"I can't stop thinking about your fanny...pack."

I have been talking for awhile about fanny packs. Lots o' questions. Do they still make them? Where do you purchase them? What do people carry in them. Lately when I have seen fanny packs on people, they have been stuffed full. I keep wondering what is in them.

Today was a good day because not only did I win 3 primes in the criterium, but one of them was a fanny pack! What will I carry in mine?

Unexpected

A family friend of ours unexpectedly died yesterday at his home. Here is the link to the article in the Charlotte Observer.

Michael spent most holidays with our family and was always at my dad's office parties. I loved laughing with Michael. He always had something funny to say or some kind of gossip. He was basically part of my family.

I am very saddened by this and so is my mom. He was her best friend who she talked to just about everyday. My dad is having a party in 2 weeks at his office...it will be very hard.

This makes me realize that I need to do what I want to do when I want to and to keep connections close to you, because everything can change in a moment.

Michael you will be missed greatly. I will miss laughing with you.

Ironic

For those who know me...

Random Acts o' Kindness

I have never done things for others to receive anything in return. I do things for others because that is one of the traits that defines me and it just feels right. If anything, I have realized that I am a big time people pleaser. I want people to like me and be happy with me. People have told me before that my big heart gets me into trouble.


It just hit me tonight on the way home...I have received several random acts of kindness from friends, strangers, and acquaintances. I am not sure why the influx, but I'm okay with it! It feels nice to have things done for me.


This reminds me of the sayings "what goes around, comes around" and "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."


A little over a year ago I was very bummed about needing help from others, and some that I thought would help me, did not. As it all comes around, I realize that kindness may come from unexpected places and completely out of the blue. Generosity is a very good trait to have!


I will continue helping others and being there for those who need me.

Dead End Road

Things have once again not turned out the way I planned for them to. Had some adventures in mind for this Spring, but it won't happen now. Very frustrated with several things; mainly the government. I am owed lots of money that has been delayed for over 6 months. This is one reason why things are not falling into place. Focusing on helping others, nutrition, and getting fit. Trying to focus on one thing I enjoy to see how well I can do. In the past I have been engaged in lots of activities and performed mediocre. We shall see...


I was told the other night that a path I had taken was a "dead end road." Yes I know that now.

Snow Day

Yesterday may have been fun for some...but not this girl! I hated being cooped up in the house all day. I enjoy being around others and moving around. Sitting on the couch, napping, and watching movies consumed my day. Well not totally...I did ride indoors for about an hour. I can't wait for the weather to clear up and get back to normal activities!

Dreams

I hardly remember dreams. I don't have vivid ones either. Until I do. This week I have woken up really stressed out over my dreams. One was about my dog and the other about a former friend. My dream about my dog ended ok when I woke up, but the other did not. I was carrying the weight of this friend and it was stressing me out. It was so bad that it took me about 45 minutes to recover from the feelings I had about this dream. This paired with a weird week for me was not good. I am looking forward to having a really good week next week!

Recycle?

I went to an upscale movie theater last night located downtown. Upon leaving the movie with a plastic bottle in my hand, I was excited to see a hole on the counter that said "Recycle." Beside it was another hole that said "Trash." I go to drop my bottle in the "Recycle" hole only to notice that the "Recycle" and "Trash" holes go into the same bag! Are you kidding me?? It almost makes me wonder about other recycling receptacles. Are they really going to a place where they are recycled? Or are they going into the dumpster with other trash?

Superstitious

Sometimes I feel like I am superstitious...so I'm not going to ride my bike today! One year ago I broke my ankle riding my mountain bike. For those who know me, know the story, but those who don't, it was pretty severe. One year later and I still have limited movement in it, but, I am working hard to do stretches and push myself to do things I don't think I can do.

I have learned a lot about myself and others this past year. Many people were there for me. Some I knew would support me and some surprised me with their kindness. Many people were not there for me. A few people I thought would help because of all the help I have gave them, disappeared. I learned my lesson and let some people go.

On the physical side of things, I have done many things this past year that I would have never expected to do. Long bike rides, races, and just started my running back in the last few weeks. I am going to keep pushing myself to do more and more things.

I never would have thought something like this would have impacted my life the way it did, but it happened for lots of reasons and helped me become a better person!

That's it for now!

kt

Duck, Duck, Goose

I saw some geese on my ride this afternoon. An unusually hot day considering it's October! Anyways, I never had an opinion on geese until my last job. After working in a closet for basically 5 months, I was moved to a HUGE office at the back of the school. It was seriously 4 times the size of my old office, with my own bathroom! Too bad I didn't stay there longer than a few months. To continue with the story; once my office was moved, I parked in the back of the building. Apparently some geese laid eggs back there by the door to the building. Several mornings, I would park my car, get out, walk towards the building, and get attacked by geese. When I say attacked, I mean wings flapping, hissing, and charging towards me. This happened about 3-4 times before I realized that if the geese were cruising around back there, I would have to park at the front of the building and walk about 10 minutes through the school to get to my office. Every morning I would drive to the back, see geese, and drive to the front. After about a month or so, I guess the baby geese were born and they relocated themselves. But, I may be scarred for life! I shiver every time I see geese or get near them!

And the saga continues...

I have had a lot of things going on lately. Lots of ups and downs. I am still conflicted with some decisions I have made.

Despite everything else, I have finally gotten my riding/fitness back on track from a recent slump. I ventured to the mountains a few weeks ago with a friend. I had an amazing time riding my bike in the mountains. The climbing was right up my alley. Hammering uphill is easy for me and I enjoy it! We rode on the Blue Ridge Parkway for the majority of the day. Passer-bys were always friendly to us cyclists and the view was incredible (despite the rain!) We turned off of the BRP to climb Mt. Mitchell. I made it up 2 miles of straight climbing! At that point, it was the hardest thing I have ever done on my bicycle.

Here is a picture of me at the Visitor's Center
After that trip, I decided I was addicted to riding in the mountains. Another friend of mine contacted me about participating in a cookie ride called "Bridge to Bridge." It is a 105 mile ride that starts in Lenoir, NC and ends at the top of Grandfather mountain. After many discussions with friends, and sponsorship from my boss, I decided to sign up. We left at 7:30am, ride started at 10am. The first 55 miles were pretty straight forward; many rollers and flat areas. Once you hit 55 miles, you begin 12 miles of straight climbing, then hit the Blue Ridge Parkway, and then climb Grandfather mountain. It rained the entire day. Physically, the ride was a 7/8 out of 1o for me, but mostly mental. I was freezing and have never been more miserable in my life. I finished in 7 hours and 52 minutes. I was on the verge of tears climbing up Grandfather mountain. THAT was the hardest thing I have done to date. I had lots of support from friends and acquaintances too that I really appreciate. I was 207 out of 277 finishers, and one of 13 females that finished the ride. I also engaged in a lot of self talk to encourage myself to finish. I am not a quitter.

Here is a very serious picture of me on the ride

Prior to participating in the epic ride of Sunday, I raced in a criterium. I joined the Cat 4 women's race. There were 5 of us. This was my second crit. I learned a lot, and also worked a lot! I came in 4th place, but very close to 3rd. My excitement about racing was at an all time high after the race. I decided that if I work hard through the winter and train for crits, I will have much success next year!

Stay tuned for more happenings...big things are in the works!

Compression Confession

I have to admit...I am obsessed. I bought some compression socks from the medical supply store on Thursday. I wore them all day at work, in the car to and from Asheville on Friday, and then all day again at work today. My legs feel amazing, even after my 6 hour mountain ride on Friday! My ankle has also felt amazing since I started wearing them. It has been in bad shape for the last 2 months (due to me not doing my exercises), but for the last 48 hours I have not experienced any pain.

I definitely recommend giving them a try.

This is where I spent my day...

In Greenville on Paris Mountain. Drank beers, ate Colombian food, and cheered on the riders. As much fun as I had, I felt guilty for not riding my bike today...or riding much in general. I need to get back on the program and stop feeling so tired.

Remember this..."I used to be a triathlete, until I saw the aero of my ways!" Congratulations to my friends that finished Ironman Louisville today!

Expectations

I have been thinking about this concept recently.

In a relationship, friendship, or job, you are expected to do A and B. If you don't do A and B, you are dropped or fired. If you do A and B and sometimes C and D (just to be nice or help out), from that point on, are the expectations for you raised? Are people let down when you do not accomplish A, B, C, and D? Even though you are only supposed to do A and B? Is doing more work better, or should you just do what is expected of you?!

Quote O' the Day

Sometimes I try and entertain myself when I am working or talking to customers...

Me: How tall is your son?
Mom: 6 feet...well 6'1" with sneakers on.
Me: How tall is he with high heels on?

The mom could not stop laughing. Even when I tried to get serious again.

kt

Happy Birthday to Me!

Tuesday was my birthday...I'm knocking on 30's door! It was a very uneventful day, but that was what I needed. Still trying to clear up residual stuff from booty. Here are some pics from my birthday... Thanks to my coworkers and Edible Art for this cute cake. It was very good too! Except when a cyclist decided to dig in it with his hands! I kept thinking assos all over my cake!

Here is a picture of some flowers I received at the shop from a mysterious cyclist..oooo the suspense!
And this picture isn't from my birthday, but it is a cool bracelet that was given to me by Sergio from Spoken' For. He makes bracelets out of spokes. Thanks to everyone who made my day great...including my family who took me out to dinner! I hope year 29 in the life of Katie O is great! Gotta be better than year 28, right?!

A Week of Booty...

...wait I mean 24 hours of booty! And no it's not what you think it is. It's a 24 hour charity cycling event. We are the shop sponsor of the event. I spent all week preparing for our part in the event and working the event. Boy am I tired! I spent the large majority of today in the bed. Not good for morale!

Tuesday: Awoke at 6am to ride my bike on the news for the event. Wednesday: Well deserved day off and calm before the storm. Thursday: Packet pickup at the shop. I arrived at 7am and worked until 8 or 9pm. Long day with lots of people/commotion. Friday: Worked all day at the shop and then headed to the event to work our booth. Long, long night. I ended up crashing for a few hours in a VW bus wrapped up in a sleeping bag, sweating my ass off! Saturday: Woke up at 5:45am to find some of my coworkers passed out in the bus and some still awake. Ate breakfast and then rode with a couple of friends for support until I was kicked off the course for riding illegally. Went to work, ran around all day, no lunch, and then back to the booth to help with breakdown. Finally a night of rest!

The worst part of this week; not being able to ride my bike as much as I would have liked!

Funniest observation of the event: I was walking around with my boss and about a stone's throw from our setup was a million dollar RV where the founder of the event stayed. It was super cool looking with a rooftop patio area and a huge flat panel tv playing the Tour on the side. Here is a picture:
We were going to tour this monstrosity, but decided that the people in there were probably not awake yet. So...we turned around and headed back to our abode. I started laughing when I turned the corner only to find this...
We look super homeless and sketchy! But it was a lot of fun! Thanks to all of my coworkers that helped, friends of the shop, and my friends for stopping by and hanging out! Great cause for everyone who rode hard and pushed themselves!

Whoo Remembers Hootie?!

Remember that band from the 90s, Hootie and the Blowfish. Well the lead singer, always called "Hootie" but really his name is Darius Rucker, is now a country singer. Did you know that? Well anyways...I really like his country songs and much prefer him singing this genre.

Check him out here http://www.youtube.com/user/dariusrucker

I must warn you that if you don't like country music you probably won't like his songs, but I think they have a good message!

If You Can't Stand the Heat, get out of the Kitchen...

...err house! Going on day 3 or 4 of no air conditioning in the midst of July. Now I have two (2) oscillating fans in my room. One on each side of my bed. I am actually quite content. I haven't turned the AC on in my car all summer, so why do I need AC in my house? Oh yeah, hopefully there will be plenty of people walking through here and I need to make a good impression!

Another busy day at work...It was almost 5 o'clock before I realized it and had to sprint to the bank to deposit a couple of checks. Stayed late once again in hopes of selling another bike. Up early to ride with the women's!

It May Be a Simple Life, But it's Alright by Me

My air conditioner has been out maybe one or two days, or more! I don't care. I don't spend a lot of time here anyways. I actually kind of prefer this. The house is hot and quiet! I will get it fixed eventually, but not tonight.

I put my mountain bike shoes on for the first time today since people were threatening to cut them off. It was actually very eerie. I did it AND rode my mountain bike. Mainly paved areas, but some grass/dirt.

Good day today. Lots of help at work. Good times at dinner and off to bed. Early morning yoga tomorrow!