Nine Mile 07

above photo curteousy of Rusty

Some pre and post pics from 07 Nine mile Pics Here

Looks like we are headed into a beautiful weekend of SUNSHINE and hopefully some great racing!

Super Food

QUINOA

A balanced essential amino acid and complete protein, without the meat! Also a good source of dietary fiber, phosphorus, magnesium and iron. Gluten Free and easy to digest.
Very high in carbs and protein:)


A friend of mine, Tammy told me about this super food, Quinoa and how it is the best recovery food out there. I finally picked up a 1/2 pound of this wonderful seed from whole foods and decided to take the plunge and try it. I have been thinking allot about ways to eat healthier and actually have been finding great interest in the VEGAN diet world. Don't get me wrong, I am what you call an Omnivore, but putting meat, dairy and the like aside a few days a week can be quite healthy and up-lifting for the body. I have also watched a program on Direct TV recently that talked about all kinds of American Diets, from A to Z. One interesting diet was the RAW VEGAN, totally there on the nutrition highway, at least in pure nutrients and vitamins that are NATURAL and not over processed kind of food stuff in a box. Not sure I could handle cold food all the time. Again very, very interesting. So... a friend of mine who just happens to be a vegan has inspired me to search further and explore the world of eating more natural, aside from animals that I was brought up on by my parents.

It only took 15 minutes in boiling water to make this Quinoa and then the fun begins. I reviewed some recipes in popular magazines and books on line and also tasted a few vegan dishes and decided to wing my own recipe.

1 -1/2 cup of Quinoa in 3 cups of boiling water. Bring to a boil and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.

I used fresh vegetables we had in the frig:

1 small Zucchini

1/4 Red Sweet Pepper

1 Orange Bell Pepper, chopped

clove of garlic, minced

3 scallions finely sliced

1/4 cup red onion chopped

4 table spoons of dried currants

1/2 cup of Almonds

2 carrots finely chopped

Mixed with 1/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar, one to two table spoons of honey, 2 teaspoons of olive oil or canola oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix together, vinegar, honey, olive oil and pour over Quinoa and veggie mixture. I think if you let it sit a day, the Quinoa absorbs the flavors. I could not wait and it tastes simply delicious. You can always doctor it up the way you like to your own tastes, but this stuff is really cool.

VOILA!

Memorial Weekend

Kate looks like one of those cool European chicks on a bike. There is NO WAY she can win the crappy bike contest.

Fire

Great time, new friends, awesome host, Russell.

Memorial weekend in a nutshell: Lot's of riding with friends, a few drinks, a few parties and some good hard labor in our back yard made for a great extended weekend.

photos

The Perfect Ride

You know you had a good ride when you blow a hole in your socks:)

The day had finally arrived and us girls got together for a fun ride at the Kettles. Amy, Sondra, Rachael, Holly and I, tore up the trails out to Emma and back on the most perfect day of the year.

These guy's needed a break and finally pulled over to rest and let us on through. Us girls were to big of a match for them to keep up. And they thought they were hard core mountain bikers:)

We ran into the MARS boys, looking all dapper.

There were some new single track sections off the blue that were a bit different from a few weeks ago and these sections had super flow to them. One section on the connector on the way back needs some tree trimming, I had to duck down pretty low and curl up into a ball while riding trough to avoid getting raked in the eyes. The trails are dry and fast and a whole lot of fun!

12 HOURS AT NEW FANE

AMY

Marcum's crew

12 hour solo winner's

Some race and awards pics here

Results here

Blackbean and Corn Salsa

Last night I threw together a few things and we had taco night, yummy. Tonight we will take the leftovers and make burritos and then freeze them. Then, when we are too tired to cook after a ride, just pop one in the microwave and Wa La!

Burrito assembly line tonight with the master burrito wrapper on deck.

Stay tuned!

Birthday Shout Out!

Mike called us last minute to remind us it's his Birthday. We all scraped our pennies together to afford the gas to drive down to the fashionable Bay view area to celebrate with him. Unfortunately we could not afford a cake and all he got was a cookie.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Celebration Pics

Hard Work

Photo curteousy of Rusty
www.wrycza.org



I remember along time ago, a wise little man once told me, this is mountain bike racing, suck it up!, and I did just that. I had an awesome time out there. This course was not for the meek or short tempered kind. I know there is all the buzz over the rock garden, but I found the most challenging part the up hill, tight switch backs towards the back of the course. The competition is tough, just the way it's meant to be. Thanks to Skinny's and Crew for a great Race!


post race celebration

TREADFEST 08

SUPER FLY PICS OF SPORT START AND A FEW ELITE AWARDS HERE!

battery died at the awards ceremony. sorry no time to edit.

Live it up!

I made out two sympathy cards today for patients that I had cared for whom passed away recently. I will miss them dearly. I also listened to two patients today that had lost their children recently, and I can tell you, that I hope I had made a difference in their life today by listening and showing compassion.

One of my patients lost her daughter at the age of 21 from bone cancer. Interestingly, she lived in the Fox valley and I guess there were others whom also had various forms of cancer similar to her daughter. There is no one investigating that she knows of. How sad...

Another patient I saw today lost her son last year from a massive heart attack, he was 41. There is some unknown reason lately that I have had the experience to meet these people this past week. I hope in some way I made a difference.

Again, we must remind ourselves that this is it! Make it count! Live your dreams! Tell someone how much you love them!

Spring is in the air

I am taking in every moment of this time of year to appreciate all the wonderful smells in the air during spring while riding my bike in the woods, it is just awesome. I hear on the news there is a bear loose in the Tosa woods, Nice! I'll bet all the sweet smells are what attracted the bear. You all be careful now!

kids

Do you know what your kids are doing? I often see children doing crazy dangerous things on my rides. Here we have a bridge made of sticks and branches over this creek. The girl in the pick is trying to balance while her two other friends watch. I hope she knows how to swim. Later on I saw four kids sitting on the train tracks in Tosa just hanging out. Just to let you know, trains roll through here at least every few hours all day long. Then to top it off, there were two other kids under a highway bridge, sticking there head up in a hole under this bridge where traffic is riding over there heads less than 5 feet. STUPID

Treadfest 2007 Recap

Treadfest pics 07

Mother

Joined in with Pedal Moraine gang to help pave new trails for the 12 hours WEMS race coming up. Well, we at least we showed up to eat all their delicious food. New Fane Trails are fast and fun and I am sure the race will be a favorite with many.

We did a group ride after all our hard work grooming mother nature. Once again I found myself abandoned but Luckily I came prepared and brought the Shuffle. Popped it on and the appropriate tune came on, Alone Again by Dokken. Yes, I am pretty much getting used to that tune, ha ha.

Celebrating Mother's Day at Balesteri's on Bluemound. A nice way to end a perfect day with Mom.

Help !

12 Hour WEMS race at New Fane is just around the corner and these peeps could use your help today with trail maintenance.

Team Pedal Moraine

May 8th

Another beautiful Sunset on interference lane.

too funny

A nurse walks into a bank. Preparing to write a check, she pulls a rectal thermometer out of her purse and tries to write with it.

She looks at the flabbergasted teller and without missing a beat says:

'Well, that's great..........that's really great..........Some asshole's got my pen.'

Life is short

Tonight I played in my garden and ate fresh vegetables for dinner. I tried to catch up on blog reading and enjoyed the fact that everyone is healthy and happy and having fun now that the weather is warm and the race season has started.

One of my closest friends sister was told that she has breast cancer and is having a bilateral mastectomy this Saturday, she is 44. She is a strong women and I pray she makes it through this.

I just remembered my dad has been gone now for almost 11 years now, May 7th 1997. This was his favorite time of the year. He also looked forward to getting ready to coach little league baseball, it was one of his passions. I really miss talking to him and his advice.

Life is short and we can't forget the people that make our life special, it is really important.

May Sunsets

Consistent

photo courtesy of RUSTY

A short race report:

First lap hurt bad and I wanted to quit, asking myself why I moved up to Expert and I was kidding myself. Only to be confirmed by some funny guy on the course who knows me and told me I could go faster, HA HA.

Second lap just as much pain but at least not as thirsty. I think I caught MTB Girl going into the bowl, not sure. The crowds of friends and spectators were great! The cheering helps so much for your motivation.

The third lap was going good but for some reason I was a minute or two short on my lap time. It was fun to ride my bike only to know I could not go any harder or faster for some dam reason. All I could hear for the darn race was my heavy breathing which sounded like a broken record. The COMP, EXPERT and ELITE men were so nice when passing, calling out ahead of time, I thought I was racing in Heaven.

Fourth lap a breeze and I was feeling good until I saw MTB Girl sneak up some where in the mid of the front half of the single track. I wanted to chit chat and but instead I hunkered down, got focused. I know she is good in the single track and even better at climbing then me, YIKES! I knew if I made any mistakes I was doomed. I am not too sure what happened but it was enough motivation for me to the finish line.

I am happy with my time since I knew going into the race what I was going to be able to accomplish and I did. Funny thing is, Brittany told me the same thing on the pre-ride that her goal was consistent lap times too. This must be something they tell us beginners so that we don't feel so bad after the race, tee hee hee:)

Thanks Sonia, Stephanie and Cindy and Michelle for the hand-ups and cheers it was greatly appreciated.

Iola PICs

Sport start and Elite awards, enjoy!

SUPER FLY PICS OF IOLA HERE

Saturday prep at IOLA

I feel like a big girl now

together again, shootin the breeze

carbo loading on the road

where are we going for dinner?

again, fooled by the menu. At least the noodles and chicken were good.

All refreshed for the start of the new season!

Hmmm, this could cost him.

Yummy

Funny

SUNBURN...
A guy fell asleep on the beach for several hours and got
horrible sunburn, specifically to his upper legs. He went
to the hospital, and was promptly admitted after being
diagnosed with second-degree burns. With his skin already
starting to blister, and the severe pain he was in, the
doctor prescribed continuous intravenous feeding with
saline, electrolytes, a sedative, and a Viagra pill every
four hours.
The nurse, who was rather astounded, asked, 'What good
will Viagra do for him, Doctor'?
The doctor replied, 'It won't do anything for his
condition, but it'll keep the sheets off his legs.'

EGO

Yesterday while riding my bike on the NB REC Trails, I passed this dude riding his bike with aero bars. As I passed, I cordially said hello to him. I did not even get a look or a grimace as I passed. I usually don't do this but I was going slow enough, I thought what the heck, it's a nice night, blah blah blah... So I headed off East towards home into the wind thinking some people are so stoic.

I had to unfortunately drink Cytomax last night for my workout since we were out of everything else. The stuff is so acidic, and it causes me to have indigestion but I had no choice. So needless to say it causes me to spit a LOT. So I am riding alone listening to my music and I turned my head to the right to spit and all of a sudden that guy on the TRI bike was behind me, which I had no clue he was there, and he got it good. I shouted out that I was sorry, I don't know if he heard me since I had my music blaring. He tried to chase me down, I dusted him:) I thought it was pretty funny.