Useful irony

Of all of the hilariousness.... I am the recipient of a Life University Club Sports scholarship for the upcoming academic quarter. For mountain biking. For $1000. This danged school can't give me a penny for my friggin' Ph.D. and yet they give me a scholarship for getting muddy. How funny is that?

Speaking of muddy, my friend Kim and I did the Muddy Buddy Atlanta this morning! It was fabulous. I will post the story later, as well as some stuff and pix about my trip to Colorado, from which I returned late last night. ACBK, i thought of you this morning during the race - it was so much fun doing the muddy buddy with you in Boston! I took a few little jumps for you, and got extra muddy :)

I'm so grateful to my friends Kat and Jake for Moose-sitting while I was gone :) it brought me great comfort and joy to know that Miss Moose was well-cared for. Apparently her highness got to take several car-rides with them :) and got to visit Marietta Square and Stone Mountain! I suppose I should emphasize to them before they run out and get a dog that Moose is now 10, and that she DID NOT ALWAYS BEHAVE THIS WAY. I do wonder how many of you got an inaccurate impression of life with a large dog, after getting to know the older and calmer Moose??? Ah, well, your lives are richer with your big shoe-chewers, right? :)

Mountain Laurels & Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend our cycling club took a trip to the DuPont State Forest, in western North Carolina. This time of the year, the mountain laurels are blooming - lavender and pink everywhere you look. Yay! DuPont is the same place I visited after Webster and I climbed Looking Glass. It is home to another classic trail, the Cedar Rock Trail - dubbed the "Slickrock of the East." Having ridden Moooab's Slickrock twice, I kinda wanted to see what the hullaballoo was about. Plus, there were waterfalls involved.

We got a late start on Friday, and i managed to drop in to bid bon voyage to Doug, who is now in Colorado - I wish I could have stayed much longer to visit, but I'll see him in a few weeks when I go out there! Then, a stop at REI to pick up essentials, and my bike, and off we went.

We stayed at my friend Jeff's parents' place in northern SC, which was 2 hr north of atlanta and an hour shy of DuPont. I'd have been happy to camp, but the lure of a shower and a clean lake was strong! Plus, several group members (8 total) were not "into" camping.

The first day at DuPont, we honestly did more playing in waterfalls than biking. The first set of falls (High Falls) was roaring:

We continued on down the trail to waterfall #2, Triple Falls, which had a bunch of swimmin' holes. And natural waterslides. Schooooop! and splat, into the pool! And yes, geoff, it's runnable in high water! Pix are the scramble down to the pools (where we found a water moccasin on the way back up, ah, life in the south) and Ryan shooting down the slide.

After a brief yummy romp down the Galax Trail (the only singletrack of the day, Siren handled it very well. My bike doctors at REI put the handlebars at a better height, and i swapped out the seat, and Siren is getting better and better) we headed over to the camp where Ryan used to work, where he and Melissa were camping. We bbq'd some bison burgers and potatoes, then went romping about the grounds. Turns out, the camp was the setting used for the 1995 movie "Heavy Weights." We had some fun crossing the famous rope bridge, then did some kayaking on the lake (pic on right is my friend Wendy Allread). Not such a bad day - tho not enough biking!!






















Sunday we hit the Cedar Rock Trail. It did not disappoint. First, we took a short spur trail to Bridal Veil Falls, where you can walk under the falls to the other side of the river:





This was our last waterfall to visit - off to the trail, finally!! The Cedar Rock trail was very unusual. It connected the dots between

swaths of bare granite, all the way up to the summit. I can't remember how many times I've been hiking and said hm, that'd be fun on a bike - Well, it is!! Nice long climb, sweet 360 view at the top of the surrounding mountains, and DELICIOUS downhill.
















Monday, I hit Fort Yargo (the site of Muddy Spokes) on the way back. That is one sweet set of trails. The outer loop is 12 miles of singletrack, not a lot of sustained climbing but lots of swoops and hairpins. It was a very different ride on Siren than it was on Jack, my Cannondale - I love both bikes, but oh yeah, rear suspension is nice :)

After the weekend, tues am bright and early (try 7am), I took an exam on positioning arms and legs for xrays. We also had a "surprise" final exam in intro to clinic that day. Friday I had a clinical exam, then last week a week of my lab practicals (4) and four reports due, then this week, four days of written exams (7 total), some of which will be quite ugly. No more playtime for Amy until June 14th. But very soon after.... Bastille Crack and the First Flatiron, they're goin' down!! Doug and Pattymonster, hope you're ready to go play! (Oh, yeah, Patty, did I mention I'm dragging you out with us??)

Mid-exams.....

It seems that my days here at school follow a pattern: of our 11 week quarters, the first three weeks are filled with getting to know our schedules and classes, then the next three with midterms, then about a week or two to breathe, then two weeks of lab practicals followed by a week of lecture exams. Now that I understand that my life here is one big exam, I have a better grip on what I can get away with, as you can see from prior blogs :) Nonetheless, this is a poopy time of the quarter. I'm a little burned out and it's hard to motivate myself to keep studying.

The good news is that after this quarter, I am officially halfway done with the program!!

And, better yet, I start student clinic next quarter!!!!!!! Yahoo, I get to start learning what i CAME here to learn.

In other areas of my life, I've taken to walking Moose in the late morning when I have a break from classes. It's quiet in my neighborhood then, so I can walk her without a leash. She prefers that. I've noticed the last few times we've gone, Billy has been following us. How funny is that? My daily dog-and-cat walk!!

Billy is currently weighing in at 17lb. Downright skinny for him. Actually if he loses any more, I'm taking him to the vet for a checkup.

And to add to the joy of exam week(s), I tried to turn on my AC on Sunday to discover that it's dead. i think it's either a freon leak or a dead compressor. The inside and outside fans work but I hear nothing from the compressor. Gr. Well, the house was built in 1984 and the AC is original... Sigh. The good news is that I have a slush fund in my bank account for things just like this. If there's one thing I've learned as a homeowner, it's to try to keep some padding around.

After all, keeping the Moose cool is very high priority :)

In fun-news, I am headed off to Colorado in ten days to play. Whee! Plus, I have a memorial day post I have written but have yet to put up, I'm waiting for a picture from my friend Ryan to add to it. So, check back within a few days if ya wanna see pretty pictures of a fabulous weekend in Western North Carolina...

Shakedown at Tsali

After our chiro leadership retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains on May 12, which was fabulous, I figured I was halfway to Tsali. With a brand-new red bike. It was time to introduce Siren to Singletrack :)

The weather was STELLAR - you seldom get such perfection. Deep blue skies, 78 degrees, fresh green leaves on the trees.

Our shakedown ride was so sweet - yeah, there are a lot of little adjustments I am making to Siren (seat height, angle) and more that I will be making when I return to Atlanta (swap out the afforementioned seat, slap on lighter outboard cranks, angle the brake levers in so I can reach them, raise the handlebars, add a little more cush to the front shock) but right away I could tell that this bike is a good fit for me. I can turn it just by thinking about turning. I have some things to get used to - the bottom bracket is much higher, which puts me and my center of gravity higher than i am used to, which did cause a few um crashes - but I am very happy. The rear suspension is just posh - but very supple on climbs, very little chain slack.

Did I mention she likes mud? When I was here with the boys last month, I veered around many of the mudholes, since I didn't know what was under the mud and therefore if my front shock would handle it. No such trepidation with this rig. SPLOOSH!! The dippy doos, which racked the crap out of me on my hardtail, Siren just absorbed at speed. I likey.

After a good muddy 12 miles, I stopped at Fontana Lake for a swim before heading back to Atlanta. I wanted to play more but I had homework to do. Didn't my parents teach me well?

Fontana Lake drains into the Natahala River just south of Bryson City. The Natahala hosts a long stretch of whitewater rafting and kayaking.

Headed out to Western North Carolina this weekend to hit Dupont with our bike club. Yeah, I seem to be spending a lot of time there lately!! It's quite a playground. I've got a thought somewhere in my head that I'd like to snag some property in this area for a vacation home. Might just be that I do that even before I buy a place in Boston.

Moose's Tenth Birthday!

Moose turned 10 on Friday, May 18th. We had some fun - she got to go the chiropractor and get adjusted (yeah, it's good for dogs, too!! after an adjustment, she shakes then runs around like a puppy. Loves it), then we had playtime, then another car ride to Sope Creek, then swimmin', then home, food, toys, more playtime. I wish my birthdays were so good!

Billy got his top 10 list a month ago, so here's Moose's: Top Ten List: my favorite things she has done. Prepare to wince (and laugh).

1. Ah, my $79,500 dog, who ate the deed to the house in Milwaukee. See my April 1st post. Some less expensive things she has eaten: biking shoes, my two CD Dave Matthews Live at Red Rocks set, two cameras, batteries, the arms of a futon, about 5 blankets, a tub of butter, anything she can sneak off the table, about 10,000 tennis balls, no less than two dozen Kongs)
2. Puppies she has mutilated or traumatized: Hm. Jakearoo; Billy; Ginger; Ru; Toby and Dixie; Ming and Wolf; the cute 8wk blond lab who had to get stitches and had a broken tooth. Numerous others I have blocked out. My dog is a carnivore, and she prefers beta meat.
3. Looking up at me every day for nearly ten years with that grin, and the full-body wiggle: HI MOM!!! WHERE THE HELL YOU BEEN??
4. Rolling in feces. Whenever she has the opportunity. Most noted ones: climbing in Iowa, when she was two (i think it was human feces. way to impress my new climbing friends.); backpacking in the upper peninsula of Michigan with Tom (that was feces and something dead); colorado, on the way to crested butte, camping - i let her out of the tent unsupervised for TWO SECONDS!!!!!!!
5. Outweighing Darcy by oh, twenty pounds or so. And therefore walking her, not vice versa. I picked up her dog food today and check this out for a number: in ten years, I have hauled roughly 4800 lb dog food into the house for her (that's right, 40 lb/month, 120 months... over two tons) and probably cleaned up about the same weight of poop.
6. Eating the better part of a 10 lb bag of friskies, and promptly having exposive diarrhea all over my kitchen in Milwaukee. now THAT was pleasant to come home to.
7. Chasing Ralphie, Billy, Miss, Babes, and whoever else will dare to run away. Mmmm, kitties.... they taste so good...
8. Defeating the grim reaper, repeatedly. "Hm, raging river crossing in Colorado? I think I'll jump right in! Hm, natural waterslide in Wisconsin? I'm there, even if I get caught in a hole at the bottom! Hm, Redbones? Gimme! I'll shatter it and swallow the bone shards! Hm, pesticide? My favorite! Biking? Mom, you wanna go biking if it's 85 degrees and I am wearing a fur coat? I'm in, even if you're really that stupid! Heatstroke? Bah. Oh, look, my favorite, 5.3 slab! Look at me, mom, I'm up so high, the view is great! Hmmm hah hah Grandma opened the door and I am SOOO across that highway!!"
9. There she goes with the grin again. Did you know that labs can move their eyebrows? I swear, she smiles at me.
10. Training me to be her slave.

The first five years had quite a few rough spots (Mom and Dad, do you remember me crying on the phone about how she was just out of control, and i just wasn't sure i could handle such a high-energy dog?) but the last five have been so sweet. Well, with a few momentary exceptions. Wow, what this dog has done for my sense of humor :)

5 reasons why my mom rocks

1. She went back to school after we kids were "done," finished college, then added a whole lotta extra letters to the end of her name, and has a job where she helps people every day.
2. She makes killer lasagna. Not often enough, though. Pfft.
3. She takes care of Mama.
4. She's not just our mom, she is mom to Lisa, Terri, John Douglas, David, and Suebee.
5. She and Dad raised 3 women who add something positive to the world.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO MY MOM!!!

Siren

She arrived today, and my wonderful coworkers at REI put her together immediately. Love those boys. Her name is Siren. As in, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siren

She is absolutely lovely. And she wants to go play in the mud. I can make friends with that.

I'm going to swap out the crankset, probably for XT hollowtech, and go for a lighter handlebar and stem. The front is Marzocchi, rear is Fox Float R. And dude, she's got 13" of clearance under the big chainring. Did I mention 5" of travel, front and rear?

Tomorrow I have a leadership retreat in north georgia, then sunday, since gee, i'm halfway there, I'm going to go introduce Siren to singletrack at Tsali.

Forecast for Sunday in Bryson City, NC (not to gloat, but...):

Sunny

High 79°F Low 46°F

Precip:		10%

Dirty Spokes 12 hr Mtn Bike Race

Sorry I haven't figured out how to insert rotated pictures. If anyone can give hints, toss them along -


Whee!!! It was so much fun. The Life U Cycling Club sent three teams to the race: Rusty, as a 6 hour solo racer (again, he's insane), a four-man team, and a four person coed team. The race was a relay. Each team's goal was to complete as many laps as possible in the time alloted. The course was 12 miles of singletrack winding around a lake, freshly rained upon and nice and muddy and slick. Oh yeah.

The race (http://www.dirtyspokes.com/) was held at Fort Yargo State Park, about an hour east of Atlanta. Here's the trail map: http://www.dirtyspokes.com/map_site.php We had our lovely new jerseys, as you can see. They turned out pretty sharp. Below are Greg and Rusty, then Rusty and me:


I really enjoyed the trail, and can't wait to get back to it. Darcy and Chris, you'd find this trail just scrumptious. Any trail that makes me giggle and whoop is a winner in my book :)

We had quite the setup, I got to bring a lot of my toys to share. I brought my lovely purple hammock, my grill, blankets, thermarest cushions to nap on, and we had our 12x12 canopy. We were about 50 feet from the transition area, very handy!! Pix are Curtis in the hammock, Ryan on the Thermarest chair tending to the grill, and Wale freezing his arse off. Poor baby. He's from Michigan but his blood seems to have thinned quickly :)




My Cannondale hardtail was well-suited for the flowy and non-jarring course. I can't wait to try my new Marin out on it though. It might be here this week!!!!!!!!!!!!! And no, I am absolutely not going to sell my Cannondale. I love it and will keep it forever. Just like my Giant Sedona. After all, I need extra toys to share with visitors, right?

salmon recipe

MMmmmmmmm i forgot to post this after Giulia and Andy and I grilled in March. (again with gotta love spring in atlanta!) I made it last night for my neighbors Aryn and Celeste, took one bite and went dang, mmm.

The marinate is Ginger Sesame, by The Ginger People. You can get it at Whole Foods. No trans fat, 3.5 g fat total per serving, not too sodium-loaded. Slap that on both sides of a salmon steak, grill, flipping as you see fit. Simple and KILLER.

In other news, I ordered my new bike!!!!!!!!!!!!! Details will be forthcoming. It should arrive in a week or so. It's called the East Peak, and it's very red. :)

http://marinbikes.com/bicycles_2007/html/bikes/bike_specs/specs_east_peak.html

my favorite flower.

i have loved irises since i was way shorter. especially purple ones. i remember cutting purple irises from the lot next to ours in south windsor, and bringing them to mom. i remember her smile. this, hands down, is the most beautiful iris i've ever seen. every time i walk out the door, i can't help but walk over and just stare at it and say, wow. double click on it. i hope you enjoy it as much as i do. believe me i will cultivate this one and share it!!!