Cross Anyone?

I’ve been on the lookout for another bike for Susan for a few months now and in December, a Double Check teammate told me he was selling his and I should take a look at it. We finally got the chance to meet up and he gave me a price. But if I built him some replacement cabinets for his trailer he'd drop the price by that much. I took him up on his offer and now Susan is the proud owner of a 2008 Redline Conquest Pro.  I had to order new shifters for it because she liked the SORA STi shifters on her old bike and I didn’t want to confuse her with Paddle design. Anyway, Ebay was kind enough to have plenty of what I needed so purchased a new set for less than a hundred bucks and spent the day swapping over the stem, tires, fenders, handlebar and shifters from one bike to the other. If you haven’t taken a look inside your shifter and studied the mechanics, you really need too. Who ever thought up the idea of putting the brake and derailleur cable together (integrated shifter) was definitely a forward thinker.  Now I spent a fair amount of time working on bikes as a kid, but I can’t tell you how much I learned about modern day bike repair during this project. If you would like to have skills necessary to do any repairs in the field, I highly suggest start working on your own bike at the house. Trust me, it’ll pay off.  

Here, it’s prepped for cross season and down below I have it ready for the road.

Standing Room only.

I’ve been having lower back problems for several years now and I thought I would try something new. My brother told me a few weeks ago that he has a standing work station in his office, so I decided to make one for myself and give it a try. Yesterday was day one and I “want to say…?” my lower back is feeling better. Now if I can just get my feet to stop hurting. : )  I’m guessing it’ll be a couple weeks for the transition to take place and my body to accept it. I do have a bar stool to sit/lean on for the occasional break. As long as my PF doesn’t come  back, I’ll stick with it. 

Back in the Saddle

It's been well over a month since I've been able to commute to work on my bike, but today was the start of a new year of racking up the miles, getting in shape and saving a little deniro in the process. Speaking of getting  into shape, it's surprising what a month off will do to you muscle memory. My legs and butt let me know not to take off that much time again.  : )

View from Afar

This was our view of the mountain yesterday morning. Nothing like standing barefoot on the deck in 25 degree weather to get the shot. 

Running Man

I decided to start running again after more than two years of thinking my feet couldn’t handle the pounding. I’ve been recovering from Planter Fasciitis since June of 2010 and my feet still send me a message once in a while, but I decided to suck it up and hit the road again. My goal is one mile every other day at a slow pace and no matter how good I feel I don’t run any farther or faster. Just concentrate on relaxing, breathing and form. Oh, and plenty of stretching afterward.  I’ll add more distance after a couple of weeks and hopefully wear my weighted vest if my legs, knees and feet cooperate. Some people have a natural ability to self-motivate when it comes to exercising and I like to think I have a bit, but to have someone to look up to or emulate can encourage you to get off the couch and push the so called envelope. Luckily for me, I don’t have to look far for my inspiration.  Read some of the past/current articles in this blog and you’ll understand why my brother can motivate the best or worst of us to get off our BFA and start sweating.

I’ll be 48 this year and my body is starting to let me know it. My lower back is constantly hurting and my knees are telling me that twenty years of squatting down to work on airplanes wasn’t good either. But overall, I think I’m in in relatively decent shape. I may not be able to stop the aging process, but I have the ability to slow it down by taking care of myself so I can live a long and healthy life. It may sound like I’ve made the typical New Year’s resolution: Exercise more, eat healthier blah, blah, blah, but the only resolution I made was to not make on at all. Why set myself up for failure?  I could be a little nicer to others, but being the smart ass that I am, it’ll take some serious training so I’ll skip it because stupid people deserve the prodding. J After dinner I asked Susan if she wanted to walk the one mile route with me and she accepted my invitation. A light rain and the mid-forties is the perfect weather to work out in, so after the loop she went inside and I ran it without any issues. I'll be very happy if I can continue doing it. 

Hooray for Bek!

Bek finally decided to get her drivers license this week and she selected Friday for the written and the practical today. Yea for her and booh for our insurance company.

Here she is with showing off a 94% on her score sheet. Doesn't Casper (car) look great? : )

Texans come to the PNW

These past four days were filled with three Texans coming up to the good old PNW, two of which the girls had never met. Shannon, my mom's niece, had won tickets and decided to bring Damian, her husband and Lauren, their daughter up to meet the girls and let Damian see Washington for the first time.

 Lauren, being almost two, seems to do well on planes. 

Here I am with Lauren for the first time.

After the first day with unpacking and getting settled, we decided to go up to Seattle and let the born and raised in Texas folk experience all the cold Washington has to offer. Visiting of course Pike Place Market, and strolling around at the bottom of the Space Needle. 

Since neither Damian or Lauren had seen snow of our mass proportion, we took them up to Longmire to play around. Lauren just loved all the snow. 

The Pools stayed for New Years, and Damian and I decided it'd be a good idea to coat bacon in chocolate and eat it. We both regretted it. 

Before

After

All in all, it was a pretty good trip. The girls met their cousin in law and second cousin, and Mom got to see her niece again. Now we're planning a San Antonio Christmas for next year. 

Lauren and her Mom

We found she loves climbing

Jaz and Lauren