tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-281882752024-02-27T20:42:32.935-08:00The Bruise ChroniclesAdventures on and off the bike. See the first post to answer the question: What is The Bruise Chronicles?Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-86051059013673665182012-11-12T21:41:00.000-08:002012-11-13T09:05:44.462-08:00Veteran's Day<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today for Veteran's Day, Jane and I went to the Veteran's Day Parade in downtown San Diego. Any time we salute our veterans or or thank them in any way, I explain to Jane that these men and women all fought with Captain America against the bad guys, and that it's important that we say thank you, and recognize them as heroes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Only once before had I been to a San Diego Veteran's Day parade, and I forgot how much of a hometown feel there is to it. Everyone is right there close enough to speak to. As we waved at people, we were close enough to tell them "thank you," and hear them respond. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We were not far from a corner near the end of the parade route, so occasionally the parade would stop in front of us, waiting for a group to turn the corner. At one point, with a number of troops in front of us (vets of different ages), I was somewhat overcome and burst into a decent rendition of God Bless America. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I FULLY expected everyone to join in with me, as I had envisioned a crowd singing together with voices united in a big Veteran's Day warm fuzzy moment. Of course, I got to the end of the song and realized that the only ones who had joined in were the troops in front of us, who, by the end of the song, had turned the corner and were gone. I was singing solo on the streets of downtown San Diego. No matter, I was in the Veteran's Day groove.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As the parade passed by and some of the older Vets walked alongside the parade shaking hands with kids, I encouraged Jane to go up and shake hands or even give a hug to a veteran. <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">One older man, obviously a VietNam Vet with a big welcoming smile and easy manner was shaking hands with the kids as he passed. I told Jane she should give him a hug. As she walked toward him with her arms outstretched and he realized what was happening, he hugged her back and almost burst into tears. After he passed, I told Jane that she really made his day.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">A few minutes later, a Navy unit was passing by, and stopped in front of us. I told Jane to run up and shake the hand of the man standing alongside the rows of men and women. Evidently it was a good choice, because she came back with a gold coin from the commanding officer of <a href="http://www.arco.navy.mil/index.htm" target="_blank">ARCO ARDM-5</a> - </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Medium Auxiliary Repair Dry Dock. She told me he was like Father Al. If the children ask our priest, Father Al, for a blessing at church (the proper way to greet a priest), he gives the children coins. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">Jane was good for a little over an hour's worth of parade, then she was ready for something else. Since we were both hungry, we rode the bike (I had brought bike and Weehoo trailer so we could park anywhere) down to the Embarcadero and got pizza. While w</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">e were eating our pizza, I asked Jane what was her favorite part of the parade. She said, "All those peoples, and I got a flag, and that man, I made him's day." </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Indeed. That was the best part of my day, too.</span></div>
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<span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; line-height: 18px; outline: none; width: auto;" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mom - thanks for always encouraging us as kids to give a hug and a kiss to the veterans we saw, and to tell them thank you. I'll do my best to pass the torch to the next generation.</span></span></div>
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<span aria-live="polite" class="fbPhotosPhotoCaption" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; line-height: 18px; outline: none; width: auto;" tabindex="0"><span class="hasCaption" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Veteran friends - thank you so much for your service, for enduring the bad food and ill-fitting clothing, the blisters, bug bites, the tedium of ill-informed superior officers, and all those things too terrible to mention. We love you so very much!</span></span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0San Diego, CA, USA32.7153292 -117.157255132.2878202 -117.7889691 33.1428382 -116.5255411tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-35071555848842131542012-10-03T21:20:00.002-07:002012-10-03T21:20:30.767-07:00How I Became a Team LUNA Chix Gal<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Patty was our coach, riding sweep behind me that morning as I churned and puffed my way up the hills, practicing the course of the Columbia Triathlon. We crested the first major hill about five miles into our 25-mile ride, and my heart sank. Rising in the distance was an even longer hill. I wiped my nose on my cycling glove, put my head down, and continued to pedal in silence. When I crested the second hill, all but ready to collapse, and saw the road descended in a smooth gentle slope as far as I could see, I burst into sobs and blurted out, "I will not die young and fat, like the women in my family!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I continued to sob a bit as Patty rode up alongside me, and asked, "Are you OK?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wiped the tears from my face and told her I'd never been better. She replied, "That's like, the best thing I've ever heard on a ride in my life."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had recently lost my maternal grandmother and great aunt to heart disease, diabetes, and personal negligence. My (yet unborn) children and grandchildren deserved better. That day on the hill, I chose to become an athlete and take my fate by the horns. Perhaps I wouldn't have complete control, but I could certainly guide it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Me and my mentor Lisa (left) in Maryland, training for the Seagull Century Ride.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I first got into cycling the way I got into foreign language study: I saw it as a challenge. When I started studying Russian in college, I had no idea where it would take me, but it knew that it was hard, and I knew I couldn't fake the results. I would learn it and succeed, or fail by my own efforts. Similarly, I began cycling as a way of proving to myself that I could do something difficult: I wanted to do an Olympic-distance triathlon even though I couldn't swim a lap in a pool at the time. But I was teachable, and I would learn.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My first real ride with a seasoned cycling group came in Ellicott City, Maryland, on the hilly course that was the Columbia Triathlon course. I finished that triathlon, completing my goals: 1) don't stop, 2) finish 3) don't be in pain afterwards. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the best things to come out of that triathlon for me was the knowledge that I couldn't have done it without the people around me who coached me, cheered for me, and helped me put one foot in front of the other when I thought I couldn't go any further. Now I HAD to get stronger and become a better rider, because I wanted to BE one of those people. I wanted to be a mentor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The opportunity came three years later, when I met the San Diego Team LUNA Chix and applied to the team. When asked about special skills, I told them I could make complex ideas simple for people, and that I could kill snakes if need be. I was brought onto the team. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Group ride with Team LUNA Chix San Diego to Cabrillo Monument.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Much of what we do as Team LUNA Chix members is fairly straight-forward: lead rides, raise money for the Breast Cancer Fund, support local events, etc. But a large part is never seen or really known, which is the mentoring that we are blessed with the opportunity to be a part of. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On a recent ride, our major Breast Cancer Fund </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">fund-raiser</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">from Oceanside, we had a record-breaking 65 participants. As I looked over the crowd of 25-mile riders and started making announcements, I knew the group was too large to properly care for and sweep, so I had them count off, each calling out a number, "One, TWO!, three... Oh! That's me. Four!... etc." There were 33 riders assigned to four LUNAs. Knowing that we would be pressed to properly care for all of them, I encouraged them to introduce themselves to the person they would be riding next to, and to buddy up. I told them to look out for their buddy, and tell someone if they were going to ride ahead or drop back. Meanwhile, I rode sweep.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There were a couple occasions when I got to really use the knowledge that had been handed down to me. One was realizing the trouble the rider in the back was having on the hills. I employed a trick I used when I was riding a fixie around town: count the pedal strokes to the top of the hill. I got to be a fairly good predictor of the number of pedal strokes needed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"OK, looks like you need to pedal about 35 more strokes to get to the top. Let's count them off: 1-2-3..." up to ten. "OK! Great Next set of ten! 1-2-3..." and so we rode up to the top of the hill. She told me later she thought she would not have made it if I hadn't been there. I smiled, "And that's why I'm here!" I told her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A bit later, heading up another hill, her chain suddenly derailled to the inside, becoming jammed in the bottom bracket. We stopped, and after some tugging on the chain, and another cyclist stopping to assist, we realized her bike needed a mechanic and proper tools. I told the man who had stopped for us, "Well, I'll flag down a truck and get her a ride." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Oh," he looked surprised, "you have SAG?" he asked, referring to the motorized support some rides have.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Well, we have SAG, but the driver doesn't know it yet..." I said with a smile, and stepped to the road. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We were on Camp Pendleton, the USMC base north of San Diego. I've been a Navy wife since 1991, and know that most people on base are happy to assist if asked. I waited for a truck, then stuck my thumb out. Sure enough, the man stopped, then backed up to us. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"What's your situation?" he asked in true military style. I was really glad for this, otherwise I might have launched into the story of her climbing the hill, struggling, then the trouble with the chain... but he helped me focus.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Her bike is unrideable. She needs a ride to the gate or to Oceanside Harbor," I said plainly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"I can do that. Load her up," he told me. I asked him if he'd like a LUNA bar, and he said that would be great, because his last name was Moon. Haha.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I made sure phone numbers were exchanged between the girl, Mr Moon, and myself, so we could all check in later. Then set out to catch the rest of my group.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At the end of the ride, the girl caught up with me in the parking lot, telling me how great it was that even though things didn't go as planned, she had a good ride and a very positive experience. She seemed embarrassed by needing special care, so I told her, "Trust me, there have been plenty of people taking care of me along the way. Some day you'll be able to do the same for another rider. You will." When this was told to me years ago, I didn't really believe it, but looked for opportunities anyway. They always present themselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>I want to thank my mentors and teachers who have brought me to this point. There are more than I can name, but I will name a few: </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Grandmother Ann - thank you for teaching me to love people, to love work, and to love myself</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Mom - thank you for being an amazing example of strength and compassion</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Dad - thanks for the forced marches. I'm learning to appreciate them, and to value the athletic legacy you gave us.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>CJ in Maryland - you're the best mentor ever. I'll always adore you.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Coach Patti - thanks for hanging in there with me on those hills and letting me ride at my own pace.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Coach Lisa F - thanks for encouraging me to do the Seagull Century. I couldn't have done it without you!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Chad M- thanks for not letting on that anything I ever did was impressive. It always made me try harder.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Nancy H- thank you for being the shining light of encouragement that you are, and inviting me to ride with No Brakes Racing.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Eric C- thanks for being a great example of what a champion should be, and helping me to finally make friends with my front brake.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>And largely, big thanks to my husband Steve, who waited patiently for me as I eek-eek-eek'ed my way down the hills when I first started riding road bikes, then wordlessly took me to the ER when I started crashing mountain bikes a few years later. You're the best friend and companion a girl could have.</i></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-3144664674544762272012-09-11T17:59:00.000-07:002012-09-12T10:48:13.718-07:00Explaining 9/11 to my 4-year-old<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was Sunday, September 9, 2012, when I realized it was... Sunday, September 9.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the past few days, when I would notice a calendar and see that once again it would soon be Tuesday, September 11, my pulse would quicken, my throat would begin to close, and tears would start to well in my eyes before I could push the emotions down, refocus, and move forward. In those micro-seconds of grief, my mind would invariably flood with images of the last time it was Sunday, September 9... I was running a sprint triathlon on the Jersey Shore, the sun was high, there was a cool breeze in the air, and life was good. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Lower Manhattan from the Jersey side</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the past few days, I just wanted to go back and see things as they were, the Manhattan skyline like I remembered seeing it from the Jersey side, one more time. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I didn't want Tuesday to come, and a part of me dreaded it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One of the more profound things associated with 9/11 for me, was getting turned away from the blood bank in the days that followed the attack. For someone who is O-negative, a universal donor, who gets phone calls from the blood bank the day I'm legal to donate again, getting turned away was something uncanny. It seemed all the donors had come out to donate, but there were no survivors to donate to. I remember sitting in my car outside the center, weeping.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now it's eleven years later, and it's again Tuesday, September 11. My four-year-old daughter </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jane and I enter Balboa Park, looking for a hot dog and "free Tuesdays" admission. As we near the fountain </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">at the south end of the park</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, I notice a large 9/11 Memorial display, and slow my pace as I walk, her little hand in mine. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do I tell her the story? She's only four. The horrific images of the planes crashing into the Towers are in bright colors on the long display walls, along with images of the survivors, firefighters, police, and all the chaos that was Tuesday, September 11. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I take a breath and lean down on one knee, drawing her close and pointing to the images as I tell her the story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Eleven years ago, before you were born, a terrible thing happened. Evil men wanted to hurt people."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Why?" she asks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Because evil people will always want to hurt good people and take away what they have. That's why good people need to be strong, so they can fight the bad people." <i>(Credit here goes to Dennis Prager for the pithy brilliance of this statement.)</i> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Happened?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I take a breath, and use the story of The Incredibles to help me tell the story of 9/11. "Remember how Syndrome sent a giant robot to hurt people? Well, these bad men used airplanes instead of robots, and they flew them into buildings to try to hurt people," I tell her. "And a lot of people died."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She looks at the pictures, seeing people with blood and ash on their arms and faces, and asks, "Why them have blood?" </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"They probably got hurt when something fell on them," I tell her. She gazes at the images a few more seconds, then buries her head in my neck. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I take a deep breath.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"But that's not the whole story," I tell her, quickly realizing I need to give her more information. "Do you remember when Mr Incredible and Frozone went into the burning building to save the people before it collapsed? Well, they had superheroes in New York City, too. See all these people going down the stairway, but the firefighters are going up? They're going in to save people."</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Note: There were 10,000 people or more evacuated from both towers that day, but this information is rarely remembered. We only remember the nearly 3000 that died.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I point to the images of people covered in ash, walking hand-in-hand from the rubble, "See these people? They didn't know each other. But they are helping each other to find safety. See this man? How he's hurt, but he's still helping this lady? They don't know each other, but they are helping each other like brother and sister..." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"See these people? They're all working together, not like the people in the movies who scream and run away."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"See this one? They didn't know each other, but they're holding hands like brothers and sisters. This picture shows how they cared for each other, even when they were all very scared."</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhoHLsl30u3WwKxS4M6OCDG-h-ttNB5ymbUqiUAJY1uQxASpG92wmxjZwy-1sMfF09AGqMDFxuV8tS2TK0nD9P7tkQD4cuPZByOKvA1qjoV8XwewMgyMiyhrk7LOpCzg2UbXcUg/s1600/9-11_rescue2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBhoHLsl30u3WwKxS4M6OCDG-h-ttNB5ymbUqiUAJY1uQxASpG92wmxjZwy-1sMfF09AGqMDFxuV8tS2TK0nD9P7tkQD4cuPZByOKvA1qjoV8XwewMgyMiyhrk7LOpCzg2UbXcUg/s320/9-11_rescue2.jpg" width="284" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"And this man here that is being carried out. Is he a fireman?" I ask her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Yes," she says.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"It looks like he's a fireman, because he's wearing a helmet and a fireman's jacket. But look at his shoes. Those are office shoes. This man was working at his office, and he got hurt. But a fireman came and rescued him, and gave him his helmet, and his jacket, so he wouldn't get hurt by anything else. These men are saving his life..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And as I point out the triumph in each of the pictures, my own story of 9/11 shifts from one of grief and anger, to the story it was in the days immediately following the attack: the story of courage and </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">unity in the face of absolute chaos and destruction</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. It becomes the story of the triumph of the human spirit, of endurance, and resilience. It becomes the story of the amazing orderly evacuation of over 10,000 people from two burning buildings, and the people who turned and walked straight into danger in the hopes of doing good for someone else. It's the story of people coming together like brothers and sisters, and choosing to take care of each other. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I look at the wall of images and names, and suddenly, I don't dread Tuesday, Septerber 11, any more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-84716132552995742412012-08-20T17:03:00.001-07:002012-08-20T17:16:05.174-07:00What's a Company Picnic without a Bike Care Class? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.teamlunachix.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhToNk8NFJrBEC7N7okoq56Llj6t475VEjzPttTOLr16rhW6yASt14ioA-aDLqrU_EilrhDjanCEVFfqVgzTLhU0nkOI-WgSFe9oTmQOL0aZtJs3kanGEX5CclH-Q8VN2kZuZo_MA/s200/logo_2012TLC_logo_yellow.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I recently had the opportunity through <a href="http://www.teamlunachix.com/san_diego_cycle" target="_blank">Team LUNA Chix San Diego Cycle</a> to conduct a Bike Care Class at the URS Corp company picnic. It was a great experience, and the second year Team LUNA Chix has been invited to participate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was to present a 20-minute Basic Bike Care presentation followed by a Hands-on Flat-changing Clinic. But with all the distractions of a company picnic like hamburgers, the shade tree, and jumpy houses (seriously, there was jumpy that looked like a small version of American Gladiator), I knew I needed something to generate interest in my clinic. So I devised a contest for anyone to enter, and announced that the first correct answer drawn at random would win a new multi-tool, courtesy of Steve Richey at <a href="http://2wheelogic.com/" target="_blank">2wheelogic.com</a> (thanks for everything you taught me, Steve!).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I put two similar road bikes side-by-side with a sign:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You are commuting to work and expect to arrive home just before dusk. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Which bike is ready to ride?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Submit your name and answer (Bike 1 or Bike 2) <br />along with a brief description of why you made the choice you did. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We announced the contest, and stated that the drawing would take place just before the Basic Bike Care presentation. It worked like a charm, as people began coming over to look at the bikes, feel the tires, test out the lights, feel the brakes, etc. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">checking over the two road bikes</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemH_doeyd3OpnWTYdvya3GlPQ8c8uF_UofTwaDECSK1qAQfj2dRGMYTJDeiAc4Qw84xTqFelxq5gg0QGClt-sN4HUp464EjU9Yk3ULp-M-K4iYYOsMZd9JJwj2gWUYmlRGNUfsg/s1600/P1060449_whichbike.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgemH_doeyd3OpnWTYdvya3GlPQ8c8uF_UofTwaDECSK1qAQfj2dRGMYTJDeiAc4Qw84xTqFelxq5gg0QGClt-sN4HUp464EjU9Yk3ULp-M-K4iYYOsMZd9JJwj2gWUYmlRGNUfsg/s320/P1060449_whichbike.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">filling out an entry card to win the mulit-tool</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When it came time to draw, there was a crowd of about 15-20 people. A woman who had answered correctly, "Bike 2 is ready because Bike 1 has no rear light" won the multi-tool. I asked the crowd what else they had noticed that might render Bike 1 not ready to ride. I was surprised that none of them, not even the seasoned riders in the crowd, noticed that the front brake caliper of Bike 1 was wide open. With steam from the drawing, I was able to segway immediately into the Basic Bike Care presentation, and the A-B-C's of riding.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>A - Air.</b> Always make sure your tires have sufficient air before you ride. On a road bike, if you can put any dent with your fingertips into the sidewall of the tire, the tire needs air. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before group rides, I will always go around and feel the tires. It's remarkable the number of people who think they have 100 psi when they have no more than 75 psi. Riding under-inflated tires is a quick way to get a pinch flat. Road tires should be pumped up almost every time you ride.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>B - Brakes.</b> Always spin the wheel to make sure it is not rubbing, and then grab the brake lever to make sure the brake is working properly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>C - Chain and Cables. </b>Make sure the chain runs smoothly across the teeth of the front rings and rear cassette. If you touch the chain and get blackened fingers from grease, it's probably you are using too much chain lube. Wipe off the excess. If you tough the chain and it feels dry, you may need to use a bit more chain lube. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cables are the lifelines to smooth shifting. If your cables are starting to get rusty from exposure, or you notice an end that is starting to fray, it's probably time to get a new cable installed. If you need your bike seen by a professional, d</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">o your mechanic a favor and clean up your bike before taking it in for repairs. It's a courtesy that will be greatly appreciated.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before every ride, take 30 seconds to check your bike's A-B-C's. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">how to clean a chain</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I took a moment during the presentation to show the crowd how easy it is to clean a chain, and quizzed them on the things I had just told them. Anyone who got a correct answer got a cassette brush, courtesy of <a href="http://pedros.com/" target="_blank">Pedro's Bike Care Products</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Basic Bike Care presentation was followed by the Hands-on Flat-Changing Clinic. Although I only had three takers for this portion, they were eager to learn, and very excited that they could learn to remove and replace a rear wheel so easily. As a thank-you for attending, they each got either a multi-tool or a chin tool. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Big thanks go to my "Janie-on-the-spot" LUNA teammate Cindy, who has helped me with several clinics and is always a great support! Thanks, Cindy!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Team LUNA Chix San Diego Cycle </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">presented the Bike Care Clinic as part of an ongoing fundraising effort for the Breast Cancer Fund. I'd like to thank URS Corp, on </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">behalf of Team LUNA Chix San Diego,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> for their generous donation to the cause. If you would like to make a donation to the Breast Cancer Fund, please see our <a href="http://prevention.breastcancerfund.org/site/TR/Events/General?pxfid=3120&fr_id=1210&pg=fund" target="_blank">donation page</a>. </span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0Tidelands Park, Coronado, CA 92118, USA32.69042362367211 -117.1649837493896532.687082623672111 -117.16991924938965 32.693764623672109 -117.16004824938965tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-69839773208124825672012-06-22T10:09:00.000-07:002012-06-22T10:18:58.733-07:00Learning to Ride a Bike (from Tales from the Bike Shop)<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>When I worked at UC Cyclery, I had the great fortune of being able to help newer riders work through their fears of getting on a bike. Here's Jake's story - one of my favorites - from June 2008.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><b>Jake - My Customer of the Day</b><br />Jake came in today with his grandparents. Jake is eleven, and has not yet had his growth spurt. He's a good-natured, kind, loving kid, witnessed by his encouragement and support of his younger sister who also learned to ride a bike tonight, and his respect and love for his father. Jake is my customer of the day.<br /><br />When he first came in with his grandparents and they told me that he needed a new bike, I turned and talked directly to Jake, and asked if he would like try an XS adult bike rather than a 24"-wheeled kid's bike. He was certainly big enough.<br /><br />"No," he insisted, "I like this one better," he said as he moved timidly to the smaller bike that was clearly too small for him. Jake is a little pudgy, and probably not very active. I found out later that his grandfather, who is here on vacation from Montreal, rides a bike every day. I create an image in my mind of the grandfather who comes into town, discovers his sedentary overweight grandson, and determines to do something about it. So he drags him to the bike shop determined to get the boy on a bike. This is where come in.<br /><br />"Well, if you like this [smaller] bike, let me take it to the mechanic so he can get it ready for a testride. How about that?" I ask Jake.<br />"Oh, no. I don't need to ride it. It'll be fine," he tells me.<br /><br />He's afraid of riding the bike.<br /><br />"What's the thing that's keeping you from riding the bike?" I ask.<br />He hesitates, then confesses, "Um, I have the wrong shoes."<br /><br />I look at his shoes. He's wearing Crocs.<br />"OK, so if you had better shoes, would that be OK?"<br /><br />"Well... not really. I don't need to ride the bike..."<br />I drag his main hesitation out of him.<br />"I might fall," he says.<br />"Well, what will happen if you fall?" I ask.<br />"I dunno, I get hurt a little," he says.<br />"And then what?" I ask.<br />"Um, maybe I bleed..." he says, almost as a question.<br />"Then what?" I ask, prodding him to look further.<br />"I dunno..." he shrugs.<br />"Do you get back on the bike?" I ask.<br />"I dunno... I guess," he says, confused.<br /><br />"So, the worst that can happen is that you fall, you get hurt, but then you get back on the bike. Right? Has that happened before?" I ask.<br /><br />"Well, yeah, and it was really um, kinda scary," he confesses.<br /><br />"OK," I tell him. "Well, that sounds really normal. Lots of people who fall and get hurt are afraid. I think everybody is. But, you know how that chocolate cream cake in the window of the bakery looks soooo good, but it never really tastes as good as we think it will?"<br />"Um, yeah..." he says.<br />"Well, things are always exaggerated in our minds. The desserts always taste better, and the falls always seem more painful, but it's never as intense in reality as it is in our minds. Right?"<br />"Wow. I guess so," he says.<br /><br />"So, if I gave you some elbow and knee pads that I have in my car, so it wouldn't hurt if you fall, and if you came back here in better shoes, would you take a test ride?"<br /><br />He searches for a flaw in my argument, but can find none. I assure him that with elbow and knee pads, he will not get hurt, that I fall all the time and I'm OK. He agrees to come back later in the day with his father.<br /><br />Meanwhile, his grandmother has stood and listened to this exchange in something akin to awe. She asks me how long I will be at the shop today. I tell her till 8pm.<br /><br />I help Jake choose a helmet, one with colors he likes, and set it aside for him. He and his grandparents leave, and I all but forget about them until almost 7pm, when they return to the shop, this time with Dad, Grandad, and the younger sister Abby, who is about seven.<br /><br />Jake is ready for the ride now. He readily dons the elbow pads and knee pads that I retrieve from my trunk. I show him how to put his pedal at 2 o'clock for maximum impetus. But despite all my coaxing and coaching, he begins to get discouraged, has almost half a dozen false starts and suddenly cries in frustration, "I can't!" I ask him for one more good effort, and this time, I hold him steady as he pedals a few strokes in the parking lot. He comes to a stop, his eyes wide.<br /><br />"Wow. I almost did it," he says, amazed.<br />"Yes! You did! Do it again!" I tell him.<br /><br />He starts again, and this time, I let go, allowing him to ride by himself. He does it. He comes to a stop triumphant in front of his father. "Dad!! I did it!!" he calls.<br /><br />This kid has not been on a bike since he was five years old. His dad is really trying to contain himself, while I hold nothing back and literally jump up and down and give Jake a high-five. It is now that I tell him he should try the XS adult bike.<br /><br />"You think I can?" he asks.<br /><br />"Dude! You looked so good on the 24"-bike, I think it's really going to be a better fit..." I tell him. I glance at the father, who takes a deep breath and purses his lips. He really wants his son on the bigger bike, but knows he can't push him.<br /><br />Jake gets on the XS Hardrock and rides it like a champ. "I'm doing it!! I'm doing it!!"<br /><br />These are the moments that make my job sweet. My day can hardly get any better at this point. A boy who was afraid of bikes now can't wait to go ride the new one he will be getting.<br /><br />The father looks at me and says, "So, Abby here has never ridden a bike. Can you teach her too?"<br /><br />I prepare a 20-inch girls bike with coaster brakes for Abby. She is fearless, and although she has several false starts, she takes instruction well and is soon riding well, as long as she doesn't have to turn or brake... which will come in time.<br /><br />Amusingly, Jake has been attempting to coach her with his new-found knowledge as one who has *ahem* been riding longer than her. His dad quiets him, telling him, "Let Laura tell her..."<br /><br />After Abby has mastered starting and stopping, and Jake tells her what a fine job she's done, I turn to Jake and say, "Your sister has learned very well from your example." He smiles.<br /><br />"She probably learns a lot from you, right?" I ask.<br />"Well, sure," he admits.<br />"Do you know what you can learn from her?" I ask him.<br />"What?" he asks.<br />"She had a number of false starts, and messed up a lot of times..." I say.<br />"Haha... yeah," he laughs.<br />"But she never got discouraged, did she?" I ask him.<br />His smile fades, as he realizes this.<br />"She knows it's OK to make mistakes. You could try to learn that from her," I tell him with an encouraging smile.<br />He casts his eyes down, then looks back at me and nods with a tight-lipped smile.<br /><br />God bless him, I too am a first-born who has to get everything RIGHT the first time!! My younger brother was always messing up, but it never mattered for him. If only I had been able to learn from him early on, and see his flexibility to get it wrong as a strength...<br /><br /><br />Haha... somewhere along the way I developed this compulsive need to make it easier on subsequent generations, seeking out first-borns and letting them know it's OK NOT to get it right the first time.<br /><br />Today, Jake was my customer of the day, for his spirit, courage, and intellectual fortitude.</span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Update - I ran into Jake's father at UC Cyclery one Sunday afternoon in 2011 when I happened to stop by the shop. He said Jake was riding his bike often, and Jake's sister commented that he was "really good, too." </i></span><br /> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-41694650235605744272012-06-06T03:08:00.001-07:002012-06-06T03:55:05.314-07:00Flat-changing Clinic part 3 - What's in your Camelbak?<i style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is Part 3 of the 3-part series on Bicycle Maintenance: Tires and Flat-changing.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;">One of the most frequent questions I get from attendees at my clinics is: </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; font-size: large; line-height: 20px;"><b>What should I carry when I ride?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20px;"><b>Five things you should absolutely have when you ride. </b></span></span><br />
<ol>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Mobile phone</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Copy of your picture ID, emergency contact info, blood type, known allergies</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Spare tube, </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Tire levers</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Pump and/or CO2 inflater head and 2 cartridges</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Emergency cash</span></li>
</ol>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">In addition to these things, I carry a few more items. Here's my road saddlebag.</span></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">SADDLEBAG CONTENTS (ROAD RIDE)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLLKTMTXRBeplhCpVD0foONypEIACnlNWxt62QWCLJ9IposaRqY7HF0KptdJTmZ_UyIyVixIZE9N37GbTdAyuvHhNt7wrmS_tqgt58MucGct604rk4U2aoig53S1-20F5kIQpmQ/s1600/120508_saddlebag_IMG_3999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzLLKTMTXRBeplhCpVD0foONypEIACnlNWxt62QWCLJ9IposaRqY7HF0KptdJTmZ_UyIyVixIZE9N37GbTdAyuvHhNt7wrmS_tqgt58MucGct604rk4U2aoig53S1-20F5kIQpmQ/s320/120508_saddlebag_IMG_3999.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Laura's saddlebag, clockwise from the top: <a href="http://kinesys.com/kinesys-skincare-products.php?pg=kinesys-sun-care-products" target="_blank">KINeSYS </a>sunscreen, Purell mini, tire levers, mechanic gloves, photo ID, emergency contact card, pocket knife, Elete electrolyte concentrate single, $20, spare tube, 2 CO2 cartridges, <a href="http://www.genuineinnovations.com/microflate-nano-clone-2.html" target="_blank">MicroFlate Nano</a> CO2 inflater head, patch kit, Allen wrenches, small bottle of </span> <a href="http://eletewater.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">Elete </a><a href="https://store.healthsoluteions.com/elete-electrolyte-add-in/tablytes.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">Tablytes</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, <a href="http://www.clifbar.com/food/products_shot_gel_turbo/" target="_blank">Clif Chocolate Cherry turbo</a> shots.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><i>List of additional items you might carry, that I do carry on the <b>road</b>, in addition to the 5 basics:</i></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">hex wrenches</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">nutrition (gel, bar, etc.)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">electrolyte tablets (e.g., <a href="http://eletewater.com/" target="_blank">Elete </a><a href="https://store.healthsoluteions.com/elete-electrolyte-add-in/tablytes.html" target="_blank">Tablytes</a>)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">tube patch kit</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">pocketknife - helpful to remove glass from a tire among other things</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">mechanic gloves - when it's a grimy job and you still have hours to go</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">sunscreen mini bottle - to re-apply as needed</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Purell mini bottle </span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mountain bike rides are different, because you can me in remote areas without access to emergency assistance. I carry quite a bit in my CamelBak when I'm mountain biking. <i>Here are the a</i></span><i style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">dditional items you might carry, that I do carry on the <b>trail</b>. The only things I've never had to use are the space blanket, photo ID and medical info card.</i></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">CAMELBAK CONTENTS (MTN RIDE)</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOchxgx860hkGzlDTQLixduxTgdwiedC6229u1he6nx0uuob4UMRLKTeLnbMdx9z6SvX2ayoVyByTzSfhEfrXwdAu-NiA2cdt8q-mCf7PuuNy0upPIiK4kJCPcMnVpZWQnhU3PQg/s1600/120508_saddlebag_4003c_label_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOchxgx860hkGzlDTQLixduxTgdwiedC6229u1he6nx0uuob4UMRLKTeLnbMdx9z6SvX2ayoVyByTzSfhEfrXwdAu-NiA2cdt8q-mCf7PuuNy0upPIiK4kJCPcMnVpZWQnhU3PQg/s320/120508_saddlebag_4003c_label_1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 20px;">Laura's CamelBak contents: </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">medical bag (bandages, medical tape, alcohol, maxi pad - a great sterile dressing for a deep cut or a large scrape, anti-bacterial ointment, Benedryl, etc.), photo ID, emergency cash, spare tube, bag of many-sized nuts and bolts, chain break tool, space blanket, spare cleats and screws, electrical tape, duct tape, shock pump, SRAM quick link, energy towel (to cool off someone suffering from heat exhaustion), CO2 cartridges, tire levers, tube patches, CO2 MicroFlate Nano inflater head, hex wrenches, knife, nail clippers, Sharpie, chain lube, Elete electrolyte supplement, spare derailleur hanger, Sportlegs (prevents lactic acid buildup), sports nutrition, tweezers to remove cactus needles, 2 small combs to remove cactus bulbs, large bandage, personal medical and emergency contact info.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">In addition to the 5 basic items, here are the things I carry in my CamelBak.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">For the bike:</span></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">hex wrenches</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">tube patch kit</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">chain lube</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">SRAM quick link</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">bag of many-sized nuts and bolts </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">chain break tool </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">shock pump</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">spare derailleur hanger</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">For the body</span></div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<ul>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">sports nutrition (gel, bar, etc.)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">electrolyte tablets (e.g., </span><a href="http://eletewater.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;" target="_blank">Elete </a><a href="https://store.healthsoluteions.com/elete-electrolyte-add-in/tablytes.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;" target="_blank">Tablytes</a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Sportlegs</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">energy towel (to cool off someone suffering from heat exhaustion)</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">For random emergencies</span></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">
<li><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">folding knife</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Sharpie</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">spare cleats and screws</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">electrical tape, duct tape </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">medical bag - </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">bandages, large bandage, medical tape, alcohol, mechanic gloves, maxi pad - a great starile dressing for a deep cut or a large scrape, anti-bacterial ointment, Benedryl, sunscreen, nail clippers, etc. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">tweezers to remove cactus needles, 2 small combs to remove cactus bulbs (we are in the desert)</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">emergency cash</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">photo ID, medical information card with emergency contact info, blood type, known allergies</span></span></li>
<li><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 20px;">space blanket</span></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">While you don't necessarily need to carry items for <i>any </i>emergency, if you know how to use these things, they really come in handy when you need them. </span></div>
</div>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 20px;">Have a great ride!</span><br />
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<i style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please feel free to leave comments about thing you find useful, things you carry on the trail, or helpful suggestions for riders.</span></i></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-7240656933829840372012-05-17T19:02:00.002-07:002012-05-17T19:02:08.289-07:00Bicycle Maintenance: Tires and Flat-changing Part 2 - AQ<br />
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<i style="color: #333333; font-size: 13px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is Part 2 of the 3-part series on Bicycle Maintenance: Tires and Flat-changing.</span></i></h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In <a href="http://sunnyrides.blogspot.com/2012/05/flat-changing-clinic-part-1.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a>, I talked about what to expect in my flat-changing clinics, held monthly and hosted by <a href="http://blbikes.com/" target="_blank">B+L Bike and Sport</a>. Here are some of the questions that come up in my flat-changing clinics. Please feel free to add your own questions in the comments. :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>WHEN IN THE COURSE OF CHANGING A FLAT...</b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do I need to take the whole tire off?</b><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No. You only need to take one side of the tire off so that you can remove and replace the tube.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What are the advantages to removing the whole tire?</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Facilitates finding the thing that made you flat.<br />Removing the tire entirely will make it easier to find the glass, thorn, piece of wire, etc. Sometimes the object will remain in the rubber of the tire, slightly poking through the inside, just waiting to flat your new tube. With the tire removed, you can practically turn it inside-out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is there any disadvantage to removing the whole tire?</b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Remounting it in the wrong direction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tires are often designed to roll best in one direction. Unless you know the direction of rotation, which is </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sometimes stamped into the sidewall</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> of the tire, you need to either </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a) pay close attention to decals and logos when you removed the tire, i.e., logos match up to the cassette /skewer nut side </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">or </i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the skewer lever side, or</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">b) know how to read the directional tread of a tire.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEger0mYljQFMx_oIm9a__Y5zi21ObVbbuMQ8u5FVXJwwSZr5mXQX5GXUJNzTCc-sgwBQmN6-H9-wsbiv8oN5kq4kGuwdumxiDwuhNJ7l9pqCRk67dpQ6Ox0bVQsq-OM-UO7uzfMFw/s1600/IMG_4072a_rotation.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEger0mYljQFMx_oIm9a__Y5zi21ObVbbuMQ8u5FVXJwwSZr5mXQX5GXUJNzTCc-sgwBQmN6-H9-wsbiv8oN5kq4kGuwdumxiDwuhNJ7l9pqCRk67dpQ6Ox0bVQsq-OM-UO7uzfMFw/s320/IMG_4072a_rotation.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">"<b><= ROTATION</b>" is stamped into the sidewall of many tires.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>TUBES </b></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What do all those numbers on the tube box mean?</b><br style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" /><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Example: 700 x 18-28, 48mm (road tube)</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">700 = roughly 700mm rim diameter</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">18-28 Number of mm wide the tube will comfortably inflate. If the tire is narrower than 18mm, there will be too much flabby tube inside it. If the tire is wider than 28mm, the tube will be stretched too thin.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">48mm length of the presta valve on a road tube. Deeper rims require longer valve stems. A short valve stem inside the rim may not allow you to attach the pump to inflate it.</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Example: 26 x 1.9-2.125 (mountain bike tube)</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">26 = 26" diameter rim</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1.9 - 2.125 Number of inches wide that the tube will comfortable inflate.</span></li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGP9Q8m4OdAD4XdlLk7JIUmPLIHhsogtfDAOl7VUlQJa4y-tCtvPBH7tIZ6tWA4vf6qtyLqKQkjjNnzA2fxoCey1FxSNbIippB7LopMSa6VZyTAlb_H9EUTyUxRGYSDq28pgtXYg/s1600/tubes_4059a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGP9Q8m4OdAD4XdlLk7JIUmPLIHhsogtfDAOl7VUlQJa4y-tCtvPBH7tIZ6tWA4vf6qtyLqKQkjjNnzA2fxoCey1FxSNbIippB7LopMSa6VZyTAlb_H9EUTyUxRGYSDq28pgtXYg/s320/tubes_4059a.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>How do I know I have the right size tube?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Easiest way: take your tire to the bike shop and tell them you need a spare tube. When you remove the tube from the box and put it in a plastic bag, tear off the end of the box with all the numbers and put it inside the bag with the spare tube.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>TIRES</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Are bike measurements in inches or metric?</b><br />Road bikes are most commonly measured in metric, mountain bikes in inches.</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is the "bead" of the tire?</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The bead is the edge that hooks into the rim and holds the tire onto the rim. Tire beads are either wire or kevlar.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is the difference between wire or kevlar bead tires?</b></div>
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<i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />Wire bead</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">often less expensive </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">harder to mount onto rims </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">better for 230+ lbs riders (because the bead stays in place and won't blow off the rim) </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">adds 50-75g in rotational weight, which is fine for flat terrain, but more work in hilly terrain.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Kevlar bead </i></span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">often more expensive than wire bead </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">easy to mount into rims</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">fold-able (you can carry one in your back pocket if you need to)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">reduced rotational weight</span></li>
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<b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How much air do my tires need?</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every tire is stamped with a recommended inflation. Road bike tires are high pressure, low volume, and are generally inflated between 95-125 psi. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8OmRCjyvub8ywXbzLI9RMXJRMr5rLJ2-KDOmhfDJo2Buf25zLhOIj586cMO2slizwOXw7q0cfzkUC9OtvJPg1sl1kZEtlnTQ_nqk6JRsFysJVQzqa55cGst4TsU7iNTzL8IaVNg/s1600/IMG_4076a_road_psi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8OmRCjyvub8ywXbzLI9RMXJRMr5rLJ2-KDOmhfDJo2Buf25zLhOIj586cMO2slizwOXw7q0cfzkUC9OtvJPg1sl1kZEtlnTQ_nqk6JRsFysJVQzqa55cGst4TsU7iNTzL8IaVNg/s320/IMG_4076a_road_psi.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Road bike tire recommended inflation: 115 PSI / 125 PSI</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mountain bike tires are low pressure, high volume, and are generally inflated between 30-50 psi.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xgYKi_rFr8eWDn5Ow1w_F0F4CSQcxPX0y81LrFHWcNG5MmIOnN11PUWs7E2lzs2WNkByI4rbiBYhJwN2IQPTf7JFqwi23kxTKWr4o4iEp9Oq0vSZO0VLnfmPyf6PpYIswaNXkg/s1600/IMG_4075a_mtb_psi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5xgYKi_rFr8eWDn5Ow1w_F0F4CSQcxPX0y81LrFHWcNG5MmIOnN11PUWs7E2lzs2WNkByI4rbiBYhJwN2IQPTf7JFqwi23kxTKWr4o4iEp9Oq0vSZO0VLnfmPyf6PpYIswaNXkg/s320/IMG_4075a_mtb_psi.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mountain bike tire recommended inflation: 36-65 PSI </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Why are some road tires perfectly slick and others have ridges (tread)?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perfectly slick road tires are most often used by racers, having the least friction and drag. Tires with more tread provide better grip and are better for directing water or mud away from the center of the tire. Ask at your local bike shop which tire is best for your riding style and goals.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>MISC</b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Is the rim and the wheel the same thing?</b><br />No. The rim is only the hoop part with the holes in it. The wheel is made up of the rim, spokes, hub, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>What is presta and schrader?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tube valve stems are either presta or schrader (looks like the car tire).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWowRR9ZuZBfeTpj5I4MD-4gpW5hsY-LWPBpbquY7cboW53B4SkyOwrJgBCIvTNOcG6HIMTY1r9UEyoSgFp2Ts3VzmfDhpFmCnwOKLRPsV60QXrnOry9nU5F49HuWVKzaidfjqHg/s1600/IMG_4062a_presta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWowRR9ZuZBfeTpj5I4MD-4gpW5hsY-LWPBpbquY7cboW53B4SkyOwrJgBCIvTNOcG6HIMTY1r9UEyoSgFp2Ts3VzmfDhpFmCnwOKLRPsV60QXrnOry9nU5F49HuWVKzaidfjqHg/s320/IMG_4062a_presta.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">presta valve in a mountain bike wheel</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unscrew the top (little gold piece) to inflate. Be sure to tighten it back down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>How often do I need to pump up my tires?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Check tires before every ride. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Properly inflated road tires should feel completely solid. If you can make any depression with your fingers in the sidewall at all, you need air. Use a good floor pump and knew for certain how much pressure is in your tires. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If road tires are to be harder than an apple, mountain tires should be a bit softer than an orange. You should be able to depress the sidewall slightly. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you have additional questions or are curious about tubes or tires, please see <a href="http://sheldonbrown.com/tires.html" target="_blank">Sheldon Brown's website</a>. Although Sheldon is no longer with us, his site is maintained by volunteers and remains a great resource for cyclists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next week I'll have <b>Part 3: What's in your saddlebag?</b> Items you should have with you when you ride.</span></div>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-87949020520350671842012-05-09T14:04:00.003-07:002012-05-09T14:04:57.067-07:00Bicycle Maintenance: Tires and Flat-changing (part 1)<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>This is Part 1 of the 3-part series on Bicycle Maintenance: Tires and Flat-changing.</i></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I first started cycling, my mechanic in New Jersey </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">encouraged</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> me to attend a flat-changing and bike maintenance clinic put on by the parks department. I remember following all the steps the instructor told me, but still being so confused, and feeling like I only got through the flat-changing part because someone more </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">knowledgeable than me was there to help.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since that clinic in Feb 2003, I've tried to learn as much as I could about bikes and bike maintenance. Being something of a compulsive teacher, I naturally have to pass on what I've learned, so I started teaching flat-changing clinics with women as the target audience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now I teach a flat-changing clinic at <a href="http://blbikes.com/" target="_blank">B+L Bike and Sports</a> once a month. This past Sunday afternoon, I taught at the Solana Beach store where we had nine women attend. It was a great afternoon!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPKerC68ZOcHSGlfvMhmna3vhEZQkxtVhan_uf7pJus1eX6noGgWC4sAWjeGmI4SvooxbMUzHS1XKIRxihRET5oZW7DK3n5XS0NcnzPPb-h6GYboeBVeUW02TJj2mGeJscEcxvg/s1600/P1060251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPKerC68ZOcHSGlfvMhmna3vhEZQkxtVhan_uf7pJus1eX6noGgWC4sAWjeGmI4SvooxbMUzHS1XKIRxihRET5oZW7DK3n5XS0NcnzPPb-h6GYboeBVeUW02TJj2mGeJscEcxvg/s320/P1060251.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jenny and Robbin watch as Monica pulls the tube out of the tire in a simulated flat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's important that everyone actually work on a bike and not just spectate. Doing it yourself boosts your confidence, and reinforces the notion that you can, in fact, do this yourself. We always work on <i>rear </i>wheels, with at least ten minutes spent removing and replacing the rear wheel, until everyone is comfortable doing so. As with most things, there are tricks to making removing/replacing a rear wheel easy. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9ljVh2EW3wdFTnChGtDU4TYjB8yt5Lz1ntCJev4jb3XT_Yr4zABv2m7yw4M-rNri3acJxaoqkdwpGLxaPFe8f2HzbHM3wIrNbrGQDQhdDcyi4u11RLo99HOsSbSpQW6fB4dvBA/s1600/120506_clinic_P1060250a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd9ljVh2EW3wdFTnChGtDU4TYjB8yt5Lz1ntCJev4jb3XT_Yr4zABv2m7yw4M-rNri3acJxaoqkdwpGLxaPFe8f2HzbHM3wIrNbrGQDQhdDcyi4u11RLo99HOsSbSpQW6fB4dvBA/s320/120506_clinic_P1060250a.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Monica continues working on her tire as Bev (background) looks up from her work.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Depending on space, there will be 4-6 bikes to work on. Attendees will work singly, in pairs, or even in groups of three to get the job done. Taking turns, everyone gets a chance to practice removing and replacing the rear wheel, removing the tire, getting the tire back onto the rim, and inflating the tube with CO2.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJEIfpSMoyo-VNV0IxYMHXZIvUTDFPdq7Ljc1iVWP-OxjiZRC85zZuLBTeO-7_H4Ny2J7rABCAamfs7Qlue7Mn6kLWoFQWnmrGlrIrvB2fXlFCZwQX6oMwonqRfUkytClhbWF8Q/s1600/120506_clinic_P1060252a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXJEIfpSMoyo-VNV0IxYMHXZIvUTDFPdq7Ljc1iVWP-OxjiZRC85zZuLBTeO-7_H4Ny2J7rABCAamfs7Qlue7Mn6kLWoFQWnmrGlrIrvB2fXlFCZwQX6oMwonqRfUkytClhbWF8Q/s320/120506_clinic_P1060252a.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Heather and Megan (left) and Patti and Jennifer (right) work in pairs to install the tube.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everyone gets a chance to practice using CO2, thanks tosupport by Genuine Innovations. I remember being somewhat skeptical </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">myself</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(read: afraid of it) at first. But once I realized how easy it is to use, and how I could eliminate ten minutes or more of exhausting </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">frame pump </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">arm work on the side of the road by using a CO2 cartridge that costs as little as a vanilla latte, I was sold.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwfttPX-15ny-3c5RZpxfKjJrda2yckRME3KRkW8XGAKf_JWn1UryGEua7TD5FJ-4T6MLDRiXWlFsJwnEeNefkJuW-Q4eSAq4TXS7Ws4WGVtUFWb-pcg_SIjw2kK7pG0_eHsV1Q/s1600/120506_clinic_P1060256a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwfttPX-15ny-3c5RZpxfKjJrda2yckRME3KRkW8XGAKf_JWn1UryGEua7TD5FJ-4T6MLDRiXWlFsJwnEeNefkJuW-Q4eSAq4TXS7Ws4WGVtUFWb-pcg_SIjw2kK7pG0_eHsV1Q/s320/120506_clinic_P1060256a.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jan and Bev line up the CO2 to inflate the tire. Special shout-out to Genuine Innovations for providing MicroFlate Nano heads and CO2 cartridges for the women to practice with.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In part 2 of the blog </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Bicycle Maintenance: Tires and Flat-changing</i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, I'll answer </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">frequently asked questions, including:</span><br />
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What do all those numbers on the tube box mean? </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How do I know I have the right size tube?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do I need to take the whole tire off?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why are some tires perfectly slick and others have ridges (tread)?</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is the rim and the wheel the same thing?</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please feel free to post your questions below! If I can't answer it, I'll find the answer from someone more knowledgeable than me.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9Mfgi-5q_eWrjH3a3YLIhZEhDBGz-3X3PcLkRISaqDUBWh_SPmNqY8fJEryTTpch6LvQoazU2gmcWa_uJdnMx5AKYYOUJga4juQnyO45TwYUBuRDNps1obp-Wcn81r9xjmi22Q/s1600/120506_clinic_P1060253a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM9Mfgi-5q_eWrjH3a3YLIhZEhDBGz-3X3PcLkRISaqDUBWh_SPmNqY8fJEryTTpch6LvQoazU2gmcWa_uJdnMx5AKYYOUJga4juQnyO45TwYUBuRDNps1obp-Wcn81r9xjmi22Q/s320/120506_clinic_P1060253a.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Patti checks to make sure the MicroFlate head in lined up square to the rim for best air flow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Thank yous</b> are in order to all the <b>attendees </b>of my most recent clinic in Solana Beach: Monica and her friends Robbin and Jenny, Bev, Jan, Heather, Megan, Patti, and Jennifer. Thanks to <b>the guys at B+L Bike and Sports Solana Beach</b>: Tom, Scott, Gisan, and especially Kevin who stayed late for us. Thanks to <b>Mark of B+L Bike and Sports</b> who invited me into his shop and is hosting these events. And big thanks to <a href="http://www.genuineinnovations.com/" target="_blank"><b>Genuine Innovations</b></a>, who supplies the MicroFlate Nano heads and the CO2 cartridges </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">we use in class. These San Diego Flat-changing clinics exist because of your efforts.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next clinic:<br />Sunday, 5/20/12, 3:45 PM</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blbikes.com/infopage.asp?i=6" target="_blank">B+L Bike and Sports in San Diego</a> (Rosecrans).<br />RSVP on <a href="http://www.meetup.com/sandiegocyclists/events/64127842/" target="_blank">Meetup.com</a></span><br />
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<a href="http://blbikes.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjox7FemoNjzw4pHHd20ziacT-2m5PFb9O9wTbU8YRnYQUdPElDeX4VYyD3B48IR6i43KKt3r_t2Ls9dgrxN1B2XUibtclnIUg7ThZEsTREl8wAJH3ItNLCKarNBZqzVBKV2sdInw/s1600/BL_headerlogo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.genuineinnovations.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgna2JHupIxPQpYozDrSb4VcTRr_TzvlWDCIsWWi2b2oMVoaQIcqbt2Nfs7Nn2hyphenhyphenpJmoWfKI1P5zjOj3GMJjX-WCIWgCjLUZjaA5Qk7O8QkTQEd-m0YM_EtEYYY0iBxWZ0NE_LwOw/s1600/logo_GenuineInno.png" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-18895232731083267242012-03-02T10:46:00.001-08:002012-03-02T12:47:21.417-08:00Women's Mountain Bike Skills Clinic with Catharine Pendrel<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was another amazing day in Southern California, with the sun shining and a cool breeze blowing. What a great day to be on a bike!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Team LUNA Chix San Diego and Team LUNA Chix LA Cycle teamed up together for the first time to put together a pre-season skills clinic at the <a href="http://southridgeusa.com/">Southridge Race Series</a> in Fontana CA. We were fortunate enough to have reigning UCI XC World Champion Catharine Pendrel from the LUNA Pro team in town. By way of reference, here's Catharine with her winning move at the World Championship Race in Champery, Switzerland.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Catharine Pendrel at the UCI World Championships</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Girls came from all over SoCal, bringing their enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. Since Dorothy Wong from Team LUNA Chix LA Cycle was on-hand to take pictures, I'll let the pictures tell the story of the day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Girls gathered outside the LUNA tent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Track-standing drills in the grass.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Catharine talks about the next drill - lofting your front wheel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Alexandria practices lofting her front wheel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Julie, looking pretty solid on this drill.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We all headed up the hill to start the on-course portion of the clinic. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For a quick look at the day, here's a short video:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Super D Race</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wpo7M-fiQVc/T1EPqhGf6KI/AAAAAAAAGgk/rE47ypxO6Sk/s1600/P1060183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wpo7M-fiQVc/T1EPqhGf6KI/AAAAAAAAGgk/rE47ypxO6Sk/s320/P1060183.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">On the hill waiting, for the race start</span></span>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Looking out over Fontana below.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Getting outside to play!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Catharine with junior racers Maddie and Kenzie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Award time!!</b></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sl3BjMUkzow/T0RE1rF5H9I/AAAAAAAAGZo/fJ8UI3IErxU/s1600/IMG_2441.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Sl3BjMUkzow/T0RE1rF5H9I/AAAAAAAAGZo/fJ8UI3IErxU/s320/IMG_2441.JPG" width="213" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Catharine and Leti</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leti won the award for Most Improved Rider! (tassels for the bike!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Angela and Catharine</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Angela won the award for Most Aggressive Rider (a horn for her handlebars!). (Angela did the brutal course that ran down the Cal State Downhill course on a hardtail!!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While we waited for results to be posted, we enjoyed post-clinic/race grilled chicken, sweet potatoes, and garden salad thanks to Steve Drexler (my husband and major race sponsor) and my mom Patricia, who also provided childcare. You two are my heroes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Liz Carrington won second place in the pro women's class, and Nancy Harris took 4th! Congrats ladies!!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our clinic attendees all did well and enjoyed the race! From left: Willi Zuckerman, Laura Drexler, Mandy Oliekan, Alex Fabbro, and Julie Bertramd </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The gang!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Liz selects her raffle prize - girly-T courtesy of Ahnu Footwear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">We had amazing support from CamelBak, Genuine Innovations, and Ahnu Footwear, all sponsors of the LUNA women's pro team.. When I pitched the idea to Camelbak of a women's skills clinic with Catharine Pendrel, they were excited for us and offered to supply not only SWAG (everyone got a Camelbak Podium waterbottle), but also items for a raffle in the form of six CamelBak hydration packs! Wow! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">SWAG for everyone!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Jane was very excited about the raffle items from Camelbak!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: left;">No less spectacular was the show of support from Genuine Innovations and Ahnu footwear, with Genuine Innovations supplying every attendee with a pink Microflate CO2 head and cartridge, and enough cartridges for everyone to practice using CO2, and Ahnu providing six girly-Ts and socks for the raffle. Everyone came away with great memories, new skills, something to work on and look forward to, and great tokens of the day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> After I worked with Kenzie on using the CO2, I had her teach her sister. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Kenzie teaches Maddie how to use CO2.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Steve holds Jane after a long day of sun and bike fun. <br />You'd think she was in the group hiking their bikes up the hill...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thanks to all the people who made this clinic happen. We raised $625 for the <a href="http://breastcancerfund.org/" target="_blank">Breast Cancer Fund</a> and had a great time! <br />Thank you:<br />Catharine Pendrel of the <a href="http://teamlunachix.com/proteam/" target="_blank">LUNA Women's Pro Team</a><br />Dorothy Wong from <a href="http://teamlunachix.com/los_angeles_cycling" target="_blank">Team LUNA Chix LA Cycle</a><br />Cingy O'Grady from <a href="http://teamlunachix.com/san_diego_cycle" target="_blank">Team LUNA Chix San Diego Cycle</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nancy Harris</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sophia and LaVonne at <a href="http://lunabar.com/" target="_blank">LUNABar</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Kevin at <a href="http://camelbak.com/" target="_blank">CamelBak</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Michael at <a href="http://www.genuineinnovations.com/" target="_blank">Genuine Innovations</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Elizabeth at <a href="http://www.ahnu.com/" target="_blank">Ahnu Footwear</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Donnie Jackson at <a href="http://southridgeusa.com/">Southridgeusa.com</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Steve Drexler and Trisha Gilliland. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Great job everyone!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-6947822725019279992011-11-11T12:44:00.001-08:002011-11-11T19:04:53.560-08:00Learning to Run with Hardware<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">OK, so once again, I'm reminded that I have turned into one of those people I used to be afraid of. The first metamorphosis took place back in 2004, when bike gear started replacing the books in my trunk, and I went from not owning a mountain bike to racing downhill in the space of a year, at the tender age of 36. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The second metamorphosis took place when I joined <a href="http://www.crossfitchulavista.com/">CrossFit </a>and signed up for <a href="http://chulavistaendurance.blogspot.com/">CrossFit Endurance</a>, making the conscious decision to run on a so-called "pre-arthritic" ankle with five screws in it. Five years ago when the orthopedist at Balboa told me not to run anymore if I wanted to walk when I'm seventy, I just resigned myself to never running again. I didn't like running anyway. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But the good folks at CrossFit told me they could teach me how to run with practically no impact to the joints, using the <a href="http://www.posetech.com/">Pose Method</a>. Intrigued, and wanting to keep up with my athletic 3-year-old daughter, I consulted another orthopedist who told me there has been no conclusive research on Pose Method Running, that she was familiar with it and saw no reason for me NOT to try it, but to stop immediately if I experienced hardware-related pain. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Laura's left ankle, 2006. Hardware included since 1996.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was never a real runner. I started running in 2001 because I was about 35 pounds overweight, didn't want to be overweight, and well, desperate times call for desperate measures. I was one of the slowest runners I knew and honestly could not run with anyone because I could not keep up. To motivate me to run, I would enter 5k races, because I knew if I paid the entry fee, I would train for it. I remember getting a postcard from one of the races, thanking me for participating and telling me my stats. "There were 24 women in your age category. Your place in rank was... 24." Thanks. Thanks for that.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I remember my husband telling me at the time, "It's OK honey! You did great! And you came in ahead of all those other women who never bothered to get off the couch." Ah, I love that man.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before I stopped running five years ago, my best 5k time was down to a blazing 30 minutes, averaging about 9:40 per mile. Fast forward to today. I started running about two months ago using minimalist running shoes and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">following Coach Aubyn's instructions, trying to apply the Pose technique. The result?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I ran a 5k two weeks ago and I had no pain, even a week later. I was hardly even sore aside from general fatigue. But the best part was that I ran it in 28:24, averaging 9:09 per mile. It was so stunning, I felt I almost needed to run it again just to make sure the time was accurate.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And here's where the metamorphosis part fits in: First thing tomorrow morning, I'm going to go run four miles on the Coronado beach. It will be cold, and probably raining. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And the inner argument begins:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pre-athletic, things-happen-to-me me: "Are you insane?? You're going to get out of a warm bed on a cold rainy morning, not just to get coffee and crawl back into bed, but get up to go run? Four miles? On the sand? Are you kidding me? With nothing large chasing you, forcing you to do this insane thing?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Post-2001, I-make-things-happen me: "Dude! You should do this! You will not feel more alive and grateful for the ability to run and breathe than in that moment in the cold and wind when you push yourself to do better than you thought you could."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Pre-athletic, things-happen-to-me me:</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> (squints) "</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Who AAARE you??"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've totally morphed into that person who used to scare me. Funny, she's really not so scary. </span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-65924676379370790152011-08-10T18:08:00.001-07:002011-08-10T18:08:56.039-07:00Midnight Madness - How I Got My Cleated Pumps<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #1a1917; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">This is a report from several years ago that was posted on the ridemonkey.com bike forum. It bears retelling. Enjoy!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #1a1917; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #1a1917; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Midnight Madness, San Diego<br />
18 Aug 2007<br />
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"So, are you going to Midnight Madness?" my friend Lauren asked me.<br />
"What's Midnight Madness?" I asked.<br />
"It's this bike ride in downtown San Diego that starts at midnight and goes for like, 20 miles, and people dress up in costumes and there's a lot of general silliness."<br />
"Cool. I'm in. When?"<br />
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As I thought about what kind of cool costume I could wear, the days ticked down to Saturday. Thursday afternoon on a group ride, I was telling one of the girls about Midnight Madness, and commented that I didn't have a costume, and that I might just have to go in bike clothes. But, as I thought about it, I realized that I go to the "office" (the bike shop where I work) quite often in bike clothes. So, it would only be fitting if I went to the bike ride in office clothes. And the little wheels inside my head started turning...<br />
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That night I came home and enlisted the help of my husband, who was only too eager to pull out the power tools.<br />
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<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2609.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2609.jpg" /></a><br />
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I sacrificed a pair of old pumps for the ride, and took the seam ripper to the skirt portion of an old business suit. Totally worth it.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2613.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2613.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Although I tried to run the Time's that I'm used to, the SPD's with the adjustable spring tension were easier to get out of.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2687_shoes.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2687_shoes.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2694a.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2694a.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Here's the whole ensemble:<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2617a.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2617a.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2626a.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2626a.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
This is my Lemon fixie. It used to be a LeMond, but I got irritated with the comments the namesake had about the Tour... . It was almost an Emo Lemon, but... meh, there's always time for that.<br />
(For you fixie aficionados, I'm geared at 64" - 38x16).<br />
<br />
with the obligatory banana in the back<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2666.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2666.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
and of course, I had to pin my number on like I was in some crit or something...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2618.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2618.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2624b.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2624b.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Here's my friend Jon who rode with our group...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2620.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2620.jpg" /></a><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #f2f2f2; color: #1a1917; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">And my friend Steve as Cookie Monster. He was "petted" four or five times, and had no idea who in the crowd had done it...<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2629.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2629.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
And my friend Lauren (who got me into this) with her friend Les<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2631.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2631.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Just before the ride, DHS, Kranked, and I get on our bikes and go to the Gas Lamp district of downtown San Diego in search of food. Of course there are lines to get into everywhere. We finally decide to cut our losses and go to Hooters. The guys want food; I'll settle for French Fries, even though it's not really food. After a quick meal and minimal libation (because it was so slow trying to get a pitcher of beer), we head back to the venue. I don't want to miss the costume contest. As I understand, no one has done this ride in pumps before...<br />
<br />
Alas, I didn't win. But the one who did win was the bicycle built for six, with people in grass skirts on it, with a cooler in the middle. Yep, they did more prep than me.<br />
<br />
<br />
Here's the staging area<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2632.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2632.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
A bicycle built for six, complete with bubble machine...<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2638.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2638.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Brent in a kilt, looking for trouble<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2641.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2641.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
The ride about to begin<br />
<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2643.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2643.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
They count down the start time, and riders take off. It's a really slow start with so many people trying to squeeze through the entrance. Unfortunately they are not letting us run traffic lights, so the groups of people get separated. The first light we come to, I call out, "OK, everybodeeeeee... Trackstand!" Just then the guy to my right falls over clipped in. Ooops.<br />
<br />
So Steve had brought a small flask of some libation... it wasn't around long enough for me to find out what was in it. It's gone before his two cubes of ice have time to melt. He's feeling about as fuzzy as his costume, and finds the rickshaw too much of a temptation to pass up...<br />
<br />
Steve K skitching a ride<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2656a.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2656a.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
The rickshaw driver was not happy...<br />
<br />
More interesting people... (yes he did the whole 20 miles on that bike)<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2671.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2671.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
Fat suit guy<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2659.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2659.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Girl wearing her teddy...<br />
<a href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/070818_Midnight_Madness/CIMG2661a.jpg" style="color: #333333;" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://images.ridemonkey.com/index.php?size=full&src=http%3A%2F%2Fi70.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi85%2Fmtbsunny%2F070818_Midnight_Madness%2FCIMG2661a.jpg" /></a><br />
<br />
Mostly it was fun talking to people on the ride and just enjoying being out amongst the craziness, and being a part of the craziness. The looks on people faces when they saw me in a business suit was pretty good, but seeing the look when they realized I was clipped in with the pumps was priceless! And while it was really rad to do a 20-mile ride in cleated pumps, by about mile 18, I was feeling it.<br />
<br />
"Aw, man, these have got to be the WORST cycling shoes I have ever worn!" I exclaim to no one in particular.<br />
"Hmmm, whatcha got?" some guy asks me.<br />
"Prada," I answer, and clip out for him to see the cleat on the bottom of the pump.<br />
He nearly fell over.<br />
<br />
It was a great time. Thanks Lauren, for convincing me to go, and thanks Steve K and Jon for being great riding buddies. <img alt="" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/images/smilies/xsmile.gif" style="vertical-align: middle;" title="Smile" /></span><br />
<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-5298109041222801412011-07-25T12:02:00.000-07:002011-07-26T11:16:26.824-07:00Pammy's Ride to Support the Efforts of the Breast Cancer Fund<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX21O2pp-VBOEOzWtDSEDeu6FMMGG3dwezFPGgLO-cO89shSsbErscoaSy27LVmamMWDqLzpyef9gImmovao6UtRZCdAjruV7_Fb7s_6oIhiJnucOj6NaPXp71mkZ1xonWjiFXSg/s1600/Breast+Cancer+Fund+Logo_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2zrf86PjlXXtutJEiqj8sC3hgS-49-7qUzlvqeClzwBnHUjt-cV3un2xaHPTtk30pn8XQDfrZKTE_Owo6wIBcpqu2G6w6lgvV0PrAKYiZmvuzTbwGWcj6J2P8QEfsAeFWDgV_g/s1600/LUNAChix+logo_2blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"></span></div><div style="font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">This is an appeal. Hopefully you found my last blog entry on reducing your cancer risk helpful and informative. The Breast Cancer Fund does an amazing job of researching, exposing, and working to eliminate the environmental causes of breast cancer.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"> </span><br />
<div style="font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">Their work is especially important to friends of mine who are cancer survivors, like my Team LUNA Chix teammate Pam, who was diagnosed 12 years ago with stage 3 breast cancer. She underwent a year of chemotherapy and radiation and lost all her hair, but never her spirit or determination.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><o:p style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="biking.jpg" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=815e02de3c&view=att&th=12ffaf4befec0f7e&attid=0.1&disp=emb&zw" /> </o:p><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;"></span></span></div><div style="font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">You probably know someone a lot like Pam that you admire, respect, take courage from, and love. You might have lost someone to cancer and spent some time angry that more could not have been done sooner.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">We, Team LUNA Chix and the Breast Cancer Fund, are here to tell you that people<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b>are<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></b>working to do more, sooner. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">Focusing on prevention, we are working to educate the public, effect legislative change (for things like getting BPA out of children's sippy cups), and spread the word that you are not without resources and the ability to reduce your and your family's risk. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">The ability of the Breast Cancer Fund to continue ongoing research and bring data like<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.breastcancerfund.org/media/publications/state-of-the-evidence/">The State of the Evidence</a>, scientifically linking breast cancer to chemical and radiation exposure, is dependent on contributions from people who support their efforts. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">Pam felt the moral imperative to act, and asked the team to ride Pammy's Ride with her, a 26.2-mile bike ride to raise funds and awareness for the Breast Cancer Fund. The marathon distance represents the enormous challenge facing cancer patients that requires exceptional endurance and spirit. It also represents the anticipated news of victory at the end of the struggle, just like Pheidippides news to the Athenians after his 26-mile run from </span><st1:place><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">Marathon</span></st1:place><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;"> in 490 BC, that the Greeks had been triumphant!</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">Team LUNA Chix will be riding Pammy's Ride on Sunday, August 7, 2011</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;">.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11pt;"> Together we can conquer this epidemic! <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div style="font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">Please take a quick moment to contribute to the Breast Cancer Fund and help further their efforts. Your donation is tax-deductible, and no amount is too small. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/pammys-ride/pammys-ride2011" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0000cc;">http://www.firstgiving.com/<wbr></wbr>fundraiser/pammys-ride/pammys-<wbr></wbr>ride2011</span></a></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="font-size: small; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;">Thank you for reading all this, and for any donation you can make. Full ride report coming Aug 14!</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX21O2pp-VBOEOzWtDSEDeu6FMMGG3dwezFPGgLO-cO89shSsbErscoaSy27LVmamMWDqLzpyef9gImmovao6UtRZCdAjruV7_Fb7s_6oIhiJnucOj6NaPXp71mkZ1xonWjiFXSg/s1600/Breast+Cancer+Fund+Logo_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: small; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX21O2pp-VBOEOzWtDSEDeu6FMMGG3dwezFPGgLO-cO89shSsbErscoaSy27LVmamMWDqLzpyef9gImmovao6UtRZCdAjruV7_Fb7s_6oIhiJnucOj6NaPXp71mkZ1xonWjiFXSg/s200/Breast+Cancer+Fund+Logo_lg.jpg" width="200" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;">Here are some helpful links about the Breast Cancer Fund: </span><span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><a href="http://breastcancerfund.org/">Breast Cancer Fund</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: x-small;">Presenting the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-science/">Science behind the Data</a></span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerfund.org/reduce-your-risk/tips/">Tips for Cancer Prevention</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerfund.org/big-picture-solutions/">Resources</a></span></span></span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.breastcancerfund.org/community/">Info on How to get Involved</a></span></span></span></li>
</ul><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;">Environmental Working Group’s <a href="http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/"><span style="color: #333333;">Skin Deep Cosmetic Database</span></a></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana;">.</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana;">- Catalog of over 65,000 products rated according to the chemicals they contain.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">By becoming aware of the chemicals you come into contact with and making healthy choices, you can improve your health and reduce your cancer risk. </span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2zrf86PjlXXtutJEiqj8sC3hgS-49-7qUzlvqeClzwBnHUjt-cV3un2xaHPTtk30pn8XQDfrZKTE_Owo6wIBcpqu2G6w6lgvV0PrAKYiZmvuzTbwGWcj6J2P8QEfsAeFWDgV_g/s1600/LUNAChix+logo_2blue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" height="91" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj2zrf86PjlXXtutJEiqj8sC3hgS-49-7qUzlvqeClzwBnHUjt-cV3un2xaHPTtk30pn8XQDfrZKTE_Owo6wIBcpqu2G6w6lgvV0PrAKYiZmvuzTbwGWcj6J2P8QEfsAeFWDgV_g/s200/LUNAChix+logo_2blue.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: x-small;">Currently, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Yet only one in ten of them will have a hereditary history of cancer. The Breast Cancer Fund (BCF) is dedicated to identifying and eliminating the environmental causes of breast cancer. By educating people about the risk factors and harmful substances that may be found in cosmetics, lotions, sunscreens, food, and the chemicals we use in our everyday lives, we can stop this disease before it happens.</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-45190595961717030122011-07-21T15:43:00.000-07:002011-07-21T15:44:48.160-07:00Reduce Your Breast Cancer Risk<div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hey Gang,</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">OK, brace yourself. This is a mom-rant.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Big breath)</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ya know, if some sunscreen or lotion company (that should probably remain nameless) tells me in large letters on the package that the lotion is “For Babies” or “Tiny Sensitive Faces,” is there any reason why I should <b>not </b>expect this product to be free of potentially harmful chemicals, nano-particles, parabens, and stuff I can’t pronounce? Do I really need a degree in chemistry to ensure my daughter is not going to go into puberty a year earlier than she normally would have, had she not been slathered with gallons of these things from the time she was a few months old??</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Evidently, I do need a degree in chemistry, because there is no governing body that regulates what chemicals go into baby shampoo or baby sunscreen—the company just has to tell you it’s in there. Thanks for that ingredient list there Slick, because I was really looking for the… 3-(4-methylbenzylidene)-camphor (4-MBC) to keep from getting a sunburn. Only, I had no idea it might cause learning disabilities, severe attention deficit disorder, cognitive and brain development problems, deformations of the body (including limbs); sexual development problems, feminizing of males or masculine effects on females.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Big sigh)<br />
You’ve got to be kidding me.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">OK, rant off, motherly advice on.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s summer. You need sunscreen and bug spray and deodorant. There are un-regulated chemicals in all of these things. To check what’s in there, what it’s potentially doing to you, and see how your product stacks up, go to the Environmental Working Group’s <a href="http://teamlunachix.com/?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ewg.org%2Fskindeep" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d7fc6; text-decoration: none;" title="Skin Deep Cosmetic Database">Skin Deep Cosmetic Database</a>. They have cataloged over 65,000 products and rated them according to the chemicals they contain.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Things I stopped using:<br />
—any sunscreen that doesn’t say on the label “No PABA”<br />
—any lotion that contains parabens<br />
—insect repellent containing DEET<br />
—shampoo that isn’t sulfate-free (side effect of that is I have less grey in my hair now than 5 years ago when I was coloring it to hide the grey. I stopped coloring it, because… now there’s not enough grey.)<br />
—deodorant with aluminum</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So what DO I use?<br />
There are a lot of good brands out there. Some of my personal favorites are:<br />
<a href="http://teamlunachix.com/?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.californiababy.com%2F" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d7fc6; text-decoration: none;" title="California Baby">California Baby</a> - excellent lotions, bubblebaths and sunscreens. Available at Target!<br />
<a href="http://teamlunachix.com/?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.burtsbees.com%2F" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d7fc6; text-decoration: none;" title="Burt's Bees">Burt’s Bees</a> - sometimes a little thick, but good lotions.<br />
<a href="http://teamlunachix.com/?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yestocarrots.com%2F" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d7fc6; text-decoration: none;" title="Say Yes to Blueberries">Say Yes to Blueberries</a> - lots of skin care products, and also available at Target!<br />
<a href="http://teamlunachix.com/?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.enjoyhaircare.com%2F" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d7fc6; text-decoration: none;" title="Enjoy Haircare products">Enjoy Haircare products</a> - there’s probably something that has a better EWG rating, but I’m happy so far<br />
<a href="http://teamlunachix.com/?URL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tomsofmaine.com%2Fhome" style="background-color: transparent; color: #1d7fc6; text-decoration: none;" title="Tom's of Maine">Tom’s of Maine</a> deodorant</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img height="300" src="http://teamlunachix.com/team_uploads/san_diego_triathlon/P1050486_products.jpg" width="400" /></span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most advocates for more healthful products are very reluctant to endorse other companies, which I have found very frustrating in my search for something that I SHOULD use that is effective. Well, these are my personal products, and not necessarily an endorsement of one product over another. When in doubt, do a check with the EWG database, and stay away from fragrance, and most things you can’t pronounce.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since I got involved with Team LUNA Chix, I’ve really been educated by the work we do with the Breast Cancer Fund concerning the environmental causes of breast cancer (and other disorders) and what I personally can do to take back control of my and my family’s health. When I first started reading about it, and getting familiar with the mission of the Breast Cancer Fund, I was completely overwhelmed with the amount of information I had to digest and the seeming mountain of things I had to change. But I’ve found that, just like physical training, re-training my mind to consider all the ways my body processes chemicals is not an overnight task. You do what you can when you can.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, I am not an alarmist. I really don’t think they’re out to get me. But I have seen the state of the evidence. And that evidence points to breast cancer and other cancers on the rise dramatically in the past 40 years. It points to girls going into puberty on average a year earlier than they did 40 years ago. It points to a lot of chemicals we didn’t have when I was growing up, but that are everywhere now. There’s a reason we are ailing, and I believe there’s something we can do about it. It may be a drop in the bucket here and there, but at one drop per second, I can fill your gallon bucket in less than a day.</span></div><div style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: #333333; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 4px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-87931480488111596202011-06-16T17:57:00.000-07:002011-06-24T21:01:59.010-07:00Choosing to Conquer Fear<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span">I know I said I would discuss shifting, but I would really like to post a shifting video which I can't make until the perpetual beeping of the bulldozers and big trucks in front of my house stops. Probably Saturday.</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><div><br /></div><div>So instead of our regularly scheduled program, today I'll reach into the mail bag.</div></span><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><div>Hey Laura, </div></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; ">I recently took a bad fall on my mountain bike and I believe I bruised my ribs. How do you bounce back from a fall where you hurt yourself? I know I need to go back and ride that section where I fell over and over and over again but now I'm scared of it. I know I can do it, but I dread it. How can I get over my fear and just ride it?</span></span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; ">This is a great question. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; ">Here's my response.</span></span></span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></div><blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Ouch!!! I am so sorry about your sore ribs. I've been bruised and sore from falls on the bike, and it's no fun.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span">The best way to come back from a fall is to go slowly, work back up to the place where you were, and then choose to proceed from there. You absolutely want to get back on the bike, but you don't want to push too fast without giving your psyche, if not your body, time to heal.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Keep this in mind: Things always become exaggerated in your mind. The beautiful chocolate cake in the window looks absolutely amazingly delicious, but really, it’s never as delicious when you taste it as it was when you imagined it. Similarly, with few exceptions, crashing is most often not as bad when it actually happens as it is in your mind. After you crash, your mind starts to build up the crash into something even more painful and traumatic than it probably was as a means of self-defense and self-preservation. Natural fear builds to keep you from attempting that daring thing again. Your brain does not want you to get hurt again!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Women, more than men, are hard-wired for self-preservation and are more prone to fear of getting hurt. After all, women must keep themselves safe in order to ensure the survival of the species. Men on the other hand, are hard-wired to face danger, fling themselves over the edge, and slay the saber-toothed tiger. Understand that it is completely unnatural as a female to push through the fear and try the thing again.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Recognize that your brain is doing you no favors, and that it will try to blow the crash and even the pain out of proportion, just like it exaggerates the amazing taste of that mediocre cake. Cut yourself a break, and don’t beat yourself up for being afraid.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Kudos to you for wanting to keep going and gritting through the fear. Keep practicing the fundamentals, and work on your balance. Practice riding really slowly, like crawling, so that you will learn to track-stand. It will help you more than you know.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span">I took a bad fall in 2004 and suffered a class 2 A/C separation (shoulder). I couldn't ride for about 6 weeks. Drove me nuts. But what I COULD do was practice riding slowly, practice stops and starts, practice riding slow tight turns, and practice riding with no hands. I was really surprised when I got on the bike for real 6 weeks later and found that my technical skill had significantly improved in the time I had "not" been on my bike. There is simply no substitute for spending time practicing the fundamentals.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span">When you're ready to face the demons again, have someone with you who can help you with body position, speed, and technique. Wear body armor if you have any. Start with something smaller and work up to the degree of difficulty that gave you trouble. And when you're riding, never revel in your victories at the moment you experience them, because guaranteed there is another challenge rising to meet you. Stay two seconds ahead of yourself, and don't look back. When you come to a stop, then you can celebrate the victory.</span></span></div></blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span">Hope this helps any of you who have suffered setbacks in your riding. Never be afraid to ask for help or take a break. But be sure to get back on the bike!</span></div></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSy3uyyK2gV_kWFwDzwUkj07TGLYIzsKZytxJc9c7-fAdVUKZmZcKveZOGJvhVFpC6HoTdV1t1nGz7kMW1Lc5oIpQuI4mC4iMxBWBwnDXuxIvTkp6FKccIulTFxYfno98bXAV8oQ/s320/040610_Pkill_LD02a.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622000853884848610" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Laura Drexler, Plattekill Mountain, 05 JUN 2004</span><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 13px; "><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXvwlIbsFM48ccRXbCo6AYAvEV8ds3ldahRpbc11MuGflGvNIQUvvJ0n7TMSTVkYCx_C4QCtdVuIJ1QINwMbBGWutrXVS0K6ULZmF5oevoHfu1wONbBaUVVjl0feZsLR0kMnH9Q/s1600/050605_Plattekill_LD1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><span class="Apple-style-span"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIXvwlIbsFM48ccRXbCo6AYAvEV8ds3ldahRpbc11MuGflGvNIQUvvJ0n7TMSTVkYCx_C4QCtdVuIJ1QINwMbBGWutrXVS0K6ULZmF5oevoHfu1wONbBaUVVjl0feZsLR0kMnH9Q/s320/050605_Plattekill_LD1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621992300980760386" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Before I made it to the bottom of the hill and finished the race that day, I c</span><span class="Apple-style-span">rash landed on my head, </span><span class="Apple-style-span">lost my front brake, </span><span class="Apple-style-span">flipped the bike and landed on my back, </span><span class="Apple-style-span">dropped my chain, and </span><span class="Apple-style-span">did a "Superman," landing on my chest. Not such a good day. While it took some time to mentally recover from that one, I did, and went on to race well two weeks later at the NORBA Nationals at Snowshoe, WV.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; "><br /></div></span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-83016244340699320912011-06-11T10:15:00.000-07:002011-06-11T10:17:36.591-07:00Improving Balance for the Beginner Cyclist<div><span class="Apple-style-span" >When you ride often enough, after a few years you tend to forget what it was like to be a beginner rider. Conducting beginner clinics (and reading some of my old journal entries) helps me remember that cycling can be a really daunting challenge. Here are a few tips for new riders that I've picked up over the years.</span></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>Practicing your études.</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >While no one approaches a piano the first week and starts pounding out Bach, we often forget that good cycling comes from good fundamentals. Doing scales on the piano was one of the most tedious things I had to do as a child, but it taught my fingers and my brain where the keys were, so that when it came time to read complex music, I didn't have to look down to hit the right note. In cycling, you practice finding your balance and shifting gears.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >So here are the exercises for finding your balance (Etudes for Bicycle). All exercises should be done in the small ring up front (middle ring if you have a triple) and the middle of the cassette in the rear.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>Removing your hand from the handlebar.</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >For those of you who grew up riding bikes, riding through your teens and into your 20's and 30's, you will simply not understand this. For the rest of us, if you don't remember it being a terrifying thing to remove your hand from the handlebar while riding, just to take a drink or signal a turn, well, you've probably blocked that memory. It was terrifying. If you are just learning to remove a hand while riding, here are the steps to take to move to the next level:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >1. Admit it's terrifying and unnatural to remove a hand from the mechanism guiding you in a straight line. Don't beat yourself up for being afraid.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >2. Take your fear, mentally put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your back pocket. Don't look at it.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >3. Find a nice open parking lot (like the back side of a mall), and with a water bottle in the cage, ride in a straight line. There should be no cars, dogs, kids on skateboards, or errant squirrels to distract you.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >4. Take your hand from the handlebar, bring it to your chest, then back on the handlebar. This is a quick but smooth movement that does two things: a) keeps your center of gravity all in one plane and b) lets you start to get comfortable with having one hand on the bar. Gradually increase the time your hand is off the bar. When you are comfortable, move to step 5.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >5. Touch the water bottle, then put your hand back on the bar. Repeat this step, gradually increasing the time your hand is on the bottle.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >6. Remove the bottle from the cage, bring it to the handlebar, then replace the bottle. Drink if you can hold steady and feel confident, but only when you're ready. Yes, you are still riding around the parking lot.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >When you have mastered removing the water bottle, drinking, and replacing the bottle in the cage, find a low-traffic location where you can increase your speed to 13 - 16 mph, and continue this drill at speed.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>Signaling</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Back when Mildred and Algernon were sitting in the Edsel and had to signal a right or left turn, all signals were made with the left hand out the driver-side window. A roadie bent over in the drops making this kind of right turn signal doesn't make so much sense. You should signal LEFT by extending your left arm left-wards, and signal RIGHT by extending your right arm right-wards. This is the most unambiguous way to tell cars and other cyclists what your intentions are.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >1 - 4. Follow the same steps as above to get comfortable removing a hand from the handlebar.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >5. When you're ready for Step 5, be aware that your center of gravity will be affected by an outstretched arm. Tighten your core muscles to aid in stabilization. Practice riding in a straight line, alternately holding the handlebar with only the left hand, then the right.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; " ><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMh-1cI7cvZgL-VH6c1wcR69A2pKcYlwFiqIZtlqOPUjSaSrRH1xf9P4XsAAd7szFMXdO7lKCH4c-BD2ZToeIW4MmrF3s5NUQBv-RRtlzdp9Ukz9eRXcU2nw7A5zx_lvpJxP5fg/s320/ride_white_line.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5617004246466107922" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" >Girls on a Team LUNA Chix ride practice riding the white line near Cabrillo.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>Riding in a straight line.</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >This is honestly harder than it sounds.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >1. On a low-traffic stretch of well-paved road that has a white stripe signaling the edge of the bike lane or the start of the shoulder, ride the white line, keeping your front wheel on the line.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >2. Listen for cars and move to the right when they approach from behind.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >3. Once you are confident, hold the handlebar with your right hand, sit up straight, pull your left shoulder back, opening the chest. Glance over your left shoulder. Turn back forward and see how far off the white line you moved.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >4. Practice looking over your left shoulder while riding in a straight line. Don't forget to engage your core muscles to keep you stabilized.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Note: You can also practice riding in a straight line in a large empty parking lot with long rows of white lines.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><b>Practicing slow, tight turns.</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >In a quiet empty parking lot, practice making figure eights between the parking spaces. Use the width of 4 spaces to begin with, and make your turn radius tighter as you gain confidence. Work towards completing a figure eight within two to two-and-a-half parking spaces.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Hopefully these tips will help you develop better balance!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >In my next blog entry, I'll discuss shifting. Yes, much like the rising of a soufflé, shifting can be somewhat elusive and mysterious. But there are tips and tricks for everything!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Hope to see you on a ride soon!</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-5925898544006864202011-03-01T09:30:00.000-08:002011-03-01T11:20:27.161-08:00Girls' Retreat: Team LUNA Chix<span style="font-family:verdana;">This past weekend I joined my fellow LUNA Chix San Diego team members for a pre-season girls' retreat and planning session in Temecula, CA. We use retreat time to hammer out many of the details concerning bike rides, clinics, and fundraisers for the Breast Cancer Fund, while also generating buzz and excitement amongst ourselves for the upcoming cycling season. I could have anticipated coming away excited about working with new cyclists and leading rides, but I didn't expect the whole package that I got by the end of the weekend<span style="font-family:verdana;">.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_FrcvlgXasJY/TWnhqkl0C3I/AAAAAAAAC8w/om4x9_wBHVk/s640/IMG_5607.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 439px; height: 329px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_FrcvlgXasJY/TWnhqkl0C3I/AAAAAAAAC8w/om4x9_wBHVk/s640/IMG_5607.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />While in Temecula, I had a chance to talk to my team members on a personal level, and really open up about the joys and trials surrounding the adoption of my daughter Jane. I haven't really talked about the parts that make me cry with anyone but my mother and hairdresser. Most of the people I regularly have coffee with or mountain bike with are men, so... we just talk about bike parts and old injuries. When I mentioned to a mountain bike buddy<span style="font-family:verdana;"> that I went away for the weekend with the girls on the LUNA Chix team, went to a vineyard for a wine tasting and came back telling the story of Jane's adoption and crying, he responded with a chuckle, "Oh, so you have real girlfriends now?"</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I had to think about that, and admitted that perhaps he had a point, and it made me smile.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_FrcvlgXasJY/TWniS6VdkEI/AAAAAAAAC9o/yrIjYraQL7Q/s640/IMG_5630.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 454px; height: 341px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_FrcvlgXasJY/TWniS6VdkEI/AAAAAAAAC9o/yrIjYraQL7Q/s640/IMG_5630.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />I've never been one to have a lot of girlfriends. Honestly, women in groups scare me, so I have tended to avoid them. It was by sheer luck that I joined Team LUNA Chix, and found myself in this squad of strong healthy women with a fire in their heart, a love of adventure, and a desire to give back what had been given to them. Similar to a squad, we didn't know each other before we showed up one day for a ride, we came from all over with different backgrounds, strengths and abilities, and we were there with a common goal in mind: Help get other women outside to play.<br /><br />This past weekend, I saw these women get up in the morning before coffee and go run in the cold, watched them mixing yogurt and granola with fresh-cut strawberries as a matter of habit for breakfast, heard them chatter about the races they would do this season, and the workouts they planned for themselves. I heard them talk about the setbacks they'd faced, the lack of motivation, and the job/roommate/logistical challenges. As I spent time with them, I found great comfort in their compassion, inspiration in their physical strength, and a renewed sense of connection in their weakness. I hoped that they would feel that desire to shore up my weak areas like I wanted to do with theirs where I could. I came away from the weekend with a lot more than I thought I would.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_FrcvlgXasJY/TWnjDFXFgKI/AAAAAAAAC-s/HWUKMQf9RWg/s512/IMG_5646.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 384px; height: 512px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_FrcvlgXasJY/TWnjDFXFgKI/AAAAAAAAC-s/HWUKMQf9RWg/s512/IMG_5646.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />I think my mountain bike buddy was right: I have a group of girlfriends now, and it's pretty cool.<br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-25154174471746494462011-02-16T07:36:00.000-08:002011-02-16T08:50:06.007-08:00Rides with Jane: iBert gets me back on the trail<span style="font-family:verdana;">I had to check my blog history three times, and couldn't believe I never posted about one of the best purchases I've made in the past year: an iBert kid seat for my bike so that Jane and I can ride singletrack.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJY1GzNNUUpKn2J8TTpgBA2xuXcJDZbsN2kf6lzhGu427v1xL2npD10xHuqNHTw3s9xDqtTL-zFHSml2TjEhdW2cxgDPxZZ8jeoZJIqqvqqHlhrOIZxRNbtXRXFqFvHAkOKUkD-g/s1600/110125_iBert_01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 261px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJY1GzNNUUpKn2J8TTpgBA2xuXcJDZbsN2kf6lzhGu427v1xL2npD10xHuqNHTw3s9xDqtTL-zFHSml2TjEhdW2cxgDPxZZ8jeoZJIqqvqqHlhrOIZxRNbtXRXFqFvHAkOKUkD-g/s320/110125_iBert_01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574325218315552530" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">I heard about it from my friend Joy Martin, and went to<span style="font-family: verdana;"> REI to take one for a test ride. Jane thought it was so great, she didn't want to take her helmet off. "More, more," she told me. "Honey, we have to purchase it first."<br /><br />It mounts to 15 mm of stack height on the spacers below your stem, so it's technically attached to the frame. Although it looks like it might affect the steering, your handlebars are independent of the unit. I have good bike-handling skills, and have gradually taken the iBert on more and more technical trails. The things I can't do are pop the front wheel up a curb or really finesse the fork. Past that, it's just common sense.<br /><br />I've taken the iBert on three airline trips, packing it in my soft luggage and renting a bike. In all our journeys, I've only "dumped" Jane once. We were in PA, and I had forgotten that fallen leaves on top of shale get really slick. We slid out, and the bike landed on its side. I was reassured to find that Jane was completely enclosed in the iBert, protected on all sides. She was temporarily shaken up, but willing to continue the ride. We've taken many many rides since.<br /><br />Here's a video from our very first trail ride, on our hometown trails of Bonita and Chula Vista.<br /><br />Enjoy! <a href="http://blip.tv/file/3810186">Click here for video.</a><br /><br /></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-9694605431243780572011-02-07T15:45:00.000-08:002011-02-07T20:47:20.531-08:00Sycamore Canyon - Martha's Grove ride<span style="font-family:verdana;">Seasons and weather in Southern California are a bit tricky, mostly because you expect January to be cold and June to be warm. Here in San Diego, it seems like parts of January and February are warmer than May and June, then suddenly the clouds go away in July and there's no relief from the heat till November.<br /><br />So while my East Coast friends are busy shoveling out from under yet another snowfall and sticking pins in a little Laura-with-matching-bike doll, we in San Diego are taking long rides in the middle of the day, knowing that once summer is here in earnest we'll have to stick to the coast, go early, ride at night, or run away to the mountains.<br /><br />Here's the latest ride I did with Billy and Miles out at Sycamore Canyon and Martha's Grove. All told the ride is a little over 17 miles with a fair bit of climbing. I've condensed the ride into about three and a half minutes of the more exciting parts. It's a good ride for conditioning with a couple of technical spots at the top of Martha's Grove.<br /><br /><a href="http://blip.tv/file/4734305">Enjoy the ride!</a> (Click for video)<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-65984886103345977432010-09-30T07:15:00.001-07:002010-09-30T07:34:52.775-07:00Girl Scout New Day 5k and 1-mile Fun Run<span style="font-family:verdana;">Bright and early Sunday morning, the LUNA Chix went out to Mission Bay Park for the Girl Scout New Day 5k and 1-mile Fun Run. Our tent was set up for the Health Expo amongst about a dozen other tents. We had been asked to come out and talk about what we do and also raise awareness for the Breast Cancer Fund.</span><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4bX0PP2D-KZ7We7AmHkz0jqT88YXnsvPGLAaJC1G52WxpuU3J9U-jMAKRZu-6B3UDizBtjRgB0oGNjUBSGKDNBSHKMRi8q0DUPhPzG-Ixd4tp0malBAbDAw4vU4_KZme2AWeNA/s1600/IMG_6517a_640x.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4bX0PP2D-KZ7We7AmHkz0jqT88YXnsvPGLAaJC1G52WxpuU3J9U-jMAKRZu-6B3UDizBtjRgB0oGNjUBSGKDNBSHKMRi8q0DUPhPzG-Ixd4tp0malBAbDAw4vU4_KZme2AWeNA/s320/IMG_6517a_640x.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522710196281955234" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">It was the perfect venue to talk about issues concerning women and girls, families and parents, and especially to raise awareness about the work of the Breast Cancer Fund. Most parents we spoke to were aware that Bisphenol-A, BPA, was not a good thing, and that BPA-free plastics were preferable to non-BPA-free plastics, but that was the extent of their knowledge. We were able to talk to a number of concerned parents about what BPA is, how it gets into our bodies, how it has been linked to cancer and early puberty, and what parents can do to minimize their child's exposure to it.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7fU3P4PtSEHurXx5cEmOGU6Ju6qt4C92KeenFENx3po3aIBvVpj_bd5I93gJfdxN65OGC8h10Mct-T9HCtsY1bwArs1bO7p8tWUlto3lox9jqMztNSzxnpMERmiTmWynYMnY9qQ/s1600/IMG_6519a_Ash-Bar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 236px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7fU3P4PtSEHurXx5cEmOGU6Ju6qt4C92KeenFENx3po3aIBvVpj_bd5I93gJfdxN65OGC8h10Mct-T9HCtsY1bwArs1bO7p8tWUlto3lox9jqMztNSzxnpMERmiTmWynYMnY9qQ/s320/IMG_6519a_Ash-Bar.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522712727684038930" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">It's <a href="http://www.insideprevention.org/2010/05/no-silver-lining-bpa-contaminating-our-food.html">a lot of information</a> for a person to digest, but if all you know is that the lining in almost every food can contains a synthetic estrogen that prolongs shelf-life, and that synthetic estrogen (BPA) leeches into the food you eat and builds up over time, you should have enough information to make you stop and reconsider eating food out of a can. What can you do? Eat fresh or frozen. Buy soups, tomato products, beverages, etc, in glass. Learn to plan your meals a day or two in advance, and cook your own beans (BTW, preparing beans is a lot simpler than I thought it was). For more information, see </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://breastcancerfund.org/" title="breastcancerfund.org">breastcancerfund.org</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">But back to the Girl Scout Health Expo and 5k. You never know what you might see at an event like this. We LUNA Chix were in the booth talking to people passing by before the race when suddenly someone said, "Hey, is that a dog on a skateboard?" Wait. What? Indeed, it was Tillman, the bulldog on a skateboard. He even has his own </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tillman-The-Skateboarding-Dog/66718259448?v=wall" title="Out to Tillman's Facebook page">Facebook page</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> And yes, I'm a fan.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIa-teuQC5H6bW5zuzgrAnhcjZZ0WgfCyoG6WvMBYQYXJYvYwPTipNq7lMe8gvPY40sF-nIg8mN958pr98hLN1TI6EQ4jm_jic7jgOeSFk4xsxYqaBkcIteMNQ-jKesIxUmEAknA/s1600/IMG_6525a_Tillman.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIa-teuQC5H6bW5zuzgrAnhcjZZ0WgfCyoG6WvMBYQYXJYvYwPTipNq7lMe8gvPY40sF-nIg8mN958pr98hLN1TI6EQ4jm_jic7jgOeSFk4xsxYqaBkcIteMNQ-jKesIxUmEAknA/s320/IMG_6525a_Tillman.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522712914077642226" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Not to be outdone by the dog on a skateboard, in rides a dog on a Harley. It's Chopper the Biker Dog. And yes, he has his own </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.chopperthebikerdog.com/" title="Out to Chopper the Biker Dog's website.">website</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">. As Chopper drives by, and the booth beside us advertising acting lessons gathers more attention than any other booth, I realize that I have nothing interesting to say at this point.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbHfXhMaukLtUM-GI2ZYldvVmapDz0zVThbhV0z_SdXKVXOkqQOfSKWfgPmYACSowfERDkTrjkezu02i3yAYtdMXfCJa_mWZgzJFeyz3SzIp3X3g8lvbcTwjJS688o4h4A7L8YQ/s1600/IMG_6532a_dogmoto.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkbHfXhMaukLtUM-GI2ZYldvVmapDz0zVThbhV0z_SdXKVXOkqQOfSKWfgPmYACSowfERDkTrjkezu02i3yAYtdMXfCJa_mWZgzJFeyz3SzIp3X3g8lvbcTwjJS688o4h4A7L8YQ/s320/IMG_6532a_dogmoto.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522713082737972642" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Announcements begin, and Jane and I get ready for the 1-mile fun run. Jane will be two at the end of October, and one of her favorite things to do besides talk to dogs or play with hand puppets is run. When she started running more than one lap at a time around the block, I decided to enter her in the Fun Run.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtuMy3hggwd67ks06SrB277QPYskOUJixCHZoEmPM7QVctNkPyChcBAbulKeVvgJx2FcVEoTYnJTuhuU7de7uwQDSy52OlOi1um4XCLyZPjPbOYSf0Tj-YpUz-9YG9_8j2TCHyXA/s1600/IMG_6524a_Jane-La.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 221px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtuMy3hggwd67ks06SrB277QPYskOUJixCHZoEmPM7QVctNkPyChcBAbulKeVvgJx2FcVEoTYnJTuhuU7de7uwQDSy52OlOi1um4XCLyZPjPbOYSf0Tj-YpUz-9YG9_8j2TCHyXA/s320/IMG_6524a_Jane-La.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522713252859848946" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">After pinning our numbers on, we headed to the start line, where we lined up with hundreds of other runners. Jane was a bit overwhelmed by the crowd, and had her moments of uncertainty when she needed me to hold her and just walk. But she did well running for brief stretches of the course, mostly running when I set a goal for her, like a puppy in the distance that she would run to catch up to.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFNbs1stmeszy7TmLy1x1GFB6p8qSDw4w1yrYcXfPx47LKrjFEIncSwZ8wpP7ivBOx6k0_JPlgYetbXTmq_GJLxudBz3m2hBanukUM9nyolHITQhp-HgrXkfVic-36e8SnwLLwQ/s1600/IMG_6545a_Janerun.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgFNbs1stmeszy7TmLy1x1GFB6p8qSDw4w1yrYcXfPx47LKrjFEIncSwZ8wpP7ivBOx6k0_JPlgYetbXTmq_GJLxudBz3m2hBanukUM9nyolHITQhp-HgrXkfVic-36e8SnwLLwQ/s320/IMG_6545a_Janerun.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522713405677915058" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">As we make the loop, the early morning sun is coming up behind us.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyFfB4Cy1mck9Vr6S2TB4RiIuIwsoLUoIS5L6cO6Buvds5TsCjM2El-6o1pc1s_5V8tHfnfbPy2NgBYiNbk7xYOVpx1hZiCsOoIumYGYRox7cVGBcqRVuuKtfyWAWsYkopshjVQ/s1600/IMG_6552a_Janerun.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyFfB4Cy1mck9Vr6S2TB4RiIuIwsoLUoIS5L6cO6Buvds5TsCjM2El-6o1pc1s_5V8tHfnfbPy2NgBYiNbk7xYOVpx1hZiCsOoIumYGYRox7cVGBcqRVuuKtfyWAWsYkopshjVQ/s320/IMG_6552a_Janerun.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522713553249162530" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">After the one-miler was done, we headed over to get the bike and meet Barb. The LUNA Chix were to lead out the 5K runners. This was great fun, and something we had never done before. Since at least a third of the course was on a multi-use path, Barb and I were able to ride through and clear the way, telling people on the path that runners were coming. It was certainly a new sensation, riding down the middle of the street knowing that over a thousand people were running behind you.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDJlbMT-Cl-uwyxiKmYLlOoqz-nSqt0W5O3Jd67KSC43cTWSrPaXgev6gU6MWlhFlm7l5VqeM75ExkCgQ17A04pxpPSdFOtRykWJRM8c_1oY7wp0jo8TgQjxHhWmgRuuoKmijVw/s1600/IMG_6558a_start.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDJlbMT-Cl-uwyxiKmYLlOoqz-nSqt0W5O3Jd67KSC43cTWSrPaXgev6gU6MWlhFlm7l5VqeM75ExkCgQ17A04pxpPSdFOtRykWJRM8c_1oY7wp0jo8TgQjxHhWmgRuuoKmijVw/s320/IMG_6558a_start.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522713702341413986" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I'm really looking forward to next year!</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-10070326845769637712010-05-19T16:58:00.000-07:002010-05-23T15:23:57.070-07:00May 15, 2010 Fontana Race<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7Y2ZbeBvoE-ry7f7W1x6nOung8TDKyEQDjEdeb24X7PNkFMs2XL0uPDS0321utMA0VSyc_ZgWsUZ_2VlPtkjLjXmv1Vr-hP_lR4VL5rDX69wJkCtsDJ-wH1i3Zy1xrk00MpDvg/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 409px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7Y2ZbeBvoE-ry7f7W1x6nOung8TDKyEQDjEdeb24X7PNkFMs2XL0uPDS0321utMA0VSyc_ZgWsUZ_2VlPtkjLjXmv1Vr-hP_lR4VL5rDX69wJkCtsDJ-wH1i3Zy1xrk00MpDvg/" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />I started racing four-cross (4X) again this year. It's kinda like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aw6O9QZHgXs">snowboard cross</a> (link goes to X-Games snowboardcross finals 2008), but not nearly as insane. Maybe.<br /><br />After racing 4X at the Fontana Winter Series on a borrowed cross-country bike (somewhat like trying to shoot the rapids in a dinghy), I decided to get a dedicated 4X bike. I found a Yeti DJ for sale on a bike forum, which arrived at the house last Thursday, three days before the <a href="http://southridgeusa.com/">Golden State Series </a>race at Fontana. Thanks to my mechanic Steve who dropped everything he was doing to cater to my racer-girl whims by checking out the bike and making a few modifications, the Yeti was ready to roll in 24 hours.<br /><br />Saturday morning, Mom and Jane and I head north to Fontana.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">Looking at the field of my competitors, </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">I know this will be a good race<span style="font-family:verdana;">. </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">All these girls are strong riders.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMOVzpL8mr_eGL6XX0NBdhIpl7LNMoRnnw3Zq0VegzqqakepLFa3Sz4bqmLnjE4A5uQApyIGKgvEqkhYjVwCxLmYNA508C71bgXGs7QZVubnz6urxMhicgEbxVIwOZWzin9UbnGQ/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMOVzpL8mr_eGL6XX0NBdhIpl7LNMoRnnw3Zq0VegzqqakepLFa3Sz4bqmLnjE4A5uQApyIGKgvEqkhYjVwCxLmYNA508C71bgXGs7QZVubnz6urxMhicgEbxVIwOZWzin9UbnGQ/" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">From left to right, there's Robin who races BMX and is a good gate starter, next </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">in the pink helmet is Mary who </span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> rides like a boy and scares me, then there's me in the white, then Nancy who rides and trains all the time and often comes out ahead at these races. </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Wow. So... I just don't want to embarrass myself<span style="font-family:verdana;">.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> I plan my race strategy, which is essentially: Beat them all out of the gate, then beat them all to the first berm, then beat them all to the first straight-away, etc. You get the idea. There are ideal positions on the course that you shoot for, and the rider out front has the advantage of taking that line.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I take a few runs down the course. Although I haven't ridden this bike before today, I feel really good on it, comfortable on the course and comfortable in the gate. </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Since there are 4 of us, there will be two motos (heats), both worth points, with the 2nd moto breaking any ties.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2taJj2dv-AwNOUb6hV0hcGeZ9EN7eZlLJHLhAiqsgz3h5UrYFJ3ZW3_QOBUVxpXw7FIY6Nmh1lU4kYhILj8xiCyHRKuNy17sZPZ1HFWz30FbA4L__D9nj1TGspdz6KHe74VM5og/s512/100515_fontana4x_03.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 408px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2taJj2dv-AwNOUb6hV0hcGeZ9EN7eZlLJHLhAiqsgz3h5UrYFJ3ZW3_QOBUVxpXw7FIY6Nmh1lU4kYhILj8xiCyHRKuNy17sZPZ1HFWz30FbA4L__D9nj1TGspdz6KHe74VM5og/s512/100515_fontana4x_03.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Robin in lane 4 pops her tire as the gate slams down, a technique I have not mastered. </span> </span></div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />We line up in the gate, Robin and I are pretty even out of the gate, I'm the first one to the first turn by a nose, and then the first one down the straight-away, having the advantage of the line I want through the berm. Adrenaline is pumping and I am giving it all I have. I have no idea where the other girls are, but they are not in my peripheral vision. I charge ahead.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCTatcINBkwtIADoFooHDPF_Vm8tQezOSTyO1PUZsTLHa8RpnC8d-_qPb5DhPSaEHEsERNk0vk7Oyn08BLL7tHxtcKoRdQCufKU9ZKvW_ifrJqBIIWO8Qz1ep9UIeeU8RkzHRNA/"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 410px; height: 273px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuCTatcINBkwtIADoFooHDPF_Vm8tQezOSTyO1PUZsTLHa8RpnC8d-_qPb5DhPSaEHEsERNk0vk7Oyn08BLL7tHxtcKoRdQCufKU9ZKvW_ifrJqBIIWO8Qz1ep9UIeeU8RkzHRNA/" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">As we come through the last straight-away at the bottom of the hill, Mary is on my inside as we enter the turn. Then two things happen: I hit my brake, knowing my skill won't let me corner at that speed, just as Mary on my inside expects to occupy the space I should have just vacated had I not hit my brake. Mary clips my rear tire and the two of us go down in a heap of bikes and dust. Number three girl is right on us and </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">gets </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">caught in the tangle as number four rides right past to take first in that heat. None of us are hurt; we scramble back up as fast as we can, crossing the finish line. I take third in the first moto. Disappointing, but that's racing. It's never over till it's over.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLv90LPX5gT5lI-JXY-Mh5E3DE1hZyDqZ2JVWxidcZrttxhLqmWMkt5-RXNZHlBnl5ZtaTCr9lcDfCVv0CNpiLs1RP4-NfeIraQzTu6F3K7lLFBhmaS7onMShcuiic4ePNhooEnA/s720/100515_fontana4x_15.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 403px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLv90LPX5gT5lI-JXY-Mh5E3DE1hZyDqZ2JVWxidcZrttxhLqmWMkt5-RXNZHlBnl5ZtaTCr9lcDfCVv0CNpiLs1RP4-NfeIraQzTu6F3K7lLFBhmaS7onMShcuiic4ePNhooEnA/s720/100515_fontana4x_15.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />We all push our bikes to the top of the hill for the final run, only this time things have changed for me. I had started the first run as a focused hard-charger with an edge. Now I am just a fraction unsure, scrutinizing my semi-slick fast-rolling tires for the first time and knowing I don't trust them leaning in fast corners. Thoughts of wiping out cross my mind. That's all it takes to sink a rider. Not that I hold back, but I am no longer fearless; I've lost my edge. Thinking about this after the race, I realize that rather than making the other girls fight to take away the line I've chosen, I mentally yielded. This, of course, cost me the race. Trailing the other girls by the time we enter the last straight-away, I come in fourth.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">In my post-race evaluation, </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">I am pleased with my efforts in the first moto, and re-learned some important lessons in the second. I'll swap out my tires, work on my sprints and cornering, learn to trust the bike and myself, and get those girls next time. Grrrrr.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Epilogue: We left Fontana as soon as the women's awards were called, so that I could get back in time to lead the church choir, the director being away. In a frantic attempt to pitch tone 4, I hit my thumb with the tuning fork in such a way that I was not sure if I'd cracked the bone. By the end of the service, it was starting to turn red, and within a day it was swollen and purple. Thankfully not broken, just badly bruised.<br /><br />I am the only person I know who can put on body armor and a full-face helmet, crash in a race, emerge without a scratch, then get injured in church choir.<br /><br />Special thanks to: Steve K my mechanic, Mom and Jane for cheering, Donnie Jackson and family for a great race series, and my husband Steve for the new bike, and photographers Mike Lord at <a href="http://six3events.com/2010/mountain-bike/cal-golden-state-series-3/">six3events.com</a> and Andy at <a href="http://bluefirepictures.com/">bluefirepictures.com.</a><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-38652205558662896242010-01-26T16:36:00.000-08:002010-02-04T21:53:15.889-08:00Snow Ride in Idylwild<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzCuDxGp9Xg9iRfJnp1eTJy8XqGX-G7GRdiA2OWrVBJSL68fcmkI0l4OrqkYPJc0ProsS9QKdat_w6F7ER8p7tuqeGb7GWhYmFjfrXxce1-0jOGTgKJTg9R-X7-NE9djZTkKYYg/s1600-h/091223_0399a_IDY.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzCuDxGp9Xg9iRfJnp1eTJy8XqGX-G7GRdiA2OWrVBJSL68fcmkI0l4OrqkYPJc0ProsS9QKdat_w6F7ER8p7tuqeGb7GWhYmFjfrXxce1-0jOGTgKJTg9R-X7-NE9djZTkKYYg/s320/091223_0399a_IDY.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433360024516705186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Oh boy! My first snow ride!</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">My mechanic and riding buddy Steve K and I went riding in Idyllwild, down the Ernie Maxwell Trail.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDxuSpnUjXLRTu_dF_DEUed4_Q_YrinAknujOgY_2wpzUwwvt-lD5BkLhvn3MerAJeNaijth_QkjjE7cT_pVtRXP09O64DwhBfm1-QipvTL7i-CJekMNkT4kEVwImjjoSiich1Q/s1600-h/091222_0401a_Idyllwild.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiDxuSpnUjXLRTu_dF_DEUed4_Q_YrinAknujOgY_2wpzUwwvt-lD5BkLhvn3MerAJeNaijth_QkjjE7cT_pVtRXP09O64DwhBfm1-QipvTL7i-CJekMNkT4kEVwImjjoSiich1Q/s320/091222_0401a_Idyllwild.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434569544951535586" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">The snow was about 2-3 inches deep in most places, and although for us San Diegans it was a very brisk 34° F, the wind was hardly blowing which made the temperature seem mild.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmf-Ymk2hbrewXWMKVW__0tAcXHlM7jb9pvxmdylvpEuSXlJahRsl9VnlP2nBw4fgx0UoKsMSw6Scsbw4gxiRRYiUKypACG8YBpvHCZzcb4z3iK7UdDkSG7ISnCSC_69yE1kGbg/s1600-h/091223_0403a_IDY.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHmf-Ymk2hbrewXWMKVW__0tAcXHlM7jb9pvxmdylvpEuSXlJahRsl9VnlP2nBw4fgx0UoKsMSw6Scsbw4gxiRRYiUKypACG8YBpvHCZzcb4z3iK7UdDkSG7ISnCSC_69yE1kGbg/s320/091223_0403a_IDY.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434570273898756082" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Me crossing the stream.</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1maToKVl0jA0oEu1PI_Ozmjm7MOPqyltMAiZ2ZiX7BVYrJqJSk0gSLY7xlnWpwISlpD5AQvwvYEW9Q4Nixhow8rOLo078jOPWCWVQ34SaxAJt_LlPo8gxQbPJA91uOEa5uzaZ6w/s1600-h/091223_0427a_IDY.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1maToKVl0jA0oEu1PI_Ozmjm7MOPqyltMAiZ2ZiX7BVYrJqJSk0gSLY7xlnWpwISlpD5AQvwvYEW9Q4Nixhow8rOLo078jOPWCWVQ34SaxAJt_LlPo8gxQbPJA91uOEa5uzaZ6w/s320/091223_0427a_IDY.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434569941643498338" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />There is something magical about looking down and seeing snow in your tires and hearing the crunch of ice as you ride along in the stillness of the late morning. Your nose is cold and the air is crisp, and right at that moment, there is no place you would rather be.</span><br /></div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqn-uLWlLQ5ImC_T34fFgAxl3hMJJT4Om0JI328pxbElhPhlQZcWFd6ZzjlSSoT9e9ySEqAdFVYjXtqwfJDsGru7p6zhe2agz_pWF9K32_zgRC7rjEdk8VKQB8d-fiVNIov5Iu9Q/s1600-h/091223_0406a_IDY.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqn-uLWlLQ5ImC_T34fFgAxl3hMJJT4Om0JI328pxbElhPhlQZcWFd6ZzjlSSoT9e9ySEqAdFVYjXtqwfJDsGru7p6zhe2agz_pWF9K32_zgRC7rjEdk8VKQB8d-fiVNIov5Iu9Q/s320/091223_0406a_IDY.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434570184238511794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;font-size:85%;" >Steve on the trail.<br /><br /></span></div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZGfKZysuwyVhKfEWuGa-NS_Gxd32jxiA_21_PkUHJ2lv9rM8_c5jeuI47vsFswcLdSbEp7gV2jT_2Tq3R40P5_pGynjsxO1AkVWmvdcSzdbZoxOMQCXGBQfDeEeM8p79INK-Xig/s1600-h/091223_0410a_IDY.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZGfKZysuwyVhKfEWuGa-NS_Gxd32jxiA_21_PkUHJ2lv9rM8_c5jeuI47vsFswcLdSbEp7gV2jT_2Tq3R40P5_pGynjsxO1AkVWmvdcSzdbZoxOMQCXGBQfDeEeM8p79INK-Xig/s320/091223_0410a_IDY.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434570108291995346" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcNfWbBkjShTcjPzhUzpezeK8AwIWntIqJsTxaV_xqwdg3msJhYSuBrWO3DaJI5DD494Ra63zL8shqhAT-OkHZTAs2oVvmN70ppdwTy4-rlS7v2n9e7PAQf-LZwSiqDA0UlP6WQ/s1600-h/091223_0413a_IDY.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzcNfWbBkjShTcjPzhUzpezeK8AwIWntIqJsTxaV_xqwdg3msJhYSuBrWO3DaJI5DD494Ra63zL8shqhAT-OkHZTAs2oVvmN70ppdwTy4-rlS7v2n9e7PAQf-LZwSiqDA0UlP6WQ/s320/091223_0413a_IDY.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434570024891108146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Me coming down the stairs.</span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iXVdtlKnBbXL59u4AMu0tXSeKX0cwVf0dI3rmRCcpDr8QFfZaVjiZjpqUyQgx2cbSZlaq9ve_sCOF4LSjS1QLAVvz8uS_79htGrZbYK-rr0CCUrqIFJMXAr7gCDIOCGIw63gdA/s1600-h/091223_0429a_IDY.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iXVdtlKnBbXL59u4AMu0tXSeKX0cwVf0dI3rmRCcpDr8QFfZaVjiZjpqUyQgx2cbSZlaq9ve_sCOF4LSjS1QLAVvz8uS_79htGrZbYK-rr0CCUrqIFJMXAr7gCDIOCGIw63gdA/s320/091223_0429a_IDY.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434569877808225186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">My faithful steed. I love this bike.</span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxNKGuAneTBH_sSwNQM-zZD8e8zYCPvy6fLd_kFmbM6H15qhsqsct14F9th6lkQ6SzOl0VlUQUORR6GJXdfyUz3A3f3W70p_12FjX_4KzWCMrtfbFU-X2sTvkah0V2i6cpsN6pg/s1600-h/091223_0430a_IDY.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNxNKGuAneTBH_sSwNQM-zZD8e8zYCPvy6fLd_kFmbM6H15qhsqsct14F9th6lkQ6SzOl0VlUQUORR6GJXdfyUz3A3f3W70p_12FjX_4KzWCMrtfbFU-X2sTvkah0V2i6cpsN6pg/s320/091223_0430a_IDY.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5434569777129269538" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The colors of the manzanita tree were particularly beautiful offset by the snow.</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">I'm so glad we went to Idyllwild. Although we were only there a day, it was time well-spent. There's great riding year-round, friendly people, and beautiful scenery.<br /></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-47810598558210492462009-09-06T14:56:00.000-07:002009-12-28T21:12:01.598-08:00Bike Ride to Little Itlay, or How I Spent my Summer - Part 3<span style="font-family:verdana;">Stories from the summer…</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Many mornings, after the first bottle but before the first nap (the baby's, that is), I load up Jane in the car or in the Burley trailer behind my bike and head to Donny’s Cafe, the local hangout for coffee lovers, cyclists, or anyone who enjoys talking over coffee with friends and acquaintances.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">There are a number of little groups who gather regularly at Donny’s, and somehow Jane and I found ourselves joining the table of local retired men, many of whom are cyclists. Most mornings, a handful of them will be sitting, sipping coffee and talking about boats, model trains, Jim’s most recent escape from the Kaiser facility (I mean visit to, visit to...), or about the other people who aren’t there.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">After seeing their group every other day at the cafe at the same time that Jane (about four months old at the time) and I would arrive, I asked if we could join their table. I’m sure they thought it would be a one-time occurrence, and politely invited us to sit down. Within no time at all, Jane had worked her magic on them and one or another of them would make faces at her, or bounce her on his knee.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Still, I didn’t consider that we were accepted as “Honorary Old Farts” until we returned from a family reunion in Texas in July. As I carried Jane up to the patio where they all sat, I was greeted with calls of, “Well, where have you been?!” “You didn’t tell us you were going out of town!” and facetious “Who’s that?” which was answered promptly with, “That’s Jane’s mom.” I smiled and thought to myself: <span style="font-style: italic;">Nice! Like Jane Goodall with the great apes, they have come to accept me as one of their own.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">On Thursdays, the whole gang of them (often six or eight men) will show up for a bike ride from the cafe to downtown San Diego or to the Chula Vista marina to have lunch. Although I would sometimes show up to the cafe on the bike with Jane in tow behind me in the trailer, they never asked me to join them on their bike ride. I hoped that they would, but I wanted to be sensitive to the “guy time” thing. After all, I’d already infiltrated the ranks AND brought an infant with me.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Then one Thursday in mid-July, I showed up to the cafe with Jane in the trailer, expecting to take a 45-minute ride with her around the golf course after coffee, when one of them looks up and says, “So! You’re coming with us today?”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">What? Today? Me and Jane? “Um… sure!” I stammer, “ We’d love to come. Where do you guys go?”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">“Little Italy. We have lunch at Filippi’s,” Kevin tells me.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Little Italy is about 13 miles away, and might be the farthest we’ve ever ridden with the trailer. But the route is simple, mostly flat, we have plenty of diapers and formula, and if it gets to be too difficult, we can always turn around and go home. Excited about the sudden adventure looming large before us, Jane and I load up to go.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">As I write this, it occurs to me how much my life has changed. “Adventure” used to mean traveling alone across Spain, continuing over to Israel following my husband’s ship (the USS Austin that time) into three ports on a Mediterranean deployment, or hitchhiking alone from a remote part of northern Russia back to St Petersburg. Now, with a baby in the Burley trailer, “adventure” is taking a bicycle day-trip with a bunch of retired guys. I reflect on these adventures with equal fondness and gratitude that I can be in the right place at the right time. I wouldn’t miss any of these adventures for anything.</span><br /><br /><br /><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 423px; height: 520px; font-family: verdana;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0437a_HarborDr.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Riding up Harbor Drive</span></span><br /><br /></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0437a_HarborDr.jpg"><br /></a></span><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0437a_HarborDr.jpg"><br /><br /></a><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0438a_stoplight.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 422px; height: 316px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0438a_stoplight.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0439a_HarborDr.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 337px; height: 422px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0439a_HarborDr.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Mike, Jim (in yellow)</span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0443a_intoSD.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 424px; height: 256px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0443a_intoSD.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Coming into downtown San Diego</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0444a_intoSD.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 303px; height: 423px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0444a_intoSD.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">On the bike path across from the convention center</span></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0445a_ConvCtr.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 302px; height: 420px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0445a_ConvCtr.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Mike, Tony</span></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0449a_JaneLaura.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 421px; height: 349px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0449a_JaneLaura.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Laura and Jane make it to Filippi's (and yes, I carry a skirt in the trailer)</span></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0450a_lunch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 426px; height: 269px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0450a_lunch.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The Old Farts: Kevin, John, Bob, Dave, Mike, Jim, Tony</span></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0454a_Davebday.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 420px; height: 314px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0454a_Davebday.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Stephanie and Dave (it's Dave's birthday)</span></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0455a_Janeplaying.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 427px; height: 260px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0455a_Janeplaying.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Jane plays under the chairs. I'm hoping she will tie some shoelaces together...</span></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0456a_tallships.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 424px; height: 564px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0456a_tallships.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Mike across from the tall ships (Star of India)</span></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0459b_Harborpath.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 423px; height: 278px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0459b_Harborpath.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Leaving Downtown San Diego headed to the Embarcadero.</span></span><br /><br /></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0464a_MikeTony.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 423px; height: 339px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0464a_MikeTony.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Mike, Tony on the Embarcadero at Seaport Village</span></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br />We all have a wonderful lunch at Filippi's and I meet Stephanie, their very patient and obliging waitress. I find that Jane is very well-behaved and content as long as she is dry and not hungry or thirsty. Although we leave the house that day at 9:15am, and don't return until after 3pm, Jane seems to be happy to be along for the ride.<br /><br />Another great adventure for me, and a first of many for little Jane.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-5541506925640368432009-09-04T18:10:00.000-07:002009-09-06T14:58:19.137-07:00It's Official: Jane Loves Bike Rides, or How I Spent my Summer - Part 2<div style="text-align: left; font-family: verdana;">Jane has been riding in the Burley trailer since she was five weeks old. I've always assumed she liked it, or at least didn't mind it. The morning after I get my <a href="http://bruisechronicles.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-i-spent-my-summer-part-1.html">handlebar-friendly wrist splint</a>, I go out to the garage to ready the trailer for a splint test-ride.<br /><br />I unlock the garage door, leaving the door to the house wide open. The trailer is already hooked up, all I have to do is load up. I need water, the diaper bag, a bottle for Jane, and sunscreen. As I head back into the house I see Jane, who has followed me out of the house and is crawling towards the garage door. Knowing she does not like to be anywhere I am not, I assume that she will play outside near the door, or follow me back into the house rather than venture by herself into the dimly lit garage.<br /><br />I move quickly to the kitchen, fill a water bottle for myself, and start to prepare a bottle for Jane, when I pause a moment and glance out the window to the place where I left my little girl. I stop. Jane is not outside at the door playing. I rush to the garage, the scenarios flooding my brain one after another: my bike has fallen on her and she's pinned; she picked up a nameanyitem, put it in her mouth and is choking; she's eating kitty litter and doesn't care... etc. Why would she go into a darkened garage without me?! She never does that. She always keeps me in eyesight. Why can't I hear her?!<br /><br />The moment I'm inside the garage I see Jane. She's standing next to the trailer, holding onto it for balance, babbling to herself. Jane has crawled all the way to the front of the semi-darkened garage to wait for me beside her trailer. I think she would have crawled in, but her legs are still too short to make it over the arm affixed to my bike. She hardly notices me when I enter the garage, her attention fixed on the Burley.<br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0637a_waitingforride.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 429px; height: 327px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0637a_waitingforride.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">"C'mon, Mom! Let's go!"</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Wow. Jane really likes the bike rides after all. How cool is that?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">(Up next: the Ride to Little Italy with Jane's geriatric playgroup. Stay tuned!)</span></span><br /><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-89843247081718260072009-09-04T15:30:00.000-07:002009-09-04T19:41:16.922-07:00How I Spent my Summer - part 1<span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >I've been battling "new mom" tendinitis in my wrist since mid-May</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">. There's a longer name for it, but it's less... memorable evidently. This specific tendinitis is very common among new moms, dentists<span style="font-family:verdana;">, and people who </span>bear weight on a cocked wrist. It's more painful than I ever ever imagined.<br /><br />Tendinitis sounds so harmless and almost trivial. Nothing like "distal radius fracture" or "A/C separation" or even "hematoma." I've experienced all those things and they weren't nearly as painful. OK, maybe the shoulder. But tendinitis is like that unassuming red-headed chick at the martial arts tournament who's five foot nothing, kinda quiet, looks like she just fell off a charm bracelet... you know the one. You dismiss her almost immediately, but man, she attacks fast, hangs on like a badger, and will lay you low before you know she's even there.<br /><br />The good folks at Physical Therapy tell me the remedy for tendinitis is immobility, so that the inflammation will go down and the tendon will work as normal. So for two months, I wore a splint. Kinda. Unfortunately I only half-heartedly kept my thumb immobile, so I suppose that's why it only half-heartedly attempted to heal.<br /><br />In early July, I got a hard splint from Physical Therapy at Balboa Naval Medical Center that was molded specifically to fit my wrist. This would really keep the thumb immobile. I remarked as they were making the splint that it would be really sweet to have a splint that was molded against the grip on my mountain bike, so that I could ride in the splint without fear of additional injury. To my amazement, Alma looked up and said, "Oh, we could do that."<br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center;"><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0432a_splint.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 425px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0432a_splint.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Alma tests the grip in my new splint.</span></span><br /><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0435a-grip.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 422px; height: 369px;" src="http://i621.photobucket.com/albums/tt298/sunnyjane08/0907_JULY/IMG_0435a-grip.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">New grip-friendly splint.</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >Eeeeexcelent! I'll test it out tomorrow!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">(More on how I've spent my summer to come, including the bike ride to Little Italy with Jane's geriatric play group. I know you can't wait!)</span></span><br /><br /></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28188275.post-10690039700382433322009-08-20T16:23:00.000-07:002009-08-23T13:52:49.247-07:00Home remedies - don't leave home without them<span style="font-family:verdana;">Recently I traveled with some of the LUNA Chix to San Francisco for a weekend summit. One of the girls was suffering so badly from a head cold that she could hardly breathe. I pulled out a couple bottles of oils and asked her if she wanted to try a home remedy for sinus congestion. She was willing to try anything.<br /><br />I heated water and poured it into a bowl, got a towel, and told her to put the towel over hear head and put her face about 6 inches from the bowl after I dropped the oil in. I dropped a few drops of Eucalyptus oil and a few drops of Whiteflower oil in the bowl of hot water, and Denise leaned over the bowl to breathe the steam. I had told her she would come up choking after a couple breaths, but that she should continue to breathe the steam as much as she could.<br /><br />To her surprise and delight, breathing the eucalyptus and menthol steam did the trick. Her nose started to clear and she could breathe again.<br /><br />People have asked me about these home remedies and the things I carry when traveling. Here's my quick things I almost always have with me or that I have quick access to. Most of these oils are available at a good health food store. The sports supplements can be found at a good bike shop or online. Always check with your physician before taking any supplements or medications.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">H</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >ome remedies for common ailments</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/misc/arnica_teatree.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 423px; height: 337px;" src="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/misc/arnica_teatree.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" >For bruising and general antiseptic - good to have on trail rides</span><br /></div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />Arnica oil for bruising</span><br />Apply <span>arnica oil </span>directly to a bruise (but not to broken skin) immediately after an injury to minimize bruising. Arnica sublingual tablets work well too.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tea tree oil - Antisceptic for almost all skin conditions; gargle for sore throat<br /></span>Apply Tea tree oil directly to a cut, scrape, fungus, insect or spider bite.<br />To relieve a sore throat, drop a few drops of <span>Tea tree oil </span>in warm water and gargle with it (but do not swallow it).</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/misc/EucalyptusWhiteflower.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 415px; height: 343px;" src="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/misc/EucalyptusWhiteflower.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Eucalyptus, Wintergreen and Whiteflower oil</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eucalyptus oil and *Whiteflower oil (or menthol) for </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">stuffy nose / nasal drip</span><br />To clear a stuffy nose, pour boiling or very hot water into a bowl. Drop a few drops each of <span>Eucalyptus oil and Witeflower oil </span>in the bowl, cover your head with a towel and lean over the bowl with your nose about 6 inches from the water, breathing the steam that rises from the bowl.<br /><br />*Whiteflower oil is a mixture of Wintergreen, Menthol, Camphor, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, and Lavender.<br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/misc/EleteSportlegs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 421px; height: 328px;" src="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i85/mtbsunny/misc/EleteSportlegs.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;" >Sports supplements I always have with me.</span> </div> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://sportlegs.com/">Sportlegs </a>and <a href="http://www.eletewater.com/">Eletewater </a>for cramping</span><br />Cramping is often caused by electrolyte imbalance. </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Prevent and relieve muscle cramps by taking <span style="font-weight: bold;">calcium, magnesium and potassium</span>, the </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >electrolytes </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">found in </span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://sportlegs.com/about/welcome.asp">Sportlegs</a> capsules and <a href="http://eletewater.com/">Eletewater</a> liquid supplement. Follow the directions on the bottle. For immediate relief of muscle cramps, break open two Sportlegs capsules and down the contents with 6-8 oz of water.<br /><br />To prevent monthy cramps, drink 8-10 glasses of water with Eletewater the day before your period starts, or drink 16 oz of water with Eletewater at the first sign of cramping or menstruation. Keep drinking 8-10 glasses of water with Eletewater daily to keep cramps at bay. I used to get debilitating cramps before I discovered this, and I promise you it works. Eletewater also is available in capsule form (Tablytes). </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Hot pack/cold pack</span><br />Apply a <span style="font-style: italic;">cold pack </span>to new injuries to reduce swelling and slow blood-flow. Often the post-trauma swelling causes additional injury. Use a cold pack for the first 48-92 hours after an injury.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Reusable cold pack:</span> two parts water or ice and one part rubbing alcohol in a zipper freezer bag. Refreeze as needed. You can also use a bag of frozen peas. Reuse the bag of peas, but mark it so you don't eat it.<br /><br />Add <span style="font-style: italic;">heat </span>to get blood flowing. Use heat after the third day or more following an injury.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Reusable hot pack:</span> put a damp wash cloth in a zipper freezer bag. Microwave for 30 seconds. Instant hot pack.<br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">For additional information on pharmaceutical-free treatments and sports injuries, I recommend the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583332367/ref=s9_simz_gw_s0_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1YZRE4E4SKTS06ESQTBT&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846">Prescription for Nutritional Healing, by Phyllis Balch</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Best-Natural-Sports-Medicine-Book/dp/1892264072/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251057624&sr=1-1">The Best Natural Sports Medicine Book Ever by Dr. William Wong</a>.<br /><br /><br />If you have any of your own home remedies that you would like to share, please tell me about them in the comments section. I'd love to hear them.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon32x32.png" alt="" style="border:0"/></a><a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BruiseChronicles" title="Subscribe to my feed" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">Subscribe in a reader</a></div>Laura Drexlerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06415250755075832254noreply@blogger.com1