Category Archives: Just for fun

Just for fun

How Did I Miss This Documentary?

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Just yesterday I found a documentary from 2014 on women’s cycling called, “Half the Road.” It was written and produced by Kathryn Bertine, a professional cyclist who has been a staunch advocate of equal treatment for women in professional cycling for several years. She, along with other notable names like Chrissie Wellington, was an integral part of getting the ASO to bring back women’s cycling to the Tour de France ( the women’s race was called “Le Tour”).

If you haven’t watched it, please do. It doesn’t matter whether you are a female cyclist. If you are a fan of cycling, this documentary should resonate with you. You can find it on Amazon (and it’s free if you’re a Prime member) here. It has nothing to do with nutrition, it’s just delivers a powerful message that should matter to all of us as cycling fans.

Just for fun, Training Rides, Travel and food

Final France wrap up

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I’m traveling home today with a very long layover in Detroit, so it was a good time to post a wrap up of the France trip. I rode 7 days straight, and climbed over 37,000 feet during that time. Total mileage was just under 200 miles.

I had 2 days during the week that I felt awful. But I pushed through and on Thursday, when I climbed over 5,000 feet, I finally started to feel like I had before pneumonia and my Achilles injury. It feels so good not to gasp for air at the slightest physical activity!

Friday was a fun day watching the Tour de France riders pass by our village. We rode down the super steep driveway and watched the Tour caravan, then waited for the cyclists to come by. We then rode into town for a beer to watch the rest of the race at a bar in town. It is hard to describe how fun and interesting it is to watch the race in France with cycling fans from all over the world.

Here is a link to video I took of the “Sky Train” passing by on the road below the village we were staying in: Video of Tour cyclists passing by

While I did not stick to a strict ketogenic diet this week (the bread in France is just too good to pass up), I look forward to getting home and getting back on track with it. The nice thing about being fat-adapted is your body will go back to fat burning once you get back to a ketogenic diet. It will hurt for a few days, but I’ll get there…

 

Just for fun

Myths About Women’s Cycling

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I came across this article yesterday on Bicycling.com titled, “6 Myths About Women’s Cycling that Need to Die” and I couldn’t resist posting it here. I appreciated all of them, but took note of #3, as I have always ridden a men’s bike. I’m tall, and a men’s frame just fits me better.

I would also add another myth to this list: That women aren’t as passionate as men about cycling. In my experience, they are every bit as passionate, you just may not see as many “hard core” women riders on a regular basis.

Just for fun

It’s been a while, but I had good reason

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The last 2 months have been nothing short of crazy. We moved from Huntington Beach, CA to Evergreen, CO at the beginning of June. In between that we attended a college graduation for my stepdaughter in New York, and my husband started a new law practice. If it sounds like a lot, trust me, it is.

But the move to Colorado has been a wonderful one. The first two weeks of adjusting to the elevation were rough – we live at about 8200 feet. Every bike ride was a suffer fest, and I’d wake up with headaches daily. But I’m finally adjusting and I can’t say enough about the beautiful rides we have available to us in and around Evergreen. The picture below was from a few weeks ago when Jonathan and I rode up to Echo Lake. This picture was taken at just over 11,000 feet. I was happy to still be upright!

Even the cats are adjusting, although my “senior” cat, Milo, still has one single goal: To get into the areas of the house he’s not allowed in to. He’s sitting outside our living room window in this picture:

Milo and his brother, Tommy, share my office with me and they have their own screened in “catio” to keep them safe. Tommy is napping in it below:

We have daily wildlife visits from deer, a neighborhood red fox, and occasionally the black bears in the area will get in to our trash. I got up close and personal with a mama elk 2 weeks ago who surprised me by being in the middle of the road I was descending on my bike. I quickly realized she was trying to cross the road to get to her baby so I was more than happy to stop and wait for her. I have never been that close to an elk – they are enormous!!

I will be posting much more now that we are settled. But for now it’s off to work!

Just for fun, Travel and food, Uncategorized

Busy sightseeing day in Paris

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We started the day at our favorite museum, Musee d’Orsay. I got a cute picture of Jonathan and Li “lounging” and one of the beautiful clock on one side of the building overlooking the Seine. The building used to be a train station.

We then walked over to Conciergerie, the former palace of kings that was transformed into a prison and later held Queen Antoinette before she was tried and executed. On the way we took a few pictures along the Seine.

From the Conciergerie we made the short walk to Saint Chapelle – one of my favorite chapels. The stained glass is absolutely incredible. This chapel was built to house the Crown of Thorns. Whether it ever did is unknown. This is my third time and I’m still amazed by its beauty when I walk in.

From there it was another short walk to Cathedral at Notre Dame. This cathedral is also breathtaking, but in a different way than Saint Chapelle.

Our last stop of the day was to a museum of Medieval Art, named the Cluny Museum. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Flu and food update: I didn’t feel great this morning, but quiche for lunch helped and I look forward to a good dinner. I figure I am close to 100% now!

Just for fun, Travel and food

2 days without coffee or butter

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Why would I deprive myself of 2 of my favorite food and drink items? Because Paris greeted me with the stomach flu my second night here! Yes, it settled in the night of January 1 (after striking Jonathan first), and I was in bed until this afternoon when I finally started feeling human again. But I know I’m not back to myself for 2 reasons: 1) the thought of coffee or butter sounds horrific right now and 2) the only things that appeal to me and my stomach are crackers and a few pieces of baguette.

So no ketogenic diet for me today but I hope by tomorrow I’ll be back on track with my regular way of eating, and in shape to do some sightseeing.  The apartment we are in is nice, but after being in it for nearly 48 hours straight I must say I’m tiring of it.

I’m off to bed so I can be ready to face the (very cold) city of Paris tomorrow!

 

Just for fun, Uncategorized

Athletic hall of fame and meeting Max Lugavere

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So it’s been a while since my last post, and a lot has happened!

My college basketball team at Sterling College was inducted into our athletic Hall of Fame, so my husband and I made the long trek to Sterling, Kansas for the festivities. I had so much fun reconnecting with teammates – I was a little nervous because I had not done a good job of keeping in touch with them but after the first hug it was like we had just seen each other last week! The sad part was not having our head coach there. He died suddenly just weeks before. He was the most loving, respectful coach I could ask for and his death left a very big hole in the hearts of everyone on the team and in the Sterling community.

The college had a banquet planned on Friday night, followed by a parade on Saturday (where we were literally sitting on hay bales being pulled by a very large flatbed truck – pictures below to prove it), followed by a very nice reception and being honored at the football game that afternoon. Thanks to my husband, I have some great photos to share!

With the plaque (sorry, I cannot get the picture to show up correctly).

with-plaque

Riding the hay bales during the parade!!

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My team in front of the banner with our assistant Coach goofing off!!

crandall-with-group

In other exciting news, I got to meet Max Lugavere, a young filmmaker who is making a new documentary about diet and dementia, Breadhead.  Max could not have been nicer. He spoke on the topic of diet and dementia for the company I run, ElderCounsel, at our annual Symposium. The room was packed, and the feedback was incredible. And yes, I do have a bit of a crush (with my husband’s permission)! Look for big things from Max, and please support his fundraising efforts for Breadhead!

close-up-with-max

My friends at work (in Marketing, of course) thought they would be cute and create this version of the picture:

mlvp4ever

Despite all of the fun things, I have been riding my bike.  Yesterday we rode Glendora Mountain Road and Glendora Ridge Road, and it was a gorgeous day! We normally don’t stop and take pictures, but I had to yesterday…

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Oh and one more quick fun thing. We attended a fundraiser for Boystown last weekend and I was able to get a picture with my favorite news anchor from KTLA in Los Angeles, Chris Schauble! And we came home with 2 paddle boards from the silent auction (still sitting in the garage). But we will get to them…

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I think that’s it for now. I could write for days about the election but I’m going to pass on that topic. At least for now…

Just for fun, Uncategorized

Short but steep

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Thursday brought another epic ride. Jonathan and Mike rode the Col d’ Aspin, and Jeanne and I met up with them in an adorable town called St. Lary-Soulon to ride up to the Lac de Cap-de-Long.

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We met a few “obstacles” at the top of the Col d’ Aspin who were not the least bit interested in moving for cars or cyclists!

Traffic jam cows

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And the view from the summit:

Aspin summit

Lac de Cap-de-Long http://www.lacsdespyrenees.com/lac-191-Barrage%20de%20Cap%20de%20Long.html, is a beautiful lake set high in a national park in the Pyrenees. In miles it was short – only 14 miles – but we climbed nearly 5,000 feet. And the steepest part was closest to the top, of course! The scenery was once again incredible all the way up but I could only take pictures from the top (due to excessive heavy breathing and using most of my strength to turn the pedals over).

The first one was a congratulatory selfie, of course. The clouds had rolled in so it’s hard to see the lake behind me, but the road is the dam going across the lake.

cap du lac du long sefie

The clouds soon cleared and I was able to get better pictures, including one with Mike and Jeanne.

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20160804_180411 20160804_180405 M J and V top of Cap du loc du Long

We were cold up there – it was just over 7,000 feet –  and thankfully there was a restaurant with hot coffee and whiskey at the top! And an adorable dog guarding the place.

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Friday will be our last day in the Pyrenees, then a long drive out to Provence on Saturday. Sunday I’ll be facing my old “friend” who nearly killed me last year,  Mt. Ventoux, the Giant of Provence, http://www.veloventoux.com/?c=montVentoux. Can’t wait. Sort of.

Just for fun, Uncategorized

An easier day, more beauty

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Today (Wednesday) we had an easier ride – about 30 miles with 2600 feet of climbing. We were rewarded with beautiful views on the way up, and at the top at an adorable town called Gavarnie, home of Europe’s tallest waterfall. There are some beautiful pictures on this site, http://summer.gavarnie.com/.

J and V looking at Cirque Gavernie

Mike and Jean with waterfall

Grabbed a beer on the way down in a quaint little town and enjoyed the setting some more more.

Beer on way down

And finished the day with a great meal in Cauterets. This was a beautiful carousel in the middle of town.

V and J in front of carousel

Thursday will be another big day on the bike!!

Just for fun, Travel and food, Uncategorized

A full day

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We started the day with the Monday market in Luz Saint-Sauveur. Mike needed to get his bike worked on, Jonathan still has no bike, so we decided to enjoy the local market. Below are some pictures from this quaint town.

Our friends, Mike and Jeanne:

Mike and Jean at market

And Christian, who sold us some fantastic sausage:

Val and sausage maker

And we ended the day with a beautiful ride to Luz Ardiden. Approximately 7.5 miles of climbing, with elevation gain of approximately 2800 feet.

The beginning of the ride (Jeanne let Jonathan use her bike and took some action shots for us):

Start of the ride

And the views from the top:

V and J at top of Ardiden

Looking down

We ended the night with a late dinner in Luz Saint-Sauveur. I heard a rumor that tomorrow we are “going big.” Yikes.