That Dreaded Email...

Look Out! **Doesn't Matter What The Name Is You're Officially Now At War** just took your QOM!

Me: That bitch!

In my defense, halfway through this ride we stopped to talk plan of action with Coach BF Rob...
which was AT LEAST 10 minutes. Oh AJ, sorry for putting you on blast but... I'm coming for you.

I have a love-hate relationship with Strava. I act like it's "Strava? Whatever. No big deal. Seriously. I've got better things to do." (well those better things to do is really just one thing, ride my bike). Unless I get a QOM or did something rad like rode 60 miles. You better believe I'll be posting it up on facebook and sending an mass email. Heck... it'd be worthy of a blog post.

But when I do get that crown, all that sparkly gold, it's an uplifting mood moment that gives the feeling that I can walk on water. So, when I get that email saying that someone took my QOM... damn son, bring it on!

I act like I don't care but it's really because I am still not as fast as I was pre-crash (oh did I ever mention I was chasing a QOM when I crashed - Oopsy! Bitter, slightly). I cling to my few QOMs with all my might (even telling the Tam-Tam to back off and let me have at least one. She's just THAT GOOD).

When I upload my rides... it goes like this:

1. Put the bike down and run to the computer. Scrambling for the cable, all while still in my sweaty lycra.
2. I know I totally got that segment! Grins, grins grins.
3. Plug Garmin into computer.
4. Garmin not detected. #$%@! Unplug, replug, hit refresh a zillion times.
5. New (ride date, yadda-yadda). Click to upload. Why is it taking FOREVER...
6. Name ride something to make others jealous (Climb, Climb, Climb to the Sexy Firemen Ride) - anyone who posts this (my H&S ladies you know who you are) better know that I am coming after all the QOM's on every segment of this ride. I heart Firemen!
7. Open the ride and... NOTHING. Or maybe (x3) but they are all 2nd and 3rd best times that are no better than the last time you did that ride (yet you swore you kicked but but then you realized you forgot to turn your Garmin back on after you stopped or stopped in the wrong spot - oh Tam-Tam).
8. Create a new segment during the ride in a spot you are certain you killed it in, only to watch it go to your best friend/fierce competitor/amazing teammate.

So for now I am carrying on, pretending that it doesn't really matter and hoping that the less I focus on those QOM crowns and the more I just ride, ride, ride that those crowns will start appearing and ladies all over Southern California will be getting that dreaded email.  

Keep on pedaling!

New Years Resolutions?

It's been awhile since I have posted. My apologizes for slacking! To be honest, I haven't been on the bike much in the last 2 weeks. I finally got to ride the other day, and put in a solid 30 miles. I got to ride with the man (which is always a bonus) but I am thinking I might have worked a little too hard that day just to keep up with him. Not that riding hard is a bad thing but after going 2 weeks without a ride, I ended up paying for it in the worst possible way. I woke up at 3am the next morning unable to move. Owww! I am not even exaggerating. I woke up in pain and couldn't even sit up, let alone turn my head. With some help, I was able to get up and make it to the couch, where I spent the next 15 hours laying on a heating blanket and watching back to back Lifetime Original movies. Oh Lifetime... how is it that you suck me in every time? From "Maternal Instincts" to "Lying Eyes" to "My Stepson, My Lover" (what is with these titles???), it's as addicting as a drug. once you watch one, you're sucked in for life (Hmm... now the network title "Lifetime" makes sense). 

Each time I tell myself, just one, yet 6 hours later I wonder where my day went. So my time off work, originally planned for lots and lots of rides didn't quite happen as planned. Aside from being over schedule and out of shape, I blame the cold. It doesn't make riding look as exciting as a warm comfy bed.

Did anyone make a New Year's Resolution this year? Every year I tell myself I am not going to make a generic resolution that I am going to fail at trying to achieve. This year I resolve to ride 2 centuries and up my overall mileage. Juggling a hectic work schedule, an overbooked 5 year old and a boyfriend who's trying to go Pro, doesn't leave me much time to get a ride in. I resolve to make time for myself and my bike.

Surely I am not the only one with this time management balancing act of a problem, so I went to my beloved friend Google for an answer. I came across an article posted on Bicycling.com, fittingly titled: "Can't Find Time To Ride?". There tips were short and precise. I like it!

1. Schedule your rides, and put them on your calendar like they are a doctors appointment.
2. Buddy System! Worked in kindergarten and still works now. If it weren't for my lovely, fellow Lady Pedalers, Jenny and Tammy, I probably wouldn't have done half the rides I did last year. Thanks ladies for your continued support and encouragement.
3. Give yourself a goal. Have something cycling related to work for, such as: complete a triathlon, enter a race, do a century, or ride 400 miles in one month. Odds are, if you are working towards something, you are going to reach it if the pressure to complete it is there.
4. Stay prepared. This one... oh this one is me. Sometimes I look for excuses not to ride, like I can't find my gloves or my Garmin is dead. Keep your gear organized, clean and charged and be race ready every time. The easier it is to get going the better chance you are going to jump on the bike and roll out.

So, tell me, Lady Pedalers... what's your bicycling New Years Resolution? What held you back in 2012 and what are you looking to change?

Tell me what keeps you moving and pedal on!