Until we meet again....

The Pig

Josy Jo
RIP sweet gurl.

Lost Souls

Summer in the mountains, it's been lovely so far.
Some pictures of recent rides.

Everything is so lush due to the recent monsoons.

Quick break at the hut before heading up and then down. The skies would open up soon.

Another day, more sun less clouds. Riding high, doing some exploring.

Finding some forgotten paths through the woods.

In search of the great white unicorn. So elusive.

All who wander...are not lost souls.
To be continued.

A Garden

My Mother was a gardener. She enjoyed nothing more than to spend her free time outside in her flower beds. Whether it was weeding, planting, putting in a new flower bed, she loved it and loved getting her hands dirty. My mom was more of a flower gardener, annuals and perennials were her thing. We never had a big vegetable garden but then again we didn't have a big yard, so I think Mom wanted flowers and as many as she could fit in her small space. In the summer she would get up long before my sister and I and get out into her garden before it got too hot or she would run over to a local nursery for some more plants. It was a great pleasure for her and she passed that on to my sister and I. Her thought was that a garden or even a simple pot of flowers on a stoop made a space welcoming and beautiful.

My back deck with its flowers, veggies and herbs.

As a kid I would reluctantly go out and help my Mom with her various projects but as time went on I began to find my own pleasure in the process of planting and nurturing a garden. The deep gratification when in the full of summer the garden was lush and colorful providing a refuge for the eye as well as the soul. It is something simple one can do to make our lives more lovely.

I honor my Mother's memory with my own love of gardening. I imagine how much she would like to sit with me out among my petunias and catmint and strange art pieces stuck here and there. She would love the birds nesting every where and the zippy little hummingbirds, though I'm sure she would think I might have a few too many weeds mixed in with my flowers. I always did hate weeding.
My garden has developed according to my pleasures, my eye and my region and climate. Growing flowers and veggies in the Colorado mountains is a little different than in humid and wet Virginia. A few years ago I planted a lovely little bush in honor of my Mom, it produces these tiny pink blossoms that the butterflies love each summer, the bush has grown and thrived and that makes my heart very glad. To have a garden is to have faith and trust that things will grow with time, effort and care, that the seasons will come and go and the sun will shine down on all of us.

Lordly Zipping Summar

I hate naming my blogs, normally. So I thought why not just come up with the goofiest title you can think of right there on the spot, so there you have it, flow of thought brought to without much effort.

Rest spot along the trail.

Content is different, I usually post when I have something that I want to share. Summer is fully upon us and it feels so good. Things I've been up to. Eating lots of fruit, which is either really good or really bad. Tending my garden and veggies. Making art for my galleries which are actually selling art, yea! Adding more protein into my nutrition seems to have been helping with energy and recovery. And bunches of riding, yahoo! Lotsa of it up high and June has been a great month weather wise, no real heat and just lovely, clear skies. Hitting up the bike/dirt jumps at the park, so much fun, different and learning curve is not so bad.

Gearing up for one of my favorite downhills, South St. Vrain, it's wicked fun and always a good challenge. Next time hopefully Craig won't break his rear derailluer and have to single speed it out. All in all the summer is shaping up nicely.

Smoothies and Bike Park

Delisch Morning Elixer

I've wanted to post what I have for breakfast during the week. I make a green smoothie each morning, ewww that sounds/looks nasty but believe me they're not. I love them, full of fruit, veggies and protein and you can mix it up as you like. However I seem to have a standard that I go to regularly, I'm boring that way. The other nice thing about smoothies are they are easy to digest first thing in the morning and I know it doesn't look so good but it tastes like a sweet, berrilishcious treat, cannot taste the veggies at all. Here's what I do. In a good blender puree.

• Half of a frozen (or not frozen) banana
• 1/2 cup frozen berry of choice, I usually use strawberries or blueberries (you could use fresh as well)
• 1 serving of protein powder, I use Sunwarrior Raw/Vegan Vanilla Rice Protein Powder (easy to digest)
  
• A few leaves of Kale
• A few leaves of Romaine
• 1 cup of preferred mylk of choice ( I use either unsweetened vanilla almond mylk or unsweetened rice mylk)
• 1/2 cup water
• BLEND until processed, this makes about 16 oz's

You can change up the fruits or veggies you use (cucumber and apples are nice), you can add almond butter or hemp seeds for more protein, it's free form. I also make these for after a ride, great recovery drink.

I hit up the new Valmont Bike Park in Boulder today for the first time. Sorry no pics today except for this one image off of the BMA website. My office is right next door so I can sit and daydream and watch riders come and go on the track. But best thing is I can go over and session over lunch or after work. Super Cool and there's something for everyone and every ability. There are bridges, skinnies, rock drops, ladder drops, slope style, dirt jumps, pump tracks, flow trails and wall rides as well as just smooove durt for those that love that. I want to work on the dirt jumps and table tops, I want to fly, yeeeeee! Currently I suck at these but I'm stoked to get bettah!

A love/hate skinnie at the park. Throw me down some crazy, technical rock garden no problem but face me with a narrow plank of wood and I'm goofy.
These mess with my mind, whenever I get on something that is raised and 12" or less in width I get squirrley, my brain gets all WTF and sends spaz messages to my body, though it's getting better and I rode this and I will keep at it until I've burned the thing into my mind and reflexes or have embedded chucks of rock into my knee pads. Either way I'm gonna own it!

Strawbulishcious!

Had to share a quick and super delish treat that I've been making recently. It's simple and helps with the sweet tooth.

In food processor, blend a bunch of strawberries with some lemon juice (to taste), 1 T or so Chia Seeds and 4 or 5 drops regular stevia liquid. Put in jar or container and place in fridge to set up, maybe an hour. The Chia seeds will make it a thick and congealed consistency. This is so good by itself or with some granola, however you desire and it's so good for you. (if you want to you can add a few pitted dates to the food processor as well while blending, very good and a little bit more complex and rich flavor but will add a lot my sugar)

Yummity Yum Yums

Deliciousness Pro Bar (recipe below)

Food..Diet..Nutrition. Something I have always been interested in and something very personal that works differently for different people and I mean each and every person. I'm choosing to write about some of my journey with nutrition because it helps for me to understand my own process but it also may help others. Remember, I'm not a nutritionist, I've just spent time reading, experimenting and talking with others on similar paths and this is where I'm at, I've taken on the challenge of trying to nourish myself well and completely. It hasn't been easy, I have food allergies and I'm sensitive to different things. I don't eat gluten, dairy, refined sugar or soy as a rule, they just make me feel sick. I find that some grains can effect me the same way gluten does, I never know so I tend to stay away from grains as well. Sugar is my nemesis though, I love sugar! Ask me to stop eating gluten, dairy, no problem, ask me to cut out all sugars and all hell breaks loose, I have no staying power and I need me some honey. I've gotten much better and aware but wow, can I eat a lot of fruit! Beans are also a sketchy food source for me, I love them but they can make me feel not so good, bloated and upset. What does that leave me to eat, well a lot of stuff actually and a lot of good stuff, tons of veggies, quinoa, fruits and meats. It has taught me to make a lot of my own food from scratch, so I spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I don't buy many processed foods and if I do they have minimal ingredients. I've also had to come to terms with sources of protein for my nutrition. I was a vegetarian for 10 years, basically from 20 to 30. I've always been conflicted about eating other animals from a very young age but that's my mind at work, my body seems to feel differently. Since I can't eat your typical vegetarian/vegan sources of protein, soy, beans, etc. I have to look elsewhere for clean, high quality protein and that has led me to fish, turkey and chicken. The nutritionist's I've seen have always said I don't get enough protein, especially considering how active I am, so for the month of June I'm experimenting with eating more protein to help fuel my body and what that feels like. My Diet is very clean for the most part but it's always in flux. I'm a athlete, I need to eat to nourish my busy body and I can't ignore what it needs to do that. So for now I'm going to offer up a homemade protein bar that I make for riding or hiking, whatev! They're really tasty, simple with good fat and protein, no refined sugar. I've modified the original recipe from Elana's Blog (which is excellent). I'll be back with more but enjoy for now.

Yum Yum Dum Dum Protein Bars:
2 cups cashews
1/2 cup flax meal
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup creamy roasted or not roasted cashew butter
1/2 t sea salt
3/4 cup coconut oil melted
4 drops stevia (optional if you don't have it)
1 T agave nectar or honey or maple syrup, I use agave
1 T vanilla
1 cup or so dark chocolate chips or bar ( I use Enjoy Life GF/DF choc chips but any good dark choc will work)

1. Place cashews, flax meal, shredded coconut, cashew butter and salt in food processor
2. Pulse about 10 seconds or so
3. In a small pan melt coconut oil over low heat, once melted take off heat and add stevia, agave and vanilla, whisk
4. Add coconut oil mixture to food processor and pulse until ingredients for a coarse sticky paste
5. Press this into a square pan or dish
6. Chill in fridge for an hour or so until it hardens
7. Melt chocolate in small saucepan over low heat, stirring all the time, don't burn it
8. Spread melted chocolate over hardened bars, put back in fridge for at least 30 minutes until chocolate hardens
9. Cut into bars and I store in the freezer. Stick in your hydration pack for some good fuel