...I just can't seem to find any time to write about it. Most of my "computer" time is spent via my phone, whose capabilities are pretty limited. Life is busy and full and complicated. I'm still riding my bike, thanks to the beautiful November weather we've been enjoying after a cold, wet October. I've been running a little...up to 2 miles, but it isn't going so well. lol. My class has reached and passed critical mass...past the number where I feel optimally effective, so that part of my life has taken on a new stress. Nathan is playing club volleyball in St. Louis, so three nights a week one of us is gone for 4-5 hours between the drive time and practice time.
Life is hectic. Add to that some other things that are going on in my life. Not bad, necessarily, but things that I have no intention of discussing in a public setting such as this. And yet, just chattering on about life withough mentioning all of that feels fake. And so I don't write about anything. For now, anyway.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Ride the Rivers century
I rode my first century this past Sunday. What an experience! I "decided" to do this century back in June or so, and then went back and forth all summer about whether or not to actually do it. I'm glad I did!
The weather forecast the week before the ride was enough to make a person bipolar. Up and down, up and down. "Yea! Highs in the 60's!"...."Ugh...lows in the 30's...." Well, when we started, the temperature was a blistering 39. Definitely on the "ugh" side of the thermometer.
I'd like to say it warmed up quickly, but it really didn't. Even when the sun came out, it was pretty cool. It wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, though.
We started in St. Charles, near the Ameristar Casino. I rode for the first mile or so with a friend, but once we hit the first hill he was off and away. Here's the first bridge we crossed...
We passed Westport and Creve Coeur Lake, around which was the monster hill of all time. Oh, my gosh...it just kept going up and up and up. You know that children's song, "This is the Song That Never Ends"? Well, I was humming, "This is the hill that never ends/It just goes on and on my friends/We starting climbing it a long, long time ago..." You know how it's hard to keep your bike upright when you're going really slowly? That was me. I got well acquainted with my granny gear!
The ride was primarily road riding, but we did ride on parts of some trails. This one was somewhere around Creve Coeur.
The first SAG, or rest stop, was about 25 miles into the ride at the St. Louis History Museum. Good snacks, but only two port-a-potties and lines at both of them. 25 miles is a long time to wait for a bathroom when you're hydrating like crazy!
After leaving Forest Park, we rode into downtown St. Louis. Traffic wasn't terrible, but with a Rams game later in the day, there were already quite a few people around and the tailgaters were already set up. I was very glad that there were other riders around during this portion of the ride. I was definitely a little intimidated by riding through the city streets.
There's the pack...way ahead of me. This was to be a theme for the day, except that usually they were too far ahead of me for me to see! :) In the city, I was able to catch up at the stoplights.
The next section of the ride was along the Riverfront Trail.
There was a mix of river views and industrial stuff.
Rest stop number 2 was about 43 miles into the ride at the Old Chain of Rocks bridge.
It's a very pretty bridge.
After crossing the bridge into Illinois, I was on a bit more familiar territory. We rode the levees along the river though the Hartford/Wood River area to Alton.
Lewis & Clark Confluence Tower, Hartford IL
These were fun. The levee is broken up in several spots by roads that cross it. You have to ride down from the levee, get off your bike, walk it across the road, pass through another set of gates, and then ride from a standstill back up onto the levee. So much fun to ride uphill from a dead stop after riding for 50 miles, but it was definitely a nice break for a bodies that have been sitting on a bike seat for all that time!
Melvin Price Locks & Dam 26, East Alton, IL. Incidentally, this is also the home of the National Great Rivers Museum, which is a neat place to visit.
The Clark Bridge in Alton is one of the prettiest bridges around, in my opinion, and worlds better than the tiny little Clark Bridge it replaced!
Rest stop #3 was at Russell Commons Park in Alton. At this point, we were 59 miles into the ride, and I was starting to realize that I felt pretty good. All along as I planned to do the century, I was very unsure that I would be able to finish it, but 60 miles into the ride I wasn't even feeling sore or tired. It was a little distressing to see all of the riders who zoomed by me, but I know that I'm slow and I wasn't out there to race.
Lunch stop! I still get a kick out of seeing this many bicycles in one place. :)
Yes, I took a picture of my lunch. It was sooo good! The roast beef sandwich I had was truly the best roast beef sandwich I've ever eaten...and it wasn't just because I had ridden all morning to get it! Hats off to Lone Wolf Coffee Co. for a fantastic meal!
I went to high school in Alton, so this portion of the ride was something like home territory for me. The first thing we saw on the Great River Road was the Piasa Bird painted on the bluffs.
The legend of the Piasa Bird is an interesting one.
The River Road is a beautiful area to drive or ride any time of year, but particularly in the fall when the trees are changing colors.
My aunt lives in the Calhoun County area, and I went to college in Quincy, so I've logged a lot of time driving on the River Road. I can remember stopping with my parents for peaches at the place below.
After passing through Grafton, we did some riding on the bike trail that parallels the road. Very pretty, but hillier than the (blessedly) flat road. I had to walk my bike up one hill here. :(
A neat thing about the ride was that we got to ride two different ferries. This caused me a little stress, though. As I rode along the bike trail, I could see the parking lot for the first ferry. I hadn't had any problems finding the trail markings before this point, but I started doubting myself. Did I miss a turn? Am I going too far? Oh, no...I'm going to have to ride even FURTHER! Never fear, once we reached the Marquette Park stables, there was a turn and a short 1/3 mile trip back to the ferry.
I lucked out and made it to the ferry just as they were loading the cyclists, so I didn't have to wait at all.
Here are some of the other riders on the Brussels ferry.
After the first ferry, we passed through about 10 very farm-y miles.
As we had gotten off the ferry, I just let everybody else go ahead of me. At this point in the ride (about 80 miles in or so), I had been passed by probably 90% of the riders (another 8% probably having started ahead of me!) and was clearly going to be at the back of the pack. I actually stuck within sight of the pack for a while...I felt pretty good after getting off the ferry...but eventually they passed out of my sight, as I knew they would. Well, that was OK, but when the group of riders from the next ferry started passing me...THAT was a little depressing!!
And funny, too...I mean, these people had to wait for the ferry to cross back across the river, load the cars, load the bikes, cross back across the river, unload the cars, and finally unload the bikes...and that still wasn't enough of a head start for me to cover those 10 miles to the next ferry without getting caught!!
Here are some other riders on the Golden Eagle ferry...only about 10 miles to go once we cross!!
The end of the century, funnily enough, was about the same place that the Katy Trail ride ended!
I have a picture of myself, back on a much warmer day in June, eating lunch at this building after riding the entire Katy Trail. :)
That was pretty much it. I rode into the parking lot, and the ride was over. It was a little sad...I felt such a sense of excitement and accomplishment...I did it!...but at the end of the ride there's no finish line or cheering group. You just pack up and go home. And I guess that's just kind of how life is.
I did think it was one of the less friendly rides I've been on this year. Probably 75% of the people who passed me (and, as I said, there were a lot!!), didn't speak at all, even to signal "on your left". Overall, however, it was a great experience. Trailnet provided great maps, the route was scenic, interesting, and well-marked, and good support was available. I'm already thinking ahead to next year's rides....
The weather forecast the week before the ride was enough to make a person bipolar. Up and down, up and down. "Yea! Highs in the 60's!"...."Ugh...lows in the 30's...." Well, when we started, the temperature was a blistering 39. Definitely on the "ugh" side of the thermometer.
I'd like to say it warmed up quickly, but it really didn't. Even when the sun came out, it was pretty cool. It wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, though.
We started in St. Charles, near the Ameristar Casino. I rode for the first mile or so with a friend, but once we hit the first hill he was off and away. Here's the first bridge we crossed...
We passed Westport and Creve Coeur Lake, around which was the monster hill of all time. Oh, my gosh...it just kept going up and up and up. You know that children's song, "This is the Song That Never Ends"? Well, I was humming, "This is the hill that never ends/It just goes on and on my friends/We starting climbing it a long, long time ago..." You know how it's hard to keep your bike upright when you're going really slowly? That was me. I got well acquainted with my granny gear!
The ride was primarily road riding, but we did ride on parts of some trails. This one was somewhere around Creve Coeur.
The first SAG, or rest stop, was about 25 miles into the ride at the St. Louis History Museum. Good snacks, but only two port-a-potties and lines at both of them. 25 miles is a long time to wait for a bathroom when you're hydrating like crazy!
After leaving Forest Park, we rode into downtown St. Louis. Traffic wasn't terrible, but with a Rams game later in the day, there were already quite a few people around and the tailgaters were already set up. I was very glad that there were other riders around during this portion of the ride. I was definitely a little intimidated by riding through the city streets.
There's the pack...way ahead of me. This was to be a theme for the day, except that usually they were too far ahead of me for me to see! :) In the city, I was able to catch up at the stoplights.
The next section of the ride was along the Riverfront Trail.
There was a mix of river views and industrial stuff.
Rest stop number 2 was about 43 miles into the ride at the Old Chain of Rocks bridge.
It's a very pretty bridge.
After crossing the bridge into Illinois, I was on a bit more familiar territory. We rode the levees along the river though the Hartford/Wood River area to Alton.
Lewis & Clark Confluence Tower, Hartford ILThese were fun. The levee is broken up in several spots by roads that cross it. You have to ride down from the levee, get off your bike, walk it across the road, pass through another set of gates, and then ride from a standstill back up onto the levee. So much fun to ride uphill from a dead stop after riding for 50 miles, but it was definitely a nice break for a bodies that have been sitting on a bike seat for all that time!
Melvin Price Locks & Dam 26, East Alton, IL. Incidentally, this is also the home of the National Great Rivers Museum, which is a neat place to visit.
The Clark Bridge in Alton is one of the prettiest bridges around, in my opinion, and worlds better than the tiny little Clark Bridge it replaced!
Rest stop #3 was at Russell Commons Park in Alton. At this point, we were 59 miles into the ride, and I was starting to realize that I felt pretty good. All along as I planned to do the century, I was very unsure that I would be able to finish it, but 60 miles into the ride I wasn't even feeling sore or tired. It was a little distressing to see all of the riders who zoomed by me, but I know that I'm slow and I wasn't out there to race.
Lunch stop! I still get a kick out of seeing this many bicycles in one place. :)
Yes, I took a picture of my lunch. It was sooo good! The roast beef sandwich I had was truly the best roast beef sandwich I've ever eaten...and it wasn't just because I had ridden all morning to get it! Hats off to Lone Wolf Coffee Co. for a fantastic meal!I went to high school in Alton, so this portion of the ride was something like home territory for me. The first thing we saw on the Great River Road was the Piasa Bird painted on the bluffs.
The legend of the Piasa Bird is an interesting one.
The River Road is a beautiful area to drive or ride any time of year, but particularly in the fall when the trees are changing colors.
My aunt lives in the Calhoun County area, and I went to college in Quincy, so I've logged a lot of time driving on the River Road. I can remember stopping with my parents for peaches at the place below.
After passing through Grafton, we did some riding on the bike trail that parallels the road. Very pretty, but hillier than the (blessedly) flat road. I had to walk my bike up one hill here. :(
A neat thing about the ride was that we got to ride two different ferries. This caused me a little stress, though. As I rode along the bike trail, I could see the parking lot for the first ferry. I hadn't had any problems finding the trail markings before this point, but I started doubting myself. Did I miss a turn? Am I going too far? Oh, no...I'm going to have to ride even FURTHER! Never fear, once we reached the Marquette Park stables, there was a turn and a short 1/3 mile trip back to the ferry.
I lucked out and made it to the ferry just as they were loading the cyclists, so I didn't have to wait at all.
Here are some of the other riders on the Brussels ferry.
After the first ferry, we passed through about 10 very farm-y miles.
As we had gotten off the ferry, I just let everybody else go ahead of me. At this point in the ride (about 80 miles in or so), I had been passed by probably 90% of the riders (another 8% probably having started ahead of me!) and was clearly going to be at the back of the pack. I actually stuck within sight of the pack for a while...I felt pretty good after getting off the ferry...but eventually they passed out of my sight, as I knew they would. Well, that was OK, but when the group of riders from the next ferry started passing me...THAT was a little depressing!!
And funny, too...I mean, these people had to wait for the ferry to cross back across the river, load the cars, load the bikes, cross back across the river, unload the cars, and finally unload the bikes...and that still wasn't enough of a head start for me to cover those 10 miles to the next ferry without getting caught!!
Here are some other riders on the Golden Eagle ferry...only about 10 miles to go once we cross!!
The end of the century, funnily enough, was about the same place that the Katy Trail ride ended!
I have a picture of myself, back on a much warmer day in June, eating lunch at this building after riding the entire Katy Trail. :)
That was pretty much it. I rode into the parking lot, and the ride was over. It was a little sad...I felt such a sense of excitement and accomplishment...I did it!...but at the end of the ride there's no finish line or cheering group. You just pack up and go home. And I guess that's just kind of how life is.
I did think it was one of the less friendly rides I've been on this year. Probably 75% of the people who passed me (and, as I said, there were a lot!!), didn't speak at all, even to signal "on your left". Overall, however, it was a great experience. Trailnet provided great maps, the route was scenic, interesting, and well-marked, and good support was available. I'm already thinking ahead to next year's rides....
My first century...how I got there
I actually did it. I completed a century, a 100-mile bike ride. I feel a little bit like the guy in the commercial..."I can't believe I [rode] the whole thing!"
It all started in April 2008, when my mom and brothers gave me a new bike. The first time I took it out on the bike trails, I got lost and ended up riding almost 20 miles. I decided that, if I could accidentally ride 20 miles, I could do it on purpose, too. That summer, I just rode locally on our wonderful bike trail system.
This year, I was excited to get out on my bike as soon as possible. I think my first ride was in February. I have an aunt who's an avid cyclist and runner, and we started talking (emailing) about bikes and riding. She suggested I come and ride a leg of the Katy Trail bike ride sponsored by Missouri State Parks, one of the shorter days, you know, "only" 50 miles. I thought she was delusional, but the more I looked at the website, the more I thought about doing the whole ride. So, eventually, I did.
The exciting thing about the Katy ride was that I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it. Then I started wondering what the next big thing would be. Around that time, I got a flyer from Team in Training, and one of the events was a century ride in Arizona. I started thinking about that, and while I never got around to going to the Team in Training meeting, the century idea stuck. After coming back from the Katy Trail, I started looking on the internet for bike rides and found the Ride the Rivers Century...right in my area!
It all started in April 2008, when my mom and brothers gave me a new bike. The first time I took it out on the bike trails, I got lost and ended up riding almost 20 miles. I decided that, if I could accidentally ride 20 miles, I could do it on purpose, too. That summer, I just rode locally on our wonderful bike trail system.
This year, I was excited to get out on my bike as soon as possible. I think my first ride was in February. I have an aunt who's an avid cyclist and runner, and we started talking (emailing) about bikes and riding. She suggested I come and ride a leg of the Katy Trail bike ride sponsored by Missouri State Parks, one of the shorter days, you know, "only" 50 miles. I thought she was delusional, but the more I looked at the website, the more I thought about doing the whole ride. So, eventually, I did.
The exciting thing about the Katy ride was that I wasn't sure I'd be able to do it. Then I started wondering what the next big thing would be. Around that time, I got a flyer from Team in Training, and one of the events was a century ride in Arizona. I started thinking about that, and while I never got around to going to the Team in Training meeting, the century idea stuck. After coming back from the Katy Trail, I started looking on the internet for bike rides and found the Ride the Rivers Century...right in my area!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Homecoming weekend
I remember being in high school and all the fun and excitement surrounding big events like Homecoming. Now that I'm parenting two teenage boys, I'm looking back at my high school days and appreciating all that my parents did to make that fun possible. Here's my Homecoming day this year:
10:15 Leave for Nathan's football game.
11-1 Football game. Brrr...what a difference between this game and two weeks ago when we were getting sunburned! Saturday I was huddled up in a blanket and holding onto the precious heat from my hot chocolate.
2:00 Pick up the girls' corsages
2:30 Eat lunch
3:00 Wash the body paint from last night's game off Daniel's back
3:30 Remind Nathan he has to get ready
3:45 Remind Nathan he has to get ready
4:00 Remind Nathan he has to get ready
4:15 Insist that Nathan get ready since we have to be at his girlfriend's house in 15 minutes.
4:20 Help decide between two ties
4:25 Make boys stand together for a picture of the two of them before the dance
4:30 Leave to pick up Nathan's girlfriend
4:35 Turn around to go back to house and get Nathan's girlfriend's corsage.
4:45 Pictures at Nathan's girlfriend's house.
5:00 Drop off Nathan and Delissa at supper.
5:15 Pictures at Daniel's girlfriend's house
5:45 Pick up Nathan and Delissa
7:45 Drop off Nathan and Delissa at the dance.
Ahhh....relaxing at home for a couple of hours. Took a nap...
10:45 Wake up and go to pick up Nathan and Delissa
10:50-11:10 Wait in insane line of traffic to get into the high school parking lot
11:40 Drop off Nathan and Delissa at party
12:00 Text from Jeff "Are you OK?" as I was pulling in driveway
Quick shower!!
12:35 Leave to pick up Nathan and Delissa from party
1:10 Drop off Delissa
1:30 Finally back in bed for the night!
It's so much more fun to be tired because you're the one having fun, but it makes me happy to see my kids enjoying their high school experience. And I'm soooo happy that prom is 6 months away!!
10:15 Leave for Nathan's football game.
11-1 Football game. Brrr...what a difference between this game and two weeks ago when we were getting sunburned! Saturday I was huddled up in a blanket and holding onto the precious heat from my hot chocolate.
2:00 Pick up the girls' corsages
2:30 Eat lunch
3:00 Wash the body paint from last night's game off Daniel's back
3:30 Remind Nathan he has to get ready
3:45 Remind Nathan he has to get ready
4:00 Remind Nathan he has to get ready
4:15 Insist that Nathan get ready since we have to be at his girlfriend's house in 15 minutes.
4:20 Help decide between two ties
4:25 Make boys stand together for a picture of the two of them before the dance
4:30 Leave to pick up Nathan's girlfriend
4:35 Turn around to go back to house and get Nathan's girlfriend's corsage.
4:45 Pictures at Nathan's girlfriend's house.
5:00 Drop off Nathan and Delissa at supper.
5:15 Pictures at Daniel's girlfriend's house
5:45 Pick up Nathan and Delissa
7:45 Drop off Nathan and Delissa at the dance.
Ahhh....relaxing at home for a couple of hours. Took a nap...
10:45 Wake up and go to pick up Nathan and Delissa
10:50-11:10 Wait in insane line of traffic to get into the high school parking lot
11:40 Drop off Nathan and Delissa at party
12:00 Text from Jeff "Are you OK?" as I was pulling in driveway
Quick shower!!
12:35 Leave to pick up Nathan and Delissa from party
1:10 Drop off Delissa
1:30 Finally back in bed for the night!
It's so much more fun to be tired because you're the one having fun, but it makes me happy to see my kids enjoying their high school experience. And I'm soooo happy that prom is 6 months away!!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
School stuff
We're getting ready to learn about graphing in my first grade classroom, so we've been sorting different collections of things by different ways. We've sorted students by different characteristics of their clothing; sorted completely different items into groups; and sorted foam pieces by shape, color, and size.
Today we worked on putting items from a group onto a graph. We had practiced this on the board with magnets yesterday, so we reviewed what to do as a group. Then, the students each sorted a handful of shapes by color and chose two colors to use. They were to glue their groups of shapes onto graph paper. After the review, we looked over their work together and decided if the graph could go into the "Yes! That's right!" group or the "No, not quite" group and taped them on the board. This is what we got the first time around:
After reviewing each graph and deciding if it was correct or not, we repeated the exercise. This time, we had a much better result:
It's always exciting to see the kids "get it". Now if only I can teach them to figure how many more and how many fewer!!
Today we worked on putting items from a group onto a graph. We had practiced this on the board with magnets yesterday, so we reviewed what to do as a group. Then, the students each sorted a handful of shapes by color and chose two colors to use. They were to glue their groups of shapes onto graph paper. After the review, we looked over their work together and decided if the graph could go into the "Yes! That's right!" group or the "No, not quite" group and taped them on the board. This is what we got the first time around:
After reviewing each graph and deciding if it was correct or not, we repeated the exercise. This time, we had a much better result:
It's always exciting to see the kids "get it". Now if only I can teach them to figure how many more and how many fewer!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Club volleyball
We are entering our first foray into "elite" sports. Nathan tried out for and made a local (St. Louis area) club volleyball team. That's pretty exciting. He has a lot of potential to be a great player. The excitement, however, was quickly followed by stress.
Club volleyball is not only a huge financial commitment (and, honestly, we couldn't do it without help), but it also requires a large time commitment. Practice three times a week in St. Louis, I knew that before signing on. But last night I got an email about athletic training, uniform fittings, etc., all on top of the 2 hour parent meeting I have to be at this week. I'm hopeful that once things are set and they're on their regular schedule I won't have this ball of panic in my chest. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that the other local boy who made the team has practice at the same time so that they can carpool.
Someone who also did the Tour de Coal ride on Saturday kindly emailed me with some suggestions for my first century. The main thing, of course, is to keep riding and get in at least one ride of a good distance. I'm hoping to manage something on Sunday, but with the way my week is shaping up I can't imagine how I'd get in a weeknight ride...and I'm tooo chicken to ride in the dark before school. (Not to mention the fact that getting up at 5:40 is plenty early for me!!)
Club volleyball is not only a huge financial commitment (and, honestly, we couldn't do it without help), but it also requires a large time commitment. Practice three times a week in St. Louis, I knew that before signing on. But last night I got an email about athletic training, uniform fittings, etc., all on top of the 2 hour parent meeting I have to be at this week. I'm hopeful that once things are set and they're on their regular schedule I won't have this ball of panic in my chest. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that the other local boy who made the team has practice at the same time so that they can carpool.
Someone who also did the Tour de Coal ride on Saturday kindly emailed me with some suggestions for my first century. The main thing, of course, is to keep riding and get in at least one ride of a good distance. I'm hoping to manage something on Sunday, but with the way my week is shaping up I can't imagine how I'd get in a weeknight ride...and I'm tooo chicken to ride in the dark before school. (Not to mention the fact that getting up at 5:40 is plenty early for me!!)
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Tour de Coal
Yesterday was the Tour de Coal in Benld, IL. It's a metric century, or 63 miles. Last month, I rode in a "60-mile" ride that turned out to be a 68 mile death march. I had terrible leg cramps from about 25 miles on, largely, I think, because I didn't drink enough. It's pretty easy to stay well hydrated when it's hot outside because you're dying of thirst. Cooler days, while great for riding, make it a little harder to remember to keep drinking.
The Tour de Coal was my warm up for the Ride the Rivers century next month. My first century. Gulp. I was a little apprehensive how it would go after struggling so much last month. I even told the friend I rode with, "I should have sent my century registration before this ride!"
Despite a rainy forecast, we had a really nice day for a ride. The sun was out a lot of the time, and it was fairly cool. The route was advertised as flat to rolling hills with some substantial hills. Pretty accurate. I love the rolling hills. They're a lot of fun. Not so much a fan of the bigger ones, though!! At one point, I went down a pretty steep hill. I've gotten braver than I used to be, but this one made me a little nervous. At the bottom, I thought, "Boy, I'm glad I didn't have to go up that hill!" And then I came around a corner and was facing its evil twin!
One of the nice things about the organized rides is you always find people to talk to. This one was no different. I rode the last 20 or so miles with an older man who passed me. After he passed, I decided I was going to at least keep up with him and so pedalled along behind him. After a while, I pulled alongside me and started chatting. Nice guy, but he managed to unintentionally insult me twice in our time together. First, he told me I was good to ride behind because I'm big. Okaaaayyyy. Then, later, he told me it was good that he came across me because he had been starting to break a sweat!! So...I'm fat AND slow. Haha. I know he didn't mean it that way, but it sure came across that way. If he was someone I was going to hang out with in "real life", I'd have called him on it for sure!!
Overall, I was slower than I'd like to be, but I felt great until the last ten miles or so. Then, we hit a very unwelcome headwind that really slowed us down. That's when I had to start the self-talk: "Only 10 miles...you can ride 10 miles...you've done it before....only 9 more miles...you can ride 9 miles...you've done it before..." And I did, indeed, do it. :)
The rain started about 10 minutes after we got into the truck. Great timing! For us, anyway. I'm sure it was a little disappointing to those attending Benld's fall festival. All in all, it was a good ride. Well marked, nicely spaced SAGs, and a good route. I'll likely be back next year for it.
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