July 24, 2009 Andrea

Finally home!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted because until last night, I’ve been without internet since Tuesday (ok- so I’m not one of those people that’s gonna DIE from lack of internet, but I DO enjoy it, so it was, at worst,Ã‚ inconvenient) . Luckily I’ve got great parents, so after sitting around Bale Honda for a few hours (see previous post), they showed up to rescue me.

We left for Conway and spent the night there. The Honda people said that it’d be late on Tuesday before my car was finished, so we left Tuesday morning for Mountain View where they wanted to shop for cabins. We found a nice one for rent and checked in for a couple of nights. It was sitting about halfway up a mountain and had a gorgeous view of Syllamore Creek. It was also about a 15 minute drive from the famous Syllamore MTB trails. I was excited. However, it rained all day on Tuesday- enough that one of the bridges over the creek was flooded/impassable (we had to loop around to the “high water” bridge in orer to get back to our cabin on Tuesday night).

Wednesday, the skies generally cleared as the day went on. My parents went out to look at cabins, leaving me to watch Stage 17 of Le Tour and ride my MTB on the local back roads. The ride was not bad- I only rode 17 miles, but at least I got about 2500 feet of climbing in during the outing. The Ozark “mountains” in that area are short enough that most roads don’t do much in the way of switchbacking or diagonal routing… they generally go straight up the side and up to the top. I made good use of my granny gear a couple of times. Wednesday night, after dinner, we walked around downtown and watched some performances by local folk music enthusiasts.

Finally, Thursday arrived. My parents drove me back to Little Rock to get my car. I was momentarily tempted to go back to Lake Sylvia, but I was pretty homesick, so I hauled back to Memphis and got back in time to hit up the Thursday afternoon group ride from Bartlett.

So… this morning I have stuff to do- watch the Tour, go over to my parents’ house and check the garden, get a camelbak cleaning kit, shop for a new car, do some grocery shopping, ride my MTB, yardwork… whether or not I get all of it done, I’m just glad to be home!

July 12, 2009 Andrea

Vacation update/Ride report

Right now, Ryan and I are on a road trip/vacation visiting some of his family up North. The first few days were in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, where, along with a couple of very scenic rides through the rolling dairyland, we visited the Kohler factory (coolest part was definitely the foundry), a cheese factory, and hung out with his brother and sister-in-law.

Yesterday, we made the drive to his mom’s house in Marquette, Michigan. We tried to get in touch with several people from a local team about a Sunday group ride, but no one would answer emails about whether or not the ride was still active. So we took a look at Google maps and used Mapmyride.com to create our own route (I named it Bad Idea Jeans). Ryan’s mom warned us that some of the roads were gravel, but we generally enjoy those, so we figured they’d just make the ride more interesting.

So we started out by climbing Mt. Marquette within the first few miles. I also fell over a couple fo times when I slid out or stalled in the sandy gravel. The view at the top was nice.

Soon after (maybe 14 miles in), we turned off the main road to loop where we figured we’d find a bit of gravel. We did- it was well-maintained, and we kept going. Soon after, though, the road narrowed a bit, and the gravel turned to sand. Deep sand! We had to walk several times. Then the road turned into a single lane of hardpack sand and rocks… then to doubletrack sand/rock… then we rounded a courner and saw PRIVATE PROPERTY signs on each side of the further dimishing road.Ã‚ We were forced to turn around and go back the way we came in.

Deep sand- not quite so rideable (Im the blue spot further up the road) — Deep sand- not quite so rideable (I'm the blue spot further up the road)

Once we were back on the main road, we took a detour to get back onto the planned route. There was another surprise section of gravel (including a small climb- hard, but still do-able) before we crossed a highway, then we reached a third stretch of gravel and another big hill. Then the road narrowed a bit. It turned to hardpack dirt. Deja-vu? Yes. Within a mile or so, the road ended at another set of NO TRESPASSING signs- this time, complete with a wire gate across the road. So, we turned around and went back the way we came. Again.

Once we were back to the highway, we took to the headwind and detoured back in to Marquette. We still ended up with about 57 miles. Below is the tracing from Ryan’s Garmin GPS (blue) overlayed on the planned Mapmyride route.

June 21, 2009June 21, 2009 Andrea

Memphis Pride Fest 2009

After I finished my 50 miler yesterday, I was in the middle of lunch when my friend Megan sent me a text message that I should join her and her girlfriend at the Pride Festival in Midtown. It sounded like an interesting afternoon since, even though I’m not a lesbian, most of my female friends happen to be.

I had a great time there… I met some of Megan’s friends, got into a water balloon fight, and then got some pretty good camera phone photos of the parade:

Megan & Ashley — Ã‚ Ashley & Megan... cutest couple out there

If you see a photo that you like, you’re more than welcome to “steal” it, but I’d appreciate if you give me a link-back or other mention if you post it someplace. Thanks!

The whole experience was a litte bit crazy for me… let’s face it- I shave my head with clippers and a #5 blade guard. While I was there, most people thought that I was just another lesbian. I guess that in everyday life,Ã‚ that when you meet someone, you assume that he or she is straight unless they actually tell you otherwise. While I was there, I guess that the people I met just assumed I was a lesbian unless I told them otherwise. It was fun and thought provoking to live in someone else’s shoes for a few hours. I’m happy I went.

June 20, 2009 Andrea

Dogs

Indy is hot.

Turbo is Bored.

June 16, 2009 Andrea

Tomatoes

A few weeks ago, I was debating what type of plants to put in the flower bed since the pansies were starting to look a bit tired. I finally decided that instead of just planting something pretty, that I’d go for a more “functional” route and plant some tomatoes. I was a bit worried that they wouldn’t grow well in the clay-ish soil in the bed, so I mixed some garden soil and a little fertilizer in when I planted them. Since then, they’ve actually done really well- I tied them up this morning:

I’m wondering (but not really caring) what the neighbors think. Hopefully there will be enough tomatoes to pass out to the surrounding houses to ward off any ill will!

June 15, 2009June 15, 2009 Andrea

Heat

Here is a gallery of some some random and artsy shots from yesterday’s crit. Click on the thumbnail to see full-sized images:

June 9, 2009 Andrea

Roasted Brussel’s Sprouts

If you hate Brussel’s sprouts because they’re stinky, slimy, and bitter, then forget everything you know about them, and try this:

Ingredients:
Brussel’s Sprouts (I don’t measure… just get however many you want to eat)
Apple (Fuji, Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, etc- something very crispy)
Shallot
Balsamic Vinegar
Olive Oil
Crushed Red Pepper
Salt & Fresh ground pepper

Preheat the over to 425F. Wash sprouts & cut in half (quarter large ones), picking off any leaves that look like something you shouldn’t eat. Cut the shallot in half, then into slices. Dice the apple. Toss all of those into a bowl, then add a tablespoon or so of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add a good dose of salt & pepper, then sprinkle as much or as little crushed red pepper as you like. Toss and pour into a glass casserole dish.

Now the important part: BAKE FOR 15 MINUTES. NO MORE.

If you bake them longer, then you’ll get brown, stinky sprouts. You want green and crispy. Oh yeah- and chew your damn food and you won’t get gas. (as much)

June 2, 2009 Andrea

Rescue Kitty

Today I brought home what will hopefully be a new member of the fur family. She is from Kitties for Keeps and was rescued when the head of the rescue saw her get tossed out of the side door of a van in a school zone one morning. She was given the name “Mishka” when they saw a Law & Order episode where the Russian mob threw a guy named Mishka out of a van.

Since she’s not Russian or male, I plan to re-name her. That is, if the dogs get used to her. Right now, they’re a little freaked out. She’s not too concerned as long as she’s on the other side of the baby gate from them, but otherwise she’s hissing & slapping them when they get too close.

Right now, I’m calling her Chunk, because she’s got a little cat head & tail, but a fat belly: