It's a G-sale!

I love living in the CD (Central District for those of you not familiar with Seattle speak). There are signs all over the neighborhood advertising a "G-Sale". That's right...down here in the hood we ain't got no garage sales, only "G-Sales." Yo yo...check it out.

Ok, so I think I've decided that between some pressing issues at work and my lack of May training I'm going to stay in town this weekend and double up with the Carnation TT Saturday and the Ravensdale RR on Sunday. I'm sad to pass on Hood but I'm just not up for taking Friday off or spending $$$ and hours traveling.

Ok ok...

...thanks everyone for reminding me about how long it's been since I've updated my blog. That should tell you how busy things have been the last few weeks.

I was supposed to race Longbranch and Wenatchee but took both weekends off to get moved into the condo and settled. I did end up going to Wenatchee with racing in mind but once I got there I just couldn't get motivated to race so I spent a nice quiet weekend watching the races, hanging out with friends, and spending quality time with the doggie. It turned out to be a nice little weekend getaway.

I honestly didn't realize two weeks had gone by until suddenly the CLAW was on top of me. Hopping into a stage race after not having ridden in two weeks sucks. My TT was a minute faster than last year but I was hurting bad and stunk it up, finishing 32nd out of 35. Ugh. I figured I'd recover for the crit but my top end was just gone. I was spit out the back right from the start and never did get back in it. Hey, at least I hung in there with Beth from Joe Bar and we didn't get lapped. We were both pretty disappointed with the race.

I had really high hopes for Sunday's road race but again, I just wasn't feeling it. I got gapped up the climb on the 1st lap but was able to work with a large group of gals and we caught back on midway through the 2nd lap. The 2nd time up the hill I just couldn't get there and got dropped again. Nearly every lap I though about calling it a day but hey, there's no better way to get back in shape than getting your ass kicked. I rode with a gal from Group Health the 3rd lap and we helped each other to the finish.

It's a good thing there's no racing this weekend, it'll give me a chance to chill and get back on my training schedule. Mt Hood is coming up and now I'm seriously worried if I'll be able to get back on it in time. Guess I better bust my ass this week...

An ode to my bicycle

Oh bicycle, how I love thee...

Well, something like that. The last two weeks have been absolutely a stress-mess! I closed on the condo, got moved in, had to settle in the kids (the dog and cat), get adjusted to a new place, a new location, etc. Whew...that's more taxing than I remember! During that whole time I think I rode the bike once and ended up ditching my plans for Longbranch.

The dog now seems settled (and the citronella bark collar helps!) and the cat stopped running around my head at night so I could finally sleep. Today I got on my bike and commuted to work and as soon as I started riding I thought, "Ahhh...a return to normalness!" Pretty sad when your life becomes de-stressed because of a bicycle.

Now it's off to Wenatchee this weekend, probably with the dog in tow. He's been pretty well-behaved the last few days so I figure I'll take him along and see how he does. It could be great or it could be the biggest disaster in the world. Remember, I am the reigning Queen of Bad Ideas!

Race free weekend

I think it's been nearly two months since I can say I've had a race free weekend. I really wanted to do the Longbranch course Sunday but opted to settle into the condo instead. I'm now mostly moved in and having a nice, clean, relaxing home is kick-ass!

The last few weeks have been so stressful I took the day off today to just lounge, enjoy the beautiful weather, and finish getting things moved. I have a busy few weeks coming up with Wenatchee, Enumclaw, Mt Hood, and a friend coming to town, so I'm enjoying the downtime while I can.

The condo is still pretty empty since I really don't have much furniture, but I have some things on order so pretty soon it'll get filled out. The first thing I did was get a closet storage system from IKEA...instant 50K right there :) Here's a couple of pics. Once I get the new couch and dining table I'll take some more. The place has great lighting and the neighborhood is suprisingly quiet. I don't have a downtown view but I do have a small Sound / Safeco Field view from the side window.

Now I just have to see if the doggie digs his new digs...

Deforestation and escrow

I'm convinced that mortgage and escrow companies are now the single biggest contributors to worldwide deforestation. I cannot believe the amount of paperwork involved with closing on real estate. Seriously, isn't this the electronic age? What up with the 100 lb 2" stack of paperwork I got in the mail last night? Man I hope I never drop that shit...I have no idea how long it would take to reorganize it all.