Rabbits.

I've been looking at pictures of rabbits.

Put Your Hands Together

This week's Reader of the Week award goes to

MORGAN MOON

Congratulations, Morgan!!

(and you thought getting admitted to the Med Scholar's program was a big deal....)

I turn into a Cat Lady when I'm not riding my bike...

It's a weird Jekyll & Hyde phenomenon.  This morning I didn't have class, so I have a bit more free time... I entered Oliver in a cute pet contest.  If he gets the most votes he wins money.  I entered Nick's name as the pet owner, so I guess Nick gets money.  This is probably the lamest thing I've done in a long while.  

Yesterday was goooorgeous out!  Everyone stiffed me or paid in change, but the 55 degree weather made up for it.  It was warm enough to go around after work and visit friends... usually I can't wait to get home and take a warm shower.  Today is a bit rainy--even heard some thunder--but I think I'm going to wake Nick up and see if he wants to ride.  

Tuesday I left the house in a rush and only grabbed an apple, 4 figs, and a head of lettuce (with olive oil & vinegar) for lunch.  After class and lifting, I rushed home and ate super quickly so I could meet up with B.Chan for a ride at 2:30.  Forgot my water bottles of course...  Not a good ride.  I could barely keep up with Becky, and my attitude was so bad!  I turned around when I was right on the edge of bonking, and went home and ate and napped for a few hours.  Its been a while since I've let myself do that...  feels pretty shitty.  

Weekend:  1st collegiate race!  I hope B.Chan goes.  AND kicks ass.  I'll be hill training with Wildcard.  Apparently, there are hills around here.

As of yesterday I officially have 1,001 facebook friends.  Amazing.  My virtual social network is a small town.  (I really should go through and delete the friends who I met drunk on the PAR/FAR bus freshman year.)

Umm Reader of the Week?  Who's it going to be, B.Chan?  

This is the van.  

Ittt'ssss Tuesday!

LIKES AND GRIPES TUESDAYS

(A. Miles, chime in here when you wake up ;)  I'm up!  I'm up!  And eating a huge bowl of sprouted muesli!

Likes

1. Tongue Scrapers in concert with a good brushing and flossing before bed. Yes, I am aware that bacteria reproduce at a rate far faster than I can scrape them off my tongue. I don't care.

2. Pineapple. It's sweet. It's tart. And ohmahgoodness does it have a lot of Vitamin C.  Duh kids...I have a 6 inch piña tattooed on my bicep.  Love them.  Or any fruit for that matter.  In Ecuador I once ate a 10 inch long watermelon in once sitting.  Routinely, I would buy rugby-ball sized papayas and eat them for brekkie.  Yumzorz.  

3. Sunshine and temperatures above freezing in February.

4. Thinking of gripes...

Gripes

1. Certain not-to-be-publicly-named urban planners and engineers in a certain not-to-be-publicly-named urban planning and civil engineering class. Planning is supposed to be visionary. I don't want to be "That Girl" but y'all are leaving me no choice! I really hope you aren't the ones managing any city I live in in the near future.

2. Garlic breath. I have never, ever in my life had anything that I thought was too garlic-y. Good thing I have a tongue scraper.

3. Cutting down trees. As I was leaving for work this morning my neighbors were having a huge tree cut down in their front yard. Sad.

4. Running out of coffee. A word to the wise: it's dangerous to get between a Fastgrrrl and her cup o' joe.

5. The 'P' key on my laptop is all sticky. Really annoying.  The reason I didn't let anyone use my computer for so long was so that when the 'P' key stopped working, I would know exactly when it stopped and why it stopped.  Now how am I to identify what happened exactly?  What kind of goo got in there and made it stick?  Ugh.  The things I give up to be a normal generous member of this household...  

6. Federal money that is allocated for finding a cure for cancer. Of course I wish we could cure cancer...I would have to be a complete sadist to not.. BUT what about prevention?  ...keep funding the American Dairy Association  and keep feeding kids shit in public schools...make sure the interests of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association are in mind when you produce a "food triangle"...  This nation's "dietary recommendations" doctrine is killing us pretty quickly.  Ugh.  This is so frustrating.  Here, read The China Study.  Instead of finding a cure for cancer, I suggest eating plants.  It's really not that difficult.  

Welcome Fastboyyyz !

Today D.Penn and Axel launched their own blog. So if you want to hear the OTHER side of the story, check it out.

D.Penn and I had our weekly Monday adventure today (he chronicles the day's events in his blog). The highlight for me, besides stoking the tandem behind a fastboyyy 'round town in the sunshine, would have to be the vegan peanut butter chocolate bars at Strawberry Fields. Absolutely divine. Fudgy dark chocolate on top of creamy sweet peanut butter on top of a chewy chocolate brownie... oh god, so good. Like a Reeses cup, only richer and bigger. Tonight I will dream of swimming in a springform pan of this stuff.. Full of sugar--refined, which I don't like to eat at all if I can help it--and probably a lot of vegan butter substitute, which is usually just canola oil. Whatever. Someday when I am paid to ride my bike I will have an über-light dispenser for vegan peanut butter chocolate stuff installed in my downtube.

Dan also picked up these vegan hot dogs that he was pretty excited about...I'll let him tell you though. They are good--they taste like...hot dogs.

Part two of the test went well today, if a little long and boring. I quickly lost interest in the Vegan podcast because they didn't talk about food, so I switched to the Swingers podcast. It's not really my bag. I think I'll stick with BBC World News. The coolest part of the study today was seeing my heart beating with an ultrasound. It's globby and sloppy and oozey. I can't believe it keeps me alive. I heart my heart.

Tomorrow in Anatomy & Physiology we are taking the tissues practical. Everyone is freaking out. I think I'll ace it. Small potholes have become Hyaline Tissue (nose; serves as protection) and the really torn up streets are Elastic Cartilage (external ear; flexible but maintains rigidity). Fibrous Cartilage is Van Gogh; Bone Tissue is a 70s owl knick-knack at a thrift shop. Quite simple, really...

I discovered podcasts!  B.Chan told me how awesome they are and I finally got around to downloading some.  They are currently being synced to my ipod.  I plan on listening to my first podcast today, so I'll tell you how it goes.  Should I listen to learn Italian?  Kama Sutra?  BBC world news?  Vegan radio?  Democracy Now?  We'll see.  In 32 minutes I am going to be at Lindy's lab riding for one hour for her study--the second part of the VO2 max study.  I won't get my VO2 max this week, but have to wait until next Monday for part three.  Today will be fairly boring: riding for 1 hour at a moderate pace (hence the podcasts).  

Yesterday Axel and D.Penn gave each other haircuts.  Axel's hair looks great...   but Dan now has a shaved line around his ears and his hairline on his neck is about 3 inches shorter from where it would be naturally.  Axel got carried away with the clippers...  I ended up buzzing off the rest of Dan's hair and now it looks alright.  Oh I miss the days of Kiona's Kuts !!!  I miss my mohawk and the z shaved in the back... oh well, I can make pigtails now.  

LIKE & GRIPES Tuesday is almost here!  Today I will make a mental list of all the things that annoy me.  

D.Penn and Axel are going to start a FASTBOYYYZ blog.  Remember, we were first. 

funny triathlete doing ab exercises animation

Public Apology

I want to publicly apologize for cutting off the Share the Road bus this morning at the corner of Green and Neil.  I've been hanging my head all day...and I'm sorry.  

...now that that's taken care of.. um  the boy who posted the missed connection about me left a note on my bike yesterday!  It was at Parkland.  Stalker?  Hm.  I finally replied to him though.  ("so you thought I'd be slow?")

Dan Penner just asked if I wanted to ride trainers in the morning before work.  What??!?!?!?!!!  8 am: pedaling in the dark living room next to a sweaty baby troll.  Excellent.  

Unofficial St. Patrick's Day is 2 weeks from today.  This is exciting because I'll be delivering 9-5 and making lots of cash because everyone is drunk and happy to get their sandwiches!  If I'm super lucky, I'll walk out with 1 of 2 Easton deep dish carbon wheels in 2 days.  Not a day goes by when I don't think about those wheels....it's disgusting.  

Happy weekend!

This week's featured reader is...

Emily Doman!

Thanks for reading, Miz Domski!  <3 <3 <3  <3   <3 <3     <3  <3 <3       <3         <3

Today I told the two other cyclists who were waiting at the red light at the intersection of 1st & Green that we were going to take over the world.  As I sprinted off toward Wright Street, one kid caught up to me and said "You're not slow!"  Well, thanks!!!   And to make me feel even better, he left a craigslist missed connection.  He doesn't know how much this means to a fastgrrrl.. 

Dinner:  Extemporaneous Veggie Burgers made with leftover soybeans from soymilk making + green pepper, onion, garlic, spices, flaxseed, & brown rice flour (they got Nick's seal of approval!) ...más Salad made with bulgur wheat, fenugreek sprouts, lentil & garbanzo sprouts, jalepeños, & spicy lime peanut sauce...con Balsamic marinated Golden Beets...served over Romaine.  Crunchy yuM!

To reiterate point #2 from yesterday's Likes:  bib shorts.  Love them.  My new Pearl Izumi Bibs: so comfy, so hot... Pearl, you got 10 points for your Lobsters, lost 10 points for your bulgy leg warmers, but you are back up again with 10 for your bibs.  Props.  

NYTimes women's bike racing article (thanks Jess!)

FASTGRRRLZ PRESENTS:
LIKES AND GRIPES TUESDAYS

LIKES
1. Dr. Pushpa Giri. Has anyone else scheduled an appointment at McKillMe with this fine health care professional? If not, its definitely something put on your to-do list before graduation. No joke.

2. My New WILDCARD CYCLING Kit. (Image forthcoming...) I like full zip jerseys. And the bibs are very nice!
My first bibs!  I am a convert.  Who invented shorts?  Those who derive pleasure from the gut-suffocating feeling of an elastic waistband digging into the midsection certainly.. well...everyone has to get there kicks somehow.  My kicks are in bibs.  That said, I won't be selling my shorts on ebay due to low bids on used chamois.  

3. Dal. I've made it 3 weeks in a row now, each time mixing it up with different ingredients. What is not to love about stewed lentils, fresh cilantro, tomatoes, cumin, onions and tumeric? MMMMM!

4. Nick welding a hitch-mounted bike rack in the basement.   So crafty, these boys!

5. My Kreb's Cycle.  ..and everyone else's for that matter!  Making energy is so sexy.  Glycolysis and the Electron Transport Chain are on the same level.  Go ahead, strip my hydrogens!  Strip my electrons!  Give me some oxygen!  It's ATPorn and it's HOT.  

6. Sprouting.  Organic.  Local (from your own kitchen).  Healthy.  Easy.  Cheap.  Versatile.  Fresh.  Delicious.

7.  Shower  Smoothies.  I love recovering after a ride with a smoothie in the shower.  Not only is it a thrifty use of your time, but it is also more green because you can wash your glass in the same water that you are bathing in.  ha!

GRIPES
1. Leg warmer bulge: Ladies, you know what I'm talking about-- that sausage-like roll that forms on your lower thigh between the bottom of your shorts and the top of your legwarmers. Yeah, I know my quads are abnormally large. I don't need to be reminded of it every time I take a pedal stroke, Pearl Izumi.

I second that Miz Chan!  Bulge is the reason I did not wear leg warmers for the first half of last year's cross series and one motivation for increasing my reps in the weight room.... but, no matter what, I think Bulge is here to stay.  Bulge is part of the game.  Maybe we should personify him by giving him a nickname and squishing a Livestrong bracelet around his wrist.  

2. Grumpy Knees. I'm sick of taking it easy and turning back early. Get better already!

3. Waiting. This seems to be a recurring theme in my life lately. Waiting for grad school apps, power taps etc. and so forth. What can I say? I am a product of a culture that has come to expect instant gratification.

4. Obese Adkin's Diet Advocates: "I was on it for about a year and had no problems!"  Umm...okay.  Can we continue this conversation as you huff and puff after exiting the elevator, before you reach for your Diet Coke and inhaler?  (Sorry, this is cruel...but I just don't get it.)

6. The Cycling/Job Dilemma. Last summer I worked at a bar and was too tired to ride during the day a lot of times.  When I worked at the bike shop 10-6 I hung out with bicycles all day, but did I get to ride them?  No.  Delivering is perfect for the winter and early spring, but that kind of workout really isn't compatible for race season.  Races are on the weekend, but that's when people go to the shop to buy bikes.  Humph.  Someday, someone will pay me to ride my bike.  Until then...well, I am going to begin plotting my calendar tonight.  

7. Duh.  No one needs to mention winter. 

Yum yum sprouted quinoa & millet :-)

Highlights of the past few days... Hm Friday delivering was awesome: I made 35 deliveries and it all averaged out to about $20 an hour. I've been thinking about the capitalist leisure/labor dichotomy and I think I am beating it.. !

Saturday my mom and sis came to visit. Mom fell in love with Nick's kitty and Roz fell in love with the Gary Fisher Simplecity.  It was the perfect bike for her, but I still want to get that girl on a road bike.  Then we went shopping...  which was good because now I have jeans that fit my growing thighs :-)  It was good to do girly things.  

Saturday night we made tacos and played Scattergories.  It's really a dumb game...  Still D.Penn had some trouble grasping the concept of the game.  For # 1 on list 5 he thought of 8 sandwiches that started with 'R'.  Maybe he is just taking it to the next level...

Sunday, Mom, Roz and I had brekkie at Strawberry Fields.  There was a string quartet playing and we ate bread and jam and lattes.  After that I bought a bunch of new seeds to sprout: red clover, alfalfa, radish, mung bean, rye berries and hard red winter wheat.  Yay!  Growing plants!  

Mom & Roz left and I studied for my tissues practicum by drawing cells with pink and purple colored pencils.  Overall a really nice weekend!  ...took Sunday off and today (my rest day) I'll take a ride at noon.  It's the end of my rest week so it's fine to take it easy. 

AND a new reader!  My very own Emily Doman, a non-cyclist, read "every word" of our blog and loved it!  Mad props and maybe a R.W. award if the committee approves. 

To the Hipster Betch on the Green Mercier....

You are the reason people don't like cyclists. Be courteous to pedestrians, obey traffic signals, and learn how to ride a bike.

Props to Karl, our Reader of the Week! (Everyone else just chill out...you might be next!)

The weekend was nothing short of fantastic, and February is STILL teasing us with good weather! Sunday I went on the Druber ride for the first time. There were 6 of us; Druber was actually on vacay in CA, so it was me, Penner, Joe & his dad, Jess, and Broglio. The ride was super smooth and perfect pace. I told Dan it's nice to finally be strong enough to not feel like I'm flailing about on the tail of a fire-breathing dragon while trying to hang on at the end of the pack. I feel strong! I can take pulls without feeling like I'll bonk as soon as I get off the front! Yay!

Monday I went out with D.Penn and Joe and it was super windy, but we rode in just shorts and short-sleeves--didn't even need arm warmers. After the ride Dan and I made a bomb-ass stir-fry with baby bok choy, shitakes, red pepper, and bean sprouts. Yumzorz. Then we got the mmmunchies later and ate dark chocolate covered almonds like they were popcorn...

Today it was beautiful again, but I had school and lifted instead of rode. My legs needed a rest; tomorrow I'm delivering

Had a funny altercation with a car today!!! I was carrying a package on my bike and so I was awkward stopping at a red light. I stopped, but then rolled slowly forward and bumped the SUV stopped in front of me with my tire. I wasn't actually sure if I had hit the car or not, because it was so gentle--I just thought it was silly of me to get so close. The light turned green and I went through the intersection and got off my bike to walk into the strip-mall parking lot (I was going to the UPS store). The lady whose SUV I bumped pulled into a parking lot and got out and yelled across the intersection at me "DID YOU HIT MY CAR?" I kind of laughed because I couldn't believe she cared that much, and I said "Yes, I bumped it with my bicycle tire..sorry." She got back in her SUV and drove into the strip mall parking lot and met me at the UPS store. She rolled her window down and asked me if I hit her car. I said that I did, but it was so soft that I thought it was a non-issue. She said "Well, if you were in a motorized vehicle we would have stopped and exchanged insurance information! It's the same thing!" and I said "Um no, it's not really." She said "Well you could at least apologize for it!" ..and I said "Sorry I hit your..SUV with my BICYCLE!" and she said "You are a SNOTTY LITTLE BABY!" and made crying noises. I said "...Ok Maybe I am...but at least I'm not a FAT ASS BITCH!" and she drove away.

I mean seriously? I could have (should have?) just been really sweet up front and said "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to get that close; was there any damage?" but I couldn't believe she was actually thinking that I could have damaged her SUV with my BIKE! I know some people are anal about their cars, but this wasn't that special..it was just a normal dirty Mercury SUV. Stupid betch. Wish I had slammed my U-lock into her window!

Drum roll, please.....

FastGRRRLZ would like to present this week's Reader of the Week award to:



Our very own WILD CARD CYCLING Managing Director, Karl Crapse.

Thanks, Karl, for following FastGRRRLZ and for contributing lively commentary. You are a true example for FastGRRRLZ readers everywhere.

To everyone else, stay tuned this week for the latest excitement in the world of FastGRRRLZ, including (but not limited to):

1. Watching plants grow
2. Waiting for power taps
3. Eating breakfast
4. Waiting for mail
and hopefully
5. Riding bikes

Can't wait? Neither can we....

best day ever ride sun warm fun.

todays ride was so fabulously refreshing.  good ride everyone. !!!

Yesterday I went for my third and final session of the V02 Max test study thing. It sucked. I kinda want to do mine again [WITH pedals] so if any one knows of some one who's doing another study lemme know.

Yesterday was also the road season kick-off pasta party at my house. Nick made beautiful bolognese (?) and marinara sauces. I helped chop things and I got a lesson on sharpening knives. [Thanks Nick! Thick!] Lots of people came and ate food and there weren't enough forks or chairs but I hope everyone had fun!

Yesterday I decided to take random and awkward photos of the bike team throughout the season and then assemble a book. It will be called 'Race Face'. Here is a brief preview...


Some of the pictures in my book will be posed. But don't worry, they will still be awkward.



Yesterday I ORDERD MY POW POW POWER TAP!!!!! RAR!!!

Today it is 50 degrees [ABOVE zero]. And we are going on a ride. Probably a very slow ride on the way out and a very very fast ride on the way back.

Today I have to wait for my Power Tap to come in. And I have to wait for the results of my grad school applications. Too much waiting.

Ah! I am going to be late for the group ride! Catch y'all later.

springWOW !

It's warm outside! Nick even took Axel's home-made felt curtain off the kitchen window to let the sun in. Garbanzo & lentil sprouts look extra happy today; their shoots turned green from being by the window. Ah February, you tease me...

Last night's Pasta Dinner was a success--thanks Nick! Thick! There was plenty of food for all and even more booze. (Bota Box, PBR, Modelo in a can, and, my personal fave, Mickey's!)  Nick did a great job with the marinara, which, incidentally, must be a deejay's favorite sauce...

Thursday I did my VO2 max test finally.  The intensity got difficult pretty quickly... I'm not sure how long I lasted exactly, and I don't find out my score until I go for two more sessions.  Lindy, the woman who is doing the study, wants to make sure we continue to participate, so she doesn't tell us until the end.  I didn't feel as though I went as hard as possible though...it was weird.  But Lindy was excited about my numbers, so that was encouraging.

Yesterday was a fabulous day for delivering!  It was about 45 and sunny.  I feel so free riding around...it's a fun game, trying to go as fast as possible without crashing.  I'm surprised I haven't been hit by a car or crashed yet.  Yesterday the traffic was kind of heavy, which I think makes it more fun sometimes.  At the end of the day I got a big wire stuck in my tire and it flatted; I didn't have the tools to fix it either, so I walked back to the Shire.  It occurred to me that I've never been able to successfully mount my hardcases on my deep v's so I'm not sure how I would fix a flat anyways.  A few more weeks working with those 8 pound dumbbells and maybe...

Group ride at noon!  Sparkly bright day.  So excited to ride.     (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Question:  Does Parkland have a cycling club/team?  They have a "Magic" players student organization...  If they don't have one, maybe I WILL start one.  

SO delivering yesterday wasn't so bad; I wore six layers on top, 4 on bottom, 2 pairs of wool socks, a balaclava, hat, hood, lobsters, booties... I was fairly warm and the roads were finally clear. And no one used my favorite excuse "Oh, I don't have any more money on my credit card to tip you.." so it was a good day. After work I came home and made a Peanut Butter Mousse Cake. I've made the same cake probably 10 times before, all with good results, but this time something didn't go right. The mousse is usually creamy and rich, but this time it turned out bland and kind of stiffly gelatinous. I must have forgotten at least a tablespoon of PB. Also maybe I put in too much agar-agar (this makes the mousse gel a little bit so it doesn't end up like pudding)--too much of it can make things almost too stiff; imagine too-thick jello. The bottom "blondie" layer is delicious though. In any case, I'll probably have to make the whole cake again just to set things straight, By this time I'll be sick of eating peanut butter mousse cake so someone else will have to rise to the occasion.... B.Chan?

Today I have my VO2 test for real. And class. And it is 6 degrees! We're heating up! AND it's almost time to name a new Reader of the Week! Get excited.

ha !

24

is less than or equal to the number of days before Murray State, the first MWCCC race of the year. GET PUMPED.

5

It's 5 out!  5 degrees!  Fahrenheit.  Ugh.  A great day for delivering sandwiches.  I just wanted to share my excitement before I go put on 17 layers of clothing.  

On another note:  I urge you all to check out the Champaign Cycle website !  Axel is doing an awesome job revamping the site.  It actually has some relevant info on it now AND Axel's cute bio blip, and it's only going to get better.  I like.  

Who is riding the Illini Chill this coming Saturday?  It starts in St. Joe's; I say those of us from Chambana meet up and ride there together.  It is supposed to be in the 50's--that's about 45 degrees GREATER THAN 5--and if we are lucky it won't rain.  

My food update:  The soymilk turned out pretty good.  It's a bit beany tasting, and obviously does not taste as processed and refined as the stuff in the carton, but I like it.  It tasted great this morning with sprouted quinoa muesli!  (Quinoa is a delicious, small nutty grain that is a complete protein and can be eaten like rice).

10:24  time to put on all of my clothes.

rest day zzzz's; watching seeds grow...

hi all!  I found out we have another reader!  She might just get the shout-out next week    ;-)  

So today is Monday, my rest day.  I'm not going to say that I will ALWAYS rest on Monday, but lately my legs have been so sore by Friday that I think it is a good idea to rest them completely for a day.  But I am going to backtrack...  Saturday I rode the trainer and it was boring.  (Imagine?)  Sunday gifted us melting snow, sunshine, and 40 degree weather, so I went out with Wildcard.  We took it slow at first because there were still some icy patches, but then we got up to a good pace.  We did about 50 miles, which was good for the first day of February, and it sure beat the trainer blues.  I felt great yesterday actually; yay endurance.  So now sweet & sour Monday...  it's so boring !  My friends are in school, I live so far away from everything, and I've run out of stuff to sell on ebay.  My life is fairly solitary--I ride alone a lot, lift alone, go to class alone.. so the last thing I want to do for fun is sit and read alone or work on projects alone...  ugh   I need SPRING!  I need to get out of this town!  

My project lately has been sprouting seeds/grains/beans to eat.  Sprouts are so healthy (lots of enzymes and more nutrient dense than their "dead" counterparts) and they taste delicious.  Today I bought some mesh for the tops of my sprouting jars.  I'm now experimenting with almonds, quinoa, garbanzo beans, lentils, and fenugreek.  For breakfast this morning I made muesli with sprouted rye and sprouted millet, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (unsprouted), almonds (unsprouted), raisins, blueberries, flaxseed, honey, and hemp milk.  So delicious.  Hemp milk is usually more than $5.00, so I never bought it.  But yesterday it was on sale half-off at IGA ! It tastes a little bitter and nutty--perfect for everything except cappuccinos, which I think taste better with soy or almond milk.  Another project I've started is making my own soymilk.  It looks so easy to do, and it's a lot cheaper and saves packaging!  Now I am in the soaking stage.  After the process is over there are leftover soybean particles that get strained out, which can be used to make other foods (veggie burgers) or for making....baby clothes.

So tomorrow it is back to lifting, riding, and cutting my steer tube and shortening my brake/shift cables.  Monday's are good.  Mondays are when I ask myself "what the hell are you doing"...  what am I doing?  I graduated from college; I deliver for Jimmy John's twice a week, I take one class at Parkland as a pre-requisite for a degree I'll do someday, I live with my boyfriend...  My plan is to ride across the country at the end of the summer and move to Portland.  But really..I'm trying to train; I want to be good.  It's a big experiment.  It's just a new life I am trying out, but it makes me pretty happy.