Santa Monica - days 6&7

What a great trip! We just got back home to a semi-clean apartment, hungry fishies, and a warm purring kitty in Incline. Yesterday's training was long but good. My bike and I even got cheered and waved at by big limo filled with teenage girls in Malibu! At the end of it all we ate a bunch of pizza and watched UNC lose and went to bed too late after observing how 3 ten year old boys conduct themselves in a sleepover (the answer: moderately well, as long as video games are involved).

Today we woke up and said "bye" to our favourites:

I tried to talk Greg into kissing Arnold, but I was unsuccessful.

Then we hit the road.

And we made it! Greg even said at one point that I was driving well.

O.K., time to rest hard...

Even though I am freezing I am ordering a Milkshake!

Today I rode outside! Starting from the Trader Joe's in Carson City, which is about 25 miles from our place in Incline Village and about 1,500' lower in elevation, heading South along Jack's Valley Road through Genoa (Nevada's first settlement, established in 1851 - it's actually pretty cute!), down to Fredericksburg Road, Emigrant Trail, and turning around just past Woodford.

My plan to find the 7 (or 5) Peaks of Incline this week was thwarted by a couple days of snow and wintry temps and I wound up riding inside for most of my workouts. But my limit on the trainer is not high now that Spring feels so imminent - I already did one hard trainer workout this week, and the trainer just didn't feel like the right choice for getting a quality long ride done today. It felt depressing. By comparison, a 30 minute drive to relentless 20 mph winds and 40 degree temperatures was downright inspiring!

I have done this ride once before, and new I could expect DRY (yay high desert that gets not-much snow!), lightly trafficked roads, lots of ponies and cows to say hi to along the way, and lots of gorgeous views...

View near the beginning of the ride, at the top of Jack's Valley

View near my turn-around at Crystal Springs, if I'd continued on I'd have reached the famous Luther Pass

I only took a few pictures because the entire way back was so windy that my eyeballs were knocked out of focus. That's my theory anyway. I really could not see well at all, it was slightly alarming. Plus regaining momentum into a retarded headwind after a valley-vista photo-op... not worth it. (I thought of you Marit!). Oh and this is still my camera phone, since I didn't consult the expert before purchasing my Fuji Finepix, I doomed myself to true snail-mail!

Also I did not see a single other cyclist, not even Greg. We did separate rides. After the Colfax debacle which was all his fault of course and was preceded by the Auburn NOT-group ride which was also his fault, I have sworn never to ride with him again and I am sticking to my guns. So there. Hmf. I am also keeping the memory of my dear grandmother alive by ensuring that no matter what happens, I always make sure to place the blame.

But I did let him come with me to In-n-Out for burgers, fries, and Milkshakes!! Woohoo!

and right now i don't feel so good

Just Mention Ponies.

I am planning to see "Horton Hears a Who". Not because I used to read the Dr. Seuss book on which it's based as a kid, not because I love cartoons, and not even because of Jim Carrey.

No, what sold me was the little yellow fuzzball in the trailer.

"In my world, everyone's a pony, and they eat rainbows and poop butterflies!" (specifically I identify with the pony part).

----

Anyhow speaking of ponies I *finally* got my artistic butt back in gear today. Reinterpritations of previous sketches and final products at this point, I am working on a cut paper series to then redo as silkscreens. Here's one:

Winding Down

Tomorrow is the first Team VAC race of the year :), and the last day of camp :( ! It's been a fantastic week of training for all of us, and we were very blessed with great weather. I would come back to Healdsburg in a heartbeat for another training camp - great roads for cycling and running, and a nice 25 meter outdoor pool in town.

But I would only come if I had the same great company. Everyone is a lot of good adjectives, including entertaining. For example Sharon is finding herself by reading "A New Earth: Awakening to your Life's Purpose" (she admits it's new-agey crap but by golly she's going to enjoy and learn from it). Sharon and Nicole look so much alike from behind that even Sharon's sister mistook one for the other (made me feel better for making that mistake approx. 12 times this week). Leah has been educating us about all kinds of safety precautions and intelligence methods she learned in the Israeli army, totally fascinating stuff. I can't wait to ride to the race with her tomorrow and get more stories, she is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. Ultra-friendly young Hannah has been the recipient of a few of these safety warnings, I swear Hannah would talk to even someone like George W. for an hour just to avoid hurting his feelings! Chrissy left us last night to go to Australia with the national team. I remember meeting her at Mt. Hood in 2005, my first NRC race ever, and during one stage I saw her running the opposite direction along the course, in sneakers, cheering "go ford basis!" (chrissy's team that year) - I was so confused and impressed, until I learned it was actually her twin sister! Incidentally, Leah won the race that year and Chrissy was second. I was in awe of them both. Katie is just as fantastic as she was last year, if not moreso. I am thoroughly entertained whenever she is speaking, even if I can't make out a word she's saying! That happened today in a busy coffeeshop. Also I am learning to say "Leese hunnybunny, do we have a SHED-joule for the MAAssaje?" rather than "hey huntress, what's the muhSSADGE SKEDjull?" The Aussie version is so much more melodious!

More on the rest of the girls tomorrow. I am beat, in a good way but beat nonetheless. So are my toes:

I ran for the same amount of time as my friend Marit today, but not as far and not for an awesome win! Anyhow I know I am a wuss who screams for attention and sympathy even for a hangnail, but I have blisters on ALL of my TOES!!

Ins and outs of the day thanks to my ever-trusty-in-a-pinch camera phone, spooky morning then serene sunset:


Speaking of camera phones, I am reading Katie's trashy Aussie mags and they have ads in there for camera phones with 5 or 6 megapixels!!! Why the crap don't we get that here?!? Did the digital camera industry pay off the domestic phone manufacturers or something?!?

Briefly

Yesterday's "Huntress Moment" courtesy of VAC Team Director Lisa Hunt:

"Lara your little sister is a triplet? That's so cool! Wait - does that mean you are twins?!"


We had team photos yesterday afternoon at the Golden Gate Bridge - a long-ish drive from where we are staying in Healdsburg but the view and dramatic backdrop made the trip worth it, and the wind and rapidly-rolling fog made the shoot very funny. I'd post some of my photos of the photo shoot but ride departure time is t minus 22 minutes and huntress FREAKS OUT Courtenay-style when we are late.

Oh and I made it to the pool this morning!!!! Got to swim right next to high school swim team practice, good practice for race swimming with all their splashing and cavorting. Apparently all the hubbub caused me to completely forget my favourite new skill, the Flip Turn, (i SWEAR i know how to do them) but other than that I had a lovely outdoor swim workout! Sunrise over our (very chilly) pool this morning:

Sunset at Midway

This sunset occurred at 4:15 p.m.!

My Glasses Still Work Though

I painted for a bit this morning, before putting in the evil dizzifying contact lenses.



This one's got my name all over it, or at least my first initial anyway.

It's posted with all the others on my art blog.

Back in the Game

It's been too long. The last couple of months have been one big cycling whirlwind, without even enough time for recovery, let alone such a luxury as painting.

But today provided a blissful window of true downtime, and here is the product:


I like this one. Image is recalled from a road trip with my mother, her behind the wheel, me manning the stereo (Sal is not to be trusted with such things) and staring at endless hay fields.

More art here.

Today

I decided to get all religious today since it's Good Friday and the markets are closed. I stayed home and slept in (until the trash trucks came at 6:30 anyway) and talked on the phone and pushed some paint around a canvas and generally worshiped my bed and my flipflops and pj's and other day-off sorts of things.

Rte. 5

A few weeks ago I drove to Visalia (alone!). When I turned off of I-5 onto 198, I looked in my rearview mirror for almost a solid 15 minutes, it was so beautiful.

Hills

I have spent the past few Sunday late afternoons/evenings driving back to the Bay Area from the Central Valley. It's a beautiful route. Green velvet hills beg to be touched. But I painted them instead.



Maybe I will throw in a cow later. And some windmills.

Purple

I remember in middle school if someone asked "what's your favourite color?" and you said "purple", the popular kids gleefully, and condescendingly, accused you of being sexually deprived. Because apparently that's what purple means.

Hmm.

Should I be worried about the true motivations behind my latest little painting?



When I get home I might smear some red and black and white on this, to tone down the pervasive purple.

Patience

I don't have much. Patience, that is. I am really trying to work on that, believe it or not.

I wish I had a handle on it like yesterday, then maybe I wouldn't feel so annoying sometimes.

Anyway I did a new painting. Usually I paint over the course of at least two days to allow for a little drying and to let myself look at my work with fresh eyes midway through the process, in case I see something wrong. But I really wanted to keep painting this one. So, I contorted my arms and paintbrush around my little bitty canvas and did the sides, normally reserved for Day 2.

Then I took a photo right away.

Then I posted it on my art blog even though the paint is still glistening and I might add a few strokes.

Then I emailed my mom to tell her.

Now I am posting a blog about it here. Just in case anyone wants to see it now.

Because LOOK, LOOK, I did a new PAINTING!!



Funnily enough, amidst all this painting and photographing and posting and emailing, I was on the phone with someone, soap-boxedly telling him about how things don't always get fixed in a day so you have to (you guessed it...) be patient.

Rain Please

The weather folks are calling for days and days of rain.

I am actually hoping they are right. Rain will clear the air, maybe then we will be able to see the mountains and sky and stars again.... The pervasive haze has been depressing me, I can't shake the world-is-ending thoughts when I am suffocating in an ominous cloud of who knows what, the grey sky sitting on grey buildings built by fossil fuels wantonly using ores and resources.

GWB doesn't want to participate in global climate change initiatives for fear of hurting the U.S. economy?! Please. Dude needs new glasses, but I guess it will take more than that to cure his short-sightedness.

A Photograph

All these long winter rides mean that my pockets are stuffed with gels, baggies of drink mix, and extra clothes. I have no space for a camera. But I see so many amazing things on my rides.

I am just going to have to stock up on little bitty canvases.

Partner in Silliness

SO, Holly thinks my tri idea is a great one and wants to do it with me! How exciting! I am actually looking forward to becoming a multisport dork.

In other news: I have very minimal other news. I am riding my bike a lot and napping a lot. Yet somehow it doesn't feel like I am doing either one enough.

But I can't complain about long days on the bike. Especially when blessed with lovely weather and good company. On Saturday I went for a nice long ride with the girls, and since I am so homestar runner obsessed it was all I could do not to be like "okay, my spanish galleons!" all day. Anyway, this is when Holly got suckered into teaching me to swim! I also caught up on gossip and compared food obsessions with Tracie, I talked team with Martina, I admired Taitt-who-doesn't-blog's new shuffle (which she uses while riding, but she doesn't listen to music, she listens to news podcasts! How grown up! I meanwhile rock out to AFI and the like), got some good equipment and training advice from the lone boy on the ride, and I narrowly avoided a sideswipe/decapitation attempt made by "the competition", no links or naming of names here because it wasn't intentional, just really very scary because of speeding cars and lots of metal and all that... and, amongst all the chitchat and girly giggling, I got in a great ride and felt even more excited for the upcoming race season.

Anyway. That was Saturday.

Oh, then I went home and cleaned up and really wanted to do some artwork, but what I had in mind required a hugely unappealing trip OUT of the APARTMENT (major ugh) and IN the CAR (bleh!) to go to the art store (which is an inconceivably interminable MILE AWAY from my house) for some linseed oil, so I spent an hour and a half lying inert on my bed, trying to collect enough energy and psych myself up for said trek, before I blissfully realized I could do a different art project for which I had all the materials at home already. Pictures posted once it dries...

I guess I must be training right if, when I get home, the simplest errands seem impossible.

Ahh. Once again, I have succeeded in frittering away my first hour of work by blogging. I did try to start on the cash reconciliations, I promise I did, but my fingers and eyes have no interest in numbers prior to 8 a.m. regardless of whether I get decaf or regular on my way in to the office.

More Music

I have been spending a lot of time on my iTunes lately, time that should probably be spent on cleaning my apartment or organizing more tangible areas of my life than my digital music library... But the appeal of the former over the latter is just far too great.


The cool thing is that, in rediscovering music that I owned but had forgotten about, I feel like have acquired a whole bunch of songs without spending a cent. Appropriate for miserly, new-year's-resolutiony, I-spent-to-much-money-on-Christmasy January. (Actually I did not spend too much on Christmas, my family will attest to that! But still...)

Anyway here's my latest iMix. Mostly older songs, mostly electronica, two Tori songs because I had forgotten how much I like her, and the requisite Cranes and Cure songs but both of them are ones I had forgotten about too, so they slipped in to this mix legitimately. Let me know if you want me to burn it for you, I am all for sticking it to the iTunes Man.

Ethereality

I took this photo early yesterday morning, just after taking off from BWI. I looked out the window and the sky was two levels of lava somehow, and I must finally be thinking like a photographer because I grabbed my camera. A thirty second delay and I would have missed it, because just like that, the sky was a normal looking blue.

Self-inflicted Daylight Saving Time

This week, I started getting up an hour earlier, so I could get to work an hour earlier, leave an hour earlier, and ride my bike an hour longer.

I am so tired.

It's only Wednesday, and it's only 9:33 a.m., but I am finding myself deleriously daydreaming of the Friday afternoon nap I am planning to take today.

So yeah, this year I feel like I am experiencing a couple of fall backs or spring aheads or whatever and whenever it is that I spend a week stumbling around wondering why we have to go and change time all around. Thankfully, my rides this week have been lovely and made the worktime grogginess well worth it. Winter afternoon light in California warms my eyes and begs for a paintbrush.

I can get used to Vacation

I have fallen into a lovely pattern here in Hawaii. Get up, look out the window to verify that it's another beautiful day in paradise, go for a run, put on sunscreen, go to the beach, look at the clouds, listen to some hawaiian reggae, put on more sunscreen, hang out with my brother, all at a leisurely pace (except the training of course...). I met these two really cool girls visiting from New York, we went to the beach together and talked, amongst other things, about how they could ditch the city and make a new life in Hawaii. This was on Friday. At the time I was thinking about how lucky I am to live in the Bay Area. Today is Sunday. Today I was thinking about how I could make a new life in Hawaii. This place grabbed hold of me completely - the colors, the air, the water, the way no one is in a hurry because wherever they are it's gorgeous, almost everything about it has made me want to stay. Even though I got jeered as a hauli today for making a left hand turn into a beach parking lot.



Anyway. Not to worry, I am not up and moving to Hawaii. They don't have bike races here. And my life is in California, where I am very happy because it's an awesome place and I love what I do. But, this trip has made me think... I never take vacations. I get so wrapped up in whatever it is that I am doing that it never occurs to me to go do something else or to allocate money towards something else. So I am already working on a New Year's Resolution: have a better variety of fun. I want to go skiing with my brother and cousins in January. I want to come back to Hawaii. I want to go to Sundance this summer with my dad's family, who I haven't seen since before I started bike racing because the annual trip is always the same weekend as some race. I have never been to Yosemite, or to Tahoe, but I live within a few hours' drive of each. Don't get me wrong, bike racing is definitely fun, but I am now craving a bit of variety.

Back to the here-and-now. Today I went to Waimea Bay on the North Shore which was (shock and surprise!) gorgeous. The waves can be huge and powerful, I saw this movie a while ago called Riding Giants about the big-wave surfers and Waimea Bay was one of their spots. Today the waves weren't too huge but the current was definitely powerful. I stayed close to shore.

Here is the bay late in the afternoon:

Here is my sky photo of the day:


Last night we went to the University of Hawaii vs. Purdue football game. The last football game I attended was the 49ers vs. the Cowboys last year. It was horrible - gross, loud, dirty, and I couldn't see the game because I needed new contacts. Still do. Yesterday's game, however, was a blast. Especially when Hawaii won, 42-35. I only asked lame and poorly-timed questions during 5 of the touchdown plays... and I even managed to get a photo of the winning touchdown!