#Gravel Riding

[becomingkatie]

Saturday morning at 10am I was stomping around like "the weekend is half over and I haven't gotten anything done yet!" Clearly I was feeling more than a little stressed about maximizing the weekend, lol.

Saturday morning I baked a loaf that I'd mixed up Thursday night and shaped and popped in the fridge Friday morning. It's got fish peppers from my garden and cheddar cheese in it - a nod to a jalapeno cheddar loaf, but I didn't have jalapenos. The fish peppers are SPICY. Like, I cut a slice of bread and my hands tingle and then I scrub them with soap and then if I rub my eyes it still burns them. Soooo, maybe not the best? If you've ever wanted to sweat and cough from eating spicy bread, I have succeeded in making the spicy loaf for you.

Saturday night I made marry me chicken gnocchi soup. I'd say it's medium. Good enough to happily eat the leftovers of, but probably not so tasty that I'll make it again. Well, I say that, but Ken has been saying, "Next time I think I'd (insert small change here)" so I think he actually really enjoyed it and might want it again. Anyway, it's gone well with a slice of toast on the side.

We had a big finances talk Saturday, too, since even over 2 years of marriage the only joint finances we have is a credit card I got where he's an authorized user so we can have a "joint" card. We're going to be moving to a fully (or at least mostly) joined approach (with some separate savings and investments) so we are getting ready for that.

Sunday morning I was in a MUCH better mood and we went for an "easy" gravel ride where I cried on the side of the road and nearly puked in someone's driveway because it was such a challenge. I haven't been riding much, and I haven't been challenging myself much either. Combine that with having covid a few weeks ago, and it was a shock to me how hard this ride was. Ken signed us up for a "mini" 25-mile gravel ride in about 6 weeks, so I have some work to do to make that an enjoyable experience and not a sufferfest. I've done a 40-mile gravel grinder ride a few times and loved it - it just makes me really sad to be in such worse shape now than I used to be. At least I genuinely enjoy cycling so the climb back to where I want to be is something I can have fun with.

After the ride we got bagel sandwiches in the town near the start/stop point. Mine had sausage, egg, cheese, and apple butter. I'm a sweet+savory gal so it was AMAZING. And then we showered and I napped on the living room floor for half a football game. ("Ken, can you put on the football channel so I can take a nap?") After dinner I made a blueberry muffin recipe that uses sourdough discard. I'd been meaning to make them for ages and finally had discard in the fridge and time to whip them up. It said to divide into 12 muffins... I am not sure that was the right move. But they taste great.

It's going to be a busy week. Plenty of work, a vet neurologist appointment for Theo, both individual and couple's therapy on Tuesday (I hate double-therapy days ugh), and trying to stay up late and push hard to finish editing this book so I can publish it before the end of the month. This weekend we want to bike again, and I want to do some training stationary bike workouts during the week, and we also both need to make sure we have clothes (or, more likely, get some clothes) for the two October weddings we have coming up. So I am Stressed but it'll be a good time if I can manage to enjoy myself through all the busy. And people add kids on top of this??? Howwww???

[fuzzyimages]

Getting the daily dose of vitamin g.

[roadie1963]

New Cycling Tech: A Saddle that Fits You - BiSaddle

Image of My Fizik Arionne Saddle What is the one thing on your bike that negatively impacts your ride? If after 40 miles or more, your butt is screaming for relief, you wouldn’t be alone. This is even if you wear shorts with a dense chamois and use a high-quality saddle. The truth is that cycling saddles, especially on road bikes, were not meant to be comfortable. They are meant to offer…

[hannibal-or-maybe-just-rex]

[biologically-confused]

yesterday one of my roomates asked if I wanted to go for a 25k easy bike ride

the 25k ride had 400m of vert

the ride was not easy for me

[seaweedandgravel]

[theelementaryparticles]

Commuting mode activated.

[yhup]

From yesterday evenings ride into the woods of Vosnæs on the Kocmo

[canipel]

Gravel. | Make sure you follow > Shot By Canipel & Instagram

[just-anka]

Day 1! About 85 miles with 2,500m of gain, two new passes, lots of great views, some rain, some sunshine, some teeth chattering, time with my favourite people, pushing myself. Made it to Italy and had a lovely evening. Still very tired now but it's time for day 2 :P

[biketouring-nearby]

[roylustang]

Truly did forget how much I like cycling. I go ham over the gamification of my fitness stats the way people go ham over normal video games

[cheeto-flavoured-pasta]

Heartbreaking: Local Punk walks into thrift shop so confident he’ll find the perfect base for their battle jacket. Finds absolutely nothing and half of it is just kids clothes instead.

(it’s me I’m the local punk. I’m devastated)

[quick-release-velozine]

Cycling through Washington State on 35mm film. 2017-2020.

[seaweedandgravel]

[kvetchinglyneurotic]

Word of the week word alternatives:

Drive, cry, help, loop

Two out of four, all from Wrong Answers Only!

Drive

You’re better than that, Jamie! He’d looked small, sat on the treatment room table with his head bowed, frozen still in a way he never was. But it was his dad. A flawed man, for sure, rough around the edges, but football got the blood up in England same as it did in America. Ted had seen more than a few good parents put their worst foot forward in the locker room or up in the stands, and just as many young men shove away the hands just trying to guide them on the right path.

“You know, I’ve noticed that sometimes having a tough dad is exactly what drives certain fellas to become great at what they do,” Ted said. “I hear Bono’s father was a real piece of work. But then again, so was Joshua Tree, so, you know…”

Help

And then the doc rode up on her bike, and his stomach swooped. He was real happy she’d helped Dani, ‘course he was, but there was something plain unnatural about hiring someone to listen to your problems when they didn’t know a dang thing about you or care besides, riding in on their strange bikes with tiny wheels.