Saturday, December 31, 2011

Puppy in Coke Cup Kind of Day


Meet Izalco "Izzy" for Short
Wow.  2011 went out with a bang.  Had some highs, had some lows.  Made some friends and sadly lost one or two, but today kind of makes me feel like the light at the end of the tunnel is still shining bright.  There I was contemplating the worlds problems according to Courtney on my 5.5 hour ride to the Marina and back - wondering why I added a Lewis, Vega, Murphy's Crossing, Carlton and back to Freedom, (Pause because I just had to get a muffin wrapper out of Izalcos little mouth...geesh little sneaker.  Don't worry, i'm getting there.)  So I was wondering why the hell I added onto the ride. Isn't 4 hours enough?  No, it's never enough especially when there is nothing better to do on a sunny day.  So, I refilled my water bottles at a fire station (water tasted like rubber hose, awesome) and kept going.  Sure enough, I hit a low when I turned onto Freedom.  Gu in hand, I put my head down and said to myself "this is where you start putting money in the bank."  Whatever that means.  Just another Courtneyism I guess.  So, i'm feeling like crud, tongue hanging out and everything when out of the corner of my eye I see this little thing move inside of a plastic Coke cup.  You know, like a fountain cup.  It looked at me, and I looked back at it and then I realized it was a puppy!  Shortly there after the words "oh shit" escaped my mouth and I quickly pulled over.  The poor little guy, no more than 5 weeks old was hiding in the fountain drink cup.  I acted quick, because I knew the little guy was in danger.  There were lots of cars driving up and down Freedom and all it would take is a little scare for the pup to run out into the street. As soon as I put my hand out, it bared its teeth, very frightened and scared.  I scooped it up, and shoved it in my vest to make the journey home which was about 20 minutes.  Wind at both of our faces, we made the trek home.  I could feel her shaking against my chest.  She was quite as if she knew she was in safe hands. And funny enough, I wasn't that tired any more.  I'll have to remember that.  Fatigue is such a state of mind. 

I acted quickly when I got back to my car.  Home, change, grab Cole - my Dalmatian, and off to Pet Smart to get puppy supplies.  They close at six because it's New Years Eve.  I blew off my plans to party at the Cat's with my uncle and family as I was in operation rescue puppy mode.



Got some food, a crate, some chew toys and of course a new bed for Cole so he wouldn't feel so left out.
Now I'm home and trying to settle in with this little one.  She came to life after some food and water and is exploring my place - good thing it's small.  I named her after my bike, the Focus Izalco and will probably call her Izzy for short.  She's really cute, pretty perky and loves to be held.  I think she's part mini dog so she'll be small.  Cole really likes her and has been very patient.  They are getting a long great, which is awesome because he really wanted a friend. 

Happy New Year to you all. And I wish you all the best in the year to come.  It's funny how life springs these little tests on you from time to time.  It's so very true that everything and everyone come into your life for a reason.  Be stoked and embrace those moments when they come, because you never know how long they will last.

What?


I still can't believe I found a puppy in a coke cup today.  Crazy.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

The Bike Hangover

This is one of my favorite times of year to blog because I feel like I have more time to post, but more importantly because I get to tell all my readers about the funny stuff I do training.  Take this morning for example - I had a MAJOR bike hang over after putting in close to 9 hours on the frankin cross bike that has been barley doubling as a road bike the past two days.  I hit the sleep button at least 7 times (1:10 min of hitting sleep) and finally fell out of bed, and stumbled my way over to the kitchen to immediately make every attempt possible to revive myself with the bean god, coffee.  It's no easy task.  It's not like I just hit a button and the coffee is made.  I have a bialette - which if you don't know what one of these are - you should stop reading and check out this link


Ok, now that you're back - there is one key step to making coffee in this device... you have to put the metal filter in before you start pouring the grinds in.  Otherwise you're basically making cowboy coffee.  So, yeah in my fog I spaced it and just poured the coffee on the water, screwed on the top and put it on the stove.  Really?  Yeah, I did.  The best part - I didn't realize it until a half hour later, after I was frustrated that the bialette only made half the amount it normally makes.  I drank that half whole heartily, and after the caffeine started to flow throughout my body - it hit me. Doh...nice move Court.


So, I then went out for my morning pedal and all was good in the life of Courtney.  Well, mostly good - nothings perfect, but i'm not complaining. ;)


Pretty sunrise.

Oh and good news -  no more riding frankin bike!  Finally have a new road bike.  Game on.