Dear Mother Nature,

[bikerchick68]

Please take some Midol and snap out of it! :mad:

second week in a row that it's been delightful M-F and then rained the ENTIRE weekend...

yep, Old Ma Nature has her panties in a wad over something... sheesh...

at least the time change is soon so I can start commuting to work safely again!:o

[SadieKate]

You know how they have a regularly scheduled Tuesday night chat over on Bike Journal?

I'm thinking we need a regularly scheduled chant session in honor of Mother Nature. Light a few candles, sing a few ditties, prance around in Lycra, whatever works.

[Pax]

She's toying with us in the Midwest too...sunny and dry = freezing cold / warm = torrential rain and tornados. :(

Won't matter to me soon...I understand it's dry and sunny in AZ a LOT!! :D

[Running Mommy]

I've been thinking the same thing. This is my last long weekend and I'm running out of time. I have a 100/5 brick on the docket this weekend... I don't really own any cycling rain clothes- I mean I live in AZ!! And the kicker is that they are saying "windy" on the weather reports... That means 20-30+ mph. They call it "breezy" when the winds are less than 20 mph... sigh..
I'm just hoping it all blows in late Saturday so I can at least get a head start outdoors. I swear I will kill myself if I have to spend 6.5 hours on the trainer!! :eek:

[mmelindas]

Yeah, weather is so freaky all over. We had sunshine yesterday in Salt Lake City and today I woke up to 10 inches of wet, heavy snow outside...there goes my biking day! The birdfeeder had a mob of hungry starlings, wrens, finches, my favorite magpie gang,...in no less than two seconds after I put out some bread, apples and a stick of margerine. The Peanut Butter jar on it's side (a bird's version of McDonald's) was packed and birds fighting to get at it.

I WANNA SOME SUNSHINE!!!!!:mad: wAAAAAAAAAh!!!!! My new LaJolla Cruiser is calling meeeeeeeeee.....!

[Nanci]

Found an eggshell in my yard Sunday. Saw the first Wisterias blooming on Monday. Dogwoods and Azaleas are going crazy! Mockingbirds are singing all night. Cardinals are setting up territories. My perennials, both wild and tame, are blooming. I saw some June bugs the other night. Did I mention we are having a cold snap- it only got up to 71 today, but will be 77 tomorrow!!!

BWAAA HAAA HAAA!!!!

Seriously, it's better down South!!

[solobiker]

Yes I agree, good ole Mother Nature. Over the weekend we had cold wet snowy weather. I still managed to ride about 15 miles on saturday. Mind you I was all bundled up and didnt see anyone else enjoing the weather and today we have very windy weather, 20-30mph with gusts near 50. yikes.

[sydney_b]

Found an eggshell in my yard Sunday. Saw the first Wisterias blooming on Monday. Dogwoods and Azaleas are going crazy! Mockingbirds are singing all night. Cardinals are setting up territories. My perennials, both wild and tame, are blooming. I saw some June bugs the other night. Did I mention we are having a cold snap- it only got up to 71 today, but will be 77 tomorrow!!!

BWAAA HAAA HAAA!!!!

Seriously, it's better down South!!

You so deserve a noogie.

[Running Mommy]

Real FUNNY Nanci!
It's actually nice here today.. But the weekend is suppose to turn sour again. We go for MONTHS w/ no rain and perfect weather and now MN does this to us right before the race! OY!

Our current conditions...

Wind from 354 degrees @ 6.0 MPH Gusts to 9.0 MPH Temp 78F Humidity 20% Dewpoint 33F Pressure 1008.6 mb

[Surlygirl]

BWAAA HAAA HAAA!!!!

Seriously, it's better down South!!

Nanci, Nanci, Nanci. Never, ever, ever tempt the weather gods!!!!

[Nanci]

Three hurricanes in one year- what more can the weather gods do?

Nanci

PS, I am not tempting the weather gods, I am praising and thanking them for yet another year free from the tryanny of winter.

[doc]

The birdfeeder had a mob of hungry starlings, wrens, finches, my favorite magpie gang,...in no less than two seconds after I put out some bread, apples and a stick of margerine. The Peanut Butter jar on it's side (a bird's version of McDonald's) was packed and birds fighting to get at it.

A full jar of peanut butter? I'm picturing birds with their wings glued to their bodies like seagulls after an oil spill.
And what's with the margarine?

[SadieKate]

You so deserve a noogie.I'll help.:cool:

Where is it you live again, Nanci? I may just have to visit the SIL in St. Petersburg. You may be able to ride farther than I can, but can you ride faster? :D

[seagrape]

"Three hurricanes in one year- what more can the weather gods do?"

Oy! What have you done? Never tempt mother nature!!

Seriously, though, all you snow birds, it's meant to reach a high of 87 here next week. :p

[Nanci]

Ah, Seagrape's scared- she's by the coast, aren't you??? Fortunately by the time the hurricanes get to the middle, they've mellowed out a bit. Still VERY scary.

Sadiekate- St. Pete is a cool city. Make sure not to miss the Dali museum!!!!!!!

99% of everyone rides faster than me, especially since I am now repentantly slowing down!

Hey, it's 41F now- I have to warm up my car! I had to turn the heat on in the house for ten minutes while I got dressed. Can't wait till it gets to 78 later...

Nanci

[crazycanuck]

Don't send me a noogie ok...

I'm tired of biking in 34c & very little shade...Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have wonderful weather but it's a bit too hot for me..

I'm looking forward to a smidgen bit of rain as the dust, pea gravel & horrible hills will come just that bit easier to get up.

As i've said before i'm not sure what's worse 34c & blazing sun or -34c & very little sun...

c

[uk elephant]

i'm not sure what's worse 34c & blazing sun or -34c & very little sun...

Definately +34C is worse! Much worse! You can only take off so many clothes...and then you are still too hot! I tend to collapse as soon as it gets over +20C. When it's cold out you can always add another layer of clothing, move around to stay warm and have a good excuse for eating rich food.

[DrBee]

It hit 86F here on Sunday and all I could think of as I was sweating while putting in a new flower bed was - summer is going to be miserably hot. But for now - the weekend is going to be in the 50's and raining. Lovely. At least the plants will be happy.

[caligurl]

ya.... not only is she screwing up ANOTHER weekend... she's screwing up another ride! we were going to do OCW's spring metric... didn't do it last year.. cuz surprise surprise.. it RAINED! :mad: and it's gonna do it again this year!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[Nanci]

If you invest in very expensive rainclothes, it will never rain again!!

Nanci

[bouncybouncy]

Nanci...i could brag all the same but i am holding back!!! noogies or no noogies those weather gods are brutal!!!

btw...how 'bout them bugs???

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=5642&highlight=mosquito+netting

****ok ok..i will be nice now!!!

[caligurl]

ya know... that raincoat/clothes thing DOES work!

i would "curse" the rides i signed up for at the beginning of last year (nevermind that it's also the rainy season!).... so finally a bought a dang blasted rain jacket! not only that... i also bought a really cute one at the gap for off the bike..... no more rain! :rolleyes: :D

maybe i need to buy some more rain stuff! i REALLY wanted to do the spring metric! my mileage is soooooooooooooooooooooooo down...... :(

[Brandi]

You know the weather gods are mean to everyone at one time or another. I have to go to Iowa next week to do a sand sculpture. Luckly it is indoors but when they deliver the sand it will be freezing cold and I will have to wear long pants and shoes and gloves just to be able to work in it indoors. The density of the sand makes it hard to warm up. Takes days. We once spent three weeks carving 2000 tons of sand outside at the arizona state fair. We got 4 inches of rain in one hour. Watched all our detail wash away. I started to cry! When i realized that I had no control over the weather I started laughing. the water was up to our knee's. i grabed a piece of plywood and started to skin board around the parking lot. It was fun. We were able to fix the scupture in about a day. I was very proud of all of us. We recovered really fast from it. But i don't ever make fun or tempt the weather gods. It is bad.

[bikerchick68]

cali... and this weekend is Homey's ride too... it just SO blows! :mad: My mileage... sheesh, I don't even look at it right now... I'll be playing catch-up for months :rolleyes:

brandi... sand sculpture??? WAY cool... would love to see a couple pics if you can post 'em!

nanci... St Pete??? I lived there as a kid! Went to Lynch Elementary... can't remember the name of the middle school tho... lived in the Sarven Apts on 2nd and 4th (I think that was the streets)... very, very close to the Pier! I remember fondly riding my bike everywhere and going down the bay to watch the manatees... :) A fun place to be a kid...

you're comment about 3 hurricanes in a year put it in perspective for me... guess I'll stop my griping about 2 whole weekends of rain...:eek: :D I'm just mad cause it will effectively ruin CAM for me... I had Jan/Feb done, but had a volunteer commitment with the PD the first week on March... then 2 weeks rain... and next week I go to AZ with some gardening friends... they don't ride. :(

So much for my goal for the year... I overbooked myself between work, college and my volunteer work... ah well, guess I can relax and just ride for the rest of the year now! :o

[Lise]

We're all moving to Nanci's!!!

'sposed to get 5" of snow today in Chicago. Not snowing yet, just cold.and.grey, the usual for this time of year.

Although...the crocus and snowdrops are in bloom, and I saw the first robin a few days ago. Hoping this is the last snow of the season.

Nanci, how would Dilbird and Milly (?) feel about a visit from my two cats? I'll bring them in the carrier on my back, just like uk elephant :p !

[Trekhawk]

yikes I just checked the weather and they are saying snow and rain for Friday and Saturday. Ok I did say in the past that I like snow and I do but hm I also like riding my road bike so please weather god take pity on an unfit rider who needs to train pleeeese.:D

[SadieKate]

Sadiekate- St. Pete is a cool city. Make sure not to miss the Dali museum!!!!!!! Not that I don't like museums but if I go it is for the fishing. I have to say I was impressed with how many bars there were along the Pinellas Trail.

[Nanci]

You're all welcome to visit! Just imagine, having friends to ride with! I don't think Milly has ever seen a cat. He would probably be scared to death. He's kind of a fraidy cat. Like, a towel on my head can send him into a panic. Dill, in his prime, could beat up cats, but now, old and crippled, he's afraid of them, too. You should have seen him, though. The cats were not allowed (by Dill) to sit on the couch, and he could send them running as fast as they could go out of the room! And these weren't wimpy housecats, either, they were part-time barncat- rat and gopher hunters! You probably don't know this, but pigeons have a secret defense called wing-slapping, which is like getting a high-speed sharp, karate-chop-like blow, faster than the eye can see, with a loud snapping sound. It doesn't hurt too much, and is how they bicker amongst themselves, but is very frightening to humans and other unsuspecting animals. Plus, they bite like crazy and hang on like little birdy pitbulls. Doves of peace, whatever!!!

Nanci

[CorsairMac]

Too humid where Nanci lives - I'll take "yeah it's hot but it's a Dry heat" anyday! ;)

[Nanci]

I don't know- I think it's more humid up in Minnesota- plus I think my skin would fall off if it was any less humid here. I have learned to live with it, no, revel in it!! (hahaha, it's still a couple months till 90F with 98% humidity!!, so I can joke about it now!)

Nanci

[caligurl]

my new car hasn't been clean since i picked it up! :eek: it rained the night we picked it up.... the following weekend was a ride so we didn't wash it cuz we were riding (oh.. ok.. coulda washed it sunday.. not sure why we didn't???? :( ) then last weekend rain and snow... this weekend we were going to "zaino" it.... but of course... more rain predicted :mad:

i've never had a new car so dirty when it's so brand new! :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[KSH]

Please take some Midol and snap out of it! :mad:

second week in a row that it's been delightful M-F and then rained the ENTIRE weekend...

yep, Old Ma Nature has her panties in a wad over something... sheesh...

at least the time change is soon so I can start commuting to work safely again!:o

Sounds like you live in Texas! What is up with the weather ususally sucking on the weekends? UGH!

And... when we do have a decent day... the wind is gusting up to 25 mph. I am SO SICK OF RIDING IN A HEADWIND!

I figure by the time the wind stops blowing... I will be FLYING down the road... from all the muscles I built up riding into those headwinds!

[SadieKate]

Mother Nature, thank you, thank you!

You're giving us a break and the Blue Angels just flew past my office window so close I could almost blow kisses to the pilots! One just came by up on his edge.:eek: :eek: :eek:

[tatormc]

my new car hasn't been clean since i picked it up!

Caligurl, what car did you get? From a previous post you were looking at the new RAV4. We have one coming in next week, if there are no delays.

[MomOnBike]

OK, I know I'm weird, but since I work weekends, I'm just as glad when weekends have yucky weather. Then I can deal more gracefully with the problems at work, then have 5 nice days that I can bike. Or at least that's what I tell myself.

William is going into the shop this weekend, anyway, to get a new, lower granny gear put on, so I'm all for letting Ma Nature have her tantrum and get it over with.

[caligurl]

Caligurl, what car did you get? From a previous post you were looking at the new RAV4. We have one coming in next week, if there are no delays.

we didn't wait for the rav4..... however for the longest time.. it was at the top of our shopping list! but getting one was a nightmare.... we were explicit in what we wanted (V6, flint mica, with the package that included the upgraded stereo plus other stuff).... we kept looking... discounted a LOT of other vehicles (i REALLY fell in LOVE with the infinity fx!) however after doing MORE research... and once we had changed the size/class of car we were looking at.. the navigation system became an issue (we were going to buy a garmin portable for the rav4).... well my accord already had the best navi system (at least for the year it was)... none of the other companies came close.. i loved the look of the lexus, too... but their navi was AWFUL! the infinity and murano.. you couldn't input info while driving! what's up with THAT? 99% of my inputting is done while driving! we don't even sit in the driveway when we know where we're going.. we go while it "boots up" and then i put the addy in while we're on the road! we look for stuff all the time while going down the freeway (me as a passenger.. not him driving!)

so since the navi became an issue.. we were kind of "stuck" with a pilot or an mdx.... neither of us were thrilled with the pilot... i mean it was nice... but something about it just didn't click with us (expecially after falling in love with the infinity!) so we got an mdx! the bad thing is.. hubby has to lower his seat to put his bike in the back! but at least they are inside and for the most part.. out of the view of thieves! we are getting the windows tinted darker.. the back isn't dark enough and i want the front sides done too! gonna get that done in the next couple of weeks! so far we both love it! it's such a smooth drive! lots of fluff inside! AND i get to put my personalized plates on it since i gave up my car for it! :D (my plates are my name with an s at the end.. to make is possesive! lol!)

so far the only thing that irritates me.... when you use the buttons on the steering wheel to change the stations... for XM it only scrolls through your presets :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: so that means 6 stinking stations... there's what... 200? so i have to lean over and go one by one with the actual radio knob to scroll! :rolleyes: i guess if that's my only gripe... it's not too bad, eh? :D :cool:

[bikerchick68]

hey cali... be careful how dark you go on the tint of the front windows... you can get ticketed and they'll force you to remove it... it's actually in the vehicle code that the fronts can't be tinted... mainly because little hoodlums were tinting so cops couldn't see what they were up to... or who was inside... I guess it's easier to tint 'em dark so you don't get picked up on a warrant... :rolleyes:

sounds like a great rig! I got rid of my BMW for a Forerunner... because the bike, the dogs and my landscape stuff all fits inside easily! LOL:D

[caligurl]

i know i'm not supposed to get them tinted.. but my last 3 cars and hubby's truck are all tinted... it's SO stinking hot here!! :mad: (plus it just looks good! :cool: :cool: ) we don't get the front sides tinted as dark as the rear though!

we looked at bmw's too.. but they didn't have a navi system for us to look at... so kinda just went on to the next dealership (which was the infinity next door! :) i STILL think infinities are GORGEOUS but HATE their navi! :mad: )

[bikerchick68]

I know what you mean about the heat... the tint really does help...

the MDX is a great vehicle... and I personally think you will be happier in the long run... I had an Acura at one point... GREAT car!!! The BMW on the other hand, was a nightmare... the dealer actually took it back and offered me a new beemer... NO WAY! Just so happens they own the local Toyota delaership too... BINGO! :D I am a happy, happy girl now... :) :)

[mmelindas]

Hey Doc,

Here's the deal on the PNB and margarine: starlings, magpies seem to like the stuff and in fact devoured the stick of margarine in less than half an hour! They are tidy little feeders, too, all I ever see is them wiping their beaks on the grass or something nearby. The magpies were stealing chunks of PNB that I had plastered on rocks and the bird feeder and stole so much I was wiped out in ten minutes.

Soooo...to make it more challenging, I put a whole jar of chunky PNB out and laid it on the side. Now the Magpies can't get into it but the starlings can and they crawl half way into it to get at the bottom as it disappears! The margarine everybody liked. They just attack it, in pecks, and I haven't seen any glued-togehter birds yet. They need the fat and protein to make it through the winter.

My philosophy is this: a live, fat bird eats MORE MOSQUITOS!!!

My hubby and I watch out our RV window, a front seat to the amusing scene of birds fighting over the food. I only feed them when it's snowy. Which silly Salt Lake has been, despite it supposing to be 54 degrees this time of year!!!

If you want to see a hilarious scene, put out a stick of margarine or PNB and watch the antics of some of the feathered friends locally.

Melinda

[Trek420]

could you please hold off on the rain for the Cinderella ride? Bikeless just sent me the 10 day weather report and :eek:

She's been working so hard and looking forward to this so it better not rain is all I can say. Last two years it didn't.

[Bike Goddess]

Trek- Says showers- 60%. Showers I can handle, on the other hand.... RAIN different story. Could be like Tuesday. We went out for a ride and only got hit once -about 10min worth (we stayed under a tree for awhile). The rest of the day was clear and windy! So, moral of story- you never know what MN is going to do!

[bikerchick68]

Bike Goddess... I think we're gonna take the brunt of it down here by the border... it has effectively ruined CAM for me... but I'm OK with that now... I'll just ride 12 centuries this year... not necessarily one a month tho. Works for me! :) S comeon Old Ma Nature... comeon down to the border! (And leave Bike Goddess alone! :mad: ) :D ;)