Beer, Bikes, and Snow

With my first CX race of the 2015 season out of the way, Nittany CX would be no problem. Right? The week leading up to Nittany, our cat Grasshopper got very sick.  The emotional roller coaster I went through had me wondering if I would race at all that weekend.  Long story short, we got good news the night before our races and I wanted to spend the weekend with friends and teammates. The course was similar to previous years and I got in a few laps before the countdown to my race.  I knew how I wanted to take the corners, where the roots were and what pressure I would run in my tires.  I started to feel a drizzle as I finished my warm-up and headed to the start line. Since it was a UCI race and I have no points, my start position would be total luck.  Well, actually a lottery.  I lined up toward the back with most of my friends and familiar faces.  I was completely relaxed and laughing.  I waited for the countdown and the ladies field was o...

Earlier in the summer I was watching for the 2015 CX schedules to be posted.   Granogue popped up and I jumped at the opportunity to register early for the race.   Last year it made a come back by promoters Paul and Lisa, and it was an incredible race.  I couldn't wait! This year, Granogue would be the first race of the season for me.  The days leading up to the race, I was calm and relaxed.  I knew the property and saw the course map, knowing where some of the key features would be. We arrived on the DuPont property and my anxiety started to rise.  First-race-of-the-season jitters.  Was I ready for this? Wondering if all my "playing" this summer was going to show? I picked up my number, pre-rode the course, and said hello to friends I hadn't seen in a while. I helped Lance get ready for his race and had to get ready for my own.  I removed myself from most of the people and hid in the shade.  I plugged in my ear buds to drown out an...

Since my last garden post  at the end of June, I had a busy summer.  My tomatoes were starting to pop and I picked my first zucchini.   Oh and yes, the Garden Mayor sent a flurry of emails over the summer...mostly about our hose/water situation.  Apparently *someone* was leaving the water on.  She claimed it was the local kids playing with the key and hose at night.  Mind you, the water shut off is next to the police station. I find it hard to believe that kids have nothing better to do than play with water, next to the police station.  But anyway... The start of July, I was picking a few zucchini every other day.  It was zucchini overload! My cucumbers were starting to sprout. With all the zucchini I had, I experimented with zucchini bread recipes, varying the flours and oils used.  I found that the oat flour and coconut oil gave it more of a cupcake flavor and texture.  I tried almond flour with sorghum, which was m...

I've been meaning to write up the 2nd part of our Asheville trip (the beer part) but life has gotten busy.  I had five weeks of mountain bike camp along with riding for myself, maintaining my garden, and visiting friends and family.  Now that August is here, I have some more "me" time. So...beer.  I haven't been enjoying beer like I used to due to some stomach issues and dietary changes.  But I knew Asheville was known for it's beer, so I didn't want to miss out.  I did some research and had some input on places to visit. Asheville itself has a ton of  microbrews .  And there is beer everywhere - with local taps.  We hit up  Wicked Weed ,  One World Brewing , and  Asheville Brewing .    Wicked Weed and Asheville had food and a wide variety of beers on tap.   Lance really enjoyed the sour beer selection at Wicked Weed.  I went for the darker beers, mostly stouts and browns.  We stumbled upo...

As Lance's birthday was approaching, I asked him what he wanted to do to celebrate.  Did he want to go on a mini-vacation, and if so, did he want to bring bikes? He said " Asheville, NC ".  It was on our list of places to check out as it's known for cycling...and beer (which I will post up in Part II of this).  We talked about what bikes we would bring (our road bikes) and some things to do.  I posted on social media asking for suggestions and ideas - and got an overwhelming response (thank you all!). We only had three days to cram in as much as we could.  I mapped out some routes to ride, including climbing the highest peak on the east coast, Mount Mitchell.   Then two weeks before our trip Lance says to me "I think we should bring our mountain bikes".  While I was VERY excited to hear this, it meant I had to now find what trails to ride.    I checked out  SORBA 's page and  I knew we would want to ride Bent Creek , DuPont , an...

June 6th - Had the intention of purchasing tomato baskets to support my plants.  After wrestling a few of the baskets at Home Depot, I got frustrated and spotted these colorful spiral supports.  For only $1, I thought they might look nice in my garden. The cucumbers I planted as seeds were struggling so I picked up two pepper plants and two basil plants to fill in the spots. June 14th - I spent some time weeding and cleaning up my plot.  It was a hot, dry week so I made sure the plants got plenty of water. June 22 - my zucchini seemed to explode over the past week.  A nice mix of sunshine and rain made my plot very happy.  Seems the grass and weeds were popping up again.  I managed to clean up things before leaving for vacation. June 29th - I was dreading coming back to my garden.  While we were gone, I got a flurry of emails from "the Mayor" about a hose/water issue.  And there was mention of a vole attack on one ...

When I was planning out my season, I made Bear Creek XC my last race for the season (I'll save those details for a later post).  I love the course - climbing and rocks.  And I had success there last year.  However, four weeks ago I wasn't sure I would be racing due to my crash at Jungle .  My ribs were still sore and I had to cut back on my riding.  Would I be able to handle the course? I went up the Wednesday before the race to give it a test ride.  While I felt some discomfort, it was nothing that would stop me from racing.  I had in my head this would be my last race and I was sticking with my plan.  I did two laps at my pace and registered for the Pro/Cat 1 race. Ribs Schmibs...not holding me back from racing Race day arrived and I saw who I was racing with.  With a field of mostly Pros, I knew I had to just race my own race and survive.  I got some insight on the course, and that it was similar to Nationals with a few tweeks...