Done with winter.

Hey, how you been? Me? Not so great.

Oh, the year started off with grand plans and intentions. It hasn't exactly gone according to plan, however.

1. If you follow me on twitter, you may have noticed that I have been running a bunch lately. Certainly more than I have been cycling. I have signed up for the Rock n' Roll half-marathon next month. I did this for two reasons: I needed a change in activity, and I needed to get in better shape for the Unity Tour.  Although I completed the Tour last year with no major problems, I know I could have been in better shape. With running, I've already been able to shed nearly 20lbs, and I feel much better. Running has been going swimmingly runningly, except for the last two weeks. I took some time off because I've been having a nagging pain in my left achilles tendon, and everything I have googled says DO NOT RUN. I also probably have tuberculosis. I'm not sure. Anyway, I figure a little rest can't hurt. Still, I have actually come to enjoy running (and I used to HATE it with a capital H. And A, T & E).  It's very meditative once you get past the "this sucks" phase. It lets me zone out in a way that cycling doesn't really offer me, at least urban cycling. When I'm riding in the city, I find I have to be hyper-vigilant because of traffic & drivers & pedestrians & little tiny dogs & little tiny people. I usually only get into that "zone" when I'm on empty trails or rural roads. It's a nice change, for once.

2. I hate winter. Seriously. I am giving up all pretense of being a Winter Viking Cyclist. I am sick and tired of having to wear a minimum of 4 layers of clothing and taking 20 minutes just to get out my front door because I need to make sure I have gloves, hat, scarf, extra gloves, extra socks & still feeling like an icicle as soon as I get outside. I am tired of the constant gray. I am tired of fighting with the wind. I am tired of my nose running & my eyes tearing up. Done. Over. Go Away. As a result, I've barely done any "fun" cycling this year so far. I still ride at work, and even that is a bare minimum. I am ready for spring and sun & warmth. So ready.

3. I have been steadfastly avoiding fundraising/training for the Unity Tour. I have had a pretty solid training plan all laid out, but I have been avoiding it because it just reminds me that I ALSO need to fundraise. And I hate fundraising. So this is where I will need your help. I will be doing SOME fundraising events (like the bike-wash and maybe a karaoke night), but any little bit that you can donate online would be SUPER GREAT. The link is over there to the right --------> For those that are not familiar with the Police Unity Tour, please allow me to sum up a little bit:

-It is a 3 day, approx. 280 mile bike ride from Richmond to DC (it winds quite a bit). The ride is designed to raise awareness for the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial in Washington, DC and the men & women that died in the line of duty the previous year (and all years, really). Both active & retired law enforcement folks from all over the country participate, and there are several chapters, all of whom ride from various locations & mileages to DC. The ride coincides with Police Week in DC and we all arrive as one giant group for the candlelight vigil. If you have never attended, I strongly encourage you to do so. It is a moving, heart-wrenching and powerful experience.  Last year, I believe the Unity Tour as a whole managed to raise about $1 million for the Memorial. Last year was my first time doing the ride and it was such an amazing experience. I have been lucky in that I have not been personally touched by a line of duty death this year (SORT OF, but that is a story for another time) but I have in the past. This ride is super important to me. As the ride approaches, I will be posting more information specific to line of duty deaths and the law enforcement memorial. In the meantime, I encourage to you visit the Officer Down Memorial Page. Please consider donating. Every cent goes to a good cause.

4. Speaking of training for the Unity Tour, as much as I love Kermit and how well he performed during last year's tour, I am looking for a more appropriate road bike to ride and train on for the tour. I will admit, I got made fun of for the fenders & pretty pink handlebars. I still kicked that ride's butt though. But I think this year I actually would like to ride something a little more...sporty. zippy. Not 650b. So, if you have a spare road bike sitting around that you'd like to get rid of for fairly cheap, or simply let me borrow for a few months, I would be eternally grateful. I'm not actually looking to add another bike to my stable, but I will if I have to, I guess.... :-) Please let me know in the comments or shoot me an email/tweet. If you are a Bike Shop (AHEM AHEM AHEM NOT LOOKING IN ANY PARTICULAR SHOP'S DIRECTION OR ANYTHING) and would like to donate a road bike or sponsor me or even just give money, I can give you some sweet details on being a corporate donor (it really is pretty sweet). Just email me.

5. And speaking of borrowed bikes, I actually got a a bite on Jamie (my Jamis that is available for borrowing). Unfortunately, the weather was crappy the weekend she needed it, so Jamie wasn't needed. Still, it was nice to know that people out there are paying attention. Jamie is still available! I know the National Bike Summit is coming up really soon--so if there are any women out there that would like to borrow my bike for the summit, let me know. It's totally yours.

6. And finally, I've had a bit of bomb go off in my personal life. This isn't the blog for that (or any blog, for that matter) but its a pretty big reason as to why I have been rather quiet on the blog lately, and unfortunately it may stay that way for awhile while I tend to some personal matters. Everything is OK, but my energy has to be directed elsewhere for a bit. It's a good thing, because I have come to realize what a Negative Nancy I have become in the last year or so. It's not a good thing. I don't like being sarcastic and snarky and unhappy and just generally a drag to be around. So now I can focus on getting better & happier again. I know there's a bunch of bike-related events coming up (National Bike Summit, the Women & Bikes program is launching, various rides are starting up again), but you may not see much of me at that them in the next month or so. (Still planning on Vasa though!) I will still promote them, however--if you have a bike event coming, let me know! I will definitely put the word out.

And that's pretty much it. Please donate, and if you have a good lead on a road bike I can borrow, hit me up!

P.S. I took Betty out for some errands today (it was a gorgeous day, weather-wise) and both Betty & I received a good amount of compliments, so I will take that as a good day.

Some photos:

This is what happens when you don't use a spill-proof lid.

Tesla Bike? One of my favorite car "dealerships" in DC.

Bike on bike on bike. These are Capital Bikeshare maintenance guys (on bikes) helping out a DDOT ticket-writer (on a bike).

Working hard, or hardly working? (Inauguration 2013)

Bike Karma!

First, I would like to Congratulate Will for winning the $50 Revolution Cycles gift card giveaway! Congrats!

Also, thank you to Capital Bikeshare & Revolution Cycles for the opportunity to give something back!

Second, for those of you that left a comment with your favorite cycling memory (even you, Erik, even though you deleted yours out of fairness!) I really enjoyed reading about all of them. Seriously. Bicycling is awesome!

The last few days, Betty has been having some issues. I rode home the other night and I hit a bump. All of a sudden, I couldn't pedal anymore! Not only could I not pedal, but I couldn't brake! Yikes! Betty's chain had slipped off. Not good! Luckily I was on level ground, and I was able to stop and fix it without crashing. I figured it was all good once I got home, since the chain managed to slip back on while I was walking her home.

Then yesterday, I was on my way to the Roller Derby match at the DC Armory when Betty threw her chain again! Oh no!!! I didn't have time to fiddle around with her this time, and I almost crashed because I lost my braking ability again. arrrrrgh! I locked her up in front of Duffy's and prayed that I would have time to fix her another time. I really had to get to Derby! Luckily a friend was driving, so I hitched a ride with him.

I had a great time at the Roller Derby (only 2 more games this season, people!) and ended up having to leave Betty locked up overnight at Duffy's.

I came back today to get her, and figured I would just walk her to the nearest Bike Shop for a fix. I was walking along V St, when a bunch of guys that were standing in front of a row house noticed my wonky chain :-( They stopped me and asked if I needed a fix--I said sure! (What did I have to lose?)

Those guys had my chain back on and tightened in 10 minutes flat. How awesome?! I offered to pay them money, but they refused.  They saved me a good 30 minute walk, and who knows in labor fees. Seriously, how awesome? I believe some beer might magically appear on their doorstep in the near future.

That is a true example of bike karma :-)

So, who's excited about Spring? I know it still feels like Winter, but Spring is here. It really is! So many cool events coming up.

Who's with me?

What's your favorite Spring event?

Total Bike Karma. I have no doubt there will come a time when I can pay this favor back!

Spring is so close...

I can feel that spring is right around the corner. The warmer days are outnumbering the colder days. We've set our clocks forward. And I've started to see buds & flower blooms.

Last weekend I picked up Betty from the shop after her tune-up. I couldn't wait for a nice, long ride with her. Luckily my friends had hit me up to do a loop around the Capital Crescent Trail & Rock Creek Park. It was glorious. 30 miles of meandering through beautiful scenery. I couldn't think of a better way to start off a weekend day, even if I had just lost an hour of sleep thanks to DST ;-)

Unfortunately my camera had a little accident on my way to meet my friends. Somehow it came unscrewed from my mount and went flying off my bike while I was on the CCT. I was able to retrieve it, but it took a bit of effort before I could get it in working condition again. Unfortunately, I don't really have any pics from the first part of my ride. I did get a few though:

Betty in Rock Creek Park. That's my Banana Saver on my saddle, btw.

On the Capital Crescent Trail.

Blurry Beach Drive. It's shut down to vehicular traffic on the weekends.

What a gorgeous sunny day.

Can you imagine what this looks like when the trees are in bloom?

If you squint, you can see the blooming daffodils on the hill.

Heading towards the Watergate & the Kennedy Center

 More nature.

Lincoln Memorial

A view from the driver's seat.

Can't wait to do it again.

Yesterday I had a couple of quick errands to run. Which took me near this place:

I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to try a little cupcake experiment of my own! I decided to roll with the Red Velvet cupcakes. It was a really difficult choice, but I wasn't sure which flavor The Boy would prefer, so I decided to play it safe. Everyone loves Red Velvet. They packed them in wax paper & a to-go box:

A cupcake is merely a frosting transportation device. And Betty is a cupcake transportation device.

The box was then taped shut & placed in my front basket for the ride:

Yum Yum.

Some notes: The temperature was in the mid-50's. I had less than half a mile to travel on paved city streets. The box was the only item in the front basket.

When I got home, I resisted the urge to open the box right away. I had some chores to do, and decided to wait until they were done before rewarding myself.

A clean apartment later, and it was time....

And I don't have a photo. Want to know why? Myself and The Boy DEVOURED them before I could remember to get a photo. Whoops.

You will just have to take my word for it that they survived the trip just fine. I think the smooth paved road and the quick travel time with mild temps helped tremendously. The two cupcakes were just enough to sit snugly in their box without sliding around.

And that is the first of my cupcake experiments.

50 States Ride

(The app I use to map out my rides was acting wonky. It missed the last 5 miles of my ride, and didn't record correctly in the beginning. Still, this is the route, more or less.)

It actually ended up being a "46" states ride for me, since I skipped the last 5 miles of the route (and rode the 5 miles home instead).

The day started out perfect. It was warm, but not too warm. Sunny & not humid. I had a good breakfast, filled my water bottle and threw a bag of dried dates in my bag for a snack. Lots of riders gathered at the starting area. Betty received many compliments, and I couldn't wait to get started. We were given our cue sheets, and I probably should have been worried when it was 4 pages (double-sided) long!

The first 2 hours were a lovely breeze. The course was relatively flat and scenic, winding downtown and around the monuments. There were a few places I narrowly missed a turning, but I managed to get back on track. I even caught a quick history lesson from a fellow rider around the Tidal Basin area. I never caught her name, but she was a walking riding encyclopedia of DC knowledge! I arrived at the first pit stop optimistic.

Oh, if only I could have bottled that feeling!

The next segment of the ride was more challenging. Whoever designed this part of the route is a masochist, because there were some pretty long and steep hills back to back! Betty was not happy. She can do steep hills (slowly) and she can do long hills, but steep AND long? Nope. At one point I had to walk her up the last part of a hill because no matter how hard I mashed down on the pedals, the cranks wouldn't turn. Being a 50lbs 3-speeder has its drawbacks.

It also didn't help that the temperature was quickly rising. According to the weather report, it reached a high of 93 degrees. At the end of September, that's insane! This part of the ride became a blur in my memory of miserably climbing hills and fun downhills. Before I knew it, the lunch stop at Eastern Market was before me! I was super thirsty, but not very hungry. I refilled my water bottle and grabbed an ice-cold lemonade to go. I had a few bites of my lunch burrito (which was delicious), but I was getting too hot to feel hungry. I didn't want to end up throwing it up on the route.

The next segment of the ride was much slower for me. I was really feeling the heat and it was a *long* way before the next rest stop.  There was a small group of riders that seemed to stop and wait for me every so often. I'm not sure if they did that on purpose or not, but I'm still grateful to have had some company at that point.

Right around the 50 mile mark, I began to fall apart. I was nauseous, over-heated and beginning to become disoriented. I could feel the salt on my skin. I knew I was losing too much sodium, and fears of hyponatremia* began to take root in my mind.

I barely made it to the final rest stop (which was packed up and gone by the time I got there). I had to stop several times and sit to avoid vomiting along the way. I knew I was in bad shape. I kept taking wrong turns and by the time I got to the rest stop area, I knew it would be stupid to try and finish the route. I was 5 miles short.

Instead, I turned Betty towards home and rode (very slowly) the 5 miles back to my place. Once I cooled off in some air-conditioning and gulped down some gatorade, I started to feel better. I took a quick cat nap and had a giant burger & fries as a celebratory meal (riding for 7 hours will make a girl hungry!)

So, even though I didn't officially hit all 50 states, I still consider it a success. My cyclometer read 66.6 miles rode that day!

Next year I think I will either use Betty to do the 13 Colonies ride, or use a "regular" bicycle for the full 50 states ride. I will also pack more snacks and water/gatorade! The water stops were spaced very far apart, and despite being in DC, the ride went through mostly residential areas and there was little opportunity to buy additional water & food on the ride. Also, hopefully the temperature will be more comfortable too.

Thank you, WABA, for another fun bike event!

* A friend died 5 years ago from hyponatremia while on a bike ride. Hyponatremia was a condition that was still relatively unheard of, and his fellow riders mistook it for dehydration and encouraged him to drink more water. By the time they recognized he was in severe distress and an ambulance was called, he was already slipping into a coma. I am keenly aware of the dangers of hyponatremia and how quickly it can set in. It's just as important to get that sodium in as it is water! That's why I was getting worried when I could feel the salt on my skin. It meant I was losing sodium at a rapid rate.

Rolling..

I love riding over bridges

The Big Chair

66.6 miles...

I have a video of the ride too, but I'm still editing it. I will post it as soon as its done.