Last night Derek and I went for a mountain bike ride after work and did a nice little loop up Phil's and then around and down Ben's. Coming down Ben's there was some asshat that thought the entire network was his and he was too good to yeild the trail. I saw him coming up behind us when we pulled aside to let a couple come up the trail. He slammed on his brakes and crashed into the bushes trying to get around all of us. Fast forward to a couple miles later and again, we had pulled over to let a group of 4 come up the trail. It's singletrack and there is not room to pass side by side in this section but dude tries to squeeze between Derek and the riders coming up the trail. We took off and left him in the dust after that.

Some people just ruin the fun of the world.

I really hope that was it for awhile for the rain - where the heck did that come from anyway? Summer and warm to cloudy and then BAM rain. I have company in town starting Tuesday and I don't want it to rain for them. The streets were still damp this morning when I rode to work.

My book club just finished reading Blindness and I loved it. It's coming to the theater in a couple weeks and I know they won't do it justice, but I'll still go see it.

Cyclocross

Last night was #3 in the cyclocross series that Webcyclery sponsors. Here is Adam bunny hopping the barriers



normal people dismount and run over them

I rode at lunch today under sunny skies and warm temps...oh, and a pretty strong headwind! It's been awhile since I've ridden South on Brookswood out to Knott/Baker. Last time I rode that way they were barely breaking ground on the little shopping area by River Rim. Now it's almost complete!!!!

Another pizza place is coming to Bend - Boston Gourmet. I don't know much about it. I'm currently backlogged with new places to try. Rough life, huh?

Bend Burger Company opened yesterday and I saw a line out the door when I passed by.

My commutes to work have been uneventful but still very nice. A few days of awesome sunrises, a bit of smoke in the air, cool evening colors.. there is always stuff to look at and admire.

Tonight is cyclocross in the lot across for Cascades Lake Brewery - come and race or cheer. Good times.

What a nice weekend. Sunshine, warm weather, great trails, awesome beer... Deschutes has some new seasonals that are noteworthy. Fresh hop brews have started and there are more to come!!!!

Saturday we went mountain biking on one of my favorites loops. So many folks come to Bend and only ride Phil's or Mrazek and are missing out. Adventurous people are rewarded.





That's one GIANT mushroom!



Who needs on rv and hookups when you get a cozy spot like this with a nice view?



Sunday I did a big swim workout and then we rode down to The Summit to watch the Chargers play. AAAARGH, another action packed game that came down to the wire. FRUSTRATING!

Dustache

It was another dusty night of cyclocross. I rode over early to help setup the course and then kept an eye on the barrier section of the course in case they got knocked down. I saw plenty of crashes through all the dust.

The run up/ride up. There used to be barriers at the bottom but they took them out this week.

Fire Sky

Hope you saw the sunrise this morning. It was amazingly colorful, down to the point that it was slightly eerie!. I rounded the corner on my bike and was in awe.

A Joke?

Unless it's a joke, I just read that Lance Armstrong will return to road racing in 2009.

Velonews Article

I'm King of the World

Went mountain biking today for a few hours - it was so nice to be out there. Caught sight of this little guy eating lunch high atop a rock outcropping like he was royalty.



We stopped in at The Summit Stage and Saloon afterward to watch the Chargers game. What a great game - down to the last seconds!

Aquabike

I've always wished that when I cold run I had done a triathlon. That's out of the question, so I want to do a duathlon, only, it's not called that. This would be swimming and biking and they are called aquabike events. We don't have any in Bend that I know of or can find...or even Oregon for that matter. But, I think we should have one.

I rode down to the pool and swam about 2200 meters yesterday before riding back home and boy, was it nice out. Such a perfect way to spend a nice summer day. Today we're going to hit the trails and mountain bike. I talked to my doctor and Friday and she said that as long as my leg doesn't hurt I can do whatever I want...except fall and get hurt. The pressure is on.

Thursday Night Fun

Last night was the first of the Webcyclery cyclocross races and I rode over after work to help out while Derek raced. It was dusty as usual, but that didn't stop all the racers from having a great time. I had fun cheering everyone on, it's such a cool local event that they cycling community comes together for. I was in a hurry this morning so only had time to throw two pics up.

Just a tad bit dry and dusty.



Fake mud - well, it's real mud, but put there by a water truck. This sure ain't muddy cyclocross like the rest of Oregon.

I found out where my neighbor works by racing her this morning. She was driving and I was riding. It's about a mile from our house and I got there faster riding then she did driving. It was another cold morning. I keep riding to work in jackets and leaving them here because it gets so warm in the afternoon and I forget about them! I now have three here. Something needs to be done about this.

I'm addicted to Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmare. It's a BBC show where Chef Gordon Ramsay goes to a restaraunt and tries to help them get back on their feet by redesigning the menu and working with the kitchen staff. Hey, it's that or the "New" 90210. hahaha - no, dont worry, I'm not watching that crap.

What is that?

The heater went on yesterday morning and I couldn't figure out what the noise was since I haven't heard it in so long. I had to put my wind vest on to ride to the pool for a swim workout in the morning. It was cold out but when I jumped in the pool and got going I was actually hot. It's funny the things you hear when in a locker room. Yesterday there was a group of girls (I'm guessing they were 17 or so) that were complaining about how broke they are. One had a car payment due that she said she didn't have enough money to pay this month. She was worried what would happen if she didn't make it. Her friend said she thought that it would be ok for awhile and she could try to make it whenever she had the money. They decided that was a good idea and that they should go get their nails done and go shopping. hahaha

I don't have anything new to write about really, I'm spending my free time swimming, doing a little riding, and next week I think I'll start back with rowing. I don't like to be in the gym when I can be outside, but I'm running out of outside stuff to do. So I think I'll put together a ride to the gym and then a row and ride home or something like that.

Crow

It was a nice night for a concert so we rode our bikes down for a beer and then to listen to Sheryl Crow. There were a TON of people out for the event and the restaraunts were all hopping.

Me, I just love the river at/after sunset.



Attack of the killer bike shadow.

I can't wait for the Bend Burger Company to open downtown. I don't eat hamburgers, but I'm a sucker for a shake. Not those lame ass ones that fast food restaurants have...a real one.

Today was my weekly anti coagulation appointment and I'm right in the appropriate INR zone! Woohoo! I've been commuting to and from work and the pool by bike without any problems and even rode at lunch a bit today. It's such a nice time of year to get out and ride or swim.

That's about it for me.

Fall is Creeping In

It was a little chilly for my ride into work today. Fall is around the corner indeed. I've been faithfully wearing my compression stocking to help my leg feel better. It looks really great with my riding shorts. It is so nice to get out and ride again after a little more than 3 weeks off. Commuting to work and the pool and back isn't much when I was riding 5-6 hour days just a month ago, but hey, it's a start right? The rockchucks appear to have gone in to hibernation or something, I haven't seen them in awhile.

Next week is the start of Webcyclery's cyclocross series! It sure would be nice to see some new faces out there. Are you at all interested in a good 40 or so minute workout? Nobody really cares what place they get, just show up with a bike and a good attitude. I'll be volunteering in some form.

Yesterday was our team pool party and BBQ. We had a good time playing around in the pool and pigging out on food.

One Day You're Fine, the Next You're Not

All these vacation posts were fun to look back at. We love to travel and ride in new places. However, the second to last day my right leg started to feel some strain again. It felt like just a really tight muscle that needed to be stretched..it kept kind of cramping up. We actually ended our vacation early and headed for home. Monday when we got back I went to the doctor because my lower leg was swelling. They diagnosed it as a re-injury to my calf/hamstring but sent me for an ultrasound just in case. Turns out I have deep vein thrombosis (blood clot). So, I spent two weeks giving myself injections into my stomach twice a day of a "blood thinner", as well as taking a pill each day. Also with that, I've been going to the anticoagulation clinic twice a week so they can monitor the levels of medicine in my blood. It's scary. I'm done with the injections and left with just taking Coumadin for possibly 6 months.

I'm back to riding some now that my muscle has healed, and swimming is still a strong part of my exercise.

One Day You're Fine the Next You're Not.

Stanley Idaho

Stanley, Idaho was our last stop. We did two rides here while we camped and enjoyed the small town. Our first ride was not what the map mad it sound like. The climbs were too steep and loose for riding, especially after all we'd ridden in the prior 2 weeks. The downhill was awesome, but the climb made it not worth it. We rode for almost 6 hours but at least two was hiking.



















This was the end of the trail Derek had ridden up the river to see if the trail continued on and then he had to walk back to let me know.

Sun Valley

The riding in Sun Valley was really hot and dry. There are a lot of steep ups and downs! I really enjoyed the town of Ketchum, very cool laid back vibe compared to Jackson and we met quiet a few very nice locals.

First way to test a town is to have a beer

Then you ride the next day.