Manatees - 2019 Edition - Practice Maximum Enthusiasm - CLOSED (Page 47)

Originally posted by JBacarella

Originally posted by cdban66

Originally posted by jmkizer

Originally posted by cdban66

Originally posted by amd723

Originally posted by jmkizer

Originally posted by amd723

Originally posted by ceilidh

Originally posted by marysia83Got back from spring break in warm Florida and am full of positive energy - mental and training wise. Even though I like winter, there is something about the end of it, around March, where I get into some sort of nostalgia point, where it is hard for me to concentrate, stick to my goals, be productive and happy overall. It is more melancholic than November. And Chicago winters can be very frustrating, thus, the longer they last, the more miserable I feel...This year we decided to spring break in Florida. We are moving to CO next year, and wanted to take the chance of exploring more of East since it is closer now than it will be after 2020. We landed in the beautiful campground in the middle of Florida, so green and rich in springish life, all covered in sun rays, I felt reborn and happy. We did tons of mountain biking, and the energy kicked in. We're back to Chicago area, it's still cold, but nice and sunny. I am planning to run outside on my lunch break in a moment. Can't wait for it!I signed up for the challenges, can't wait to participate again. Now that it's finally spring, I am hoping to have way more motivation and fun Congrats to Stacey! Have a great awesome new week everyone!Karen,how's recovery going?

your enthusiasm is infectious. Just in case, I am going to take 10 days of camping in Fla, with a side trip to Key West, just to make sure i have as much when i get back.

haha! Funny, Florida doesn’t give me that enthusiasm , I have to go to the mountains for mine!

I know! Here Robin is going from the WNC to FL for camping while we are heading to WNC as a vacation spot!

Kevin looked at a place in Brevard this weekend. Unfortunately, his final report was "it's a dump." Oh well..

im sure he wouldn’t have to look hard to find a non-dump place!

I'm not sure about NC, but non-dump probably means $$$$$.

Maybe the answer is buy part of a place that is shared with other Manatees, I'm sure you can find someone like Ann-Marie to go in on this place with you. 

Haha! The issue is that no much goes on the market in the places that we have an eye on. Ah well, more time to save up, right?

This was a town home walking distance to downtown Brevard. The interior had never had anything done with it in ever. That's annoying bit fixable. The exterior was maintained by the HOA -- and had quite a bit of rot. Yeah... So you pay $200/mo for rot? Does not cover water/sewer/trash or anything, just "maintaining" the exterior. Anyway, Kevin was not impressed with anything other than the location. Oh, and it had a weird  walk through shared bathroom thing. I asked if it was a Jack and Jill and he said, "No. Weirder." OK....

(so Chris, you are tent camping next month)

Well, sort of tent camping. I use a hammock with a rainfly and bug net. I like being up off the ground, I've always been comfortable in the hammock, and it packs up pretty small and easy. I considered the trailer, but it's a bit of a pain to pull just for me, especially given my comfort in the other setup. Kevin mentioned his tent setup, so we'll be pretty similar in that regard. BTW, Ann is going to be testing out the hammock this weekend, so I may be buying a second setup for her so we can camp with SCORR. I may be adding a rack to the hardtail at some point to make bikepacking a bit more feasible.

"Hammocking" is kind of a big deal around here. Kids, especially, will "Hammock" in the National Forest along the national forest. It's surreal to look into the wood and see 20 brightly colored hammocks hanging at all heights in the trees. Outlined with all colors of LED lights. Personally, I prefer them for a short nap during the day, but not to spend the night.

Maybe Chris can save me some money by hooking Kevin up!

I don't think saving money is in the cards. The definition of camping is "paying a lot of money to spend time living like a homeless person."

Originally posted by ceilidh

Originally posted by marysia83

Originally posted by JBacarella

Originally posted by cdban66

Originally posted by jmkizer

Maybe Chris can save me some money by hooking Kevin up!

I don't think saving money is in the cards. The definition of camping is "paying a lot of money to spend time living like a homeless person."

Hammocking is spending a lot of money to spend time living like people in the 3rd world.

A lot of money?? I don't know how you guys camp........... This is the cheapest way for cool vacation!

i now glamp, unless we are backpacking. We are getting ready to head to Fla tomorow with said glamper. Mr. Banting is brave enough to meet up for some mountain biking with us. then on to key west for some endurance work.

Glamping!  Manatee meetup!  Key West!  Lots of good things in store for you, enjoy!

Racing Manatees!!!

April 6-7
Stacey - Judgement Tree Night Trail 12k on Saturday
Jim - Klondike Canoe Marathon 10K run on Sunday

Is anyone else racing?

Go Stacey and Jim! Fun sounding races!!

This is one of those areas that I hate to admit that gender plays a role in, but it does for many. 

I do know that I am quite comfortable fixing my bike and do bring a few items such as spare tubes, pump, multi-tool, etc. And I do know how to use them. I carry a small first aid kit. I have my cell phone. I where bright colors.  I use blinking rear lights.  I always send a snapshot of the route I am riding to Ann, along with a time estimate. After that, it is simply riding. I am comfortable on the highway, since I've done it for a while. I have found that the most dangerous riding is actually in the neighborhoods here, where some folks may not be as attentive to the roads as they could be.  But, after some trial and error, I have found which roads work, which ones are less positive and how best to reduce Ann's anxiety.  You can actually do some Strava stalking to find routes that are more favorable.  I don't know how your relationship is with your LBS, but they can generally help out with route finding as well. Also, I don't have a trainer, and hope that I never do, so I have made every effort to find routes that work for me. 

I will say that group rides have been a great addition for me. These can be a bit intimidating when you first join. But again, trial and error can help you find the ones that work best for you. I was amazed at how much my fitness improved when I did them regularly. These also pushed me to be a better rider, and not simply from the fitness perspective. I have better bike handling skills and am more attentive to the things going on around me. 

PT often seems to be a two steps forward, one step back proposition. Hopefully this is a short-lived setback.

Do you have any neighbors, friendly bike mechanics, etc. who could help you with your trainer setup? Once Andreas is in, can you tighten/loosen the tension on the wheel yourself? 

Hopefully, you can get in the pool soon. If nothing else, it will allow you to mix things up.

We all need a calm, tropical ocean! Take care!

Same. Riding with friends is more fun. Riding alone is OK but I pick routes that are in "cyclist central" and I also tell Kevin my ride plan (whether he listens or not...). Blinking back light always, blinking front light when solo.

I've also decided, for now at at least, that ride that are less than 90 minutes will most likely be on the trainer (development in my area is such that shorter rides are less productive -- it just takes too long to get out of town) and that I will ride with friends once a week if at all possible. While group rides are probably less than optimal for training, I got into this sport to have fun with friends. I'm hoping to achieve a better balance this year ;-)

I know people who do that. Brett does this for time shifting purposes (can start the ride early, in the dark so opposite of what Karen did).

I'm sorry that you got lost on the trail but I LOVE your excuse to get a new watch :-) I need to use that!

Also, I wouldn't call it an Epic Fail. Isn't getting lost part of trail running?  (I'm just hoping that it's not part of our relay in November!)

Speaking of Garmin devices....

That has to be the sign!

I read about garmin mistakenly including  the 945 in one of its advertisements in  Germany.  When they "realized" the mistake the 945 was removed from the ad. The cynic in me says it was not a mistake, but rather a great marketing ploy to get people talking!