sshhhh... 1, 2, 3,

surprises are underrated.

some of the best things ever, have been unexpected.
receiving a 1932 Underwood typewriter with an already typed letter in it (surprise)...
giving a seaplane flight over San Francisco to someone I love (surprise)...
being visited by a wonderful supportive friend in tow with a beautiful flower arrangement (surprise)...
returning to my hotel room alone after completing an Olympic Triathlon and finding a card and chocolate dipped strawberries (surprise)...

likewise, some of the worst things ever, have been unexpected.
hearing that you need to rush to the hospital to say goodbye to a young family member...
answering the phone and being told your friend had an accident and is no longer with us...
listening to your husband say he has cancer...

all of those best and worst moments I remember like it was yesterday.
I guess the biggest difference between the two is...
the worst ones? are out of everyone's control, and - if you are fortunate enough - are shared with family and friends.
but the best ones? those are for JUST you - one person. someone - or maybe a few someones - did something so wonderful, for only you. and that feels so. incredibly. amazing.

I love that.

in other news...
...surprise someone (anyone) today with something good.
...my dog is so lazy that instead of chewing his entire rawhide, he simply swallowed the last half of it (surprise!). I have never paid so much attention to his poop as I am now.
...parties are all fun and games until you cry (surprise!).
...Jonathan Pierce from The Drums, I wish you were my man twin (surprise!).

Easter Candy = Best Candy

the Oscars. that point in the year where I wonder, why the foosball did I only see ParaNorman?

needless to say, I experienced zero winnings in any and all Oscar bets.

completely unrelated to that...
recently I was chosen to be a Wellness Ambassador at my place of employment. what does that mean? good question. I will get back to you on that once I find out. until then, I have been collecting handy nutritional facts from places I have been visiting. also? I have consumed a lot of Easter candy - let's not leak that information to the Wellness Ambassador committee shall we?
as of now, I know I get a T-shirt. I also know my co-worker is letting me boss him around during our workouts now that I am 'official' (unofficially). but in return, he is telling me everything that he thinks is wrong with the gym.
no, I will not be able to get another wall built.
no, I will not be able to demand the runners on the treadmills stop because they are too loud.
no, I will not combine the locker rooms in to one giant co-ed one.

because it is late, I am tired, cranky, emotional, my legs hurt from running, my back is cramping, and my butt is going numb from sitting on this ground... this is getting wrapped up like a loose burrito at Taco Bell (poorly).

my dog remembering he had a stuffed squirrel in the apartment

green Calaveras Rd.

me holding a medal while drunk in a public space

a horrible way to start a memoir.

 in other news...
...loading.

inside out and back loop

Valentine's Day... is when I pretend my expectations are low low LOW... but when those expectations are met, I'm sad sad SAD.
DUMB. I suppose my thinking needs an alteration.
luckily it is also my dog's birthday - happy #6 my #1 pooper! I purchased some sweet swag from Target and turned him in to a chihuahua/beagle/pug GANGsta... whaWHAAAT. he also got a long leisurely walk at his own pace (not a good idea if the HUMAN needs to pee) and roasted chicken in his dinner bowl.

I am excited to see what he has planned for MY birthday.

the following weekend was made awesome by some good friends and a beautiful atmosphere.. and possibly some amazing Indian food. : D


my friends Ricky and Alex met up to go out and back on Calaveras Rd. with me.
Ricky and I exchanged South Park impressions while Alex laughed and contributed a stellar Butters.
I finally got to check out the Water Temple at the hwy. 84 turnaround point.
the extra long driveway gave the impression it was going to be cooler than it was but nonetheless, my curiosity has been fulfilled (and it didn't kill me so, that's a plus).


when you get up the steps by the pillars and look down, it appears to be some sort of bath house with small tiles in which a naked Russian mobster is slicking back his hair with tattoo-covered arms when 2 more naked Russians strut in with knives and then a naked fight ensues and things flop every which way and then the 2 attackers get beat to a naked pulp and the naked bad-ass weiner - I mean - winner, looks up at us cyclist visitors and Ricky gives him a thumbs up and we leave.


it was pretty amazeballs.


the trek was amazing and included rolling green hills, birds singing, ground squirrels tossing rocks in my path, etc.


it felt good to breathe.

the next day I joined my buddy Rai for a ride up Sierra Rd.

the route starts the same as the Calaveras trek but then splits in a different direction that gets some higher grades while being a shorter overall distance.

the views are just as wonderful but include more homes *correction, more EXPENSIVE homes.
surely there are several CEOs in those mountains. everyone owns at least 4 horses, 5 sheep (or goats - same difference), 3 free-range chickens, and a minion to roll the garbage cans down the mile-long driveway to the curb every week.

360 video...

http://youtu.be/n08lMaWy1Rs

thank GOODNESS for winter apparel... I kept my leg warmers on the entire time and removed my windbreaker for the middle segment only to quickly toss it back on before making a 40mph descent after the climb.

Rai is still figuring out the best windbreaker / leg warmer / arm warmer combination during his rides and usually ends up removing, putting on, removing the same item several times - but all that extra time works in my benefit... allowing me to catch up and pretend like I am not tired.

"What's wrong with you? Why did you stop?"

(ie. I hope you put something on inside-out so that I have more time to rest)

in other news...
...is it wrong to enjoy the smell of new tires on my Xterra every time I drive it?
...butterfinger hearts. thanks mom : D
...I am not sure what is worse: unknowingly wearing my underwear inside-out, or realizing this mid-day and not fixing it.

this termite walked in to a bar...

31. thirty 1. dirty one.
that is how old I am. for the past year now (or 5) I cannot seem to remember this. must be my age.
and thank you, cashier at Aqui's, for not just checking my ID when I ordered a large Industrial Strength Margarita with no salt... but telling me "I thought you were 22. Good for you!".
now I am going to be even more confused.

assuming your employer isn't racist, how was your 3 day MLK weekend?

Saturday my trusty Marin road bike took me up Mt. Hamilton in San Jose... as expected, second time was better than the first (that's what she said?). a fearlessly energetic buddy of mine that I met through Team in Training - Josie - joined me for the trek. we are both signed up to do the Death Ride in July so this is the start of kicking ourselves in the asses.
http://app.strava.com/activities/38038783

since obtaining some new winter gear (sponsored by Aunt Rosie and Mom Maria), I was really excited to hit the road... and it was FABULOUS. the weather was extremely brisk and tights / windbreaker appropriate. patches of snow lazily melted on shady sides of the road and bits of ice added the treacherous.

this time, I remembered to walk through the Lick Observatory (barefoot at that) and grab a Coca-Cola while resting at the top. it was a good day.

Monday I was dehydrated... ahem *Industrial Strength Margarita... but forced myself to bike again - this time up Calaveras Rd. and Sierra Rd.
http://app.strava.com/activities/38284899

first impression? not cool. my legs and liver were certainly not prepared for it. nonetheless, I got up it alright... with some minor whining to my other cycling buddy (who did NOT ride Mt. Hamilton 2 days prior thank-you-very-much).

the homes were puffing out chimney smoke and were GORGEOUS... the landscape was green... the cows had threatening curvy horns... and cars (as well as bikers) were sparse. again, a good day.

in other news...
...thanks to this new Menstrual Calendar app I downloaded on my phone, I realize why I am so damn angry at this moment
...my life is now entirely different
...tell me a joke QUICK. humor is easy to breathe for

went up with shorts, came down with pants

sometimes thinking of the impossibility, drives it to be possible.
last weekend I planned a bike gang trip up Mt. Hamilton. it was so good to see my friends and meet the new people that came along.

after we gathered, hello'ed, and threw down some energy, we started up the mountain. immediately, I am alone and last - it's okay. this is a normal thing and I have memorized a lot of songs for this exact moment.

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

as I sing to myself, I wonder if all the wine I drank yesterday at a party is going to bring me to an early unexpected halt. how can I plan something like this with a big group of people, and then QUIT? I am an irresponsible adult that has candy for breakfast... when I even eat breakfast.
I can't quit.
that settles that: I can't quit.
I look up to see 2 of my buddies butts and realize, maybe I should be happy I'm last. let's go!

I catch up to everyone at our first rest stop. we happily chat our heart rates lower and have some snacks.

once we start up again, I am hanging with the new friends. our paces are pretty close and I decide to keep the company to help the time pass. I find out this trek is the first time up Mt. Hamilton for most of us - the few that have done it already, did it years ago. we exchange riding experiences and my anxiety and worries completely disappear. I am moving in to an apartment in a couple of weeks, and I couldn't care less about it at this moment.
not worrying feels good.

we can finally see Lick Observatory... trust me, it's there somewhere. my friends continually take pee breaks left and right leaving me jealous and full-bladdered. damn you female anatomy!

thanks to the additional buddies, replacing flats goes by quick. as you can see, I'm pretty helpful behind the camera. and I took photos of all 3 flat tires my crew got. useful is me!

the road seems to get more narrow the higher we ride, and that makes me a little paranoid when cars pass around blind corners. this is the first time I've seen cars not only yield to bikers but also rely on them to to communicate when the corner is clear of other cars for them to pass.
the hardest part of this ride was trying to enjoy the view while moving... you have to stop.

at this point, we can see the Observatory pretty clearly. while the guys were excited about it, I couldn't mentally get over how much HIGHER the Observatory was than us. it was close, but obviously included lots of climbing. I remembered my ride around Lake Tahoe months ago - it was so hot, direct sun, without any teammates, hard-steep switchbacks, and no map. surely this cannot be as difficult.
we turned a corner and could hear our friends yelling at us from the top. they had already finished, snapping photos of us, and were sipping mimosas. jerks! just kidding - they only sell Coca-Cola at the top. jerks!

the second to last road before the Observatory was all in the shade - which meant the recent bit of snowfall had not melted yet. it was exciting to see the snow going uphill... it was a different story heading down though.

once we got to the top and reconnected with the whole group, people immediately laid on the ground in stretching positions. this mountain is an 18 mile long climb of 3700 feet and allows for 2 one mile downhill breaks during the climb. suffice it to say, we were pretty ecstatic to be at the top.

http://app.strava.com/activities/27577395

heading downhill was NOT as much of a roller coaster thrill as I suspected. I LOVE downhills! the longer, the steeper, the BETTER. but not only was this a very winding and long downhill, it. was. COLD.
the faster I rode, the faster my temperature dropped. my poor decision in clothing didn't help - long socks doesn't cure everything. we stopped frequently to thaw our fingers in the sun. we were shaking so hard from the cold, that our bikes shook with us.

eventually, I had to tell my friends that I was eyeing the trucks going down looking for room in the back for my bike. I couldn't take it anymore. so, one of my nice new friends gave me his pants. that's right. his pants. normally I would want nothing to do with a stranger's sweaty spandex pantalones but, we were talking about a life or death situation here (not really).
I quickly put them on and felt TREMENDOUSLY BETTER. the bottom of the mountain came quickly after (thank goodness). we packed up our stuff and headed to Starbucks in clackity cleats, stinky spandex, and helmet hair.

I don't care what you think about me, give me a Grande Chai Tea Latte with Soy please.

The Lilly Head Band!

years ago, a group of friends and I hiked almost every Sunday - we referred to it as 'church'. we got to see some beautiful areas, all different sorts of weather, hopping bunnies, and sprinting turkeys followed quickly by sore thighs and calves for the next couple of days.
I specifically remember a hike up Mission Peak in Fremont... it was so incredibly windy at the top that our group very quickly jogged back down to the bottom where it was warm. it was not until the next day that I learned one of us lost a toe nail in the process : (

she is one tough cookie though... and recently contacted me to take photos of her second little girl, Lilly!

I give you a sneak peek of head-band wearing giggly-bundle of Lilly...

Lick Observatory should hand out lollipops

missing things sucks.

and I don't mean the kind of missing like "Oh I missed the Sons of Anarchy last night - don't talk about it!" I mean the kind of missing that is more of a "man, I miss pigging out on Saturday nights after an 80 mile super hilly bicycle ride and then falling sound asleep by 9pm".

kidding.

I mean, I DO miss that and all my crazy cyclist friends that I would see at 8am when I am super grumpy and hungry but... I know what's really important... (grandmas, nieces, players' autographs etc.)

I ran in to a cyclist friend of mine outside Whole Foods the other day - his girlfriend is also a wonderful beautiful cyclist pal of mine - and after hugging him I immediately delved in to the Bay Area hills and what I am tackling next and what I just did and what race is he doing next and how is Jean doing after getting her wisdom teeth pulled and I am constipated and Mark is crazy and how long will it take me to go up Mt. Hamilton?

that's good.

by the time we were done happily blabbering at each other, my husband looked like me after he talks football statistics to the side of my wine-sipping face for 8 hours straight: uninterested and admiring homeless people.

next weekend I am sleep-driving to the bottom of Mt. Hamilton in San Jose while sipping the greatest Bean & Body (coffee and energy) drink from a can, and slowly rotating thighs and tires up 18 miles to Lick Observatory. it will be the longest constant incline I attempt - with just 2 one mile downhill sections - but not the steepest. so hopefully I'll show it who's the boss (is it Tony? or Angela? I still don't know).

wish me luck.

in other news...

...cholesterol is one thing I am not thankful for any longer.

...downgrading to an apartment after a house - no matter what age - stinks.

...I am sorry you have read this far. here, enjoy this old photo of thin strangers at the top of Mt. Hamilton.