Thread Drift

[Nanci]

That's a Golden Orb Spider, CC. That's pretty much life size.

[maillotpois]

Nanci - EEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


That is TERRIFYING.

So we just had lunch with the good Fishdr. It was GREAT. She's just wonderful - what I'd imagined. We wandered around the Ferry Plaza for a bit and chatted. We had V and Thom, Jo, Snap, Winddance, BikerZ and Melissam. I think that's the group. Anyway, it was fun. After a couple hours, the PP reached her limit and we left the group as they were headed to Pier 39.

I am bringing Fishdr to Marin to drive up Mt. Tam tomorrow morning. I'm hoping she doesn't mind taking the ferry back to the city because the traffic was inSANE. The bay bridge closure made traffic on the OTHER bridge that I had to use to get out of SF crazy. I have never seen it so bad. Getting out of the city is rough.

Resting up now. I gotta figure out something to do with these blisters from running. Only 11 miles today, but the big one's huge... hmmm...

[chickwhorips]

beautiful day to be out in the lagoon! the sun came out and aaaahhhhhh! i'm recharged. kyak girl (me) saved the day from the eiders running away. not to mention pulling people in boats that were stuck in eel grass. CWR's boat service here to help. :cool:

we banded about 100 sea ducks, and a few choice ones got molested for avian flu.

hope everyone had as good of day as i did. i am now going to enjoy a glass of wine, if i can find one.

[KnottedYet]

I wanna meet Fishdr, too. C'mon up to Seattle!

I acheived a pony tail today! (sort of) It took some hair clips and there are little neck hairs flying around loose, but I have a 1 3/4 inch ponytail! (yes, I measured it. I'm a nerd.)

That's a long way from 1 1/2 inch spikes all over my head.

And even though I still don't have that much hair yet, it felt mighty good to get it up off my neck. Hot today. Feeling the breeze now.

[Kitsune06]

:eek:
...
p....p....Ponytail? Ponytail equivalent to your spikes' length?

...I thought of you today when I henna'd my spikes, Knot. See, if you grow out your hair, and think a little about me and my spikes, and I keep my hair short and think about you and your ponytail, it'd almost be like I get to grow my hair out without freaking out and you can keep your spikes without looking like a bookend! It almost works!:D

...or am I just crazy?:confused:

CWR!
YAY! You saved the day! =D I'm gonna call you and harrass you again sometime, and call you Kayak Girl. =D
I SWEAR I'll send that cider... just... not outta this paycheck. ;)

[KnottedYet]

Kitsu - the hair thing is a great idea. (actually, I'd already been doing that... "waaaaah, I don't have spikes anymore! at least Kitsu still has 'em!") Gotta henna (White Mountain Mahogany) my silky locks tomorrow. Don't feel like it tonight.

My incredibly gorgeous, tomboy femme, bike riding, late 40's, knock-me-over-with-a-feather-yummy voiced, upstairs neighbor (sigh, I have a little crush, can you tell?) has a gf that I don't think is worthy of her.

Trek??? Trek, honey, come on up here! There's someone I want you to meet!

EDIT: Oops, thanks Kit! Yup, its LIGHT Mountain brand!

[DebW]

Went to dinner at a local brew pub (John Harvard's in Framingham) and they had Rail Trail Beer. Part of the proceeds go to sponsor the local Cochituate rail trail. So I had to drink a beer, even though I hardly ever drink beer and don't usually like it. This was a very dark beer and I even sort of liked it. Got down the whole glass eventually (in 1 1/2 hours). Guess I looked funny eating my bread with a fork, but I didn't get the bike grease off my hands well enough to eat with them. Replaced my headset today, discovered that my rear derailleur was loose on it's hanger (no wonder I've gotten a few involuntary shifts). Removed and cleaned the derailleur. The sealed bearing jockey wheels are really nice, I've had them about 8 years now. Soaked the chain in solvent, still need to relube it and make a final adjustment of the headset.

Changed the oil in my car today too. Finally found some synthetic 10W-30. Now if I could just get the roof leak fixed...

[Kitsune06]

I thought it was Light Mtn? Eh, I have fox red. *shrugs innocently*

Thank goodness for good neighbors! ;) That description reminds me- I've gotta call dpita to see how her day went before it gets too late...

Congrats on the ponytail, and good luck growing it out further... I've tried several times, but I always end up freaking out and having it trimmed boy-short again. :rolleyes:

Someday, I say... someday.

[Trek420]

KnottedYet "Trek??? Trek, honey, come on up here! There's someone I want you to meet!"

You are kidding, right? :rolleyes:

OK, S'cuse me TE gals while I talk to Knotted and anyone else who cares to join in this is TD after all

1) In my 33 years of experience :eek: with batting for this team we hang in there and process things till it's gefilte fish :cool: You can't say we don't try. I don't think your neighbor would take a look at me and think "oh my, so this is out there, you're right I am too good for her. Why am I putting up with this byeeeee"

And if she would that would be just bad karma.

Take my ex for example, please :p I should have left 4-5 years before she left me. What was I thinking? It was not, could not and would never get any better. But I hung in there.

One of the many traits I admire is women...and men who know when it's time to dig in the cleats and do the work or .... learn, go on and get the heck outa Dodge.

2) She has a girlfriend. When she's single....and over said girlfriend....put the bikes in the Lez'baru and c'mon down here. :p

3) No dates outside of the time zone oh, same time zone never mind.

4) No dates out of my area code or at least the LATA.

5) But I would love to come up to the PNW with my bike. Next September???

but you were kidding of course so let's look into a PNW trip for Trek someday.

[Kitsune06]

My ex had valuable words of wisdom...
"A relationship generally ends the same way it began, AND unless you learn, mistakes repeat."

So... if she cheated on/left her gf for miz Trek, good chance of infidelity in the future (just an example...)

It gives us all good incentive to either put work into the relationship or recognize the end before it turns ugly...

[crazycanuck]

Lalalalaa...felt like saying that...

Anywho, the head feels better but i do need to watch I don't do any headbanging to GNR's "Paradise City"or Kiss "I was made for lovin you" ;) The headaches come & go ya know.
My back hurts a bit but what did I expect when I fall on my back where i keep the battery for my head light:o

Weekend is going well-almost..NZ lost by one point last night in the rugby...1 point..:(

We're doing some packing in prep for our move. Exciting..:rolleyes:

I have a nice new Limar helmet....:)

c

[Trek420]

Kitsune06 "It gives us all good incentive to either put work into the relationship or recognize the end before it turns ugly..."

yep, hence point #2.and the bad karma point in #1.

[KnottedYet]

I WAS KIDDING!!!! KKKKKIIIIIIIDDDDDDDDDDDDIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG!!!

(if anyone gets her, it's ME, not Trek!)

KIDDING AGAIN!! HAAAA HAAAA!!!! JOKE!!! LIGHTHEARTED GIGGLE!!!!!!

(snort)

:D

[KnottedYet]

I dreampt about triathlons last night. Nice dream.

My buddy really liked her IronDogs titanium tri bracelet, and wore it all day yesterday. I wear mine all the time.

Narcissistic moment du jour: when I put my hands on the sides of my ribcage, all I feel is ribs. No padding. I wanna weigh myself. Don't have a scale.

I want muscles like Jessi Stensland. Does that mean I have to exercise?

And why haven't the gorgeous hotties descended upon me yet? C'mon! Where's the dang flattery and fawning that's supposed to be my reward? Guess I'll buy some more stuff for my bikes instead. Instant gratification.

[KnottedYet]

Miz Cakes has been immortalized in litra-chur. (OT)
Trek my dear, if you'll tell me your bike(s) names they can be literary fodder, too.

[betagirl]

I'm going to REI's massive sale (again). Do I need anything? No. :D

I'm watching E! and their 983 different top 101 lists. Today is the top 101 guilty pleasures. And GUESS WHAT!?! David Hasselhoff was #25. Indeed.

[chickwhorips]

LIGHTHEARTED GIGGLE!!!!!!
(snort)

:D

glad to see your not afraid to show your true laugh. :D

[chickwhorips]

beta, here's a mission for you: try on all the wind/waterproof running type pants at REI and tell me wich on fits the best and the waist doesn't go above the belly button.

now you have a reason to go to REI. thank you. :)

[betagirl]

beta, here's a mission for you: try on all the wind/waterproof running type pants at REI and tell me wich on fits the best and the waist doesn't go above the belly button.

your mission...if you choose to accept it....

I'm actually looking for similar pants, so I'll have something to report. So now I have a legitimate reason. Yay.

[KnottedYet]

Oooh, two free Jessi Stensland posters. Autographed and personalized!

"To Knot, my inspiration! I want to be just like you! -Jessi, your biggest fan"

http://www.gojessi.com/exec/jessi/Shop_Go_Jessi.cfm?publicationID=58

(DPITA would not approve)

[mimitabby]

My ex had valuable words of wisdom...
"A relationship generally ends the same way it began, AND unless you learn, mistakes repeat."

So... if she cheated on/left her gf for miz Trek, good chance of infidelity in the future (just an example...)

It gives us all good incentive to either put work into the relationship or recognize the end before it turns ugly...

Boy, these are wise words. I quaked whenI found out that my sister's 4th husband dumped "a fat homely older woman with a bad disposition" for her. (my sister is not homely but meets the rest of that description). My only hope is that he will get enough fatter and older himself that he can't pull the same stunt on her.

Hey, how did my relationship start with the DH? He honked his horn at me
and I honked back. We toot tooted all the way down the street until
i realized he was someone I knew! I was just having fun. :D
The rest... is history.
(so is that how our relationship will end? Honking horns?)
:D :D :D :D :D

[KnottedYet]

So now I have a legitimate reason. Yay.

All I have are illegitimate ones...





Trek - "And the award for gratuitous use of a Real World name in a thread goes to..." (cycling caps) Girl, you are too funny.

[LynneK]

I want muscles like Jessi Stensland. Does that mean I have to exercise?

I met Jessi Stensland a few weeks ago at the VisionQuest grand opening here, and in addition to having arms (and just a body in general) that I covet, she was just the nicest person! We chatted about being swimmers-turned-triathletes, and the importance of core strength. She was just very cool.

I now have her arms in my head whenever I do anything upper body, or more truthfully, when I'm about to bail on doing something upper body! Come on, LynneK, just get on with it!

I've never put much stock in the importance of role models, but she sure qualifies for me.

[KnottedYet]

I saw this great picture (which I can't find anywhere!) of her holding her bike over her head. The lighting wasn't as garish as the "Fortitude" picture, and her arms and back looked SO cool! (nice bike, too)

Good to know she's also a nice person. She posts on Beginnertriathlete.com sometimes, and sounds great in her posts.

Yes, I covet her arms and back. And butt. And legs. And I might as well covet her hair while I'm at it...

[KnottedYet]

Today's breakfast at Chez Knot:

Fried Spam
Fried egg, over easy
Sauteed mushrooms (not Portabellas this time)
Fresh cherry tomatoes still warm from the sun

Coffee with Rice Dream


Sharpening my cleaver and firing up my crock pot to make chicken stew today. Might go for a bike ride while it cooks, if the clothes hanging on my bike are dry by then. (my bike is a multi-use vehicle)

[Lise]

Oooh, two free Jessi Stensland posters. Autographed and personalized!
I love that woman's muscles. My favorite picture is of her holding her bike over her head.

http://www.gojessi.com/showPhoto.cfm?gallery_ID=232&Image_ID=2508

I want to have that same picture taken of me. I'll have to practice lifting the bike so I don't drop it on my head! :p

I cannot understand how triathletes can race just in a bathing suit.
1. boobs. Ow.
2. riding a bike in just a bathing suit? Ow!
3. modesty. I understand they are so beautiful and muscular that they're doing a public service by not wearing many clothes. I don't know that I could do it.

[Lise]

I saw this great picture (which I can't find anywhere!) of her holding her bike over her head.
We must've been posting at the same time! :D

[Veronica]

I love my husband! I showed him that picture, "He says she's got a nice butt, but yours is better."

Lise, she has no boobs, so that makes the swimsuit better. I figure their legs must be super thin and have no inner thigh rub to be able to ride and run in those. Or maybe they use some long lasting lubricant.

V.

[Lise]

I love your husband, too! :D What a good guy.

True, thin thighs. But...wet lycra mashed up against your crotch on a hard bike saddle? For at least 26 miles? I repeat: ow. Lots and lots of lube.

No boobs. I guess. And strong pectorals so that what boobs they have aren't bouncing. I swear sometimes I just want to take a big old Ace bandage to my chest before I put on my extremely supportive sports bra. Next race, I'm going to try doing the whole thing in my Enell. I'll start with a sprint distance. That bra has about 15 hooks on it, but it really, really provides support. I don't even care if it stays wet the whole time. My chest just hurts a lot by the end of all that if I don't wear a really supportive bra.

[Kitsune06]

I LOVE DGF. I said "Check out this tri chick. I wanna look like that..."
She said "Um... you already do. Your shoulders do all that when you lift things. Why do you THINK I sit around watching you play with heavy stuff?" :p
I said "Reallly???" (Oh, don't we all like hearing that stuff again?)
She said "Yeah, but I don't want to see you posting pictures of your *** to prove it.":rolleyes:
"Just my shoulders?":cool:
"No!":eek: :D

She also, after taking a sound look at the pic (a second time) said "If anyone posts pictures like this, I wanna see."
"Oh? Why?"
"Scientific comparison."
"Yeah, I think she has a nice butt, too." :D

"You happen to get all these pictures of chicks with nice butts. What's up with that?"
"Bikers have nice butts."
*DGF takes a glance at her bike* "We're gonna go biking on our day off."
What I think: "SCORE! *Mad triumphant laughter and giggle-snerks*" What I say "Oh- alrighty. Sounds fun!"


Knot- Breakfast sounds awesome. I would drive to Seattle JUST to have breakfast at Chez Knot. So... HOW is Miz Cakes immortalized in lit-ra-tch... lit.... uh... da books? Coffee w/ rice dream isn't that bad. Then again, I put enough in so it looks like a frappuchino.

Chica- I think all the waterproof pants will end up climbing past your navel... I've never found a pair that didn't... Unless Beta can prove me wrong...
"Please, Beta, you're our only hope!" Hope you got enough sleep, I was surprised you didn't just pass out last night. =)

Tri-ing- At least not having boobs has SOME benefits. ...now I just have to start tri-ing to take advantage of it.

[Kitsune06]

Boy, these are wise words. I quaked whenI found out that my sister's 4th husband dumped "a fat homely older woman with a bad disposition" for her. (my sister is not homely but meets the rest of that description). My only hope is that he will get enough fatter and older himself that he can't pull the same stunt on her.

Hey, how did my relationship start with the DH? He honked his horn at me
and I honked back. We toot tooted all the way down the street until
i realized he was someone I knew! I was just having fun. :D
The rest... is history.
(so is that how our relationship will end? Honking horns?)
:D :D :D :D :D

I'm not sure, but I think it feels good that I'm friends with my ex, and dgf is friends with hers (not that I'm fond of her ex...) and speaks well of our being able to admit when things 'don't work' and being able to gracefully move on.
I admit I was thisclose to seriously damaging my sister's ex when I heard him tell a friend he "just lost 140# of ugly fat". He's an army boy, so I had to re-think the whole "remove his arm and beat him with it" thing, but yeah.

I think what my husband meant was if you start a relationship by cheating on your ex 'for' them, the relationship will likely end in infidelity, too... (love easily won is easily lost) ... if you *suddenly* fall in love, you can *suddenly* fall out of love, if you start a relationship based on sex, it might end because that base disappears, or if you start as friends, if you end, you'll hopefully end as friends, as that was there all along...

He was pretty wise for a 20 year old guy... just no **** common sense. He'd say the same of me, I'm sure. :D

[KnottedYet]

Lise - the pic I saw was in a slide-show on her website a couple months back. There was no swimsuit involved. At least not from the mid-rib-cage up.

But the one you posted is just fine!

'Scuse me, i gotta go do some back flyes and back extensions and shoulder externals...

EDIT: Kit, go check out the OT.

[KnottedYet]

she has no boobs

Ummm, she's got some fine ones. Must wear a very compressive top for the races, cuz the suit photos don't look like the 2nd photo here!

http://www.gojessi.com/story.cfm?story_id=9431&pageID=1092

Dang, yet another thing to covet! I'd better add some push-ups and pect presses and lat pull-downs...

[Kitsune06]

uhm. yeah. With ya on the pushups and pec presses. At least I can feel aerodynamic. =)

[Lise]

Lise - the pic I saw was in a slide-show on her website a couple months back. There was no swimsuit involved. At least not from the mid-rib-cage up.
Oh, you're right! I've seen that one, too! That's why this one looked "off". I thought it was the building in the background...but it was also the clothing in the foreground!

If I ever have such a picture taken of me, I will be well clothed. Hmmm, does back fat show as much when you're lifting something over your head? I'll have to ask my sister to take a bunch of pictures of me hoisting the bike, once I know I can do it without injuring either self or bike! :p

[DebW]

I love that woman's muscles. My favorite picture is of her holding her bike over her head.

I'd be happy if I could lift a bike like that without pain. Must have torn my right deltoid muscle when I broke my collarbone 16 months ago, and it still hurts to lift to the side. Must remember to do PT exercises.

If anybody remembers me recommending cloth handlebar tape, I TAKE IT BACK. DON'T DO IT! I spend 2 hours today taping my bars with cloth tape. Worst thing is, the rolls are short, so 3 times I got to the end of the roll before I got to the end of the hb and had to start over. Arg! And the stuff hardly stretches, so it's tough not to leave wrinkles. I used to tape bars with this stuff all the time, and I don't remember it being that bad.

[Bruno28]

Hmmm, does back fat show as much when you're lifting something over your head?


What is it with this whole back fat thing???? I was prepared for the trials and indignities of middle age but never expected back fat! :(


I'm going to Prague week after next...anyone been? Any recommendations for must see/do?

[Lise]

Bruno, love the new avatar. Very Scottish. Know nothing about Prague. My brother loved it. Well, there's one thing I know. If you didn't have back fat until you were middle aged, consider yourself blessed.

I just got back from Kiddieland, an old amusement park built in 1929. They still have some of the original carousel horses--I rode on one. It's designed for little kids, so it's like a really toned-down carnival. I went with my sister, BIL, my 3 yr old niece and 7 yr old nephew, another couple who are dear friends of my sis, and their 7 yr old son. The kids are best of friends. Just learned that the woman of the couple is pregnant!!! :D They'd been trying for a second child for a long time, and were in the process of starting the adoption process when she conceived. I am so happy for them. She was one of my running buddies this winter and spring, but sort of disappeared from running this summer. Now I know why!

Had a great time. It was nice to be around so many young families--no big rowdy people, almost no one smoking, and everyone looking out for the little kids. My niece is fearless. We call her "Maya, Warrior Princess". She's also incredibly loving and funny and smart...my nephew's a blast, too, but he's not so much into hanging with Aunt Lise! :p Good times.

[Bicyclette]

Bruno - was in Prague a few years ago - it's a lovely, lovely city!! We went over Christmas - lots of free Chritsmas concerts going on - the school also did free concerts - very nice - meals were cheap - but good - we learned very quickly to have the hotel make all cab arrangements for us - whether we were leaving the hotel or coming back to the hotel - I hope you have a great time - don't forget the Charles Bridge and the Astronomical clock - they are must dos!!

[Bruno28]

Thanks Bicyclette.

I see you are in Belgum. I was in Bruges last year. It was lovely. Unfortunately it was before I started cycling as it would have been great to hire a bike to get around the city. I've heard Prague isn't really a bicycle friendly city.

[Bicyclette]

Bruno -

I wasn't into cycling when we went to Prague so I don't really remember...

If you want really bicycle friendly - Amsterdam is the place to be :D - the sheer volume of bikes is incredible!! LOL

Belgium - a lot of people where my husband works are afraid to cycle in Belgium ( and some of these people are Belgians! :eek: ) - they are afraid of the Belgain drivers ( and with good reason )

[Denise223]

Rafael Nadal #2 tennis player in the world...

1:17pm EST, CBS -- Nadal leads Novak (5 - 1)

6'1" - 187 pound - muscular young guy :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Nadal

I'm old enough to be his mother (and then some....). He might be "pretty", ("pretty damn hunky), but..... do you really think he looks like a girl????

Just wondering!

Denise

[Lise]

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=8809&page=11

I found them! Very fun. Wish we could have a TD reunion. :D

[snapdragen]

Wish we could have a TD reunion. :D

Anything is possible.....

[winddance]

Wish we could have a TD reunion. :D

I vote for Vegas... :)

[snapdragen]

I vote for Vegas... :)

What's the weather in Vegas in January/February?

[winddance]

About 60 degrees, according to weather.com. March/April average 70-80 degrees.

[jobob]

But, but ... what about the 'Ho ???

http://www.hotelvalleyho.com/content/index.html?

[betagirl]

Ho's are good.

So I spent today stripping my old bike from when I was 10 down to the frame. My god it weighed a ton. I almost dropped it on my parents car as I took it off the ceiling hooks in their garage. :D Not much to salvage, other than a nice steel frame, fork and chrome handlebars. I'm going to leave the tape off so they're nice and old school. The bike is from like 1984 or something ridiculous. The frame is a bit small, but with a raised seatpost I'll be fine. Going to make it a fixed gear for my winter commuter. It's a freakin' Columbia bike. I had to google them to figure out who they were: http://www.columbiabikes.com/detpages/10009.html

Currently I think I'm high from paint fumes. It'll be a rough morning :rolleyes:

[SadieKate]

But, but ... what about the 'Ho ???

http://www.hotelvalleyho.com/content/index.html?I think we'd need Harry Connick, Jr. for serenading purposes.

[winddance]

But, but ... what about the 'Ho ???

http://www.hotelvalleyho.com/content/index.html?

I approve of just about anything involving umbrella drinks.

[Veronica]

The stuff we got at the Ferry Building yesterday - absolutely yummy.

V.

[jobob]

Don't tell Lee, he might get jealous, he luuuves hot dogs.

Had dinner at Cattlemen's tonight. Best durn ribeye I've had in ages, with deep fried onions and mashed potatoes (into which I mixed in a bit of blue cheese dressing).

Ahhhhh. transcendent.

But my doctor would slap me. My cholesterol came back on the high side from my recent blood test - 218. oops. :o But at least my "good" (HDL) cholesterol came well on the high side - yay for salmon and omega-3/fish oil supplements.

[Kitsune06]

Another day, another job interview... only 7ish miles away, so I can easily commute, 8-5ish job... *crosses fingers*
lots of travel involved, though... Arizona, Hawaii, Vegas... event & expo planning. *shrugs*
It'll sure be interesting if I get it.

[Trek420]

California??? :D

[Kitsune06]

Probably! I'll see if I can harrass folks while I'm in their backyards for business. :D Miz Cakes prolly can't come with me, though...

[DebW]

So I spent today stripping my old bike from when I was 10 down to the frame. My god it weighed a ton. I almost dropped it on my parents car as I took it off the ceiling hooks in their garage. :D Not much to salvage, other than a nice steel frame, fork and chrome handlebars. I'm going to leave the tape off so they're nice and old school. The bike is from like 1984 or something ridiculous. The frame is a bit small, but with a raised seatpost I'll be fine. Going to make it a fixed gear for my winter commuter. It's a freakin' Columbia bike. I had to google them to figure out who they were: http://www.columbiabikes.com/detpages/10009.html


Beta, you're not really going to ride with an untaped bar are you? That might be dangerous. I don't recall untaped bars as ever being a fad or "old school" or used by anyone who cared about their bike or their safety. And I'm a lot older than you.

[winddance]

I just got off of the phone with my mother, who surprised the heck out of herself by following my dad to the beach on her hybrid (about 18 miles.) I'm very proud of her!

She's having saddle and shorts issues (sound familiar?) We've covered what she hates about her saddle, but when I asked her what she didn't like about her shorts and chamois, and she said very hopefully, "there are other kinds??"

She's going to get bike clothes for her birthday! I'm such a helpful daughter. Any excuse to buy bike clothes...

[Lise]

Here's a picture of me with my niece, Maya, at Kiddieland last night. She is fearless! :D

[KnottedYet]

ug. I feel soooooo old when I hear that 1984 is something ridiculous. old old ooooooold.

Debw- I don't remember anyone ever riding without tape, either. I always had tape. The bar would slip if you didn't have any. I tore my wimpy plastic tape a few times, and it was miserable trying to hold the bare metal. We just didn't do that in the 70's and 80's here. Maybe it was a fad somewhere else.

[Kitsune06]

'84 is only ~21 years ago... not 'rediculous'... 'retro' maybe

I'd be thrilled if I had a frame like that to play with, though... I can only imagine what I'd do with (to) it... but then again, 2 mi of hilly gravel before I even hit pavement limits my eagerness to do singlespeed. Limits it a LOT.

[KnottedYet]

Lise- what a cute picture! (and the kid is cute, too) You guys have the best grins!

[DrBee]

Lise - cute pic and cute niece!

I'm still in SF. Let me tell you - these TE ladies out here are amazing! We had soooo much fun walking all over the place - laughing just about the whole time. I couldn't believe how many of you showed up! MP hosted me in Marin Sunday morning - we had a fantastic time! I had the best OJ ever! And Mt. Tam is beautiful! It would be quite a place to ride - if I had like 8 granny gears! And Windance - yes, SF is a beautiful place. I see why you live here. If only the houses were a bit cheaper and the ground didn't move ;)

SK - I'll be sure to search for bee meetings in the SF area! Lise - I'll look for Chicago, too. For sure!

[crazycanuck]

Do de do

Evening ladies.

Just want to say a happy 60th birthday to Freddie-raising my glass to you whereever in the musical universe you may be right now..We still miss you.
Just listening to a tribute on internet radio-(denise223 not sure if it'll be archived for you to listen to but try (http://www.aussiequeens.com/freddie/freddiehomepg.htm)
:( :( They're playing "these are the days of our lives":( :( -*turns sound down*

Sitting here rather annoyed at the media & the death of steve irwin. I hope they leave his family alone & don't show his final moments on tv. The footage is in the hands of the QLD police so hopefully it won't be shown. I sure hope Terri's able to carry on Steve's work.

My workmates were quite worried about me on friday...They also thought i was a bit nuts riding home very very slowly...They were just happy i was ok.They looked at me as if i was really crazy when i told them i crashed at 545am & noone was around!!!

Remind me the next time i hit the pavement &land on my head to walk home...I didn't look inside my helmet until later in the morning and noticed i'd broken it. My first instinct was to head home.
My head's better :)

Fish-nice to hear you're having fun in SF. Don't leave your heart there k.(the song ya know..)

have a good night/day ladies.

c

[betagirl]

Beta, you're not really going to ride with an untaped bar are you? That might be dangerous. I don't recall untaped bars as ever being a fad or "old school" or used by anyone who cared about their bike or their safety. And I'm a lot older than you.

Hmmm, maybe in Chicago it was something to do? Even today I see people, mostly messengers, without bar tape on their handlebars. No gloves either. Though I'd wear gloves. Most likely I'll tape them due to cold if anything. I can't imagine holding onto bare metal when it's 20 degrees here.


'84 is only ~21 years ago... not 'rediculous'... 'retro' maybe

Hey I was around 21 years ago. And obviously old enough to ride a 10 speed :) It's ridiculous for me to think about being able to revamp a bike from 1984 and be able to ride it today, at 30.

[Lise]

CC--glad you're feeling better. I know that instinctive response to "just get home" after an accident. Good thing you checked inside the helmet.

fish--what fun in SF! Yes, do come to Chicago (same for all of you!). It's a great city for visitors.

My niece sort of astonishes me with her adorableness every time I see her. When she was just learning to talk, if you asked her how she was doing, she'd say "Dood" for "good". Cracked me up. The other night I said, "Maya, ask me how I'm doing." "how you doing, Aunt Eesa?" "Dood. That's what you used to say when you were a baby." Maya: "HAHAHAHAHA!" I love it when they still think you're the funniest thing on Earth! :D

Nanci--how's Maisey doing? Are things cooling off down there?

[Lise]

I just got off of the phone with my mother, who surprised the heck out of herself by following my dad to the beach on her hybrid (about 18 miles.) I'm very proud of her!

She's having saddle and shorts issues (sound familiar?) We've covered what she hates about her saddle, but when I asked her what she didn't like about her shorts and chamois, and she said very hopefully, "there are other kinds??"

She's going to get bike clothes for her birthday! I'm such a helpful daughter. Any excuse to buy bike clothes...
Winddance--I just noticed this post! How cool of your mom. My mom took up biking when she was 60. One year she rode over 1,500 miles. I hope your mom really enjoys it. And you get to shop for her! :D

[KnottedYet]

My "new" bike is being packed to ship to me today, do dah, do dah!

Oh, I shall fret until she gets here safely!

[maillotpois]

Oh Lise - she is so CUTE!! What a great little kid she sounds like.

I had SO much fun with the Fish on Sunday. It was great to be able to play tour guide and show her around. Especially since I couldn't hang with the ladies Saturday night, but had to scoot right after lunch.

It may as well be Monday today. Spent way too much time this weekend on furniture issues for PP's room. I was going to get her a couple of new dressers because she doesn't have room for her clothes. That turned into 2 dressers and a whole new bunk bed loft set up thing, so she can study in her room. Her room is TINY, so we really have to be creative. The bed won't be here for a few weeks - probably will be delivered when we're in Hawaii. Oh well.

[mimitabby]

My "new" bike is being packed to ship to me today, do dah, do dah!

Oh, I shall fret until she gets here safely!
Today! I thought you said DECEMBER! (november?)
congrats!
will you be able to ride it on the 16th?

[DebW]

Now that we have "Open Topic (non-cycling)", should we move TD there? Voice vote: all in favor, say "aye", all opposed "nay". I can't hear you. Let's try that again. Louder this time.

[mimitabby]

Deb
your question requires that we don't drift. I don't care where you put it. But
I always feel bad for the Tri girls who have to step over THIS thread!

[maillotpois]

I kind of like that it's a little hidden and random. I vote for leave it here.

[DrBee]

Yup - I vote to leave it here. Feels like home somehow.

MP - too bad you weren't on the ferry with me. We would have had a good laugh over the drunk guy (see thread in CA). I was wondering how the dresser set-up had gone. Now it sounds like you've delved into another whole adventure! Have fun with that ;)

[Lise]

Don't move TD! It's our little secret clubhouse, tucked away in triathlon. Remember, it was the tri girls who started it ... well, it was Nanci who started it, but everybody here made it what it is. I vote for stay right here. L.

[maillotpois]

Yeah, sounds like your ferry ride was wild. There are a lot of ferries in San Francisco....

[betagirl]

I vote nay, but I'm a noob to the tri secret club :D

Lise, your neice is too cute.

Knotted, what kinda bike you gettin'?

I think I may have scored some wheels from a guy in my club. He has a set he's selling, though I'm not sure about price yet. His girlfriend goes to my school, a year behind me. So I should get *some* sort of cool-by-association discount don't ya think?

Time to go do some reading out on the porch. Another beautiful day here in Chicago. My reading won't be as beautiful (neuroanatomy). Somebody wake me up in an hour :D

[Lise]

Neuroanatomy. Hmmm. If you slept with your head on the book, would that help? :rolleyes:

I rode the entire lakefront path today! It was predicted to be a chilly, rainy day, and turned out to be a gorgeous sunny day, so I carped the diem and headed out on the bike. I had done nothing athletic except play my usual volleyball for 9 days straight. I was so tired that the thought of running or even biking felt beyond me. Then Sunday I rode 10 miles, yesterday I did an intense cardio/weights workout, and I woke up feeling strong and excited about riding. Packed a PB&J, clif bloks, gatorade, and water, and took off. Started with the short branch, going north. Felt good, and the wind was from the NE, so I knew I could have a great long ride south. I rode as hard as I wanted to -- sometimes hammering, sometimes cruising. Stopped at a couple of bathrooms along the way, stopped at 30 miles and ate my PBJ. Even the ride back up north wasn't too bad.

This city is so beautiful. I hope some of you will come visit and ride the path with me. :D The views of the lake and the city are breathtaking, and there are some fun architectural finds along the way.

Total distance: 40 miles. As I realized I was going to do the entire path for the first time, I grinned and thought, "yeah, well, beta does this for a mid-day snack" :rolleyes: It's so good to feel strong again. I was a good little triathlete thread drifter and came home and sat in a cooooold bath for my legs, drank my Endurox, stretched, put on Icy Hot.

TD: Nobody's Invited, Everybody's Welcome. :p

[Lise]

...this is what I looked like 6 years ago. Depressed, in pain often, inactive, 30# heavier, on two antidepressant meds. None of this is true anymore. I am so glad that my niece and nephew won't even remember "that" Aunt Lise.

[maillotpois]

Wow, Lise - what a contrast! I have to mention, don't know why I didn't say this before - you look fantastic in that picture with your niece.

[betagirl]

Hey Lise, I know you were asking about LBS's in Oak Park earlier. What's up with LBS people and 'tudes? I went to one, and the lady looked at me cross eyed when I started asking about brakes and such for a fixed gear. She instead tried to sell me a bike. So I went over to this no frills shop that sort of intimidated me before and told the guy what I was trying to do with my old bike. I spent about 10 minutes talking with him and learned that my simple conversion would not be so simple with the frame I had. The crank was this huge 1 piece, and the hole is 5.5 cm. Basically I'd require a lot of custom parts to convert this bike. He tried to talk me into just using the parts I have, but it's just too old and too heavy. I'll keep the handlebars :D I tried to put my 700cm wheels on the frame and they were too big. I could go to 650's I suppose. But apparently the style of crank I'd need uses different sized pedal bolts. And the brakes are some weird type. While the nostalgia factor of using my old frame is nice, I'd be looking to spend way more than I'd want. So the guy with the wheels is looking to sell a used Bianchi pista for $300. It needs a bottom bracket, chain, and some brakes. So I'm going to take a look at that puppy in a few hours.

At least I didn't buy a bunch of parts yet. Alas, I haven't done any reading either. I have a serious motivation problem :D

[DebW]

Beta, I post in your thread again under Bike Maintenance. Sheldon Brown sells an adapter shell for that bb. You'd probably need 26 inch rims, which are now the MTB standard, but hub width will be different. You can cut down an axle to fit. Though you really might be better off starting fresh. American children's bikes were their own heavy but unbreakable beasts, not meant to be interchangeable with high end adult bike parts.

[betagirl]

Thanks Deb. I think I'm following you around the board :) The frame is great quality, but yeah too much work for what it's worth to me. I appreciate the info.

Anyone want a used bike frame? :D

[DrBee]

I think we need a smiley for those moments when you spit your drink onto the monitor...MP

[maillotpois]

Yeah! The "drink shooting out nose" avatar.

[DrBee]

Wow Lise - you have changed! BTW - you do look fantastic in the most recent pic with your neice! What a transformation - of mind and body. It's amazing what a few years, many miles on the bike, and motivation will do, isn't it? Wow!

[betagirl]

Will this work?

http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/ernaehrung/food-smiley-024.gif

[maillotpois]

Nice one, Beta!

[Lise]

beta! You're like our own little search engine, finding cool (and markedly wierd) stuff out there on the internet! Sorry the old bike isn't working out the way you'd hoped. My queries about LBS in OP were for the benefit of my BIL. He was going to get a bike and ride with the kids this summer. (Father of the aforepictured Maya, Warrior Princess). I ended up just giving him some $$ for his birthday to spend at an LBS. I asked my sister about it the other day. She said they'd done almost no biking this summer--the kids just had no interest. As KnottedYet can attest, these things come more quickly to some kids than to others. They are active kids, just doing things other than riding bikes.

I read an article on Medscape today about sudden cardiac death in athletes, and screening of older athletes. No mention at all of PVCs, which backs up my doc's assertion that they're benign. Sudden cardiac death is rare in women athletes who do not have underlying heart disease. Good to know.

About the pictures--it's important for me to remember the changes. I get discouraged sometimes, and forget how transformed my life is. It was disheartening to be so worn out after the Oly tri on 8/20. Of course it doesn't help that I work a couple of night shifts a week. But when I look at it objectively, it's amazing. The spiritual/mental/physical changes. And I did, after all, get out and ride 40 miles today.

As I rode today, I was thinking about Mary, who posts in Open, and has ridden something like 17 centuries on her Comfort bike this summer. Her story's incredible. And somebody's (I forget who) brother, who lost half his body weight and is now a lean bike racer. Is it any wonder I love my bike? :D

[DrBee]

Nice Beta - I like it!

Meeting is over for the day. Now on to dinner. I was going to hit the fitness room for some spinning (those bikes are awful), but had a delightful conversation with Mr. Fish and FishJr instead. Way better! FishJr made up a song on the spot about missing me. It was so cute! The in-laws are there to start the transporting of lumber to LA. The movers won't take it. They were amazed at the song. It was a long one, too.

Poor Mr. Fish - he's had a tough time since I've been gone. Fishfry inserted a bead into his nose, the cat ate spaghetti (he thinks he's garfield) and threw up all over the bed, one of Mr. Fish's friends was just diagnosed with MS, and so on. Today was much better apparently. That's a good thing!

Well - I'm heading somewhere for dinner. I'm not sure where, but somewhere good I'm sure.

[Veronica]

Long Day!

How soon can I go to bed?

I got up at 4:15, did my Ultra Leg DVD. Got ready for work, made lunches, rode my bike to work, met my new class, did all the first day stuff from 8:30 - 2:45, talked to parents afterschool who are fretting about their kid being in a combo, prepared classroom for tomorrow, rode my bike home, created a bunch of different forms to go in reading journals, made a poster of the behavior "promise" kids made up today...

I'm exhausted!

V.

[kelownagirl]

Veronica - I'm impressed that you not only rode to and from school on the first day, but you also got up at 4:15 to do an exercise video... Go get some sleep! I spent all night tossing and turning as I do before the first day of school every year. Why is it I can sleep for 63 nights in a row and then stay awake half the night for no good reason? How was your class? This is my first year without a split so I was loving having only one grade!

Lise - that picture of you is amazing, and even more so when I saw the "before" pic. You must feel SO good about yourself!

[Kitsune06]

I saw a lady biking around 4:15am on my way home, and I *so* wish I could've told her "I'm so proud of you! You're kicking a$$!" ...but that'd be weird, so I just gave her lots of room and was on my way to get home/to bed.

Lise, you look fantastic. Such payoff for all your hard work- I'm glad biking has worked for you so well. :D

[Veronica]

Veronica - I'm impressed that you not only rode to and from school on the first day, but you also got up at 4:15 to do an exercise video... Go get some sleep! I spent all night tossing and turning as I do before the first day of school every year. Why is it I can sleep for 63 nights in a row and then stay awake half the night for no good reason? How was your class? This is my first year without a split so I was loving having only one grade!


My commute is nothing... 4 miles round trip. :D But I know I probably won't ride after work this week - too hot and too much to do. So videos it is.

Class seems nice. Academically all but one are proficient in math. Lang. Arts has some gaps.

I slept well last night - kind of surprising.

V.

[KnottedYet]

TD is sacred. It must not be moved! It started because I posted about walking in a tri, and Nanci replied, and then drift occurrred, and Nanci started Thread Drift. It IS tri related, and the tri-ers don't have to step over it, because we are in it!

Lise, you are so hot! The before pic isn't bad, but the now pic, WOW!

[kelownagirl]

I have about that far to go too. 4 km down hill there and 4 km uphill home. I would ride to school but then I have to go drive back down and pick up my son. He can do the ride to school, but he has a tough time riding home. Gotta get him a bike with more than 5 gears next summer...

[Lise]

Back to school, higglety-pig! I, too, am amazed that you got up early to do a leg workout before riding to work, V. A better woman than I. Teachers hold a place of very high esteem in my family. Both grandmothers, and both of my parents were teachers. Now my mom is a (soon to be retired) children's librarian. What grades do you teach? And you, kelowna?

Thanks, guys, for the compliments on the picture. It feels so good to be where I am today. I remember when Ted, my 7 year old nephew was about 3, I would sing "Hit the Road, Jack" to crack him up. I was at my sister's, dancing and singing that song for Ted. At some crucial point in the song, I jumped up and spun in a circle in the air. My sister just stared at me and said, "Whoa! That biking is really paying off for you!" :D My family watched me be miserable for years. I'm glad they get to enjoy me, happy and healthy now.

[snapdragen]

I'm a very jealous snap tonight. Green with envy I tell you. My sis-in-law and brother have bought a 100+ year old farm house on twelve acres in North Branch, NJ. She sent pictures - I love it! It needs tons of work, but this is the kind of project they love to do. Dammit! It has a brook on the property!!!!

Down green-eyed monster! Down I say!

[Lise]

Huh, tough one. A brook, you say? I foresee much East Coast Visiting for Snapdragen! :D

[snapdragen]

And! It's at the end of an extremely low traffic road! Have bike will travel? :rolleyes:

[jobob]

Think of all the snow they'll have to shovel in a few months.

eh, worth a shot

[maillotpois]

Hey V - good job on the whole back to school transition. I don't know that we've transitioned so well. We're down 1 retainer. :mad: That's a year's allowance.....

Snap - that farm house sounds amazing!!

Okay - to bed soon... I swear!

[snapdragen]

Sigh.

[kelownagirl]

Oooh, I'd LOVE to have property with a Brook... Sigh indeed... At least you can visit!

Lise - I teach Grade 3 this year. Love that age....

barb

Edited to add: I have 5 kids from my grade 2's last year and the class gave me a $250 GC at the LBS on the last day of school in June. I told them I was going to buy some real biking shoes and a jersey with the money. First thing they asked me today was if I bought them. I have to bring them for show and tell tomorrow... :)

[betagirl]

Great house. I can understand the envy.

Veronica and everyone else who teaches, my hats' off to you (or helmet?).

I have terrible sleep habits. Sleep hygiene if you will. Anyone else do this or some variation of it?

I fall asleep in front of the TV constantly. Been doing that since I was a kid, to the point I'm pretty much conditioned to be out whenever I'm in a semi comfortable position with a TV on. It usually doesn't matter how interesting what's on is, the nods come. So I don't literally watch a lot of TV :) Problem is sometimes I wake up and don't go right to bed, so then I'm awake sometimes for several hours. Unfortunately the time I need to get up doesn't get any later. Tomorrow is my l-o-n-g day at school. Start at 9 am and end at 9:30 pm.

Oh yes, there will be a starbucks stop on the commute in.

[betagirl]

Snap I just noticed your handle. I don't always see everything around this board, so I'm relatively rarely in "the know". Just curious....

[DrBee]

Snap - nice house! The property sounds great. Daffodils and all! Jo's right - in the middle of winter, you'll be happier here in SF than you would be clearing that driveway!

V - exercising at 4am? You're determined, that's for sure!

Beta - yicky schedule you have there. Good luck!

[Kitsune06]

I have terrible sleep habits. Sleep hygiene if you will. Anyone else do this or some variation of it?

I fall asleep in front of the TV constantly. Been doing that since I was a kid, to the point I'm pretty much conditioned to be out whenever I'm in a semi comfortable position with a TV on. It usually doesn't matter how interesting what's on is, the nods come. So I don't literally watch a lot of TV :) Problem is sometimes I wake up and don't go right to bed, so then I'm awake sometimes for several hours. Unfortunately the time I need to get up doesn't get any later. Tomorrow is my l-o-n-g day at school. Start at 9 am and end at 9:30 pm.


I do something close... I get home at midnight-30 most nights, but 4:30am Monday and Tuesday... I *try* to be in bed within a half hour of getting home. Then I wake up when DGF gets up (1-2 hours later) and follow her around as she gets ready for work, make coffee, etc (when I'm lucid enough) then more unconsciousness until 10 or 11, at which point I 'call it good', get up and shuffle around the house until 4 or 5 before going to work again... I need to learn how to sleep through the sun coming up. I will, of course... just in time for winter or the advent of my new job, where I'll need to get up *before* sunrise. :rolleyes:

[crazycanuck]

Nanci? Where are you? Hope all is well..Come back to TD..I miss your threads on Dillbird & Maisey.

c

[KnottedYet]

Guilt.

This morning just before 1 a.m. I drempt I was hearing a lot of screaming. Then I heard the woman in the apartment above me talking, and it woke me up.

Went out to the livingroom, there was a woman somewhere behind the building screaming and people walking back there trying to find her and someone talking to her. I couldn't see much of what was going on. The police arrived right away. My next-door neighbors, Jesse and Sam's dogs were out barking at the police, so I realized the woman was just outside their apt. I figured Jesse and Sam were helping her along with 3 or 4 other folks from the building.

I never went outside, because I didn't know what was going on, or if it was dangerous, and I didn't want to leave SKnot sleeping alone in an empty (dangerous?) apartment with something scarey outside.

Things went on, and eventually as the police and ambulance and woman were leaving I pieced together that the woman screaming WAS Jesse! Because Sam had shot himself in the head. I have a soft spot in my heart for Jesse and feel awful that I never went out to help. That I was too chicken and too worried about SKnot to even open my door.

Guilt.

[maillotpois]

OMG Knot - how terrible! I don't know that I would have opened the door, either. Really, what could you have done? Shot in the head - I am assuming he is dead? How very sad.

[Bicyclette]

Knotted -

I'm so sorry you went through this - I know it doesn't help but you have no reason to feel guilty - the police were there - an ambulance was there - what more could be done? Your first obligation (in my opinion) is to your child - you did what any responsible parent should do. Don't beat yourself up about this.

[snapdragen]

Oh wow knot, that's horrible. Don't feel guilty, you did what any mom would do, thought of your child's safety.

[snapdragen]

Snap I just noticed your handle. I don't always see everything around this board, so I'm relatively rarely in "the know". Just curious....

Do you mean Amici Veloci my A$$? It's the official AV greeting! :D And in reply expect to be flipped the bird. All in good fun.:cool:

[DrBee]

OMG Knotted! That's awful! You did the right thing by staying with SKnot.

[DebW]

Oh, Knotted. What a tragic situation. You made the best decision with the information you had, and you kept your son safe. There will be time later to comfort your neighbor.

[margo49]

Knotted you have 3 obligations in life b4 all others
1. Stay alive - like every other creature this is our basic imperative
2. Don't endanger yourself (especially voluntarily) for anyone or anything other than SmallKnot
3. Look after SmallKnot till he is BigEnoughKnot
All the rest is untenable biologically
(altho' it may be admirable, heroic,resourceful,etc)
You did the Right Thing.

[Nanci]

Craze, I'm here. Just too filled with ennui to drift much.

Knot- geez! I understand how you feel, but good instincts to protect the kid above all.

Snap- what a beautiful home. I'm envious, too. I would _love_ any kind of water on my property. I lived on a lake once- and there was a beaver dam that I could walk across through this swamp to a secret woods with all kinds of trails. It was so nice.

Pet news: Maizey is holed up to shed again. So she was going blue last weekend and hiding, and didn't even get an opportunity to not eat. I was worried about her, so I touched her while she was in her hollow log, and she just put her head by my fingers and licked me, but didn't come out. I made a new, larger "moist hide" for her in case she wants it, (plastic container, upside down, with lid on, with snake-sized door, with damp moss inside to help her shed) and put plastic wrap over her cover to keep humidity in till she sheds.

We went out to dinner with friends last night. Husband said he'd bought too many new babies at the reptile show, and offered us a baby California King, white with black markings, very "bitey," rattles his tail, rears up like a cobra...(He should work out of that, though with handling.) I haven't decided for sure, but am leaning toward taking him. They say he's eating all right.

I rode 35 miles Saturday, club ride, 75 miles Sunday, with two friends, one who does brevets with me, the other from my group, her longest ride ever. During the ride we had to cross a (dry) river with a bridge removed for construction. Then 35 miles for the club picnic Monday, during which I got stung in the head by a wasp who flew in through one of my vents. It felt like someone was taking a saw back and forth across my scalp for pretty much the rest of the day. I took Benedryl and iced it.

[Tater]

Pet news: Maizey is holed up to shed again.


Nanci, how often does she shed?

[maillotpois]

Nanci - I've got some ennui, too. That little king snake sounds pretty. You couldn't keep 2 snakes in the same enclosure could you? Our gecko has a similar shedding spot as you describe. The PP is very good about keeping it damp. She's a cute little gecko, but I don't think I'll be able to get over how creepy that fat tail looks.

[Nanci]

Maizey sheds about every two months.

I couldn't keep the snakes together, because they have a huge size difference. Also, from different coasts. Also, Kingsnakes eat other snakes. Usually snakes are kept separately unless you're trying to breed.

[mimitabby]

I'd be looking to spend way more than I'd want. So the guy with the wheels is looking to sell a used Bianchi pista for $300. It needs a bottom bracket, chain, and some brakes. So I'm going to take a look at that puppy in a few hours.

At least I didn't buy a bunch of parts yet. Alas, I haven't done any reading either. I have a serious motivation problem :D

my son has a Bianchi Pista and he loves it.
It seems to be simple to work on too (he changed the gear or something)

[mimitabby]

knot i agree with everyone here. Stay inside. kid first, your health first.
how awful to hear about your neighbor though.

[Nanci]

Well, at least my electricity bill is $30 lower this month...

[Nanci]

http://www.vmsherp.com/ImagePages/Past/CalSnow1.htm

I'm imagining the new baby to look something like this. I hope!

[Kitsune06]

oh my god, Knot...
I agree with everyone, you and yours first, but now that it's over... maybe you can lend Jesse consolation and comfort? It might help with the guilt issues. God knows, everyone has that sense of "I should have... I could have..." but one has to have realistic expectations.
take good care.

[Lise]

Hi, Nanci, good to see you around again. Keep us posted about the new baby! How big is s/he now?

KN, so sorry to hear about your neighbor. Of course you did the right thing by staying with SK, but that doesn't ease the grief. Wishing Jesse (and you) strength to get through these days.

One more 12 hour shift, and then I'm on vacation!

[DrBee]

Nanci - kingsnakes usually are fantastic pets. My experience is with eastern kingsnakes. They are very docile. California kings are a bit more aggressive, but should calm down with handling (like you said). Pretty - for sure!

[SadieKate]

The snakes are causing quite a stir around here right now. The first of the season gophersnake hatchlings are toodling across the roads and paths and, unfortunately, a toodle isn't fast enough; many will not be toodling again. I rode over one on Sunday but that amazing ribcage took the hit with no apparent damage. I stopped and went back. Another cyclist stopped when he saw me and moved the snake off the trail. It behaved very normally so I hope it was alright. Unfortunately, the other cyclist announced that we needed to be very careful because "young rattlers look just like gophersnakes" so I wonder if he would have killed it if I hadn't come back. I explained that I had had many a gophersnake as a pet and could tell the difference. Though that didn't mean I wasn't about to keep my hands clear -- they will still bite. The guy grabbed at the snake with his bare hands when I was going to merely gently encourage it along with the end of my pump.

[Nanci]

That's funny you mention Gopher Snakes- on my Desert Tortoise list people are (jokingly, I think) wishing for Gopher Snakes to control the gopher populations in their yards who are eating all the Desert Tortoises' super-special grass/flower plantings...

[KnottedYet]

Jesse's parents came to the apt today. They were in front of our doors, talking to the apt manager. Yes, I was eavesdropping but it's hard not to when 4 people are talking right in front of your door.

The manager is giving her a month free and clear to get everything taken care of and moved out. The manager will help her find another apt (transfer her lease) within this complex or in any other complex owned by the same company. Insurance will cover haz-mat to come in and take out the wallboard and carpeting and furniture in the room. She will be staying with her parents, and doesn't intend to come back. They will move her stuff.

She did come back this afternoon with 2 friends to get a duffel bag. They saw me outside and stayed in the car until I went back inside. She kept her head down and her sweatshirt hood up. I didn't bother her.

I'm so grateful her family is taking care of her. She's young, far to young to have to deal with this. (I'd guess early 20's)

Thanks, guys, for telling me not to feel guilty I stayed inside with SKnot. He said he's glad I stayed in the apt with him, and that he would have been very upset if he woke up hearing her screaming and not finding me in the apt.

Tell the ones you love that you love them.
Knot

[Nanci]

Wow, Knot, that's crazy. My ex threatened to kill himself, when we were on the way to a 4H meeting. I told him to get his azz into therapy. A year later- divorced.

[Nanci]

On my Cornsnake forum, they describe Cali Kings as bipolar, piss poor attitude, unpredictable, "rattles and flings poo every time I hold her," (that one is also "drop dead gorgeous") full of personality and spite, insane feeding response- sounds great, huh? I like a challenge...

[maillotpois]

Congrats Nanci. Cigars all around....

Knot - what a mess. I am glad the landlord is being so accommodating to your neighbor. What a huge nightmare for her. Hug SKnot for us.

[Nanci]

I love three day work weeks! I had Monday as a holiday, and am taking Friday off, to drive down to Satellite Beach for the 200k Saturday. It's too hard to take half a day on Fridays...Woo hoo!! Plus, I suckered some new tech into taking my (mandatory) Veteran's Day holiday in November, where I was supposed to work 2-10, but had to be in Coral Gables that evening for a ride the following morning (that was originally scheudled for Sunday, but moved to Saturday, because the RBA is less than organized, shall we say.) Thank you God!!!

Funny thing at work- the new rad is looking at all my ride maps that I have hung up on the bulletin board- like the 600k in particular. He says, "Who does all these rides?" I say I do, and before he can help it, he gives me the up and down look...I say "I know it's hard to believe" and everyone around bursts out laughing and he is totally embarassed. But he's sweet, so no hard feelings.

[mimitabby]

yeah, what was it, men are 6x more likely to actually kill themselves in Suicide attempts?

clearly the male of the species is endangered.

they die more at every stage of life.


I just joined the Bianchi club, and found a design a bike contest on their website. If you win, they paint a frame to match the design you made.

So i am going to try.

Nanci, why on earth would you like an unpredictable unfriendly beast that bites?
I can see that some snakes are sort of friendly, but an unfriendly one?

[mimitabby]

It is fun that we bikers are so unassuming. People can't believe it when I mention some of the rides i've done (and i've done WAY FAR less than you Nanci)
It's hard to get your brain around someone bicycling for 25 miles let alone 100 or 200!

[betagirl]

It dawned on me today in neuroanatomy class that it was a poor choice to skip the reading for this week :D Whoa, my brain hurts. I seriously need to get organized.

I ended up buying that Bianchi Pista! I'm so excited. I'll post a picture soon, once I get her all set up. Her name is Sloane, to go with my 2 boy bikes Ferris and Cameron :cool: No, I don't like the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Whatever gave you that idea?

Knot - what you did was what a lot of people do. So don't feel guilty. You didn't know at the time and you followed what your gut was saying. Suicide is always tragic.

Time to go decompress.

[mimitabby]

I ended up buying that Bianchi Pista! I'm so excited. I'll post a picture soon, once I get her all set up. Her name is Sloane, to go with my 2 boy bikes Ferris and Cameron :cool: No, I don't like the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Whatever gave you that idea?


Time to go decompress.

YEAY!!! is this your first Bianchi? congrats!

[salsabike]

Nanci, that Snow Cali King is GORGEOUS. You are making me want to have snakes, which I've always admired. So far I've had cats all my life, but that's it. Not sure how my elderly cats would feel about a snake. Or Mr. Salsa either, come to think of it. But I love them. Are they a LOT of work, or no?

[Lise]

beta, congrats on your new Bianchi! PIX! WE WANT PIX!

mimi, I am with you on the hostile snake thing. I can appreciate a snake as a creature, but something about moving with no appendages has always given me the creeps. I like lizards much more. They have appendages. :rolleyes:

I told one of the nurses at the clinic that I rode 40 miles yesterday (which is like a sneeze distance to most on this board!). She could not get over it. She kept saying "40 miles!" Finally she said, "But what if you got hungry?" (as if it were 40 miles in the desert). I said, "I had a PBJ in my pocket." She just shook her head. On the bike she probably has in her garage, 40 miles would be an all day, or two day event. On the Green Hornet, it was about 3.5 hr with several bathroom breaks, one phone call, and a PBJ stop. :D

[Trek420]

Lise,

when the weather's nice on the weekend my co-workers don't ask anymore. :rolleyes:

What we TE gals do floors most people whether you ride 10-20-40.....250 miles.

Knotted so sorry about your neighbor, but you what's most improtant, protect your kid.

I've been extremely down at one time long ago in the past so you'd think I could understand it but I can't forgive suicide. We had a manager at work killed herself recently, he left 3 kids, very sad. She was not one I knew though I probably saw her but never knew her. But she was very close to my best friend. It's very sad.

Off to bed, haven't felt rested so turning in early.

[betagirl]

Thanks. It is my first Bianchi. I'm amazed at how light it is.

This isn't mine, but this is pretty close to what it looks like:
http://jotpuree.com/images/photo/03_apr_dartmouth/bianchi_pista_042703.jpg

Black frame with the celeste green lettering. I put a black Terry butterfly saddle on it. It had this old...old...old brooks saddle on it. SPD pedals.

[Lise]

beta, I love that color scheme!

[Trek420]

ooooh, puhrty. is that steel I see? :cool:

[mimitabby]

Thanks. It is my first Bianchi. I'm amazed at how light it is.

This isn't mine, but this is pretty close to what it looks like:
http://jotpuree.com/images/photo/03_apr_dartmouth/bianchi_pista_042703.jpg

Black frame with the celeste green lettering. I put a black Terry butterfly saddle on it. It had this old...old...old brooks saddle on it. SPD pedals.

what did you do with the old old old brooks saddle?
the bike is beautiful!
welcome to the CLUB Bianchista :)

[betagirl]

It is.....

Ok, pictures!

Sloane the Bianchi:

http://www.demitassedesign.com/bianchi_1.gif

http://www.demitassedesign.com/bianchi_2.gif

I figured the other bikes might get jealous since I've never posted their pictures up on TE before. You know how boys can be.

Cameron the Trek (my current commuter):

http://www.demitassedesign.com/trek_1.gif

Ferris the Lemond (my baby):

http://www.demitassedesign.com/lemond_1.gif

And here's the frame I thought I was going to convert. Notice the large crank shell :D I did paint it a pretty blue. Alas, no dice. My dog Mia posed for the picture as well.

No-name frame:
http://www.demitassedesign.com/frame_1.gif

[betagirl]

what did you do with the old old old brooks saddle?

It's sitting in my garage. I was going to sell it on ebay. Why you want it? I'm taking the Bianchi into Performance to get the chain installed. The front brake is on order. So I should be able to try her out next week some time.

[mimitabby]

It's sitting in my garage. I was going to sell it on ebay. Why you want it? I'm taking the Bianchi into Performance to get the chain installed. The front brake is on order. So I should be able to try her out next week some time.

okay, so long as you don't just toss it or something. Do you know what kind of brooks it is?
(model?)

[mimitabby]

Lise
I don't have a problem with animals without legs, I used to play with worms and slugs...
but they didn't bite ME... or threaten to.

[Kitsune06]

WOO! Goin' camping, and bringing Miz Cakes and DGF's so-far unnamed bike. see y'all Saturday night...

[Pax]

FINALLY finished negotiating with my new/old place of employment...got all the stuff I asked for AND 20 days of vacation!!! http://QB.smugmug.com/photos/49063420-Ti.gif

[mimitabby]

FINALLY finished negotiating with my new/old place of employment...got all the stuff I asked for AND 20 days of vacation!!! http://QB.smugmug.com/photos/49063420-Ti.gif

Is that better than what they gave you before?

[Pax]

Is that better than what they gave you before?
Yup, they called me here in AZ and asked if I'd consider coming home to IL for a job. As the discussions unfolded the position moved up a couple of levels and the pay increased by almost 30%. It put me in unfamiliar territory (having skills someone really wants), so I did some negotiating instead of just saying ok to the first offer...very fruitful experience. :D

[mimitabby]

Yup, they called me here in AZ and asked if I'd consider coming home to IL for a job. As the discussions unfolded the position moved up a couple of levels and the pay increased by almost 30%. It put me in unfamiliar territory (having skills someone really wants), so I did some negotiating instead of just saying ok to the first offer...very fruitful experience. :D
Far out!! so not only did you get a way better job, you got to see parts of the west!!
:)
congrats!

[Pax]

Far out!! so not only did you get a way better job, you got to see parts of the west!!
:)
congrats!
Thanks!

Of course now I have to go shopping and start buying a more professional wardrobe...Liz Claiborne here I come!! :p

[Lise]

Wow, Queen! Great work! 20 days of vacation--very sweet. They must be really happy to have you back.

Kitsune--have a fun time camping!

beta--I love the new bike (and the "old" bikes, too) (and the pup, too!). What do you know about the Pista? You got it specifically for a winter commuter? What makes it well suited for that role?

It's a good morning--I am on VACATION as of 10 AM today! :D :D :D I even had a pretty quiet night on call. Did some work this morning, and on the way home I went to the library and picked up three mysteries by my new favorite, Stuart Kaminsky. He's a prolific writer. I've only read his Abe Lieberman books so far, and not all of those. Lieberman is an older Chicago cop, whose partner is an older Irish cop. I really enjoy the personalities, and the story lines are complex but not silly. It's fun to read about Chicago and have it mostly be "right". I dated a Chicago cop for awhile a few years ago, and I kind of see Tom in Abe Lieberman. Kaminsky has series about other detectives, so I picked up two in the Russian series. You know you're on vacation when you can pick up three mystery novels at one time!

Then I went by On The Route, my LBS, to return the Terry Fly. I was dreading it--it's the third saddle I've returned. John, who's helped me in other ways, hasn't been too helpful on the saddle issue. But today Dennis was there, the shop owner, who sold me the bike. He was fine with me returning the saddle. I was talking about how much I like the WTB saddle on my Larkspur, but that it's too wide to ride with the Bianchi. He had a WTB Deva saddle on hand that he loaned me for a test ride. It's the women's design road saddle from that company. Wasn't that nice? I didn't even think to look at that line. Here it is: http://www.wtb.com/saddles_deva.html

Came home and the cats had an epic battle on the dining room floor--puffy tails, rolling around, hissing, and then...it's over! Lots of fur to vacuum up. I watched them, laughing as silently as I could, because if they hear me laughing, they'll stop and both look at me. They are such wonderful little beasts.

[DebW]

Nice pics, Beta. Does the Bianchi have bolt-on wheels or QR? With rear-facing dropout, you'll have to break the chain to fix a flat, right? Unless the dropout is long enough to slide the wheel forward, slip the chain off the chainring, and then slide the wheel back and out. Make sure you know the right amount of slack to leave in the chain when you reattach the wheel. I read Sheldon Brown's "dangers of working on a fixie on a stand". Be very careful.

Your Trek reminds me of a superhero with cape flying in the wind.

[Nanci]

Lise, it's WTB- Wilderness Trail Bikes. That was the saddle on my MTB when I got it- I liked it alot until I got a prettier saddle. Someone here rides that and likes it. There is a thread about them.

I think the little snake will be ok. Did I already tell you guys the owner says he was the second prettiest Cali King at the largest reptile show in the US? He might be faintly yellow (banana) instead of pure white. With tiny hatchlings like this, you can handle them with rubber gloves- like surgical gloves- if you're afraid of bites- that's how tiny their teeth are. It's just startling if you don't expect a bite- not painful. Poor little guy- the last choice of the three my friend bought (both some kind of tri-colors- milks or something.) He's just in the snippy hatchling phase (I hope!) I think I get him Sunday.

He's eating pinkie mice (frozen thawed.)

Salsa- Cornsnakes are super easy. They come in a million colors. Google Sunglow Motley- that's my favorite, though Bloodred is gorgeous, too. So, for an adult, which is roughly 3 feet long, you need a 20 long tank, with a secure cover, an under tank heater, a rheostat or thermostat to regulate it, and a thermometer to check the temp- mine records max and min and humidity. It was about $20? No overhead light needed. Aspen bedding. A water crock. Maybe some plastic vines. Two hides, at least, as simple or fancy as you want. (Maizey has a hollow stone, a half log, hollow, real, a fake half hollow log with little leaves and mushrooms on it. So- $30 and up for the snake, depending on how fancy. $150-$200 for furnishings. One-two food items every 7-10 days- $1-$2. If you buy a hatchling, they are kept in sweater boxes or 5-10 gallon tanks. I'm not sure how you'd heat a sweater box- but cornsnakes.com has a huge forum, kind of like TE. Cornsnakes are the most popular snake, because they are so agreeable, easy to care for, easy to breed, don't get to an unmanageable length like boas or pythons. Kings are the second most popular. Also a manageable size, but not as predictably docile as a Corn. Similar requirements. They live 15-25 years.

I'm not even thinking of a name till I see him in person.

I printed out my route sheet for the 200k Saturday, and color-coded the turns and laminated it! Unfortunately, I wasn't smart enough to laminate two sheets back to back...thought of it too late. But still!

Queen, that's great! Promotion, even!

Sloane sure is good looking. You should post a pic of the Brooks, just in case someone here might like it.

[Nanci]

I finally got my August SS stuff boxed up. It has a long way to go. I think it is my masterpiece- the best SS accumulation ever! I hope customs doesn't tear it apart too badly. (I don't think SS reads this, but who knows...) As a final touch- there's this whole color theme- they were selling these adorable little zipper pouches at work today- and I bought one to keep my bike computer in, but it matched the other things so perfectly, and in fact, the whole theme, that I sent it to SS instead...But I got to keep the three most beautiful custom pillowcases in the world!! What a relief. Now to start worrying about September...

[KnottedYet]

Yeah, Beta, please post a pic of the Brooks, and if you can read any numbers on the skirt (model number or other info) please post that, too.

(the Brooks cult is salivating)

[DrBee]

Hey there all! I've made it back from my trip to SF! What a great trip - tough to match. Meeting the TE SF crew was fantastic! They are quite the tour guides and hosts!

I made it to the airport on time (navigating BART) and I had good flights home - all on time! Then... I'm driving home from the airport (in a bad part of town) and one of my rear tires blows out. I couldn't stop where I was, so I limped to the nearest Walgreens. There, a really nice security man helped me change the tire. The tire looked like someone shredded it. Not pretty. I finally made it home around 10pm. Long day, but so good to be home. The fishlets were in bed. It was so wonderful to see their faces light up this morning when they saw me. :D And it felt so good to hug and squeeze them!

Now - finish prepping the house for it's debut showing tomorrow! Lots of work ahead!

[Nanci]

Glad you had a great trip! The pictures were so cool.

I saw my toad last night.

[betagirl]

Nice pics, Beta. Does the Bianchi have bolt-on wheels or QR? With rear-facing dropout, you'll have to break the chain to fix a flat, right? Unless the dropout is long enough to slide the wheel forward, slip the chain off the chainring, and then slide the wheel back and out. Make sure you know the right amount of slack to leave in the chain when you reattach the wheel. I read Sheldon Brown's "dangers of working on a fixie on a stand". Be very careful.

You mean the pics of the missing finger tip? :) It does have bolt on wheels. I'm not sure yet about changing out the back tire and chain situation. Once I get the chaing put on correctly (LBS is doing that), I'll practice taking it off/putting it on at home. I've learned not to start the learning curve while out on the road. The hard way of course.

I'll put up a pic of the brooks. I don't know how old it is. It just looks that way. The guy I bought the bike from said the guy who he bought it from put it on there. So there's 2 degrees of separation in what I know about it. I'll look for a model, etc.

[betagirl]

I saw my toad last night.

Did you lick it and get a buzz? :D

Is that a total urban legend?

[Lise]

Did you lick it and get a buzz? :D

Is that a total urban legend?
eeeewwwww! :eek: :p

[DebW]

You mean the pics of the missing finger tip? :)

Yes, but that wasn't the smilie I was going to associate with it. Maybe :( or :eek: or :face of pain: or :churning stomach:

[Nanci]

I think it's not an urban legend, and no I didn't lick it, but I would if there was a reason to. I kiss them all the time. Maizey, too.

[Nanci]

Ok, so in my shed, up on the highest shelf, there is a small pile of sawdust, with very tiny black droppings. I can't find _anything_ to tell me where the sawdust came from- but it's gotta be a roof joist. Any ideas? Carpenter bees? But would I see droppings? I'm not thinking termites- don't they live underground, so I wouldn't see signs up in the highest part of the building? Help!

[betagirl]

Do you guys find yourselves getting hooked on a song or 2 for a while and listening to it all the time?

I'm currently stuck on 2 sex pistols songs: God Save the Queen and Anarchy in the UK. Maybe I'm angry?

[mimitabby]

Do you guys find yourselves getting hooked on a song or 2 for a while and listening to it all the time?

I'm currently stuck on 2 sex pistols songs: God Save the Queen and Anarchy in the UK. Maybe I'm angry?


Is God Save the Queen an angry song?

I have music in my head almost always, and sometimes it doesn't make sense (slow music when i am riding my bike as fast as i can)

oh wait, you are just listening to this music?
ha, my son used to do that and now he's a graduate of the music dept
of the U of washington.
my limit is cd's. i will listen to the same CD over and over again in the car
but i am rarely in the car long enough to hear the whole thing.

[Lise]

I think it's not an urban legend, and no I didn't lick it, but I would if there was a reason to. I kiss them all the time. Maizey, too.
Oddly enough, I can see kissing just about any animal. But not licking them. OK. I would probably lick my cats. hmmmm...no. What's the deal with getting a buzz from licking a toad? :confused:

[maillotpois]

I am at the second day of a 2 day conference. they have a complimentary espresso bar. I had 7 yesterday - 4 with caffeine and 3 decaf (of course after my usual homemade pot of espresso that I drink in the car in the morning). today I have an echo at 3 so I ordered decaf right off. The espresso bar woman just commented that I switched over to decaf really early today. I think its probably a bad sign when you develop a reputation amongst a group of hundreds of people after just one morning.

[Lise]

I am totally going back to law school. Complimentary espresso bar at the conferences? I'm in! Wait...I don't drink caffeine anymore, and, so far as I can tell, I don't want to practice law. Dang. It just sounds so...perfect. :o

Can you tell I'm jones'n for coffee? I am going to look for one of those Melitta cones that fit on top of a mug so I can make a cup of decaf once in awhile.

Why the ECHO, MP? And how are those pesky clots?

What's the conference about? Other than drinking espresso. ;)

[Bruno28]

I've been soooo busy at work and had to go to Aberdeen (up in the North of Scotland) for 2 days so I haven't been on my bike for a week.....just in case anyone cares.:(

I hope it's a nice day tomorrow.

[LynneK]

Is God Save the Queen an angry song?

At least the Sex Pistols version is :D .

My current ineradicable song is "Slowhands" by Interpol. I wake up in the middle of night singing it in my head. No wonder I sleep badly.

[maillotpois]

Lise - don't go to law school. your job ROCKS!!! the echo is to see how the heart has improved ( I hope) from baseline at the hospital. the pulmonary artery pressure was elevated because heart trying to pump blood to lungs met up w/resistance of the clots. so hopefully it will be better 2 months later. they're doing it as a stress echo, which is good. maybe now's the time to tell the doctor about the marathon :cool: . (in my defense, she did say I could walk for exercise....)

[betagirl]

At least the Sex Pistols version is

:D

I didn't just start listening to the sex pistols, but recently downloaded their main album. It'd been a while though. Last time I heard their version of God Save the Queen was the karaoke scene in "Lost in Translation" :)

Got my front brake from the LBS. So that will be my project for the weekend. Not that it'll take me all weekend, but I really need to focus on school stuff this weekend. So I can't let my bikes talk me into being irresponsible.

Bruno - Bummer. Will you get some time to ride this weekend?

[Pax]

I am at the second day of a 2 day conference. they have a complimentary espresso bar. I had 7 yesterday - 4 with caffeine and 3 decaf (of course after my usual homemade pot of espresso that I drink in the car in the morning). today I have an echo at 3 so I ordered decaf right off. The espresso bar woman just commented that I switched over to decaf really early today. I think its probably a bad sign when you develop a reputation amongst a group of hundreds of people after just one morning.
If I had that many espressos you'd have to tie me to the chair to keep me from bouncing off the walls. :eek: :D

[maillotpois]

If I had that many espressos you'd have to tie me to the chair to keep me from bouncing off the walls. :eek: :D


I'm not saying it was pretty.

[snapdragen]

Oh my! Here's a snake story for you Nanci!

Piggy Python (http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20364454-5001021,00.html)

[DrBee]

Nanci - My guess would be some sort of boring beetle. Possibly a large one if you're seeing droppings. Can you get a camera up there? Look up and see if there is a hole - that should give you an idea about size. You're right - not termites. And - you wouldn't get droppings like that from a carpenter bee. Carpenter ants, maybe. A pic would help.

MP - how did the echo go? 7 espresso's???? I think you'd have to peel me off of the ceiling! I'm still thinking about that OJ. Geez that was good!


Well - we've been working all day to get the house spiffed up. We don't have a specific time set for tomorrow. I'm hoping she'll delay until Sunday. We still have a lot to do and we're both pretty much beat tonight.

Oh yeah - I told a couple of people at the conference about TE. One of them did RAGBRAI this year and the past couple of years. She just bought a Pilot :). It sounded like she might visit TE. So - keep an eye out for some fishie newbies.

[KnottedYet]

My bike is s'posed to have prepped for shipping today. The shop didn't call me, so I guess it didn't get shipped yet. Maybe tomorrow. I want that bike so bad I could just cry.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m21/KnottedYet/100_0579.jpg

Isn't she pretty?

[dachshund]

At least the Sex Pistols version is :D .

My current ineradicable song is "Slowhands" by Interpol. I wake up in the middle of night singing it in my head. No wonder I sleep badly.

No, no, no - Dwight Yoakam. Or maybe Alan Jackson :)

[crazycanuck]

I wonder how long it'll take the snake to digest the ewe??? Interesting...:eek:

Well, Australia's in mourning again. Yesterday, Peter Brock (if you're a petrol head you may have an idea...) a race car driver died in a crash during a race not too far from Perth.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20379150-601,00.html

First Steve Irwin then Peter Brock...who's next? I felt a bit left out as I had no clue who Peter Brock was.

I can tell you this though. It's a bit like telling a Canadian that Gretzky died. Brock was & is the biggest gent for motor car racing-He won the Bathurst race 9 times...

Oh our loan was approved- we've signed the paperwork, transfer of land title signed, deposit paid. Now all we're waiting for is the settlement agent to go to the bank & hand over paperwork...That'll be on monday or tuesday..Then we move in & start commuting!!!! YAYYAYAY....

MP-that's a lot of coffeeeeeeeeeee...You should see me without coffee and i only drink 1 cup a day...maybe less

Bruno-how was the granite city? I enjoyed visiting Aberdeen...:)

c

[Bruno28]

Well - we've been working all day to get the house spiffed up.

That's the worst thing I remember about selling my house last year....having to keep it unnaturally tidy all the time. I seem to be some sort of paper magnet. Wherever I've been I leave a little accumulation of reading material behind me.:o

CC - The granite city was looking good. It wa a beautiful day. I was visiting with education inspectors and saw the most amazing state school (what you would call public school?) I've ever seen. Aberdeen Grammar School is like a stately home. Stayed in a horrible hotel tho'. I have to spend 4 weeks up there in November (for work) so need to do more research on the hotels. When did you visit?

[crazycanuck]

Bruno, i was there in the early 90's. I flew to the Shetland Islands from Aberdeen(i think...umm yes i do believe) I;'d love to go back but I'd like to discover other places...like the red centre(ayers rock & alice springs) and other areas in Australia

My rellies live in Elderslie, Johnstone, Renfrew and Paisley....(paisley :eek: )
In terms of a place to stay have you tried the lonely planet message board or even the book on Scotland? YOu never know what places you'll find.

I understand the term state schools...same terminology down this way...

I don't know how vendors keep thier houses so neat & clean!!! Fish i'm sure you're doing a great job keeping the house nice n tidy! Any luck on finding a place in BR?


c

[Bruno28]

My rellies live in Elderslie, Johnstone, Renfrew and Paisley....(paisley :eek: )



Ah, Paisley....that's bandit country :p

[betagirl]

I'm not saying it was pretty.
LOL

MP - My usual daily starbucks is a grande coffee with 2 shots of espresso in it. Though as of late I still find myself yawning after that or within about 4 hours. They used to make me jumpy and I'd go all day then crash and burn around 5. I've obviously built up a tolerance. So I'm right there with you in the coffee addiction club. I even own a shirt with the caffeine molecule on it:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/images/products/front/lg-girl-caffeine.jpg

I highly recommend picking one up :D http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/ladies/3751/

Up at 6 am on Saturday again. What's up with that? My brain is in overdrive with all the work I have to do. I did get 2 pages of my dissertation written. So that whole process is officially started. :eek:

There's a town in Scotland called Paisley? So that's where all the hotel bed comforters come from!

[DebW]

My bike is s'posed to have prepped for shipping today. The shop didn't call me, so I guess it didn't get shipped yet. Maybe tomorrow. I want that bike so bad I could just cry.

Isn't she pretty?

Hang in there, Knotted. She is pretty, and she'll be under you soon. And when I look at her picture, I hear her saying "Come on. Hurry up. Let's go riding. Anywhere you want to go. But someday we must go touring together. Can't you see I was built for touring? We'll visit the most wonderful places together, you and I. We'll have a grand time. We'll build beautiful memories. I'm waiting patiently until we can be together."

[Pax]

LOL

MP - My usual daily starbucks is a grande coffee with 2 shots of espresso in it. Though as of late I still find myself yawning after that or within about 4 hours. They used to make me jumpy and I'd go all day then crash and burn around 5. I've obviously built up a tolerance. So I'm right there with you in the coffee addiction club...
My SO and I weaned ourselves off caffeine out here in AZ, it felt like taking medicine to have to drink coffee (just to avoid the headache) when it was already 90 degrees at dawn. Now that we're heading home to IL we've started having an occasional cup in the mornings...which is rapidly heading towards LOTS of cups in the morning! :D

[Bruno28]

There's a town in Scotland called Paisley? So that's where all the hotel bed comforters come from!


Yep - Paisley pattern does indeed come from Paisley....but don't let that fool you into thinking its some quaint little heritage town....as I said, bandit country.:eek:

[maillotpois]

Morning TD...

My doctor called me at 8 last night to tell me my echo was basically good. I still have some issues but nowhere near as bad as when I was in the hospital. I have an appt. to talk to her next week - did not expect her to call at 8 pm on a Friday!

Fish I wish I could send you OJ.... Good luck spiffing the house!

See my sig line. I have a 5 shotter when I go out in the AM. Since that is over $5, we usually make it at home. I brew a pot of espresso (literally) for myself and steam soy on it. But I usually have only the one every day. I was off it for a couple of years with the childbearing/nursing business. I can stop whenever I want. Really. :cool:

Knotted I hope your bike gets there soon or you may explode.....

[KnottedYet]

I might explode anyway! Deb, that was dang near pornographic!

Is it a sign of maturity or obessession or just pathetic that I'd rather look at bike porn than people porn?

Mimi - your Bianchi page is very cool!

Mornin', all! It's finally raining here! YAY! I'm all happy now. When it lets up SKnot and I will go riding.

MP - your doc is peachy-keen to call you right away (even at night!) and tell you the echo was good. But I do kinda wonder if "marathon" equals "walking for exercise"...

I gotta go see if I can find the link again for the silver earrings with the caffeine molecules, and the other molecules.

[Trek420]

DebW "Hang in there, Knotted. She is pretty, and she'll be under you soon."

Huh? oh, right the bike, never mind :p sorry TE TD. I need more coffee :o the mind just goes there.

"I hear her saying "Come on. Hurry up. Let's go riding. Anywhere you want to go. But someday we must go touring together. Can't you see I was built for touring?..."

in CA? huh? c'mon down.

[KnottedYet]

Trek - I have these little daydreams of riding down the coast to CA. I also have little daydreams of riding down to OR to take the bike mechanic class. www.bikeschool.com

Hey, it's cheaper than grad school! Probably more useful, too. Kinda like an addict taking chemistry classes...

[snapdragen]

cc - I read in another article the snake vomited the ewe back up. :eek: Don't know what happened after that.

Can't decided what to do today. Bro and SIL are coming out at the end of the month for Dad's birthday (80 years old!) I should start the marathon house cleaning. But my favorite art and wine festival is this weekend......

[DebW]

I might explode anyway! Deb, that was dang near pornographic!

Is it a sign of maturity or obessession or just pathetic that I'd rather look at bike porn than people porn?


I thought porn involved pictures. :confused:

[Lise]

I thought porn involved pictures. :confused:
Oh, no, not necessarily! :rolleyes:
.................................
just got back from a 10 mile training run. Thank God for Jamie, my running buddy. She's 25, I'm 46, and I can run farther than she can. We're doing the 1/2 marathon together 10/1, as we did last year. We do our weekend long runs together. I count on her to say, "Can we walk now?" when I'm just about dying! Together we go much farther than either of us would go alone.
.................................
Thanks to SadieKate gently chiding me for wearing a parachute-like shirt in the triathlon, I got a real tri top yesterday at my LRS (local running shop). I got an XL--really it's a size too big, but it's what I'm comfortable wearing. It's loose enough around the middle that I don't feel as self-conscious. And 20% off! So now I'm going out on the bike to try it out and double check our mileage. I never believe my pedometer. I always believe my bike odometer!

[KnottedYet]

Ok, maybe I should've said "dang near literary erotica".

(hee hee, you got Trek going, too! "The mind just goes there" ;) )

I neeeeeeeeeed to go for a bike ride!

[KnottedYet]

... and on the subject of literary erotica,

someone needs to write some with bikes involved. I remember when I worked in a library and we'd have chickies come through and check out 20 or 30 romance novels at a time. And I was thinking about how much I could change the world if I wrote romance novels with active adventure in them (like multiday bike rides) or educational bits (a little string theory, anyone?) or empowering subtext (you are woman! hear you roar!) or subversive political messages.

[Trek420]

DebW "I thought porn involved pictures. :confused"

oh no, not always but then the literary stuff I suppose would be more like erotica not porn but let's not go there shall we this is TE TD family forum but no, not always pictures.

I'm resting and carb loading for BATO tomorrow. Aack, knotted's answering questions ahead of me, I'll just shut up and drink coffee and eat breakfast.

Knotted I think you really need to write a series of Triathlete romance novels.

Someone once explained to me that those all have the same plot which is "girl gets house"

Yours would be "grrl gets bike"

[margo49]

I thought porn involved pictures. :confused:

There is slash also.Not exactly porn,not exactly erotica.

[Lise]

Happiness is: Coming back from the 10 mile ride after the 10 mile run and remembering that there's SUSHI in the frig for lunch!

Happiness is also feeling strong and happy about training again, after two weeks of exhaustion and ennui post-triathlon.

[DrBee]

Whew - what a day! We managed to get the house clean and the yard, too! I didn't get to wash the windows, so there were little kid fingerprints, but oh well! I showed the house at 4:00pm today. They seemed to like it. The woman is a real estate agent, so she already knew the house. They said they'd let us know in the next day or so.

We had a super lousy thing happen today. We found out that one of our dogs (Roux) likely has lymphoma - advanced. He dropped weight all of the sudden and started breathing fast yesterday. His neck is really lumpy (lymph nodes) and the nodes in his legs are as well. The prognosis is not good. He may not make it back to LA. At least we had cleaning to keep us from being totally depressed today, although many tears have been shed by all of us. He seems comfortable, just breathing really fast. We'll get confirmation of the diagnosis on Monday or Tuesday. This just sucks! He's only 8 and a sweetheart of a dog. Not fair. FishJr is taking it okay. She asked all sorts of questions which, of course, launched me into more tears.

Now - to watch the LSU football game and try to make a lemondrop.

Sorry to be a bummer - needed to share.

MP - had OJ this morning. It was totally inadequate. I'll have to make another trip out there to get some of the good stuff! ;)

[Lise]

Oh, fish, so sorry to hear about Roux. He will be loved until (and beyond) his last moments with you. Glad to hear the house is keeping your minds and hands occupied. (((fish and family))) and (((Roux))). Lise

[Tater]

Roux...what a cute name for a pooch! Good thoughts your way, Fish and family.

[Kitsune06]

Fish- so sorry to hear about Roux's problems... I hope all is well and ends well (if it comes to that) for him. He knows how much you all love him, and that's the important thing...

Caffiene. Um, yeah. Where would I be without it? I'm working on a 16oz Rockstar Juiced right now. So good. I hate coming home from camping and then going right to work later that day! Argh!

Oh, and I agree--the mind just... "goes there".
I'm with you, Knotted & Trek. Tri & biking erotica...
or even moreso, the concept of education or whatnot combined.
(HOW would you work in quantum physics?)
I can only imagine the next sort of story that's going to end up on my iBook. :p

but yes, not long before your rhine-maiden is there, Knot... and then she can lure you into all sorts of wonderful trouble... ;) Will you ever be able to stand the temptation to ride her at every opportunity, though? :D

[maillotpois]

Oh Fish!! I am SO sorry about you dog. How terrible. It is so sad when they get sick and they can't tell you what's wrong and you can't tell them you're doing everything you can to help them.

I hope the FishJrs hang in there. What a crazy time for you all - the worst time for this added stress, that's for sure. Sad. Sad.

[maillotpois]

Now these are some calves.....

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/vuelta06/?id=/photos/2006/vuelta06/vuelta0614/Par912353

[betagirl]

Holy schnikies! Those calves are a work of art.

Fish - Sorry to hear about your dog. That's never easy news to take.

The movie "Magnolia" is on. One of my favorites. Even with Tom Cruise in it. It was before he went really crazy.

[Trek420]

Fish family, I'm so sorry to hear about your pooch. Sounds like he is a much loved dog and I'm sure he knows that. :o

Knotted, let me know if you need an illustrator for that book.

[Kitsune06]

Trek- can you and I take turns on illustrating?
Knot- Can you and I take turns on stories?

I write entirely too much.

[Trek420]

sure, I don't write at all. First we need a working title perhaps;

She'd Tri anything once (twice if it was good)

[Kitsune06]

"You Only Ride the Ones You Love"
A story of a woman, her bike, and their adventures...


Brooks on a Cobblestone Road
Have you ever come this way before?

:eek:
Flirting with banishment, every step of the way...:o

[Trek420]

stop, there's tea all over the monitor :p

there's the simple "She Tri-d it on a Brooks"

I have other title ideas I'm afraid if I try to top those we'll get TE TD locked.

Off to choose a bike .... and jersey for tomorrow ahem.

[KnottedYet]

Trek and Kitsune, you have some lovely ideas for titles (eh-hem!) So, I take it there is another ride tomorrow, Trek? Your own Rhide-Maiden?

Y'know, if you contract with one of the romance publishers, they send you an outline that you follow?

Oh, Fish, I hope Roux is ok. It's so tough when our critters are sick. My friend's golden is having health problems too.

[Trek420]

going to bed to get some rest, it's Bike Agains the Odds tomorow

[KnottedYet]

Think up some storylines for us while you're out tomorrow.

I like the idea of a ride along the coast, a chance meeting of bicyclists on a bluff above the tide line, a sunset decision to rent a room in a seaside b+b... and the next day they continue their separate ways, one northbound one southbound.

I don't have the concentration and endurance to write a novel. Short stories are more my speed. (Ever read any collections of "Sudden Fiction"? those're fun!)

[salsabike]

I looked at some cornsnake pages the other day and the colorings are just spectacular. I asked Mr. Salsa what he would think about having a snake and he thought for a minute and said "...I'm not sure..." Which seemed a not unreasonable first response. Neither of us could quite figure out how our two cats, ages 15 and 16, would feel about this.

Here's my favorite so far:

1396

Nanci, is there someplace on here, or elsewhere, where you've listed all the critters you have?

Fish...I am so sorry about Roux. MP has it right--hard not to be able to explain to them. So we just love them with our whole hearts instead, and they do seem to know that.

[crazycanuck]

Fish-sorry to hear about your doggie not being well. Big hugs to you and your little ones. :) :) I'm sure Roux appreciates the love you;ve given him.

Salsa-interesting snake..I said to ian how about a snake for a pet..I received a :eek: :confused: response...He said we'd have no problems with insects, cockroaches (they're horrible for everyone in the summer in WA because we're surrounded by sand...) and it'd keep the weird people away. "Yes come in,by the way this is our pet dugite...:eek: " I took that as a no..
He said no to a lizard too. We can just look at the nice bobtailed lizards when we go biking.

We are thinking of a ferret but the dogggieeee is still winning.

I played with my bike seat & now I can't get it to the exact spot it should be..had to stop a few times today to play with the height..I know i just need to move it a smidgen...

c

[salsabike]

CC, do you have the flying kind of cockroach? In Florida here in the States, they call them palmetto bugs but they are definitely roaches. When I traveled around Japan in 86, I stayed with some friends who had vastly impressive roaches. They were HUGE. I made a deal with myself---I could live with it as long as I never woke up with one on my face (sleeping on a tatami mat gets your face damn close to cockroach crawling range). And I never did. Although I used to hear one of the friends, Thomas, thundering through the apartment in the middle of the night going after the roaches with his tennis racket.

So do yours fly in WA, or spin around, or do other such tricks?

[crazycanuck]

Salsa,

We have flying cockroaches, flying ants & i think marchbugs (bugs that appear in march...no kidding..!!!) You name it, I think we have it..bugs, snakes, spiders, kangaroos, funky reptiles, jellyfish/ stingers (not as lethal as in QLD though :eek: ), sharks, dolphins, whales & who knows what else in the ocean..

I can't say if the flying cockroaches do any other tricks but would rather they do the disappearing trick...:D

I loved sleeping on tatami mats. I remember trying to keep them clean but the dust bunnies kept settling in.

I went for a ride this afternoon to try and see if I could find my new house. I was close...Came home & conferred with Ian about the distance. I have two distance choices for my soon to start commute-22km or 30km.(headwinds & side winds but most of it's on a brand new bike path with lights and a few hills)
I prefer the 30km ride as i'm doing swimming and running as well during the week. I'm off to the commuting section...

c

[betagirl]

A page ago I felt like I was sitting down to read the latest copy of Penthouse Forum.... :p

Hmmm....Bikehouse Forum.....

Dear Forum,
I was out on my typical ride today when suddenly, out of nowhere, this beautiful....

[Trek420]

rider with calves like this .....

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2006/vuelta06/?id=/photos/2006/vuelta06/vuelta0614/Par912353

[Nanci]

Fish, sorry to hear about your pup. That's sad. Is it too late to treat? I have a people friend who just got done being treated for his second bout of lymphoma- he had to have that bone marrow transplant where they make you grow a bunch of stem cells, then take them out, then kill off all your bone marrow, then put the cells back in.

Salsa, that looks like the Okeetee Corn from North Carolina.

I rode a 200k down on the mid east coast of Florida yesterday, and saw the shuttle take off! I also had my best 100k time ever, 3.5 hours, but then the second 100k was 4.5 hours. It was windy- very strong wind from the east all day, so since the route was south to north to south, crosswinds all day. Pretty, though.

Nanci

[betagirl]

Great ride Nanci. How cool to see the shuttle take off.

I just spent too much time on iTunes using a gift card I got. Best song I downloaded:

Ca Plane Pour Moi by Plastic Bertrand :D

[KnottedYet]

the last thing I got from iTunes was "How we operate" by Gomez. I heard it on the radio at work, and HAD to get it. A banjo in a pop song! (well, it was a pop radio station. I guess that counts)

You can get Bones episodes from iTunes. Bones and House are the shows I try to catch on TV. I first saw them this summer in re-runs. Now I wanna know what's going on.

And I missed the 1st episode of House this season. Why in 'ell is House RUNNING and WALKING and SKATEBOARDING?!?!

[Bruno28]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZkhdFH2vJU

Hi Beta - Plastic Bertrand - enjoy.


I was 21 when I bopped to this. I feel very old....I'm off to lie down in a darkened room.

[maillotpois]

We leave for Hawaii in one week... Yay!!!

[snapdragen]

We leave for Hawaii in one week... Yay!!!

Oh shaddup!:rolleyes: :D What island?

[betagirl]

LOL Bruno. Thanks.

Those wacky French. My first exposure to the song was back when European Vacation came out. There's a fine film.


Oh shaddup! What island?

Ditto :D

[betagirl]

Hey Lise and other Chicago ladies....

What a FINE day weather-wise we're having eh? :rolleyes:

[Lise]

Hey Lise and other Chicago ladies....
What a FINE day weather-wise we're having eh? :rolleyes:
And yet, I see people out riding in it. WHY? It's Sunday! Go back to bed! That's my plan! :p (for those who don't live here: 62 and raining. In the spring, that sounds like heaven. At the end of summer, it sounds like....:( )

[Nanci]

I'm uploading my Blair Witch Space Shuttle video to YouTube right now. It's ok. Here's my explanation- I'm riding along, riding along, watching for it, then, yikes!! It looks like a fire in the sky- it takes me a moment to stop, get out the camera, decide whether to take a picture or a movie, oh no, it's set on macro, does that matter for a movie, thrash around, finally start.

I did so much yard work this morning- killed weeds in sidewalk cracks, poisoned I mean fed the fire ant mound that had to start up right in my new little flower I planted, take the torts out to graze, mow about an acre around the house, weed out my poor azaleas in the front that couldn't even be seen for the weeds. Got two thirds of the way through before the weed wacker died. Two loads of laundry. Trimmed pine that was almost reaching the ground. Why, in the south, do trees grow down, not up? Found a slug for Fagalo. Got the last nightcrawler out of the fridge for Fagalo. Found a Katydid for Fagalo.

Maizey shed last night, now she is prowling around looking hungry and gorgeous.

I forgot, on the way to Indian Harbour Beach Friday, my friend drove. We left about three hours later than I wanted to. Got a flat just out of reach of calling her DH to help. She calls AAA. I locate the spare and tools, just in case. She calls AAA back- after 30 minutes (we were supposed to be "red-flagged, at the top of the list" since we were on the shoulder of the Interstate, not even pulled off, which, BTW, is what caused the flat in the first place, pulling off to get her bike seat off because it was starting to rain. I can't stand waiting, so think I will just take the lug nuts off the tire. And get the spare out. (It's one of those stupid spares that you can only drive 50 miles on, at 50mph...) So then I get the jack, and can't find a good place, and finally get the jack under the _round_ axle, which is where the manual says to jack it up, change the tire, friend is amazed because she has never shanged a tire in her life, an hour after getting the flat we call AAA to say never mind. Head to the only gas station there is, a truck stop, they don't do cars, and hem and haw and finally locate a guy who knows how to do car tires, and finally get it fixed, and the manager says it's free, so we give the surly mechanic $20 anyway...Then we get there, at 8:00 PM, and she discovers she has forgotten her entire bag of clothes- all bikeclothes, pajamas, cosmetics, etc. Calls someone to borrow bike clothes from his wife. Goes to Publix to buy lotion, a T-shirt to sleep in, socks, etc. Then, in the morning, discovers the missing bag stuffed down between two seats and is very happy.

We get to pick up the new baby tonight!!

So we will have:

Two feral pigeons- Dillbird and Milly
Cornsnake- Maizey
Eastern Box Turtle- Fagalo
Two Desert Tortoises- Koko and Buttercup
Glass Lizard- Russell Junior
California Kingsnake- not named yet

[salsabike]

Phew. I am back in Seattle after a month in Albany NY with my mom in hospital. I think and hope she is stable and a little better, although she has no appetite and accepted a feeding tube last week in the hopes it would let her rebuild strength, energy, get some exercise, maybe get hungry again, and get out of there to a rehab place. Had many 10-12 hour days in the hospital seeing very scary stuff happening to her and tugging on staff sleeves whenever necessary. Was feeling awful about having to return here and asked her over the phone this week if she needed me to come back, and she said, enunciating clearly, "It is not necessary." Made me laugh--it was clear she meant it. Came back here to Seattle having to start work last week (school psychologist) and move out of the house this week as they are taking off the old roof and putting on the new one in this crazy house expansion we're doing. And then Mr. Salsa left at 0:dark:30 this morning for an east coast work trip. Wonder how I'd score on that stressful-events point system? Don't want to know.

Fish, we lost a really beloved cat named Sara some years ago, at a very young age. Our vet, who also adored Sara, sent us a card with this on it: "We who choose to surround ourselves with lives even more temporary than our own live within a fragile circle, easily breached. Unable to accept its awful gaps, we still would live no other way. We cherish memory as the only certain immortality, never fully understanding the necessary plan..." The Once Again Prince from Separate Life Times by Irving Townsend. The card made us cry, of course (still does), but was also a great comfort, so I offer it up here hoping the same.

Got several 50 mile tandem rides in over the last month and got back on my own single bike on Thursday, was very glad to see I could still do that hill I added to my ride without a lot of difficulty! Thought in the last part of the 28-mile ride, "Damn. I really, really need to be back on the bike. This feels so good."

Sheesh.

SK and chickwhorips, thinking about your dads...

Nanci, that is an Okeetee. Snakes look like some kind of fantastic jewelry to me, except for that ewe-eating boa, which looked more like a hog. What an oinker.

Yeah, which Hawaiian island?? I plan to get to the PO tomorrow to send out that TD book to you so you can read it on the beach!

By the way, my extremely convenient brother in law, who is in the State Dept., has just become Deputy Chief of Mission in...JAMAICA!!! Hallelujah. I'm a big reggae addict. Can't wait to visit. (Previous visits to him have included Paris and multiple trips to London. Sadly we were grad students when he was stationed in Ankara, so missed Turkey totally). WE'RE JAMMIN'...JAMMIN'...I WANNA JAM IT WID YOU...WE'RE JAMMIN'...JAMMIN...HOPE YOU LIKE JAMMIN' TOO

[Bruno28]

Yippee - I've finished packing and am off to Prague on vacation tomorrow.:D

All of you with health issues, sick relatives and pets - take care and I'll be thinking of you.

It's been a beautiful sunny day here (quite uncharacteristic for the time of year). I was out for a gentle bike ride with my 75 year old mum who is fearless and, therefore, quite scary sometimes.

Y'all be good while I'm away.:cool:

[Nanci]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH1NI4RaM3o

[KnottedYet]

Nanci - very cool!

(dang, Florida is FLAT!)

Hee hee, as I was watching that I was hoping your camera would point back down to your bike again so I could scope it out... :D

[Nanci]

Sure looks desolate, too, doesn't it? Oh, you should have seen the jungly neighborhoods by the Indian River, which is what is between the mainland and the sand spit islands like Satellite Beach and Indina River Harbour. I can't even imagine how many millions most cost. I saw two peacocks out in someone's fornt yard!

[Lise]

Florida is such a different landscape. When I was travelling by train from Paris to Brittany, I remember thinking, "It looks like Wisconsin." I wonder where else in the world looks like Florida? Things must grow down there at a rate we northerners can scarely imagine. Glad to hear Maisey's doing well!

Salsa, glad to hear your mom's stable enough for you to come home. You, SK, and CWR remain in my thoughts. If you go to JA, we expect a full report! I spent two months there in 2001, at a birth center project in a town called Oracabessa, east of Ocho Rios. No bike riding--the roads were perpetually torn up by the weather and salt water, and the cars drove all over the road to avoid the potholes. I'd just get in a car and close my eyes until we got there! :eek: :p Beautiful country.

MP, why Hawaii? Vacation? Work? Have a great time packing this week!

[DrBee]

We leave for Hawaii in one week... Yay!!!

You're gloating... ;) I'm sooooo jealous! I could use a vacation right about now.

MP - you hit it on the head about not being able to tell your pet that you're doing everything possible and about the added stress. I may explode. It's a real possibility. I need to get out to ride. And - I really want to try my new shorts!!!!! The in-laws are here this afternoon, so that might not be a possibility.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts on Roux. We're not sure if he's treatable. From what I've read online, the treatment is miserable and may only extend the dog's life for a few months. I'm not sure I want to make him miserable for just a little more time. If there was a remote possibility of curing him - I'd jump on it. We'll know more about specifics (diagnosis, treatment options, etc.) on Monday or Tuesday. This came on so quickly that I'm hoping it's early. This dog doesn't show he's sick until he's really really sick, so we'll see. The doc said lymphoma (most likely diagnosis) moves very quickly.

Back to happier conversation of pornographic bike literature and vacations. Where would be you most favorite place to vacation???

[DrBee]

Nanci - very cool video! I've heard the space shuttle re-enter - the sonic boom. It flies right over Lafayette, LA (where I went to grad school) on re-entry. It was totally overcast, so we couldn't see it - just heard it.

[betagirl]

Hey fish, I just noticed you were the 4000th reply to this thread.

Holy schnikies!

[betagirl]

Where would be you most favorite place to vacation???

My friends and I are planning a trip to Ireland for next May. Going to visit the motherland. :D May bounce over to Edinburgh for a few days.

Hmmm, my most favorite place to vacation? Depends on what I need. Relaxation: some all inclusive resort in the middle of nowhere where my highest priority is to find the perfect beach chair and the right flavor of mixed adult beverage. If I want to do/see things, I really enjoy Europe. I want to go to Thailand, but time and money constraints won't let that happen right now. Japan too.

[LynneK]

Hey Lise and other Chicago ladies....

What a FINE day weather-wise we're having eh? :rolleyes:

Just when I think it's cleared up enough to go for a run, the rain starts again! I think this will have to be an invountary rest day ... and a gloomy one at that!

[Trek420]

Bike Against the Odds....done.

I did the 47 mile 4,000 foot route. I'm done in. I saw Cindysue.

[Nanci]

The new baby, Choco, is home safe and sound. He's not the meanest snake in the world, he's a pussycat.

[maillotpois]

Oh shaddup!:rolleyes: :D What island?


The big island for about 5 - 6 days and then Oahu for 1 night. 2 nights on Oahu for DH; Em and I will leave a day early do DH and his parents will stay for the TNT bike ride. I have to get her back to school for a 3 day overnight class trip to Walker Creek. Rough life she has...

We've been to the big island before and when we had a week to play with, we decided we just wanted to go back. THere's so much variety in terms of terrain and stuff to do. We are renting a friend's condo, which is nice.

[maillotpois]

WE'RE JAMMIN'...JAMMIN'...I WANNA JAM IT WID YOU...WE'RE JAMMIN'...JAMMIN...HOPE YOU LIKE JAMMIN' TOO

(My daughter used to think they were singing "Pajama").

Salsa - welcome back!! Sounds like you have had a rough time. You are a good daughter. I am sure that I won't be at all happy about going across the country to take care of my mother if the need arises. We have a more strained relationship it seems.

Anyway, welcome back - I'd be happy to have something to read on the beach...