Balance in motion..

Yesterday's ride was nice, except for the fact that I forgot my water, and I forgot money, so I was screwed on that front. It was a rookie mistake, wont happen again. The pics are from my ride yesterday.

My legs are feeling really good, I dont think Im at my past level of performance...yet, but I am on my way, it feels good when you start to see the result of your hard work. It is finally starting to show some improvement.

But with all that, Im a bit exhausted, I am ready for bed by 9am, get up early, get kids ready and off to school, take care of the baby, try to get the training in, dinner, bed, repeat...It is not that bad, but I feel the toll. My oldest has been sick. She needed to go to the dr yesterday, she is resting, but that worried me, it seems like one of them always has some crazy thing going on, but i sure love them, they are what brings me true happiness!

J is coaching t-ball, so I am his assistant, although, I havent been much of an assistant lately, as I am constantly chasing the 2 yr old trying to keep her out of the way. Life is busy, but that is good, I would rather be exhausted from life, than not..

Dont worry if you might die today, worry that you never truly started living in the first place!

Race Sunday, Im excited!!! Ciao~ Angie

Race coming up..

Well, it looks like Justin has decided that my first race will be this weekend, the first race will be in Schonsee, part of this series.

I dont know what to expect, and i know nothing about it, so maybe that is good, no real expectations, just go out, race the bike and have fun doing it.

I see the Whiskey 50 was last weekend in good 'ol Arizona. I did that a few years back and really enjoyed it. Epic Rides puts on some great races, including the 24 in the Old Pueblo. I guess, Im just missing all those fun races we used to do back in the States. But I have some new adventures to partake in and it will be fun.

One thing that is annoying is my inability to speak German. It is kinda hard, I dont mean to whine. I hope that by this time next year I will have at least a grasp on it. It will be nice to be able to talk to people.

It has been really nice here. I love it. It definately makes up for the cold winter. Life kinda seems to be in full bloom.

angie

Busy!

Ive been a bit busy lately, you know, that thing called life has been pulling me away...

I ran 5k yesterday, originally, I had planned on doing a 10k, but I did a cold run with no training, and I nearly killed myself, so the 5k it was.

Justin did the 10k, in like 45 minutes, he made it look easy. We set out on our bikes and rode to the venue, then we did our run, and then we rode back. I was suffering on the way back. It was all about nutrition at that point and i was at a defecit. I felt pretty bad later in the day, but I am ready to spin the legs out for a few hours today. That put me a little under a 4 hour day on the bike and on the run, so good work out and a good shock to my system that I needed.

Ive been really upping the intensity, trying to build now. I am also trying to lose some weight which is way hard at this point. Ive been doing pilates, power yoga, plyometics, etc, and then the running, which I guess I will continue for a while, just for the sake of some weight loss. I am coupling all that with riding, parenting, eating and sleeping, so sorry I havent been around, try to be better.

There are some races coming up that I didnt plan on, but I wont say anything until I know for sure if Im doing them. The pics are from yesterday's freakin' sufferfest.
Ciao! Angie

stingin' nettle sucks

This forest was so pretty, I found myself here by accident and I am glad I did! There was a cute bridge to cross by a pretty scenic lake. Everything is so green, it makes riding even that much better, to be in such a scenic, beautiful place puts the cherry on the sundae!


I really love my new Geax tires. So far, so good, I have been riding a variety of terrain, and they are real grippy on the wet, loose gravel, which has made me feel like I can really let 'er go on the loose turns.













Here is a blurry pic of the back of my calves. I had to run into the forest yesterday to make room for a tractor to pass, in doing so, I got stung and it itches really bad today. I found out though that stinging nettle is very beneficial as a holistic remedy. Specifically used for arthritis and is in good use here in Germany. Damn it, now I cant be too mad..I looked up remedies to help with the sting, and decided that I would have spit on it rather than pee all over myself, I could have macgyvered it and found some plant and made a mud/herbal thingy to put on it, but alas, I just waited it out...

Sufferin' Saturday, not really!

light at the end of the tunnel





Had a really awesome ride today. It rained hard, like all day yesterday and it was cold. Today was better, and was able to get in a very productive, hard, but scenic ride.
The clouds were moving so fast, big billowing pillows of marshmallow cream, never too far off was the impending darkness that brings rain, hard, cold rain...but it never found me and I was able to enjoy a variety of terrain. Took the new Geax tires out and was pleased with the response on the wet, muddy, slick terrain. It was a great day!

rain, rain go away....

Its raining really hard outside. Has been since last night. I still need to get my ride in today, and I will, just not gonna be that fun. I have been pondering doing a run instead. There is a 10k fun run next weekend. I could do it, but I need to get my legs used to that type of exercise. I really want to start swimming too. I really like to, even if Im not that good at it. I am not a fast runner, but I could run for hours if I had to, the endurance is there, just no speed. Oh, is everyone doing the pushup challenge with me??? It's so easy to dedicate a few minutes of your day to this. The day after the first day, my abs, not arms were very sore. Justin says "oh, that means you're really out of shape"...DUH, why do you think im doing it???? He has always told me that my performance would really go up a notch if I did pliometrics (sp?) and core work and really worked on that I would be better on the bike. I think he is right, but I am kinda uncoordinated and watching me, I look silly, but practice makes perfect I guess. So I am working on it...He has all these thingies that pull you and then this wooden thing that helps you balance and a bunch of gadgets that look very foreign to me, but I will get on it..

I dont watch television anymore, just a wide array of movies and dvd's these days. I get the news online, but I feel liberated not being sucked into that sensationalized hole that becomes like an addiction, just waiting for the next bad thing to happen. Anyway, I just watched the youtube phenom Susan Boyle and was blown away. What a sweet lady and I hope you can watch her performance, it was really amazing. What a voice! You should fer sure schek it out..Anyway...

I wish I had more exciting things to report..sorry for the boring lame posting as of late...Angie

Sponsor Plug!

Today our box of Geax tires came in. Goodie-Goodie gumdrops! Im glad because Justin can race on them in Munich on Sunday.

Im looking forward to putting them on and taking them out for some riding. Thankyou Geax and especially Marty for getting it here!!!

I hope everyone can send healing vibes Justin's way, he caught a cold and is kinda hoping it doesnt hinder his performance. I thought about doing that race, but I really dont think my body is ready for the 90k yet.

I had a great ride yesterday, rode into the sunset. Bavaria has some pretty amazing sunsets. Didnt take the camera, too busy ridin'! The thing I really like about the riding here, is you can go as far as you want and choose your terrain. Need rollers--no problema, flatlands to forest roots, steep decents, technical wet climbs, we got it! If you need miles, you are unlimited, there are literally hundreds of paths that go for miles upon miles on end, I've been doing easy three hour rides and never cross back over my original path. I LOVE IT!!! I feel pretty safe, I dont worry about some pervert freak stalking me in their car, or animals eating me, or crashing and worrying about being helo'd out. No rattlesnakes, or mountain lions. Just a lot of fun, and its callin' my name, gotta goooo......................

Peace, angie

Encouragement

As I sit here pondering today's Day, I am encouraged by Jamie's writeup on her blog today.

It should be enough to enjoy each day and the people we get to share it with. But riding a bike, thats real livin'...

Sometimes I forget the actual LOVE i have for sport of cycling. I became enamored with it after struggling with it in the beginning. I never had that draw for the pain like some people do, I just felt that enthusiasm with getting on the saddle, and yes the wind in the hair, the way you get butterflies in your stomach on a tricky technical section, the elation at not wrecking, the kinda goosebumps you get on a super fast whoop de whoo section (cloudcroft, ha!)! Beating the boys, winning a race, realizing you have a lot of work to do, riding with your best friend, being a role model to your kids, feeling like a kid, some of my best and happiest memories have been associated with a bike. I've had the joy of being able to live in some super cool places, all having intense bike culture. I never take that for granted.

Get out and ride! Angie

Core Challenge, Lets do it!!!

I need some major core revamping. My gut is getting disgusting, my own husband wouldnt give me a definitive answer when I asked him if I was getting fat the other day.

I have gained some weight, having a baby a few years ago, hormones, food, all that has not helped, but I am determined to get this baby fat and flab off!!

I also started the 100 pushups challenge, and I challenge you to do it with me, by the time we reach our goal, we should have some major guns and core strenght built up! Week One has begun...

Shammy (chamois) time...

Here is some pics of our dirt ride, I even managed to get a little dirt rash in, making for my first carnage of the year. I used to be very worried about crashes and rode a bit more conservatively because as a massage therapist, I need my hands, they are my livelihood, I couldnt afford to take too many risks. Well, now that Im being a stay at home mom chick, I can afford to be a little crazier and I am not worried, what is the worst I could do? Yeah, I know, all the moms out there shaking their fingers at me, but this sport comes with risks as it is, I know that, you know that, but we still ride, because we love to and challenging ourselves is what makes us stronger, tighter on the bike.

Im not some crazy ass extreme rider chick, I just want to be efficient, fast and IN CONTROL, the only way to get there is with a few bumps and bruises.

I used to look like one bruise when I started mountain biking. I went to the doctor once and she asked me if I needed to talk, I was like, huh?! She said "well, you have all those bruises, is there anything you would like to talk about?", HA! I said, "these?, oh its from mtn biking!" she just looked at me for a whole minute straight and then said nothing else. She thought i was some kind of battered woman or something. Ha Ha!!! Its not funny about battered woman, but I was being battered by rocks and cactus and crap like that.

There's also some pics of the kids at the zoo this weekend.

Peace, Angie

my life is crazy

If you only knew everything that has happened in such a short period of time. Well, Im bound to forget the details and probably a few important points, but the biggest was that the day before we left to Paris, Gavin got hit by accident in the head with a baseball bat. It was the scariest thing I have ever had to deal with in a long time. He ended up at hospital, but he was okay in the end--liquid stitches were in order and he was good to go..

He caught a stomach virus on our trip, yay! Poor kid, but it was pretty much not that much fun for him. But he is one happy kid now, and that is all that matters to me!

We still managed to have a pretty good time. We got back, we went to Nuremberg yesterday to the zoo, Justin and I managed to squeeze in 3 plus hour rides and still manage to walk and keep the kids happy at that. I dont know how,,oh and Rylee is sick today, runny nose, cough, fever, so geez, IM TIRED!!!! MY LEGS ARE TIRED, oh and I crashed on the mountain bike yesterday in a stupid stupor, so stupid, its dumb, but whatever.

Am I rambling yet??? SORRY, well, I will upload these pics, and then Im planning on sleeping 12 hours, but that is only a dream, cuz when you have kids, it end up being cut in half, especially when they are sick, but guess what...I LOVE MY LIFE!!! I LOVE MY KIDS and most of all I LOVE CHOCOLATE!!! Happy easter..

more pics later,

angie