Saturday, February 12, 2011

Cycling & New Cookie Designs

This picture is not from today, but wanted to provide a recent cycling pic. Today's ride was 96 miles. After 4 days of constant baking and cookie decorating, I was pretty antsy to get out for a bike ride and this was my first long ride since Bass Lake in October. Here's the question of the day: when I come up with an idea, why do friends say "ok" instead of "Cristin that's a STUPID idea". Here's the stupid part, I thought it would be great to start the ride earlier and ride to the start location instead of driving. Smart people would point out that it's going to be miserable at 7am in the winter, but no, I had to figure that out the hard way. It was 39 flipping miserably cold degrees outside. My face stung, my fingers burned, I couldn't move my mouth to talk and my body was shivering. I was not amused. The good news is that only lasted about 90 minutes and once we got to climbing the hills, we warmed up and the sun came out and it was a wonderful ride.

At mile 47, I got a flat tire and was very proud to change the flat by myself while everyone stood around desperate to help, but I'm trying to learn to be more independent in cycling. I was worried about the long ride because I've lost strength and endurance since I haven't been riding lately. The 96 miles actually seemed somewhat easy today - is that possible? We rode at a comfortable pace and it was beautiful scenery. I even got home in time to watch my son's hockey game and it was a fun day all around.

Here are some photos of cookies that I made "just because". Notice the PINK Kitchen-Aid mixer. I still haven't decided between the pink 5-quart or the silver 6-quart. I really want the pink one and have wanted it for years, but I like the idea of a larger mixer with more power. I'm waiting to see if the price drops on Amazon after Valentines Day to help me decide.


 and these were some extra cookies for my son's birthday in his favorite - Gingerbread!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend as much as I am! Take care, Pinkie
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5 comments:

  1. UnknownFebruary 13, 2011 at 4:10 AM

    Hi Pinkie,
    Wow, that is so impressive to do 96 miles, and having to endure such cold weather and having to fix a flat tire..I think you deserve something really special for Valentine's Day, I hope prices will drop so you can get a larger mixer.

    Your Cookies are beautiful. I love the aprons, so adorable.

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  2. UnknownFebruary 13, 2011 at 5:10 AM

    Love your cookies, love your blog.....and I'm so glad to have a new cookie friend. :)

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  3. Cristin (Pinkie)February 13, 2011 at 10:22 AM

    Thanks Hani & Pam. You guys made my day!!! It's so fun to have cookier friends with the same obsession as mine! :-)

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  4. UnknownFebruary 13, 2011 at 10:44 AM

    Yeah, it's possible to take time off and still have a good long ride. Last year at DMD, I hadn't ridden, count 'em, for 20 days, and ended up having the strongest, best double of my life! There are so many variables...I suppose the pro's who can afford expert pro coaches have it all dialed in for what works for them, but I have no explanation other than getting some rest before the ride must have been a big factor. So many of us show up over-trained with tired legs!

    The SFR Two Rock/Valley Ford 200K was a great ride Saturday. Conditions were exceptional for this time of year in Marin County. Morning hours got down to 41 degrees but it warmed up to 73-77 for most of the afternoon...but wow, what a difference it makes when the sun goes down! I arrived at the finish just before sundown and boy did it turn cold in a hurry.

    Hope you consider joining us on a future brevet, Pinkie. I know you will thoroughly enjoy the camaraderie, the stunning scenery, and the long-distance achievement! Come join us, soon! -cb

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  5. Cristin (Pinkie)February 13, 2011 at 10:48 AM

    I assume that's Clyde from SF Randonneurs? I'm so glad to hear you had such a great day. I really wanted to make it work to try my first Brevet, but with such a busy week leading up to it, I let my fears/concerns/insecurities get the better of me. I need to get some good rides in to build up my confidence to take on a big challenge. Thanks for the invite though! I appreciate you thinking of me!

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment! I love hearing from you! Cristin

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