Oy Vey

Posted on by lindsay
My boss invited Bobby and me to a Jewish Sukkot dinner at her house tonight. Apparently she invites all of the employees to this celebration every year, as it is only loosely religious and supposedly a lot of fun. From the basic research I have done on this holiday, I have learned that Sukkot is a Biblical pilgrimage festival and that the dinner tonight will be held in a booth constructed of canvas, metal, and bamboo in my boss' backyard.My concern, however, is that my boss is Orthodox Jewish and lives under a very strict code of laws that govern her everyday life. These laws include prohibitions against showing her hair to anyone but her husband, doing anything on the Sabbath that could be considered creating something (including turning on lights or writing anything), and eating anything that is not strictly kosher, among many other rules.From the many questions I ...continue reading.

That Time We Swore To Never Volunteer Again

Posted on by lindsay
As part of my newfound addiction to mountain biking, Bobby and I have become very active in volunteering for various biking events, including trail maintenance days and races. We had volunteered for an all-day adventure race yesterday and were scheduled to arrive at Fountainhead Regional Park at 5:30am. Do you know how early that is for a Sunday morning? Yeah, neither do I. After oversleeping, we arrived a little after 6:30am.Our first task of the day was to manage the parking lot and help arriving racers determine where to go. This turned out to be a piece of cake, especially because people drove straight past me as I tried to wave them down to stop. One nice person even waved back as he flew by. I thought that was very friendly.After working the parking lot, Bobby and I hiked through the woods to Shock-A-Billy Hill, a particularly steep, rutted descent ...continue reading.

Quitting Pose

Posted on by lindsay
Up until this past weekend, I maintained an incredibly skeptical view of yoga, pilates, and other similar exercise/meditation routines. I saw exercise as something that required panting and sweating and bruising, none of which could be provided while listening to peaceful music and standing in a downward dog pose. However, I have been hearing such positive reviews of yoga lately that I decided to include it as part of my new training program for mountain biking. I purchased a video entitled "Yoga for Athletes" on Saturday and tried it out for the first time tonight.If you are not familiar with yoga and are seeking a way to relax and meditate, allow me to suggest a few activites that you may find more relaxing than yoga:1. Sprinting uphill while carrying cinderblocks2. Cagefighting3. Vaccinating feral catsThe program I selected to try tonight was called "Basic - 20 minutes" and included poses such ...continue reading.

Another time I should have stayed home.

Posted on by lindsay
My latest search for high-quality cycling shoes took me to the Performance Bike store by my house the other night. I hate this particular store; after a series of very bad experiences with the employees earlier this summer, I complained at length to management and swore openly to never return. The problem is that this store is conveniently located, often filled with excellent sales, and possessing of a rather decent supply of bike products. When all else fails, I often creep shamefully back into the store, ignoring the gloating employees entirely, and regretfully buy what I need. Which is how I ended up there the other night - it was the only local store where I knew I could find the shoes I wanted to try on. I dragged Bobby into the store with me ("Don't leave my side for one second while we're in there!") and went straight to ...continue reading.

More Neighborly Fun

Posted on by lindsay
I was outside washing my bike when Possibly Promiscuous And Definitely Amnesic Neighbor Girl pulled up in her BMW M6 (Base MSRP $81,700; somebody has been putting in a lot of late nights at the office). For a moment, I debated about running inside and hiding to avoid more awkward conversation where I pretend to be the person she thinks I am, but I realized that would be rude and, more importantly, very obvious. So I stood there in my shorts and grubby tee-shirt, hosing off my bike, while she got out of her car and said hello."You've lost weight," she said kindly. "You've lost a lot of weight. That's so great!"When we saw each other at Christmas, I weighed 130. I currently weigh 130. Granted, there have been times in my life that I have not been in the best of shape, but I have always been rather stork-like ...continue reading.

Biking: Hazardous to your wealth.

Posted on by lindsay
When I first got into mountain biking, I did so on a new $500 bike that I thought was a pretty sweet ride. It seemed like $500 was a lot to spend on a bike; up until that point, the most I'd ever spent was $200 and that included pink streamers on the handlebars. After a month of intense riding, however, I decided to bite the bullet and upgrade to nicer bike with a full suspension system. This investment came at the breathtaking price of $2200, which seemed absolutely ridiculous at the time. After a few rides on the bike, I decided it was money well spent, but also that I was exceptionally content on my bike and would remain so for years to come.Until last week, when a drunk driver hit Bobby's car while both bikes were on the trunk rack. As we waited at a traffic light to ...continue reading.