Black Friday Middle-Fork Style

I am not a shopper.  I actually despise shopping, unless it's for food, bike stuff, or gear.  The weather was supposed to be awesome, upper 60's, perfect time for my husband to take me to Middle Fork.  Connor , my ss, hadn't crushed these trails since May.

All smiles

 We were going to do the loop, about 38 miles, at a casual pace.  I have had a lot of experience riding with Jim so I should have known better.  He likes to stop and take pictures, remove trees from the trail, and chat with anyone he may come across.  Those three things alone added several hours to our journey.  I am not complaining, I should have asked how many hours to plan for , instead of miles.   Any ride with my husband has a potential to be epic.  He does not disappoint.

Miss you John

Beautiful day 

Finally I got to see the memorial in person

TTM log

Making it look easy

Trying to keep feet dry

Friends Lisa and Steph

The happy couple

Monty's place

Crushing some gravel  Uphill

Odd sheep

Awesome day

Beautiful views on the way back

Sunset

My awesome other half

After our ride we headed to Council Bluff campground to spend the night.  Did you know it's still open???  Support this by paying your camp/parking fees and they will leave it open next year too.  I have decided that ALL Black Fridays should be spent like this.  A TTM tradition, so to speak.

First customers of the day

Trail MOnstering in November

The weather has been quite nice this Nov. in Missouri.  It's not too cold yet and there has been minimal rain.  It takes a lot to keep a Trail Monster inside.  With proper planning and some gear adjustments we are still playing outside.  If we can do it, so can you. Get it together and GET OUTSIDE.

 Elephant Rocks in the Fall

Sometimes you gotta gravel

Night-riding in the neighborhood

Rock Yoga

Mr. Trail MOnster

Sydney 

Boys Hike at Council Bluff

Jim won a backpacking trip in Utah. Thanks Backwoods

Ready for a road ride

Climbing with Daddy



These are just a handful of pictures of what we have been up to.  Stay tuned.....  Video's are coming

In For Review

I currently have some reviews in the works.  I have been using a Kurt Kinetic Trainer for a few months.  It's a bad@ss, green machine that rides just like the road.  I have a set of Specialized Fast Tracks tires, currently installed on Gus the Goblin, who will also receive his final review.  I also scored three different types of ear candy from Polk audio.  I have the 1000, 2000, and 3000 series.  As I work on these reviews, I want to cover " all the bases", so to speak.  If you are currently in the market for a trainer, tires, headphones, or a mountain bike, what questions would you have before buying ?  You can leave a comment or contact me by email.  Thanks for your help.

The State of Positivity

Let's face it, big or small, injuries suck.  Injuries that result in hospital visits and are followed up with rehab, tend to suck more.  However, if no bills are incurred, you may have to pay a "mental price".  I lose my confidence for a couple of miles, but I am always able to get it back.  I believe what keeps me moving is a combination of past mistakes and the fact that my mind does not care if my body gets hurt.

Up until a week ago, I had a relatively injury-free 2011.  Since January 1st, I have had several minor boo boo's, poison ivy, and that cataract thing, but nothing as epic as in the years prior. The following is an account of what I did when I injured the same ankle in 1999.  The Dr. had told me I would never run again.  I was destroyed.  Running was  "my thing".  I felt like my life had just ended.  I spent years in an antidepressant haze.  No one, not even the expensive psychiatrist, could grasp the depth of my loss.  The pain was unbearable.  I took up residence on my couch and waited for surgery.  I gave up.  I started to find comfort in food, lots of food. I chose to quit.  I was miserable for six years.  Understandably, injuries scare me.

  I could not repeat that cycle. I approached this injury differently. From the moment I felt my ankle snap, I remained positive.  I refused to accept I would be down for long.  I was not going to let this defeat me.  I had thrown in the towel eleven years ago.  I had no passion.  I had no fight. This time I was "coming out swinging".  There is no way I was going to give up my life again. I allowed myself a short  "pity party" and then put my focus elsewhere for a moment.  It's highly possible, I was slowed down in order to gain
some clarity about where my life is going.

  I followed the Dr. 's orders, more or less. The swelling has gone down and there is no pain while I ride.  Running is going to take more time.  I am okay with that as long as I can still bike.  I wish I had been introduced to the bike in 2000 after my surgery.  However, I wouldn't be the person I am today if that had happened.  After I hit send I am hopping on my bike.

Lemonade

 This past Thursday evening I received a few lemons.  "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." That statement will be my mantra for the next couple weeks.  While night riding, I stepped off trail, perfectly between two rocks.  The only problem was it happened quickly. My body had continued moving forward, as my foot had clearly stopped.  There was some snap and pop followed by several grunts and hollers on the miles we had to walk out. Definitely not the ride Gabrielle Renner had planned.

Goose-egg

 Once again, the two of us are thrown together and I am injured.  We briefly chatted about that injury and had several chuckles about almost making it through the year unscathed.  Thank you Jim for meeting us and  picking up my broken body, again.  Thank you Gabby for entertaining me and nearly freezing your butt off in the process.

I went to the Urgent Care Center, it was 11-11-11, and it was 11:11:11 as I was signing in.  What a shame those weren't my lucky numbers.

Look at the clock

  Jim kept me company while the Doctor took my info and later read my x-rays.  The good news is that the ankle is not broken.  That's awesome since this is the same ankle I had to have operated on in 2000.  As soon as the swelling goes down I will have a better idea if there is any tendon or ligament damage.

What a difference a few hours make

 The Dr. was surprised at my range of motion ( ROM ), which I am encouraged by.  He also said this may be a blessing in disguise.  Since I had surgery, my ROM is minimal.  After long or hard efforts, by run or bike, I experience moderate pain.  He is hoping the pop I heard and felt is the scar tissue located exactly where I had surgery.  This accident may stretch that area and give me better ROM and less pain in the long run.  Still too early to tell, but I like his way of thinking.  I have been icing, elevating, and wrapping my ankle like clock work, so I expect to heal quickly.

I am going to use this down time to spruce up a couple of blogs I have procrastinated on. I also picked up a couple of books on writing, I now have time to read. Happy riding and be careful out there.