the happenings that have happend lately

Last night Wheat Ridge Cyclery had a ladies night extravaganza that I went to. It was a great time with wine, stuffed mushrooms and chocolates. Yum! There were tables set up for a ton of different companies, rides, and information about biking in Colorado. As an added bonus, everything was 15% off too! Needless to say I had an amazing time. I got to talk face to face with other female cyclists, something I realized I haven't ever done. I asked every person I saw which saddles and butt cream (technical term) they preferred. I questioned them on hydration choices, gels and powerbars, saddles with cut-outs, saddles without cut outs...you name it, I asked it of pretty much everyone. How much fun is that!? I can imagine you are reading this and thinking, hmmm sounds...fun I guess? BUT from my perspective I haven't had the chance to ask any females these questions really, and it was so nice to be in a huge store filled entirely with women who have figured out how to do long distance rides with relative comfort. I also scored a super sweet pair of shorts that have great padding but don't look like there is a diaper crammed in, and they were on sale for $60 from $130! Woot! In retrospect $60 probably doesn't sound like such a deal, but believe me when I tell you that cycling gear prices could make your jaw drop permanently.

Other then the frantic scrambling to finish all of my gear purchases before June there have been a few momentous endings in my life lately. I turned in my notice to vacate on the 1st, and am starting to gaze wistfully about my little studio and have mentally started packing all my things into boxes that I won't see for almost three months. I've got two weeks left of work, and I've been getting wistful there too. The little bean turned one yesterday and is so close to walking (running) that it's almost scary to think how much she has grown since I've known her! I'll miss her sweet tendencies, unexpected little kisses, ridiculous facial expressions and sleepy eyed snuggles while on the road! I finished the spring semester just one hour ago with a (hopefully) successful chemistry final and am working on securing my schedule for the fall. I am in the process of ordering a sleeping bag and thermarest, both of which I will become quite familiar with in the coming months, and I finally bought a new camera too! We've got "e-mails of the day" coming in now that the countdown has officially begun (36 days), which is a nice way to start the group feeling like a real group and not just a bunch of names on a list. One month from tomorrow is the start of the first leg of my journey: Portland, ME for four and a half days with my big brother and sister to send me off right!

and then it was May?!

I still can't believe it is already May! Things just keep trucking right along, don't they? June is now literally right around the corner. I've been collecting fellow bike riders to accompany my group for a day here and there on the road which has served to make me even more excited about the trip! On Thursday I had my last chemistry exam before the final and next Thursday is my final already! I can't believe this semester is drawing to a close. It feels like just a few weeks ago was registration and now I am trying to find classes for the fall!

Aside from my obligations in real life I've got to tell you about our vacation, which was amazing. There are few things nicer then vacations that involve boats, water, putt-putt golf, fresh seafood and family, and ours included all of these. Our first day was gorgeous, and although we had only gotten an hour and a half of sleep, we headed out on the boat for raw oysters and happy hour, beach tromping with the gang of dogs, crab racing and dolphin sightings! What a different scene then Denver! It was a good thing we got all those activities in early because the rest of the weekend was cloudy, tropical stormy, windy weather. I was a pretty happy camper though because I recently found out that Denver doesn't really get thunderstorms and they are one of my favorite things. With the weather as it was we were perfectly situated for exactly what we wanted in our vacation: lounging about, eating amazing food and playing wii sports. When the weather cooperated we got out for some putt-putt golf, shopping and ice cream breaks. We were completely spoiled by Judy and Jim, especially when it came to food. We ate and ate until we practically had to unbutton our pants. JP's sister Jess picked up some gluten free bread and brownies from the farmer's market for me and Judy had all sorts of snacks that I could eat waiting at the house when we arrived. We stopped at a fish market on the way from the airport and got enough fresh shrimp, craw fish, grouper to feed a small army. Last time we visited Jim made us some amazing steaks, he whipped them up again and they were just as delicious as I remembered. I feel like we ate our way through vacation, and it was tasty. I didn't get any pictures (too busy being lazy), except the one below that I think captures a bit of our decadence, but I am hoping to have some e-mailed to me sometime soon. I'll share them once they get here but for now here is a little preview:

Jim made us craw fish, shrimp, tomato, onion, cheesy goodness omelets for our breakfast at 2:30 in the afternoon. In the middle is a big ol' plate of bacon which even we could not finish.. but not for lack of trying.

pile up, pile down

It's funny how much papers and bills and annoying little important tasks can pile up into an alarmingly large amount of to-do's, isn't it? I confronted the pile head on yesterday, got quite a lot done and am thus proud enough to share the fruits of my labor with you.

1. Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) re-certification
I promised myself that I would take, and hopefully pass, the CNA re-certification exam before taking off in June. As part of applications for PA programs a certain number of patient hours are required to even be considered a competitive applicant. The only hands on experience I can claim is from my past stint as a CNA in Duluth where I cared for a newborn with kidney failure for the first five months of his life. This was quite a while ago and my certification has since lapsed. My plan is to get certified in Colorado so that upon my return home I can snag a job at a local hospital and start chipping away at the required patient care hours. This plan hits a small wall in the form of my not wanting to take an entire round of training prior to the exam and my inability to find any really helpful youtube videos that would help me circumvent the class. BUT, I've been studying from a guide I found on the internet and I took a practice exam last night in which I missed only four questions out of sixty so at least for the written portion I should be alright. Phew, with some confidence gained I finally filled out all of the paper work and will be sending it in today to secure an exam date hopefully at the beginning of May.

2. Thank You Letters!
At the beginning of this process I bought a package of 50 thank you cards and have had to buy a replacement package to keep up with all of the generous donaters! I've finally caught up with my thank you letters this weekend, so if you haven't gotten yours yet they should arrive by the end of the week!

3. Application Part 8
I have officially been cleared by my doctor to participate in Bike & Build this summer! Part 8 of the application is a medical examination, immunizations and health insurance check. Before my trip to Vietnam I was stuck with every imaginable immunization and should be covered on that front for quite a while so no needles this time! Everything else was normal and so I now have a stamp of approval from a medical professional that I will survive this summer unscathed, (well that might be taking it a little too far) but at least intact!

4. Renter's Rebate
I have also officially finished, finished, finished my taxes completely. My last form was the M1PR for my renter's rebate (a glorious tradition that is sadly not practice in CO), and after sleuthing about on the MN revenue website I finally found a pdf of the required form and a pdf of the instructional booklet. Some of you might know of my ongoing battle with FedEx/Kinko's, but I emerged from this round in one piece and with all of the necessary documents in hand and un-krinkled. Going out with my thank you cards, and my CNA application in the mail today is the final piece to my 2009 tax puzzle. PHEW again.

On Thursday JP and I are headed out on vacation again, this time to visit his family and celebrate his grandmother's birthday in Florida and Mississippi. I am so excited to only have a three day week (and only a one day of chemistry week, woo hoo!) and then off to lounge about on a boat and swim in a pool (that counts as cross training right?) and eat tasty food. With my renter's rebate coming soon maybe I can even justify purchasing my new camera in time for this little excursion so that documentation can be properly acquired. Other then that, Happy Monday to you even though it's kind of a Happy Wednesday to me!

sweat equity

As part of our training and getting ready for this summer, we are required to volunteer at least 8 hours of our time at an affordable housing build site. This way we will have some experience under our (tool)belts when we get to our first build day on the road. For some reason Denverites (Denveridians?) seem to be quite the philanthropic population of people so when I was searching the Habitat website for volunteer days, they were booked almost full until mid-June! I was able to squeeze into a slot yesterday by taking a day off work, and thus my volunteer hours are completed! I wasn't sure what to expect really, I had no idea what stage the houses were in or how many people would be volunteering, but I packed myself a bag lunch, some sunscreen and a big old water bottle. As it turned out, most of the townhomes were in the needing-to-be-primed stage and my eight hours were spent doing exactly that. As much fun as it is to prime walls, it really isn't that fun. It was great learning about the families who would be moving in once the houses were complete, and it was really uplifting to be surrounded by such a large group of people who were willing to give up an entire weekday to such a great cause, so prime I did with no complaint. No verbal complaints I should say, although my muscles are sure complaining today! Paint is a heavy, heavy substance! I was also feeling guilty about missing a few workouts lately, and couldn't reasonably convince myself that painting could count as my excercise for the day, so I ended the day at the gym on the seat of a bike like I end so many days lately. I've got less then two months until the start of this whole crazy adventure, but I feel like I will be ready by then. In fundraising news I am at $3,700 (!!) which leaves me just $300 short. Huge thanks to everyone who has donated, I'm almost done asking you for money!

I'll just do it by doing it

It is getting easier, even though sometimes it's hard to see it in perspective. I just got back from a 25 mile ride, with hills that still kill me, but it didn't feel nearly as draining as it did in the beginning. Progress! As you might imagine I've got a lot of time to think while on these rides. I sometimes listen to This American Life podcasts while I ride, but on the actual trip we aren't allowed to listen to anything. I've been trading off rides with my ipod and rides with just my mind to entertain me. The super dork in me falls into repetitive sequences like counting the same numbers over and over when I'm going up a hill, or (and yes I am admitting this) I get stuck on Dori's chant in Finding Nemo "just keep swimming, just keep swimming". It's surprising how much it helps to have repetitious loops in my head. Or maybe this whole training thing is slowly making me crazy....either way you do what you have to do to push forward!

Aside from crazy mindless voices in my head I've got a few that can be distinctly identified. My dad reminds me at least four times a ride (in my head) that each successive ride will be easier and that every time I get out I am getting stronger. My sister reminds me to breathe, especially when I am stressed out, and that rest rides and food consumption are important too. I think of my mom pedaling away in the basement on an exercise bike so that she can join me for a day on the road. I think of all the families who will be helped from all of the generous donations, and I think of crossing the San Francisco bridge and how amazing that will feel. Sometimes, a lot of times, I don't know how I will make it but I suppose I will just do it by doing it which is true for a lot of things in life.

40 is a lot more than 25

Wow this weekend went by so quickly! My celebratory Friday ride came in at.....drum roll please... FORTY MILES! I can now say this with exuberance because it was few days ago and my body is recovered. Directly afterwards I felt like I was a dead pile of aching body parts, I was white like a sheet (for some reason I hadn't eaten), wolfed down about five meals in a row and then passed out for an afternoon nap. I am quite proud of myself, for the distance not the wussy aftermath, but am now a little more worried about the trip of 4,000 miles which will start in just under two months from today. PHEW, it is TIRING to bike for so long, and as my dad can contest, it is quite hard to push against the wind. It is unforgivingly strong! BUT as my dad also pointed out, the next forty mile ride will be easier and the one after that will be even easier. Just gotta keep going! I would have snapped more pictures, it was gorgeous the first half of the ride, but the ride back was devoid of sun and filled with great gusts of wind which necessitated that I not stop ever so that the meager momentum I had worked up could keep me rolling forward to my warm shower and five meals worth of food. Here are a few though:

The trail I've been working away at follows the South Platte River, which has so many beautiful portions! It's hard to believe it runs so close to Denver it's like a different place altogether!

The bicycle that never complains, and a peek of the mountains in the background.


Pictures (from a cell phone no less) never do it justice, and the mountains seem so much closer in person then they do here...in any case, they provide great scenery on these long rides!

This was the first Easter I can remember that I didn't spend with family, and one of the few spent away from the farm too. I was mostly excited to gorge myself on chocolate, my lenten forbidden food, and to spend the sunny day outside. JP and I took a motorcycle trip to Boulder where we had a mountain-side picnic with fresh fruit and cheese and of course chocolate! It was a really great way to spend the day, and although we didn't have the traditional ham or turkey we made do with a delicious shrimp dish that JP whipped together. Yummm.

It's a hard life, lounging by a mountain..

If my legs hadn't still felt like jelly-pile-of-ache maybe we would have made it further..

friday on a thursday

Is it maybe a little sad that when a day off comes around instead of thinking "sleeping in!" or "yay no work!" I instead plot out a bike ride with no time restrictions and gleefully plot the infinite number of miles that could be attained? Oh how life has progressed and how I have changed. The number of tomorrow miles is yet to be determined...denver weather is a fickle, fickle thing, and it IS JP's last, last, LAST day at his dreadful corporate mind-numb of a job so celebration is in order. I predict a spandex celebration of one in the morning (will 35 miles of celebrating do it?) and then a final coffee at his office in all of my bikey-sweaty glory. As a final Hurrah his boss is taking him out to lunch. Thus I will return home and embrace the shower which, let me tell you, has become my best friend ever for sore muscles and tired body parts after rides. If only it was consistently hot and not a sporadic sprinkling of intermittently ice cold, burning hot, hot, hot, ice cold drizzle, ice cold shooting burst of water, burn, cold, burn, cold...niiiiiiiice water.