Family Fun!

This weekend I was a busy girl incased in a vehicle for most of it. It was fun though. My brother and sister-in-law from San Francisco are here now for good! They came in Friday night with their sweet pup Luna in tow. Alex and Kate have both been in SF for the past 7 years. I promise to put some pics up soon showcasing my big happy Apking family.

The four of us and our 2 dogs drove up to Cincinnati on Saturday for a family dinner celebrating the wedding of Smap and Alex's other brother Jay. Jay and Leslie were married in December in Knoxville. Most of the Apking relatives reside in Cinci, so they decided to have a reception there this spring. It was so nice to see all of Smap's family. They are a lot of fun to be around. I am quite the lucky girl to marry into such a great family! I am also quite lucky to have two great brother-in-laws who have two awesome wives who I have so much in common with and really enjoy being around. Plus, Leslie is 7 months pregnant with my first niece or nephew. I am so excited to be an aunt for the first time. Smap and I drove home with the two dogs. Alex and Kate caught a ride back with the parents so they could hang in Cinci for a shrimp boil. We needed to get back to get stuff done. Luna decided the back of the subaru was just not good enough for her, so she decided to climb onto my lap in the front of the car. I couldn't take it, so I climbed in the back with Ippon. It was actually quite comfortable laying in the back with the big dog.
I will post some good shots hopefully tonight. I know I always say I am going to post pics and rarely do, but I definitely will for this past weekend. We had a really good time.

19.5 Days!!!

It's the FI-NAL COUNT DOWNNNNN.....too bad I don't have the music to that song.  Yep, I am counting the days until SCHOOOOOOL'S OUT FOR THE SUMMER!  I really am excited.  

I am also excited to get my new kids next August though.  They are always so scared and timid on the first day of middle school.  It is just so much fun to watch them grow and change in so many ways.  Some of my girls were SO little on the first day of school, and now I am looking up to them...and some of them even wear bigger sizes than me....under wear included!!!  It is so crazy, but I love it.  I have some favorites that I don't want to leave because next year they won't even acknowledge me...they will be tooooooo cool.  Maybe some day they will come back to see me.  I can only hope.  

Not much going on in my world now that my Cohutta has been accomplished.  It is time to set another goal.  TOO bad I can't run anymore because X-Terras would be so much fun now that I have the whole mountain bike thing down pat.  We'll see.  I guess for now, I will just savor every good ride, swim, book, and time with family, friends, and of course my Ippon (see very bottom of this blog).

Peace.

Happy Earth Day!!! ...what we do for our earth.

In recognition of Earth Day today, I rode my bike to school, then to work at the bike shop.  Wait a minute....I always ride my bike to school. 

 So, unfortunately I didn't get to do any good for the Earth today besides the normal stuff I ALWAYS do....

I don't let one piece of paper touch my trash cans at home or in my classroom (I usually take paper out of any trash can I can if no one is watching too..people already think I am pretty weird....I can't help it that I care), I allow my kids to use scrap paper from the office and I have them to do their work on it instead of running copies, I reuse my baggies until they become sticky, I go around the school turning off lights continually, we compost everything we can in our kitchen (I usually bring home my crap (I'm not being literal) from school to compost too), we have all the special light bulbs, we turn off all our electricity in the house including our hot water heater when we are out and at home, we have solar panels fixed to our roof to run our tv in our kitchen, we recycle all things in our house, we have been updating our appliances to be the ones that are the most energy efficient etc...  

I can only hope that what I do in my classroom every day rubs off on a few of my kids.  I know it has because I have had a few parents tell me about their kids demanding their families to do the same.  Just another reason for me to explain why I need to be in a classroom.  I don't only teach 6th graders to read, but I also teach them to care about our earth.  I can't recall one of my teachers ever recycling, commuting, or even talking about healthy lifestyles.  Maybe a few will listen.  Let us hope they do since they are our future.

 HAPPY EARTH DAY.

Time to get back in the saddle!

Smap and I went to the Dogwood Crit yesterday to cheer on the local talent. Usually I do this race, but I had negative desire to race this year. It was really nice just hanging out with Smap, Dave Holmes, Tim and Lindsay, Missy, and all the rest of our friends from the bike shop, etc. Too bad there wasn't a big showing for any of the fields, it was a perfect day for a crit because it wasn't hot or wet.

I'm ready to hop back on the bike. I am looking forward to my nice comfortable road bike today. The weather is beautiful and I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my time (after school lets out of course). I can't wait to get back on my single speed also. Once again I am SO glad I did not ride my Rig at the Cohutta because then I would be pissed at that bike for a while. I can't have that.

Cheers to spring time riding and warm sunshine!

COHUTTA 100 2008

Well, my "milestone" race was a success because I finished it....all 100 miles.  There were points during the day that I was not so sure... at all times I had either (or all at the same time) mud in my eyes, back and knee pain, or bonkedness.... There were moments yesterday that I kept saying to myself, "pain is weakness leaving my body".  I said it over and over again.  

So, a lot of funny things happened during my milestone journey weekend.  First of all, I took Friday off of school to get a camp spot at the Thunder Rock campground.  I met some cool people there just hanging out.  Too bad I didn't get any photos...I thought about it, but just spaced on getting the camera out and, it would have been really cheezy for me to take some guys' photos when I first met them.  So, I finally ended up camping next to Tim and Doug from Jersey.  Super nice fellas....come to find out I was looking in the race bible and Tim's mug was showcased amongst the spotlighted riders racing in the 100!  So, I had set up camp next to a pro.  Pretty cool.  Also pretty cool that pro mountain bikers are WAY cooler and laid back than roadies and tri-geeks... Tim had some really cool dreads that I would LOVE to have, but I will probably have to wait until I get tenure at my school....I don't see my principal appreciating a teacher with dreads.  I am already crossing the line with my recycle bins,  chacos, and my very casual style. 

Anyway, so to the race...Floyd did show up, but I didn't see him.  Smap did....the word was that Floyd was wanting to bail on the race after 30 miles....he was supposively asking for a beer at the 2nd rest stop.  I tried not to think about beer....it was a long day.  I did see a dude I was riding with stop to smoke a cigarette...of all things to want during a bike race...

So, it took me 11 hours and 39 min's.  I had originally wanted to aim for 10 hours. I was on course for that too, but I obviously didn't train nearly enough to accomplish such a time goal.  You live and learn.  Carol Ann did an impressive 10 hours and 20 or so min's I think.  Floyd did 8 hours and 15 min's....a girl actually beat him.  Word is that Floyd finished and immediately had someone hand him a beer and he walked down to sit by the river.

This race was mentally and physically VERY tough.  The first 10 miles was a muddy single track due to an intense rain storm that came through very early that morning.  Lucky me, I had a some idiot come behind me on the tightest single track within the first 4 miles of the race and take me and himself out while he tried to pass me (he took out another guy too come to find out)...nice start to my race.  I had no idea what kind of impact this actually had on my race until WELL after I finished....

Pretty much the first 50 miles were climbing...at one point, Jen Smelser got up with me and then I left her.  The last thing she said to me was, "Nice ass"....I thought she was being friendly because we say that crap to each other...I made a comment to her and just kept riding.  Around mile 30, some random came up beside me and just told me, "hey, I have some duct tape"...I answered him, "good for you...what are you going to do with it?"...I had no idea why he was giving me this random piece of information.  Then I get back from him, "you might want it to fix the hole in your shorts"....I feel my arse and pretty much the whole left side of my arse is bare!!! I had NO idea.  I declined the tape because I was comfortable with it the way it was and if these guys had never seen a piece of arse before, then today was their lucky day.  Plus, I was climbing and did not want to stop!  So, every time I stopped I would just joke about it with all of the volunteers and randoms rejuvenating.  I had no idea that the rip would grow...well, I tried to just ignore it.  It grew and it became painfully obvious that maybe I should have taken a piece of tape when I had my chance.  As luck would have it, Smap and Jay (Jen's hubby) decided to hang out at rest stop 4 (mile 65)...thank GOODNESS.....I had new shorts!!!    I saw Smap and he was like, "I bet you want your shorts don't you?"...he did even know about the rip.  He was thinking I would want them because of all the grit from the morning.  The grit can cause great pain (we found this out at the Black Bear Rampage last summer).  So, I not only changed the shorts, but gloves and socks.  I was a new woman....not really.  

I successfully managed to finish the @ 80 miles of ungodly fire roads to get to the last 9 miles of single track...to think I was looking forward to this.  It really sucked.. At this point, my mind had left me for thoughts of beer and relaxation.  My brain was no where in sight when it came to maneuvering the simplest trails I had ridden SO many times before on my single speed.  I was toasted.  I had two guys behind me on Quartz Loop when I fell over the side.  I just laid there and insisted I would be alright and that I should lay there for a good 10 minutes, but the guys picked me and my bike up and forced me to ride on.  I didn't get their names, but I really appreciate them.  It was so tough.....

After my first half Ironman in 2001, my mom said to me, "you will do so much better...I can't wait to come watch next year"... I told her she was CRAZY!!!!!  Until yesterday, that first half ironman was the HARDEST thing I had EVER done....but yesterday as like doing back-to-back centuries.  Smap even made a comment like, next year you will do so much better.  Crazy....I will start to ponder doing another later, but right now I am putting up with my aching knees and back.  I guess I am getting REALLY OLD.  

Cheers to Dave Holmes for your @ 8:30 on your single speed.  Tough guy!  I would still be out there if I had been on my Rig. 

I almost forgot....I called Jen on my way home to tell her about the funny story about my shorts.  Well, it had happened when that dumb-arse took crashed me at the beginning.  I guess something caught my shorts and ripped them.  Jen saw my butt, and that was why she made the comment about my "nice arse".  She didn't know that I didn't know that I had ripped them.  Pretty hilarious....once a blond always a blond...I just had no idea.   It really made for a pretty hilarious story.  I really wished Smap had had the camera ready at stop 4 to take a photo of the shorts.  Maybe I will wash them and try them on one more time just so I can record the memory of the shorts.  To make things worse, they were my all time FAVORITE pair!!! 

Oh well, lots of fun.  SEE YA!

Floyd will be racing the Cohutta!

Well, on Saturday I will be able to say I have competed against Floyd Landis and a lot of other greats! I know he has been "busted" for whatever, but I still like him. I can't wait to be at the same starting line with him. That will be no doubt the only time I may possibly get a chance to see Floyd on Saturday. The first three miles of the race are comparable to the first three mile climb of the Foothills Parkway I believe. I am sure my arse will be dropped instantly from that HUGE group of elite riders.

I just can't wait though....fun times approaching at rapid speed!
Rach

3 days away!

I don't know what I am more nervous about, doing well in the race or finding a good camp spot Friday morning down at the Ocoee? I always worry about the weirdest things prior to racing....a good reason why I don't do a ton of racing anymore. I am a stresser...stress about stupid things and lose sleep over them.

It is suppose to rain down there now... I just hope my brakes hold up as well as my contact lenses. Sometimes rain can be a good thing. Back when I did triathlons, I prayed for rain because I was stong on the bike in the rain and it just didn't scare me at all. I would listen to everyone in the crowd complaining about racing their bikes on the slick roads....I made it a strength and it worked well for me in quite a few races. So, I will keep a positive outlook on the rain if it comes my way on Saturday.

I rode an EASY 30 miles last night after school down on the boulevard. I think it may have been the first time I have ever been around the loop more than 6-7 times. I also have been riding my bike to school consistently....this is only to ease my guilt of having a car that contains gasoline. I will have to drive the Element after school though....It is hard to carry a 30 lb bag of doggy food on a bike and it is also hard to ride a single speed down to the mountain bike trail which is 15 miles away.

Cheers!!!!!!

Great article in Knoxville's paper today....

My mom and step-dad are pretty crafty people. They are taking their talents to the extreme...

Here is the article that appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel! Far Out! :)

Sam Robinson says you should have seen the first time he tried riveting together the fuselage on the experimental aircraft he's building in his garage.
It wasn't anything you might expect from a mechanical engineer. He says it was more like something out of a Three Stooges movie.
Rivets, the kind that fasten aluminum sheets to each other, were jumping like BBs on tin, flying everywhere. Sam Robinson was so excited about his new airplane, he couldn't quite gain control of himself or the rivet tool.
"The gun was bouncing everywhere," he says. He riveted his thumb, bringing to mind "How High Is Up?" - where the Stooges say they're "expert riveters" as they fire the pieces of metal at each other 97 stories up. "How do you feel?" Moe says to Curly. " A rivet."
When Sam Robinson cut on the rivet gun-like tool for the first time to begin work on the fuselage, "it began bouncing and bucking. I felt just like one of the Stooges."
Robinson is an engineer at Oak Ridge's Y-12 National Security Complex. For the past 31 years he has worked in the Technology Development section, where he is a section manager.
This experimental aircraft in the garage began when Robinson and his wife, Judy - both pilots - got the idea that they wanted to build their own airplane. Nothing fancy, but something, Sam says, that "looked like a fighter." They settled on a four-seat plane, with good seats. That was Judy's idea.
Sam has been a pilot for more than 20 years. He began taking lessons when he was 15 but didn't get his FAA license until he was 35. He is 57.
His wife, Judy, has loved flying like her husband since she was a child growing up in Kingsport. Sam gave his wife flying lessons as a birthday gift. She winces at a question about her age but says she always wanted to learn how to fly.
"I wanted to be a jet pilot," Judy Robinson says with a laugh. Her father, she says, had other ideas. He wanted his daughter to major in home economics, so she did. For a while. Then she shifted to medical technology at the University of Tennessee's Health Science Center in Memphis.
Later, she got a master's in education and taught school.
"Teaching," she says, "was too stressful." After four years in the classroom, she moved to Y-12 and became an analytical chemist. She just retired from that job. Now, she is working to become instrument-qualified for flying in foul weather. Sam is already qualified on instruments, but it never hurts to have two who can pilot their way through thick clouds or rain.
Flying is clearly a passion for the husband and wife team. So is the building of their four-seat RV-10, manufactured by Van's Aircraft Inc. of Aurora, Ore. It will be powered by a six-cylinder Lycoming O-540 engine that develops 260 horsepower and has a cruise speed of about 200 mph.
In the beginning, Sam says he didn't think building the plane from a kit he ordered would be too difficult. After all, he built model airplanes from kits when he was a kid.
"I'm five years into a three-year project," Sam says with a chuckle.
When very large boxes began arriving at their Knoxville home, he and Judy began stacking parts wherever they could find space: in closets, under the bed, in the garage.
Today, the plane sits astride wood struts, stretching diagonally like a silver fish in a two-car garage stuffed to the gills with tools, parts, paint, plastic, all manner of stuff to work on the aircraft.
Sam says the experimental designation will remain with his plane because the FAA does not give its stamp of approval on such craft, though it will have to pass FAA inspection before Sam takes it on its first test run, which he hopes is by this time next year. He also gets qualified pilots to take a look at the sheaf of paperwork he keeps as he builds the plane in stages. The FAA, he says, loves to see the paperwork on which another experimental pilot has signed off.
By this fall, he plans to have the engine in place, wings attached and the craft in a hangar. His goal, he says, is to have his first test flight by next spring.
"We are almost to the point where we will have to move out of our garage," says Sam.
"You know," says Judy, looking at the plane, "we could build out on the end of the garage."
Adding the engine could be a defining decision for them.
The propeller is in their living room at the moment. Still in the box. And the large airplane engine is in a box, outside the garage.
By the time the plane is finished and ready for flying, Sam says they will have paid out about $100,000. "We are on a pay-as-you-go plan," he says.
Both are looking to the day they can crank up, taxi down a runway and fly off to one of their favorite hamburger restaurants at a nearby airport.
"We often take off on a weekend," says Judy. "We will go to the beach, or meet friends (who are also pilots)." They are even looking into the prospect of retiring to an airport, complete with condos and runways.
But for now, there are hundreds, if not thousands, more rivets to buck into place. (That's a builder's term for a tool that keeps the rivet from flying through the aluminum.)
It is sort of the Stooges drill.
"What do I look like?" Moe says to Curly.
"A rivet," he answers.
Retired senior writer Fred Brown may be reached directly at brownf08@gmail.com

5 days away...

So much for getting a blog out every day for the month of April. I was busy this weekend for having accomplished basically nothing. I had to work at the bike shop all day Saturday. It was a beautiful day too. I had a good time though, so it wasn't a real wasted day. I am in full taper mode as well for this upcoming weekend. I am crossing my fingers that the rain gods stay away on Saturday. Right now it is looking like a 30% chance. I will stay optimistic.

I had a great weekend of birthday dinners. Thanks again to my dad and Joyce for cooking Saturday night and having us and the Grants over! It was a stellar meal. And, Smap came through with the fish taco's last night on his first attempt to make them. Yummy!

Once again I will try to get some photos uploaded soon to show our weekend festivities. I took my camera to Smap's folks' house last night, but didn't break it out. Maybe his brother Jay will be so gracious to share some shots he took. I'll try to get those.

Six more weeks of school!

Who is luckier?

I don't know who wins here....me or Smap? For my birthday, my wonderful soul mate of almost 7 years got me the new Fisher RIG!

Of course he is going to switch all my cool pink stuff over as well as my wheels he built up for me. It will be a different color combo than anyone has around in these parts. I can't wait! I really can't wait to ride the new frame and fork! As many who reads my blog often know, I LOVE my single speed with all my heart. So, to recieve a new one as a surprise yesterday was AWESOME!!! I can't wait to ride it! I have already suggested that Smap put my 22 back on the new one because the 21 I have been riding has been causing a great deal of pain for my knees. I want to be able to ride for at least thirty more years, so I will just have to suffer on the flats.

So, back to my original question. Who is luckier? Me, because I got a new bike, or Smap because he has a wife who LOVES to RIDE mountain and road bikes??? Thank you Smap! I love you SO much!

:) P.S. If anyone wants to buy my old Rig, let us know :). It is a 17.5 frame. Call Smap for details. :)

Happy Birthday to my twin sister!

(this is not me, it is my twin sis Larkin)

I haven't had a chance to call my sis today since we are in the middle of TCAPs and I have been riding my bike to school every day this week (I usually call my sis every morning on the way to school...I am basically her wake-up call since she is an hour behind in Nashville).

Anywho, HAPPY BIRTDAY HERMANA!!!! HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY 33!!!!

Tuesday night ride!

Well, tonight turned out to be quite a fun Tuesday night shop ride.  We had a good female turnout tonight.  It was me, Missy, Laura, and Mary.  Mary took quite a few pulls and the rest of us took several apiece.  We all four managed to hang on for the duration.  Thankfully, Mount Everett was not on the route tonight!  We had several other little hills, but thankfully with the right placement in the pack we all stayed in.  It was so FUN!!!  My favorite part is the end (when I am still on) and the group gets past Lotts Elementary going over 30 mph on the flats.  It is such an adrenaline rush!  

Cheers to good rides!  :)

The Heinous #2!

LOOK ROCK with the clouds moving in...

Here are the clouds coming through the parkway. It was so cool because we were pretty much above them for a little while. We could look out one side of the tower and it was completely clear and the other side was all while fluffy clouds.
Here is Smap on the side with the white fluffy clouds.

This self portrait turned out pretty good capturing the color and even all the sweat running down my face. This was at the top of Look Rock on the tower. This past Sunday we decided, why not....and did it again. Fifty-eight miles and close to 7 thousand feet of climbing. Hopefully April 19th will NOT resemble this past Saturday (too much rain). I am hoping it will resemble yesterday!

So, yesterday we had another Heinous Loop newbie. It was Maria! She started out bad...complaining and threatening to quit. Once we got over the parkway, Maria did a 180 turn-around and ended the ride completely fine. It was such a fun day riding with her! She and I experienced the pain of Parson's Branch and Rich Mountain pretty much side-by-side. Way to go Maria!

Besides Smap and me, we had Monte Jones and Ben Smith once again. Alan Carnell also decided to make an appearance yesterday. I'll get back to him... Monte was once again strong and Ben stepped it up to improve his ride from two weeks ago. Smap crushed us all on the climbs. He kills me. I worked out four times as much as him, and he goes out and completely kills all of us. Natural born athlete the boy is....

Here is the motley crew coming through Hyatt Lane in Cades Cove. Smap took this photo just by putting the camera over his shoulder. Pretty good shot Smap!
Since Smap was such the quick climber boy yesterday, he was able to take many photos of the lot of us. Here I am finishing a day of climbing (almost) at the top of Rich Mtn. Road.

Here is happy Maria. Not to be confused with the Maria from the start of the morning. She totally cracked me up with her personality change from wanting to quit, to talking everyone's head off and joking with the guys.

Below is a fun shot of Monte peeing. Smap took the same exact shot of him two weeks prior in the same exact spot. I guess it just hits him in that same time and place every time.

And, last but not least....Poor ole' Alan. Mr. Carnell had trouble yesterday with cramping and bonking...I think mostly cramping though. Sorry Alan if you are reading this.... We all got to the top of the last climb and Smap decided to ride down to find Alan. Smap comes sprinting back to the top saying how he thinks he saw Alan riding in the back of a truck. Sure enough, Alan comes around the corner in the back of this truck waving like he is the King of a parade. Wow...I laughed pretty hard because he was all smiles and a completely good sport about the whole incident. We're glad he finished the ride with us! It was a great day despite my flat and Alan's ride.

Maybe we'll have a Heinous #3???? Who knows. I have always said I would only do one a year and so far I have done 2 with in a month. Crazy.

Cheers!

A great Sunday.

This is just a preliminary post for today. Smap downloaded all the photos from our adventure yesterday, so when I get home tonight I will show everyone what we did. It wasn't much different from 2 weeks ago....we did the Heinous AGAIN. It was a lot of fun though. It seemed like it went by pretty fast. I will blog more about it tonight!
Later!

last post for April 5th, 2008

I'm such the blogger girl now....  I can't help it.  I like to talk, therefore I like to type as well.  I am also an email queen.  Send me an email, and I promise you will get half a book back.  I just think words are the best way to express things sometimes.

So, today I went and did the river rescue with some friends.  Our friend Lois was in charge of the Haw Ridge rescue today.  There were about 8 of us who showed up to pick up a LOT of litter.  It wasn't such a bad time.  We had our dogs there and watched them play as we picked up a lot of beer bottles, cans, bait cups, syringes (yes syringes), shoes, fish tackle, and other types of junk.  I think you can definitely tell we were out there in several areas.  Out at West Shore down off Old Edgemore Road, there was plenty for a hundred people to pick up.  I just hate litter bugs.  

So, it was another UGLY day, so I ended up swimming again for the 4th time this week.  I really don't mind because I really enjoy swimming.  I swam again outside in the rain.  It was funny because there was a kid in the outdoor pool with me getting coached.  When it started raining he asked me if it was raining.  I had no clue he was talking to me until I saw that his coach was no where near.  I told him it was and he got super excited.  It is pretty cool to swim in the rain.  

Tomorrow shall be another Heinous Loop.  I shall take more photos of our agony.  Actually, it should be easier tomorrow because Smap and I won't have a lot of climbing miles on our legs. 

Hasta!  :)

Saturday, April 5th...rainy and wet.

Today will be a perfect day for a river rescue.  Hopefully it will clear up by the afternoon so we can actually do some type of riding.  I did end up getting to swim OUTSIDE in the rain yesterday after school.  I started out in the indoor pool and saw someone come in from the outdoor pool.  I high-tailed it outside to be the only one in the pool with some drizzling rain.  It was quite peaceful.  The water temp was perfect, so it made for a very good swim.  I was so glad to get outside because there were some screaming kids in the pool.  My eardrums just don't appreciate high pitched squealing like that.  

Today might have to be another pool day if the roads continue to stay wet.  Fine with me...I am paying an arm and a leg to belong to the overpriced facility anyways.  I have decided to put a hold on my membership for the summer time though because Smap and I can ride the 3 miles down the greenway to the West Side Y.  I can't wait to swim in their Olympic size pool.  I grew up swimming there.  Plus, Smap says he will go with me.  He hates my current club and at the most I could only get him to go there once a year.  

Later on today, I hope to post some pics from last weekend.  Until then....

My two brothers.

Here is my older brother Josh (with the dog's nose in his crotch), his semi-x girlfriend (also Rachel) and my little brother Nic out at my Dad's right after Christmas. I don't think I have mentioned either bro yet. Josh lives currently in a trailer in Lake Tahoe, CA. I call him our family nomad chef. He has "cooked" as he calls it all over the country (he calls it "cooked", but it is not just cooking, he creates amazing food). He graduated at the top of his class from Johnson and Wales Cullinary School in Charleston, SC and he did his internship at the Biltmore Estate. After graduating and interning, Josh moved to Lake Tahoe where he has lived on numerous occasions. He is currently living there for his 3rd or 4th time. Last year, he lived outside of Bozeman, MT working at an exclusive lodge called Papoose Lodge. He has worked at some pretty swanky places including Blackberry Farm close to K-town up in Townsend, TN. He is an AMAZING chef/artist/mountain biker/writer/brother. He moves when he gets tired of where he is living. He pretty much lives out of his truck with his dog George. George is the most human like dog I have ever met. He also moves to where there is amazing mountain biking and/or snowboarding. He leads a pretty interesting life. Right now, he is helping some friends expand their pizza place he helped open in 98'. Josh comes home in between jobs usually during the winter holidays. When I got married, he had just moved out to Bozeman, but I made him PROMISE to come back for my wedding. So he did....he drove 24 hours back to K-town and stayed for the weekend festivities, and then drove straight back. He is such an awesome brother. :)

My little brother Nic is nearly 22 and living on the farm with Dad and Joyce. I'm very unsure what he is doing besides sleeping a lot. I think he is in school at Pellissippi. He is a pretty funny kid to hang out with. He talks like he knows everything about everything. You gotta love him though.

It is POURING rain again today so I am going to be forced to swim in the indoor pool. I could very well go home and ride the spin bike, or go into my health club and do the elliptical machine, but I would rather poke myself in the eye than do either of the latter choices. The indoor pool at Fort Sanders is pretty nasty, but it isn't so bad on Friday afternoons after school.

It looks like I will NOT be racing the Tsali race this weekend...too much rain. I need LOTS O' Miles anyways for Cohutta now only two weeks away!!!!

There is a shoreline clean-up tomorrow morning at the Ridge, so I am hoping I can get myself up early to help pick up! I despise how rednecks feel it is their priviledge to throw anything and everything out their car windows or their fishing boats! Litterbugs SUCK!

Have a nice weekend!

Niplets!!!!! I'm bored again due to rain.

My friend Jimi makes the coolest bracelets!  She calls them "Niplets".  This one matches my favorite bike I own...my single speed.  I have the pink Chris King hubs and headset along with my pink Oury  grips, some pink brake cable, a pink BMX chain, and pink pedals.  Smap insists on adding more and more pink.  OH...and I have a pink Terry saddle.  The pink is rubbing off of it, but it adds character to my bike.  I love my Rig.
Today is a most dreadful day.  It has been raining all day long.  I am SO glad I got in a fun ride yesterday and two swims in a row prior to that, or I would be going CRAZY.  Just another day of rain and it looks like PERFECT weather for riding from Saturday afternoon and on out.  

I am thinking about maybe perhaps possibly doing the Tsali Knobscorcher with my friend Maria on Sunday.  Tsali is very unpleasant when it is muddy though.  I really don't mind too much mud due to being on my single speed, but when it splatters up into my eyes is when it really sucks for me.  I had that problem at the Black Bear Rampage last year.  We'll see.  I really want to do a long road ride with Missy this weekend.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I can do both.

Taking furniture from others...

I have a problem... I always see furniture that either parents or friends have that I want.  It is a serious problem probably, but it works out pretty well for me.  

Smap and I were at our friends' Karen and Jeff's pre-wedding party the other night and I spotted a cute little desk in Karen's "garage sale room" of things that she needed to sell.  Luckily someone had given her the desk and she was willing to pass it on for free to a friend (ME).  So, I lucked out with a cute little desk for our yellow den.  A few weeks ago I scored a bench from my dad (previously blogged about).  He was so kind to donate such a beautiful piece to our pool room.  I also score nice things from my mom on a regular basis as she begins her de-cluttering of her house and multiple storage facilities. :)

Below, are so other examples of my horrible problem of taking furniture from friends.  

Here is the red desk (below) from Karen's.   I was afraid to tell Smap about it, so I showed it to him after I moved it in.  Luckily he liked it!!! 
Our coffee table also has a fun story behind it.  My best friend from high school and college got it for a wedding gift from a friend who MADE it for her and her husband as their gift.  I saw it and immediately told her that I wanted it.  It has a killer shelf built into it for storage.  I was over at her house several years ago and saw that it was no longer in her den.  She told me she was getting ready to take it to Goodwill....so here it is....in my den.
My buffet in my dining room....came from my friend Abby's house.  The first time I walked into her house I saw it.  I told her if she ever wanted to get rid of it, I would take it.  She called me last year and offered it for $50.  Her folks even delivered it and helped us move it into the house....pretty darn heavy piece.  It was a perfect fit once again.  Buying/taking furniture off of friends and asking parents for unwanted furniture is a gift I have.  Smap and I have pretty good stories behind a lot of our furniture.  

Anyway, I had a great ride tonight with my new friend Missy who just moved here.  She is a cat 2 roadie and is so fun to talk to.  We rode out of her house in South Knox.  I have not been out there in several years.  Hard to believe I started riding out there over 10 years ago when I first started riding with the Zoo folk.  What is even crazier is that I will be 33 in a week.  Wow....time flies when you are having fun. 

CRAZY!!!!  Just yesterday I was starting college....

I'm pregnant!!!!

Ha ha....April Fools!!!! Maybe in a few years...

Well, I did the marathon bike marshall thing on Sunday. It was COLD, but fun. I think I was on my bike (my Paragon 29'er) for about 4.5 hours. I am unsure of how many miles I actually rode because I don't have a computer on that bike, but it was anywhere between 25-35 miles. I rode pretty slowly riding next to friends going back and forth on the race course. It was a fun time even though my heart rate never got up once. I got some good photos of my twin sis (I'll post at some point this week), and of some of my friends I ran into along the way. I had two friends actually do the marathon...AmyLynn (the mountain biker turned roller derby queen) and our friend Jim Smith (Smithers). Crazy people....I saw a lot of people going through all kinds of pain. I did the bike marshalling the first year of the K-town marathon, but Smap and I were positioned on the 1/2 marathon part of the course. We didn't even think about moving on to the rest of the course that year. This year I wish I had taken a whole bottle of endurolytes (sp?) because I gave out the 10 I had in my mtn.bike pack I had with me. I needed more. I also needed more water. On a few occasions, I had to ride back to find bottled water for some poor souls... Luckily Amylynn was carrying a lot of extra endurolytes with her, so I bugged her for some one time after I ran out. Next year I will be a lot more prepared.

So, after the marathon it actually became a pretty Sunday. Too bad for me though. Being out in the cold all morning totally zapped me. I was immobile on the couch for the rest of the day. I did make it out to walk with Mr.Ippon, but I was quickly back on the couch as soon as we got back in the house. Smap was busy installing our new dishwasher that must have taken him 8 hours all together....or it seemed like it. I kept telling myself I was staying inside just in case he needed my help....I had a good excuse to remain on the couch. Actually, he did need my help at one point...I think I handed him a cup from the cabinet so he could drain some water out of the old dishwasher....he he he.

Well, today my brother and sister in law offically start their way back to Tennessee. They are moving back to TN from SAN FRANSISCO. I can't wait! My twin sis left me the month before I got married in 05' for a bigger TN town, so I have been without the extravegance of having a person to hang out with when my husband just won't do. Kate is from the Czech Republic and is super fun. Alex (Smap's youngest bro) is pretty fun too. They both love to ride and camp just like us. Alex even races. Perfect...Smap and Kate can hang with our dogs while Alex and I race. Only kidding Smap if you are reading this. ;-)

So, I am looking at the radar today. I think someone is pulling an April Fool's on Knoxville. They are saying that it is suppose to be stormy weather out tonight, but I just don't see it. I hope not because I need to get some good road miles in today. I haven't been on that bike since....ummmmm....last Tuesday. I have been on my other two mountain bikes 3 times though...and have swam good swims twice, so I think I will be alright. I tell myself that at least. And, I did run from the Knoxville Expo center to my mom's car parked behind the Knox Museum of Art in the rain on Saturday so my sis and mom wouldn't have to get wet. That may have been a half mile run....I am counting that too.

Okay, enough rambling. Fingers are crossed for no rain!