Nursery

Quilt gallery

The theme of our nursery isn't something I intentionally chose. What happened was that my MIL gave us a few quilts that were sewn for our nephews (her grandchildren). I washed them before Albert was born but then just set them aside for awhile. It didn't seem right to let him play on something that was almost 20 years old. 

I also have a quilt that is 40 years old that my mom sewed for me before I was born. And I have a quilt that I made for my baby. There is also quilted pillows and a cushion for the window seat that I quilted out of old jeans about 3 years ago. There is a graduation quilt that people signed when I finished my undergrad in 2002, so 18 years ago.

The furniture that ended up being SUPER useful was the changing table and the glider. Albert isn't really at the point where he sleeps well in his crib, but I am confident we'll get there eventually. The gliding footrest is EVERYTHING. We didn't use the bassinet for long, instead we put Albert into a cosleeper. The most clutch feature of the cosleeper was the vibrating clip-on heart. We also use a separate white noise machine. We do have a baby-cam setup, but since he co-sleeps we don't realy use it unless he goes to bed and we stay up late, or vice versa, he sleeps in and we get up early.

Best $1 Ever

Bike To Work Day 2016... I was flying down White Oak in the valley and this happened:

I got screwed! Earlier that morning, I was going through the checklist in my mind of everything I would need to change a flat to make sure I could change my tire if I had to.  I always do this when I'm biking to or from work.  I wondered if I was really prepared to fix a flat on that day.  I knew I had:

• Pump
• Tire irons
• Patch kit
• Spare tube

Yes, I thought, I had everything.  I just didn't think I would actually need it.  So there I was, hauling as fast as I could away from work, towards my house on Bike To Work Day, trying to make it to one commuter pit stop before it closed, and PSSsssst the tire went flat.

I had my GoPro running, and I considered filming myself changing the flat, but then I thought, "what if I can't do it and then all I end up filming is myself having a pity party right there on the curb."  So I turned off the camera and took out all my gear and got to work fixing the flat.

I love having a road bike with quick releases, it makes getting the tires on and off very fast and easy.  Removing the screw from my tire involved unscrewing it and inspecting the inside of the rim for damage.  I used the tire irons that I keep in my backpack at all times.  They cost $1.  They're lightweight plastic.

So I got the tire and tube off the rim.  I removed the flat tube and placed a $1 bill over the hole in the tire.  The image below uses the wrapper from an energy gu or bar, which also cost about $1, but I was taught by Riverside Bicycle Club to use cash so that when you get to the bike shop, the mechanic gets a nice tip!

Photo from bikehacks.com

When I reached for my pump, I took one look at it and realized (S#@$) I had brought a mountain bike pump instead of a road bike pump.  I have at least 3 small pumps and some of them are configured for Presta and some for Schrader.  But luckily, just this month we had purchased several adapters for a cost of, you guessed it, only $1.

After opening the Presta valve and fitting it with the adapter, I placed the tube inside the tire and gently inflated it.  This gives the proper shape to the tire and makes the fit snug between the tire and tube.  I shimmied my gloved hands along the tire with the tube inside it to make sure that the tube was seated comfortably in there.

I replaced the tire onto the wheel, again it helps to be wearing gloves, firmly gripping the tire and stretching it back into place.  I did use the tire levers a little bit here, too.  Then I put the wheel in my lap and started pumping to reinflate the tire to specificication (110 psi).  The pump I have has a gauge on it.

Mini Dual G

Try as I might, I could only get just past 60 psi but I figured hey, I'll just ride slow and get to a bike shop.  But I ended up riding all the way home.  So I guess the take-home message is that you MUST travel with these items at all times.  This flat was not patchable I would say, so I'm grateful I had a spare tube.  And the $1 adapter saved my a$$.

From our commuter workshops we learned that most cyclists fear biking to work because they aren't sure how to address changing a flat tire.  I did the job in about 15 minutes with very little drama and with no help whatsoever from passersby.  If I can do it, so can you!

Profound thought from the ride home: If I ride fast, it'll hurt less when I get hit by a car from behind. That's physics people!  But why was I having such a morbid thought?  Hey drivers: give me 3 feet.  And slow down please.  I got a flat while riding in a bike lane.  If I had swerved to avoid the hazard (screw, glass, etc) and not swerved towards the door zone, there would have been nowhere to go since cars were whizzing by me at 50 mph in an area with a 35 mph posted speed limit.

I spy

This is a photo from our first meetup event, "Bike Ride to Starbucks," which was an utterly simple event.  We all met at the train station and rode down San Fernando Rd and Los Feliz to the Starbucks in Atwater Village.  Then we rode back to the train station.  In total the ride was 2.5 miles.

http://www.meetup.com/Glendale-Active-Lifestyle-Meet-up/events/225040455/

I absolutely love this photo because it shows the people who were there, by showing all of our bikes.  The other day I had a meeting with friends at Panera Bread.  I was nervous to sit in one of the back tables because I thought my friends wouldn't be able to find me.  But one of them said,

"I knew you were here.  I saw your bike."  

Even though that meeting was over a month ago, when I think of that it makes my heart smile.  I love seeing bike racks along busy streets here in Glendale and throughout places where people want to go.

Independence Day Ride Report

Mile 1

Mile 25

Mile 55

Mile 64

Mile 82

Mile 92

Things we learned from this trip:

*** REAPPLY SUNSCREEN ***  And/or buy lightweight armwarmers with high SPF and don't imagine it's better to have a sleeveless jersey.  It's not worth the extra sun exposure.  When the words "We should probably put on sunscreen," are uttered from your mouth, THEN DO IT!!!  Talking about sun protection does not translate into applying sun protection.  Bring a lightweight sun hat.  With a wide brim for poolside recovery time.  I took in more sun on Day 1 hanging out on the balcony.  Could have been prevented.

The first 55 miles we went ~10 mph.  The last 25 miles we went ~ 5 mph.  We thought we might make it to Oceanside, but we decided to end the southward-bound leg at San Clemente.  There were more hills through the last part of our ride and I had one moment of blinding pain in the legs up a hill.  But more than our legs, my arms were absolutely sunburned and I would not have wanted to go further.  I mean, someday I will want to go further, but just not on this trip.  We waited a good 2.5 hours for our train, but I took a 25 minute nap in the shade while listening to the waves.  Totally chill.

Resist the tempation to eat at McDonalds.  It sounds like a good idea but it is not.  We started from a McDonalds.  I ate eggs with salt and pepper and a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast on Day 1.  Beware of 7-11 Sugar-Free Slurpee.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Sometime after the McDonalds and the Slurpee, I started to have GI distress on Day 1.  Maybe it was too much heat and humidity.  Maybe the electrolyte/water/carb balance wasn't right.  We stopped at McDonalds on Day 2 also, in Dana Point.  I felt my stomach/small intestine tie up into knots and had trouble breathing both days after eating at McDonalds.  Just sayin'.

Booking your hotel at the last minute is either brilliant or really stupid.  We had a sickening suite atop Hotel Irvine on the 14th (top) floor.  The suite had 2 bigscreen TVs, 3 sliding glass doors, a dinnertable for 6 people, 2 balconies, 2 entrances... need I go on?  We arrived just as all the fireworks displays were all around us.  Amazing.  Traveling with 3 adults made it hard to choose a hotel and we wanted one room with two beds.  Seems like all the normal rooms were taken so we got a sweet suite for the price of a regular room.  But we had to ride 8 miles away from our coast route to get to it.  And 8 miles back to the coast in the morning.

Staying on the PCH is fine as long as you aren't in a hurry.  Through Laguna and Dana Point there was hella traffic.  This is why we got our orange safety flags.  But still, we might have considered taking a parallel route.  Stopping at all lights is a must but be prepared for how much this traffic and the hills will slow you down in terms of reaching a certain distance in a particular amount of time.

Consider buying a disposable camera.  I didn't take nearly as many photos as I thought.  Almost all of them are posted here.  We saw so much gorgeousness but it's all in my head now.  The camera I have is on its last leg.  The battery compartment keeps popping open, causing me to have to reset the date and time before taking a picture.  Not cool when you're wanting to snap a photo quickly.

Something happened when charging my Garmin overnight at the hotel so it didn't work in the morning.  Of course, it's working fine now, but I felt naked without it on Day 2.  I guess the message here is don't count on your technology and bring a backup camera (or a disposable one) and a backup watch.  I would have been a bit more relaxed knowing what time it was at all points along the route on Day 2.  And it didn't help that all of us kept asking "What time is it?"  It just kept reminding me that my Garmin mysteriously would not turn on.  And that bummed me out.

I LOVE my new cupholder.  I hardly even used my regular water bottle.  It was much easier not to have to lean down to grab and replace a traditional bicycle water bottle.  Much easier to fill a to-go cup with ice and water and then drink it through a straw.  I had some fizzy electrolyte tablets that I didn't want to put in a water bottle and the cupholder/disposable cup system was good for that.  Although it tasted kind of yucky in warm water.  The panniers worked out great, too.  Made us look like more serious long-distance cyclists.

April Fools

Spring (break) is here! My garden is sprouting and my students are growing in confidence. Life is good.

I had a whirlwind trip to the Bay Area, traveling by Amtrak. I learned that it is necessary to remove pedals when checking your bicycle and turning handlebars is also a must. Two tools are required for the job: an allen wrench and an open end wrench. I brought neither. Luckily the attendants at LA Union Station and Emeryville came to my aid. Also, Amtrak no longer suggests removing the front tire since the forks have been found to penetrate cardboard bike boxes.  The cost for this service is $15 for the box and $10 for the handling.  A waiver must be signed in case the bicycle is damaged.  The weight limit is 50 lbs. It is also necessary to arrive plenty early, this trip I budgeted 2 hours which was quite comfortable.  http://www.amtrak.com/bring-your-bicycle-onboard

Coast Starlight 11

It was well worth taking the bike, we rode Sunday morning up Twin Peaks (6 miles). We also did 2 city walks (total 6 miles).  We also hiked White's Hill which offered stunning views of the bay and the mountain bike trail called Repack.  I must return for that.  As for Spring Break, I am planning to take in as many Zumba classes as I can.  Considering new footwear.  My shoes are breaking down with 66.4 mi of logged activity and countless amounts of teaching, dancing, running, walking, and hiking.

Girls' Grade School Nike Dual Fusion Running Shoes

I bought these Nike shoes for the Color Run Saturday, February 2, 2013 so they're only a year old but when I dance in them, it feels like my pinky toes are going to slide right off the edge of the shoe.  I try to keep a pair of dedicated running shoes, but I use the old ones for teaching.  The current dedicated shoes are Brooks Ghost, purchased in preparation for my trip to Death Valley this year.  They only have 20.6 mi of logged activity so far but I hope to get more use out of them in the next week and coming months.

Asics Gel DS Trainer 15

These Asics are also totally broken down with 53.1 mi of logged activity. The heels are all shredded on the inside.  Both of these shoes have a hole where my big toe hits the top of the mesh part.  I am sad to say that my favorite running shoes of all time (Nike Zoom Nucleus MC+) are also pretty broken down, but I still wear them with 289.1 mi of logged activity.  Again it seems like my pinky toes are about to bust through the sides of the shoes.

We've registered for the Corona del Mar Scenic 5k (June 7, 2014) as well as a crazy activity called 5k Foam Fest (July 19, 2014).  The only obstacle I'm worried about is the Electrified Mud Crawl.  I've said in the past that people who do these extreme 5k events must be crazy, but here I am, prepared to wade through it.  I'll be 34 years old by then, so for whatever that's worth, it will be a new way to celebrate my birthmonth.

To close this post, I'm glad none of my students played an April Fools prank on me.  The day passed without much drama.  I especially enjoyed this article from the Highlander.  And also a new show on Netflix called Rotisserie Chicken.  In all seriousness, I've been watching SNL best of the 2010s for comedic relief and it's been a great way to break up the tension of the semester.  Especially loved "The Californians" episode with Christina Applegate.  Funny things help keep a spring in my step, even when wearing old shoes.

It's TIME: Pt. Reyes ~ Ride Report

A ride mapped on 03/21/2013 using a Garmin Forerunner 110

Sometimes when you do something so EPIC, you have to take a step back and see how that jewel fits into the crown of your existence.  This ride was certainly tops in LIFE so I have to express a bit of it here in my biking blog for posterity, of course.

A HUGE thanks to my dear aunt Anne for organizing and facilitating this transformative weekend. We took 1,066.27 ft of climbing in strong winds along Sir Francis Drake Blvd all the way until the end of the pavement.

Basking in the sun at the turnaround like a sea lion.  We saw so many different flowers and wildlife, including a coyote.  Also ran into an experiment station at the end of this tree-lined driveway.  It was a great pleasure to take an 11 mile recovery ride the following day out of that wind.  When a friend told me to bring a windbreaker, I'm glad I listened.  Also totally loving these gloves I found at a gas station in either KS or NE over our epic Christmas vacation.  Missing family right now, lots going on with cousins and sisters.  It's the dawning of the Age of Aquarius or something, like big things are happening for all of us.  Claiming the area like early explorers must have done felt really inspiring.   I always loved our in-house library with maps and photographs of ancient artifacts and cultures.  I wonder what will survive this modern digital age for the future generations.  Will this carbon fiber bike still be an artifact after 10,000 years or will it be broken down again to atoms and converted to another substance in this universe?

Things I learned from this ride:  hills kills.  Beware of cows.  Bring lots of CLIF.  Don't be afraid to lay in a grassy meadow.  Explore meandering pathways.  Sing in unison.  Sometimes all you need are two peas in a pod.  The experience of the Spirit Rock Meditation Center was incredibly authentic.  The powerful women we stared into each others eyes and shared deeply.  It was scary and uplifting.  Hiking the hills of Mount Tamalpais overlooking Stinson Beach was a moment in time that is completely priceless.  When I think back to the expansive views, I become speechless and calm from the inside out.  When you see yourself in that scale, the worries fade to grass and the peaks which seemed large are now just a part of the landscape.

LA River Ride (preview)

When my collaborator said Friday is writing day, I must have heard RIDING day because I took off on Friday afternoon at 2:30pm like a bullet and overshot my destination.  It's easy to do on the LA River Bike Path, which takes you along the I-5 corridor.

The wildflowers were spectacular and the skies couldn't have been bluer.  I met my mirror image.  At a stoplight.  She wanted to ride with me, perhaps considering I was wearing as much fluorescent yellow as possible in addition to reflectors.  With the help of her mobile device and McDonald's free WiFi, I got back home without reaching my original destination.  Something about the next turn being 'Apex' I knew there would be no soon end to the climbing and I was out of gas.

Sometimes it's fun to see where the city leads you.  There were two streets I identified with.  One I called out 'Muhlenstrasse' because it was steep like the street in Jena I used to push my bike up on foot rather than choke halfway up.  It was actually called Alessandro.  Why is it always a freakin' hill?  That guy must have been one powerful dude if every street named after him is a long climb.  Made me think of a friend from Jena of the same name.

Long days give way to high productivity.  I can feel the solstice coming, it's only 10 days away.  From LACC you can see a cathedral of Scientology, the Hollywood sign, and Griffith Observatory; it might be fun to visit the last one on the solstice.  They have a cool sculpture that reads out the time and date by objects' shadows and alignment with the heavenly bodies and the energy emanating from them.

20 miles of SMILES

Speaking of collecting photons...The radish (easter egg blend) seeds are almost ready to harvest.  Spinach too.  Harvested Mexican Poppy seeds today.  Lettuce and chard are bolting.  Squash is flowering and fruiting.  So are tomato and pepper.  So is basil.  I started more radish (white icicle), new carrots (Danvers #126), new salad mix, and a bunch of herbs that I haven't had in awhile.  V-I-C-T-O-R-Y.  Spell it with me!  Made some new seed packets too.  And a new set of QR codes.  Just need popsicle sticks to finish that project.  And time, love, and tenderness.

shoe blues => new shoes

That old pair of Diadoras has logged 2,296.56903005 mi. They are now a puppet. I can haz new shoez.

I found out that I've been rocking MTB shoes/pedals on my road bike all this time. Also, there was a considerable amount of grit in the bindings. Thanks to Glendale Cycles for hooking it up in the 'hood.

Also, we saw a horse of a different color at the show Cavalia Odysseo in Burbank, CA. Acrobats, stunts, dancing, music, it was like the Emerald City brought before our eyes. And William Chatner was there too!

What a Super Tuesday!  Tags: clipless, cycling, dancing, diadora, distance, education, green, love, Map My Ride, motivation, mountains, pain, pedals, plants, shimano, shoes, spring, summer, teamwork, technology, weight loss, winning, winter, writing

complacent

I'm giving myself free reign today.  It's a holiday.  Technically.  So I will begin working after my #madwriting session.  I was thinking of a title for my post.  Something short that would summarize my general state.  I would say Complacent.  I typed it in to dictionary.com and got some ideas for why my brain would have come up with that particular word.

The first definition that popped up said "pleased, especially with oneself or one's merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect; self-satisfied: The voters are too complacent to change the government." With synonyms: "smug, unbothered, untroubled."

I was thinking BINGO that is how I feel about many things in my life right now.  I feel like there is a lot of noise in my headphones and it's my job to turn down the noise and turn up the signal.  This is why I've been doing #madwriting more often, but in a private journal like Julia Cameron suggests.

But sometimes, it seems, you have to focus on the noise for a minute.  Like acknowledge it during your morning pages and then it clears you out for more creativity and focus later in the day.  I've been preparing for the academic year to begin for the entire month of August it seems and classes start tomorrow!

This is a bike-centered blog so I want to share some bicycle noise with you.  I didn't make it out to some bike-related events in the area that I heard about and wanted to check out (or check-in to), but didn't want to (or couldn't afford to) spend the money, fuel, time, etc. devoting an entire weekend to a recreational pursuit.  One: Festival of Bikes, Two: Tour de Lake Arrowhead, Three: Swap Meet, Four: Public Outreach.  I guess I'm just not that into the lifestyle that I can devote a weekend to biking and forsake all other events.

Last weekend, we attended a Car Wash to raise money for John Morlock who we met through facebook.  He is a veteran who rides in events with other veterans.  He is part of an organization called Ride2Recovery that supports veterans who can be provided bicycles (with adaptations if necessary to accommodate any injury) to complete long (~600 mile) multi-day rides.  The idea inspired me to stand streetside waving a flag for an hour in Burbank, while dear husband was soaping, washing, and drying cars with a group of young marines at the American Legion.  We met another veteran Robert Kugler who also rides a Ride2Recovery-issue bike, who was there along with his wife Charlie.  Both of them are from Nebraska, like me!

I encourage anyone who understands how awesome cycling is to consider how you might support the Ride2Recovery organization or participate in their events.  I believe there is no better way to heal yourself than to train for and achieve an inspiring tour, especially if you are doing it with your friends (who become your heroes before you finally believe in yourself).  I learned in the power of group cycling by riding with the Riverside Bicycle Club.  There are scientific papers that show you can tolerate a higher level of pain when you are training in synchronization with others.

This is why I love group events, cycling or running.  I'm so stoked to do the Color Run in San Diego.  I think I'm more looking forward to it because it forces me to train (at least a little) and the actual event is all about having fun.  To me, that's what fitness has always been about.  I've spent many years punishing my body, trying to twist it into ridiculous positions and defy the laws of physics.  I've fallen down from exhaustion in a dance studio, and I've fallen off my bike a few times.  I think doing the color run will be less about competition, and more about being with my friend Sam, whether we feel like we want to walk or run to get through the course.  I'll definitely post a report when we get back.

I have to spend some time on Clitoral Mass.  I mean Critical Mass.  It's one thing that I shout in my head at cyclists that I see not wearing helmets.  It's totally silly that I shout in my head at cyclists I see with no lights on.  I never want to go on group rides in Los Angeles because I hear that everyone's taking drugs and doing dangerous things.  I heard someone always leaves in an ambulance.  What kind of ride is that?  Who wants to get together on a weekly basis and say, "hope I'm not the person who leaves in the ambulance on tonight's ride."  Or maybe they say something like, "I'll never have a manuvering error when we're hammering through a densely-populated area at night on drugs and I'm 18-years old."  I'm not that age anymore, so I just can't go on those rides.

In other bike-related news, I tuned up our old bikes to get to the Farmer's Market and the bicycle parking is off Central Ave now not on Caruso Ave.  It's great to be able to lock your bike to a solid rack in the shade right next to the security office with cameras pointed at it.  As my friend pointed out, if I were going to steal a bike, I would steal that new fixie over there.  Well I love the bikes we have, and I hope we have them for a long time more.

Also, the little shop we got Mike's shoes & pedals for the Performance, and seat for the Trek has gone to new ownership.  I love to support local bike shops, because how far do you want to have to walk if you get a flat near your house?  If you don't support your local shop, you'll have to go all the way to a big-box retailer on foot (assuming your bicycle is your main mode of transportation, but who in the US would be in that situation?) Anyway, the new owner calls the shop simply Glendale Cycles and he is very calm and unassuming.  He has a mountain bike, a road bike and a BMX bike for himself.  He's had the shop just a few months now, but don't be afraid to go there if you are ever in the area.  The phone number is 818 937 9440.

1053 words. #madwriting.

Clipless pedals

So, I finally got my first donated gear and it is all the more special because it comes from someone I love and respect very much, my cousin Josef Nygaard. He gave me a pair of Diadora Geko road shoes (men's size 7) that he had outgrown several years ago. They turned out to be perfect for me because they are already "broken in" but not completely broken down. To match them, I got Shimano 505 Clipless Pedals from my local bike shop (Anthony's Cyclery).

I have already been warned from experienced cyclists that they really are entry level pedals, recommended because they are "perfect for first timers" due to their doublesidedness, and they are not really suitable for intense training. They are advertised as being stylish, durable, and affordable, I got the whole system for under $60. I've been told that they are appropriate for "commuting and easy riding" and I have also been told that on intense rides I will experience the "burning diamond" of heat generated in the small area where the shoe contacts the pedal. I'm hoping to train on them for at least 6 months before upgrading to something more professional. If I don't notice any problems, I can just keep them.

I've already enjoyed a couple easy rides back/forth to work (3) and several leisurely rides around Riverside (10.26 mi last Saturday and 32.96 mi this Tuesday) and I haven't noticed any serious problems except for the first time I clipped in and panicked when I tried to clip out and stop. Unfortunately, I tipped straight over, but I hear this happens alot.

It had been said to me over and over that pedal systems conserve energy, helping the cyclist ride longer, stronger, and faster. So far I've noticed the benefits most on challenging hills that previously were a lot of work, but now seem downright fun. It's definitely easier to sprint uphill. As for flat ground, being clipped in helps when trying to maintain a steady but quick pace. I do have a bit of anxiety about going downhill (coasting) and being clipped in. In fact, I had a near collision at the bottom of the Canyon Crest hill (near the golf course) where a truck almost turned right into me. Luckily I was able to slow enough and he saw me and stopped also. Glad I didn't completely panic and fall over again. I did experience a tiny bit of fishtailing of my rear tire so I guess I need to consult "Effective Cycling" for more adventageous braking protocols.