It's not the heat, it's the humidity...

I haven't done a lot of biking over the last week. I have been doing a little bit of running. OR swimming on dry land. However way you want to look at it.

Last week I couldn't figure out why I ran 3 miles four minutes slower than my already slow time. Oh, could it be because it was like somewhere between 85 and 95% humidity? One morning I thought I'd be okay with 75 degree weather, but I was still dying. That whole sweat not being able to evaporate is critical.

Last night I wanted to run three, but was happy with two. I walked the driveway and could feel steam coming off of the corner on each side. I thought that I'd go out to the road to try and benefit from what little breeze there was. It was 90 ish degrees out and weather.com said that the humidity was down to 59%. I still nearly croaked. Heat was coming off of the road and the wind was fairly non existant.

On the bright side, last summer I didn't run much at all. OR bike. I fell off of the wagon and it took awhile to get back on.

I'm looking forward to the MS ride this weekend, even if it is in the 90s. It's much more tolerable on the bike. And hopefully the breeze will be *just enough to cool* and under the point of being a burden.

See you Friday night!!

Here I go again, My, My, How can I resist you...

Mamma Mia is quite possibly the best chick flick ever! :D My mom and I went to see it yesterday. There were a few guys in the audience, I suppose their wives didn't take the advice "You and your mom should go and see that!" to heart.

I wish that I would've seen the stage version too, though. That'd be awesome. I believe that it was almost out when I was in England in 1999. And it probably was still on stage when I was there a few years ago. But, I was on a Les Miserables kick each time. I think that it was in Sioux City a couple of years ago. KG95 had a call in contest along the lines of ABBA karoke. I wanted to try but was afraid that I'd totally blow it. Plus, I probably had to work the night the show was in town.

So, now I'm loading more ABBA music onto my Ipod. I don't know why I hadn't before. Hopefully I'll get out to run before it rains.

Speaking of, how'd the ride go yesterday? I look forward to reading ride reports.

I was going to bike to Lennox to my grandma's house. But, as I was getting ready to go out the door the hubby called and warned me of a looming storm. I checked the radar and thought I'd miss it. It looked like it'd be a bit west yet. The radar is full of hooey, or I can't read it. I don't know. When I went back outside I could clearly see the darkening sky and could hear thunder. I didn't need to ride that badly. When I drove to Lennox, I saw some funky clouds, impressive lightening bolts and met some decent rain.

I hope the riders didn't get too soaked.

Meckling Loop

Nick and I rode the Meckling loop today. I keep saying that it's 30 because that's what it's listed as during the Margarita Ride. But, truthfully it's 28. It'd be about 30 if a person looped around and came into town from lower Vermillion, I'd imagine. But we don't often do that. Oh well. For now 28=30 and it's close enough.

Nick agreed to do the Bike MS ride with me. Unfortunately biking and farming don't really go together very well. He hasn't really had much of a spare moment to breathe lately he's been in the field or just at work constantly for the last couple months.

Two weeks ago we biked the trail around Sioux Falls. Today he did pretty well too, with a few extra miles. It got really hot and breakfast wasn't consumed before we rode. The guy is tough. He's physically fit, biking is just a new challenge.

I'm hopeful that the ride will be a postive experience. I think that it will be. The MS ride has such a good community of riders already and the support stops are well stocked. PLUS, if the weather or what not doesn't pan out to be a pleasant experience, it's our home turf. My grandma lives in Lennox. And we can hide a cooler at the end of our driveway stocked with beer. Though the distance after our house to Vermillion isn't really very substantial.

After our ride we went to an auction at the Armory in Vermillion. Yikes, that was hot. Lots of people in a gym with no air. We took a break to go and get food from Pro's. Yum. We went back and scored the object that we were interested in. A paint sprayer for a fraction of what we'd have to buy it for otherwise. This acreage needs paint and I'd rather be biking than rolling it on. Wait. I'd rather be biking than watching NIck roll it on. Let's be honest. :D

Our pets let us live here.

We have three pets. Two cats and a dog. My cat Sketch very much enjoys being outside and is a much more agreeable cat for it. He tends to prefer the evening hours, which is fine with us because he isn't running all over the house and playing with the dog while we're trying to sleep. Oh and you can't have a glass of water on the nightstand, the cat will stand on you to drink from it. I imagine it's like having young kids. You have to remove all temptation.

However, our dog and the cat are pals. Earlier in the spring when we'd sleep with the windows open - Sketch would be outside in the morning and call for us to let him in. Typically not a big deal, it was about the time when we'd be getting up anyway. Now, the dog thinks it's fun to wake me up to let her go outside to find Sketch. Lately she's been horrible. At first I thought that she really had to go to the bathroom. Nope. She's messing around.

She's pretty good at knowing when the cat needs to come in. I think that they have some extra sensory dialogue going on.

There's a whole process to taking care of everyone in the wee hours: make sure that you fill the cat dish with food because Sketch will be hungry. So the ideal routine to minimize time awake: Let the dog out, cat in. Go fill the cat dish while the dog may or may not be emptying her reserves. Let the dog in, go back to bed. But an hour later I'm usually wakened by a peeved cat because the dog ate his food (we do feed the dog too, she just seems to prefer the cat food- same brand even).

Yesterday the cat was out during the day hours. So Ruby woke me up at like 2 a.m. because the cat wanted to go out. I said you're both going out and I'm staying in here. See you in the morning.

Ruby is much more agreeable in the winter. She only goes out at night when she *has* to. Pansy dog.

Despite my complaining, I still enjoy their company. They can't talk to us, but they're very good at communicating anyway. And just by observing their actions a person can figure out what it is that they're trying to do. Ruby is very good at going outside, putting her nose to the ground and tracking Sketch.

I don't know if Sketch likes it because I would imagine having a big yellow dog trail you may impact your ability to catch mice.

And Pixel, well, she seems content to rule the house. She listens to the voices in her head and spends her day chasing flies or moths or her shadow up and down the hall upstairs.

One thing that I made yesterday

Last November my husband and I took our honeymoon to the island of Kauai. There they have a sea glass beach, a place where discarded glass that's been tossed in the ocean washes up and for some reason collects there. The glass has been worn smooth and frosted by the waves and sand, etc.

The beach has been picked over by thousands of people. There were a half dozen or so people there. I wish that I would've brought my camera down. It would've been neat to have pictures of beach combers bent over in the sand, searching, bums in the air. Well, the picture in my head at the time really was quite charming.

Any way, my hubby and I brought back a bag or so of the stuff. Yesterday I made a sun catcher.



It will live in the bathroom that I'm redecorating.

The bathroom will be an ongoing project. I've got the nasty wallpaper down and wall primed, but I really can't stand the tile that's on the wall. That's even nastier. Plus it is falling off. Man, green wall paper with a medium sized floral viney pattern on it... With neutral colored tile with cream and gold flecks running through it. Ish.

Potential Margarita ride shirt

Hopefully Biking Brady doesn't mind me posting a rough version of the Margarita Ride shirt here. I have to tweak it a bit, who knows how the fine lines will transfer to a tshirt. And, I forgot to put in the ride name and year. Oh well.

Here it goes.

Rapid Pics

CDV over at his Ride Vermillion Blog mentioned the double decker bike that he saw in Rapid. I also saw it when I was there observing the Unicycle Championships. Though I only ever saw it from across the parking lot or leaning against a tree, riderless. I had thought that it was a green bike. Apparantly it's blue.

Here's a couple unicycle event pictures:

No, I haven't bought a unicycle

My husband asked this morning if I would be bringing one home. It's been a fun day watching a variety of ages and abilities.

I couldn't imagine climbing any hill on a unicycle. Nor could I fathom going down any portion of 'M' hill on one or two wheels. I hadn't seen any of the famed singletrack out here. We hiked along some seemingly great trail today to get video.

Tonight we attended the trials portion of the week. Translation: Jumping up and down some crazy obstacles.

I think that this segment airs sometime this winter. I have been shooting some photos out here too. We will see how that goes.

Also, a group of cyclists are staying in the same hotel. Ride America by bike. Or something like that. Oregon to New Hampshire (I think). They'd been in Hot Springs this morning. I asked another guy where the next stop was. He chuckled and said that he didnt even know anymore. I will mark it down on my list of rides to do when I retire. They started early to mid June and will finish toward the end of July, riding roughly 80 miles a day.

Officially 29 and holding...

Alright, I'm entering my last year as a 20 something. That is crazy. I've generally liked having a birthday at this time of year. We'd extend the 4th for a couple more days. But, on the flip side, I didn't get to have an official treat day at school.

My mom did thank me today for getting her out of work that afternoon in July, '79. :-D

Nick and I pretty much had our activity day yesterday. We'd picked up a small cheesecake yesterday and had it for a brunch time treat. I had to drive to Rapid City this afternoon. I'm doing a Dakota Life segment about the unicycle convention and championships.

I did indulge myself and bought lunch to go from Tokoyo in S Falls. My bestfriend from high school lives in Rapid, we were able to meet for dinner. That was really nice. We dont often get to do that.

On the way out here, I saw one westbound cyclist on the interstate somewhere between Mitchell and Chamberlain. Plus, a pair of eastbound cyclists near Wall. They were all in typical cyclist gear and loaded paniers. I always wonder what their stories are. I was surprised at how many people have asked me if we used the interstate for the TDK. The very idea is rather fightening, even if it is the most direct route.

I am looking forward to checking out this unicycling thing. I wouldnt mind learning how to ride, but I don't think that we could afford the medical bills after I fall.

July 5, Photos

July 5th Ride

Nick, mom and I tried the Sioux Falls bike trails today. We started at Falls Park and circled clockwise. I didnt think that anyone would like to go up the switchbacks. The wind was already a challenge. We'd never been on the trails before, the east side of town is definately the more picturesque portion.

Mom only went a few miles with us. She had to work this afternoon. But she had a good time.

We rode past the FABRAD group. They looked like they had a good turn out. We're sorry that we didn't join the party. But, we got a late start.

Nick hadn't ridden yet this year. He did the 20 miles on my hybrid. Weather.com says that the wind was 19 mph, gusting to 30 some. We averaged like 10 mph. It was a good, easy going day.

We ate lunch at the Falls Park cafe. Turkey and Cranberry sandwhich, plus broccoli salad. Yum. After visiting my grandpa we also went to see the movie Hancock. I would recommend the latest Will Smith movie.

Nick will be riding the MS 150. I dont think that the padded liners that he wore are quite the solution. Does anyone have a suggestion for shorts good for a slender guy? These don't pad his backside too much. He probably wont do huge long rides with me often, so a large investment isnt ideal either.

Happy 4th!

Lennox has an excellent 4th celebration. My grandma lives there so we often celebrate with her. There's a firecracker roadrace that I wanted to run. I did the 2 mile option a couple years ago. This year they added a 5k run.

Nick had to work and wouldnt be done until later. I thought that it would be crazy to drive two cars up, we try to avoide it whenever possible.

So, I decided that I would bike up. I did enterain the idea of getting to town in time to do the 2 mile option at least. I just didnt know if Id have the smoke to run after biking. And I didnt want to have to leave my house by 5.

I also thoguht about trying for a century today. But that would require me being rather anti social.

So I ran 3.1 miles this morning, SLOWLY, and biked the 30 to Lennox. I missed the start of the parade. I bought a rootbeer float on my way through the park.

Tomorrow I think that Nick, my mom and I will do a loop around the SFalls bike trail. I dont know that we'll make it for FABRAD though.

Happy riding to everyone! I need to take a nap.

Commuting to Work

I carpooled with Nick today. To the end of the driveway. That shaves like five minutes off of my commuting time if I don't have to walk the bike down the driveway. It was a nice morning. I rode kinda slow. It took well over an hour to cover the 15 miles. Ah well. Maybe I just didn't want to get to work.

Last week a couple of my former KTIV co-workers texted me to say that they were biking to Burbank to have lunch at Whimp's on Friday. I said that I'd meet them. I thought that it'd be more fun to bike it. I woke up feeling like crap, but that went away. I didn't get going until 7:30 though. Better than an hour later than I'd meant.

At 11 my friends called to say they were in Elk Point. So I changed again and headed down there. I took a really long lunch break. Again, oops (I skipped biking on Sunday to go to work and make up time). I hadn't seen Al and Melissa for maybe three years. It's funny how time slips by. Though we'd been harassing each other by text and email messages that whole time.

Al's always been an avid cyclist. When I worked at KTIV, 6 years ago, I was active enough. I would go and rollerblade on the bike trails, generally six or so miles at a crack. Even during the winter, as long as it was in the 30s or so, sunny and clear of ice. Al would often mention that he was going to do a quick 20 mile loop on his bike after work. I, of course, thought that sounded like a crazy idea.

It never occured to me to bike. I did have a bike. The Huffy mountain bike that I'd received when I was 12. It never really occured to me that the bike was way too small. I guess that I didn't ride it very often, the tires didn't hold air and I wasn't sure where to take it to be fixed.

Flash forward to when I started at South Dakota Public Broadcasting. I'd been working there for a year. In the meantime, I tried to run occasionally. I was working on the couch to 5k plan. The Argus Leader was going to have its inaugural TDK. I got to do the Dakota Life segment about it. I thought to myself, "Running a marathon might be a bit out of reach, for now, but I think that I could do something like this."

And that's how I got bit by the bug. Big and bad. I started shopping for a hybrid. I got one in July. By August I did the 30 mile loop of the Margarita ride with Angie. It was a SUPER windy day, it took us FOREVER. I seem to remember drafting behind a SAG wagon. Maybe Mrs. Bikingbrady was driving.

The next spring I decided to look for a roadbike. The LBS owner asks, "Didn't you just get a bike? Have you worn it out already?" No. I just wanted something different. :D He did sell me a roadbike.

That year I completed my first century with the MS150. The year later I tried the TDK and this year I finished.

And just a few years ago, the thought had never crossed my mind. Now, any ride less than 15 miles is almost not worth getting dressed for. :D But that's what gym shorts and the hybrid is for.