Got my butt handed to me on a platter tonight!

[Pedal Wench]

Originally Posted by SadieKate
while the somewhat zoftig young lady exhibited this spinning skill.

I loved this word! Had to go look it up - it's great! I'm going to try to use it in a conversation tomorrow! Just trying to ward off dementia by improving my vocab...

Be careful, though. About 20 years ago, my father called me zoftig, using the literal 'healthy, strong' definition, and I STILL haven't gotten over it. What's pretty funny is that my mother, who witnessed it long ago, also remembered it too, when someone used the word when we were visiting this past weekend. So, be careful how you use it!

[SadieKate]

Our family never used it in any way but this:

Zoftig - "Full Bosomed; Sexy, Attractive." From the Yiddish "zaftiq," literally meaning "juicy," from the German "saftig."

[nuthatch]

So, be careful how you use it!

I'll talk about a movie star - Pamela Anderson or someone. That'll be safe!!! I like that German "juicy" connection, like "apfelsaft" or something. Thanks for the tip!!

Nuthatch and Corsair, let's meet in, um, Arkansas? Where's the bermuda triangle where NM, ILL and AL gurls can converge and practice the magic spin thing?

Shew, I'm going to have to start riding towards Arkansas pretty soon because I can't afford the pickin' gas to drive there! Maybe MomonBike will let me come along on her Minnesota to Nebraska trip and I can just veer over towards Arkansas at the appropriate time...

[Biking Chick]

Shew, I'm going to have to start riding towards Arkansas pretty soon because I can't afford the pickin' gas to drive there! Maybe MomonBike will let me come along on her Minnesota to Nebraska trip and I can just veer over towards Arkansas at the appropriate time...

With the winds we've been having you can practice spinning with a heck of a tail wind and make it all the way to Arkansas ... just make sure you have SAG for a ride back!

While the sun is finally out from behind the clouds I went out today dressed in amfib tights, under armour top, Gill jacket, long fingered gloves ... ah yes - the change of seasons here in the upper midwest

But back to biking ... I'm looking forward to the knees to the handlebars scraping mud off your shoe technique; if I can visualize it I'm more apt to be able to make it a habit/part of my routine. Case in point - when I pedal I subconsciously think 'circles'. I read somewhere that one of the biggest mistakes new cyclists make is to pedal in a 'square' - forward, down, back, up, forward. Hard on the knees and very inefficient. By thinking in circles you create a smooth pattern rather than the jerky square one.

A couple of weeks ago I had Iris (mountain bike) out for the first time this year and rode our nature trail two days in a row. Within 10 minutes of being on my road bike on my next ride, my knee began to bother me to the point I thought I as going to have to stop and have DH adjust the position of my saddle. After watching my pedal stroke for a few moments he said that there was nothing wrong with the seat position but I did not look as if I was not pedaling very smoothly. Long story short - by concentrating on the circles the pain went away.

My biking tip for the day

[MomOnBike]

Maybe MomonBike will let me come along on her Minnesota to Nebraska trip and I can just veer over towards Arkansas at the appropriate time...

Sure, come along! You'll probably get drafted to help move my daughter's Stuff, but if you think of it as cross-training, you'll work twice as hard. Then we can ride.

And I just might get "lost" and wind up in Arkansas. I don't always have the best of control over where my bikes take me. (I swear, it's the bikes, I'm not that irresponsible.)