Worth the watch

Just a little insight about where your cheap stuff comes from...

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Where have I been?

Well... I have some good news and some bad news. Good first! Thursday I finished my Master's Degree in Electrical Engineering. I was elated to be done and relieved! I went out to lunch for sushi with my friend that afternoon, ignoring the sore throat I had gotten the night before. It was all downhill from there. I started getting a fever and could barely eat. On the way back to my car, I started shivering so hard I was convulsing and people were stopping in the street to see if I was ok. I managed to grab some Theraflu at the store and went home to check my temp. It was 100.6. I started feeling worse so I checked again. 101.5. I checked again 10 min later. 102.6. I checked in another 15 min. 103.5!!! I was delirious with fever, bawling, and really scared. The tylenol finally kicked in and kept my fever at a steady 101. I was doing everything I could to bring the fever down. As soon my medicine began to wear off, it'd come back in full force. I went to the doc the next morning and they said I didn't have StrepA, but some other type of bacterial throat infection. I was already spitting in a bowl b/c I couldn't really swallow, but I kept getting worse. I had to go back later to get something for the pain so I could take in fluids. A couple hours later, I noticed my throat was almost swollen shut. I hadn't been able to really speak since Thurs night. I went back to urgent care because I had difficulty breathing. They sent me to the hospital because I had an abscess on my right tonsil. My eyes popped out of my head when I saw the needle the doc was going to stick down my throat. Then he got out the scalpel and made a 1/2 inch incision and held it open with hemostats to drain out all the puss. It was pretty intense and I almost fainted.

so that's where I have been. Bedridden since Thursday, but finally showing some signs of improvement. It's going to take a few more days, but I'm getting there. I have never been this sick in my life. I wanted to thank all of my friends for taking care of me and checking on me. You guys are the best! And hey, I have my Master's Degree!! woooohoooo

We were celebrating Leslie's bday all last weekend, so I'll have to do a post on that when I have more energy. I'm going home in a couple days too. Can't wait! :)

Good quote

...from my friend Nick Martin. I could not have put it better myself.

"Bike racers are simple creatures, especially mountain bikers. In an effort to prolong the real world for as long as possible, we will literally work for next to nothing for the chance to wake up in the morning and simply ride. If wealth was measured by the amount of free time one has, then as a cyclist, I was one of the richest men alive."

A lot of my friends and family cannot understand my obsession. They especially can't understand why in 1 week, I will hold a Master's Degree of Science in Electrical Engineering, why I won't go get a full time job and make a boatload of money. I can't blame 'em for the confusion...but Nick has put it ever so succinctly. My wealth is measured by my free time to ride and to travel to ride. Call me crazy, or just call me Looney. :) My ability and time to train and be a professional mountain biker tops just about anything right now.

My dream bike

...that I will be riding next year. This is pretty much the sweetest bike you can get in my humble opinion. Some people have a dream car (and I do too..), but some people have dream bikes. I'd rather have my dream bike.




Gaze upon the Cannondale Team Scalpel. Cannondale Team Scalpel. http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/08/cusa/model-8VP0.html You gotta get it.

Electric Eel... ok or not?

http://www.metaefficient.com/renewable-power/electric-eel-used-to-power-christmas-tree.html

It's December...

That means it's time to start training for the 2008 race season. I'm really excited for next year. It's going to be my best one yet, I can feel it!! :) I'm going to keep my running regimen up for another month or two. Women build most of their bone density before the age of 26 or 27. Cycling isn't exactly the best sport for doing that, so I am trying to get as much going as I can. :) There is also a great crossover from running to cycling as far as strength. It doesn't work quite as well the other way, although overall fitness plays a huge part once you get over all the pounding. My next running race is a 10K on December 15. My goal is to break 40 min. I think I can do it as long as the course isn't super hilly.

Yesterday was the first ride I counted as new training. Dec-Jan means I have to go for long rides and go slow (meaning keeping my perceived exertion pretty low). It's important to let your body come back down after pushing it at high intensity for so long. Let the jets cool down so to speak. This phase of training is always the most challenging for me. I like to go hard. Specifically, I love going hard up hills and mountains on my mountain bike. Winter means training on flat roads at low intensity. Mentally, it's harder for me. Call me crazy! ;) Yesterday's ride was SUPER windy. I thought it was the apocalypse. ;) 40mph constant wind speed with gusts much greater than that. I almost got blown off the road a few times.

Today was the first day back in the weight room. I do weights for a couple months over the winter for general muscle strength, bone density, and also because it may help with power on the bike. I haven't determined if it actually helps, but I do it anyway. It actually felt pretty good to get back in there and avoid making eye contact with all the meatheads. :)

I have been spending some quality time with my friends. I am now cutting way way back on the drinking/partying. I'm going to keep it pretty dry for the next 2 weeks and then keep it pretty limited. In March, I'll eliminate it completely except for maybe 1-2 drinks a week (like red vino or a dark beer....!)

Jeff came up from ABQ to visit. I tried to show him Boulder a little bit-- we went hiking at Chautauqua, visited a couple of the Boulder breweries (hell yeah!), drove around in the mountains a little bit. I was bummed we didn't have time to ride so I could show him how cool the road riding is around here, and also make fun of the boulder coffee shop trustafarians. :) (I wish I was one!)


Several of my friends have said that Anne is the blonde version of me. :) We are two peas in a pod. I went down to Denver to cook dinner with her...good times.


She actually cut her tongue licking the cuisinart. You can see a drop of blood on her tongue... thats totally something I have done.

I love trail running. I like my sweet smartwool socks with capri length pants even more. :)

Albuquerque

YOWZA! I'm so behind on blog posts. I'll start with the Querque. It's always great going home. Jack and I rode down together and he always makes me laugh really hard. Sometimes it feels like I never left, and a lot of times I get deja vu. This time was particularly interesting because my brother has left the nest since the last time I was there. I got to my parents' house, and everyone was there to greet me except my brother. Awww.

haha. No, my brother is not retarded. But this picture is pretty funny. ;)

Now a real photo of me and my little brother. He just turned 22 on Sunday.

My parents always hooks me up with top notch meals. My mom cooks tons of good stuff and my dad looks forward to having someone to enjoy a big, fat juicy steak with.

and then he wanted to arm wrestle. I lost very badly. On Thanksgiving, my grandpa wanted to arm wrestle. I felt bad arm wrestling a 77 year old man, and he's so cool...but I couldn't let him win. ;)



In short, my photos will let you see what I was up to. I did some work for Sunflower in the mornings leading up to Thanksgiving. We are super busy. We have revamped our website a little- www.sunflowersolar.com.

I went mountain biking a lot, and I got to ride with my shero, Nina. I'm so excited that we are teammates this year!! I finally remembered to take my camera the last day I rode. I got lucky b/c the sun was setting with a killer view!

These are the wonderful Sandia mountains. Who said the desert is ugly? And for those of you out there who are a little "confused.." Albuquerque is a mile high. It is not low elevation. This is high desert. I can't tell you how many people here in Colorado think it's low.



tough girls gone wild? Not!



This photos was taken WHILE I was riding with my camera upside down. I was having fun with photography and taking shots while moving and not looking what I was shooting at. I was pretty damn happy about this one! :)




I got to spend a lot of time with the fam. We went to my grandma's house for Thanksgiving. This year, my aunt, uncle, cousin, and her husband came from Arizona. I don't get to see them much, so it was a great time! The Looneys know how to party. I'm really lucky to have such a fun family.

Me and my beautiful mommy who is a GREAT cook.


This is the dessert she made for Thanksgiving. Death by Chocolate... no wonder I can't shed my post-race 10 lbs. grrr.


My grandparents...the coolest ones ever. They sooo fun and lively!


Me behind the wheel of 500 HP and a 7 L engine. That's niiice!

Me and my cousin, Erica.

My dad, grandpa, and his brother. They look like twins. It completely freaks me out when they are both in the same room.

Jeff and I ran a 10K on Thanksgiving. I wanted to break 40 min, but all the partying and lack of resting my legs had them ridden with lactic acid from the gun. It was also a super hilly course. There was a huge mishap in my race, but I won the women's category and got 4th in the men. Not too shabby. :)

Jeff being all roadie excited about his number. ;) haha. He won his age group in the 10K.

I finally got to see my friend Jason. His ex-gf had him under house arrest (haaa) every time I came to town. He is one of the funniest people I know.


This is Jason...

I love to go to Chama Brewing. I love that place. My brother is in the "Mug club" Jeff is sad that his mug is inferior to my brothers. haha. And notice the guy in the background with his mouth agape.


And lastly, if you make out ridiculously in a bar. I will comment loudly if I have had beer. I have had multiple beers, I WILL take your picture.



This is just a random sweeeeet wagon I saw in the parking lot. I want one!!! hehe

HOLY CRAP!

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWEEEEEEEEE! That is me in shock. After many years of trying to get sponsored by the Cannondale factory mtb team, it has finally happened. A dream come true! The next morning, I woke up and really thought I had dreamt it. The reality keeps hitting me and shocking me all over again! I can't wait to ride the AWESOME new team scalpel. It's the coolest bike EVER! This is Sonya flipping a lid from excitement.

More updates later. It's been a crazy week. I'll let you know of my Thanksgiving excursions over the weekend. It was a good week at home. :)

Thanksgiving with N. Dynamite

It's a little long, but pretty funny. This guy does a great job of being Napoleon. GOSH! It's basic cooking!

That's niiiiice!

It's good to to be home. I have been here three days, but it actually feels like many! Vacations are never as restful as you think they are going to be, but I never said action-packed was bad! I have been working in the mornings-- we are super busy at Sunflower and I don't mind making some money while I'm here instead of a week of making a big fat zero. I rode in the foothills both Monday and Tuesday. It always feels great to get back and ride on the trails I first went mountain biking on. Plus, they seem a lot easier now because I'm used to brutal climbs in Colorado. The seemingly flat riding is a good break although there's a couple tough sections. It was pretty sandy, so it's a good thing we are getting some moisture in the next couple of days. I have been hanging out with the fam in the afternoon/evenings, and then seeing my brother and friends at night. Of course, that means not much sleep. Staying out till 2 AM is not conducive to a restful vacation, or a fast 10K for that matter. However, I did everything wrong for the half marathon (not training, eating pizza and beer the day before), so to heck with it!! I am always glad to have a good crew here in Albuquerque although a lot of my girlfriends moved away. They will mostly all be back for Xmas though. Yaaay!

It snowed 5 inches in Denver today. I can't say I'm disappointed to miss the first bigger snow of the year. I think it's going to hit us down here tomorrow.

I drove my dad's sweet corvette today. I need to drive it again b/c it's frightening to drive a 7 L, 500 HP car when you drive a lawnmower for a car. :) I thought I was being badass and accelerating fast. Turns out, no so badass. I have to learn how to really drive a race car... like let the engine re-re-rev up more before shifting. It was enough to make me sweat though!

I have been taking photos, but forgot my data USB cord. I'll see what I can do. My dad wanted to take a picture of me with his car...so here is one for you motorheads.

My dad's pride and joy. he's been taking it to the race track. suuweeet!

This one is pretty funny... I think the corvette is hotter. ;)

A little motivation to reduce your carbon emissions

http://www.breathingearth.net/

Greetings from 500 miles south!

Yep! Jack and I drove back to Albuquerque today. It feels great to be home is all I can say. Although I love Boulder, it's always so wonderful to have a home base and come back to the city and house that I spent most of life growing up in. Plus, most of my family is here. I miss them!!

Jack and I had a fun drive. He makes me laugh more than almost anyone...probably because we make fun of NM stuff that no one else really gets. Other stuff too. My arms were going numb while driving because I was laughing so hard. I was probably swerving all over the road too, but that is not an uncommon site in NM. ;) His sister, Nina, is one of my really good friends too. With bike racing and travel to and from NM, I feel like an honorary member of the Baum family. :)

I am still doing some work for Sunflower while home, one of the many perks of my job so I can still make some cash and be here. 10K on Thanksgiving-- should be interesting since my ankles are still killing me from the half marathon. I intend to hit up my favorite trails too. I love my old stomping grounds. Till next time!

A little more specific

I wanted to elaborate a little more on some of my mountain biking tips since I realize just because I know what I mean, you may not! Just two small little comments.

When I say to lean back on the downhill, you should get in a tuck position. If you look at the photo of me on the right (the action one), you can see I am ducked down on the handlebar, my face is kind of close to the bar, and I'm leaning my butt back. When I say shift your weight back, push your butt back. Another tip for downhilling-- keep your knees bent. Don't lock them up so they can absorb more shock. Also, if you are going over rock, use your arms. push down. It helps your shock rebound at the right time and gives you more control.

Another quick tip. If you're riding through a rocky section and you lose your momentum, but you can't pedal because the rocks are too high, backpedal about 1/4 of a revolution, then pedal forward. It doesn't give you much speed, but it will help you not completely lose it.

Almost home... and home free

Yep! I am really excited about going home on Saturday. I haven't been back to the 'Querque since May and all my friends, family, and sweet singletrack is waiting for me! My aunt, uncle, cousin, and her husband are coming from Arizona (to my grandparents) for Thanksgiving. I don't get to see them all that much, so it will be nice. I really miss not having my family around, especially during tough times. Me and Jack are heading down and we usually have fun. Last time we were ranking high schools in Albuquerque based on the ghetto-ness and how much street cred you get by going there.

...and home free in THREE (well four) weeks. Three weeks of classes and no more electrical engineering graduate school. I cannot wait. Never ever again will I have to take any of those classes and suffer. Then I can focus more on suffering on the bike. :) MSEE in December, then working part time at Sunflower Solar and racing in the spring. I think I'll finish up my NSCA personal trainer certification stuff over the winter too and get that up and running. I'll finally have time!

Another note. Life never ceases to surprise me. I guess that's what makes it interesting, but my optimism about the good in people was seemingly fading. I think it's coming back. We all just want to feel special,understand one another, and do things that make both us and others around us happy. That's all it is.

My dad.



I couldn't help but put a photo of my favorite place in the world. My family and I have come here every year since I was 1. Photos of the San Juans that are a familiar site in my dreams and every June always bring me peace and happiness.

Solar, now and then.

HOT!


NOT.

update coming soon...

Sorry it's been so long. My roommate moved out, I didn't have internet, I got busy, and I have a million excuses. :)

Long story short. My half marathon that I ran 4 times to train for...went surprisingly well. I somehow thought I was training at an 8 min/mi pace, but after I looked down at my watch after every mile and saw I was funning between 6 and 6:30 min/mi, I was in shock and awe. It was really cold at the start. I went with Jamie and we left at 6:30 AM. It was still in the 20s and the sun didn't come up till right before the start.

Part of the course as the sun came up. It was in Loveland

I had a blast and midway through I even thought, "Hell. This is WAY easier than a mountain bike race." However, I made a rookie mistake and didn't drink any water. I forgot how hard it is while you're running-- I'm used to feed zones on my bike. Mile 9 is where the fun began- cramping which continued to the bitter end. My mile times were 8-9 min/mi and I lost 4-5 min overall. I crossed the line (and got passed in the last mile by a girl, shoot!) and nearly fell over. My entire body was cramping so bad I had to hold on to things to stand up. For days after, I walked like Frankenstein Gumby. I could barely walk...ask anyone. :) It was quite the scene and no fun for me. I ran a 1:33 which put me in 3rd overall for the women. I'm a little confused by the results because they did not include the 2 master's women who beat me...so I think the real result was 5th. It was such a shock and now it's got me wondering how fast I could do it if I actually trained for it for a few months. I'm running a 10K on Thanksgiving... but man! I ran today, if that's what you want to call it, and my ankles and knees were killing me. Jamie who immensely added to my fun was running the 10K. I think he won his age group and is just an all around badass. :)


Jamie. aka the black knight.


My lovely blister that still hasn't healed. I felt it coming on around mile 7. Guess I should have tried a little harder to break in my shoes.


Running races are sweet. They make you unlimited pancakes and give you cool schwag with your entry. Maybe the mtb promoters need to get a clue. ;)

Halloween is like Hanukka!

I was feeling kind of burnt out on Halloween on the actual day of Halloween so I went bouldering at Boulder Rock Club. I hadn't been in almost 2 years, so needless to say, my forearms are totally sore. I think I'm going to start going every Friday to get in shape and not be such a T-Rex. Plus I know you were dying for more costume pics ;)
Brent (my roommate) completed my costume with the mug, but it got really heavy!

Me and Shade. I thought I was so clever later calling him Lamp Shade. haha

brent and I. This picture is hilarious if you use your imagination. don't worry, none of that!

WALTER! COME ON MAAAAN!! "You see what happens Larry?? This is what happens when you...."

Me, Tim,and Thurein.



Yah boyz


Many of you know that The Big Lebowski is one of my favorite movies, so when I saw someone dressed up as Walter walk in the bar, I was more than stoked. I was chasing this guy around all night screaming Big Lebowksi quotes at him. I think he was amused.

I thought Oct 31 would be the end of Halloween, but Sunflower (my work) wanted to have a Halloween party today...so I had to dress up again. This costume got its mileage. Now I'm totally sick of it! ;) No more costume pics for a year. You better enjoy it while you can :)

Hold on to your switchbacks!

Waterbar switchbacks to be exact. Tuesday I headed out to Golden after teaching lab to rock my world. The Chimney Gulch, Apex, and Grubstake trails are a great time. They are rocky enough to feel like I'm working on my technical skills, steep enough for me to feel like I'm getting a killer workout, an definitely have lots of switchbacks that are steep and sharp. I love days where I feel like a rockstar on the bike, and Tuesday was one of those days. I had to go home because the sun was pretty much gone, but I would have loved to ride all night! I figured I would make a little post to remind you and me about some technical mountain biking skills. It helps me to repeat these in my head.


Downhill

1) lean back. like the rappers love to sing about. If it looks scary, shift your weight back and let the bike do the work.

2)Stay loose. The tenser you are, the more likely you are to crash. Think of yourself as water running down the trail. The more relaxed and calm you stay, the smoother you will descend. Sometimes if it gets really technical on a downhill, I feel myself holding my breath. I will exhale forcefully in short breaths as I go down. I sound like I'm in labor, but it really helps.

3) It's okay to brake. Use the front brake to control your speed, and the rear brake to control maneuverability.

4) If you're going off a huge drop off, pull up on the bars. If you drop your wheel down and it's too far, you will do a summersault and crash. I cracked my expensive helmet 2 years ago by making that mistake.

5) For rocky, technical sections-- flat, down, OR up, keep your momentum. Do not slow down!! Did you ever have a gyro-scope as a kid? -remembering that the faster it spun, the easier the gyro-scope was standing? Or a top- the kind you spin on the table. When that slows down, it falls. Same deal with bike wheels. If you are going through a rock garden and you start slowing down, it will be harder to stay up. Although it sounds scary, blast through it. If it's a flat or an up, PEDAL PEDAL PEDAL. It sounds silly to say "just pedal," but you'd be surprised to see when you stop.

6) For steep turns, take the outside. You want to turn the least amount possible, so going outside will shorten your radius. And of course, if it's uphill, don't stop pedaling.

7) Brake BEFORE the turn, not in it. Same with driving... I see people driving down the canyons, braking in the turns!

8) Don't be scared. The moment you think you can't do it, you probably won't. It's amazing how clearing something you are scared of boosts your confidence...and you riding ability.

9) Don't get discouraged. It's okay if you can't make it, or if you are riding slower than usual. It'll come back! Just have fun. That is most important thing. A lot of people (myself included) get upset when the ride isn't going your way.

If you like spanish guitar...

This group is completely amazing. Rodrigo Y Gabriela. Wow.

http://www.myspace.com/rodrigoygabriela

A fun weekend

As many of you know, my baby (ha) brother came to visit me this weekend. We had a total blast. We had our own tour de brewery and didn't even get around to all the ones we wanted. So here's the scoop.

There he is

Friday, I picked Brian up from the airport and fought the pre-rush hour traffic with all my might. No curse words were said.... ;) We went straight to the Avery tasting room. It's next to my work, so he met some of my coworkers and then we got to tasting. I didn't take any photos on Friday. Sorry. Next, we went to Walnut Brewery, and then dinner at Gondo for the yummy bottomless pasta. Les came over and we watched The Big Lebowski, MAAAN! Love that movie every time I see it.

Saturday. I made my pancake special and we headed up to Ft. Collins. We went to New Belgium, Odell's, and Ft. Collins Brewery. We took a tour of New Belgium. I am continually impressed with this brewery's efforts. It makes ME want to go work there. They have been wind-powered since 1998, are employee owned, and are making a huge effort toward the green movement. They have something called Tour De Fat where a bunch of people go ride bikes in a parade. They give you a cruiser after working there a year, and they send you to BELGIUM, all expenses paid, after 5 years to experience the beer culture. They recycle and reuse a lot of their by-products. For example, they send all the grains to farms for cows to munch on. Also, they have their own water treatment plant for the best brewing. Go New Belgium!!



You are only allowed to sample four, so it was a hard choice with all those beers on tap.



That would be cool to get in that big fridge!

samples... delish

It was super crowded in there... can you blame people for flocking to samples of free, quality beer?

Pics of the brewery itself... I was calling it the "brewery tourey" ;)






Odell's is a lot smaller, but they make some of my favorite beers- 90 Shilling and Cutthroat Porter. Too bad Deschutes is in Oregon, because I love them too. :) Odell's was a cool tasting room, much less "commerical" and townie. Ft. Collins was the epitome of a great, local brewery. They had this red beer that was killer and also their special tap for the month- a beer brewed in whiskey casks. It was interesting.

Odell's:


Their tasting room

What you get.

What happens.


Ft. Collin's tasting room



After brew-fest, we came back to my house, had some dinner, then headed out for some Halloween celebration in Boulder. It was a fun, crazy night. Pics....

What do you think? Should I go blonde? NOOOOOOTTTTT!!!!!!

Amateur poor star next door... or Quagmire. ;)

Scandinavian bar maid. My name was Franzi. :) It caused quite the stir.

Jamie and my bro. (Jamie is my fellow TA. We struggle and give students blank looks a lot of the time. haha)

Jamie was the black knight from Monty Python. Classic!!!! He made this costume himself...impressive. He even has the arm. "Your arms off!" "No it isn't!"

Me and Leslie. She was a fairy... or another idea was she was "all dressed up and nowhere to go"

Me and Chris (the guy that carved the chuck-o-lantern. He is now famous on someone else's blog). Oops, I mean me and Indiana Jones. Jah Indie. ;)

Hopefully the black knight doesn't have any black magic.

pimpin'...yeah I guess your big sister kissing you on the cheek is not really pimpin, but you know he is. :)

Sunday was more a chill day, relaxing on Pearl St, went to Southern Sun for my favorite, local brews. And today he went home. :( It was great to spend some one on one time with my brother, it rarely happens. I'm going home to Albuquerque for the week before Thanksgiving. Yaaaay :) They only have a few breweries there though. That's ok.

Saturday is my half marathon. I can run the distance fine, but the impact still makes the arches of my feet hurt, and also the tendon right under my gastroc. Eh well. I think I'm running a 15K in Albuquerque on Thanksgiving too. Then I will hang up my running shoes (well, not really..but no more races or actual training), and start training on the bike again. I am still going mountain biking my fair share despite all the running. In fact, I did some trails I usually don't do last week- Hall Ranch in Lyons and Apex/Chimney Gulch in Golden. I've been so focused on going up to Nederland that I forgot about these gems!