Cold as ice, but how willing to sacrifice?

For years I have annoyed my dear husband by singing Foreigner's "Cold as Ice" lyrics to describe my blocks-of-ice-feet in the winter.

Despite joining Matt, Steve, and the group of riders in this super-cool winter biking video across the Stone Arch Bridge about a month ago - http://t.co/tn6JzXPnW1 - I'm questioning whether I can ride in sub-zero temps tomorrow morning without having any of those nasty-but-effective toe warmers. I suspect not, given recent experiences with frozen toes and fingers due to poor circulation.

We'll see what the morning brings. But maybe I should charge my bike light just to be safe.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MS150Maggie2015

Testing with meatloaf

Yum.

Priorities

Tonight, when I pulled into the little alley-side driveway we share with our neighbor,  I saw that our garage door was partially opened.

Panic set in, due to the fact that we had a lot of garage break-ins in our neighborhood over the past year. My first thought? The bikes. The bikes!

Our very nice neighbor ran out in the cold winter night with just a t-shirt (well, pants, too, you goofballs; just no jacket, is the point), shouting, "I just got home and was starting to text you! Did you know your door was open?"

I did wonder if some burglar would be inside when I opened the service door. Nope. (Although as I'm typing, I realize I didn't check all the nooks and crannies.) And a quick glance told me that the bikes and skis were in place. I shouted out to the neighbor that all looked okay. (And now am also realizing I never properly thanked her.)

The door, oddly, took some work to get down and stay down, but it's down, and locked down. My fat tire bike remains locked in the garage sort of like Pee Wee's bike: tough for a quick grab, not difficult for someone as determined or jerky as Francis.

Gotta go double-check everything. And think about a better locking system maybe, than this clown.

With Vigor and Energy

Dictionary.com defines "vibrant" as pulsating with vigor and energy.

I have been thinking the past few days about all the great people I know and tonight settled on the adjective "vibrant." I think this period of reflection is due, in part, to spending the past week with my 13-year old niece.

Snow Ostrich

Taking her on her first snowshoeing adventure reminded me of how conventional I can be. I just stood there, on my snowshoes, rather than jumping up and sliding down hills with them on. I wanted to keep walking to stay warm, rather than bury my head in a hole that I dug in a snowbank. I ended up joining in the fun, but admit it wasn't my first impulse.

My good friend Marcy is an adult version of my niece, marveling in the beauty surrounding her and living in the moment, regardless of the activity. I always love hearing her observations because she looks at things so differently than the way I do.

Margie, who I barely know but is my Facebook friend after I took a couple of her yoga classes, has perfected projecting very calming energy. She is vibrant, too, but in a totally different way.

The list continues, and doesn't include just people whose first names start with "Mar...".

I don't think of myself as very vibrant. I instead see myself as a foil for all of the vibrancy and wit around me. However, in February each year, as winter continues, I feel even less vibrant than normal. I'd better get with the program, though, and adjust my attitude and activity level if I want to be able to do the fat bike Birkie ride in two weeks!

"In training" for pretty much everything

Tonight, after picking up my road bike with its beautiful, shiny new cassette and chain, as well as a clean drive train (whatever that is), I was walking home, admiring the stars, and enjoying the sound of the skaters playing hockey at the rink down the block.

I picked up the skates I bought two years ago, used three times that year, and haven't used since.

I'm obviously a horrible skater, but it was very fun to be out in the nice night air, stumbling around on the ice. When the hockey game disbanded, a nice guy asked me whether I was a "skater in training." I laughed, but loved his optimistic, positive characterization of my ultra-beginner status. I decided I'm pretty much in training for everything in my life....

One thing I'm not in training for? Being the person who puts on insulated overalls  every other morning for three months every winter, usually in sub-zero temps, with a big hose, to pour water on the baseball diamonds to make the rink (photo from the Internet below). I think I should be in training, however, to learn how to write one short sentence!

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MS150Maggie2015

You're maybe just gonna have to trust me on this one...

Today, I fat tired down to Fort Snelling State Park, where I saw over a dozen deer and one big, fat, loud owl.

I saw the deer first, and steadily. They didn't care about me and just kept on doing their things. It was interesting to see them react once dogs were within a couple hundred yards, though. They, rightly and appropriately, weren't as disinterested. Their body language changed as they waited and regrouped and then took off.

As I was nearing the exit for the park, I had music on in my helmet and thought the "who"-ing I heard was some jokester in the woods, but there were no people around, and then I saw the big ol' owl. He shut up, and kept his eyes on me the whole time I was trying to look at him. I could hear another one not too far away.

It was really cool. The pictures from my phone aren't nearly as cool.

For those of you reading the blog, but not on Facebook, the donated prizes are coming in for trivia night, and people are signing up. We could use more players, though. Maybe you??

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MS150Maggie2015

What are you implying, Wikipedia?

Dear Wikipedia,

Thank you for teaching me interesting things, such as the chemical reaction for rust involving road salt:  O2 + 4 e− + 2 H2O → 4 OH−.

And thank you for helping me understand why I need to wash my car despite my flawed theories about rust.

But, Wikipedia, you also said this: "Rust is a commonly used metaphor for slow decay due to neglect . . . . In music, literature, and art, rust is associated with images of faded glory, neglect, decay, and ruin."

While I am the first to admit that I should have cleaned off my road bike after riding it in that mid-December thaw, and I did intend to do that (honest!), I'm a little hurt, Wikipedia, by your tone.

Technically, I did neglect my bike, but to suggest decay or faded glory, or even some sort of ill will, crosses the line. I didn't know that my chain would get super rusty, and forgot that my bike was a mess, during all the fall work travel hubbub.

I was genuinely shocked and, okay, yes, awed, when I pulled out my road bike yesterday for a brisk, but dry, ride to the MS Society team captain meeting out in the mysterious suburbs. Who knew something like that would - and could - happen so rapidly? At least it was an old chain that would've needed to be replaced relatively soonish.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MS150Maggie2015