Lot's Happening

I feel like cars are on my mind a lot lately. First off is the Cash for Clunkers that will soon be implemented. Yes, that means that in the very near future Dave and I will no longer be driving our distinctively colored lapis blue Jeep Cherokee. It's about to hit 200,000 miles and since it isn't worth much we'll be taking advantage of this offer. Everyone likes to ask us what we're going to buy to replace it but we have no idea. At first my list was super short (to the point of including virtually no vehicles) but now it includes a zillion as none of them seem very different or that exciting of an option. I'm also open to suggestions as long as the car fits the following profile:

• under $25,000 and preferably closer to $20,000
• excellent repair history
• excellent safety record
• gas mileage of at least 20mpg (but I would like better than that as 20mpg is seriously lame)
• room for stuff especially event promotion stuff so the Smart Car is out even if it is cute
• good for winter driving
• it would be nice if you could put 2 bikes inside or 4 pair of skis again ruling out the Smart Car
• it would be even better if it were union made in the US

As if trying to decide on what car to buy wasn't already more car related thinking and planning than I can handle I'm also in the process of resurrecting my 1969 AMC Javelin. It appears that the DMV is satisfied that the car is owned by me and is not stolen, made up of chop shop parts or a salvage vehicle. Now we go to the next phase of car resurrection. I think that I will be getting it towed out of its current storage facility right after July 4th to a mechanic here in Madison. I truthfully can't believe that I'm doing this. On one hand it is ridiculous as what am I going to do with this car once it is running again. I've never wanted to be a two car family . . . and as second cars go this one is highly impractical (what with its 343 4-barrel engine, high cost of maintenance, cost of renting a garage space in my neighborhood, and car insurance that limits where/when/how much you drive it). On the other hand it is really ridiculous to just keep paying to keep this car in storage with no plans. Oh well, mid-life crises are not supposed to make sense, right?!?!

In other life activities I did ride a century a few weeks ago in Utah. I actually felt pretty good during the ride but my legs have taken forever to recover. It was awesome though as I got to ride with some pretty fun gals. I also went to the Cable Festival of the Trails where I got to mountain bike on the always awesome CAMBA singletrack. Perhaps one day I will download the photos off my camera and post them.

Other than that I've been spending a lot of time visiting my Mom at her nursing home which is, unfortunately, a 3 hour drive away. However, given the doctor's prognosis it is time well spent (although she has luckily already lived longer than her doctor expected). Because of that I have ended up not getting to most of the events I had planned to do this summer but I'm fine with that. Some things are more important than riding and racing. I've had some good times with my Mom . . . like when I tried to explain to her that the century was just a ride with friends not a race. She asked me why I was going then. That made me realize that average people think I'm obsessed with racing even though I felt like I don't race that much anymore. Clearly my doing "just a ride" was confusing to my Mom.

Other than that I've rollerskied a little but not much. I've learned to swim but have a long ways to go before I have any confidence that I'm not going to drown. I've gone running at least once a week . . . just enough to ensure that it is always painful. I've got lots to do for the USGP which is coming up way too son. Things are, however, rolling along well for the trail run I'm organizing at Elver. The Women's Dirt Retreat is this weekend and Alison Dunlap is back in town for that. My house is in desperate need of cleaning and organizing. The book I started on the airplane ride back from Wyoming is no farther along that it was when I deplaned in Madison. However, my flower garden is looking great and hopefully survives the hot weather.

Okay, there's my update. Don't expect to hear much from me again for awhile. I think I'm going to go just to photo updates . . . but then I have to actually download my pics.