'Crossin and crushin

i'd be lying if i said i was doing both simultaneously.

instead, i leave the crushing for school and the 'cross for what's left of me.

regarding crushing: darden had a 7-hour teambuilding afternoon for us on friday. my learning team crushed it. we especially dominated in the: beanbag toss, hunting, starting fires, sudoku, and archery. we were mimicking lewis and clark's journey, minus the dysentary and "no showers for a year" rules.

to those who guffaw at teambuilding afternoons, i challenge you to try this one. the name of the company who conducted it slipped my mind (except, of course, that they were assisted by target and johnson & johnson; no accident there), but they absolutely rocked it! i got all warm and fuzzy after each adventure; all were to mimic the real-life challenges we will face when we leave darden in two years with master's degrees and $120,000 in debt. sweet!

now, about the 'crossin.

i stayed out until 3 on thursday night. and then until 2 on friday night.

so i was tired on saturday. i slept in until 1. unheard of in the last 4 years because every saturday in the past held one event: a bike race!

no longer.

so, i slobbed around the condo for a while. aaron wandered in shortly thereafter and we shared hangover stories. i wasn't really hungover, but i felt his pain nevertheless. there are a lot of bars in this town!

i checked my email, managed my dwindling celebrity, made some phone calls. the usual. i complained to sven about my mountain bike. she currently sits dejectedly in the corner waiting for sven to cut her steer tube. he'll be here this week, so the vanderbikey can get some exercise! sven told me to suck it up and i went on a ride on my bianchi 'cross bike. it is sweeter than sweet, with a fattyphat fsa single ring up front (42 baby, aw yeah!) and only 9 rings in the back. we rock it old skool. sven gives me hell about my cheater brakes on the handlebars, but whatever. once he teaches me to be a 'cross goddess, then he can take them off. until then, they stay on. plus, they give house spiders a place to spin cobwebs.

i can't wait until i upgrade to the new ahren's vanderkitten 'whole shot' cross rig! it shall be unveiled at 'crossvegas, ridden by yours truly oh! did imention that one of my 'cross teammates is christine vardaros? she rizzzzocckks!

here she is, passing me at cyclocross nationals in 2006. i'm screaming curses at the extra cookies i ate the night before.

i just digressed. apologies!

so anyway, i headed out to observatory hill to find some trails and get a bit dirty. at the trailhead i found out that there is a code among mountain bikers not to ride on muddy trails because they will be compromised. this was news to me: we 'crossers revel in the mud.

fortunately, i didn't have to wrestle any moral dilemmas because there wasn't much mud. just rocks. and more rocks. and, wait, what's this....? more rocks.

i was cursing and raging mad. i am a bad mountain biker to begin with. put me and my lack of skills on a trail, add a 'cross bike, and you have ROYAL SUCKAGE! i was pissed. at life. at myself for being lazy as hell. for wasting a day puttering. for forgetting to wear gloves so my hands slipped all over the place. for banging my shin on my top tube. for not bringing enough water. but basically, because i suck at guiding my bike over large boulders.

i went to greenberry's and pouted into a cup of decaf. i called my sister and watched the lightning strike all around town.

i came home, took a shower, and fell asleep. at 9 p.m.

i am so lame.

do the math, people: that's 15 hours of sleep yesterday.

think i needed it?