I am the master...

After 3 years of cleaning my mountain bike drive train weekly, I have finally mastered the most efficient and effective steps to clean it. And since a clean bike is a fast bike, I cannot share my secrets. Because I’d rather have you riding a dirty slow bike! ;-)

As I realized this yesterday in my under 5 minute cleaning, I was thinking of other things I wish I could master. Here are a few I wish I could master this year:
1) Cornering the mountain bike at high speed
2) Wheelie-ing over a 12+inch log
3) Track stand
4) Opening a bar wrapper on the bike in winter without taking off the winter gloves, without crashing, and without having to stop
5) The 15yard underwater kick off the wall for backstroke (I am determined to master this in the fall/winter this year)
6) Teaching my dogs to obey every command I give them (this has very low likelihood of every happening)
7) The art of making a tasty, healthy meal in under 15 minutes


In other exciting news, I made it one week without dairy. Well, I've had a few small items with what I call ‘trace amounts of dairy' (ie, m&m's MILK chocolate). It’s difficult to know if this is helping. Generally I think not. But there are moments when I think the throat congestion feels looser. And then, it doesn't. I'm still committed to giving it a fair shot, I even bought a few more non-dairy products at the grocery today. I bought some vegan monterey jack cheese, and while it sort of looks like cheese, and smells like cheese, and sort of tastes like cheese, it doesn't behave like cheese. It cuts smooth and easily, not like cutting through a block of real cheese, and it doesn't just melt nicely if you drop it on something warm. Its not bad. Not really cheese, even though the label calls it cheese, but an ok alternative. I'm also reading a book, 'The Sinus Cure'. It recommends daily nasal irrigation as a first treatment, before dietary changes. It also says do not drink cold drinks, only warm and hot ones (keeps the cilia working better). How can you possibly not drink cold drinks in summer! I just can't do it. I am enjoying popping my papaya enzyme tablets. They taste like candy - sort of like eating Flintstone chewable vitamins as a kid.

I was out at Brown County for a mountain bike ride and short trail run Sunday, and I was amazed by the number of girls I saw on the trail. I LOVE that. In Bloomington, we see plenty of girls riding on the roads (especially during the school year), and that is so cool. But usually not so many on the trails. But today, I saw many new girls. They could be from out of town, and probably are, our little trail is earning quite a reputation! It’s a beautiful state park, just not quite as beautiful as the French countryside! I know, hard to believe. When I was watching the Tour this weekend, I was ooohing and ahhing over how beautiful the French countryside is. I’ve been to France once, in winter. It was cold! I’d love to go back some time in summer. Ride a bike, eat yummy food. No big cities, just the little towns, the countryside, the mountains. I’m just a small town girl. Don’t like big cities, not even just to pass through. They make me nervous. Too many people, too many cars. Too much concrete. Too much noise and commotion.

Happy Monday!