My Bike Adventures in Oregon (+MS150 Wrap-Up & Bike Accident Pics)

Howdy!
A quick blog including photos of my summer bike rides, a pic of my nasty bike accident and my healed knee, as well as a concluding update on my 2010 MS150 bike ride.

This year I pedaled 86 miles to fundraise for the local Multiple Sclerosis Society.  You helped me raise $1,345, giving me a four year total of over $12,500!

Why do I do it?  My friends have MS.  They're normal people - a friend from high school, a mentor at church, my gynecologist, and a former boyfriend.  You probably have friends with MS as well.

I only wonder what or who created this path.  (East of Salem, OR)

I rode with hundreds of friends through the Willamette Valley and the Columbia Gorge.  We camped in Mt. Hood Community College's soccer field, ate, laughed, and pedaled our bikes a long way.


The MS 150 was challenging, to state concisely.  It was also fun, exhilarating, gorgeous, and a great time to be with fellow CouchSurfers. I am grateful that my fibromyalgia did not flare up and I was able to complete the ride with the aches and pains of any average out-of-shape person riding 86 miles.  (ouch.)

The best part:  riding down the curvy Historic Colombia River Highway at 33 mph while enjoying the woods.  The other best part:  You helped me raise $1,345 for local people suffering from multiple sclerosis.  Thanks so much.  I'll hit you up again in 2011 :)

2010 medal.  I'm a winner, too!  :)

I trained with a Canadian archeologist Simon, a Latin DJ Beto, a great friend from church Jordan (Brubaker), Salem's bike club, and my old friend the BMX rider Chris.  I clocked just over 100 miles, which is not nearly enough to consider myself in shape for this ride.

We biked through strawberry, poppy, wheat, and bean fields, to Mac's in Silverton and played a game of pool, in pouring down rain, dark of night, and intense sun, to my Mom's and to friends' houses, to Scio and Mt. Angel, past old red barns and country homes, and have enjoyed the succulent smells and intense sunset views of the Willamette countryside.  I am blessed indeed.

Throughout, I've relished in my Oregon experience and treasured my friends.  I always walk a bit funny after each ride.


Recently:  I crashed my bike.  On a flat road, biking really slow (thank God!)  I wasn't holding the handlebars and twisted my body hard right.  The bike followed.  And my wound is healing nicely.

My knee six weeks after the fact

Warning:  Graphic Photos of my bike wounds below.  ----------------------------------------

.

Michael Foster is FOUND!

Thanks to all of you for your prayers.
Michael is back home with his very grateful parents.
Cheers,
- Miss Rose

When five men called me fat

It actually happened:  Five men called me fat.

A rambling exposé of my thoughts on "fat."
(please comment!)


Crater Lake, Oregon.  July 2010.

I was enjoying the gorgeous scene with my good friend Chris.  We hiked down to the lake's surface through thick mosquito clouds.  I wore more clothes than the warm temperature required to avoid being eaten by the pests.

When we arrived by the lake shore, we struck up conversation with five guys.  They ate pot brownies at the rim and were more than goofy.  Rather hysterical, I might say.  They were in their 30s and from the East Coast.  Every year they have their "man time" and go do something manly for a week.  This year included bleaching their hair and growing Hulk mustaches. 

I took off my pants (was still wearing shorts), took off my sweater (was still wearing a tank top) and wandered off to touch the water and take photographs while Chris and the boys joked around.

I returned to the jabbing of one man - "Soooo, you guys together or something?"
I took off my tank top and was left in my bikini top.
"Naaaah," I replied.  I'd already worked out the response to this inevitable question knowing that the guys might come to my defense.  "He won't propose.  Said something about me being too fat."

The entire group of men busted up laughing.  They got to know Chris well enough to know I must be joking.  So much for trying to have a chivalrous man step up in my defense.

At that moment my world went a little hazy.  The five guys began cracking fat jokes about me.

I am not fat.  I am thin.
I weigh 120 pounds and am 5'7".
To be frank, I love my physical appearance.  I have no complaints, and nothing about my body that I want to change. 

The rest of this blog is quite difficult to articulate.  Feel free to be offended if you want to.

I can't remember any of the boys' jokes.  They were creative and "funny."
And yet even while the guys looked at me and each cracked their best joke, I inwardly cringed.  "I'm not fat."  "None of this is me," I told myself, trying to remind myself that what they said about my body was absolutely untrue. 


I sat on a ledge and shot a few photos of them talking.  They guy on the bench is indeed beginning to open his arms to demonstrate just how fat I am.

Gardening Tip #7: Be Generous. (How generosity gave me Census beans.)

PHOTOS of my 2010 flower bouquets below!


Be generous.
It's a simple concept, but agonizingly difficult for me at times.

I'm infatuated with my flowers.  I love how lush they are.  And I do want to share them.  But I hate cutting them.  And I hate splitting root balls of overgrown flowers.  I worry that my flower bed will look too thin.  To be honest, I'm simply selfish.

News: 
It often actually helps your plants to give part of the plant or flower bouquets to your friends!

Clipping mature flowers allows the plant to refocus its energy onto the younger flowers.  (Note - the following varies on the specific plant!)  The plant may become bushier and have more blossoms.

One of my favorite stories:
I was working for the US Census and was reassigned to visit a house who spoke Spanish.

Manuel, Marianela, Adrian and Bernardo (et. all) recently moved up from Anaheim, California.  They are new homeowners, and had a rather bare yard.  I knew I needed to split my huge daisy clumps, and offered to bring them some. Manuel was delighted.  He proudly showed me his garden.  They have two lots, and their veggie garden is expansive.

I asked him if he would kindly gift me a few bean plants.  Opossums ate mine, and I was sad and wanted beans.  He was more than happy to share.

Above is a photo of us next to the daisies.  He split the single clump into 15 skinny clusters, and planted and staked them by his driveway.  I about died when I saw it - I would have given him three times as many if I had any idea of his passion for the flower.

Below are the bean plants he gave me, and today's harvest.


The night I went to their house to take a photo of the daisies by the driveway I did not leave empty handed.  Manuel went directly to his garden and dug up sweet onions, and cut fresh lettuce and squash.  I mowed down Adrian for a few minutes to have him help me with a photograph.  Batman decided to be photogenic and join in the fun.

I enjoyed a crisp and healthy dinner.  Viva la Census.

That'll teach me to be generous!

feel free to comment with your gardening questions!

________________________________________

Green Thumb Archives



Gardening Tip #1:  Out with the Old
Gardening Tip #2:  Quality (Pruners Clippers)
Gardening Tip #3:  Unfortunately time to weed
Gardening Tip #4:  Hot pink rubber gloves
Gardening Tip #5:  The perfect flower bouquet

Gardening Tip #6:  Get rid of Aphids naturally

5 Must-Haves when camping... (Life Church tested & Approved!)

I just returned from four days of camping.  Rainy, rainy camping.  Lovely to be with about 100 friends from church and elsewhere.  Cards, waterfalls, vodka, and s'mores abounded.  Good stuff.

 - Note - Stay tuned for an ultralite packing list to downsize your pack and save your back. -


There are only 5 items clearly lacking at most camp sites. The sixth is a super stellar cot... (Two families brought their own bed mattresses!  Good lord!)

1.  A headlamp.  Forget flashlights.  (You'll forget them on a log anyhow.)  Purchase one with a high beam, low beam, and a red beam.  The red is awesome - You can enter your tent 2 hours late (Phase Ten, Jiffy Pop, and Fat Tire Ale) and not  wake up your mom.  Smart.

It's from REI, I love it, and REI has a money back guarantee for life.

 Purchase the   Petzl Tikka Plus 2 LED Headlamp HERE



No camping trip is complete without S'mores. 
You MUST buy name brand ingredients.  Bring extra to share!
Mine are heralded as the best ever ever.  I'll be posting a blog specifically detailing how to make my perfect marvels.

2.  Hershey's Special Dark.  Better than regular.  Purchase the smaller bars, albeit more expensive, because they melt faster when set on a half graham cracker on the camp fire grate.


3.  Kraft Jet-Puffed Marshmallows.


4.  Honey Maid Graham Crackers.  Be sure to break 'em in half before you have a saggy burning 'mallow ready to sandwich.  It's easier that way.

5.  An Ultralight Towel.  It rained our entire trip.  Having my towel was awesome - I dried better and faster than the rest.  Not only is it the size of a deck of cards, but it dries way faster than a cotton terrycloth.

MSR PackTowl UltraLite Medium Towel - 30" x 12"


And this is the cool cot:

Camp Time Roll-A-Cot



- Note - Stay tuned for an ultralight packing list to downsize your pack and save your back. -

Love you, and happy camping!
-miss rose

MS 150: Mission Accomplished.

I rode the entire 86 mile bike ride!!!  

The MS 150 was challenging, to state concisely.  It was also fun, exhilarating, gorgeous, and a great time to be with fellow CouchSurfers. I am grateful that my fibromyalgia did not flare up and I was able to complete the ride with the aches and pains of any average out-of-shape person riding 86 miles.  (ouch.)

The best part:  riding down the curvy Historic Colombia River Highway at 33 mph while enjoying the woods.  The other best part:  You helped me raise $1,345 for local people suffering from multiple sclerosis.

Thank you all for your support in this venture.  See you in 2010!