Go Ride a Mountain!
Dec. 8th, 2008 02:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
threadwalkerI was pretty upbeat when I came to work today.
I got several things done on Friday that had been languishing.
I have no car radio right now. I found out I have to leave my car "on" for 8 hours in order to get to the point where the radio's anti-theft will let me access the "code entry" step again. Lesson learned: when the car says "enter code", don't go randomly entering numbers. In the meantime, it's a quiet ride. Oh well. At least the new car battery (which started this series of events) is working and I don't have to pay anyone to fix my radio; I just have to find an excuse for a road trip or leave it on in the locked and secured enclosure at work this week.
The house is 80% decorated and 100% thrashed from the effort to get it decorated. The Xmas boxes that need to go back into storage mess with my vibe, so I let my "vibe" loose and cleaned out the cupboard with the oodles of food-storage containers (threw away every unmatched bottom and top) and the compulsory wine rack (dumped almost everything "old" or white). Ha! Vibe is happy. Some Order has been brought to the Chaos.
Saturday I was in a whimsy kind of mood. Between errands, board games and purging cupboards, I made waffles, eggs and bacon for breakfast, I grilled up burgers for lunch and for dinner I cooked up steaks, ratatouille, and butternut squash soup (yes, from scratch with real squashes), which I served w/ french bread. It must be the weather. I don't usually cook that much in one day.
Sunday I rode up Mt Diablo. Victory 1: I was on my bike by 5:15 am. Victory 2: I was on my bike even though it was 40F out (according to my car). Victory 3: I was the first one to the top this time. Reward: I got to see a view that can only been seen if you are crazy enough to hike or bike up that early because the gates are locked. And I was alone up there for at leatst 15 minutes. MINE. ALL MINE!!! There were 2 hikers up there shortly after 8am plus the ranger who does not open the snack shop.
I had a sad discovery on my way down the mountain. The fog/low-laying clouds that blanketed Contra Costa County start at 1500 ft. When I hit that layer on the downhill it felt like I'd been thrown into ice water. 40F weather plus wind-chill at 15-25 mph is freaking cold. The frigid plunge lasted for 15 minutes, which might not seem long, but it was forever. Every inch was cold except for my head (I wore the skull cap AND the face mask) and my butt (which was behind me and sheltered from the wind). 5 minutes into it my shins started to twitch on their own, my fingers tips were little ice cubes that were burning, and my feet were too cold to feel. I don't like being cold. I kept telling myself "only X more minutes" to the bottom and kept wondering if it would be better to call in Strike Force Husband to pull me out. I decided that if I stopped I'd be cold for that much longer, my cell might not work in the hills (so I'd end up just lengthening the misery), and having to explain to the hubby (who already thinks I'm slightly crazy) that I need a rescue would be hard to live down the next time I wanted to go up. I just sucked it up by convincing myself that I didn't need rescue since it wasn't snowing, which made sense at the time. When I hit the section that needs infrequent braking, I curled my hands into fists and steered with my palms. I didn't stop shivering until I got into the scalding hot shower (and then I rewarded myself with a home-facial. yay! I love being a girl. Girls can get facials without getting funny looks from people.)
The "win" was that I took my fancy-schmancy (Pearl Izumi, Winter Force, Lobster Claw) gloves back to REI and said, "Hey, these don't work. See these finger tips? Let me tell you about my ride down Mt Diablo this morning..." They said, "Are you an REI member?" I am. So even though I didn't have my receipt or the glove packaging, they had me in the computer and refunded me towards a new glove purchase. This time I didn't goof around with guessing, I went to the MEN's selection (which is vaster than the ladies selection) and got gloves that said "GORE" and "Wind Stopper". They cost more, but my fingers don't care. I must have warm hands so I can use hand brakes.
I finished the embroidery for CL and mailed it off. What a HUGE relief that was. It's a week late, which I HATE, but I have been at the mercy of my job. So it was with a small happy dance that I went to the post office and mailed it off.
I took the kids to a b-day party at the Lindsey Wildlife Museum. We've been there before, but they were still excited and babbling about birds all evening. I told them Uncle Rat and Auntie Stacey used to take care of various hawks. They were awed. I also reconnected with another parent I know (while at kid party) and discovered that she rides, too! Hmm.... future play dates? She rides 3-4x a week though, so I'm thinking I'm not capable of keeping up with her. Anyway, it was fun to discover.
The kids were super-cute all weekend. Miss E planted herself in my lap to watch The Wizard of Oz on Saturday. She was only going to need me to be with her on the sofa for the scary parts. Turns out every scene with the witch is scary, so she was in my lap or pressed up against me a lot. We played some kid games Miss E got for her B-day: Horton Hears a Who, which involves a lot of running around the house with a Horton Mask on while you look for "clovers", and "I can do that" which involves a lot of hopping and leaping with props balanced on your head, etc. Last night they worked on various holiday crafts together and then we piled on the sofa to watch TV after dinner. Snuggly goodness. (I dozed off. Maybe it was the 3+ hrs on the bike followed by a day of racing to and fro? Or maybe it's old age.)
So there was a lot to make me go, "Ahhh... it was a lovely weekend".
And then I found out I got flamed in various e-mail on Friday. What a mood killer. Makes me want to go home where I can put the Horton mask on and go looking for clovers. Or go ride up the mountain. Feh.
I got several things done on Friday that had been languishing.
I have no car radio right now. I found out I have to leave my car "on" for 8 hours in order to get to the point where the radio's anti-theft will let me access the "code entry" step again. Lesson learned: when the car says "enter code", don't go randomly entering numbers. In the meantime, it's a quiet ride. Oh well. At least the new car battery (which started this series of events) is working and I don't have to pay anyone to fix my radio; I just have to find an excuse for a road trip or leave it on in the locked and secured enclosure at work this week.
The house is 80% decorated and 100% thrashed from the effort to get it decorated. The Xmas boxes that need to go back into storage mess with my vibe, so I let my "vibe" loose and cleaned out the cupboard with the oodles of food-storage containers (threw away every unmatched bottom and top) and the compulsory wine rack (dumped almost everything "old" or white). Ha! Vibe is happy. Some Order has been brought to the Chaos.
Saturday I was in a whimsy kind of mood. Between errands, board games and purging cupboards, I made waffles, eggs and bacon for breakfast, I grilled up burgers for lunch and for dinner I cooked up steaks, ratatouille, and butternut squash soup (yes, from scratch with real squashes), which I served w/ french bread. It must be the weather. I don't usually cook that much in one day.
Sunday I rode up Mt Diablo. Victory 1: I was on my bike by 5:15 am. Victory 2: I was on my bike even though it was 40F out (according to my car). Victory 3: I was the first one to the top this time. Reward: I got to see a view that can only been seen if you are crazy enough to hike or bike up that early because the gates are locked. And I was alone up there for at leatst 15 minutes. MINE. ALL MINE!!! There were 2 hikers up there shortly after 8am plus the ranger who does not open the snack shop.
I had a sad discovery on my way down the mountain. The fog/low-laying clouds that blanketed Contra Costa County start at 1500 ft. When I hit that layer on the downhill it felt like I'd been thrown into ice water. 40F weather plus wind-chill at 15-25 mph is freaking cold. The frigid plunge lasted for 15 minutes, which might not seem long, but it was forever. Every inch was cold except for my head (I wore the skull cap AND the face mask) and my butt (which was behind me and sheltered from the wind). 5 minutes into it my shins started to twitch on their own, my fingers tips were little ice cubes that were burning, and my feet were too cold to feel. I don't like being cold. I kept telling myself "only X more minutes" to the bottom and kept wondering if it would be better to call in Strike Force Husband to pull me out. I decided that if I stopped I'd be cold for that much longer, my cell might not work in the hills (so I'd end up just lengthening the misery), and having to explain to the hubby (who already thinks I'm slightly crazy) that I need a rescue would be hard to live down the next time I wanted to go up. I just sucked it up by convincing myself that I didn't need rescue since it wasn't snowing, which made sense at the time. When I hit the section that needs infrequent braking, I curled my hands into fists and steered with my palms. I didn't stop shivering until I got into the scalding hot shower (and then I rewarded myself with a home-facial. yay! I love being a girl. Girls can get facials without getting funny looks from people.)
The "win" was that I took my fancy-schmancy (Pearl Izumi, Winter Force, Lobster Claw) gloves back to REI and said, "Hey, these don't work. See these finger tips? Let me tell you about my ride down Mt Diablo this morning..." They said, "Are you an REI member?" I am. So even though I didn't have my receipt or the glove packaging, they had me in the computer and refunded me towards a new glove purchase. This time I didn't goof around with guessing, I went to the MEN's selection (which is vaster than the ladies selection) and got gloves that said "GORE" and "Wind Stopper". They cost more, but my fingers don't care. I must have warm hands so I can use hand brakes.
I finished the embroidery for CL and mailed it off. What a HUGE relief that was. It's a week late, which I HATE, but I have been at the mercy of my job. So it was with a small happy dance that I went to the post office and mailed it off.
I took the kids to a b-day party at the Lindsey Wildlife Museum. We've been there before, but they were still excited and babbling about birds all evening. I told them Uncle Rat and Auntie Stacey used to take care of various hawks. They were awed. I also reconnected with another parent I know (while at kid party) and discovered that she rides, too! Hmm.... future play dates? She rides 3-4x a week though, so I'm thinking I'm not capable of keeping up with her. Anyway, it was fun to discover.
The kids were super-cute all weekend. Miss E planted herself in my lap to watch The Wizard of Oz on Saturday. She was only going to need me to be with her on the sofa for the scary parts. Turns out every scene with the witch is scary, so she was in my lap or pressed up against me a lot. We played some kid games Miss E got for her B-day: Horton Hears a Who, which involves a lot of running around the house with a Horton Mask on while you look for "clovers", and "I can do that" which involves a lot of hopping and leaping with props balanced on your head, etc. Last night they worked on various holiday crafts together and then we piled on the sofa to watch TV after dinner. Snuggly goodness. (I dozed off. Maybe it was the 3+ hrs on the bike followed by a day of racing to and fro? Or maybe it's old age.)
So there was a lot to make me go, "Ahhh... it was a lovely weekend".
And then I found out I got flamed in various e-mail on Friday. What a mood killer. Makes me want to go home where I can put the Horton mask on and go looking for clovers. Or go ride up the mountain. Feh.
