Weather + New Gadget = Riding

Given the lovely forecast for tomorrow and the fact that today was sunny and around 40 degrees, I figured if I wanted to get out and ride, I better. We'll be buried under a foot of snow tomorrow which is fine - I like skiing, boarding, and snowshoeing. But - this Christmas, Santa knew what this gadget girl would really love. A Garmin Edge 305. And I just couldn't resist trying it out. Besides being Gadget Girl, I'm also Data Girl (I think I was the only one in my MBA class who loved our semester of statistics.) So I threw one of the extra mounts on the Tsunami (which is still covered in nasty Kansas City mud) and headed out for a nice 30 mile first ride of 2008. OMG did I feel slow! I know I was riding my 'cross bike complete with knobbies but still.... Ran into Cathy and Mike on their tandem near the asparagus farm which was great for catching up and catching my breath. I was very happy when I rolled into Lexington Center. And yeah, before I even jumped out of my sweaty clothes, I uploaded the ride. You can see the ride data here. Time to crunch some numbers! And the best part, now I'll be able to find those hidden trails that Cathy takes me to. :)

The Flip

Today we were off to Johnny D's Uptown Lounge to meet PFFC for jazz brunch and our annual, always after Christmas, present exchange. I love brunch there especially the combos. Despite my size, I can out eat anyone if the the food we're eating is carbs. Pasta, waffles, pancakes, french toast, etc. Once, we ran out of batter and killed a waffle iron as I ate two 6 ft rowers under the table. Today, however, since I'm still feeling like I ate too much over the holidays, I refrained from the carbs but I did indulge in a Parrot Mimosa. After all, it was Christmas!

And speaking of Christmas, PFFC out did herself. We now have a fun little video camera, The Flip, to shoot all kinds of crazy stuff to post. Love it. And yes, those parrots in the video are our drinks. If you drink two of them, they give you the bird. The bird glass could have been fun for work. Maybe I should have sucked down two.

But in all seriousness, I work with lots of video at work and have at my disposal cameras ranging from professional cameras that you see newsmen carrying on their shoulders, to HD MiniDV camcorders to the "helmet cam". This little gizmo is really quite well done from it's ease of use of the camera itself to the simplicity of its included video editing software. Fun stuff!

Miss December

My friend and fellow mtn bike racer, Stephanie (a.k.a. Luna Chick) is Miss December in the current NEMBA calendar. Love it. Best part, though - when asked what her dream bike would be, she answered, "Any bike that'll let me beat S in the Root66 Race Series." Game on! Should be an interesting season. Glad I'm not in their category any longer. :)

What? Do I look like I'm 12?!?!?!

I decided to burn a PTO day yesterday and do some boarding. Headed up to Sunapee for nice day of playing in the snow. Three times while riding the lift, I had someone ask "Why aren't you in school today?" I realize I'm short and the baggy boarding pants and purple board with pink and white flowers don't help but really, I haven't been required by law to be in school in almost 30 years. I'm trying to take it as a compliment.