TGIF - 1/30/09

After the frigid and icy weather this week, I'm looking forward to a couple of sunny days in the saddle - outside. My rollers are super-awesome-cool, but a girl can only take so much. Team CycleLife is due for another coached clinic on Saturday, so that will keep us entertained for the day. Some have wondered exactly what it is that we do at these "clinics". There have been pics posted of our bump-and-grind drills (get your mind out of the gutter) and we've brought beer with us (for Mike's Bday ... he was responsible and didn't drink and ride). The clinic before this one, Mike used Aaron's building blocks to demonstrate pacelining. Now for the latest lesson (last Sunday)... cornering.

It's hard to visualize cornering. As most of you know, you just gotta get out there and do it. Watch some one else corner, sit on their wheel, try your hand at it and perfect it at slow speeds before hitting the corners at race-speeds.

What I didn't realize is that there's another approach. Prior to getting out there to give it a whirl, toys seem to be a good start.

Mike demonstrating a bike drafting a dump truck. With a face.

As in real life, a dump truck always wins against a bicycle.

Who says learning can't be fun ? This week's clinic is not at Mike's house and Leslie probably doesn't have children's toys lying around so I'm not sure how it's going to work out ... if nothing else, we always keep it entertaining.

The month of Wendy comes to an end tomorrow ... it's been a fun month and a great distraction to get through the post-holiday letdown. Wonder if anyone has claimed the month of February yet ?

Happy Friday, ya'll.

It's All About Connections

I couldn't resist posting this fabulous picture of teammate LJ ... LJ intended these cupcakes for the Month of Wendy, coinciding with the inauguration, but the party ended before she remembered them. As you can see, Obama was a surprise guest at the party - LJ has some connections !

TGIF- 01/16/2009

Ah, my first TGIF of the new year ... it's nice to have a fresh start ! Unfortunately, this fresh start includes 20degree temps where only the super hardcore are going to be riding this weekend. Count me out - I am as hardcore as the next gal but black ice, freezing fingers and toes and the potential for a flat (ie standing around in the cold trying to get your fingers to work) don't sound appealing to me. These are the days that I'm sooo happy that I bought my e-motion rollers !

Many of you may already know but for those who don't, January is the Month of Wendy. See, my birthday falls about 2weeks after the new year and after all the holidays and the subsequent let-down of the malady of normality, my birthday always kind of fell by the wayside. As a child, it was always too darn cold or we had a snow storm etc so I never really got to have a birthday party (I'm sure I'll be telling that to a shrink at some point in the future) and even as an adult, those who love and care for me would essentially take one present from my christmas presents and say "this is for your birthday". Pardon the language, but that blows !!

So, about 8 years ago I decided that instead of having a day, I'm going to claim the month. What started as a joke actually took hold. Stick with me here, it's not as crazy as it sounds, and don't worry, I play well with others - I'll share a day or two with those that have January birthdays but know that it really is all about me so January is the Month of Wendy.

The benefit of claiming a month is that no one has to do something on a particular day. My birth "day" was yesterday but it's a random Thursday. Who wants to have to make plans for a random Thursday ? Instead, we have all month to do fun stuff - no one is held accountable if their workday got super busy and they forgot to email or call to say happy birthday. No one has to re-arrange schedules to make a random Thursday dinner. And, better yet, presents are welcome all month !

See, now you're seeing the logic ... and you're thinking maybe it's not a bad idea. It's okay. Claim your month - just as long as it's not infringing on the Month of Wendy.

I want that job !

This time of year often has me battling within myself about my chosen career. I know, I know ... the glamorous life of an accountant is more than one girl can dream of at times, but from December through April, being an accountant is not all it's cracked up to be. Between long hours at work, short hours of daylight, squeezing training in somewhere in between and managing stress levels that are just ... wrong ... you can't really fault me for at least wondering what else might be out there.

So, as I was logging onto my email this morning, I saw a headline that I couldn't ignore. Short of finding a hot, rich lobbyist that can support my biking habit, the next best thing would be to find the ideal job. Don't get me wrong, I'm still taking applications from rich lobbyists. But since that hasn't panned out yet, this peaked my interest:

Australia offers "Best job in the world"



Essentially, you get paid the equivalent of $100,000 for lazing around an island for six months. Oh, and did I mention it's in Australia ? Sign me up !

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the link to work to submit my application. Sigh. I guess I'll just keep plugging along as a glamorous accountant.