Trees and flowers and chirping birds...

I'm beginning to think I may have completely lost my mind.  Heading off to Laguna Hills again tomorrow morning.  Early.  The Team is riding 80 miles.  Seriously--80 miles?  What was I thinking?  I'll let you know how it goes...

Thoughts while on a very small seat...

So what have I learned this week during my 75 miles of tootling around the great IE?

1. Redlands was, at one point in history, famous for her oranges.  What can I tell you about the orange groves?  

• The trees smell really, really good while they're in blossom in the spring (not now). 
• The orchard has it's own microclimate which is a lot cooler than the road, and when you ride by, a nice cool breeze might greet you.
• Rotting oranges stink.

2. Worse than rotting oranges is the smell of dead critter wafting out of the orange groves.  Nothing like pedaling flat out, huffing and puffing all the way, and getting a great lung-full of yuck.  At least it was brief, and at least it wasn't a dead skunk.

3.  Those little brown birds (sparrows?--I'm not much of an ornithologist) fly at about 20 miles per hour.  I was last in that pace line.  Actually had three of them flying along beside me for about a quarter of a mile.

4.  The city of Redlands has not yet caught up in the pot-hole rehab department.

5.  Sunday afternoon is when most of Loma Linda does their laundry.

6. Two-tube Tuesdays at Cyclery USA are the best.  Buy two, get the third free.  I'll use 'em sometime, right?

Oh yeah, and that fundraising deadline keeps getting closer...if you would like to help out, please visit http://pages.teamintraining.org/ocie/tdps11/kcondonahu .

The Art of Timely Blogging...

Wow...so December came and went and I only posted once.  Blatant blog negligence.  No more excuses--kiddo is better, the rain has stopped, holidays are over, Christmas cards are out (late...and I know I missed a few folks, but that's the best I could do this year), everyone is back at school/work, the dishwasher works again...it's bloggin' time!

I'll start where  left off last time--with eBay.  Just after Thanksgiving, my brother found a Schimano Ultegra compact crankset on Ebay, and after watching the last 10 minutes of the auction with an eagle-eye, I WON! Took my trusty steed to the local bike shop ( http://www.cycleryusa.com/ )  and, voila, a couple of days later my new and improved ride was ready!  Spin, spin, spin...ahhhhh...  Actually, the new crankset has made a HUGE difference my ability to conquer the uphills.  I'm still not fast, but at least I'm moving.

I was able to join the rest of the Team for a ride in Orange County.  The Team in Training Cycling team is based in OC, and ride early on Saturday mornings.  Most weeks I have some sort of family or church duties, or Dave is working, and I haven't been able to join them.  Well, I took a chilly Saturday morning "off" and headed down to Laguna Hills.  We logged 48 miles that morning--from the Laguna Hills Community Center to the beach, and all the way down to San Onofre and back.  The day went from cloudy/foggy to beautiful and the ride along the beach was gorgeous.  It was great to meet more of the Team, Coach Sherry, organizer extraordinare Jennifer, and the other mentors.  The best part was that I actually finished the ride!  Not fast, but not last--my mantra.  I also scored a faint cycle shorts tan.  Nice. : )

Santa was kind--must be a closet cyclist--he totally knew what I needed.  I can now ride warm--knee and leg warmers, arm warmers and full fingered gloves (thanks JB).   I can now also ride in the rain--a trainer to set up inside on those wet, slippery days (thanks DC).  I also officially know how far I've ridden on any given ride--a bike computer--I have been using the handheld GPS up until now, which definitely works, but is a bit cumbersome in the jersey pocket. (thanks VC for the prezzie and JB for installation).  Three weeks out, and I've gratefully used all of my awesome presents. 

That brings me to this week.  More rain, so I spent 90 minutes on the trainer watching "Restrepo"--not exactly light viewing, but it has been on my "to watch" list for some time.  Compelling story of Battle Company and their year in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan.  Then 23 miles yesterday morning in the beautiful 60 degree sunshine.

The next phase must include raising some more funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society--the deadline for fundraising is looming (Jan 26th).  If you would like to help me out (and I would truly appreciate it), drop by my fundraising website at http://pages.teamintraining.org/ocie/tdps11/kcondonahu . 

That's all for now...time to finish taking down the Christmas tree...trash day tomorrow!