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back in nyc June 20, 2008

back in nyc

Originally uploaded by roxbanta

Another fabulous trip to NYC. My fourth time here for work. Things I love: private room karaoke, people watching, I don’t get lost anymore, new friends, (too much) great food, madison square park, walking everywhere, how you have to ask for “new york’s finest” just to get tap water at many of the restaurants, the attitude reminds me of the D …Things I miss: the grass, my bike, friends, yoga, my voice, space, alone time, my kitty. If you’ve never been to NYC, it’s definitely a place you should visit. I can’t believe how many people are in such a small space. It makes you feel comforted, yet overwhelmed at the same time. It’s amazing how many different lifestyles are intersecting here. More photos here.

New Tatoo? June 5, 2008

What do you think of the tatoo I’m thinking of getting?

Mustache Riders May 30, 2008

Mustache Riders

Originally uploaded by roxbanta

My friends and I, the Mustache Riders, won the bike commute challenge in SLO for the month of May! We took the most trips on our bikes. I rode my bike 140 miles this month for 101 trips. Our team of 10 rode a total of 1888 miles for 1512 trips saving 0.79 tons of co2. It was fun to drive my car as little as possible. I’m going to try to continue. My favorite part of it was noticing things on my bike I wouldn’t have noticed in my car, like the smell of freshly cut grass, sunsets, and all of the friends who saw me and waved hi who wouldn’t have noticed me in my car.

my first crash

my first crash

Originally uploaded by roxbanta

It all happened on a lovely Saturday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend. Me and some friends were riding our bikes across town to a cookout. I looked down and noticed my bike lock was falling through my basket and so I tried to grab it and recover it to a happier position where it wouldn’t get caught in my front tire. While I was wrestling the lock someone slowed down in front of me and I hit their back tire and lost control of my bike and fell on the street on my right side. I have road rash on my wrist, elbow, side, a bruise on my leg, my shoulder was pretty sore for a few days, and a bruised ego. My beautiful, green, 1977 schwinn suburban was injured as well, the basket and fender were a little bent out of shape. Lesson learned: Don’t use those crappy locks that don’t coil around your bike. Lesson #2: Maybe don’t use those crappy locks when you’ve had a few beers and bicycling.

I was due for a crash. It had been a while. I can’t remember the last time I crashed on my bike in fact. It reminds me of learning to ride a bike. First of all it took forever, as my brother Billy learned at 3 years old and it took me until I was 7. Immediately after I learned I crashed my bike and broke my arm and had to wear bread bags on my arm all summer while I played in the slip ‘n slide.

How I Gained 10 Lbs @ Wildflower May 4, 2008

Race time

Originally uploaded by roxbanta

I “competed” in Wildflower Triathlon today as relay team #8135, aka Xanadu, with Shaba swimming a mile, I biked 24 miles, and Meghan running 6 miles. We did the shorter olympic distance but the long distance was twice as long. Yes, that’s right, we did the least amount of physical activity of anyone competing in the event by doing the olympic distance with a relay team. The people who won the long distance completed all 3 courses in like 4 hours and the olympic distance in 2 hours. It took me 2 hours just to finish the 24 mile bike course! Well 1:51 and 32 seconds to be exact. Talk about being fit! My friends completed the whole courses by themselves and kicked ass too. Jesse completed the olympic distance in 2:42 and Garrett in 2:28 and I am still waiting to hear about Johdan who I am sure killed the longer distance on Saturday. It was crazy to see so many people, of all ages, pushing their bodies to the absolute limit and the people just spectating and cheering were awesome. Our friend Hawk puts on an energizer bunny suit at the top of what’s known as “the nasty grade” to keep people going. Lots of naked bodies and silly screaming people to help pump you up. It made me want to get my old cheerleading uniform out. The triathlon actually started as a blues music festival so it still has the festival atmosphere, there were live bands playing all day, tons of people camping who weren’t competing, and lots of vendors, beer, and food booths. Another friend of ours hooked us up with special guest passes and we got in to special places and ate free catered food all weekend. We were totally spoiled. So, instead of eating typical camper fare I overate delicious catered food. Since our relay team didn’t race until Sunday I ate food and drank tecate all weekend. Instead of overexerting myself like most of the athletes and getting extra fit, I feel like I gained 10 pounds! Ha.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend. I hope that I am kicking ass like the 72 year old dude I saw on his bike when I’m older.

Click here to see the rest of my photos from the weekend. Click here to see me in action during the race.

Organic Farm Box May 2, 2008

I recently signed up to receive a weekly box of veggies from the Calpoly Organic Farm. Thankfully I am sharing this weekly box of goodies with a friend or I would be wasting a whole lot of veggies. It’s a really awesome deal though. It costs about $20/week for one box, and sharing it we are only paying $10/week for so much yummy food it seems like I’m cheating or stealing or something. I have been forced to try new veggies that I would have run from at the grocery store and all in the name of supporting local agriculture. It’s a beautiful thing. Really.

Adventures in Bicycling April 24, 2008

My forehead is a bullseye…

Originally uploaded by roxbanta

I ran into a bee on my bike…See that little red dot with swelling around it on the center of my forehead? Yes, that’s where the bee nailed me. I was cruising along on my bike, minding my own business when “Ouch wtf, oowwwwww, omg it’s still on me, owwwww, wtf, i’ve got to stop, ow, my feet are clipped in oh god ew it’s still on my glove ouch wtf.” We stopped and Peter was kind enough to tend to me in distress and pull out the stinger which was lodged, and I mean lodged, in my forehead. I then proceeded to bleed and swell up on our ride home. Bee stings hurt.

Housewarming Party April 14, 2008

I had a wine and cheese housewarming party last weekend! Good times indeed. I think we fit as many people as my little apartment could handle.

Dominic’s 3rd Birthday

The little man’s getting old. This is my nephew Dominic’s 3rd birthday party.

my mom finally made it to cali… March 15, 2008

Yes, that’s right. Laurie finally left the ball busting winter of Michigan for a few days of sun and fun in SLO, CA. We had a great time and I kicked her butt quickly with all the walking in my hilly little town. She can never remember how to pronounce places we went so I am writing it here to make up for her lack of memory.

We went to Pismo Beach, walked around and ate fish tacos.
We tasted wines at Edna Valley Winery.
We cruised our year-round, weekly farmers market and had dinner at California Pizza Kitchen with my friends.
We hit the night life a bit and hung out at my favorite Irish Bar, McCarthy’s.
We toured Hearst Castle.
We ate sushi and the restaurant made my mom a little pair of beginner’s chopsticks.
We shopped around town.
We are going to a St. Patty’s Day party tonight.

All in all she was quite the trooper. It was great to have her here! Below is a photo album of our trip to Hearst Castle.