I played connect-the-reflective-tree-dots tonight at the Lakeland Trails. I’ve grown to love the little reflective points of light (invisible by day) that lead me around the trail via hadlight @ night. I wanted to go for a short, hard run, which is the perfect fit to the short, but hill-intense trail system. To say I felt great would be an understatement. I warmed up on the flatter section of trail in the back of the park then came back to the front to run repeats back and fourth on the first 1/2 mile of yellow trail. I managed two repeats (2 miles), and had a blast! Hills that I normally find myself barely cresting felt surprisingly easy.
Oh yeah… and it had just finished raining, so they were a little wet, too. In my exuberance, I failed to shine my headlamp on a large root in the middle of a downhill section of trail. Before I knew what was happening, I became airboune… but not for long. I landed still going downhill and slid long enough to think “WOOHOO!” Once I came to a stop, I stood up and shined my flashlight back at the trail- I’d made a good two & a half foot slide mark in the wet leaves… DAMN I wish someone had been there to see that!!! Oh well- I had Ryan take a photo when I got home:
Californians Against Hate
This is a list of donars to the “Yes on Prop 8″ movement in California. Read it and keep your money away from them. I’m not from California, and I’m not gay, but I don’t agree with the latest form of bigotry being exhibited all over the U.S.
While I was home wrapping my handlebars and going on trail runs, Ryan was at the Hoss of Cross race… kicking a little ass :)
Read his race report HERE
In light of my neck issue and boredom, I figured that yesterday would be a good day to give my bike some new cables & housings (I wanted to flip the stem, too, which would leave me short on housing in the front). I’d also noticed recently that my awesome harlequin-pattern drop wrap was shifting around & not looking so hot, so I figured I’d re-wrap the bars, too.
The Harlequin:
I can’t have plain bar tape. I’ve decided that now. The new wrap is what I call “Memphis Style”
If I lived anywhere else, I wouldn’t do this…
So I’m sitting at my desk this morning. I stretch & yawn.
Then my neck tightens up. WTF??? I can’t lift my head up to a normal level without neck pain. In fact, I can’t turn my head side to side without neck pain. Holy crap! It hurts!
Fast forward a few hours. I got an appointment at Campbell Clinic with a PT friend. She pokes around on my neck and determines that I’ve got a rotated segment at C7 and T1, and it’s stuck in that position. After some manipulations, my range of motion is somewhat better, though nowhere near 100%. She sticks an Iontophoresis patch on my neck and gives me instructions… problem is, treatment doesn’t include a CX race this weekend (Hoss of Cross). She actually told me that riding a bike probably isn’t the best thing for it since it involves extension of the cervical spine.
Crap.
Is someone trying to tell me something? Am I going to get injured every time I want to go to a croos race??? Last year, it was my toe the day before the Outdoors Mud Island race. Then my ankle the weekend before Chattanooga. I pulled a groin muscle the day before this years 3rd Cyclocrunk race, and now this…
…I have one!
So now that the election is over, reports are coming out about just how bad Sara Palin is. In fact, you KNOW it must be bad when Fox News is reporting things like this:
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It’s gripping! Everyone is obsessed with the realization that this woman is a dumb twit!
…and the media is eating it up. However, the media is NOT eating up the current goings-on in the White House. What tricks is old GWB up to now-a-days?
Who cares! Look over here… Sara Palin! She’s a dumb twit! Pay no attention to anything else!
Yeah, I see through your ploy- even if noone else does. Luckily, Rachel Maddow, my favorite smirking newsperson, has added a “Lame Duck Watch” to her show to help us keep an eye on him…
..in addition to the results of our presidential election:
Next year I’ll be riding for Metro Volkswagen Cycling. I’m looking forward to hitting the road & racing my butt off with Shannon Koch and the gals in 2009!
It goes without saying that I thank my 2008 sponsor, Team Kenda Tire. Paul Forsythe, my teammates- especially the local ones I got to race with a few times: Molly & Lee (you guys ROCK!), the team sponsors… it was a great 2008 season! My choice to move on was not an easy one, but I feel like a smaller, more concentrated team may be where I belong. I wish you all the best.
Yeah- Indy is cute. What else can I say?
I stole Ryan’s Garmin computer today & went out for a run on the Wolf River Trail. I wanted to make it a semi-urban adventure, so I decided to take a side trail out of the woods and into the bordering neighborhood. I didn’t quite know how to get back- obvious by the mile or so out & back on a dead end street off of Walnut Grove. Nearly 8 miles later, I arrived back at my car…
Here’s a recipe for all my fellow vegetarians (and vegetarians trying to satisfy meat-eating types with their cooking):
BBQ Tofu
1 block of extra firm tofu (if you can find extra firm silken, go for it)
1/4 white onion (other colors are OK, too)
1 jalapeno pepper
Wicker’s BBQ sauce*
Buns of your choice (I like whole grain wheat)
Slice the tofu into 1/4-1/2 inch slabs and place between several layers of paper towel. Put a cutting board or sheet pan on top & weigh it down with something heavy (I set my crock pot on it). Let it sit for at least 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes (or more), place a saute pan w/a little olive oil on the stove over low-medium heat. Dice your onion and japapeno while it warms. Toss in the pan w/some salt & let it sweat until the onions are soft. The heat should be low enough that there is very little sizzling noise coming from the pan.
While the onions sweat, cut the slabs of tofu into cubes & toss into a resealable container of some sort. Pour BBQ sauce on top, put the lid on, and toss to coat the tofu. Stick it in the microwave for about a minute & a half. Once it’s warm, add the onion/pepper mix. Toss again and pile it on to your buns (I warm mine up in the oven while the other stuff is cooking). Eat knowing that the pigs and cows are safe for now.
* Don’t cheap out on the BBQ sauce here… it’s the main flavor of the dish! If you live outside of the South, I’m guessing that good BBQ sauce will be hard to find. Look for one that’s not filled with high fructose corn syrup & preservatives. It should be sweetened with things like molasses and/or brown sugar. Don’t be fooled by sauces that have a picture of a black person on the front or that have some goofy southern-sounding name- most of them are artificially flavored bottles of crap. Read ingredients and choose wisely.
