Trikker Chicks... For Women Who Carve

New Home for Trikker Chicks... For Women Who Carve

2013-09-14T10:07:00.002-07:00

Follow this link to all my blogs combined (two, plus a new poetry section. Only for the brave-hearted!)
http://trikkerchicks.wordpress.com/

Continue the adventures, the love affair and the mishaps of one slightly jaded yet still hopeful chick with a Trikke and a serious carving addiction.

13 Months In...

2013-07-28T12:25:00.001-07:00

Shine Bright Like a Diamond

2013-05-29T14:14:00.002-07:00

ACV, Tried and True

2013-05-20T09:02:00.004-07:00

If nothing else, I am woman of my word (well most of the time) and I did promise a post on the amazing healing powers of Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). Before you go looking for your salad dressing, let me specify that it is not just any old vinegar I am talking about, but the raw, unfiltered, unpasteurized and "with the mother" old fashioned kind.

I have stated many times that I love LiveStrong for information on any topic, so I went to them to research the benefits of this stuff. The claims are amazing: helps regulate blood sugar, stimulates metabolism, helps arthritis sufferers and joint pain, helps digestion, it is an anti-inflammatory, lowers cholesterol, works as an antioxidant, can be used as a skin toner, is a weight loss aid, eliminates dandruff AND is a yeast infection remedy (see previous post)!

So why isn't everyone on a regimen of ACV? Maybe because you have to drink the stuff, or maybe you just don't know how amazing raw apple cider vinegar is. Let me make this easy for you to swallow with some hints as to how to use this miracle liquid.

First, don't drink the stuff straight! It will take the enamel right off your teeth. What is advised is to use it liberally on salads, vegetables or potatoes. Or you can add 2 Tablespoons to 32 ounces of water (with some sweetener) and drink some all day long. It is very refreshing this way! Tastes like tart apple cider. Or you can mix it with juice if you are timid.

For a skin bracer, add some to a cotton ball and smear all over. Use on your face as a toner. Rinse your hair with it to rid yourself of dandruff (leave in after conditioning). The only issue with this approach is that you will smell like an H. Salt Fish & Chips store, sans fish, for a while. You have been warned.

I have been drinking this fluid for almost two months now, which is how long it takes to start seeing benefits. I have noticed my stomach getting a bit smaller and my joints are not as stiff. Maybe I should have waited a few more months to report on this, but I am impatient and I really think this is an inexpensive way to do something good for my body -- on a daily basis. What have we got to lose?

A final word on ACV: make sure you get the UN-pasturized, raw, "with the mother" type listed on the label. This type of ACV has a cloudy element to the bottom of the bottle, which is where the magic resides. The cloudy element contains minerals such as phosphorus, potassium and silicon and also powerful enzymes. Your everyday apple cider vinegar is pasteurized and contains none of these elements.

One brand to look for is Bragg's, it is on most grocery store shelves and the cost varies from $3.50-4.50 a bottle, which lasts me all month. Just one more element to a healthy lifestyle and happier body-system. Go get some! Then let me know what you think.

Yeast, It's Not In Just Bread

2013-05-09T11:16:00.000-07:00

I don't know about the rest of you, but when the sun starts its summer pre-heat, my body turns into a sort of oven, especially in the bra area. There is burning and itching taking place and I am like a dog with too many fleas, scratching, sweating, moaning "how do I get relief?"

I have been told by my doctor that it is candida albicans, or a fungal infection, or a yeast infection. Let's be honest. Our Western diet's are filled with processed foods and sugar, which is part of the environment that the fungus thrives on. I consider myself Club Med for the critters: sweaty, big boobs, loads of sugar in my bloodstream. It's only May and I have had enough!

While doing research for another topic (raw apple cider vinegar and its incredible health benefits -- still to come [take note]) I found a more urgent -- to me -- topic, candida, a very serious condition that affects 70% of all people and considered a systemic epidemic.

It may present under my lace-y things but subcutaneously it is affecting all of my body systems as well. Some of the symptoms include:

Fatigue and chronic fatigue
Muscle aches, weakness or paralysis
Insomnia
Pain and/or swelling in joints
Constipation or diarrhea
Bloating, belching, intestinal gas and/or abdominal pain
Poor memory, foggy thinking or feeling "spacey"
Troublesome vaginal itching, burning or discharge

Can you relate? While thinking this may be the answer to ALL my problems (then realizing it is never that simple), I embark on a quest to making my temple less hospitable to the invading hoards. How does one accomplish that Herculean task? Diet, diet, diet.

Isn't that always the answer.

Oxytocin Is the Enemy... Or Is It?

2013-05-05T12:22:00.002-07:00

Ghetto Paradise

I have been taken on a ride with my own hormones for the last few months, and the culprit is oxytocin, or as it is more commonly known, the "love" hormone. And taken on a ride is the way to describe the miles I have clocked so far this year. And while I do have regrets, I wouldn't change a foot of the distance.

What am I talking about you ask yourself? Well I fell, and not off my Trikke either. I entered into a game whose rules I thought I could abide and found myself in the middle of a pool of my own drool. Do I sound angry? Well, only at myself. I could not handle the oxytocin overload on (only) my part.

What is this magical hormone you ask? I love the wiki definition of oxytocin as a mammalian neurohypophysial hormone (because, baby, while swimming in that pool I was reduced to pure mammalian -- for sure!). It is known as the bonding hormone that is released while in contact with loved ones and it acts as a brain modulator (duh!). Yet the relationship between oxytocin and human sexual response is unclear. It is just present when in grabbing distance of (insert your favorite body part here), or when you (insert your favorite naked activity here). Let's just say it is a pair bonding ingredient in the soup of love.

So while I have been spinning my (three) wheels, the blog has gone to seed. Are any of you still out there willing to again read the musings and meanderings of one slightly bruised and shaken Trikker Chick? After all, it is spring, a time of rebirth, regrowth and re-carving up a storm on the (bike) paths in LBC, my little bit of ghetto-paradise (see above)!

Still Into You... (Black Birdie)

2013-05-04T16:10:00.002-07:00

Can count the years on one hand
that we've been together
I need the other one to hold you (UP)
Make you feel, make you feel better

It's not a walk in the park
to love each other
But when our fingers interlock, (ON THE GRIPS)
Can't deny, can't deny you're worth it
'Cause after all this time, I'm still into you

I should be over all the butterflies
But I'm into you (I'm into you)
And baby even on our worst nights (WINDY)
I'm into you (I'm into you)

Let 'em wonder how we got this far
'Cause I don't really need to wonder at all
Yeah after all this time I'm still into you...
PARAMORE (from Paramore lp)

Song For My Heart

2013-05-02T02:45:00.000-07:00

Carvin' Monterey

2013-05-01T13:24:00.002-07:00

This is what I have been up to lately. I "borrowed" this from a post in TrikkeWorld Magazine, thanks to Douglass Weymouth of Santa Cruz.

Muscle Spasms, Now What?

2013-03-24T10:22:00.004-07:00

In a recent post in TrikkeWorld Magazine, I admitted to sticking my butt out when I carve. Because of that, and a few acrobatics between the sheets, I have a chronic spasm in my hip. I have taken pain medications, muscle relaxers, had massages, stretched, used ice as well as my tens unit and run the batteries dry in my vibrator. (What? I'm suppose to use it on my hip?!) What do I try next?

In my search for relief, it seems I've opened a treasure chest of reasons, products and remedies (pharmaceutical and homeopathic) for my pesky muscle. The only thing I really discovered is that the answer is not as simple as the question, never is.

After checking the calcium, magnesium and potassium levels in my multivitamin I find I receive -- daily -- only about 20% from my multi, so I must make up the rest in the foods I consume (can these nutrients be found in marshmallows?). Foods suggested for this purpose would be the cold water fishes, green leafy vegetables and raisins to name a few.

Is additional supplementation where my answer lays? Branched-chain amino acids and MSM aside, I may also have a buildup of lactic acid from not stretching, working too hard or overuse of my muscle(s). It's a rather fascinating chain of events that the body performs in increasing energy output and the reverse: protecting itself from injury due to overuse.

Lactic acid is the burn in your hard working Trikke-legs. It is not, however responsible for the pain felt the next day, say after an LSM. So how do I rid my body of lactic acid? Simple! Exercise regularly, cool down after exercise and do static stretching.

I think I've come full circle on this topic. It seems like healthy eating, common sense and moderation is the name of this game, advice that could be spread like Nutella, across all the crannies of my life!

Song For Black Birdie

2013-03-21T15:08:00.001-07:00

My Heart Beats For You...

Stretching Out Your Kinks

2013-03-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

It's all my fault. I did use kink in the headline, but I've got to attract attention somehow. And just to be clear, I am talking about muscles here not your personal preferences which by the way one should keep to oneself. I learned this the hard way. Back to stretching...

Any good search begins with a wiki reference, and so shall this one. Stretching is one of the forgotten aspects of fitness. Especially with me. It helps muscles by increasing flexibility, reducing risk of injury and also increasing performance. I'm all about increasing performance. So when should we stretch and how: bouncy or sustained pressure?

As far as "when" one should stretch, if you want to enhance your overall fitness -- before and after exercise. When done correctly, stretching strengthens your muscles and enhances your overall fitness. If done incorrectly, it can cause damage. There are four different ways to stretch. Depending on which muscles or tendons need to be stretched will determine the method one should employ. Stretching can become injurious and ineffectual, if done incorrectly (needed restating). That determination should probably be done by a professional, I certainly can't tell if my pain is caused from a tendon or muscle!

There are four types of stretching, which I mentioned earlier. They are ballistic, dynamic, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (heretofore known as PNF), and static stretching. Ballistic is the bouncing stretch, dynamic stretching is a walking or movement stretch, PNF is a type of stretch for a particular muscle and its specific job (note: professional) and static stretching is maintaining a gentle pull on the muscle and holding it for 30 seconds. The next paragraph is directly lifted from the wiki site, since I couldn't word it better than this:

The time frame that a person stretches during their workout is crucial to the well being of their muscles. Dynamic and ballistic stretching should be performed before a workout in order to increase blood flow, strength and power and to reduce tightness. PNF stretching should be performed during the workout to work on a specific muscle before it is put to use. Static stretching should be performed at the end of a workout in order to increase the flexibility and remove the lactic acid build up. Stretching properly and in the correct time frame of one's workout is vital for gaining all the benefits from these stretches.

One very important point I relearned is that exercise creates lactic acid in the muscles, and stretching after a workout allows the body to release this acid product which is one of the causes of the familiar aches and pains. Stretching also helps prevent hardening of the arteries. Stretching increases endurance, performance, and is more beneficial to those who stretch regularly than to those who do not.

So at this point, you must excuse me while I go try to touch my toes.

Retraining Issue #1, Muscle Spasms

2013-03-07T11:02:00.005-08:00

Getting ready for the season

Ouch! Did you feel that? I have one in my back and every once in a while (several times a day) it likes to flex it's power and freeze me in some very odd pose while it has it's way with me. And not in a good way either...

It's a muscle spasm and it comes part and parcel with working out and not stretching, and not drinking enough water and a few other factors that I personally need to review here and now. Otherwise this Season of the Trikke (others know it as summer) will be a painful one.

Muscle spasms, or cramps, come mostly from overuse. If you have increased your ride too soon or continue to ride at your limit, you are on your way to cramp town. Of course there are other reasons like I mentioned in the previous paragraph but could bare repeating, such as not drinking enough water and losing electrolytes through profuse sweating (I know some of you personally and you go all out when you ride which causes some serious liquid loss -- see Real Women Sweat).

When you drink six-to-eight ounces of liquid ever hour as you ride, you need to replace the potassium that you lose through sweating. Carry a sports beverage on your ride, especially on hot days. Or supplement with a buffered salt tablet. One important note is that replacement of potassium takes longer than one day, so continue this regimen the next day as well.

This essential electrolyte comes in many flavors, like banana, green leafy vegetable, tomato and orange. Of course you know I mean the actual food, right? There are some very serious consequences to low potassium levels like irrational behavior (note to self: get potassium checked), confusion, muscle spasm, weakness, cardiac problems, nausea, swelling of the hands and feet and lethargy. Yikes!

Now that I've scared myself sufficiently, I'll move on to my personal reason for muscle cramps -- not stretching. This needs to be an article in itself and so it will be. Look forward to a post on stretching and other ways to treat spasms, in the next few days, cause I'm back, baby, and I'm ready to attack that which concerns us as Trikker Chicks. How's that for pulling you back in?

Regaining Fitness

2013-03-01T17:09:00.002-08:00

It has finally happened. The heavens converged, the clouds parted and the wind stopped clearing its throat long enough for this week to be more like Southern California.

I have been on my Trikke for three sun-filled and warm days. The "gods" have smiled on me and I have resumed my usual path down the beach in my favorite Trikke-town (or Long Beach). I feel reborn to say the least.

One of my biggest surprises has been how quickly my strength has returned in the last three trips I have taken to Cherry Beach. There are a few slight inclines that when I am at my least-best are quite challenging. I churned those inclines into dust today. In only three trips. The number three will come up again later...

I had let my carving slip quite a bit since the weather turned inhospitable this past winter but I kept up with my walking. Except for the last three weeks. The walking helped maintain some of my cardio fitness, but what happens when one is sidelined by an injury or maybe couched with several maladies at once? How long does it take us to regain our fitness after time off?

It depends on the amount of time. First off, it depends on how long you have been working out AND how long you take off. If one has been working out for more than a year, that person will lose fitness more slowly than a less fit person. Since I have been carving for a few years now, I read specifically about that model of fitness.

According to the research, I really only lost a dozen percentage points of cardio strength in my three weeks off. It seems that the loss is negligible up to seven days. Then between days 10-14 you lose 6% of your VO2 max. Isn't that encouraging? So from day 14-30 you will lose 12% of your VO2 max (that's fancy pants for cardio fitness).

So how does one advance their VO2 max as quickly and efficiently as possible? The advice I found to accelerate training is to find a hill. Not on your Trikke though, on your feet (what?). Walking uphill at a fast pace three times a week for three minutes at a time (with three reps) for a few weeks should do it.

I'm planning to meet the masses at the beach tomorrow while the sun still warms the sand, before the next system moves through the area. Will I be seeing you out there, in more than spirit?

Addendum: Read TrikkeWorld Magazine for the second part of this article, Detraining's Effect on Muscle Strength.

Spring Cleaning Revisited

2013-02-27T09:41:00.002-08:00

Well do I have egg on my face. Actually it's coffee grounds, but the saying stipulates egg, so lets go with that. Anyway, last night I decided to take my own advice and re-subscribe to my blog (yes I am one of the subscribers). It is at that moment that I learned one does not have to resubscribe, that the wonderful fairies inside my computer (or FeedBurner) took care of it. So to recap, you do not have to resubscribe to the blog, it was transferred to the new system automatically. OOPS!

I did warn you when I admitted to not knowing much about RSS feeds and such, and being technically challenged. I guess I could have checked this situation out before I posted, but I haven't been myself much lately.

The good news is I am back! I am on my Trikke, the sun is warming my section of the globe and all is well! I feel confident in saying that you can again look forward to me writing about that which I love, Black Birdie, my faithful Trikke and carving and associated topics like health, diet, fitness from the point of view of one typical Trikker Chick.

Thanks for hanging in there with me during what will forever be known as my dark ages, as it seems like ages since I was consistent with the blog. Or Carving. Or getting off the couch. Or not sleeping all day. Or eating junk food all night. Okay, enough. As a good friend would say, "Let's Ride!"

Spring Cleaning

2013-02-26T08:52:00.003-08:00

Attention to the seven of my loyal readers! I am updating my email subscription processing system (sounds complicated, no?) and am going to an RSS reader which makes it possible for me to be more accessible to you by expanding where and how you can access the blog.

From what I understand, with the RSS reader subscription you will be able to access the blog on your smart phones, and I know how important that can be. Actually I don't, I am not that technically forward. However, someone who does know about that stuff advised that I do this.

So in the interest of moving forward, and to make a long story less long, please re-subscribe to the first platform on your right (on my blog site). Starting next week, to continue your subscription you will need to sign up through FeedBurner as I am erasing the previous subscription service. Please continue your valued support, and remember, re-subscribe. I hope to make it worth your while by posting again. I promise. Thank you!!

That First Ride of the Year

2013-02-06T10:47:00.000-08:00

Although this little miracle didn't occur as close to the stroke of 2013 as I would have liked, I finally got my first ride of the year on my beach bike path. How can I describe the feeling? Well, you probably know it if you own a Trikke.

Feeling free within the ropes of gravity, I fell in love with myself a little more. I can still make this carving vehicle move down the bike path. I am winded but not gasping. I'm not traveling at a high speed either, but I am moving forward. The conservation of angular momentum is working for me. I'm leaning more than ever before, I'm no longer see-sawing through my course. My technique is improved.

I could also resort to cliches to report that my soul was filled that day. I sometimes climb on the back of my Trikke, feeling broken by the week's events, and am able to inflate myself back to human form. I am who I was meant to be on my little miracle worker. Okay, I AM one with the universe during my ride.

I could go on to say that the world and its problems seem less pressing and more manageable after a ride. When I see fellow carvers, I know we have a secret together. Yet it is not a secret because you can see the joy this activity brings written over each one of our faces.

I guess I'm working at getting the word out here on this site, this pleasure shouldn't be a secret. I've done what I could for today.

My Heart is Home

2013-02-01T10:44:00.002-08:00

I love this photo!

I wasn't ready for a ride. The weather was warm. I didn't want to waste the opportunity. I walked to the Bikestation where I keep my Trikke, Black Birdie, and rode her home. She now sits in the living room where I glance at her affectionately. If I'm not going to ride her at least I can remember what I am missing.

It actually is a form of torture. That's the idea. I need to install an eject button under my couch cushions, but until then my Trikke will sit in the living room where I need to step around her to get to the kitchen. Did I just uncover another motivating factor in my journey to control my bad eating habits? I must step around my Trikke to get to the kitchen...

So while I enjoy the company of Black Birdie, I will be conscious of whether I can curb the marshmallow creme dreams and focus on brown rice and veggies to fill out my menu and stomach. This is after all the beginning of a new month with promises of warm weather and the familiar heartbeat of spring.

I already feel more alive.

Oh, Pause... Oh, Snap

2013-01-31T11:36:00.002-08:00

Hello again. Again. Remember the last time you felt like the air had been deflated from your personal, proverbial tires? I'm not talking about Trikke tires right now either. I'm running about 20 psi short this week. What is up with me? I'm starting to think it's not a medication issue at all, but menopause (at this point any male readers out there -- be warned!) Wow! Seems like I just turned 35 a few weeks ago.

Sadly, no. I am actually entering the "change" late as far as most estimates estimate. I officially passed the mid-fifties point in September, 2012. I can't help but wonder, what's next and for how long?

Many, more educated writers have written on this subject with differing backgrounds and points of view. One such article quoted menopause as sometimes lasting four years to a decade, while most agreed the worst of it is a stage that covers about a two year spread. Yikes! If this ride is going to last for a couple of years, I need a seat belt -- and so will my friends.

I have been so down lately and assumed it was my new psych meds. Menopause can cause depression in some women, luckily only about 25% of women have these strong reactions to the petrification process going on in our tubes. Lucky me. Then there is the insomnia. So why am I not looking for a high bridge or clock tower?

I'm dreaming of my next trip to the beach on my Trikke, that's why. I am looking forward to spring and sun and group rides and an awakening of all living things under taking their own personal change of life stage. I'm looking at all of this as a process, a development, a becoming. I have no choice. Especially if I want to carve again...

Waiting For Green

2013-01-24T10:33:00.001-08:00

Especially the trees

Stripped of their fleshy garments

Shudder in this chill.

Under the winter cold

My bones are reminded they are brittle things

Like the leaves under my feet.

As I wait for green

To awaken under a March sun

I reminisce about sunsets after 8 pm,

Sweating in the dry August air,

And trees dressed in their finest attire

Strutting in the afternoon breeze,

Happy to no longer be naked

In the face of this heartless winter’s gaze.

POEM TO APPEAR IN UPCOMING "GREEN" ANTHOLOGY BY SILVER BIRCH PRESS,
out March 15th. Available on Amazon.com

Waiting for Water to Boil

2013-01-16T10:36:00.002-08:00

The last few weeks have been like waiting for the water to boil. I am on a slow simmer waiting for my health to get better (winter cold) and my arm to heal (strained ligament). I am waiting for the weather to straighten itself out and remember this is Southern California. I am waiting to carve on my Trikke, Black Birdie, once again.

I haven't really considered at any length how you, who live with snow, cope with the cold. I am grounded. I must admit that I am quite a wuss this year. Is the cold weather why I got sick or is it because I haven't been exercising much?

Physical activity helps boost our immune systems and therefore helps fight off sickness. Those of us who are physically active even heal more quickly. That's the good news. But what happens when the cold or flu does finally overtake us and slam us down onto the sheets?

It is recommended that if the illness is localized in the head, it is okay to exercise at a moderate pace. If the illness presents as a sore throat or respiratory distress, well, consider yourself grounded and symptomatic, as well.

It is a dangerous myth that you can "work out an illness." That will only set you up for being sick longer. And it is already advised to wait a week or two, post symptoms, before heading back to the Trikke. While your head spins from that estimation of time-off-trail, there is good news if this cold hasn't gotten to you yet...

Those of us who exercise regularly (most days for about 30 minutes) have a lower chance of respiratory infection, and when we do succumb it is for a shorter duration. Those of us who exercise 30-60 minutes have a 40% lower incidence of sick days during the cold season.

So if all that is true, what happened to me? I must have stopped to tie my shoe-laces and the cold caught me. Or I forgot to wash my hands after riding the bus. However I got this bug, this time, I won't be down much longer. Research says so.

At this point I am again, waiting for the water to boil. It's for my tea. I'm going back to the couch, blanket and Kleenex in hand, just for a few more days.

This Is Me

2013-01-12T09:57:00.003-08:00

Wow! This place looks familiar. As I look around, I feel like I'm in a room from my childhood, familiar, maybe a little smaller than I remembered and full of great memories. I remember being witty, profound and curious.

I have recently experienced a change in my brain chemistry by way of a change in psych meds. It has not been an easy transition, and I am still waiting for my serotonin levels to exit the roller coaster ride they have been enjoying for the last few weeks. The ride has not been so fun for me.

The psychological community has a very patient wait and see approach to we patients adjusting to new medications.What that means to me is hours, days, weeks of not feeling quite right and not knowing what to do about it. There is nothing to do but wait. I have spent the better part of my last 20 years waiting for the medications to work their magic on me. They seem to always fall a bit short.

Don't misunderstand. I have a big job also. I have to stay ahead of the beast. And so I get on my Trikke and race ahead of my faulty brain chemistry. Most of the time I win the race. Lately, I have been stumbling.

It has been a perfect storm of events that have kept me from sitting here and sharing my thoughts and research with you. A lot of my inspiration comes from my Trikke. I have an injured ligament in my shoulder and have not been on Black Birdie for over a month, (sob). The weather in Southern California has been bone shattering cold and rainy (I now appreciate the challenges of my east coast readers so much more!).

I write all this to ask you, my valued readers, to hang in there with me. I am really fighting the good fight, and I will be victorious, again. It just takes some time. Believe me, I've been here before.

I Love Silver!

2013-01-07T09:29:00.003-08:00

I was recently published in the most prestigious anthology I have ever had poetry appear in. It is called Silver to celebrate Silver Birch Press' silver anniversary. All the poems and prose have something to do with, you guessed it, silver. This is the flyer for the reading from the anthology by many of the authors, including me. If you knew my name, you could probably find it on the second from last line, in the middle. Oops, did I give it away?

Happy New Year!

2013-01-03T08:57:00.000-08:00

Well, if you are a regular reader you may have noticed I have been absent from the scene for a while. I decided to take some time during the holidays to recharge, reinvigorate and regroup. I hope you did also. So what might 2013 have in store for Trikker Chick?

In the last couple of weeks of 2012, I made some firm decisions to clean up my act. It's not like I was in the clubs every night drinking with the dudes, yet my lifestyle was only slightly healthier. Lots of refined sugar (marshmallows anyone?) and some walking, then plopping on the couch for the rest of the night. Can you relate?

I haven't been on Black Birdie for about three weeks now (injured wing) and I am all kinds of "out of sorts". I promise I am not about to go into a tirade of complaints at this point, I just want you to fully understand how far I have slipped from my fitness plans and goals. But luckily this is a new year. I get to start all over again.

So, for this next year I plan to get back into shape, detox from marshmallows and eat whole foods. In other words, become someone else for a bit. Or is it becoming the real me? Look forward to posts on fitness, health, personal gripes from me and lots of references to my Trikke and carving. I look forward to having you along for the ride.

Will Return Soon...

2012-12-22T15:47:00.003-08:00