…to me- from Ryan <3
non-bike
Lazy Sunday
So I woke up this morning with all intentions of riding once the rain cleared up. However, when I attempted to stand up, I realized that it was not meant to be. I can hardly move today. Not only do my quads not work, all of my other lower body muscles are trashed. It’s to the point that I’m having balance issues.
So, I’ve got the laptop set up in bed, and I’m surfing the internet while watching Joel Osteen on TV. Not that I feel the need for church, but I just like the sound of his voice and the fact that he constantly smiles as if he’s got a secret that’s terribly ironic. All the while, the dogs are passed out. Turbo is snoring, and Indy periodically twitches. Today is officially cancelled.
Verminator Fail
Last month, I posted that Indy sucessfully caught a mole: Verminatior
Today, he spent about an hour digging around in the mud (it’s been raining a lot lately). He didn’t catch anything. Except for mud…
Call me a Pansy.
Pansies- you know, those little purple, yellow, and white flowers that everyone plants in the fall? Think about it- you stick them into any quality of soil, and they bloom and thrive all winter- through snow, ice, whatever… those are some tough effin’ flowers. My thoughts were confirmed today when I was looking at my flower bed. I sprayed some stinging nettle with Roundup a week ago, and today, the nettle is dried up &Â brown. The pansy next to it that got a bit of overspray has a couple of wilted leaves, but is generally alright. They’re like the Flahutes of the flower world!
So, yeah. Next time you are wanting to complement someone for being tough, up’n call them a pansy. It’s a complement.
Best graf EVER!
Here’s an article out of Denver. Seems there’s a new graffiti crew in town- The Ladies Fancywork Society. Their brand of street art includes hand-crocheted art attached to various surfaces around the city. Check it out: Channel 9 News, Denver
Naptime
Take one part lost sleep due to bruised ribmeat and getting to bed a little late, add 8.5 miles of cold, wet running this morning, and you get some hardcore post-lunch napping with the kids… luckily, Ryan was around to take a photo. In case you’re wondering, the reason why my head is turned to the right is because I’m using Indy as a pillow:
Sheep hearding geniuses
Things happen quickly
Right now, life is like the Honda Del Sol that I used to race around in- with the flip of a switch, the nitrous is on, the accelerator is on the floor, and suddenly I’m going waaaaaay over the speed limit with my head thrown back, laughing like a madwoman.
I talked to a few people over the weekend that wanted to know if I were going to be joining another team any time soon. I’d given it a little thought, but wasn’t in any type of hurry. I had a couple of guys say they’d sponsor me to get back into Memphis Velo (my first team), which would be cool, except that their main focus is road racing, which I still plan on doing, though definitely not exclusively.
I’d also considered talking to Paul w/Team Kenda Tire about the possibility of re-joining on the regional team. He’s a really nice guy, and the team has some nice sponsors, too (like SRAM!). I’d kinda like something local, though…
Then I went in to Bikes Plus to order some spare BH derailleur hangers. Karen was there, and she’d heard about my recent change of heart (word travels fast!) We started talking about my competitive plans… Then she offered me shop sponsorship! Woohoo!!!!!! She’s always been incredibly nice to me, and she helped me put together my Surly Cross-Check last year. So, I went in for hangers and came out with an awesome sponsor and some sweet blue & green kits! It’s really just what I need- something local and very supportive that still allows me to be very independent. Happy, happy, happy :)
Other stuff:
I’m demo-ing a Gary Fisher HiFi 29er on Friday. I’ll be taking it to every trail in the city!
The Blue Rc7 (54cm) frameset is for sale: $600
The Blue T16 (52cm) frameset is for sale: $600 or $950 with TT bars/shifters/brakes (I’ve got someone who is trying it out on Saturday, but if you’re interested, let me know in case it doesn’t work out)
Last night, after a fixie ride w/some friends, I ran my first mile of 2009 (barefoot!). It’s like that saying about a long journey starting with a single step. I think I’m there right now.
Verminator
When I got home from running some errands, I let the dogs out. When I called them back in, Indy was in the corner of the yard digging furiously. I figured since he enjoys that type of thing and there’s absolutely nothing planted back there that I’d just let him have at it and wear himself out.
I guess he was looking for a midday snack…
He actually just gnawed on its feet & head a little bit then seemed to lose interest. I’m not sure I would have let him devour the entire thing since he’s kinda new to the non-kibble thing and most advice I’ve seen says to take it slow.
Happy Dogs!
After hours of research and reading, I decided that I’d switch my dogs from commercial kibble to a prey-model raw diet. Last night, I went to the store to get a couple of week’s worth of chicken- the meat of choice for starting dogs on raw food. They were very curious as to what I was doing when I was cutting it up/packing it into ziptop bags last night. Since I eat a vegetarian diet, It’s been a long time since they’ve actually smelled raw meat, and it definately got their attention more than tofu and lettuce…
The prep is something I’ll get used to. It took a little while, and I was careful to sanitize my countertops afterward (while dogs can easily digest the bacteria in fresh, raw meat, it’s not so kind to us humans). I portioned everything by weight using a kitchen scale- Turbo gets ~12-14oz and Indy somewhere in the neighborhood of 4oz. Then, I put most of it in the bottom drawer of the freezer, leaving a couple of bags in a tray in the bottom of the fridge door to stay unfrozen for breakfast.
This morning, I was curious to see how the dogs would react- apparently, some dogs have no idea what to do with a chunk of raw, bony meat. However, these two did not dissapoint- they ran in and started muching away like a couple of wolves! Turbo, who normally inhales kibble, crunched her way slowly through a chicken thigh and a wing while Indy attempted to take his single wing out of the laundry room (probably to the carpet). When I didn’t let him, he went back to the spot near his bowl, dropped it on the floor, and started to crunch away. They seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. Here’s Turbo polishing off her chicken wing:
