at a point where every second I'm not teaching or working on P297 or spending time with people I am on the bike.  Go, go, go.  I saw a horse carriage downtown with a cute old couple plodding along.  Man, don't ever put me on one of those.  I'd go crazy at how slow it goes.  I hate walking because it takes so much damn time.

Breakneck speeds are much more fun.  It reminds me I'm alive to ride another day.

Oh, and that ride of silence? It's a silent 8 mile ride at max speeds of 12 mph.... It's a ride to remember those who have died or have been injured in accidents with coffins.. I mean, cars.  The impact it has to see 300+ cyclists riding in complete silence speaks louder than any retarded Critical Mass or protest.  I rode for Gay Simmons and her husband... The day she died on 360 I had 6 friends on that stretch of road and I never prayed so hard... for a while when I saw the picture of her bike I thought it was V's bike and I almost threw up when they released the preliminary photo/news.  Two days ago when I was standing at 34th street at a red light the car in front of me decided to throw it into reverse and slammed into my front wheel, knocking me over as I was screaming STOP.. It's amazing how many people go backwards without looking back at all.  I am lucky I escaped with just a bruise and Cheeto only needed a bit of adjustments.  The ass sped off and when I located a cop, he said "he could file a report, but what good would that do for me?"  Insensitive.  But honestly, after standing at a red light for a good 45 seconds, you're going to back up?  Driving magnifies our stupidity to the point of costing people their lives.

Your perspective changes if you ever had a pick up truck try to see how close they can get their sideview mirror to your head. 

People say "Why do you keep riding then?"

I ask them, "Why do you keep driving?"

I want to get rid of my car.

Wow this entry is totally my brain throwing up on the computer screen.

/rant

52.87 miles
2x Mesa Repeats

06:46
08:06

After this weekend's race shennanigans (placed 11th, one place out of medaling... meh), the Lynskey finally has a name!  The first week after riding the bike it was pretty much decided "it" was a he, but the inspiration for a name had yet to appear.

En route to Mineral Wells, Lori, Sam, John, and I were laughing our heads off about an 18-wheeler in front of us that had a goofy looking Mexican guy advertising for some groceries.  Next to this guy was scrawled "CHEETO" in the dirt that covered the back.  John looks at me and declares "CHEETO! That's the name for your bike!".  And it has stuck.

I suppose that it is appropriate since it is my favorite post race snack (mmh, salt), but I love the inside jokes that come from crazy road trips to the middle of nowhere for bicycle racing.

Lori got 3rd and on the podium, while John didn't do as well as he would have liked.  He actually caught up with me a few miles from Cherry Pie Hill and we had a chance to chat before yammering up the hill (well, HE hammered... I sort of just scooted up the thing).  Sam and Tommy both got 1st in their categories, which is great since Sam has enough points to finally cat up to a 3.

Some photos that sum up the trip:

1. John getting his butt pinched by Lori and me.

2. Lori eating some guac on the way up to MW

3. Tommy boy with his ridiculous seatpost.  Looking nice in his Woolly Mammoth kit.

4. Argyle socks are the shit.

Who are the most frequently mentioned people on your Vox blog? 
Submitted by Amirul B Ruslan.  

my bicycles.

:P

Lynskey1

Arrived at 6:38PM April 4, 2007

Absolutely perfect in every way.

Now, will one of you fellows with the fancy SLRS help take some photos to do my baby justice? All I have is the web cam on my Mac.

MY NEW CUSTOM TITANIUM LYNSKEY FRAME IS HERE IN AUSTIN RIGHT THIS MINUTE IN THE BIKE SHOP!!!!!!!!!!

I AM SOOOOOO IN LOOOOOOOVE!!!!!!

HOLY MOLY WHEN I HELD HIM/HER IN MY ARMS FOR THE FIRST TIME THERE IS NO WAY THE FRAME IS MORE THAN 2 LBS.  HE/SHE IS SOOOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL. 

I will be racing the HELL out of it as soon as I get my hands on it Wednesday, fully built and tweaked for meeee.  I'll get fitted so I will be perfectly dialed into position. Man, I am going to go SOOOO much faster.  I don't think the guys have ever seen a girl dance around the shop with a bike frame before.

This is like getting a freaking ferrari!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE.

HAPPYHAPPYHAPPYHAPPY.

JOYJOYJOYJOYJOYJYOJOY.

pics to come I promise.

1. SENDING OUT EMAILS LIKE THIS TO THE ENTIRE CAMPUS. DO YOU NOT REALIZE YOU ARE SCREAMING AT EVERYONE????? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU???? MY OCULAR NERVES DON'T WANT TO PROCESS YOUR LOUD SHIT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING.

2. The overuse of the word "hardcore" and "crazy".  I am not hardcore. I am not crazy either. Stop describing me as such.

3. Laziness.

4. Asian Standard Time.

5. Remarkable bitchiness from co-workers.

6. People being woolly mice and so set in their ways.

From Tim Krabbe's The Rider: 

“The greater the suffering, the greater the pleasure. That is nature’s payback to riders for the homage they pay her by suffering. Velvet pillows, safari parks, sunglasses; people have become woolly mice . They still have bodies that can walk for five days and four nights through a desert of snow, without food, but they accept praise for having taken a one-hour bicycle ride. ‘Good for you’. Instead of expressing their gratitude for the rain by getting wet, people walk around with umbrellas. Nature is an old lady with few friends these days, and those who wish to make use of her charms, she rewards passionately.”

It's only 10:47AM and I'm having a long day at work. GRRRRRR. I need a fucking latte.