November

I know that November has come and gone and that I have neglected my blog for a while. To the 6 followers I have I apologize. I can assure you that I have not resorted to a sedentary lifestyle, nor have I been shoveling bonbons into my mouth. On the contrary, I have been getting to know the Jake the Snake 2011 I received on Oct 30th. I usually start running on Nov 1st, however, the weather was perfect for biking so thats what I did. I put nearly 400 miles on this cross bike in Nov. Gears are quite fun actually. I do forget that I have them sometimes tho. I have done many road rides, a couple off road, and several gravel grinders to figure this whole geared thing out. Long story, short, I am having FUN. I was not training for anything. Just riding whenever I had the chance. This may surprise some of you, but I do not get to ride whenever I want. Usually Mon, Wed, and Fri from 115-330 is guaranteed since Syd is at preschool. Its usually hit or miss the rest of the week. Fortunately , Jim understands that I am much happier after a ride so he tends to push me out on Sat or Sun if we are in town. Support is awesome. Anyway, the JTS is an incredible bike and I am lucky to have one. As I promised, I am riding the helloutta it.

As far as the running goes, I completed 20 miles in Nov. It is hard to run when you have this:




Jim and I were able to get away to ride the MiddleFork the weekend of the 20th . We donned hunter orange and set out for a great ride. I was kinda afraid how Connor would react since it had been a month since I had him out on the trail. I went with 32x19 and it was perfect. I climbed every hill, something I struggled with in May. I felt like the Hulk afterwards and wanted to do it again. Jim, not so much. So, has the geared bike complimented the single speed mountain bike? I think so. My legs feel different and my breathing has improved greatly. All in my head? Maybe. What I can say for sure is that I feel a huge difference when I ride Connor. Thats all that matters. I still choose to grunt up the hills, instead of spinning. I have never down shifted to climb a hill, well not yet anyway.

I am in the process of dissecting the Dirty Kanza 200. Its basically a 200 mile gravel grinder in Kansas. I would like to do this , so if you have completed it share your knowledge with me. I saw that only two women finished this year. I dont take on anything if I think I cant finish it . I dont want to call it yet, but I may do this on the Major One, single speed , if the bike is available. Jim would like to do this race too so stay tuned to see how it all unfolds.

Next up: My side of the Castlewood 8 Adventure race