I'm still in my Food Obsession Mode, and going with that theme, I'm recommending this book today.

What to Eat by Marion Nestle

I'm reading it right now, and while it's not helping a ton so far in knowing what to eat, it sure has a lot of good info on what NOT to eat. Let me just say that I'm very glad I've never been a consumer of margarine.

Also, a visit to her website today reveals this bit o' insight into the American diet:

According to a group that tracks this sort of thing, the leading generators of food sales are (more or less in order): soft drinks, refrigerated milk, ready-to-eat cereal, fresh bread, bottled water, cookies, chocolate candy, and potato chips. Soft drinks are #1. A sufficient explanation for America’s weight problem?

Time for a new post. Thanksgiving vacation was lovely. One of the highlights was the first ski of the season at ABR. The only bad thing is that I don't know how long I will have to wait to ski again. I pray for cold weather so the local places can make snow. Real live nature made snow may be too much to hope for this early in the season. But it was great to get out on the trails again!

20th annual Halloween Party

The theme was "old time hocus pocus" and I think everyone did a great job interpreting the theme. Take a look at the fun costumes! I was a Salem witch this year, in a costume I can re-use at Thanksgiving minus the flames.

Grand Marais, MN

Another lovely annual fall trip to the north shore. Nothing like hearing the waves crashing into the shore all night long while tucked into a cozy cabin across the road from Lake Superior.






The only thing that may come close is this view from about 25 miles north, a little ways off the Gunflint Trail. Couldn't you just LIVE there? Ahhhhh...

Crex Meadows
This morning I had the pleasure of waking up to this view.
The lake is full of coots and Canada Geese, along with some flying overhead. The birds were quiet last night due to heavy wind that blew all night long until the thunderstorm in the wee hours. In the morning, I got a couple pictures before I had to head back home. When I was driving out, about 30-40 sandhill cranes flew overhead. Good thing the roads are rarely traveled out there, because I found out that I am not good at driving and birdwatching. We saw a lake full of trumpeter swans on Saturday. More than I've ever seen before in one place. And mom spied a snake in the parking lot of the sand blow, and some unidentified reptile eggshells. The scrub oaks were red red red , and the other trees were starting to turn. Just a beautiful time of year to visit .

Wild River State Park

We camped at this MN state park this weekend. The weather was beautiful, as you can see from the pictures. 70's, no humidity. We put ourselves to work, gathering wildflower seeds (our job was to gather Penstemon seed pods) so the park can spread the prairie plants to reclaim the areas that are being converted back from farm fields. We also saw an astronomy presentation, got to look through a 10-inch telescope at the binary stars in the handle of the big dipper, and went to a presentation on snakes. It was a very educational 24 hours.

The trees are starting to turn and the park is just beautiful in the fall.

YIKES!

I just had the best/fastest bike ride ever. I was going to head out for an hour or so and do some intervals since I haven't been riding as much as I'd like, and could use to get in better shape. So I start down West River Road and I feel good, so I start to cruise. I figured I had a tailwind, because I was going a couple mph. faster than normal. I think I see a flash and I look up, the sky is dark to the north and it's getting windy. I ride faster, harder, determined to make it at least to the Ford bridge and back before I get drenched. I'm going faster, I go across the bridge, look to the north and east and see dark, dark sky. The kind of sky that will make you completely soaked in seconds. I ride faster across the bridge, now it's definitely a race against time. I see my friend Linsey from NOW bike club, who is running across the bridge in the other direction, say hi and keep going, faster, faster. I didn't know I could go this fast for this long. Where was this adrenaline during my time trials? I'm riding up East River Road now, heading back home, and I hear the tornado sirens going off. Haven't heard those in awhile, so it must be pretty serious, and the sky is now dark above me. I'm going fast, hard, in the big ring, but feeling very little effort, as if my legs are just going by themselves. I get to the little uphill by Summit Av. and finally feel some exertion and have to go back to the easy gear, but only because my lungs are burning, legs still feel fine. I go a few more blocks, now big droplets are falling and it's pretty dark and I don't have a light and I'm wearing my Bella kit, not exactly high visibility. A car turns left in front of me, I slow down to let him go, and the car behind him goes next and almost turns into me. I swerve, and the guy driving yells something out the window. I assume it was "I'm sorry." But I'm in too much of a hurry, and need to get home now, so I keep going. I get to the Lake St. bridge, and the rain starts coming harder. A runner goes by, looking unhappy. I'm really going all out now, around the corner, under the bridge, and the last half mile home. I look down, I'm going 20 mph. Still, seemingly no effort, just a strong desire to get home. I start to feel something pelting like hail, but not a lot. I worry about my car that's in the driveway. I go, go, go to beat the big rain, to beat the hail, to save my car. I pull into the alley and it really starts to rain just as I get into the garage. I look at my computer. avg. speed: 21.1

My best time trial speed ever.

Adrenaline is an amazing thing.

The winds that came right after I got home, as I was standing in the garage, actually scared me. I ran into the house, right to the basement. Luckily it passed quickly with a lot of rain but no damage. I did have rain coming down my chimney, though. That's a hard rain.

Just in case there was any doubt...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Higher U.S. gasoline prices may slim more than just wallets, according to a new study from Washington University in St. Louis Entitled "A Silver Lining? The Connection between Gas Prices and Obesity," the study found that an additional $1 per gallon in real gasoline prices would reduce U.S. obesity by 15 percent after five years.

The report, written by Charles Courtemanche for his doctoral dissertation in health economics, found that the 13 percent rise in obesity between 1979 and 2004 can be attributed to falling pump prices.

August is just about over (two more hours) and I feel pretty glad to say goodbye to it.

1 Bridge collapse
1 Crash of teammates
2 Power outages at home
1 Bat in the bedroom
1 Incident of me standing in the backyard in my pj's at 1:00 a.m. with the house lit up like a christmas tree and back door wide open (due to item above)
4+ Nights of less than optimum slumber due to thunder and lightning

Now for the good stuff...

1 Team Time Trial completed
1 Baby niece born (hi Ella!)
1 Visit from Kerry (I missed you!)

I hope September's good things list outweighs the not-so-good. Time will tell.

Starting next week, it's time to bust out the fall clothes!

Power Outage and Team Time Trial Weekend

The weekend started out at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday with a terrific lighning and thunderstorm. Unfortunately it knocked out our power. Just our half of the block, not the neighbors across the street or at the end of the block, they were enjoying their lights, A/C, refrigerators, dryers, dishwashers, radios, t.v.'s, garage door openers, outdoor fountains and computers all weekend long. We were sweating, and spending time outside because, really, on a clear day, without electricity, what does the indoors have to offer?

Number of times I flipped on a light switch when I knew darn well the power wasn't working: 2
Number of times I tried to turn on my computer when I knew darn well the power wasn't working: 1
Number of times I flipped OFF a light switch in a room when I left, when I knew darn well the power wasn't working: 1

I was glad that I had one clean/dry cycling outfit to wear to my race on Sunday. The only thing that wasn't clean was my team socks. At least I didn't have to resort to wearing a dirty jersey or wet shorts to my race.

The team time trial was fun. The weather was in the 70's, a bit windy, but pretty nice. Brook, Manda and Sara were my awesome teammates, who waited up for me just long enough when my chain fell off in the first 1/4 of the race, for me to catch back up and hang off the back for a few rounds. Our practice days paid off when we completed our turn arounds with smooth precision, nobody crashed and everyone worked together like a well-oiled bike chain.

Race number two is officially under my belt. I'll post pictures when they become available.



Tonight the power came back on after a day and a half. Amazing how dependent on electricity we've become.

I was surprised that what I missed the most was my computer!

But I did get some reading and quality napping time in.

Tonight I'm going to sleep well with the chiller buzzing away in the background. zzzzzzz

Michael and I are both okay. Neither of us was on that bridge at all the day it collapsed. He was at the Twins game when it happened, and I was on a bike ride, albeit one where I witnessed a crash of my teammates. I haven't been downtown, even though it's only a couple miles up the road from my house. I don't want to be a gawker getting in the way of people who are trying to do their jobs. Plus I figure I'll have plenty of time to see the wreckage since I'm sure it will be awhile before they remove all that debris.

It's one of those worst fear sort of things, which is I think why it's getting so much attention. Everyone can imagine themselves in that situation and try to think of how they would feel, what they would do. It makes you think twice whenever you drive over a bridge, too.

The north side of the city and the University is going to have it pretty hard until they get it rebuilt. I hear the side roads are pretty congested.

No more riding North on River Parkway for awhile. Michael and I just came through there on a ride on Monday.

It's easy to get engrossed in the coverage, so I'm trying to stay away from too much overload of news.

Tonight I went to a Femi Kuti/Wailers concert at the zoo. It was a good remedy to restore my positive mojo after all this crap of the last 24 hours. While I was there I saw a shooting star, and the moon was beautiful and huge on the horizon on the drive home.

I was never exceptionally good at science, but I sure love to read about it now. I'm especially intrigued by the overlap of science and metaphysics. I recommend the book The Field by Lynn McTaggert if you want a scientific look at the zero point field, or the idea that everything in existence is connected. This book shows that there is actual scientific proof that we can create our own reality.

Today's the new moon. Here's a Reiki Meditation if you're so inclined.

And here's even more moony goodness. Happy New Moon!

Weekend Away
Michael and I had planned for some time, a trip to southwestern wisconsin for a get-together with the people from his rep group. The destination was a farm near Viroqua

Having never been to southwestern Wi, I was excited for the road trip, but expecting it to look pretty much like the rest of the state.

How wrong I was! This is the driftless area, where the glaciers didn't smooth everything out. The hills are bluffs and the valleys are really valleys.

The farm was like something out of my imagination, only probably better. It had a winding dirt driveway, perfect view of a limestone bluff on the next property, and best of all, a spring-fed pond, perfect for swimming AND fishing.

The people were incredibly friendly and generous, the food was organic and gourmet. The fireflies and the stars were out, as well as the turkey vultures, wild turkeys and whiporwills.

I went on two bikes rides that just about kicked my butt due to the climbing and saw the most beautiful pastoral countryside imaginable.

I don't remember the last time I felt so refreshed from a vacation. Heaven on earth.

My First Bike Race

I did it!

I rode the Black Dog Time Trial tonight. I rode as hard as I could for seven miles and felt like I was going to throw up from about mile 3 on, but I did not hurl. I rode to my limit, with heart rate between 180 and 190 for about 22 minutes (not sure of my official time yet) and now I know that I can push myself a lot harder for a lot longer than I thought possible.

I pushed waaay beyond the comfort zone, and went harder than I ever have at any physical activity. It helped knowing that I would be done after 7 miles :)

Bike goals achieved so far this year:
commute to work (2x so far)
2nd metric century
first bike race

This is fun! I'm so happy I have the ability to do stuff like this.

Food Musings

I'm reading Harvest for Hope right now. It's an excellent book about where our food comes from (the subtitle is A Guide to Mindful Eating.) I checked it out from my local library, along with another book called The Real Food Revival.

I've made a decision to eat as organically as possible. I'm making an effort to stop spending my money on needless crap and start buying better food.

Some of my favorite tasty items:

• Brown Cow Yogurt (cream top)
  

• Endangered Species Chocolate (I like the blueberry dark choc.)
• Ginger Spread (thanks to Priscilla, who brought me a jar of this one day at work. I haven't stopped buying it ever since. I love it on a peanut butter sandwich or to add a bit of sweetness to my oatmeal, or just on toast...)
• Reed's Ginger Juice Brew is another favorite ginger item, but I have only been able to find it once, in a co-op in Grand Forks MN. I like it because it is not carbonated.
  
• Thunder Cookies (you can only get these if you happen to find yourself in or around Duluth. They're made at the Positively Third St. Bakery and can be found in local co-ops, but nowhere in Mpls. that I know of.)
  
• Organic Mangoes (I know, most fruit is better organic, but truly, once you have an organic mango you'll never go back)
• Birchwood Granola (they sell it by the bag at the restaurant)

This year's birthday consisted of driving mom and dad to the airport (wish I could go to alaska, too!) buying my annual rosebush with my birthday money from grandma, along with a bunch of other garden additions, and spending hours in the garden planting, weeding and mulching :) and then going out to eat with Michael and touring the inside of Jennifer's new house. For some reason I didn't feel like a bike ride today, so I didn't go. It was humid and windy and threatening to rain, so I didn't feel too bad about that decision.

I did get in two bike rides in WI while I was home over the weekend. One 20 mile ride around Butternut lake and one 15 mile ride to Fifield. Not as far as I should have gone, but hilly, so I got a bit of a workout. And now I know where I can ride without getting chased by dogs.

The vacation went by too quickly.

Thanks, Kris, for the itunes hookup. I owe you!

Talking to my fellow Desperados last night (the writing group) I learned from Mike that a friend of his and his wife have personal challenges every month. Like going for a month without alcohol, or only eating vegan. So we decided to have a writing group challenge-- to write for 10 minutes every day for the next month. Today is my second day, and so far I'm doing well. Blogging doesn't count, nor does emailing. It has to be either actual journaling or writing a story. I managed to add a bit to the novel last night and tonight. The 10 minutes usually stretches out to more, but the great thing is that I can stop after 15 and feel like I've really accomplished something. At this rate, I may actually finish the novel this summer!

Had a great bike ride tonight with the bike club, same ride that just about broke me last year. This time I did much better. I can tell I'm making progress. Baby steps, but steps nonetheless, like writing 10 minutes a day, pretty soon it really adds up to something!

Oh, and I was sporting my Vanderkitten kit (or as I call it, my Vander-kit-n)

The Naturalist's Estate Sale
This was definitely in my top two estates sales ever. Right up there with the hatmaker/printmaker couple sale in Kenwood-- this was a Nature-lover's house in Longfellow. A small, unassuming house that beckoned with vintage linens waving in the breeze out on the front lawn. Jennifer tipped me off to this one, calling me while I was weeding my side garden and insisting "you have to go!"

I rode little blue over and had a devil of a time finding something to lock her to. Finally a smallish tree half a block away seemed like the best bet.

Nothing was lacking at this gem of a sale. Vintage jewelry: check, cool glassware: check, ladies' hats, scarves, pins, and vintage clothing: check. Vellum maps of the BWCA, binoculars, wool blankets, wooden musky lures, old lanterns, geodes, shells, chemistry sets, flower press, rock cutter, and my favorite, but dang, it didn't fit-- vintage ladies' fishing jacket!

I am in a severe paring-down mode, or at least a stasis in my possessions mode, so I had to restrain myself at several points, especially with the light up globe. But I did come away with a small ziploc bag of paper ephemera including Audobon Bird Cards (unused), two Boy Scout Luminous Pocket Planitaruims (Northern and Southern hemisphere), a small envelope with a copy of a letter written in 1944 from George North, who was stationed in North Africa, and a compass from the US Army Corp of Engineers.

If tomorrow is half price day, it may be hard to stay away.

Two bike goals accomplished in two days:

I went out to the track on Thursday to cheer on my teammates. Track racing looks really fun and scary!

I rode my bike to work yesterday! It was 28 miles round trip with three moderate hills. It wasn't as difficult to find a route as I had feared, so I'll probably do it again. And everyone at work was really impressed and they all asked me about it. "How did you get here?" "How long did it take?" and "Did you get rained on?" Answers: mostly on bike paths or lanes, an hour and 12 minutes and no :)

Finally, I found this in a format other than cassette tape. For your listening pleasure, it's T.S. Eliot reading the Waste Land!!!

http://world.std.com/~raparker/exploring/thewasteland/explore.html
This website will take you through all of the allusions in the Waste Land. I found myself immersed in this website for an hour before I even realized it.

Yesterday I inadvertently did a 56 mile bike ride. How does one accidentally end up riding for four hours? Try to find a small town on the outskirts of St. Paul where you friends are riding in a TT and don't bring a map.

I never did find the TT, but I got in half my miles for the week in one day!

What not to do if you want your quads to feel good:

Ride your bike 14 miles in the wind as fast as you can,
don't do anything the next day,
the following day attend a yoga session where you spend several minutes in chair pose rotating with several minutes in crescent lunge.

Ouch.

Tonight I did practice racing and sprints with the VB gals.
Can't wait to see how it feels tomorrow!

I had to do three posters for my typography assignment due today. It's for a fictional designer lecture series at the Walker Art Center. Here is my favorite one. But according to my class, it had lots of problems. Back to the drawing board?

Hey, it's May Day and a full moon. That must be why I feel so gooood today! And the flowering crabapple or dogwood or whatever they are on 28th street are blooming a block from my house and man, do they smell great! The azaleas and tulips are looking great, and pretty soon it will be lilac time :) Time for one of my favorite bits of doggerel...

Now that lilacs are in bloom
She has a bowl of lilacs in her room
And twists one in her fingers while she talks
Ah my friend, you do not know, you do not know
What life is, you who hold it in your hands
Slowly twisting the lilac stalks.
You let it flow from you,
You let it flow.
And youth is cruel and has no remorse
And smiles at situations which it cannot see.
I smile, of course,
And go on drinking tea.

—T.S. Eliot

Here's what I did last weekend...The Minnesota Ironman! No, not a triathlon, but a 66 mile bike ride through windy farm/new suburb country. There I am at the front of the pack, as usual. Okay, so I'm just glad that they actually captured it on film, because for the whole second half of the ride I was wheel sucking at the back of the pack, gasping just to hang on. From this pic, it looks like the scenery was nice. I wouldn't know. I don't remember seeing any of it. Nor do I remember taking my hands off the bars unless I was eating or drinking. No idea what I'm doing in this picture.

On the positive side, it was both the farthest and fastest I've ever ridden. Yay for drafting! And Yay for the massage people at the end of the ride :) mmmm, calf rub!

Monumental day: I went on a group ride and for the first time did NOT get dropped on the hills. I wasn't the first one up, but I wasn't the last :) Yay! First sign of visible improvement in my cycling!

Also, noticed my lungwort that I got from Wendy last summer is already flowering. What a lovely sight. I have high hopes for my garden this year. However, I experienced quite a jolt when I went to my favorite garden center to buy edging for my native prairie perennial bed, and discovered that they'd gone out of business! Crap. So I drove about 10 miles out of my way to Home Depot instead. I need a new garden center :(

So I was riding my bike the other day and I came upon a family on bikes with a little boy dressed as a superhero. I thought, man, why is it okay for kids to dress like superheroes but adults can't get away with that.

Then I looked down at my cycling kit, and it made me laugh.

I think that's the real reason people love cycling. It's acceptable to dress in brightly colored spandex and speed around the city on flashy gear.

Cycling season has officially started for me. I have 180 miles in for the year. Today I learned how to touch wheels and not (always) fall off the bike. Baby steps.

I'm back on the blog.


















The first few pages of my novel, Dog Days, is now posted at poppyred.com
Don't expect to find anything else there just yet.

Today my cycling friend Jennifer P. brought over an old bike frame that's too big for her. She thought I could have it built up into a fixie or something. It's a Trek 520 from 1984, color: taupe. Apparently this is a frame for a touring bike, so it may make a good commuter or "grocery getter." I'm not sure what to do with it yet.

Here's what it looked like in its heyday.