Warm Weather Adventures!

Good day, readers! This post is long overdue. I've been out adventuring for quite some time, and have finally returned so that I may share my recent travels with you. The beginning of June started off with some adventures with the Janes. I can not believe it is June already as that means I've been in State College now for half of a year. I didn't want to sacrifice safety trying to take ride pictures, but here we are getting suited up for Abbey's first guided ride.

Bikes and Janes a plenty.

While it may have been a longer ride than what I'm used to, I felt very accomplished afterwards. I got to face the dreaded never-ending incline of Blue Course Drive, and it wasn't nearly as bad as last time. It almost felt like a completely different route. I also got the chance to talk to Carla more, and I am even more positive now that the Janes are where I should be, and that they will help me get to where I want to go.

 I had been craving rivers, and Tom and I took Vali over to Spring Creek Park to run around and explore. 

He's a natural swimmer.

Tom and Vali at the Mike Lynch Overlook.

The Janes had attempted a hike the last week in May but there were tornadoes(?!) that day, so it was cancelled. Tom and I, wanting to explore, decided to set out to the same destination of the cancelled hike on a later day and see where it took us. Mt Nittany kicked my butt that day, as I hadn't realized that there was a 600 foot elevation change all within less than half a mile. The next week the Janes went there and it was much more leisurely. Maybe because I didn't have an empty stomach this time. Everything seems easier with the Janes.

This picture is a must, as everyone has to see Carla(R) and her growly face even though we're shadows.

After some adventuring in State College, I set my sights to the motherland, and headed home to the Lehigh Valley. I had a couple amazing destinations on my list, such as Bake Oven Knob, the Rittenhouse Gap Mines, and the ZOO. My only sad report, is that I was having so much fun adventuring, that I took little time to document those adventures. I guess that makes me a good adventurer, and a terrible blogger.

I love you goats.

I went to the Lehigh Valley Zoo and saw all the animals. I arrived with less than an hour before the park closed, but managed to do my favorite thing, and that was feeding the goats. <3

Good yawn! or he's cheering for the Iron Pigs.

I also took Vali to Bark in the Park at CocaCola Park to see the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. It was way too crowded, and on dog days the last thing you end up seeing is the actual baseball game.

Vali making friends.

Now I'm back in State College and I start a new job soon so I will have a little less time for adventures. In this kind of world, I need the money so I can't complain. I do have a lot I'm mulling over on the personal front, so I will report back shortly. Thanks for reading!

You Can Call Me Jane

Wednesday was my first ride with the Janes of See Jane Ride! It was definitely a rewarding and cathartic experience.

My day leading up to the ride was a very hectic one. Everything from the dog accidentally getting kicked in the face, losing a tooth, bleeding everywhere, me running late, the printer not working(I had to print my trial pass), to almost running out of gas and getting a little bit lost. In the end I made it just fine, and was pretty psyched to go on my first ride. Jane was even there waiting for me!

 Jane, You don't know how much I need this ride right now.

The amazing Dana (co-leader of the Janes) waited for me and filled me in on some safety tips. I honestly don't know much about road or group rides, so now I do. As you may remember I am lacking a bike right now, so I was set-up with an awesome 2010 Cannondale Quick; part of the Jane's fleet.

I was looking forward to talking and chatting, and even hamming it up. I have a habit of coming off as anti-social because people mistake my shyness as disinterest, so to make up for it I try to be over-the-top nice. It turns out that instead of being a chatty Cathy(or should I say Jane?) I decided to sit back and take it all in. It couldn't have been a more perfect day.

 Happy little farms.

It felt so nice  to just let go. I had been waiting to get out there, especially not having a job lately. I'm turning into a complete lump. Thanks Jane for kicking my butt. The mileage wasn't bad, something like 5 or 6? I have a feeling road riding miles will not intimidate me much anymore, especially if they continue to be as nicely paced as this loop. A couple hills along the way - nothing too scary. In fact they were very rewarding.

Happy little hills.
 

I would have liked to get to know the Janes more, as I did meet a couple, but feel like the opportunity will arise soon enough. I did meet another leader of the Janes, Carla, and got to introduce myself to others that I know I will see again. You should check out the Janes either at See Jane Ride or on facebook, and they also write about our adventures here!

Have a goodnight Mr. Sun!

The ride was very easy going. Perfect weather; perfect day. Without getting too personal, I have a very strong spiritual/religious connection with the wind. A certain someone was with me there that day. I find that Nature's greatest gift is some wind through your hair. I couldn't have been happier.

Partly Cloudy

Since moving to State College I haven't had much luck in the employment category. I have my mascot job, which averages to 4 gigs a month and my BBW job, where they never put me on the schedule. I was working at a clothing store for some time, but the owner/manager was a monster and I didn't want to be around all the negativity.

I can relate.

I figured it'd be easy to get a better job here. All the students leaving at the end of April should make more positions available. I've spent the last 3+ weeks filling out applications and taking online virtual job assessments like a crazy person. I have retail and management experience(a lot of it) and figured I could settle down in just about any retail position.

So with being almost unemployed and having lots and lots of free time, I was biking a lot. I decided, because I wanted to get a new bike, that it was probably time to sell my old bike before I wear it out too much. I put it on Craigslist for $300 and sold it for $280 within the week.

This was how I felt when they took my bike away.

Now dearest reader, you might think, "but Megan, now you can buy your brand new bike!" Well, with all the debt I was slowly sinking into from seeing little to no shifts at work, I realized that my bike money would have to go towards life expenses first before I get a new bike. I just got slammed with an $800 car bill (new tires, inspection, and a new motor mount, if you must know). I felt so utterly upset.

If you're a believer in that phrase about closing a door but opening a window, the next day my friend Jess was moving out of State College. She asked me if I wanted her sweet huffy. Now, while it isn't a Trek Skye S, I figured it'd be better to have A bike than NO bike.

Rusted Everything?? I'll take it!

Not considering the huffy, I am currently without a bike. This is depressing especially with the weather starting to get warmer, Janes starting to go on rides, and less than 113 days away from the Coal Cracker Classic. On top of that the boy and I are having some issues, ones I don't wish to tell the internet. I almost considered moving back to Allentown. With all of this crap that is getting in the way, I still would try to compete in the CCC. SO without training as much as I'd like to be, I will still compete to prove it to myself. I have to.

 You will be mine!

On the upside, today I was called to schedule an interview with a lovely new interior design shop downtown =). Also, tomorrow the Janes are going on a ride, and while it semi-conflicts with my work schedule, I must attend! I was also given a free trial membership which is great! Even though I don't have a bike they can loan one to me for rides and I'm happy with that. I do believe that things will turn around.  I do believe that I can climb out of this debt hole once I get a nice job. I also believe that I will be on a bike again in no time, and you will see me this September at Bungalow Park at that starting line for the Coal Cracker.

Change of Mind, Heart, and Gears.

When I moved to State College, I told myself that I was going to use my bike more than ever. I originally planned this when I thought I'd be living closer to downtown. I live about 4 miles north, which isn't too far away, but far enough that I have to go up and down a couple hills to get where ever I'm going. Hills are the enemy. I don't think I've mentioned how incredibly out of shape I am, and couldn't really tell you when I was last "in shape."

I did have some pretty sick abs when I was 9.

You could say that fitness was an objective - shape up, be healthy, feel better about myself. I also considered that biking would save me some money. I wouldn't use my car as much and I would spend less on gas and maintenance. I'm also a tree hugger so somewhere in there I'd be helping the environment. I think just about every person that starts to ride a bicycle has these same goals in mind.

Another goal, as previously mentioned, was to get closer to Tom, and make new friends. I still saw the bike community as an intimidating group though. Especially because the people we tend to hang out with aren't just bike riders for enjoyment, they also build, repair, race and design. They know what they're doing. I get lost listening to them converse. I won't even try to keep up with that. I knew there must be other people out there that were riding just to have some fun(not that the above group wasn't, just that they came off as a little too intense) but I wasn't quite sure how I'd meet them.

I'm not the greatest at making new friends.

 Last week I came across a listing on Craigslist looking for women who would be paid to be on a street team for a bicycle club for Blue White Weekend. We were to pair up with a buddy and meet for information that Thursday at Panera if interested. I checked out their website and they seemed pretty cool. Just a nice little group looking to get out and bike, get in shape, eat healthy and be healthy, and have some fun along the way. I am also desperate for money since leaving my last job, so I thought that this could be good. I sent Rachael the link and pretty much forgot about it, after realizing my other job interfered with the time that they would need me. Thursday rolled around, and Rachael texted me asking if I would be going to the meeting that night. I thought what the hell, it had been a while since I had a Panera tuna salad sandwich. I also thought it would be a good idea to see what this group was all about.

I got home from work about 5:30 and the meeting was at 7. I told Rachael that I would ride my bike to her house and we would ride up together. I know this town by car, for sure, bike is a different story though. There are many bike paths that I'm not quite sure where they lead, so I had a pretty roundabout way that I had planned to get downtown. Not even a mile from my house I noticed that my tires were low on air. I started to question whether I should continue, whether I would make it on time, and how easy it would be to just drive my car downtown.

I forced myself to continue, thinking that even if I missed the meeting I would still be able to say I biked a bit and got to know the area a little better. I made it with 15 minutes to spare and I felt really really good. The meeting went well, and I got to know about See Jane Ride. The more that I learned the more I simply thought that joining this group was a no-brainer. I would be able to ride more, see more things, and MAKE FRIENDS! The woman who led the meeting, Dana, explained that the group is for woman of all skill levels, no pressure atmosphere and go at your own pace. This was so appealing to me, especially because it was opposite of my previous feelings of the skilled bikies I hang around with.

You mean I don't have to feel like I'm anchoring everyone?

After the meeting we rode back to Rachael's and I let my adrenaline high take control of my thoughts.

YES I WILL JOIN THIS BIKE CLUB!
SEE JANE RIDE IS AWESOME!
I WILL BE AMAZING!
I WILL MAKE FRIENDS!
I WILL GET IN SHAPE!
I WILL LOVE MY LIFE!

and somewhere in there I thought, if I really am this serious about it, and I stick with it, maybe I should have a landmark goal in mind so that when I reach it I will feel as though I've really succeeded. That thought was followed by;

I WILL COMPETE IN THE COAL CRACKER CLASSIC IN SEPTEMBER!
and I'LL START A BLOG TO DOCUMENT MY PROGRESS!
to the point where I jokingly said to my boyfriend, I'M GOING TO BE INTERNET FAMOUS!

uuuuhhh yeah.

The culmination of it all. The conception and birth of this idea, this blog. And believe me, I'm very very excited. Now all I have to do is wait for amiable weather conditions and we'll get down to business.

SERIOUS business.