Cranksgiving

JS and I participated in Cranksgiving today,what a blast. I picked up JS and we headed over to Mars Cafe on University where the race started. We were there early so we had coffee and hot chocolate before we registered. I would say that there were about 100 bikers in all. About 5 minutes before 1 all of the participants had to place their bikes by the "garages" and then go and stand next to the wall. There we were given our list of "12" items that needed to be purchased from "12" different stores. JS and I were not even going to try to make a race of this we were aiming for DFL. Once "GO" was said you ran to your bike and away you went. Did I mention that it was snowing pretty good at this time. I am not exactly sure where we were going so I just followed JS, and went where she went. You could not help but get into the spirit of the adventure. We would ride and run from place to place. It was fun watching the people reaction to all of "those" cyclist. It almost looked like RAGBRAI was in town at some stops there were bikes everywhere. I had the BOB trailer so we piled the heavy items on that and put the rest in our backpacks. On the way back to Mars cafe we decided it was to cold to try and get DFL so we unpacked our stash and went in to warm up.

All of the items collected are to be given to the Food Bank of Iowa. It was great to see so many familiar faces, they had a great turn out and had some great prizes to give away, JS won a gift certificate to a place in Ames, and I won a 12 pack of Bud Light. JS had just said to me "You are going to win the beer", I replied "Probably" then they picked my name. I told JS and JH that it was beer for next weeks Jingle Cross.

This is just a very quick over view but they say that a pic is worth 1000 words so just check out the pics below and you will see for yourself how much fun we had.

Just a quick note there are 4 Julies' that bike it is great if we are all together and someone asks our name and we all say Julie, or if someone yells "Julie" and we all look. There is Julie Ann, Julia Ann, Julie Anne and Julie Ruth. otherwise known as JS, JG, JH AND JV.



JH enjoying herself



JS being a nut



The truck with all of the items.



JV having just a little too much fun with Cam :)


Sunday night it is on to Tour De Lights...wait till you see the full costumes of JS, Mindy and JG.

This holiday season do something nice for someone less fortunate than you, it is good for the heart and soul.

PEACE

What are U doing next weekend?

If you are a cyclist and enjoy doing charity rides, then you should have a busy weekend coming up!
JG and I are participating in Cranksgiving (details somewhere on the link) on Saturday. We know we don't have a shot at 1st place, so we were thinking we would go for the DFL category! We even have a strategy in place!

On Sunday we will be riding for the 2nd time in the annual Tour de Lights, to benefit Make-a-Wish, down at Waterworks park. Last year we went as Rudolph, Santa, and an elf. I was Rudolph pulling Santa (Alexa) in his sleigh, and JG was our elf helper. We won 1st place in the costume contest and are busy getting our costumes ready for this year.
Mindy is joining us in our festivities this year and has the same spirit of the costumes...it's going to be GREAT! Here is a sneak peak of what is to come....


Hope to see you at one or both of these events!!

JG here just got done with my Helmet.



I know I know I look like Raggedy Ann on LSD...What can I say you live once you might as well have fun. I hope that Cranksgiving is not to cold because I do not dare take this off of my snowboard helmet..:)(snowboard helmets great for winter riding). I have my helmet safely tucked away. My kitty Kats were a little to interested in what was on the helmet for me. I can just imagine coming home and finding ribbon remains all over the house.

Come out and join us for Cranksgiving and Tour De Lights this holiday season!!

Peace...JG

The Power Of Pink

Go anywhere now a days and you will see the color pink. It is on shoes, purses, hats, scarves, cars... you get the idea. Aside from being considered a "girly" color it is most noted for being the color of Breast Cancer awareness. If by chance you have been living under a rock here is the Susan G. Komen Story.

The Julie's started a thing that something on each of their bikes had to be pink! It started with the Pink Terry seats and grew from there!

JS story/list of pink...
I have always had a passion for the Breast Cancer Awareness. A good friend of mine had her mother survive it, a couple of former co-workers have survived it (one went on to lose her battle with bone cancer), and then finding out my husband's best friend lost his mother to it.
I for one am partial to my ta-ta's and don't know how I'd react if I found out I had Breast Cancer. Thus the pink bike parts, some of them even have a portion of the proceeds go to Breast Cancer Awareness.

Road bike - Silver bike - Terry breast cancer seat, it has the logo on it. Jagwire pink cables, and pink Crankbrothers pedals. I also have the Livestrong and Pink bracelets around my seatpost.
Time Trial bike - this one was harder as the bike is red/white/black. I found a pink seat that has red/black/silver stripes on it. It's pretty cool!
SS 29er - Brown bike - Pink grips, Jagwire pink cables, and pink Crankbrothers pedals.

Kyle even got into the spirit of pink and when he built up his red Specialized Stumpjumper for me to ride, he added one pink cable to it!
I'm going to continue to keep pink on my bikes regardless of the color of bike it is, and continue to watch for the products that help support awareness.
OH....and each year I buy raffle tickets to Speedgoats bike raffle...one year I WILL win it!

JG story/list of pink...

I have known many people who have had cancer, be it breast, bone, colin, prostate. Cancer is something that affects us all. What started the pink item on all of my bikes was when Bill was building up my road bike, the bike was gray and he had found a Pink headset made by Chris King which a certain amount would go to breast cancer. It built from there, I ordered pink handle bar tape(at that time I had to search the internet for Pink handle bar tape), then found the pink Susan G. Komen seat made by Terry and pink speedplay peddles. During this time is when JS and I started to ride together ,things kind of grew from that. I am not sure who said it but one of us said we need to have something pink on each of our bikes. It does not matter what is pink but something has to be pink.

My red specialized cross bike has the terry seat. The seat is black but the ribbon is pink. The bar ends are also pink(ok I only have one at the moment, I lost one during my first cyclo cross race). My red Cinelli mt bike has pink handle bars, I asked Bill if there was such a thing, he did some looking and found some. They are really neat. My tri bike at the moment just has pink tape holding the handle bar tape on. I told Bill that I want to switch bar tape to pink for the coming tri season.

10 years ago when I first started doing the Race for the Cure, it was very difficult to find pink except in clothing. Now you can find almost anything in pink. I know when I see pink the first thing that I think of is breast cancer awareness.

I am also aware of the power of Yellow..again unless you have been living under a rock..the power of yellow is the "LiveStrong" bracelets. What Lance has done for cancer awareness is amazing. However the Power of Yellow has a long ways to go to catch up with the power of Pink.

The other day at the Iowa Cyclocross championships I noticed the Kim Eppen's bike, which is red has pink handle bar tape. I do not know if she did this for breast cancer awareness, however it was the first thing I thought of...now if everyone that was at the race thought the same thing just think how many people at that moment were aware of breast cancer..it is amazing..Never forget the power of pink



That is the two jules' story of what the power of pink means to them. As long as breast cancer is affecting our family and friends we will continue to support the Power of Pink. The next time you see the color pink dont think of it as just a "girly" color think of it as the "girly" color that is bringing awarness to a very deadly disease that has/will affect us all.

PEACE...

Spooky Woods Ride/Iowa Cyclocross Championships

It was a full and fun filled weekend. Usually on Halloween I turn off the lights, Lock the door and hide. This year I saw that there was going to be a spooky woods ride. I asked JS about it, at first she said that her and Kyle were not going to go, then she e-mailed me and said that "yes" they were. So I talked Bill into going. I am glad that I did. We had a ball.

If you wanted you could meet at Rassy's bike shop at 8:00pm on Halloween and then the group would head over to Denman's ride the trail and end up at a campfire. As Usual Bill was pookie but they knew we were on the way so they waited. Most in the group had not dresses up but hey we did.



Bill was an inmate, Kyle the drummer from Def Leppard, Mindy pricess Fiona,and Kurt as Elton John even had a mirror ball. Then Andy a guy that Bill works with was "Mark", if you had ever been to Irwin's about a year ago you will know who Mark is. At the campsite we meet up with Kristin and Bruce Reese. Bruce went as Kristin and Kristin as Bruce.



JS was a jail bird, I was Country Bumpkin Eve even had fig leaves.


Off we went basically Over the river and thru the woods. The trail is good for beginners, Since Mindy had never done a night ride, JS, Mindy and I all hung back so we wouldnt slow anyone down. We put Mindy in between us. JS took the lead and would call out what was ahead..."Left", "Log", "Sharp Right", "Tight", "MUD", "UP, then down, then sharp corner..WATCH OUT FOR THE TREE AFTER THE CORNER!"...Mindy did have some costume malfunction. Her long dress kept getting caught so eventually it was tucked into her tights... We could see the campfire and hear the music yet the trail kept winding around and around and around....Finally we got to the campsite. (I will say I only hit the ground once I was so proud of myself...but I bent a fig leaf...drat).

Squirrel had carved faces out of a couple of log and had lit them they were so cool.



It was amazing how many people were there, it was fun to see all of the bikes decked out with headlights and flashing lights.. More and more people kept showing up. Cam, Julie, Fry Man, Duffy, and Alot of bikers that I recognized but do not know their names. Chili was available and of course beverages were everywhere. There was even a quarter race. We left around 10:30 everyone was getting tired. So on the bikes and off we went back to Rassy's to load up the cars and head home.

Spooky Woods Ride Pictures

Saturday was the Iowa Cyclocross Championships in Altoona. It was a beautiful day and the course was great. I wish that I would have signed up for this race. I think it would have been a little more beginner friendly. I have come to a conclusion. You can blindfold me, tape my mouth shut, and tie me up and I would still cheer. I am just a cheerleader. I cannot go to a sporting event and not cheer. It was fun to watch the juniors, beginners, womens etc. The last race the 123's was awesome. Brian Eppen and Tony Nichols went back and forth for an hour. Brian was having bike issues, He even had a single speed mt bike for a lap. It was a great race, on the last lap people were lined along the trail to the finish line, Tony made the first move however Brian over took him by about a wheel. That is what cyclocross is all about. I spent Most of the Day with Julie, Scott Sumpter's girlfriend, since JS was in Colfax. She finally arrived around 4:30 with Alexa and Kyle's mom. So there were 3 Julie standing together...It was a good day.

Iowa Cyclocross championship pics

Next on the list for JS and I is Cranksgiving, Tour De Lights and Jingle Cross. I thought that once Sept hit things would slow down but that has not happened. I think Dec will be slower but you never know.

Until then PEACE!

DO NOT FOLLOW WHERE THE PATH MAY LEAD. GO INSTEAD WHERE THERE IS NO PATH AND LEAVE A TRAIL- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Spooky Cross

JS and I did our very first cyclocross race,Spooky Cross, which was held out at Living History Farms. There was alot of mud and ALOT OF WIND!!! Did I mention the wind....When you are riding on the flat and you are out of gears it is windy. Well enough about that. I am not the best bike handler, I found that trail very unnerving for me. Bill and I did a practice ride ,by the time we got done I was crying, I told Bill that I couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it I was that unnerved by the conditions. I sat in the truck for a while then JS showed up,told me that I just needed to take it easy and that I would be fine. I needed to just do my own race and not worry about anyone else. Thank you for not going easy on me, you just stated that you can do it and that was that.

I had been practicing at Maytag park in Newton, I was thinking hills and turns, this trail was not so many turns and hills for that matter it was more like a mt bike trail I think. After last week I was kind of gun shy on the whole mt biking thing. I did learn that bruises are a "Badge of Honor". Well by golly I am full of honor then. :). Ok I am getting off track here.

JS, gruncle Kurt and I did another practice lap and this one went better for me. I was starting to calm down. By the time the race started I just wanted it over I was so cold. I started in the back so I could just go my own pace, I was surprised at how tight and tired my legs were. They just did not want to move. It is kind of disheartening when a little boy about 10 on a mt bike passes you, but hey I was doing my own race. I made it thru the mud and over the bridge, up the first hill just fine. The next part I knew that I would be walking some and i did but that was ok. It actually went better than I thought. I got in two laps, I was coming up on the finish, Bill had just passed the start/finish and they flipped the lap counter to 0. I asked if I was done and they said "Yes". Thank goodness I could have done another lap but it would have been a very long lap. So I became a cheerleader for those out on their last laps.

Overall I came in 18 out of 20 finishers. How would I rate my first cyclocross race? I guess that I am disappointed in myself, I thought that I would have an easier time of it, I had been doing fine at Maytag park. I was disappointed in myself that I wanted to not even try. I am usually out there trying and if I mess up ok that is life. I do not know what was going on today.

Bill did great he was having alot of fun, he is a good bike handler and has done alot of mt biking not lately but he still has the skills. I am proud that he wanted to do it with me. Julie S. did awesome. She is a very good bike handler, a determined individual, and a great friend. I am very proud of you JS. Thank you for not letting me quit.

We had a great cheer leading crew. Thank you Kyle, especially for the push up the hill and the push after the bridge. Is that cheating? :). Thank you Mindy, Alexa, Taylor and Bruce for all of your encouragement. Sorry Taylor I will never yell at you again that you are having the time of your life when you are riding the last lap of a race...bad JG..Bad JG...:)

This is the last "race" of the year for me. There are a couple of rides coming up that JS and I are doing. Cranksgiving and Tour De Lights but no more races. I plan on being a cheerleader for The Iowa cyclocross championship and Jingle Cross. Then until January 1st just rest and relaxation. After the 1st the Tri training starts.

I will reflect more on the year when January gets closer.

SELF-DISCOVERY IS THE SECRET INGREDIENT THAT FUELS DARING- Grace Lichtenstein

PEACE

Fall Update

Time sure does fly. I was reading the old posts and realized I have not posted since Cy-Man. Bad me bad bad me.

Once Cy-man was done it was OFF season for me. Well I soon came to find out that I am addicted to exercise. I guess that you can have worse addictions. So I have been trying different stuff. Instead of road riding I have been doing some cyclocross type riding. I have cut back to one day a week swimming laps and the other day I am doing the aqua jogger. The aqua jogger what a hoot. It is a belt that keeps you floating and you basically run in the water, it takes all of the pounding out of running and lets you keep training. When I bought the jogger I got the ankle "weights" and arm "weights". I use the term weights lightly. it is not the actual weight of them that makes you work it is trying to keep your arms and legs from floating to the top of the water. The first time I uses the ankle "weights" I had a real difficult time keeping my butt and ankles in the water...Jan the aquatics director had a great time laughing at me. It is a workout.

This past saturday JS, Mindy and myself went and took the Women's only mt bike clinic, or as Mindy likes to call it the "Free" clinic. :). It was held down by the old science center. Cam Kilpatrick was the coach and he had help from Kyle Sedore, Taylor Webb, John, Dave and Matt. I am bad I do not know all of the last names. Well anyway we were taugh how to corner, do front weelies , back weelies. The front and back weelies were to help go over logs, how to climb and go back down.

The cornering went ok, it takes practice. I had the most troube with the front weelie. No trouble with the back weelie. Now let me back up a bit, when Cam was giving us instructions at the beginning he said, "When you go over logs we will be there to catch you so you dont fall". I think he forgot to let Kyle and Taylor know this. Here I am putting my life in their hands..I ride up to the log pop the front tire up...then the back...the next thing I know my butt is higher than my head and BAM! I hit the ground...first thing out of my mouth was "YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO CATCH ME!". I got up brushed myself off and got back on the bike. Cam, Dave, Kyle and Taylor kept asking "are you ok!". Matt tracked me down asked if I was ok then watched as I went over the log again. I gave them a hard time but They were really concerned, it was nice to know they cared.

It was a good day however a long tiring day. I hit the ground 3 times in all. Come to find out the peddles that I was using are called "Widow Makers" because you can clip in them but cannot get your foot out...I think Bill is trying to kill me.

Julie and Mindy left early so they gave me their raffle tickets and we cleaned up....2 pairs of oakleys, a bike computer, pair of socks and bar grips...woo hoo. I never win anything I was happy for all of us.

I will say that today I am bruised and sore. Instead of a "Butt topper" tatoo, I have a "Butt topper" bruise...I think the seat hit me in the back when I was doing my bike flip.

ok enough about my mt biking adventures. Next Sunday JS, Bill and I are doing Spooky Cross...our very 1st cyclocross race. At Living History Farms. I am excited. I plan on just taking it easy and doing what I can.

oh oh oh ...I am now a member with JS of the All9Yards Cycling team. It should be alot of fun.

Well until next time...PEACE.

Fall is here...Winter is near!

What have I been doing since Cy-Man? LOTS of relaxing!

Finally the end of Sept. I got back off my butt and started exercising more frequently. It was good to take some time off and spend it with Alexa and Kyle.

What have I started?
Monday nights - abs/back strength class into a Yoga class! I LOVE it. I wish there was another good time during the week for me to add one more yoga class. I think it would really help with my strength, flexibility, and my IT band issues!

Lunch Hour - I have 3 different loops that I have "created" to power walk on my lunch hour. I will do this through the winter, weather pending. It won't hurt to put on some hat and mittens and get out of the office! I love all 3 routes. I have a 1.8m route, a 2.1m route, and a 2.4m route to choose from.

Thursday - my variety night. I haven't done much with this one yet as Alexa was sick one week and Kyle wanted to ride another. Oh well, he's doing cross right now...let him ride! I plan on taking some classes at the Y, running, and swimming this night. Mix it up!

My other plans are:
Tuesday - run outside when Kyle is done riding, go to the Y after Alexa goes to bed, or sit on the trainer after bedtime.

Wednesday is waterbabies night.

Friday - night off, unless something comes up!

weekend - whatever I can fit in! Between candle parties and cross races, we'll see what can get done!

Go Out...Enjoy the Fall weather...I know I have!!!