so i tucked my tail and headed home.

and spent Sunday unpacking and bike cleaning.

and Monday i fixed the tire with Squawk’s help.  we went to town. picked up the mountain bike at Shanks’s and rode “green seat” allovertheplace. it was such a blast. Devlin is less than 2 centimeters away from no longer fitting in the seat. the thought of that brings crushing sensation to my chest. i am incredibly interested in getting ever last moment out of that contraption. having a wee-peep on my handlebars for the past 5 years has been some of the best time i recall spending in my life. the conversations flow and the awareness increases. together, we live with all our senses engaged and our beings in the optimal zone for health and for growth.

and Tuesday i parked at the end of the ‘ment, into town to scoop them up. its only 4 miles back to the car…all on pavement. but it is uphill. and it was the first time i hauled them behind me (with the exception of a few ski trips this winter) in a long while. they were cold. they whined some, cried some, added an extra dose of suffering for my training…but we made it. and it felt good.

Wednesday was  a junk show. cancelled yoga  due to gym time conflict. attended my first parent-teacher conference. learned that others feel Crit is KIND. bravo. lets have burgers and fries at the Cowboy. Kind is Cool. Cool is Kind. celebrate. and that evening. when Deep Woods returned from work, he said “you have 5 minutes to get your act together and ride”. and i did. without gloves. but i rode. up and up and up beyond the ROAD CLOSED sign. and i followed the story of a lone wolf, and a lone moose…and i was happy.

Thursday was a clean-the-house day. and bust out as many t-shirts as i can day. no bike.

Friday, i woke at 5am and drove into town. Wheeled my bike into the coffee shop. and had my first cup of coffee for the week while i got myself all squared away. Shank hooked me up with a photo-worthy (according to gas-truck Bob) bagel sandwich. i went for the bacon…that’s a rare choice. finally, i rolled out for Lander. i had multiple malfunctions in the first 10 miles. stopped with annoying frequency until i finally solved the problem. then i let the tail wind sail me east. stopped for a banana in Crowheart. Shank pulled up alongside me just shy of half-way with his pump. he thought perhaps my slow-leaking rear wheel could use a few pumps. he was right. i wheeled in to Lander bout 11:30am. added a bazillion pounds since the last time i rode to Lander, and still managed to shave 30 minutes off my time! i had both a beer and an Americano while i waited for the bike shop to ring me. (what an effing day! everything bagel, bacon, coffee, banana, beer, americano…) it was barely 1:00pm!   Tim and Thomas at Gannet Peak Sports spent the ENTIRE afternoon with me dialing in my ride. Thomas had all the equipment involved. the range-of-motion calculator thing, the plumb-bob, the teeth scraper from the dentist’s office, the OR scrub clothes, the precision eye, and the reminder to tilt my pelvis back and engage my core….MULA BANDHA. i left feeling pumped. it takes a team. i knew that. it’s just that it is a 5-hour ride to my local bike shop. People are cool. way cool. and i’m sure lucky to know them. 80 miles. my biggest day in 2 years.

Saturday morning  i was supposed to rise and shine at sunrise to ride into town. i had a general fatigue and didn’t see the value of the early-morning-rush. so i waited it out a bit. and left after adequate love-lumping on the couch. i heard a phone call come through at the Brent Creek turn-off, so i answered. it was my aunt Ree. and we spoke for 20 minutes, but all that kept bouncing ’round my brain was that she filled me in on April. and that she was having a double mastectomy on Tuesday. and i had no idea.  and it had a deep affect. my hand and feet were cold. way cold. right between couldn’t feel them and pain. i started coming up with all the reasons Deep Woods should come and pick me up and end my misery…and then i’d think about April. and i realized my hands and feet could be effing cold. i’d survive. and just when i doubted that reality…Shankcame putzingalong the road in his clutch-new Explorer. He was just checkin in, since it had been so long since i said i was coming to town. This  time, instead of a pump, he had mother effing MITTENS!!!! and a heater in his car to warm up my hands. game changer indeed. i was even able to grab my bear spray with the mittens when i passed an escaped-from-the-fence-bull a mile further down the road. i went to Shank’s house to pick up a washing machine door (no one delivers to where we live). i propped it up in the Chariot, swung by the coffee shop for another egg and cheese and BACON bagel. and headed home. my muscles screamed. i had enough gears to appease them. i pedalled pedalled pedalled slower than the speedofdleisure. i just didn’t have it. I WAS SPENT. and DW and all the babycakes scooped me up at Drifter Flats. whew!    i went home and rested on my bed with my legs up for at least an hour. and it worked. we were headed back to town for a dinner party that evening. i straddled my bike and headed in, and crushed it. i just needed a slight bit  more recovery…

Sunday came.the DOMS set in. Deep Woods decided to postpone his turkey hunt till Tuesday, so we decided to camp. best. decision. ever.

i drank a beer at lunch. and had a legitimate 1.5 hour yoga session alone. and drank another beer while we packed and transitioned. then i took a roadie, and packed one for camp. that equals = too many. i had too many beers that day. womp womp. i would next type lesson-learned…but it is probably not. i will do that again. i can’t help it. beers are just entirely too scrumptious when i feel like i’ve “earned them”.

Monday, i rode from the campsite home. maybe 2 miles. hilarious. but there was a sow griz and her 2 yearlings sighted next to our campsite that night…so i was on the lookout. and that increase in anxiety level ups the training ante (i say since i only rode 2 miles in 2 days).

Tuesday, DW really left for his turkey hunt. there were 5 fresh inches of snow when we woke up. i waited for Zumba to end, and headed to the gym. I did some “SPINNING” and some yoga…and at 10:30, only one yogi arrived. she chose to bag it and try again another time. i went to Shank’s for a hang and a JEP. and we watched 2. we were sharp. both of us. not across the board, but overall. its part of my training.

Wednesday was bectacular ( i invented that). morning was smooth. humans were cool. and i rode out to Ring Lake. happily. i thought about some of the days in the first years after the kiddos came ’round when i struggled with it. i was sort of physically wrecked. i kept trying. i showed up for myself. as often as i could. and while i taught my first Wednesday night yoga class back at Lynn’s Gym since January…Shank hung out with Crit and Squawk. When we arrived, their Bounty-Basket and Magnaltiles were already out on the floor. The Cranberry Juice Cocktail had already been diluted with water. The cartoon channels were pre-loaded and primed. and ice-cream-on-a-stick waited in the freezer. Shank didn’t let a heart-beat skip before he responded when i asked. he does it all. my Mick. and i reckon my Pauly too…

Thursday we had a rocky start. which is uncool. the Macaroni Piggies made a pact to leave it in the driveway once we made our way to town. After that, we saw a moose, a coyote, bunch of ducks, a golden eagle, elk, deer, and pronghorn. seriously? that’s my “bad-morning”? I shipped out most of the t-shirt orders. just a few to go before i shut-it-down.

We have no concrete plans for next few days. perhaps a voyage to Jackson…the weather is iffy. DW got his turkey yesterday, we don’t reckon to see him till Sunday night though….