Gearing up for the big ride.

So last year before the STP (Seattle to Portland) I bought a brand new road bike. That pretty much drained my funds, but this year I was able to get some new accessories for my bike for the big ride. First off, I thought I would be daring and convert to the pedals which click in and lock. Here's the shoes I got:

On the bottom there is a cleat that hooks into the pedal. This allows you to not only push down on the pedal but pull up as well so you get a lot more power and your feet don't slip off the pedals. I think I've only had one crash because I couldn't unclip, and of course it was in front of a bunch of people. I've got the hang of it now and I really like them a lot better.


Here's a picture of the pedal the shoe clips into.

On those long rides it really takes a toll on your shoulder and neck areas oddly enough. My brother Lance got me a set of aero bars to go on my bike. So i can rest my arms in the pads and hold on out front on those long stretches when I'm not shifting or breaking. It really helps relieve some muscle stress.



And last but not least...I've found myself several times being almost hit by cars. Drivers just seem oblivious to bikers, even when they are on the sidewalk. So I got this nice bright yellow jacket to make myself known. Supprisingly I've still had a couple of times when cars still don't see me.

The best thing about this jacket is when it gets too hot the sleeves zip off and it turns into a vest!

I wish getting accessories made you ready for a bike trip of this magnitude. (204 miles in 2 days) I haven't trained as much as I would have liked but I didn't last year either and it turned out just fine. Hopefully I'll get some pics of the ride up in a couple weeks when we get back. Stay tuned....

Vet Techs Should Get Hazard Pay!

So today at work I was changing out the bedding in one of the cats kennels. Nice cat. She was purring and letting me pet her. I had given her all her injections for the morning, flushed her IV catheter, picked her up and moved her around, all the while she is purring and wanting me to pet her. She is sick and has been having diarrhea so I go to put a pee-pad in her kennel so we don't have to change the towel every time she has a mess. So as I'm laying the pee-pad down the cat just literally snaps! She starts flailing and flying all over the kennel, kicking, screaming, hissing, biting, scratching- anything she could possibly do to freak out as much as possible. I need to calm her down because I can't have her fall out of the kennel and a) hurt herself or b) pull all the expensive IV equipment that she is connected to down in a big crash. So I'm trying to get a hold of her and she just keeps freaking out. I finally have to get another co-worker to close the kennel door really fast as I throw the cat to the back of the kennel. The following pictures are the aftermath:












There was lots of blood, lots of scratches, lots of puncture wounds and lots of antibacterial soap. These pictures don't give the live version justice. Yet another example of why I am convinced that cats are possessed. Remind me to show you the scars in a couple years. PS. The cat was fine the rest of the day- acted like nothing had happened, back to her normal self. I didn't talk to her the rest of the day though - nor will I tomorrow.