Haiku Heritage

Facebook memories

indicate April 16th

is my haiku day.

Friday: rainy grey

explored new park with nephews

on Mississippi.

Knitted plants show roots

in proportion to plant tops - 

pretty crazy stuff.

Island in river

houses a big bald eagle.

We saw a beaver

Came home to find nest

being built by a robin.

Same place as last year.

Today was perfect.

60, no clouds, but windy.

View from Fort Snelling.

65-miler

all around the Twin Cities,

then walk around lake.

Moving in nature

brings me joy, peace, and comfort.

I love my city.

Selfie was horrid.

Dug this up from weeks ago.

A bit less scowly.

 At 60%

of my June fundraising goal.

Thank you for your help!

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MS150Maggie2017

New isn't always better

This morning was a little cool, the afternoon was going to get warm, and the day was windy throughout, so I dressed in a few layers. This photo reminds me that I had a shirt similar to this one when I was in grade school and I was told by my friends then that my clothes always clashed. I guess I have never really cared too much about what I look like.

Can you see my cool arm warmers
under my top shirt's sleeves?

Matt and I met at the fort, and decided to skip the more heavily traveled routes in the city due to the nice weather. We rode up the river to the Coon Rapids Dam, and headed over to Elm Creek Park Reserve. Once we got there, we decided to try to find a new way home, so that we didn't take the same route back. It is a goal of mine to learn some new routes this year. I thought it might also end up being a good route for our team when I lead them on some training rides later in April and in May.

It was a good idea, and maybe it would have worked if we'd followed the path we'd originally decided on when we were standing at Elm Creek. Instead, it was a pretty "meh" ride through Maple Grove, Plymouth, Golden Valley, Crystal, and surely some other suburbs, passing through some construction zones, ignoring some "road closed signs," and appreciating the wide shoulder on Hwy 55.

So, all in all, this wasn't what I'd do again, but it still was a great ride - 68.5 miles and definitely the furthest I've gone since the fall. Despite being out of biking shape, I am really impressed with my body's muscle memory and the fact that it could handle just jumping back in as well as it did, especially with a decent headwind. I learned some other things, too. In addition to realizing that I really like my arm warmers and that I probably need new biking shoes this year, I also found out that the biking commuter pants I bought this winter aren't really good for this type of a ride in these conditions. 

I guess I'm on track for training for my summer bike rides, all of a sudden, which is good since there are a lot more moving parts to being team captain this year. 

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MS150Maggie2017

Trivia Answers

Gary Madonna The Big Bopper Lake Michigan The Mediterranean Sea Persia Horace Slughorn Mongoose Shakespeare Vitamin D Spain The FBI Thomas Jefferson Black Knights 6 Jockstrap Charles Birdseye Bumblebees 60,000 miles Henry Kissinger

How do you rate?

So, I'm just going to assume that you're following along at home.

After arriving home from Texas, losing sleep to care for my sweet pup, and getting sick in the process, I threw together the MS Society trivia fundraiser. I am thankful that I kept good notes each year! We raised $2,256 for the MS Society on the 31st, which is super great. Thank you to all of you who made it over to Ol' Mexico. 

In between the rounds of trivia, we do some fundraising games, including heads and tails. Here's a fun video to give you a sense of the suspense surrounding the flip of a coin. 

For those of you who couldn't join us, maybe you'd like to test your knowledge?

I signed up for 30 Days of Biking, which hopefully will get me on my bike more, and in the habit of riding. All that time out of town kind of messed things up a bit. Trivia helped with my fundraising goal (I split the proceeds with the other volunteers), but I've still got some more work to do on that front. I've proposed a challenge to my teammates, which allows them to qualify for prizes for doing solid fundraising. As the organizer, I don't qualify, unfortunately.  But ending MS is the real prize. If you haven't been able to help and want to, here's the link: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MS150Maggie2017.

March Madness

As I wrap up packing for the National Conference on Tobacco or Health, the SXSW of the public health world, I'm thinking of all the things that were going on this week.

Sunday: Worked a lot to prep for trip. Went to the renovated and recently reopened Palace Theatre to see Phantogram, after grabbing a beer at the Amsterdam Bar for the first time.

Monday: Worked a lot to prep for trip.

Tuesday: Worked a lot to prep for trip, practiced Irish dance, rounded up the final responses from our BikeMS team about jersey sizes.

Wednesday: Biked to work for the first time in a while (the "while" part of this statement is concerning to me, and perhaps to you), practiced Irish dance, submitted jersey order for the ton of new riders (!) on our team.

Thursday: Worked a lot to prep for trip, practiced Irish dance, piled all dance gear in one spot.

Friday: Did Irish dance from about 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Worked.

Saturday: Worked, sent out gift cards to riders who won our March fundraising challenge, did Irish dance from about 3 until 5:30, hung out with friends and my visiting parents.

Sunday: Met my parents for breakfast, did Irish dance from about 1 until 5, went to the Amsterdam Bar for a beer for the second time ever, and the second time this week.

Not much biking. Not much fundraising. Plenty of shamrocks. And now, Austin... And after that, trivia night!

I'm still okay for training for the MS 150, but I had higher hopes for where I would be bike fitnesswise right about now. I also had hoped to have started some bike shopping by now. Ooh-la-la, such a dramatic cliffhanger!

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MS150Maggie2017

Proud Captain Reflections

As I sit here with my gauche (not to be confused with gaucho, which would be totally different) bedtime dinner of chips, salsa, and Belgian dubbel beer, grateful for the fact that I wore leggings under my pants to work today, so I just had to strip off a layer of clothing to "change into" my pajamas when I got home from work at 9:30, I'm reflecting on my day.

Sure, it would've been nice to bike to work today, but the wind was fierce and it was late when I drove home. Sure, I would've liked to started shopping for a new bike(!), but I probably don't have enough money squirreled away yet.

In the end it was a productive night.

I spent the evening prepping for the performance reviews for the 9 attorneys who work on my team (and am grateful that #10 doesn't start until Monday). I decided that I really like reading their self-evaluations, seeing what was noteworthy in their minds, what they are proud of, what they want to achieve.

I decided that's also the fun part about being captain of our BikeMS team: watching the training, hearing people talk at the overnight stop about how it is going, seeing them cross the finish line, so proud, so tired, so grateful, so huggy.

We have a lot of new riders this year. I have more questions about logistics and things like that, but I love the fact that I get to see most of my teammates (I am not the fastest, but I finish earlier than most) cross the finish line. Seeing these new folks at the finish, as they realize what they accomplished, makes the work worth the effort.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MS150Maggie2017

(p.s. This week is MS Awareness Week. Please feel free to share my fundraising link and blog with others.)

Turning Point

Even though there were some flurries yesterday when I was on my bike, spring is in the air. I've been pulling together stuff for my BikeMS Team - a training schedule, tentative dates for group training rides, sizes of jerseys we'll need for the tons of new people who have joined our team this year, laying claim to as many hotel rooms as the MS Society will hold for us in Hinckley, etc.

It's an exciting, and somewhat exhausting time, given that I'm also planning my trivia fundraiser, trying to learn my Irish dance routines, and work obligations are at an all-time high.

As I ate my dinner, I perused the AAA magazine. (Even though we don't drive much and we have newer cars, we got so burned with all of our old clunkers that we're avid AAA members. We also used them to help plan our Europe trip, which was great.) The new issue is really bike friendly.

I learned that, as of May, AAA extended its bike benefits throughout the state. I got stuck last winter with a flat tire, the wrong sized tube, and too numb of hands even if I'd had the right equipment with me. Because I was in the county in which they were piloting that program, my bike and I got a ride home, which was fantastic. I'm excited to know that if I get stuck elsewhere in the state, this is an option.

I also learned that part of the impetus for creating AAA was that nearly all pre-existing maps in the U.S. back in the day were cycling maps. (If you're still looking for U.S. cycling maps, these guys are great.) In this impromptu, unpaid infomercial for AAA, I should add that they discuss how hands-free phone users are just as distracted as people using handheld devices and are just as likely to hit pedestrians and cyclists, and they also suggest a spring break staycation (for those who get spring breaks), riding the earth-friendly light rail. I'm confused, but happy.

I'm exited about the upcoming forecast for next weekend, as the days get longer and warmer, and we get ready for the biking season to truly begin after a weird winter.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/MS150Maggie2017