Pentagenarians & Beyond: W/B 4/8

Hi Deb and any later posters--

This morning I did High Reps (65 min.).

Hope your brunch went well, Deb! The food sounds great.

We are going out to dinner tonight.

Enjoy the holiday everyone!
 
We did a xc ski yesterday 5.25 hours. very nice. I wore some "new" boots, older boots I haven't worn in years. got two humongous blisters on the sides of my heels. yowza. painful! I will have to pre-tape when i wear them. going uphill is worse than coming down so we didn't go as far as planned. a lovely sunny day.
today we did a bike ride, 25 miles in 2 hours. I forgot to start my timer until a little bit after we left so a little over 2. a warm lovely day. roads were empty since everyone else was doing easter things. got busy just as we were finishing up, so we planned it right. actually didn't plan anything, just decided it seemed nice out and we weren't that tired from the ski, just my heels sore.

We got 80 inches of snow in march in the mountains. there will be a good snowpack to ski on for months yet. 140-160 % of normal. I'm not a good enough skier to ski open slopes, stick to roads. makes the hiking season later too.

Hope the brunch was successful Deb. I don't think I've ever had 15 people all at once.
 
Good morning,

Happy Dyngus Day! (very big around here)....

Brunch was great but I ate too much and feel horrible this morning. Of course, another middle of the night "ramble" with two dogs doesn't help either.

Valerie, I only wish I had a bigger dining room, so that seating was not so crushed. Other than that, it's pretty easy to do. We make things that can be made ahead so we are not having to be tied to the kitchen when people arrive. If we made things like eggs and pancakes, it would be a lot harder. I haven't decided it I want a bike this spring yet. Your rides sound nice, but very long. Do you just go from your house or do you drive somewhere with the bikes and then start riding? Where we live, it's not that great to get to somewhere decent to ride.

Garance, how was dinner? Comfort Sunday or something else?

Off for more coffee, have to wake up...take care,
 
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We have a car rack. doesn't have to be fancy but you want the bikes secure for highway driving. I ride around our neighborhood occasionally but it's only maybe 2 miles ...prefer longer rides.

Yakima and Thule sell car racks, at least in the west. ( there are others) we have a trunk rack. $100-150 you can get trailer hitch racks or rooftop racks depending on your vehicle. for 2 bikes, trunk racks are usually cheapest and easiest. you go to the yakima or thule web site, plug in your car model and it will match you with a rack that will fit.

rear spoilers on cars don't work with trunk racks. take the rack off and put it inside the car while riding or some jerk will steal the rack. or lock the rack to the car.

some local person has probably written a book on where to ride in your area. "riding the backroads around blankety blank" is a common title. usually says where to park, mileage, traffic, hills, if a loop is possible. we have books for here and where we travel .

we have a very close by trail, open to walking, biking and horses. I could bike to it but there's a high traffic section I prefer to avoid so I usually drive there. there are hundreds of miles of trails around here, some paved, some gravel. we do some trails but also roads, low traffic rural ones where we can create a loop. that's where a book helps, someone's done the groundwork. you can look over the book and decide if the choices are appropriate for what you want.

You need bike, rack, helmet, gloves, sunglasses, small tools, extra tube & pump to change a tire, maybe a map. water bottle & snacks if you go longer. I think padded underwear /padded shorts help a lot but not everyone agrees.
flared pants get caught in the chain. wear shorts or capris, tapered pants, or strap down the bottom flare.
start with mileage that's comfortable. Lots of people ride a couple miles and that's enough. my favorite is 25-35 miles..... but then there's Josie who can ride 100.

Dyngus Day? never heard of that. what's it for? 15 people is a lot of people at once. never did that before. my solution for that many would be pizza! I don't remember what you were serving but since I generally don't eat/cook meat, large groups are tricky.
 
Hi Deb and Valerie--

This morning I did After Burn (54 min.).

DH did the Comfort Sunday meal, which was deviled eggs on greens, wiener schnitzel, and carrot cake. I decided to go duck with spring vegetables in an apricot glaze. It was really very yummy.

Watched Contagion on Saturday night. You're right Valerie--it was quite good. I didn't get too grossed out, which was what I was afraid of.

What is Dyngus Day, Deb? I guess I will try googling it.
 
Hi Ladies,

Back from vacation and as usual going through all my e-mails and trying to clean up
a few work things that came up while I was gone.

I and the kids had a great time in Palm Springs. The kids did not want to get out of the pool, so I have a nice tan now. I was getting a bit pale and my legs were so white it did not look good.

Deb, I also ate too much, but I did get my 100 miles in on 3/31 and spinning on 4/2 and 4/4, so I don’t feel too bad

The ride is only 8 weeks away. I can’t believe how time flies!

I will be back later.

Josie
 
Good morning,

Very tired today, these middle of the night sojourns are killing me. 3:30 this morning.

Garance, yep, Dyngus Day. A celebration of the end of Lent and Easter. I do not partake, but it's a big deal in the Polish part of the city and lots of bars take advantage of it all over. Parades and everything.

Valerie, thanks for the info on the bike and what I would need. If I get one, I will definitely be "picking your brain" as the saying goes for tips etc. Josie's too.

Josie, glad you got to spend that time with the GK'ds it sounds like they had a lot of fun. 100 miles in one day! Wow.

Off to get a shower and breakfast, walk the pups, and another fun day at work!

Take care,
 
Hi Deb, Josie, and Valerie--

This morning I did S & G (52 min.).

Josie, that's just amazing--100 miles!! I would love to get a tan, but at my age, I am probably more worried about the wrinkles. I do get a tan when we go to the shore, but that's the only time.

Deb, I googled Dyngus Day, and it said that Buffalo is definitely the capital for its celebration. Men are supposed to pour a bucket of cold water on their lady loves in the morning to start the day! What's that about? Maybe you should try that technique with the dogs when they wake you up at 3:30 in the morning. Just kidding.

Well--off to teach.
 
I googled Dyngus day too, and found the same bucket of water business. I used to have a polish roommate who used to go crazy with all things Polish.... but I never heard her mention this one. must be a regional thing.

Deb, has DH been riding his bike yet this year? this is my favorite time of year to ride.

I forgot to mention last week that I did S&G and Cardio supersets. took yesterday off as a garden day. my legs wanted a rest. yoga this morning. will do another something but later, need to get shopping done before the traffic picks up.
 
Good morning,

The battery in our house alarm decided that it's battery was low so it needed to kick up a fuss at midnight. Woke the whole house of course. At least we were able to get the vixen out to do her rambling then, a true "Midnight Ramble". She then slept until 4:45 at least. Now we are on the hunt to figure out how to replace the battery. It's not a normal kind.

As for Dyngus Day, I think they only sprinkle water on their loves, and the women chase the men with pussy willows, tap the one that they want or something like that. Crazy customs, but hey, they have a lot of fun.

Good news, It's Hump Day!!

Take care,
 
Bad news with the alarm! when our power goes out, the smoke alarm beeps endlessly too. good luck finding a battery.... why does this stuff always happen at midnight not at noon? at least everyone got up at once and then back to bed at the same time.

never got in anymore exercise yesterday after yoga. marathon of shopping. returns, groceries, picking up stuff, you name it. pretty efficient though. two days in a row off! the blisters on my heels are still hurting, couldn't wear boots anyway. maybe a bike ride today if ( big if) it stays dry. forecast is for rain and it feels like it.
 
Hi Deb, Josie, and Valerie--

This morning I did the upper body split on Total Body Trisets (56 min.).

Bad luck, Deb, on the house alarm. Did you wonder if there was a break-in?

Wish we could have some of your rain, Valerie. It's very dry here because we had virtually no snow this winter.

Rural Lands fund-raising dinner tonight, so I'm going out again. I made Ina Garten's weeknight Bolognese sauce last night. It was heavenly and very easy. The only addition from me was some pancetta chopped up at the beginning. You can find the recipe online, and it's ten times easier than a lot of Bolognese sauces.

Poetry reading this afternoon, plus another set of papers to grade.
 
Deb, where are you this morning? Hope you didn't have another bad night.

we spread another truckload of compost yesterday but DH did more of the lifting this time while I spread so did Cyclemax afterwards. It rained some although more after we finished. I wish I could forward on some of the rain. it isn't enought to be muddy outside just inconvenient for riding or hiking. mountains always get more than we do down in the lowlands.

I've gotten much better in cyclemax without the struggle with the cycle shoes. I'm going to sell them and be done with it. I much prefer to wear running shoes. Off to yoga, more later.
 
Hi Deb, Josie, and Valerie--

This morning I did Cardio Supersets (41 min.).

Yoohoo, Deb! I second Valerie and hope it was not another one of those sleepus interruptus nights for you.

Yummy meal last night, although I just brought my carrot cake home. I am trying to decide whether to indulge and eat it or give it to DH. Poetry reading was really good, too. Just one long poem by my colleague Larry Raab titled "A Cup of Water Turns into a Rose." I love his work.

More Ted Hughes today and finish up Othello.
 
Good morning all,

I did one of the Cardio Coaches this morning, still can't believe he's gone. This is the one when he is leading up to the first challenge, he says, "It's time to burn off some ice cream".

Valerie, I have to make sure I don't get those shoes! (that;s if I get a bike at all, not sure yet). John has not asked me a million times what I want for my birthday, so I suspect he already has something in mind. it might be a watch. He's been looking at these new ones that don't use batteries, but run off sunlight or something. He keeps pointing them out to me.

Garance, How many more days? ( teaching days that is)?

Hi to Josie, & Joan,

Anyone have any exciting plans for the weekend? Just HouseMax and agility class for me.

Take care,
 
Deb, most people who cycle a lot like bike shoes. DH loves them! a high percentage of regular riders wear them but I was uncomfortable from the get-go. my ankles and feet are "atypical" and hyper flexible.... it gets pointed out to me in yoga all the time... my feet want to go opposite of everyone else's. the hard soles hurt, they don't enhance my power. I gave them enough of a test and like them even less on a stationary bike. enough.
I would recommend against them for anyone just starting to ride.

When's your B-day? Maybe you'll get a bike and a watch?

I don't think I've had Bolognese sauce.... I like Ina's show and relaxed approach to cooking and entertaining. Everything always looks so good. not too formal but so attractively presented. she's on the cooking channel 4-5 when I exercise so I've watched her more lately. much of her stuff is way too rich for me, I'd end up looking like her!
 
Happy Friday Ladies,

I have a long ride tomorrow 75 miles it is called “ Day on The Ride” . This is for all the
new riders that have never done ALC. It will have pit stops, lunch and will be fully supported on the road. On Sunday, I will do a short ride of go spinning depending on how I feel. My DH and I will probably go out for dinner nothing special going on.

Deb, I love my cycling shoes and could not go back to regular shoes. It takes a little time to get used to them. How is the face serum working for you?

Garance, I also want to know how many for days before you retire.

Hi to Valerie and Joan.

Josie
 
Hi Deb, Josie, and Valerie--

This morning I did AT (56 min.).

My final classes are on May 10, but then there's paper-grading, so I would say I will be completely done by May 21. I'm not really officially retired until the end of June because of the fiscal year.

Deb, I bought a beautiful watch for DH several years ago that never needs batteries, but depends on constant movement. It was a bad choice, because he would never wear it except when we went out and then he'd have to shake it to get it working. It was a Seiko I paid almost 500 dollars for. I gave it to my younger son when he was home for Christmas, and he wears it all the time and loves it--something about its being similar to Drew Brees' watch in an ad. I'm so glad it's not just gathering dust anymore.

This weekend? A bit of paper-grading and class preparation for King Lear and Civilization and Its Discontents. More Ted Hughes. I'm also going to try to get outside and do some more garden cleanup and prep because it's supposed to be warm, in the 70s. The chicks are ready to leave the brooder and range freely. I don't think we will be going out.

Enjoy your ride, Josie.

Yep, old Ina likes her fat and her salt. I usually cut whatever she says in half on both. She IS a chubster, but her recipes are real crowd-pleasers. She has a spring risotto to die for that is definitely vegetarian except for the chicken broth. You might like that one, Valerie, and all of her chocolate desserts.
 
Ina did a french apple tart and a greek spinach pie a short time ago. spinach pie would be suitable for a regular dinner, easy to trim the fat... it didn't seem that excessive. She showed a gigantic serving size but the written recipe is more modest. used an easy less buttery phyllo method. I have some phyllo to use so maybe this weekend. She often has interesting salads too. Her presentations are always so generous and luscious looking,

I'm not a rigid vegetarian anymore, eat white meat chicken and some mild fish, eggs. I don't like the flavor/ texture of meat. overwhelms everything. chicken broth is fine. beef broth, no.

did some garden work this morning. my heels are still very sore from the ski last weekend... heck of a blister on each foot. hard to wear boots or even shoes with backs. healing fine but still sore.

Have a great ride Josie. I will be riding this weekend too, but shorter. would like to do two thirty mile rides.
 

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