Personal

Why the heck have you been finding so much food in this blog and so little bikes? Well, it's a combination of these facts:

• I live in Switzerland where (a slightly ironical person once said) summer is the one month per year when you can't ski.


• I worked too much.


• I inflammed the heck out of my left wrist (while typing in the office) and got it shut down with a brace.


• I try very hard, but I still don't like Winter. I manage to get around a Winterdepression most of the time, but still: I don't like it being dark, cold and foggy.


• I tried to get myself to the gym 2x/week to do the "Ultimate Mountainbike Workout Program" - the program is great, but finding the time was a challenge.


• Cooking was always fun and when I can't get my fun on the bike I need to get it somewhere else. (Hey, every junkie needs his fix!)  ;-)


• It does say: "Bike. Eat Primal. And Take Pictures." in the blog title.


• I'm trying to get half a dozen private projects running, ranging from becoming a more than mid-pack DH racer, getting a photograph printed (see http://photo.morgi.ch), forming new, good habits, decluttering and reorganizing my life, as well as launching a product in Europe (more about that later).


• I figured if all I could blog about was the stuff I couldn't do, you wouldn't really get a fix from that.

So I searched for an old prewritten blog post for you. And this is what I found. Funny, I would type an almost identical post just around now. Except that I just started my outdoor training sessions again this Thursday and it didn't suck that bad. Could've done without the rain, but nonetheless...! Enjoy the read! I promise you'll get more blog posts in the next 2, no even 4 weeks. There's a lot coming up!

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Originally written on the 24th Feb, 2009

Like every winter there comes the time where I just had enough of cold and snow.

I must say, while I was focusing on cross country skiing the winter was fun. As soon as I decided I needed to get bike time in it started sucking.

This winter we had a couple of big snowfalls and cold spells - more than usual. And they are expecting another cold spell. I do hope it's done and over with once I get back from La Palma. But anyhow: I'll have two weeks on the Canarian island to enjoy the first sun tans and rides while I'm not dressed like Bib the Michelin Man. 

You might have been wondering what's going on lately. Not much posting here about bike rides... The reason is simple: My bikes are hanging and having a break. Can't really ride them with one arm in the bracelet. And typing is actually really bad for it too... so I sincerely apologize for the lack of posts and my un-ability to post.

It's funny, with all the biking I do, the ~2 big crashes per season nothing big ever happened, but from working at the computer I get an inflammation. Oh well, looks like that is just how life goes. I'm not calling for anything worse to happen ('cuz breaking a bone could be way worse then six weeks in the bracelet...).

So I just sit it out. The trainer works because I don't need to hang on to it with my hands, so I'm spending a lot of time on it. The rest is stretching, mobility training and core work as prescribed by Bike James. He also throws in some high intensity sessions (HIT) after strengthening that really get you sweating. Compared to HIT the easy spins on the trainer are a piece of cake. Got another 4hr session on the trainer planned tomorrow. And yes, I am looking forward to it.

But since Winter has fully evolved it's a waiting for what's to come anyway. I see it as a way of preparing for the next season. I enjoy planning my bike trip to La Palma in March and I was stoked to hear that Seb is doing another photo course in August. So I'm busy working out a plan for that as well.

Downhill racing is still on the schedule. In 108 days I'll be launching myself off the starting ramp of the first race. So, that's the short personal update from my side. I'll try to dig up some substantial posts or illustrations in the next days. Meanwhile you can get my micro-blog, if you follow me on Twitter. Later.

From this

to this:

My work week is out of the office for once. Manned with a car full of chocolate and coffee and equipped with a GPS I roll around the country selling what I usually cook up at my desk. A nice change for once! The weather was pretty s* on Monday and Tuesday - with heavy snowfalls. But today the sun shined down on a landscape covered in peaceful white. It was incredible - usually I have a hard time getting used to the first snow, but the awesomeness of the sights simple took all the negative thoughts away. - And I could blast my favorite music while hugging the turns through the walls of snow. Everyday could be like this!

Don't we all search for the purpose in life? The one perfect trail? Something we are good at and feel at home?

Since getting on the bike and being bitten by the race-fever I have been searching...

I enjoy every mile I ride out there and every day trip with friends. I took part in many marathon distance races and enjoyed them. I completely sucked at Cross Country distance but placed well due to the abscence of female competitors. But something has been lacking...

I used to enjoy the long distance races as races against myself and my old time or average speed. So it didn't matter where I placed in my category or overall. But that hunger has vanished (see the Iron Bike race this fall) and I've gotten tired of being an "also ran" or in the worst cases a "DNF". I don't want to race that way again next season. It reminds me too much of Grammar and High School where I would always be the last one picked for a team in gym class... But not race at all?

The only thing I seem talented at is riding downhill. I remember well how I enjoyed the first downhill fun race with friends in 2007 - where I placed quite well considering I was riding with less than half of the competitor's suspension. In the Cross Country races there have been very few bikers I didn't pass going downhill. Many trips to downhill runs this season, my stay with the downhillers from Les Arcs (Trailaddiction) and the many "for a girl you ride quite well downhill"-remarks have fortified this impression... So, I decided that I will be racing downhill next season.

By this decision I risk some of the Cross Countries and XCers out there never speaking to me again. But let me say, this doesn't mean I don't like to go out and have a long, fun ride (with no lifts involved). And I'm not going to run around in dark, sloppy clothes headbinging to Death Metal or living by "Tequila tonight, tomorrow we ride" or that I will not climb a mountain without a lift again. I'm not going to sell my Cross Country bike. It just means that I have accepted that on a competitive level I can never catch up even to the mid-packers in Cross Country or the long distance. But I'm still young and feel the urge of being at least a mid-packer on the bike in one fun category before I turn 30. Freeride is fun for me. So why not see what I can do? And even for this goal I will be doing a lot of miles! I even got a coach for my endurance and I am working on getting hints from other good riders for the rest...

Maybe you saw it coming - if you read about the last trips and tours I made... Naturally I'm not sure if I can be a mid-packer at this thing. As I said, this is still a search. But I'm not the "let's give it a try"-girl, im the "all-in", "all or nothing"-girl. And here I need any help I can get. I'm raking up the internet and questioning every fast descender I know to find out what I can do to improve my skills this Winter. If you know anything at all - be it very small - I'm grateful for any hints. Anything that helped you. I already did the first steps and joined a local team on the BMX track for trainings every Monday, but there is more to do! Will I make a fool of myself? Well probably at least every 400m someone is going to make me look like a fool or I have to take the chicken way. And I WILL HAVE FUN DOING IT, that is my main point. If you never have tried, how do you know you will make a fool of yourself? Even if I fall flat on my face doing this - I at least moved forwards!

But I will do anything I can this Winter to give it my best shot. Hence the coach, hence my request for hints.

So far here are a couple of ideas next to my fitness plan:

- learn to "Wheelie" for at least 5 crank turns

- get ride of the Angst to drop off of heights around 1m

- improve my jumping

- learn to "surf" (or "manual") small bumps

- improve overall speed by closely following a better rider's line at a speed slightly higher than what I would attempt on my own.

- learn to unicycle.

- climb a lot, ski cross country and do a lot of upper body and abdominal strengthening

- ...

Did I miss anything you can think of? What made you a better rider? Do you know any good sites or riders I could consult?

So that was my big announcement. This is another big step for me. Another dream to pursue. Naturally I am all ears to hear what you think about it. Thanks in advance for letting me know what you think!

Note to myself: don't go out trying to race on a Tuesday night after a weekend of 3400Hm, in a year I spent only 3 of the last 12 months riding, eat some junk food (= bad carbs) later, AND try to cut the night short... - unless you want to know how it feels to be chewed on by an elephant and spit out again.

Time for R&R:

CU later.

I'm going to spend the weekend in Magglingen, BE. This time not for an education but just for fun and biking with some friends. The weather forecast is magnificent. I plan to do some riding but I will have to see how it goes. This week has been very good with the new diagnosis and physical therapy and we have failed to put enough stress on the problem zone so that it hurt. I think I should explore the subject further this weekend. Nah, dont' worry: I don't want to waste it, but I will enjoy some time outside and just quit when it feels like too much. Writing a new chapter of the success story!

But since my new therapy training involves leg presses (which I have avoided ever since I had the problem because it felt like it worsened every time after) I'm really not sure what is good and what is bad... But everything that helps build strength should help get rid of the problem. Just have to be careful not to overdo it... same old story.

So unfortunately I will miss the trip to the Chasseral again (see picture) - but I will be back some day. I hear Magglingen has some other nice trails - I will have to eavesdrop on the locals and find some. ;-)  I still want to work on my riding technique. And if I can this and next weekend will be filled with learning new things and improving the old skills...

And besides, I have this view to enjoy and my digicam (DSLR) handy. Stay tuned for the results starting next week! And enjoy your weekend!

What a 3-Day weekend! And DANG did I need to force myself out of bed this morning. Three days off just felt soooo good. Sorry, I was so busy I didn't have time to post during the time. What was I up to? I had two rides, did the bulk shopping for the house-warming festivities, cooked up some good food, had some good food and enjoyed good times with friends and family. What more could you wish for? Ok, the rides could've been longer (one 100mins, one 75mins), but the weather was great and more would've been too much.

This week will all be a big spread out preperation for the moving-helper's-thank-you-dinner on Friday. So if this blog lacks posting I'm probably just cooking up something or shopping. Eventhough I risk the moving helpers reading this I will tell you: it will be a 7-course menu and a real first, since I have never cooked anything beyond 3 courses for more than 4 people. On Friday there will be 9 of us!

I got the menu all figured out except for how to best dish up two courses. So I'll be looking for some inspiration. I wish you a good week!

CU.

 

 ap·pre·cia·tion (ə prē′s̸hē ā′s̸hən)

I have learned a lot about appreciation in the last year. For me this is the one thing you learn to do, while you can't... Like Boris Jeltsin said:

 

"We don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. Freedom is like that. It's like air. When you have it, you don't notice it."

I have been like that with my health before the injury of my leg. But there are many other things I have learned to appreciate in retroperspective. From simple things like the abundancy of free time during college etc. up to more complicated ones.

Right now I'm trying to align stuff so it fits again - hence the few posts during the last days. I sat down and thought through what I really appreciate, what I should appreciate more and what I need to do to get back into a state that I can appreciate. Here is what I came up with:

Health - Naturally I'm more than unhappy with my leg injury taking all this time...

Wow, it's good to be back online and blogging. So, what happened?

My wordpress (the blog "software" I use) got hacked and malware was planted on my site. I had to shut it down, find out what happened, get rid of it and re-install. To keep things short: in all of the steps involved I encountered problems. In the end I was clean but not able to launch the new wordpress version. After days of trying I decided to switch. I'm now running serendipity. But that's not the interesting point for you. Main thing is I'M BACK! And ready to tell the tales again.

I hope you survived ok without me. I myself continued to forge and force my right leg into something resembling a bike-able leg. Sometimes it needed a lot of convincing... but my trip to La Palma is coming closer and there is no way around it: I will be enjoying my bike vacation and I will be riding!

So I'm planning on heading outside again next week - on the bike. Which I haven't done since October - and damn I miss it too! In the meantime I went to some spinning classes at the gym over lunch and enjoyed some higher intensities. But it's still a thin red line and I ended a handful of spins hurting in a way that I shouldn't - in my favorite leg muscle you could say. But it seems I will have to live with some pain for the next 2 years, at least this is what I'm told. If I can hurt and ride I'm ok with it. I'm just thrilled to be back. Still got some things to fix around here too - permalinks, design... but my priority for now is to be back and running... ehrm, I mean biking!

Cu later! 

Not a cloud in the sky, snow and a tour on the skis. My choice for christmas. I wish you a merry one, whatever you are up to.

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As the year draws to an end more and more loose ends get tied - and I'm glad about it.

Saturday I was able to put the first miles on the CC skis and the leg did ok. If we get some more snow I'll be happy to get some more in around the holidays.

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Since some of you have been wondering: My new MacBook Pro arrived excactly 13 days after ordering it. Like any new computer before it took a lot of work moving my data.



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Don't we all search for something we are good at? I mean better than the rest. Better than average or in the end: better than the ones competing.
I had this race in mind for a while: a downhill organized by some local people. No big thing with any licenced riders. Short distance, an event for fun...
... and honestly I was kinda hoping that not more than 3 girls would sign up...
As of now there are 4 of us, yes, that makes it a town race but in my short "career" in sports this is the closest I've ever come to a big chance of top 3.
Wow, that would be big...
But the competion are of the best amateur girls of downhill events around here.
Still: why not dream big? 30 seconds behind the winner? A tiny spot on the podium and a huge grin on the face for three weeks straight?
I guess work, the weather and my injury just left my unsatisfied the last weeks. So in any case the race will give my mind something else to do. Dream big and ride like the devil is what I say. Let's see how I'll do. Ã

Dear leg, muscle in the leg, piece of valued tissue or your Highness,
Thank you for bringing to my attention that you exist. Honestly I must say you could've picked a better time (like: not the whole summer!) - but you have made your point quite clear enough. Now that we have agreed on our terms of settlement I hope we'll get along better. Now I do understand it is difficult to be only a tool one uses - and never get asked your opinion. I apologize if I haven't given you enough attention and I promise to do better.

In return I hope that you mend fast enough for me to enjoy the last of summer. Maybe you'll even find joy in helping me to participate in one more race? Do you remember the sweet joy after completing the course? Yes, I seem to remember last time you did agree it was worth a bit of effort. If you like we can take it a bit easier this time. Hey, I'll shorten the distance a bit - but I'd like to remind you, the joy afterwards may not be the same as it would if we participated in the longer distance...

Or would you like a bit more of a freeride competition? I could agree to that. Can you guarantee me that you'll hold up to the expectations? (Are you strong enough?)
Maybe we can agree to try and see if we'll succeed. So: Please continue to give me signs of recovery and I'll gradually build up the stress. I'm hoping for a bright future together.

Yours sincerely

Linda