#it's also like 2 degrees outside and i have zero tolerance for the cold (or the heat tbh. at least i can bundle up in this weather though)

[happylandfill23]

man i wish i could take walks outside again but. snow

[sp4ceymads]

hehe ok sorry i had to. this prompt was just asking for me to write abt robin being dramatic and cold and starfire being a sentient heater <3 set sometime in early season 4!

 Day 2, July 6th: Warmth

 It was the beginning of January in Jump City, where the highs were an unusual thirty-some degrees and the lows in an even more unusual mid-to-low twenties. The unwavering spirit of the holiday season echoed through the city in 60% off clean out sales and holiday lights still strung out in colorful disarray. 

 Titans Tower, standing familiarly above the Pacific, was no exception to the holiday lights rule. In fact, Cyborg, who always decided to take a more ambitious route each year, had experimentally wrapped the outside of the Tower in string lights and the sort. With the help of fellow flying teammates, at night, the Titans’ home lit up like a Christmas tree. Literally.

 The decor was jarring, yet festive. Raven mumbled tacky under her breath (but everyone knew she secretly liked it because everyone knew Raven’s favorite holiday was Christmas, despite the Halloween rumors), and Beastboy exclaimed an enthusiastic awesome!

 Robin tolerated it and Starfire loved how she could fly 2000 feet in the air and still identify each and every color on their home. Cyborg treated it like it was his baby, as he tended to do, and wanted to leave up the lights until it was societially seen as disgraceful. 

 And, truly, he was going to - until the power surge.

 Literally, in the blink of an eye, the power cut. At 1 AM that night (or morning at that point), Cyborg’s bright idea hilariously and ironically left them in the dark. 

 The emergency lights switched on, and each Titan departed to the commons where the blame was subtly, yet actually not-so-subtly shifted onto Cyborg. Cyborg, through his reassurances, went to investigate the surge and found it fixable. 

 After mild tampering, the power was restored. 

 Well, not entirely restored. 

 Another unfortunate side effect of the surge was a blowout of the heating unit. And, after a few more agonizing minutes, Cyborg told the team he needed to buy a certain part to restore it to what it once was, and the shops where he could buy the needed fuses weren’t open at 1 AM on a Tuesday.

 Which is how Robin found himself in his bedroom, buried underneath mounds of blankets and he was still cold. He was fully clothed in pajama pants, two shirts, and the wool socks Alfred had sent him in the mail last Christmas and he was still shivering. Chattering. Practically frozen in a block of ice underneath these fourteen blankets but thank God he had a lamp to turn on since Cy could fix that.

  It was a bit of miracle at that point that he couldn’t see his breath linger in the air in his own bedroom. Or maybe he could, and it was just too dark to see. Or maybe he was just being dramatic.

 He absently wondered how the other Titans were faring this awful turn of events. Cyborg wasn’t easily affected by the cold, as far as he knew. Beastboy could conveniently turn himself into an animal with layers of fur. Raven had an amazing talent of simply ignoring everything that bothered her. And Starfire, how lucky she was, Robin knew she never felt the vile twinge of icy-awfulness. Even in temperatures below zero, she still managed to generate her own heat.

 Robin usually wasn’t bothered by being the only teammate without some sort of meta superpowers, but at this moment, he wished for nothing more.

 He tossed and turned, but found sleep unachievable. With a grimace, and a shiver, he climbed out from underneath the mass of blankets, dragging his duvet along with him, and set course for the common room. Maybe, somehow, it was warmer there. Somehow.

 With a blanket wrapped around his body, Robin quietly padded to the oh so familiar couch, still enticed in the cold’s unforgivable grip, and was surprised to see the soft glow of the TV flickering in and out and the volume growing a tad louder with every step.

 The Boy Wonder was even more shocked to see a pair of legs strung over the back of the couch. Legs that obviously belonged to his best friend herself. Not that he’d ever look at Starfire’s legs or anything. No, nah, never.

 He was near the back of the couch when he saw Starfire hanging upside down, her nose deep in a book, reading so intently she hadn’t even noticed him. For a moment, the thought of the chilling temperature evaded him and his curiosity got the better of him. “Whatcha reading?”

 Starfire let out a small shriek, her legs tensing up and nearly kneeing him directly in the jaw. The book slipped from her fingers, sparing it a brief glance before peering upward, “Robin!” Her eyes were almost radiant in the low-light of the TV, and though her tone was accusatory, her shoulders relaxed at seeing it was only him.

 “Sorry,” Robin said sheepishly, “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He gingerly offered her a hand, while idly wondering how stupid he must have looked in front of her at that moment, stringing along a duvet like a cape.

 She took his hand, only for her eyes to flash open and her fingers to clamp around him in instinct, “Oh, you are freezing!” Starfire hurriedly pulled herself up, her book only a distant memory.

 Before Robin could comprehend what was happening, the alien princess once sprawled out on the couch had thrown her arms around him. His own arms lay limp at his sides, and he suddenly felt warmth spreading from her touch and also a flaming blush fanning across his cheeks.

“What are you-”

 “I am warming you,” Her voice now defined with worry and ardor, “Humans can get sick if they are left in frigid temperatures, correct?”

 The tip of his nose and his ears no longer felt numb. The goosebumps on his arms and legs remained, yet for another reason.

 A few thoughts ran rampant in Robin’s mind. Like how Starfire smelled really good up close, like vanilla and something else he really couldn’t place at that moment because she was still hugging him. Raspberry? Rose? Marshmallow, maybe?  And was her grip getting tighter? Could she feel his heartbeat accelerating beneath his two shirts?

Sure, they had hugged before. But the prolonged touch, the intimate closeness, and not to mention his overthinking, clouded his mind.

 It probably took his brain a bit too long to comprehend before melting into her embrace. Eventually, his tenseness dissipated. Robin dropped his shoulders, let out the breath he didn’t know he was holding, and returned her hug. 

 She gave one final squeeze to his upper arms before pulling away, her face still so close that he could pinpoint each and every shade of green in her eyes and count every freckle on her nose. Her lips stretched into a smile, one of her famous Starfire smiles, and she tilted her head in that slight way that she always did before asking a question.

 “You are thoroughly warmed?” She asked innocently, and Robin swore he saw a twinge of pink against her dark skin, too.

 He hadn’t noticed, but his duvet had fallen on the ground and pooled at his feet. Robin also noted how it suddenly felt sixty degrees warmer in the Tower as well. Wordlessly, he nodded, and her smile grew, and he was glad.

 The remaining hours were spent on the couch, where Starfire had lugged in twenty more blankets into the commons (she was still fussing about him getting sick) and the two buried themselves beneath them on opposite sides of the couch. They “borrowed” two of Raven’s chamomile tea bags and drank out of steaming mugs, talking beneath the nearly muted TV where an “I Love Lucy” marathon played on and on until daybreak.

 Needless to say, Robin never felt warmer.

[keenregine]

My correct posture still won't fix my goddamn backache, try as I might “I only write when I’m in the mood,” is an overrated statement. Fuck it, I’m gonna write whatever mood I’m into. This laptop is too cold considering the scorching weather outside of searing 45 degrees C. Who cares, you’re in an air conditioned room. To start off, since I got my Kindle, I’ve been reading a great deal amount of books per week, I’m not even on a holiday. I was in great disbelief at first but heck it’s true. In the beginning I’m one of those pretentious-like people who says ‘Oh, I prefer physical books over e-readers, I like the smell, feel and the traditional transcendence it gives.’ I had a whole week to think about if I really should get one. My turning point? The portability and convenience. I was in the middle of reading For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway, I had an errand that day and I was expecting a long queue to where I was going. I decided to bring my book along which I recklessly put on my tote bag. Mind you, I’m highly particular with handling books, I believe I said this a million times. I don’t want any scratches, corner folds or traces of writing in the covers, saying all of this right now already gives me the cringe. After surpassing that errand, straight I went to a bookstore and to a coffee shop just nearby. The moment I took out my book and saw the corners, I had to take a deep breath and been wanting to scold myself for being such a big lummox. But I couldn’t do it for I was in public. Glad I had a valid excuse. So I had to think, little by little, each and everyday I was slowly convincing myself to get an e-reader. The most accessible I could purchase is of course a Kindle. But not yet. . Maybe there’s plenty of other options for me to choose from. Or perhaps, other ways I could make my life more conducive to reading regardless of the situation, affordability and patience. Lots of it. Never would I sleep alone in a room with all the lights off, I always keep a single lamp on, so that my imagination would stop playing tricks on me. Since we’re talking about lights, let me enlighten you further with the set-up of my room. My vanity mirror bears four sepia tone bulb lights, too bright and disturbing, but perfect for getting ready kind of mood, located on the lower right foot of my bed. On my top left corner is a dim light lamp, which is I keep on forever while sleeping. I tried reading with it, my eyes were strained. I thought, maybe I should buy a new lamp then, I searched online and they’re all too expensive. No way. I told myself, ‘If only I had a kindle, this would be easier.’ Uh oh. I was kidding when I said I gave myself a whole week to think about it. Took me about three days tops, but the universe was conspiring against me, I got the kindle after 2-3 weeks, no kidding. Here’s another turn of events. It was my first purchase in Amazon, as I heard from others' story, any orders come after 3 days maximum, and this is not even the prime ones, prime orders arrives the next day. Great. I need to wait three days, But. It. Didn’t. There I was clicking proceed to check out. As claimed, the infamous kindle will be in my hands after the next 5 days. Holy crap, can’t wait that long. During those dreadful waiting days, I dived myself into tutorial videos, websites to download free books because I’m such a cheapskate, I even downloaded books for total readiness. As if I was expecting a child, painting the nursery and all. Fifth day came, I was ecstatic. I was two days off, earlier that day, my friend asked me if I could accompany her to the hospital for a major surgery, I was sincerely touched because I was the first person she considered. Immediately I prepared my things. I was expecting the delivery to come that same day, but until later that night not even a single call I received. Bollocks. I keep stealing glances on my phone for updates, any messages notifying why it didn’t arrive on the promised date. Nothing. The next morning came, I was beginning to be upset. Thinking about countless reasons why it was delayed, maybe it disappeared out in the open, mistakenly brought to a wrong person, many of my anxious doubts keep pouring. You might say I don’t have patience for such a small matter, until three days later. . .jinx! Of course, still nothing. I couldn’t contain myself and write a formal complain to Amazon, side by side with the local courier. I feel sorry for whoever received that complain, probably he’s used to reading these things. It was dramatic all over, I began. . .I can’t fight this feeling any longer, I wish I have the strength to let it show. Lol. Seriously. I can’t remember the exact words I wrote, and I don’t think there’s any way I can access it again. To summarize, ‘my order was ridiculously late, I followed up many times, no updates blah blah blah’, my take away line was, ‘This is my first purchase and it’s already a bad experience, Unacceptable, and not a satisfying experience.’ I could have add ‘I will not recommend this to my friends’ or ‘I will not order from Amazon ever again’, but that’s too savage, they might put me on their blacklist, Karen-ish. The customer services responded promptly with an apology, saying they’ll be happy to give me a full refund, and if the order comes, consider it as a gift. That kinda made my day, along with another great news I receive the following day, which I will share in the nearest future. I would also want to add the solid proof that I have zero tolerance in waiting. During those ridiculous times I have to endure, I asked one of my work mates who consistently buy things in Amazon to place an order for me of the same Kindle, she’s a prime customer. The next day, it arrived. I was happy and very much satisfied, contrary to what I initially experienced. I think that concludes my entire super not entertaining Kindle story. Any questions? Oh, the other one came for at least another week, now I have two Kindles. The most practical but douchey thing for me to do is to sell it. Now to who? I’m having another dilemma, why you do this to me Amazon, no actually it’s the couriers mishap. I tried to ask few people I know who also reads. I’m not quite skilled when it comes to convincing people, but I think that part of me forcibly came out of my system. (Maybe some people reading this might be convinced too, if there is really someone out there. lol) I was astonished with what many things a Kindle could do, therefore I would sell to them the same features I was impressed about. If not the terms of affordability, the other two reasoned out the same one I had before, the likeliness of feeling a physical book and smelling it. Hmm, quite challenging since I was in that same situation as before and I understood that. It’s not about being a hefty tech savvy to get around kindle, basic knowledge is enough. There are tons of resources for free ebooks, that later on I figured out myself. It’s very far from being a usual tablet, the only thing you can do is to read in a black and white screen (exact same interface of a physical book), although the glitch is quite disturbing but fairly tolerable, especially with turning one page to another, no apps can be applied nor any games, hence less distractions. My favorite feature is the instant pop-up definition of a word if you press it for few seconds, no need to pause your reading and search for that certain word in a dictionary of your phone. It’s already there! Awesome. The battery life is also incredible, it could last for a whole week even if you read many times a day. In my case, it lasted about 3-4 days maximum. My main reason above all is the portability, I’m still purchasing books once in a while, heck if that’s really once in a while. But I won’t have to worry about corner pages being folded, or carrying too many books in one single occasion, saves me a good damn space. Physical books I can read in the comfort of my own home or bed, but of course I still prefer Kindle especially when I’m in bed. I could toss and turn, shroud myself in a blanket and still be reading because the freaking backlight is adjustable to your needs. I wouldn’t read in a moving vehicle because it gives me instant dizziness, but if somehow someday, I needed a larger font, I could do that too. Oh Kindle, what did I do to deserve you, why won’t people see how good you are. That’s when I came with a conclusion, reading IS reading. In whatever form or genre you prefer, as long as it entertains you, gives you a whole other sense of dimension or universe. Most important of all, if it makes you happy then go ahead pursue it. Hope I didn’t bore you with all my non sense. Although my next journey will be for sure an exciting one, crossed-fingers, I can’t elaborate as much yet unless I’m in that exact place already or maybe right after that.

[butterflyinthewell]

Hot weather is sensory hell. I hate living in California in the summer. I have a window AC unit for my room because this old house has no AC. I also have the shitty bedroom that’s in direct sunlight from sunrise till about 4pm every summer, so it sucks up all the heat. Sometimes it radiates it after the sun goes down, so my room stays stuck at like 86F even if it’s 71F outside and in the rest of the house. Even if it’s not super hot outside, my room will get really hot because, again, direct sunlight. Like it could be 85F outside and my room will be 92F despite fans, windows open, etc. I HAVE to turn on the AC. It’s bullshit. My house has shitty insulation, but we don’t own it so we can’t just rip up the ceiling to fix that. I put foil on my windows to reflect some heat out, though that maybe works to lower it 1 or 2 degrees. Not much help when it’s 97F and super humid.

My dad makes me feel guilty for running my AC. I try to delay as long as possible, usually till about 2pm, and I set it to the lowest possible setting to make the room tolerable, though not always perfectly comfortable. A portable fan can help circulate the cooler air a bit and I turn it onto just myself if I’m really sweating and uncomfortable.

But I am heat intolerant. If I sit in a stuffy hot room where I’m starting to sweat without doing any sort of activity, I eventually throw up and get woozy / pass out. I have zero control of that. Sometimes I just get the woozy / pass out without puking. Right now, I’m really woozy and stumbling. Drinking cold water and eating cold things (yogurt, fruit, etc) is helping a little bit, but I swear time is passing at a snail’s pace. I’ve been laying on the floor where it’s slightly cooler just to get some kind of relief.

I don’t have meltdowns from the heat, but I go into shutdowns. I freeze when I have shutdowns. It hurts to move. If I get nauseated during a shutdown, guess where the puke goes? Right in my lap or on my feet or wherever I am. And there it sits until the shutdown is over.

The weird thing is I do kind of okay if I’m being active, like walking around at Disneyland, but if I’m stuck in line in the sun on a hot day you’ll probably see me sitting on the ground or leaning on things because my legs get weak. I’m so glad fast passes exist now, but my family is too poor to really go to Disneyland anymore because they jack up the prices so high.

I hate summer in California. I hate it, hate it, hate it. I hate that houses without AC exist because they are torture chambers. I hate that my dad guilt trips me about using my window AC unit. He usually says “it’s not THAT hot” but heat doesn’t bother him much. My mom has a high tolerance for heat, but she understands that I don’t and she usually tells him to shut up. 

But fuck guilt trips and fuck the heat. Fuck summer.

[gaudeixcc]

Peloton News – G17 tour – Halfway between the Sun and the Moon.

At least once a year for the last 6 years, we have been away on a cycling tour.

It all started with JT and I and a trip to Majorca.

Here’s a fact for you, long brushed under the carpet of time. I actually arranged most of the riding and routes on the first trip. Yep.. I did.

I Google-Earthed each route to make sure it was an actual road and not some farmer’s track. I mapped them, Garmin’d them and then sent them to JT.

All was well.

Some of the iconic long-time favourites were first born here. Col De Sa Batalla, the decent into Soller.

There were also a couple of howlers in there too. The strip in Magaluf… not my finest cartographical moment. JT trying his best to hide his ‘WTF-face’ as we glided down the main strip on a casual Saturday afternoon. Since this point, his patience his shortened considerably and his control-freakery at all things planning has well and truly taken a Japanese knott-weed grip on the roster.

I didn’t mind handing the planning gauntlet back in all honesty. It’s easy enough to do, but the absolute merciless hammering you get from the baying Peloton should you as much as put a wheel wrong takes what little shine there is off the whole process. That and the constant squeaky-wheel that is our diminutive friend, always asking for a progress update. He would see it as delegation…. But that would assume that some level of responsibility had passed to allow minor decision making…

‘Big assumption’ the little man would no doubt counter.

At times I’ve felt very much the beaten-wife…” I just do it to keep him happy… you know… for a quiet life and all that”

I say all that though… but I know that deep down… every member of the Peleton loves his ruthless efficiency at planning and organising. For most of the team, all that is required of you is to follow a list of instruction on what to pack (I mean, it’s like a professionally guided tour, it really is) and then turn up at an airport on the time written in the e-mail (plus numerous reminders).

Turn up, go where told, cycle, arrive home. Bosh. That’s it But, as long as Gaudeix are going on tour, JT will plan it and sanction the decisions, I’ll sort the caps and the shirts (for the Grande Tours) and then completely exaggerate everything via the printed word and everyone else will turn up and contribute to making these trips what they are… a great experience. Each and every one.

This edition of Peloton news will take a slight departure from the usual recounting of tour heroics.

Yes, I will be covering some of the big moments as we work through the following process…. however I feel a slight shift in format is required to keep things a little fresh.

‘Feedback… it’s the breakfast of champions’…well, so sayeth an old Peloton laggard…. a man who hasn’t edged his cycling beak out of the comfort of his nest (meringue?) for some time.

I couldn’t agree more.

In my stationary cupboard team (I’m proud of each and every one of them), we have deep and intensive feedback sessions…. Not so much your classical 360 degree feedback (i.e. the ‘to me, to you’ type session so favoured by many a progression management guru). No, I like to call mine the 180 sessions… I tell ‘em what I think… if they know what’s good for ‘em, they listen. Easy.

And so my little Peletonistas…. The price of a tour ticket is a seat at the 180 degree listening post. Pin ‘em back please, I feel wisdom a coming…

Dripping

Pros

·      Excellent preparation this year.

·      Did the most miles

·      Talked up his ‘yellow cap’ chances (more to follow on that subject)

·      Didn’t bonk

·      Looked like a giant in some photos

·      Has invented a new shade of pink (Dripink)

·      Didn’t crash

·      Shouted extra rides

Cons

·      ‘Yellow cap’ effort…. A little like that old Morecombe and Wise sketch… all the right clothes… just in the wrong order…

·      Still surging (although much enhanced ability means he now troubles those ahead as opposed to those behind)

·      Still saying a ‘hail Mary’ on every landing. “I always say it and we always land safely”… difficult to argue with… I’ll let Macca stew over the best way to explain correlation

·      Animal cruelty or butchering a pair of beautiful white leather Rapha shoes…. Which is the most morally disturbing?.. … answers stapled to a cat to the usual address please

JT

Pros

·      Got yellow (just).

·      Solid riding

·      Down-hill ability in marginally sketchy conditions was excellent. I watched whilst tailing him. Unusual.. but in mixed conditions, he’s too fast for me.

·      Booked the flights… did all the initial ride prep a couple of years back when he was in one of his awkward ‘between jobs’ situations…. You know the ones…. where he gets rumbled for extracting cash from a large corporate, then somehow manages to get even more cash from said corporate and then lands a promotion with another corporate… who export him to solve a problem (but still give him cash)… realise he ain’t letting go… and then…(it’s a strange noise if you’ve ever heard it)… the corporate just sighs… JT rubs one dry hand against t’other…. And the family moves on. (As an aside, I’m running a book on JT retiring at 50, golden handshake, golf handicap down to single figures, member of an exclusive club…. 3/1. I’m hedging that with an outside bet with the local bookies that sees him busted for snorting coke of the arse of a transsexual rent-person…8/1). Still… he asked for and took no credit for any of the planning this year…. but he deserved it. Well done sunshine.

Cons

·      He still likes to gently wake me at 3am by drinking 2 pints of water in a way you would imagine a parched elephant with a heavy cold might attack a half empty bath…. Seriously… I thought internal organs were going to felch from his nose…

·      People-tolerance levels still only marginally warmer than sub-zero

Damo

Pros

·      Every year we see a little bit more of the true cyclist. Crushingly consistent at the top of the pack

·      Nearly aced yellow as well as pink

·      Aced pink (not just a wrong righted from the year of JT’s catastrophic ‘we’re leaving the Euro’-type pronouncement either… )

·      Shoes

·      Bike

·      Bike

·      Bike

·      Cannondale

·      Bike

·      For Damo.. was surprisingly un-grumpy…and… rode back more than once for a straggler.

·      Bought me breakfast a few days later

·      Relentless replaying of the ‘red nose’ gag on Moley. It was a narrow bandwidth of attack, but it was superbly executed.

·      Cyclist mentality

Cons

·      Has a habit of being dismissive of exceptionally difficult rides. I remember Paris Roubaix… My Comment: “Fuck that was tough eh Damo… I ain’t doin that again…ever”……reply: “was alright.. I’d like to do the full route. It’s only as hard as you make it”.

·      A quiet Mr Sock this year

Macca

Pros

·      Well kitted out… as per…

·      New shit on his bike (it’s like a ‘where’s Wally’ game with Macca… we all know he’s got new shit going on…. But who can spot it?).

·      Consistent riding from the Robot

·      Bought me lunch and talked soothingly to me at the airport. Thank you Macca.

·      How the fuck can a man have that much time off work, not cycle and lose weight… I mean what the fuck…. If I had had a quarter of the ‘leisure time’ that our flying man has had… I would be the size of a house… even our old chum Amesy… he has to work 14 hour days just to keep his biscuit habit the right side of obsessive.

 I genuinely think Mark is half-man, half-machine. I’m going to have a chat with his roomy, Damo. I have a theory that when he goes to bed, he secretly plugs himself in to charge. You can bet your he’s got an Apple lightening connector…. Perish the thought that he would have something as vulgar as a kindle re-charging point.

A little like his over-sized iPhone charging case, Macca has additional spare batter capacity. We saw it a few years ago when he dressed all in white and revealed his penis to the world. (I say penis, on reflection I think we’ve found his charging point.)

Cons

·      Less tolerance than Trump (or should that be fewer, Mark?)

·      Has perfected the withering look (closely followed by the sarcastic smile). This little beauty is normally reserved for Dripping and I when we have the temerity to propose some sort of cycling knowledge… I mean… the very thought….

·      One of 2 people who constantly correct my grammatical meanderings. (In my view apostrophe’s should be used gushingly and with abandon)

Colchester Mac

Pros

·      Enthusiasm

·      Enthusiasm

·      Enthusiasm

·      Dug deep and rode consistently

·      Nearly witnessed our joint demise atop Stelvio… who’d have thunk it… both nearly killed by a motorcycle falling from the sky

Cons

·      Shouting 2 words and 2 words only at Italians (‘Bon journo’… I can still hear it at night when I listen to the wind on cold evenings)

·      Descending as if riding a tandem. Why have the safety of distance when you can have the knife-edge of proximity!

RTA

Pros

·      Very very nearly got Pink.

·      Very strong riding

·      Modest

·      Sacrificed the most difficult climb… one he would have aced.. to support Drip… top effort RTA and it didn’t go unnoticed.

Cons

·      Only one thing here to see folks…. The fake home-made Rapha shoe.

Moley

Pros

·      Took the stick from Damo with broad shoulders

·      Always smiling…

·      The seminal tour moment for me goes to Moley.  Day 3 had me looking deep into my soul… I’ve never crested a more difficult combination than Mortirollo followed immediately by Gavia. I genuinely think it took me near to my cycling edge of pain. But Moley… he laughed in the face of my anguish and he went deeper…. I’ve never seen a man so wracked by the utter effort and ensuing exhaustion… the day Moley crashed through the saloon doors atop Gavia, cowboy-style, slumped down in his seat…. Tears in his eyes, will live with me a long time….a truly heroic effort. No one worked harder that day.

·      Best bike bag by some margin

Cons

·      Starts talking about his chances of winning pink a good 6 months in advance

·      He has publically confused the sun with the moon. Tricky heavenly bodies to differentiate, admittedly. One a sphere of hot plasma, about 300,000 times the mass of the earth, accounting for 99.86% of the total mass of the solar system…. The other a debris strewn dead lifeless satellite with a reflectance marginally greater than asphalt…. I mean it’s a tough spot even with a sharp eye….

 And finally….. me

Pros

·      Didn’t fuck up the planning

Cons

·      Nowhere near enough mileage

·      Didn’t make nearly enough of the Moley ‘moon/sun-confusion’ moment

·      Nearly killed a man in a wheel chair along with the pensioner pushing him

  …and there we have it. Another one is under the belt and locked into the memories

My final reflection takes me back to Damo’s comment in the Alps a couple of years back….

‘Wherever you are, be there’..

When I ride in the mountains and I look up…I am always, always there. Always. The high mountains…..my favourite riding.

Tour selection for G18 will start shortly.

Ride safely my little fuckerettes….

Hoppo

[mrmarioallman]

Last Week’s Workouts

What do I say about last week’s workouts?

I was sick for part. It was freezing.  There was hella snow.  And I didn’t run inside once all week.  If it wasn’t for the Strava/Lululemon 40/80 Challenge, I probably would have run inside for almost all of my runs. And I most definitely would have done some miles inside if I was running longer. Five miles in sub zero temps is ok.  Ten miles is no bueno.

Side note: I think this is the first Last Week’s Workouts post that I’ve done with zero pictures of me actually running.  It was WAY too cold for setting up my phone.  And my phone battery never lasted long either.

Monday

Planned: run + strength training

Actual: Recovering from flu like virus that left me in bed all weekend and part of Monday.  Not exactly how I wanted to ring in the new year.

Tuesday

Morning Yoga Flow @ Bending Bodhi Yoga – It had been two weeks since I did yoga because of the pinched nerve in my neck and the holidays.  It felt good to stretch it out especially when the studio felt warm and cozy on a chilly day.

Run: 4 miles

With a temp of 9 degrees and a real feel of -5, I really wasn’t looking forward to this run. But I knew I had to suck it up and just get it over with.  Besides, it was ONLY 4 miles.  It’s not like I was going to be out there for hours or anything.  It wasn’t as cold as I anticipated and the fresh air was refreshing.  My brain psychs me out more than anything when it comes to cold.

PT exercises in the evening: clamshells and bridge with band + planks

I’ve slipped in prehabbing a little.  I’m making a commitment to doing clamshells, bridges and planks every other evening while watching TV.

Wednesday

First day in the gym of the new year.  I thought it was going to be mobbed with all of the January Joiners.  I was surprised that it was actually quieter than usual.  Maybe it’s the cold weather?  Or maybe it’s busier in the evening?  I’m sure it will pick up at some time.  But that’s ok.  We’ve all been a Joiner at some time, right?

30 minutes Arc Trainer

15 minutes Step Mill

Strength training

Squats

Squat press

Bulvarian Split Squat

Single leg deadlift

TRX inversion row

TRX push up

Cable push/pull

KB around the world

Single leg ball bridge

Thursday

The day of the snowstorm/Bombogenesis/Bomb Cyclone/Nor’easter/Snowstorm Grayson/whatever you want to call it.  The kids didn’t have school.  Work was closed.  Everyone was told to batten down the hatches and buy all the milk and bread you can. Kidding. But that’s really what happens.

Snow day = two-a-day kind of running day.

In the a.m., I met up with my friend Amanda for 3.6 road miles before the snow started falling.

Around midday, I met up with Mary and her dog, Una, for 3 miles of snowshoe running.  The snow was coming down fast and heavy by then.  The wind has also picked up.  Snowshoe running is freaking hard on a packed or groomed trail.  But when you are running in fresh powder with a squishy crust underneath, it’s brutal.  You think you have some fitness but then your legs turn to jell-o and your heart rate shoots through the roof.

Ski googles are not just for skiing!

I was thankful for the midday run because my kids were driving me bonkers.  They need to get back to a regular schedule NOW.

PT exercises in the evening

Friday

Since the storm had passed during the evening Thursday and the roads were clear, I ventured out to the gym.  I was shocked to only see 5 cars in the parking lot.  I guess everyone didn’t snowblow the night before like we did.

30 minutes bike

10 minutes step mill

Single leg squats

Single leg deadlifts

Thrusters

DB chest press

Reverse grip row

TRX single leg inversion row

TRX push up

TRX mountain climbers

Pull up prep shrugs + bar hangs

Med ball wall squats

KB around the world

Saturday

With kid activities on Saturday mornings, fitting in a run either has to be done super early or pushed to some time in the afternoon when there’s a lull in plans. When I woke up to howling winds, I knew there was no way I was heading out for a run before taking my daughter to gymnastics.  I looked at the hourly forecast and saw the warmest  temp of the day was going to be around 2-4 p.m. I bundled up and hit the road with the temp at 6 degrees and the wind chill at -14.  Surprisingly, it wasn’t as cold as I thought considering my toes were numb from walking from my car to my house (about 10 feet) earlier in the day.

The good news is that I busted out 5 miles and felt comfortably warm the whole time.

The bad news is that my GPS watch died at 1.8 miles from the cold.

WTF?!?!  I’ve never had that happen before!

Usually I wouldn’t care but I’m doing the Strava/Lululemon 40/80 Challenge.  I purposely ran outside because treadmill miles don’t count.  Ugh!  Oh well. It’s not like I was going for the highest mileage award or anything.

Sunday

Even though I’m a morning runner, I knew that I wasn’t going to do my run until the mid afternoon on Sunday.  Two reasons: 1. It was -5 degrees with a real feel of -20.  2. It was the first day of ski club for my kids.

Ski club promptly was cancelled when the coordinator realized that the wind chills were even worse at the mountain.

It just so happened that my friend Kristy messaged me about running in the afternoon.  I was planning on going out solo but I gladly agreed to meet up and even put out an invitation to other friends.  The cold weather has everyone hibernating but running with friends makes it a little more tolerable.

It was great to catch up with Kristy and Kyle while enjoying the WARMTH of 14 degrees and almost zero wind.  The blue skies and sunshine made things even better. You know you have been living in the tundra when 14 degrees feels good.

7 miles running

Balance training on the Bosu Ball + Pull up prep exercises (pull up shrugs and eccentric pull ups)

A week of sub zero temps, a bomb cyclone + workouts! #weekinworkouts #run #fitness Click To Tweet

How was your week in workouts?

 Linking up with Hoho and Tricia for the weekly workout wrap up.

The post Last Week’s Workouts appeared first on Happy Fit Mama.

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