Little A's

Aunt CiCi (that's me) and my favorite Big Little A.

As I write this it's snowing again lightly, our weekend weather has turned gloomy again after a warm and lovely week, it seems to be our schedule these days. While I'm getting a lot done around the house and in the studio my mind wanders to being outside in the sun. I'm ready to do some gardening, clean out the rubbish left over from winter, see the bulbs coming up and blooming and plant some pansies. I know this weather is going to make everything explode here very soon. I've even heard hummingbirds buzzing about above me, knowing their back makes me smile, I've put up the feeders.

Last weekend Craig and I flew to Virginia to visit my sister Karen and her family. We met our new niece Amelia and had some nice times hanging out together. Amelia pretty much eats, sleeps and cries with some very sweet cooing inbetween, she is a baby after all. I think I saw a few smiles on her while I was there. We also went by my Mom's house and did some sorting, brought back a few items, it's still incredibly hard to pull up to her house and not see her running out to greet us, I still expect that knowing full well that she's not there anymore. Her front yard is blooming with all the lovely flowers and trees she planted over the years.

Little A, Yummy Baby Dough.

Aaron with his Aunt's Big running shoes on. I love hanging out with this little guy, he's so cool!

Lacing Up.

Not Feeling It

Photo credit, Kim Luks

I haven't been feeling my regular riding stoke lately, the spark I normally have when I'm on my bike seems to be a bit faded. It makes me sit back, kinda stunned and thinking what's wrong with me, this doesn't happen with my bike riding, my one release, something I love to do. My friends, I don't mean to be a whiney b*tch on my blog, but it is my blog and it reflects where I'm at in the world at any given time, super stoked or not so much.

So I made a mental list of possibilities that might be affecting my mojo in regard to riding and this is what I came up with.

• Weather. It's been pretty crazy weather since we got back from Arizona, with rain, lots of snow at the house and wet trails. I haven't been able to ride much other than the easy trails out in Nobo which help with fitness a bit but not much else, borinnggg.

• Injuries. I injured my rotator cuff about 6 weeks ago and it's a delicate recovery that is taking a long while, perhaps the rest of the summer I'm thinking. I also took a good fall in Arizona that wrecked my confidence a bit, something I have to get over, but something I think about in relation to my fork confusion. I need to learn my limitations at any given time, but also push myself, balance.

• Winter Riding. It's been a full winter riding season, not really taking any time off the bike this year may have a role to play here. As well as my current routine of squats and lunges and some running, leading to leg fatigue while pedaling, legs that feel like lead weights sometimes.
  

• Stress/Money. I've been feeling more stress than I would like to lately. My personal relationships seem to be out of sorts lately leaving me filled with confusion, enui and nervousness. Money, there's not enough of it these days, this is a stress as well, I want to simplify my life but no matter how many corners I cut there are more corners coming at me. Craig too is under a lot of stress currently with his new work situation and of course it filters into my mind and body as well.

• My Talas Fork. I'm at odds with the damn thing, yet another confusing relationship that I can't seem to find a balance with and everytime I ride my bike I'm thinking and critiqing how it works. I'm pretty close to just putting my Vanilla back on.
  

• BBQ. I want to organize a ride/session/BBQ event at the house in May. Invite a bunch of people up, go for a good ride from the house, play around on the stunts out back, eat, drink and just simply enjoy being outside and with friends. This will get my stoke going!
  

High Clouds

Artork by Betsy Walton

It seems to me that the sun hasn't been out in full force in general lately. High, thin clouds seem to filter the sunlight into more of a washed out grayish warmth, the sun's energy never reaching it's full potential. It's like that these days.
I've been riding what dry trails I can find and delving into other training practices like way to many ball crunches, the kind that you do with your abdomen on a rubber ball. And many more squats and lunges as well, I miss working my upper body but my shoulder is not healed well enough for any lifting, it will have to wait.

I broke down and bought a new pair of baggies, Fox Venus shorts, ok it wasn't that hard for me to buy a new pair of shorts I am female after all, just hard to pay so much for them. They're remarkably long enough, come down over my pads and designed to be durable, not like your typical women's short. I would have gone with Sombrio again but Fox promised a removable liner which I needed. I'm pretty happy with these shorts so far, I think they look rad and they will ride well and be great for summer. They have all the same features a guy's short would have but for a women's body, maybe the bike industry is starting to take us seriously.
I'm also doing a wonderful trade with a massage therapist, Temple. She is getting one of my sculptures and I'm getting a few massages and it's just perfect timing. I love body work.
This Friday we leave on a trip/flight to Virginia to visit my sister and her family including her new born girl Amelia. It will be nice to fall into the warmth of family for a few days and help my sister a little too. And perhaps when I return these high clouds will have moved on.

Sacrifice Otherwise Know As The Give.

Clay Tile by Jenny Mendes

sac·ri·fice

• To forfeit (one thing) for another thing considered to be of greater value.

To give something up for something more important or someone more important. To forfeit what you want for something/one else and to do it willingly. Some sacrifices come easily others are more subtle and take more effort to make. We make conscious and unconscious sacrifices for a variety of reasons every day, it is a part of our human experience. Sometimes it comes without effort, you make the sacrifice without even thinking about it. Other times the sacrifice is much harder to make, you may not even want to make it or feel super about it but it's outside yourself and you do it because it's expected of you. Another thing to dance with, how in one moment you can lean into a sacrifice with full acceptance and at other times you resist and fight with the giving up, the giving away, the giving in, the giving out, the give.

Eagle

Eagle Valley

We have more snow at our house now then we have had all winter, it's turning warm and dry again but in my snow malaise I've continued thinking about what kind of weekend getaways we can make this year and trips that are budget friendly. There's a place in Colorado called Eagle, it's just past Vail on I70 and on the way to a lot of other places such as Fruita and Utah beyond. But it has come to my awareness in the last few years that there are some really sweet trails in Eagle and they keep building more of them. The nice thing about Eagle is the absence of crowded trails, it's relatively close to home, about 3 hours drive time and has a variety of trail riding from high desert dirt in the Pinon and Juniper to altitude riding in the Aspens. I'm planning on checking this area out this spring/summer. There is terrific camping in the area and along Eagle river and of course that means good fly fishing for Craig. It makes for a solid overnighter without a long drive home which is nice and easy on the pocket book.
I've got a good map of the area and some beta from other riders so now we just need to pick a weekend to head out and explore.

TG of MTBR Forum riding some of the Eagle Trails

In The Works..

I've been thinking about some possible road trips for the future. I love road trips, camping, getting away from the routine and experiencing new places, embracing my inner dirt bag. After Arizona my mind has drifted into organizing trips for the future. These road trips are bigger than the normal, usual weekend runs to Fruita or Moab or Crested Butte or Durango, these trips mean leaving our region. Trips that don't include work, aka Art Shows, just a holiday, full of fun with no set agenda, so I will not include next years Arizona trip. So with that in mind here is what I've put into the works, hopefully it will come to fruition.

Bend..

• Road Trip to the NW. This means about 10 days of exploring different riding areas in Oregon, Washington and possibly Idaho. One place that comes to mind is Bend, OR. This place is incredible and has a huge variety of riding, it's kinda like Boulder in weather and attitude but smaller. I also want to hit Mackenzie River Trail, a long and lovely ride a long a mountain river. Craig has brothers that live in Washington, we've ridden up there before and it was fun and so different than what we're used to. Buff trails among BIG trees and Ferns, you half expect dinosaurs to come wandering by. It would be very cool to visit the Olympic Peninsula as well and get some ocean love. I'd like to plan this trip for the end of May 2010, a year away but with the way times flies these days it'll be here before you know it.

Sample of NW Trail.

• SW Utah. It's been a few years since we've been to the St. George area, Gooseberry Mesa, Thunder Mtn, Jem Trail. I want to go back in a bad way, it's lovely there and the riding is top notch and full of so many different flavors. This trip may not happen for a couple of years but it's in the works.

Gooseberry Mesa.

There will be plenty of riding and regional trips inbetween but a serious road trip is worth planning and dreaming about.