Howdy! Remember Me?

Sorry for you blog followers, I kind of been neglecting my blog to let you know what's been going on in my life. Well, absolutely nothing! I saw a few family memebers last time Kurt and I went home for Terilyn's confirmation, but since there, I've just been working at my jobs. Last week was "Bike to Work Week." It didn't go as well as planned due to the weather. I did get to ride 1 1/2 days out of 3. On Saturday, Julie S., Alexa, Kurt and I rode our bikes down to the Des Moines Farmer's Market. This was the first time I had been to it. It was pretty neat, but I didn't get the chance to look at people's booths or try their yummy products. Another thing that did damper it was that we walked our bikes through. Monday I ended up putting like 14-15 miles in roundtrip to/from work. It was pretty nice, and I must say I'm getting much better at the hills/inclines. It only takes me about 40 minutes to get there. I also rode Tuesday morning, however the rain moved in Tuesday afternoon, and I ended up hitching a ride home with a co-worker that has a pickup. Wednesday and Thursday I didn't ride due to working at Cheese Castle. I didn't ride on Friday either due to the rainy weather. Kurt was supposed to have a mountain bike race on Saturday, but since it rained on Friday, it was cancelled, hopefully postponed and made up on a different date. This week, hopefully the weather stays nice as it's predicted and I might get in a day or so.

This weekend was pretty uneventful. Friday night we went over to Kyle and Julie's and the boys messed around with the bikes and then later played Wii. Saturday Kurt went with Kyle and a friend and rode from Ankeny to Polk City. They had a pretty tough time heading there due to the strong winds, but coming back was a breeze, thanks to the high gusty breeze. While he was gone, I did part 1 of grocery shopping and we finished it after he got back from riding. Saturday night we were invited to go with Kyle, Julie and Alexa to this restaraunt Cafe Fuzion. This place is pretty good, we have been there before. Their menu consists of Thai, Korean, and Japanese food. After we ate, Kurt and I came back and he worked on his project bike and I relaxed on the couch. Later, we went down to Cheese Castle and hung out, drank some beer with our friend Matt.

Sunday morning, Kurt and I woke up at 7, and we rode to Jordan Creek Mall, which from the house is 10 miles one way. Our friend Taylor was participating in a Duathalon (run 2 miles, bike 18 miles, run 2.5 miles). I wasn't a very happy person, b/c Kurt took the hilly way, but I survived it (he later complimented me by telling me that i'm MUCH better at that same hill as I was last year.) It was pretty chilly out and it sprinkled here and there. After the duathalon, Kyle and Kurt rode back together, and I hopped a ride with Julie and Alexa so we could all go to Costco. This afternoon, after resting, Kurt and I have been busy, me w/ laundry, and Kurt working on cleaning out the back room for our future spare bedroom. End of June is almost here, and I'm ready to move! Anywho...that's all that's been happening here in Des Moines. Hope all is well with everybody.

Being Sick Sucks!

Not much is going on here in Des Moines. Kurt had his Decorah Time Trials this past weekend. He didn't do too bad for his first time there and having the trails super muddy. He finished 4th in his age group and 59th overall with a time of 1 hour 21 minutes and 12 seconds completing 7 miles of hilly terrain. I on the otherhand, spend my weekend here in Des Moines. I spent Friday night at my duplex and laid on the couch all night. I had the windows open all night, and I think that's what got me sick. On Saturday, I packed up some of my things at my place, so they'd be ready to go in June. Then I came over to Kurt's house and watched television. I ended up hanging out with Kurt's niece on Saturday night and all day on Sunday. It was pretty fun hanging out with her. Kurt didn't get home until Sunday night, and of course he didn't sleep well. Last night (Monday) I kept waking up throughout the night and had achy muscles from head to toe. Kurt has complained all day today (Tuesday) that he didn't feel good and struggled to stay awake at work. He laid on the couch all night complaining that he was cold, and hasn't really had an appetite today, which is totally not like him. So we are both sick. Hopefully we'll be better by the weekend! Otherwise, I don't know much. Work has been very busy and it stresses me out because I have to help out up front, which I don't get any of my vision therapy stuff done. So anyways....hope all is well with everybody else. I'll be home on the weekend to see my niece Terilyn get confirmed!

Enjoying the Nice Weather

Friday, Kurt and I decided to enjoy the beautiful weather we had and rode the the Capitol. I did pretty well on the hills and didn't complain once!

Kurt and I in front of the Capitol.

Des Moines Capitol

Downtown Des Moines

Due to all the rallies supporting bicycle safety, Kurt decided to do a 1-man protest of his own!

I don't know much at all. Just been working a lot and trying to enjoy time with friends. Last weekend Kurt and I enjoyed a bbq with a couple of co-workers and our significant others. It was a lot of fun. Saturday afternoon, I spent the day shopping with a couple of friends and purchased some cool clothes. I be stylin! Kurt has been battling with a cold or something the past couple of weeks. Hopefully he can shake it off soon! He has the Decorah Time Trials, which is a challenging 9 mile mountain bike event utilizing trails in the rolling, wooded areas of the Decorah Parks System. Basically they ride like hell through the trails and are timed to see who can go through it the fastest. So pray he does super good!

Bicycles vs. Cars

Here is an article that came from the Des Moines Register. This happened over the weekend.

"A Des Moines man was injured Saturday when he was struck by an anhydrous ammonia tank while on a bicycle ride, according to the Madison County sheriff’s office. Doug Smith was with eight bicyclists riding east along a rural road when he was struck by a tank being pulled by a pickup truck. John Lynch of rural Cumming was heading east also and the pickup he was driving was pulling two anhydrous tanks. He attempted to pass the bicyclists in a no-passing zone, officials said.

As he pulled back into his lane, the back tank collided with Smith. Smith was taken to Iowa Methodist Medical Center. He was listed in fair condition today. Lynch was cited for unsafe passing."

Many people have responded to this article. Many of them say that the bicyclist got what he deserved. They say that us bicyclists need to stick to the trails or that we should pay fees and taxes just like motorists. They don't want us on the sidewalks or the roads, but which would you prefer? I have to say this angers me. Us bicyclists have every right to the paved roads just like motorists. We pay for those roads to be built. If these people think we should use the trails, I say we build them right in the middle of their yards and see how they like it. The driver of the truck also just gets cited for unlawful passing? He hurt a human being. That ticket was just a light slap on the wrist. He should have gotten more. If this Mr. Smith sues, do you actually think he will win much if anything? Probably not. What is also disturbing that I've read is that the driver was honking way before he passed. He could have waited until there was a passing zone. Plus the rider was riding in a group of cyclists. You think you'd be safe right? Law is that you must give cyclists at least 3 feet of passing room. We don't take up much room on the roads. We know if there is traffic coming to bike up and for a single formation for traffic to pass. I don't feel safe anymore after reading about this man. I'd much rather ride on the sidewalks than the road.

What do you call cheese that's not yours??? Nacho cheese!

What's going on.....not a whole lot. Mother Nature has been playing tricks on us all. Hopefully our spring weather will be here SOON and stay that way. I really don't know much besides just working and relaxing. I haven't really been on the bike alot since the last time I blogged. Work is going well. This month will be my 2 year anniversary at Vision Park!!!! Hopefully I'll get a big fat raise (a girl could only hope).

This weekend Kurt and I cleaned up the spare bedrooms a bit, and Kurt had a tree that he attempted to grow. We left it outside all last summer, and I think think the floods kind of killed it with water staying in the base all the time. We brought it back in, but it didn't get better, so we pulled it out of the room to throw away. Tang decided to spend some time playing in it. She kept trying to climb it. After 3-4 times of that, her weight finally uprooted it and it was time to throw it out.

Kudos for me!

Yesterday I decided to enjoy the nice weather we've been having, so I rode my bike to work. I start out at my duplex in Windsor Heights and ride to Vision Park, round trip it's like 13 miles. I also decided to use some personal time at work and got off work at 3pm. Kurt and I met at Water Works Park, and rode the Great Western Trail down to Cumming, IA, and had a couple of drinks at Cumming Tap (the bicycle bar in the 1 horse town) and returned...roundtrip 17 miles. Total Mileage for Mindy on Tuesday........30 miles. I don't feel too bad today, my legs are a little tired and my butt is still pretty raw but it was well worth it!

Weekend @ Home

This past Saturday I finally went home to see the family. I haven't been home since Christmas. It seems that the older I get, the busier my schedule gets. This past week, the weather had been awesome, so I figured it'd be a great weekend to head home. Friday night, it started to lightening and rain, and it continued into Saturday. On the way home Saturday morning, it was pretty foggy around the Carroll area. I spent my Saturday morning/afternoon grooming family dogs. It was well overdo, not one of them looked like a schnauzer anymore. I wish I remembered to take before pictures of them all. It didn't take me that long to do 5 of them, except for the hour I had to wait for my uncle to run to Carroll to buy a new clippers because the other one dropped on a hard concrete floor and refused to cut anymore. After I got the 5 done, my mom and I went to Saturday night church service. After church we went to Doc's Place for supper, visited my niece Emily and nephew Austin, then came home and watched television. I woke up this morning at 8:20am (new time) and spent some more time with my mother. I enjoy going home because I can get her to make me some homecooked food! We ate breakfast and went to Wall Lake for one more dog to groom. That dog was probably the fastest of them all, then we stopped at my other brother's house so I could see my niece Terilyn and nephews Wyatt and Kipp. Early Sunday morning, the weather decided to get crappy and the rain iced over and made the roads slippery, and it snowed, and sleeted. I was pretty worried about driving to Des Moines, but at 2pm when I actually left, it wasn't bad at all. I did want to share some pictures of my "baby" Chance.

Chance in his sporty coat and earmuffs!

Layin in his mama's arms.

Such a pretty boy!

Givin Mommy a hug

Sweatshirt and earmuffs