Learning something new :)

Forty is the new Twenty ;-)

ahhh ok...i'm 40 today.

going to check my birth certificate just to make sure this is true. ;-)

stoked...

Myles is my blessing. Getting to share my love for the bike with him has been one of the most amazing experiences of parenting so far :)

I love(d) my Jetta TDI until I met a bad day with my camshafts..

Trust in your car maker?? Hmmmm. That's going to be a tough thing for me to do from now on. My car needs camshafts at 73k and it is one hell of a costly repair. The service manager at the dealer suggested I seek financial assistance from Volkswagon because he felt the part had worn out prematurely. To use his words exactly ..."never seen camshafts wear out this early before, they shouldn't"...

Well VW turned down my request.

Alot of internet research tells me this is an ongoing problem with these seemingly great cars, but even though I now understand better just what the heck was going on and why the part has failed (by the way....i did every thing right with the oil so it wasn't that!), this is not an easy pill to swallow. I'll be lucky if I can get the repair done for $2k and i just spent $1100 to get the EGR valves fixed. Here we go, into the money pit.......... :(

btw-- i know its all twitter and facebook these days but i sure hope this blogpost helps anyone who has the same problem as me thats doing a google search! here is a little reference for you in case you are reading and you want more proof.
http://www.justanswer.com/questions/1jj6e-06-jetta-tdi-running-rough-idle

a real good day...they just keep coming

this wasnt taken today or yesterday or even the day before that, but it was taken on a sunshiny day, in a beautiful place, at a wonderful time --with the most amazing person.

Wahoo........

thats right. wahoo baby.
(and darn right...two wheels rock this picture too!)

MAMA...

How adorable is that? A mama duck making her way with seven little ones....
And you know what was as adorable (to me anyway)? I was with Myles, we were riding beach cruisers to get tacos for dinner down near the pier on Main Street, he was really taken by the little creatures, and maybe more into them than me! It was a magical little event in our daily life....

So sweet to see my sixteen year-old into that.

Cherishing the "lucky mama moments".
ps) he beat me in the coasting race on the way home...little bugger used my draft!

pedal time always equals a smile...

After a couple of very long days, I finished up my business and anxiously hopped on the bike, excited for some pedaltime. It was a Tuesday in Pasadena, and you know who..in all her buzy-ness, had completely forgotten about The Rose Bowl ride (one of SoCals well known weekly training rides). I was simply looking for some way to enjoy the evening on my bike after the long days of driving and traveling. My good friends at the bike shop (who also forgot it was Tuesday) gave me everything I needed to be complete including directions over to The Rose Bowl. Off I went on the maiden voyage, quite stoked on my plan for a little mini-adventure around the infamous Pasadena spot. When I rolled up to the big bowl, everywhere that I looked I was greeted by all sorts of hustle-bustle, as tons of people had the same idea I had and were out and about getting in their daily dose of fresh air. That kind of "other people" energy is inspiring to me, and I suddenly found myself enthused for putting in a few good efforts around the loop. As I turned in with the flow of everyone (clockwise please) I saw a nice smooth open line on the open road on front of me and I began to increase my speed. I got the legs going as I pushed into the gears ...click' click' click'...big ringing it, 90 rpms. Solid, and feeling my body come alive. I went for a nice big effort around the majority of the loop until I felt the burn. Naturally, the moment came as my legs reached a peak. Ok..time to rest.

Such a good feeling....
My heart, my lungs, my legs all stimulated.
My mind satisfied.
My smile on.

And so there I am --happily soft pedaling off to the side, enjoying a little breather, enjoying the "aliveness" of my once sleepy body. A good moment.

Then....all of the sudden, like I had just entered a dream, a HUGE pack of riders came sweeping by me at what seemed like lightning speed. It took me a second to equate the moment, I was still in my own little world...then it hit me, "oh yes, THE Rose Bowl Ride!"

I had hit the jackpot.

It took an effort to jump on, but man it felt SO good to get my groove on in the pack that it almost felt like someone was tickling me! What an instant treat. I loved feeling all of my senses really coming alive as I navigated the pockets of space, and the changing wind direction, zinging my way around in the pack, my heart beating solidly --thumping in my chest. LOVE that feeling.

I kept thinking "I gotta go"..."dinner plans"..."long drive" --but my legs and my heart just kept going, my mind saying "one more lap"... "oh that was fun, okay one more lap" vroom vrooom. "alright, just one more lap then I HAVE to go!" ---

Get the picture? ;-)

It felt so good to ride like that again. I didn't attack, or try to be at the front, or anything like that --I was simply enjoying the feeling of racing again, it felt so natural to be in this element.

Grateful moments indeed.
And since when does one ever just stumble onto a ride like that, unplanned?

And so ...that picture I posted above is testament to the bike. Me smiling on my spin back to my car, so thankful for a pleasant little pedal adventure, on a random Tuesday night.....

Peace out.