So without further ado I bring you Hot or Not: Combined near-end of 2012 bi-monthly addition.
HOT
MangosWhat more needs to be said about these bad boys?
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| I especially love dancing mangos. Found on the interwebs. |
Coffee
Nothing's changed here
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| A coffee with milk I would consider drinking. Mainly because it has the galaxy on it... 'n shit. |
Multi-day race events
For some bizarre reason (probably best described as 'kids') Aido and I have decided to enter some races as a pair. Scary huh? I think we should call ourselves "Team Cyclinic avoiding divorce" but it doesn't have that special ring to it, so we'll stick to Cyclinic.
The 3plus3 is a cool event which is happening next weekend at Old Hidden Vale. It involves riding for three hours on Saturday afternoon, eating too much food and drinking beer, sleeping in a dodgy tent and then waking up and ridding the prior day's excesses with too much coffee, followed by riding for another 3 hours. We can't both do it solo, for obvious negligent parenting law-type reasons, so we're pairing up to share the fun! (And the child care).
With a christmas theme it should be a pretty fun 'festival' type atmosphere. Even though we're both non-christmassy types. I can't wait.
Riding my bike
So, once upon a time a while ago I was reading something about profiling of successful athletes. I couldn't help but compare their mental mindset with my own. You know what I found out? Being an eternally grouchy pessimist is not a characteristic of a highly successful person, especially an athlete.
I think a mixture of savoring my own time out on the bike, in addition to gaining fitness and confidence back (it's a slow progress) and having some faith in my own ability has meant that I am able to cast away what used to be an all-pervading sense of self-doubt and negative head-talk (kind of like the stuff I was combatting at the BSMC 4-hour) and get myself into a more gung-ho hell-yeah frame of mind.
It may be a chicken and egg scenario, but it seems like I am riding a lot better, more focussed technically (perhaps forced by my distinct lack of ability to ride up hills in the months after little pea—having to make up the shortcomings somehow), which is making me more confident and happy. Loving the ride is the rule, crappy rides are an exception. Even if the legs aren't willing then my mind is happy to be outside having a break.
But for the most part, I feel like I am railing the trails. The feeling of being one with your bike, the feeling of flow. It's amazing and something I haven't felt this consistently before. It's exciting!
I am feeling exceptionally positive for what's to come for me on the bike.
Love it, love the shit out of it, then love it some more.
New bikes
Somehow riding in a team with me has hastened Aido's need to get me a bike that fits me right, always a bit of a battle. But it is happening! I am pretty damn excited, too.
Danone Greek Yoghurt
Originally bought for little pea ('cos I really don't need 11g of fat/100ml yoghurt), I was quite upset when I tasted it...you know, to make sure it was ok for little pea, and it was sickeningly sweet. Yep, 11g of fat and probably a couple of tablespoons full of sugar. The cream and sugar combo really is a bit extreme.
Aiden, of course, can't get enough of it. Yeuch.
Shit. Gettin' real.
Something amazing happens when babies start solids. Their pumpkin puree-esque breastmilk poop—watery and in vast quantities—seemingly overnight turns to human faeces. Excrement. Stools. Something you care a lot more about when washing cloth nappies.
Suddenly;
You find yourself calling "shotgun not!" when the nappy rumbles.
I miss breastmilk-only poo.
Women riding bikes.
Perhaps that's not the best subtitle for the "not" section of this particular post, perhaps it should be "lack of women riding bikes".
I can definitely see that there are women out there riding, in fact it was women's day at Coot-tha (or so it seemed) the other day. There's not a day that goes by on the roadie that I won't see another woman (sometimes EVEN MORE THAN ONE!) hitting up the hills or just out for a social ride, this is less apparent on the mountain bike.
Then...you turn up at a race and less than 10% of the riders are women. How do we change this!?
I have been brainstorming this with Emma, who has been putting on some women's rides at Epic (with...varying...degrees of success).
Ideas much appreciated. We need to build something accessible (figuratively) so the women will come and embrace this awesome sport.
Wearing body-armour while riding the rail trail.
It may be that you are on a mountain bike, but if I am riding towards you on the rail trail 'fireroad' on a road bike, then it's probably quite likely that the body-armour you're rocking is a little overkill. Unless you're my dad, who has the ability to crash while getting on his bike, getting out of the driveway, turning a corner, going in a straight line and getting off his bike.
It's amazing I can keep it upright at all, considering my genetic material.
Anyway, the past five—FIVE—times I have ridden along there on the roadie, I have encountered people coming in the opposite direction on mountain bikes wearing armour. And they're always different people. I. KID. YOU. NOT.
Seriously, if nothing else it's too hot for that shit. Free yourselves.
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| I heart bikes. |
New bikes
Somehow riding in a team with me has hastened Aido's need to get me a bike that fits me right, always a bit of a battle. But it is happening! I am pretty damn excited, too.
NOT
Danone Greek Yoghurt
Originally bought for little pea ('cos I really don't need 11g of fat/100ml yoghurt), I was quite upset when I tasted it...you know, to make sure it was ok for little pea, and it was sickeningly sweet. Yep, 11g of fat and probably a couple of tablespoons full of sugar. The cream and sugar combo really is a bit extreme.
Aiden, of course, can't get enough of it. Yeuch.
 |
| Just Danon't. |
Something amazing happens when babies start solids. Their pumpkin puree-esque breastmilk poop—watery and in vast quantities—seemingly overnight turns to human faeces. Excrement. Stools. Something you care a lot more about when washing cloth nappies.
Suddenly;
You find yourself calling "shotgun not!" when the nappy rumbles.
I miss breastmilk-only poo.
Women riding bikes.
Perhaps that's not the best subtitle for the "not" section of this particular post, perhaps it should be "lack of women riding bikes".
I can definitely see that there are women out there riding, in fact it was women's day at Coot-tha (or so it seemed) the other day. There's not a day that goes by on the roadie that I won't see another woman (sometimes EVEN MORE THAN ONE!) hitting up the hills or just out for a social ride, this is less apparent on the mountain bike.
Then...you turn up at a race and less than 10% of the riders are women. How do we change this!?
I have been brainstorming this with Emma, who has been putting on some women's rides at Epic (with...varying...degrees of success).
Ideas much appreciated. We need to build something accessible (figuratively) so the women will come and embrace this awesome sport.
Wearing body-armour while riding the rail trail.
It may be that you are on a mountain bike, but if I am riding towards you on the rail trail 'fireroad' on a road bike, then it's probably quite likely that the body-armour you're rocking is a little overkill. Unless you're my dad, who has the ability to crash while getting on his bike, getting out of the driveway, turning a corner, going in a straight line and getting off his bike.
It's amazing I can keep it upright at all, considering my genetic material.
Anyway, the past five—FIVE—times I have ridden along there on the roadie, I have encountered people coming in the opposite direction on mountain bikes wearing armour. And they're always different people. I. KID. YOU. NOT.
Seriously, if nothing else it's too hot for that shit. Free yourselves.
 |
| Pro tip: if you're dressed like this.... |
 |
| ...it's probably a wee bit of overkill for this. |