I decided to wrap up my 2013 season with a glance back at some of the highlights of my adventures.
I'm not sure what I was doing last January except regretting the exorbitant amount of Christmas cookies I had consumed. I was probably telling myself that I would stop cookie binging in a month... and that spring would come early and I would be pedaling by late February as in years past. This wasn't to become reality. I continued to wine and dine, feast, and tell myself I wouldn't regret it. I stayed indoors as much as possible, after all, it was cold outside and I'm a snob when it comes to seasons. I did, however, achieve multiple high scores in card games played against my 91-year-old Grandma.
February was a special one. Keith and I had an exceptionally rare opportunity to share a patient on a medical flight to Philadelphia. The transport coincided with Valentine's Day, we were both paid to take the trip together, and after our patient was discharged from our care we took a stroll and got Philly cheese steak sandwiches and enjoyed a sunny and 52 degree day. (Eating was my theme.) Later that month we enjoyed the American Birkebeiner as spectators and decided completing a Birkie was in our future.
A day without action working the Birkie
My Sister Jen getting her Prince Haakon on.
March beat me down. The snow kept coming and I was forced to hear avid skiers brag about how many consecutive months of winter they had skied this year already. Blerg. I forced myself to xc ski a few times and recall mild enthusiasm. I wanted to pedal so bad! I bought my youngest son his first big boy bike that month in hopes it would somehow hasten spring weather. He was super stoked for his first wheels!
*don't be fooled by the clean sidewalk, there was snow everywhere else.
April was a long month! In spite of being hit with numerous heavy snowfalls and chilly temps, I managed to climb out of depression long enough to force myself to go skiing. There was about 7 inches of fresh, heavy snow and plenty more coming down. The classic track was covered and drifted in places and within ten minutes of embarking I slipped and landed on the back of my ski. My coccyx was not happy. It took me about 30 minutes to limp back to my car. I threw my hands up in defeat at Mother Nature and decided I wasn't coming outside again until I could ride my bike. Keith and I managed to escape "South" for a weekend to visit friends in central Iowa- green grass, warm temps, great gravel.
Iowa before the corn was planted
My morale was boosted after that trip which was good because back home it was still winter. But the best part of April was getting our tandem ready to roll.
Frank and Keith, bike masterminds and brothers.
Late April was still white. In fact, the gravel century ride we host was cancelled on April 20th due to 18 inches of heavy snow. We spent that day in 4WD cruisin' the Mammoth Gravel Classic route in search of a great place to have dinner with friends around a campfire. Sunrise Ferry Landing was the spot! We polished the night off with a stop at the Wolf Creek Tavern for Bloody Mary's.
"Beyond Here is Nowhere"
I think I rode the trainer three times that month and I forced myself to ride pavement in sleet once out of desperation.
buffalo farm on my paved route
The last weekend of April was The Strada Fango Classic. Major sufferfest. My first visit to the "Pain Cave" on a bicycle.
I'll never forget this treat!
The weather El Norte continued to punish The Valley, and even the hearty Scandinavian folk were doubling up on antidepressants to counteract their Seasonal Affect Disorders. It snowed May 11th. Some of my friends had now been skiing for over 8 months. When the warm up finally came I was just itching to ride our new tandem. Keith and I did a spontaneous metric century; a lunch date to the river and home in time to catch the kids off the school bus. That's how we roll! Parents.
The first great day of Spring riding!
It would be my longest training ride prior to doing the Almanzo 100 (or 113, but who's counting?!) Riding the Almanzo later that week lit the fire inside me for more gravel! It was a religious experience. And you can all laugh when I say, "This one time at Almanzo," but I tell you, when you labor for that fruit you'll go a little loco and you'll understand the universe a little better. Magnificent. My husband has never ridden this event- which is seriously Earth-shattering that I have done some bike event he has not! You can expect to see the "V-Train" crushin' that white gravel in 2014 with Keith at the helm and K-10 stokin' the rear.
June brought a new decade for me and I was blessed with great company, adventures on the river, a bit too much hard cider and lots of MTB rides. The Cyclova XC women's fitness group was rekindled and activities flooded the calendar. The day after my birthday we rode The Westside Dirty Benjamin. A great time, in spite of all the rain, and the longest ride completed on our tandem- 107 miles. Later in the month we camped as a family at Cuyuna for four days with friends and their families. We practically lived communally; prepared food together and raised each other's kids while we took turns shreddin' the red. Gotta love that sniggle!
Jurassic Forests, iron-red soil, and fat tires!
By far, the best trip of the summer! The children had nothing but bikes, a beach, a Frisbee, and a driveway to run laps on. No one said they were bored- not ever! Boom! Epic Family Vacation.
This Cuyuna trip sort of kicked off our camping season- we camped or travelled for about five consecutive weekends into July with friends and family and to ride our bikes where ever we landed. July was consumed with camping, riding for fun, and some beach action. Another fun July bike adventure was collaborating with some local moms and meeting at our church parking lot to let our kids ride in a traffic-free area while we had coffee! Loved every second of it! The kids formed packs and began racing one another! In the following months, children continually heckled me for more bike rallies, and one even asked for a mountain bike rally... smart kids.
August will forever be in my heart because Charlie finally learned to ride his bike without training wheels on August 8th! I am tearing up as I write! I bought him a bike this past spring and progress was slow, if not absolutely discouraging, and I thought he'd never learn to ride! I googled how to teach your child to ride a bike. Seriously. And there was a video of a dad that took the pedals off the bike and made the child use it like a strider. It seems ridiculous to learn how to pedal by not using pedals, but by golly, it worked. And fast. Within a week of the experiment he was riding. It happened suddenly. We were all standing around outside and Charlie says, "Hey watch this," and he hops on his smaller, older bike and rides across the yard in one attempt. Our jaws were on the ground. That night we went to Buck Hill and Charlie asked to bring his bike for the kids races. And he raced. It might have been my proudest parent moment with him...
Charlie riding Mighty Melon, coached by big brother Luke
Later in August though I managed to get some wicked heat exhaustion, after a ride in Big Rock Creek, that took the wind right out of my sails for over three weeks. It was ridiculous and I was starting to think I should plan my funeral. I went into September in bad shape and depression was lurking as I laid around unable to ride. I came back though and conquered the Cheq 40.
Post 40 euphoria
I'm definitely looking forward to that race in 2014. Hoping to stay healthy and strong. Keith and I finagled one last trip to Cuyuna the end of September. I had strength on the bike and could feel the improvement in my riding ability since I first visited Cuyuna in June.
After forming my parking lot posse of child cyclists last summer I wanted to have one last bike hurrah before winter. We hosted a bike rally for kids at our place in October that was a serious success! It was legit. We had about 22 riders- all under the age of 10. This will be reoccurring annually. We can't wait to host again!
Biker Gang
November was limited to a few long rides on the weekends. A good friend likes to meet up early on Saturdays at Pine Point. We toughed out some chilly rides and saw the death of riding season as we rode into December.
December then became bleak, as I still miss my outdoor bike rides. I had a great day helping out at the Solstice Chase winter fat bike race... I think I could see myself on a fattie in the future, but I guess some diversity and cross training would be good for now. Skiing has to bridge the seasons. I've made some fitness and competition goals for my winter. I wish I could make the weather- I really hope spring comes soon. But cheers to the start of a true attempt at xc skiing! Time to find some competition! William O'Brien has a race coming up in January that is on my radar, maybe some of you will come race me or to shake a cowbell.
Happy New Year!
