It’s tax deductible and would mean ever so much to me.

THANK YOU.

Yes, yes. I’m a girl. So yes, having a cute new outfit is definitely a good motivator.

I only did about thirty minutes of hills but that is a start! Here are some pics of my super adorable extra cool “costume” (as the 8 year old put it).

So yeah. That shower caddy is pretty cool huh

I got matching arm warmers, too.

Do you have certain cycling clothes that you prefer above the rest? What makes them cool to you?

Hate is a strong word. I rarely use it.

But I EXTRA hate the Fuji Crosstown 4.0, which I rented on my most recent trip back to Massachusetts.

What is the use of this bike??? After just three miles on the bike, the insides of my thighs were rubbed raw because of the MASSIVE saddle that ground up against my skin and clothing. There is no reason to have a saddle this big and mushy. I sank into it and pretty much waddled the next few days because of the pain (I did ten miles in the bike and called it quits).

Sure, it looks deceptively ‘cute’ with it’s color scheme and ‘hey, I’m chill’ demeanor, but don’t listen. This bike is crap. It will make you hate riding.

Does this huge saddle make my ass look fat!?

It has seven gears and shifts by rotating the handlebar (always a minus in my book). What is this bike good for? It’s not as cute as a beach cruiser (which I also abhor), nor as useful as a commuter bike.

Do you own one of these monstrosities? Do you actually like it? Help defend it from my cruel tirade!

Talk about prime biking!! The weather has been spectacular, there is almost no traffic, and I bike through forests and swamps and ponds and it’s just so awesome.

There is also another huge benefit to visiting the family back in Mass – DUNKIN DONUTS. Yes, my gluttony runs deep when confronted right now with Dunkin Donuts iced coffee.

Intergalactic Coffee

Right now, DD is doing a promotion for Men in Black 3. So they have some kind of stupid ‘intergalactic’ star shaped donut and black and pink straws. Which are, admittedly, kind of cute. And posters with tentacle rape or something going on with them. I’ll try to get a picture of the tentacle rape. No joke. It’s really creepy.

Got a few cool reviews of various techno-geek stuff going on, and I’ve also begun training for a triathlon, so hopefully I’ll not be lazy and keep updating with everything going on. Feeling positive.

I will conclude this post with a picture of a cow. I moo’d a lot at the cow, but I think I spoke the wrong dialect.

What part of MOOO do you not understand???

1. Bring a Sherpa – I’m pretty sure half the things I walked on were animal runs, or just patches of dirt that looked like a path. There was no path.

2. Get hiking boots – Sliding around on my ass because my sneakers slipped out from under me was not what I envisioned for this hike

3. Bring others – In case I don’t get a Sherpa, bring other humans so that someone can go back to civilization to get medical attention when I fall and break everything

4. Wear longer pants – Every cacti & plant got a bite of my juicy, tender, delicious, sexy legs.

So I am foregoing running tonight so I can wash the prickly feeling of plant and grubby feeling of dirt off my battered body.

Lady Face mountain – you won today, but I will be back. And I’ll climb you to the top and show you who is boss!!!

For the International people – does your country have an International Bike Month?

What special events are going on in your area? Check out this site to see what’s going on!

May 14th – 18th is Bike to Work Week! A lot of major cities will have nifty booths with freebies around if you bike on up. I’m going to attempt to bike to work, at least with public transportation to back me up. I moved really far from work. yeah yeah it’s still biking distance (under 30 miles) but it’s already in the upper 80′s out here.

Anyways, let’s use this month to try to get some more people on bikes, and less people in cars.

Well, this morning I got out of the house by 7 AM to hit the trails!! I apologized to my road bike and road off into the canyon.

Now, I have a dilemma. Long time readers may recall that I had thyroid cancer last year and no longer have a thyroid. This means I take thyroid meds, and I can’t eat for an hour after I take them, which is first thing after I wake up. So I hit the trails on an empty stomach and BONKED!! So I’ll have to figure that out.

Also, I got downright FILTHY. No idea why – it wasn’t muddy, but me and the bike were caked in mud. I had to keep wiping off my water bottle (see pic below) and ewww grit in teeth ewww.

Grubby water bottle, stupid finger in photo

As the trail was mostly a single track trail, I was battered by the overgrowing plants (most of which are California mustard plants, so I was turning a nice shade of yellow).
BUT! Even though I have hiked this trail also several times, I never noticed all the THISTLE plants. If you are unaware of what a thistle plant is, it’s a spiky stabby plant with a pretty purple flower. See image below. You do not want this plant brushing up against you while biking an overgrown bike trail.

I STAB YOUUU

I didn’t complete the entire canyon (having done about 7 miles in an HOUR, ugh) but the goal today was get out of bed and bike. And I did just that!!! So now I shall conclude with some lovely vista shots and a gratuitous kitty picture. Just because I can. ^_^ /

I stared at the hill and turned back.

Santa Monica Mountains and seas of mustard plants

I AM GETTING SNUGGLES FROM A KITTY YAY

The problem is, I made way too many life choices right after my surgery. So now I can’t figure out what is the cause of what.

I’m not a person who believes in regret – I MADE the CHOICE. I have to live with it. But it doesn’t mean I like it, yanno?

Also, related to poor life-choices, I’ve gained a considerable amount of weight (15lbs) in the past year or two. It’s so weird being 165 lbs. It’s horrible, I feel HUGE. Because I’m so tall (5’9″), most people don’t really notice, or don’t think I’m overweight. Of course, if you believe in the BMI scale (which is OK for reference, but not to be that relied on), my BMI is 24.4, and ‘overweight’ is 25. That is wayyy too close to comfort.

The doctor was like ‘oh you have lost weight!’, trying to give me a positive, but the truth is, it was cold last time I was at his office so I was wearing more clothes. Today it was just leggings and a light dress. So no, I haven’t lost weight (except muscle mass); I just didn’t wear heavier clothing.

I haven’t been on a bike in weeks; I’m going to make a huge effort tomorrow to at least take the trail bike out for a like, 3mile spin around the canyon.

The choices are mine; I need to make the RIGHT choice. I’ll admit – it’s tough, scary and downright painful making the ‘right’ choice right now. I’m scared just thinking about it. Boo hiss mew to being such a scaredy cat. Which, of course, is yet another choice, right?

Well, to end this fairly boring post – at least I have the ability to make choices. If I have to be a woman, at least I’m a woman in the 21st century in the United States.