10/04

What a week.  This week I co-sponsored a caving trip with the biology department.  I was thrilled when I was asked.  The trip was to a cave that I had been in several times in the past, it was two years ago when I was last in the cave.  The students did totally awesome.  We were in the cave for about six hours, and then there was the two and a half mile hike to and from.  I love adventures.  I love caving.  It is an experience like none other.  To be totally cut off from everything is something I crave on a daily basis.  You are living in the moment in another world.  I love the smell of the caves, I love the workout of climbing over, under and around rocks, walls and boulders.  The formations of caves are incredible, and thinking of the time it took for it to be created.  If you ever get a chance to go into a "wild" cave, go for it!

9/16

I think I can talk about my weekend now. No matter what you say or think you are doing, your body will tell the truth. I had high hopes of racing at Devil's Den and coming out of the ride ok. Well, my body just wasn't up to the rigors of trail riding. I DNF after the first lap. The body told me that my "training" was not enough to ride the way I like. The fix seems easy enough. Ride more often. I gotta get that figured out. Like everyone else in the world, I have a full time job, family, a part-time job, and countless other responsibilities. I am going to have to ditch something or somethings. Probably would not work out to ditch the full time job as it pays all the bills. Definitely not the family. The part time job is me trying to keep up with the book work at the bike shop. Maybe someday we can pay an accountant to do that part. Tthat would make my day. Sounds like the countless other responsibilities.

Now that I am over feeling sorry for myself, the weekend was a blast. The boys and I roamed all over the park on our bikes. We expolored some caves. We swam in some beautiful parts of the river near the park. What an adventure. You know what else? It was raining almost the whole time. The kids didn't even comment on the weather. Saturday night we all slept like babies. It rained so much that the park folks had to release water from the dam. Pretty cool to look at the river on Sunday and see how much it had risen. I love Devil's Den State Park!!

9/10

Life is moving, a non-stop race. Where is that moment of solititude? You know the one where you can sit and everything is still and you can be still, still of body and mind.

This coming weekend is the Arkansas State Mtb. Championships at Devil's Den State Park, and I cannot wait. the pics are all from last year's race weekend. Except for the massive air from the six-year old (now seven). I suppose I should wait and not wish my life away, but it will be nice to camp out and hang out with friends and family (ok, and the trees). There is supposed to be rain for the weekend, I think that will add to the peacefulness, force me to slow down and think.

Last night was so much fun. The fam played a rousing game of Monopoly. We enjoyed each other, not having the tv or the video games going made it the evening was the best part.

9/2

I was searching through old photographs to inspire me to ride more and came across this photo. This is quite a few years old, I was much skinnier and faster. At any rate, I love this photo. For me it is very zen. I am going crazy fast, but the pic is so peaceful. My most fervent wish is to make the time to really ride my bike again. To be able to feel I am at my best fitness wise. My pseudo training will go really well for a week or more at time, but then something always happens to take over my life. Today it was school meetings, usually it is not finding a babysitter. I know that I can do better. I suppose the question is will I find/make the time or will the time take over me.

8/31

Just a quick post. I knew this would happen, as soon as the newness of having/making a blog wore off, I would have trouble keeping up with posting. So here I am after a month. Life has been incredibly busy. School has started, the Gorilla Century bike ride was yesterday. I am ready for a break and would like to step back from life a little so I can think about what is going on instead of being in mere reaction mode.

Why Venngirl?

Why venngirl?  A unique nickname?  Self-given or given by someone else?  Venngirl is self-given, my given nickname is The Muffin.  I like that nickname.  But Venngirl means something else to me.  I have a double major in mathematics and art education.  My artwork reflects both of these interests.  The last few years my paintings have been loosely based on Venn Diagrams.  These diagrams are often used to compare and contrast different types of information.  They are also used to organize information.  I use them to play around with color.  What happens when I uses different colors in the same plane, dividing them up by circles and horizontal and vertical lines?  Can I uses math to build a better painting?  These are questions I ask myself when working with one of my paintings.  Anyways, the self-given name of Venngirl began with the paintings.

7/22

Still recovering from an absolutely kick butt weekend.  This past weekend was the Eureka Springs Fat Tire Festival.  I raced in the sport women's class, got myself totally kicked up one side and down the other--and boy was it great.  It has been several years since I have done any racing, I did not realize how much I missed the competition.  Being fat and out of shape, the competitive side could not be properly addressed.  It will take some time, if I can keep on track the rest of the year with the same kind of riding I have done the past month, that would be nice.

Friday was the short track race, short means short.  Each lap was about six tenths of a mile, with a little, fast down hill.  The women started with the men and we raced by our experience level.  I got dead last, but loved every minute of the race.  It is a good feeling to remind yourself you have a body that is supposed to be active and pushed to its limits.  I have not done this in a long time.  

Saturday was the children's ride and the pre-ride of the XC course.  The boys did awesome on the ride, along with four other young men.  To bad there were not any young women.  The pre-ride later in the day went well, although I am glad that we did not pre-ride the whole thing, I might not have competed on the Sunday race.  Let's just say that there are a few climbs.

Sunday was the race.  Started off well, stayed with some of the women, always my goal to keep in touch.  It worked out until the flat.  Fortunately I had all my tools with me, I wished I had left my extra thumbs at home.  At any rate, got back under way.  The race was about eighteen miles long, with about 6 good climbs, most of which I walked.  Gotta get started somewhere, even if you have to walk.  Lots of time to think.  By the time I was finished I was afraid the officials were going to tell me that I wasn't really finished and would need to ride a little more.  You know what made the weekend even more special, getting to spend it with my parents and the boys.  My dad is a racer and racing together reminded me of the countless races we went on ten-fifteen years ago.

7/16

Has more than a week flown by? I can't believe how time flies. This past weekend was the Leaming family reunion. The past few years we have done a theme reunion. This years was western. What fun. I hope to add more info. about the reunion tomorrow. For now I have a few pics with more to follow. Other than the western theme the resort offered tug-o-war and mud wrestling. What a blast! It was held at the MarVal Resort in Gore, Oklahoma. A pretty neat place, perfect for hosting a reunion with family members of all ages.

In other news, this weekend is the Eureka Springs Fat Tire Festival. My body is not in shape for this, I have not been on the mountain bike for some time. This race is so much fun, I cannot deny myself.

7/8

Today's ride was short.  My biggest question is why the most perfectly layed plans unravel.  The plan was to ride with the Tuesday night family ride.  We were going to ride from the house to the shop in time to catch the ride.  The first thing that happened not in the game plan was the weather.  Hit and miss showers.  I worry enough about the traffic and bicycles let alone poor weather and riding with two young men (ages 10 and 7).   The other problem is a mechanical one, sort of.  In order for the boys to keep up with the adults, the younger rides a tail-a-bike, the older rides the cutest road bike in the world.  The oldest has grown out of his shoes, so no road bike, only mountain bike.  The mountain bike slows him down too much.  All in all, I gave up and we stayed and home.  The boys wound up having their cousins over, and I wound up on the rollers.  There is nothing quite like rollers in the summer. UGGH.  

The good news is I got most of the lawn work done.  In order for the boys to join the ride, we need to get the shoes updated.

Milage for the day--9.  UGGH.  The last few days have been awesome.  26 on 7/7, 35 on 7/8.  It is amazing how good it feels to get those bigger miles in (for me).  I wonder if it is possible for me to maintain good milage for an extended amount of time--you know like a few years.  Ok, I would be happy for a few months of consistent milage.

7/3

It has been just over a week of not blogging.  I was gone for a few days for boy scout camp.  When the tiger cubs have resident camp they request that a parent accompany each tiger.  No complaints here, I love camping and I love scouting.  One of my first scouting adventures was in high school when I joined a high adventure explorers post.  It was probably one of the best things I ever did, joining that post.  At any rate the camp was awesome.  In the next few days I would like to post some photos.  

This week I have been working full time at the bike shop.  Not much riding time, OK NO riding time.  Today I was able to get in a measly 8 miles.  My DH always says some riding is better than no riding, so 8 miles is better than 0 miles.  This weekend family will be visiting, so riding will once again be hit and miss.

6/24

Boy wonder #1 up to bat! He has really done awesome this season. This pic is from one of our last games. Boy wonder #2 will have a game in another week, so hopefully we will have some pics of him.


A blurry pic of some rather incredible clouds. We were pretty sure there were some rotating clouds.

Whew! the last few days have been a marathon. This past weekend was the Kansas State Time Trial Championships. Our bike shop sponsored this event, needless to say we were busy. Everything went very smoothly, no wrecks or injuries. Because the event started so early in the morning, I was able to get back in time for baseball practice in the afternoon.

Our races involve so much to promote and sponsor. We would not be able to do any of it without the help of volunteers. It takes a pretty strong soul to give up their weekend to help out in the elements (one year the high was 105 degrees) so that our bike racers will be safe. We are so fortunate to have the best help anywhere. Here's to you volunteers. ALRIGHT!! THANK YOU!!

Did not get to ride the day of the race, but have been doing ok otherwise. Saturday rode 17, Monday another 17, today got in 27. I hope that tomorrow is a good ride day. My dream is to get a 50+ ride in once a week. Unfortunately, time is hard to come by. As of yet, a 50 miler is not happening. At any rate, last weeks total miles was 97. Ok, short of my 200 mile a week goal by half. I will have to work harder next week. That would be this week.

6/20

This is going to be a short entry.  One more day of work responsibilities, yea!!  I don't think there is anything else out there for the summer.  After the race on Sunday my work worries will go down quite a bit.  Then maybe, I can get caught up with what I am supposed to be doing.  Maybe if I make schedule and stay on it, I could get stuff done.

Speaking of getting stuff done, I did get 17 miles in on my bike ride.  It was nice to do a northerly route, seems like all I have been doing has been southerly routes.  Generally I like to end my rides with a tailwind.  Although, if I want to go to a specific destination I will ignore the wind and do the bike ride I want.  If figure its good for training.

6/19

Today was varied. Commuted by bike (save $$ and good for my body) to workshop on Curriculum Mapping. Learned quite a bit for a 7 hour day. Will be going back for more tomorrow. After the workshop worked at the bike shop for awhile. I totally need to be down there more, I get so disorganized. Youngster #1 had a baseball game. Both the boys love baseball. This has been the first time that they are so excited about what they are doing that they keep all their equipment organized and ready for the next practice/game. Definitely makes getting ready to go easier.

Even though the weather looked a little threatening and there were some drops of rain, went on a nice ride this evening. One of those lets just get out and do something so we don't get stale kinda rides. While we were on the ride a kitten ran out in the road and chased us down--as only a nine week old, starving, kinda sick one can. I was afraid it would get hit, someone had just dropped it off by the roadside. Very sad. At any rate, I took it home. The poor thing was so desperate for food and company it actually rode the 1.5 miles home sitting on my shoulders and back, purring the whole way. So now we have a new addition to our brood of strays. Hopefully it will stick around to keep us company.

6/18

Today has been one of those days that starts with a bang and ends with I don't know, maybe being so tired you can't sleep. We had tennis lessons in the morning, followed by swim lessons, then doctors appointment (next week is boy scout camp and we needed a physical), baseball practice and then family fun. Relatives from out of state are visiting and the fam got together. It was wonderful to see everyone, and how much they have grown. Listening to their experiences in a culture so different from our own--even though they do live in the states.

I was so happy today, my ride was in excess of 20 miles. I know it is hard to believe. So I got in 25 miles on the Scammon Loop in about 1 hour 20 minutes. The last month I have been able to ride enough that my body is wanting more time in the saddle. If I could get at least one or two rides a week that were over 3 hours long, I would be ecstatic--as would my legs, my heart, and lungs.

The picture is a few years old, but I wanted to put up a mountain bike photo. It is blurry because I was going soo fast! (I wish)

6/17

Today was a running around kinda day.  Swimming lessons in the morning then work for a little bit.  Did finish reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.  I would recomend this book to those that are wondering about their spot in life and their relationship with God.  

This evening we had a baseball game.  The boys did a fine job, they are learning so much about playing and focusing their attention on the game.  We missed the first part of the game, it corresponded with the Tuesday night ride.  I have not made it to a single one, and was determined to get on the ride.  So through luck and perseverance I was able to make the ride.   We did the Chicopee Loop from the shop, about 15 miles.  It was so cool to ride with an actual group, there were about 12 riders.  There were new riders and old riders in two senses of the words.  The youngest rider is 7 and the oldest 64 (I believe).  The newest rider as far as experience were riders that started riding this year and one rider started riding about 26 years ago.  When I say started riding I mean riding as a sport and means to stay fit.  Many of us have been riding bikes off and on since we were 5 or 6.  I still remember the bike I learned to ride on without training wheels.  My folks still have that bike.  At one time it was a bright red.  When learning how to ride, I still was not tall enough for the bike so Dad had somehow attached blocks of wood to the pedals so that I could reach them.  

6/16

Today was the husband's birthday, the big 40.  What a great time with friends and family.  Neither of us can believe our age, we still feel like we are in our twenties.  It is totally not possible we are 40.  Oh my.  Oh my, what fun we have had.  Other than having everyone over, we also had an awesome time looking at some of DH early years photos that his mom brought for all of us to enjoy.  

Today's bike ride was short but sweet, a whopping 8 miles.  Whew, I wasn't sure I was going to make it those last few miles.  When I am short on time I usually ride Bill's Loop.  It's perfect when I have 30 or 40 minutes to ride.  This loop is one of two in our county that has a portion that is tree covered for about 100 feet--creating a cool (literally in the summer) tunnel.  I have been sad on this loop because this past winter many of the trees were chopped, taking out much of the tree tunnel.  My hope is that most of it will fill back out.  In the meantime I will be sad.

6/15

Happy Father's Day!  For father's day we went to the range.  It was a gorgeous day, we could not have asked for better weather.  The shoot went well, lots of father's showed and another family.  The boys had a good time also, they even helped with the paper work.  After the ride we had baseball practice and bike ride.

My ride today was a combination of several loops around town.  The weather was starting to look like rain, so I stayed close to town instead of riding out.  I rode Bill's Loop, Pretty Road, and the Chicopee Loop.  I was still able to get just over 20 miles in with a time of 1 hour and 15 minutes.  Body did good and bike did good.  I am looking forward to some longer rides this week.  There are a few races I would like to get to in the next few months.  Two this month, a time trial and a road bike race.  In July, one of my most favorite races in the whole wide world is in the third weekend.  It is the Eureka Springs Fat Tire Festival.  My body is not fit enough, but my mind is ready for the punishment.  I will be riding in the sport class.  The cross country race is nice because it is point to point and starts in historic downtown Eureka Springs, AR.  So cool!  It is twisty, windy streets and way to many hills.  My husband and I lived there for three years, it was pure bliss.  Well, except for living in a town with no flat spots.  We lived at the highest point in town so no matter what road ride we did we would have some massive climb to do to get home.  Needless to say we were pretty fit, it helped to that we were racing almost every weekend.

Starting something new!

I hope that all who visit this blog enjoy themselves and are inspired to get out and have their own adventures.  Each day seems to hold some kind of interesting element, sometimes bad, but most of the time good.  My initial reason for starting this blog was to journal my daily bike rides.  After some thought, it would be an interesting way to talk about some other kinds of adventures I enjoy.