Otter-Rama

The Real Otter, originally uploaded by Sabine Dukes.

Well shoot.

I'm glad thats over with.

I'm pretty much over the whole wind thing.

This was, however, one of my favoritest otters in memory. I think because we took it easy and let go. Although Laura did achieve perfection a few times.

And I think some folks raced.

But mostly we just got drunk in the back of a Uhaul.

I'm putting otter pictures up here.

Cool down

Carmel Beach Wave, originally uploaded by Sabine Dukes.

Oy...what a weekend.

Seeing Michael in the throes of heat exhaustion was a wee bit scary. He is not allowed to do that ever again.

That was hard.

It also hard to fake your way through a stage race. I mean, faking it in a 15 minute points race is one thing...faking it in multiple days of racing in the heat is another.

I had lots of fun though. Our team really is special. Its not so much the racing as getting together with fun-minded folks and playing like a bunch of silly kids (who drink wine).

Now its Monday and the weather has cooled and already it seems like the weekend was some funny dream or something.

Weird.

Here's a little Happy Monday video

Jumping off the spectator wall

Meanwhile at the Santa Cruz Crit, originally uploaded by Sabine Dukes.

I just registered for a race.

It was all the talk of planning which restaurant to go to that did me in.

Last week, all I heard about was the ice cream at Hanford.

We bellas have our racing priorities figured out just right. And so, that makes me want to race.

How much training do you think I can get in between now and Friday?

yay, Friday, yay~

As the world rushes by, originally uploaded by Sabine Dukes.

For half of the day today, I totally thought it was Thursday. And then, when I realized it was actually Friday, it was like finding $20 in my pocket that I didn't know I had.

Yay again.

Ann and I have started a Thursday night ride. We started it, like 3 weeks ago. Ann has stood me up each time. Thats okay though, because I am brave.

Except for sometimes.

And I need to add another animal that I am scared of to my list.

4. Crazy mating Tom Turkeys

I went out to Santa Theresa last night for a quick romp around the rocks. (alone...cough cough Ann in case you are listening) It was another wonderful spring evening with the poppies a bloomin and birdies a twitterin

and the turkeys a gobblin.

The turkeys were in rare form. The males were all Thanksgivinged out. You know, that full plumage like when you used to draw them at school by tracing your hand.

They were like that. Strutting all over the place. And they were rowdy. Kind of spooky rowdy. And, anyone who has watched "The Birds" or heard Laura tell her tale of how she was almost pecked to death by wild turkeys, knows to take that seriously.

So when a badass wild turkey crossed my path (unlike the last time when I was sixteen and woke up in my car at the edge of a cliff - wish I was making that up and maybe I'll tell you the story one day) I took notice.



Unlike the piggy encounter, I had my wits about me and took a picture. Except my cameraphone isn't so good and you couldn't really see the big mean Tom in the corner. So I photoshopped it just a little tiny bit.

This Tom was serious about protecting his hens. So, I let them have the right of way. And I am quite certain it was not my lonely imagination, but I think he gave me the stinkeye, even after they strutted up the hill.

Maybe I will start posting my Thursday night rides to the board from now on.

Live from the Poop Trails

Camphone 26, originally uploaded by Sabine Dukes.

I have to maximize my lunch time riding time, which means, I only have time for a euro shower before returning to work.

So, that means, I could very well have little driplets of cow poop still stuck to me somewhere as I type this.

There is this one section of trail, that as long as no one is coming in the other direction, I like to hit at super fast speeds. As so, I did that today, but then found myself headed straight for a big ol pileopoop. Kerplush.

At least I am not afraid of the cows at Harvey Bear anymore. Even the ones who try to be all badass and stand in front of me and try to punk me and stuff. Its all bluff. I just give them a hearty "heeya!" and they scamper. Thats right, I made those cows my bitch. (says the lady who shops for orthopedic shoes)

But I am afraid of some things at Harvey Bear. Three things actually:

1. Mountain lions (for obvious reasons)
2. Ticks (ewwwwwwww!)
3. Mama pigs

Kenny and I were riding down one of the Harvey Bear trails last Friday. We had just finished showing those cows who was boss, when we spotted a little calf about to cross the trail. It was the ugliest calf I had ever seen. And, it didn't scamper to our Heeyahs. Instead, it squared its shoulders to us and stood its ground.

Thats when I realized, it wasn't an ugly calf, but an ugly wild pig. I didn't take a picture, but I found one on the internet that looks EXACTLY like the pig we saw.



And when I saw how this pig was holding her ground against us, I knew what that meant. I told Kenny, "we better back up...slowly and calmly". I think we took two small calm steps back, and the pig took one step towards us, and then we ran back up the hill. Kenny might have even screamed. Can't remember.

Once we backed up, the pig started to cross the trail, and sure enough, right behind her were 5 or 6 wee little ugly pigs. They were sooo uglycute. Their little pig tails stuck straight out behind them and their little pig hair was all wiry and piggly.

We waited a good and long time before we finished our ride down the trail...just in case. But at least we lived to tell the tale.

~~

So, sort of a side story. In my search for a pic of a "wild boar" I had to sift through endless pictures of guys posing with dead boars, with the mouth all open so you can see the tusks. I mean, endless pictures of this. Why do men like to pose with dead animals like that? Just wonderin.

~~

I think my Sidi mtb shoes are the culprit by the way....this is very sad.