Wake up and smell the bluebonnets

Rather an uneventful week so I’m thinking I should fill you all in on the leg drama but first I have to tell you about another wee boy at school. He has literally just turned three and is super cute. We were out on the playground and he comes over to me and started to throw his ball at me and being the nice lady that I am I threw it back this went on for a while (it felt like an eternity for me) but he was having a great time. He stops throwing the ball, looks at me and says “Mrs. Weatherly you’re not fat” well I was killing myself laughing. Where did that come from? so I asked him “Do you read my blog?” he just looked at me and started throwing the ball again. Too funny! I guess three year olds don’t know when you’ve been on a diet and they don’t know to say your losing weight but you know what, that really made my day.

Back to the leg. Well, I’m still in pain but down to one muscle relaxant and one anti-inflammatory at night and the odd pain killer during the day so I think I’m on the mend, but by Thursday I was fed up with it and almost out of drugs (these drugs are seriously interfering with my drinking!) so I called the doctor and ended up with another appointment on Friday. However I took reinforcements with me - Smug Git came for backup. Once again she checks out the leg and writes me a prescription for my drugs then SG asks her about getting some exercises to do but no she decides to get me an x-ray and puts me on a course of steroids and then depending on the x-ray physio. So all in all a good visit to the doctor hopefully after this it will be better.

Day one of my two rides this weekend was Chappell Hill and believe me when I tell you it has the perfect name. Oh my God this was by far the hardest ride I have done to date. 44 miles of one hill after the other. They were rolling hills, up and down, up and down. It was exhausting but I’m extremely happy to say I made all the hills. But there was one part of the ride that was a gravel road for about a mile (felt like it was about 5 miles) again it was another hill! Lots of smart people got off their bikes and walked up the hill. I however did not get off my bike. Why not? I hear you all say, Well I’m clipped in and I was going too slow to clip out (I have to be coasting to clip out) so I had to struggle very slowly up and very scarily down. I can honestly say I was terrified I was going to fall it was so slippery but I did it!

The weather on Saturday was fantastic, a beautiful 82 degrees with no wind. The perfect weather for a bike ride and the wild flowers and bluebonnets were spectacular, you must really try and go see them and they smell so, so nice.

It was a huge relief to get to the end of that ride and when we got back the lovely firemen (see told you putting my lippy, perfume and earrings in would be worth it) were there and had the burgers cooked but y’all will be happy to note I stayed away from the chips this time. By the time I got home I was exhausted and fit for nothing so I lazed about on the sofa. Smug Git offered me a beer and - wait for it… I said no! Now that is how tired I was! At precisely 10:03pm I was ready for my bed and could not imagine where I was going to find the energy to do 55 more miles tomorrow. I said to SG just as I was getting ready I think I’ll be sleeping by 10:25pm. I had just nodded off when I had a dream that I was falling off my bike because you guessed it I didn’t clip out on time and I jumped and woke myself up. SG was laughing because you know what time it was? Yup 10:25pm funny!

Day two Sunday I could not believe it when the alarm went off I had slept all night with no pain. Well unless you call getting up at 3:15am to let the damaged cat out pain (pain in the ass more like) it was great I felt really rested but I was still not looking forward to the ride and the worst thing is you don’t really need to make up your mind how far you want to go till you’ve cycled for a bit. But I had decided 55 at the start of the week so 55 it was! Again the weather was fantastic and it was a rolling start which means you don’t all have to bunch up at the start, you just go to the start line and set off when you are ready. Very civilized, oh I could get used to this. The first rest stop was 17 miles out but we set off at a great pace and the roads were flat and we made it there in no time. It was great, oh my god I think I can do this. The rest of the ride was pretty much the same but I have to say the last 11 miles were tough, I was beginning to wilt again but I gave it all I had and we finished the ride with a weekend record of 100 miles and my pace today was 13mph, another record. So all in all a rather good biking weekend!

This week I’ve included some more pictures so you can see how beautiful Texas really is and hopefully it might encourage some of you to think about doing this with me next year.

Serious Bit…

I can’t believe I’m saying this but it’s only 4 more weekends till the ride and there is still time if you would like to donate to this very worthwhile cause it’s very easy just follow the link at the bottom and it will take you to my page.
A big thank you to all of my family and friends who have done this already I could not do this with out you.

And I know that money is tight for everyone and if you can’t give money please look on the MS150 web site and think about maybe giving some time that weekend to volunteer. I think you’d have a great time and without the volunteers the ride could not go ahead.

Thanks for reading it means the word to me that you all care.

Here is my link http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/izzi

See y’all next week… love Iz

Sh!t was that an earthquake?

Monday, I’m happy to report I had no pain all day and did not need any pain relief. We went to the rodeo on Monday evening so I had to do a fair bit of walking but again no pain it might be too soon to say but hopefully my leg may be on the mend, fingers crossed. On the diet front I ate the best burger (and fries) ever. I put the fries in brackets so it looked like I just had a couple but no I ate a whole portion. I did say it was the best burger (and fries) ever but that could just be because I was starving it did come with one extra-large bit of lettuce but thankfully I got rid of that before I started eating - that would have really spoiled it. Yuck! I did not feel at all guilty but that might have had more to do with the fact that I had a huge gin and tonic and 2 beers. I’m sure I’ll feel guilty enough tomorrow. After the rodeo we had to walk miles to our car so I’m thinking my leg might hurt like hell tomorrow but I’ll take some drugs before I go to bed and one thing’s for sure the drugs and alcohol will help with the pain and sleep.

Tuesday, At work again, no pain all day I’m starting to breathe a little sigh of relief. I did feel a tad - well more like a lot - guilty when I got up this morning. Still it was a great night and the burger (and fries) were great but I had to make it up by having just fruit for lunch hopefully that will cancel out the burger.

Later on that evening, as every good girl should, I’m happily flossing my teeth - See that’s how good I am I floss regularly and then I hear this wee “pop” and one of my veneers just fell right off! I can’t quite believe it - I’m so mad right now! WTF can anything else go wrong with me? You know I think if I was to get a nose job MY nose would probably fall off! I got 4 veneers in Scotland 15 years ago and never once did I have a problem. I get these stupid veneers done, it feels like about 15 minutes ago, and this is the second time one has fallen off and and it’s not even as if I was eating a big fat toffee - Arggggg! Now I’m in pain and can’t eat! Oh well I guess it’s good for the diet I suppose.

OMG! I’m seriously pissed off right now. I called the dentist and guess what? They can’t take me today! Seriously! And do you want to know the reason? There's no dentist in it's Fucking spring break! What, do people not need dentists on a holiday? I don’t know what’s going to change tomorrow it’s still spring break! But the dentist can see me then. So it’s off to work with 65 children under 5, no food and tooth ache. Happy days! Well actually what I did was call back up the dentist and rant and rave for a few more minutes then demand a sick note for work. Apparently they don’t do this, it’s normally just to say you’ve been to the dentist during work time but you know what? This time they made an exception (funny that.)

Well another day of no food will help my diet no end. However did you know that you don’t have to actually chew chocolate? So I could manage that just fine. A little chocolate dinner won’t be too bad, right?

Thursday morning off to the dentist and they were super nice to me but so they bloody well should be. Do you know what the dentist said to me?

Dentist “Were you eating something when it came out?”

Me, rather indignantly “No actually I was flossing when it happened”

Dentist “Really?”

Me “Really” Cheeky swine just because I’m fat does not mean I’m always eating obviously occasionally I floss!

Anyway back to work and I hate to say this but the leg was in agony all day I’m thinking delayed reaction from the rodeo. I called the doc looking for a referral for the physio I almost got one but the nurse called me to say that the doc wants me to see the orthopedic guy first -But wait for it my appointment is not till April 10th. Twelve days before the ride. Fat lot of good that is so I guess it’s just grin and bear it.

Ok onto more important matters. This week’s ride in Cat Springs, Texas really the middle of nowhere but beautiful nowhere. The wild flowers were in bloom and the weather was perfect, cloudy for the most part and 80⁰. Thank God it was cloudy because I got some sun today and it could have been a whole lot worse if there was no cloud cover (I must remember the sun cream). I started off a wee bit slow I think that’s because I’ve done nothing for the last 13 days but once I warmed up I was good to go. After about 13 miles we were coming up to the first rest stop. Smug Git was behind me but just as he sees the rest stop he speeds off, obviously does not want to let any of the manly men see him behind me. Whatever! I remember I’m clipped in and quite far back I clip out my right foot (that’s the foot I stop with) then closer to the stop I clip out the left, only just as I’m about to stop the left foot decides all by itself to clip back in! Oh shit! I just slowly fall to the side, I swear I feel like I’m falling from a huge height and I’m mortified I’m not quite sure if I was embarrassed that I fell off or that I just pee’d a wee bit (ladies with children you know what I’m talking about) when I hit the pavement either way it’s not good, and who came to my rescue? Well it wasn’t SG, he was too busy stuffing his face with M&M’s, it was the poor wee skinny SAG driver. There was no way she could get me up - she just helped get the bike off me. I had to get on my knees and get myself up. I seriously think I must have had a mini stroke in the last few week and didn’t know it coz my left side is a mess. But that’s it - 3 things - I’m done! Everything is now on the up! Please God - and God I mean it - if you can watch reality TV and help film stars get Oscars I better be able to ride this ride. I’m doing a good thing, do you hear me God? Enough already Amen. The rest of the ride went really well, I picked up my speed and thoroughly enjoyed it. Next week I’m riding on both days woo-hoo!

I was sent this really funny joke and I can’t resist telling y’all it.

My wife found out that our dog (a Schnauzer) could hardly hear, so she took it to the veterinarian. The vet found that the problem was hair in the dog's ears. He cleaned both ears, and the dog could then hear fine. The vet then proceeded to tell Andrea that, if she wanted to keep this from recurring, she should go to the store and get some "Nair" hair remover and rub it in the dog's ears once a month. Andrea went to the store and bought some "Nair" hair remover. At the register, the pharmacist told her, "If you're going to use this under your arms, don't use deodorant for a few days." Andrea said, "I'm not using it under my arms." The pharmacist said, "If you're using it on your legs, don't use body lotion for a couple of days." Andrea replied, "I'm not using it on my legs either. If you must know, I'm using it on my Schnauzer." The pharmacist says, "Well, stay off your bicycle for about a week."

Serious bit…

A good friend of mine has just found out her son has MS. He was diagnosed just about 2 weeks ago he lives here in the Champions area so please keep them in your thoughts and in your prayers this week.

Here is my link http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/izzi

See y’all next week… love Iz

No pain no gain

Rain, rain go away and don’t come back till the 25th of April please, thank you very much. Oh my god it has not stopped raining for days. Under normal circumstances I’d be champing at the bit to get out there on my bike but this week it could not have come at a better time given that the doctor told me to rest up my leg. So the rain has meant I have had a guilt free weekend of not riding and resting the leg. I have to tell you Smug Git has been brilliant he made me lie on the sofa all day Saturday and he did the shopping and brought me home a trashy magazine and a tub of Ben and Jerry’s phish food Ice cream my favorite.

So last week was a very emotional week for me I felt as if every time anyone looked at me I was crying. You only had to say something nice and I was off bubbling again. Lesley thinks it’s the drugs, I think I’m just a mess. I really want to be on the bike but I’m so worried that my leg won’t get better and I’ll not be able to ride in the MS150. And I know what you’re all thinking “there’s plenty of time” and I know that but it’s not like I’m in the best shape right? I need every week of riding I can get. I’ve gone through the week thinking “ok I’ll take the time, get the leg better” but right now I don’t care I’ll ride through the pain and worry about it after the ride. But as I said the rain has helped so I’ve had nothing to do but relax and stay off my leg.

Smug Git has made me promise to go to the sports medicine clinic on Monday so that should be fun I can’t wait to see the doctors face when this athlete walks, or should I say limps, into his office. I think he may be thinking a sumo accident! So now y’all have a heads up on next week’s blog it should be a fun one. Oh and he better not ask me when my last period was or how much I weigh or I will be sumo tackling him!

On the brighter side of things I did go to Weight Watchers and lost another 2 pounds so I’m feeling pretty good about that. I have 5 pounds to go to my next target. I’ve been setting myself smaller targets to make it a bit easier and SG gives be $100 every time I lose 10 pounds so I’m a pound away from another $100. What to buy and this time I’m not buying anything for the bike. I think last time I bought a jacket for the rain, how sad am I?

OK so this week as you can see I don’t really have much to say because I’m really depressed about not being able to ride. So I thought I’d give you all a challenge, I don’t know if you realize this but I’ve been writing this blog for 22 weeks and there are only 6 weeks left. So 6, possibly 7 blogs left and then I hang up my bike and my blogging gear unless you can find something else for me to do. I will give all your suggestions some thought and then I’ll pick one. Word of warning I WILL NOT bungee jump or jump out of an airplane and I will not run a marathon but everything else will be considered (but keep it clean I know what you lot are like)

To end my blog today a few more rules for the woman cyclist of yonder year.

• Don’t try to have every article of your attire “match.” (leave that to the men to look like dicks)


• Don’t refuse assistance up a hill. (I wish I had read this one last week. Next time!)


• Don’t overdo things, let cycling be a recreation not a labor. (oops to late)

And finally…

• Don’t go out without a needle, thread and thimble. (OK…but why?)

Serious bit…

As you can tell by reading this I’m a tad down, hopefully normal services will resume as soon as possible but in the meantime to cheer me up you could make a small donation to my ride. It would put a wee smile on this very sad, depressed and rather overweight athlete so go on you know you want to! No amount is too small and I’m only $75 to my goal - Pleasssse!

Here is my link http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/izzi

See y’all next week… love Iz and I promise it will be funny even if I have to make shit up!

Slow and Steady

Most weeks I worry that I won’t have anything to write in this blog luckily when I sit down at the computer there’s something there but not this week, this week I’ve plenty to tell y’all.

First things first I stuck my to weight watchers diet. I’ve been trying a new thing where I don’t eat carbs at lunch, I have a little bit of carbs in the morning non the rest of the day and a little in the evening and I
have to say so far it has been working a treat and it’s not been too hard, this week another 2 pounds off!

Ok now that is out of the way back to the drama. So you know I had two good rides last weekend, a 33 and a 47 miler (I thank you all for your comments they keep me going every week!), you know I fell off my bike (no damage - no worries) and I vaguely mentioned I had a sore leg. Well the sore leg had not gotten any better and by Friday morning when I got up at my usual 5:00am to get on my bike, for the first time I felt it hurt while I was riding. It didn’t hurt much but there was a wee twinge there. When I got off the bike I went straight to my phone and called for an appointment with the doctor and thankfully I got one for later that afternoon. I know I’ve told you all about the doctors here but seriously why does she need to know what I weigh and when my last period was “come on people I have a sore leg how is knowing that going to help” Oh and I’m still not telling y’all how much I weigh!
The doctor comes in and starts asking me all the usual questions you know was I doing anything different?

Me: “What? Like going from a couch potato to riding my bike every day?”

Doc: “Well that might do it”

But seriously you all know I’ve did this gradually so she continues to examine me and then tells me I sprained my hip flexor or something. I was in shock at this point then she tells me to stop riding and to ice and rest it and that she needs to give me a shot for the pain and to relax the muscle. At this point I start crying like a baby. Now I’m not sure if I’m crying because I have to stop riding or because I have to have a shot. Either way she is just looking at me and I tell her through my sobs that it doesn't hurt when I ride and can I please ride tomorrow morning and I promise her I won’t ride all week and she says that will be fine but no riding the rest of the week. I now think I was crying at the thought of not being able to ride I really feel as if I’ve worked so hard for this and I’m scared if I stop I won’t start again but I have to say Smug Git and my friends Lesley and Amanda have talked me through, better to have a week off now than not be able to ride on the day and that I’m only half way through the training series and I know they are all right. My plan for next week because I can’t ride is to go to the gym every night and use the weights and get some abs work done because I need the abs work big time, oh god I may have some other kind of pain next week.

Remember last week I told you I’d be clipping in, well I did! I’ve been practicing all week on the trainer so tonight it’s off to the school parking lot to have a go outside and low and behold I did it! I’m feeling a bit more confident about doing it tomorrow I just have to remember to clip out when someone shouts that they are slowing so fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Saturday morning ride day I get out of my bed and SG looks at me and says “you do know you have a Mickey Mouse Band-Aid on your ass? Well actually no I didn’t so I just left it right there. I was fooled into a false sense of security on Saturday morning because Friday was such a beautiful day I was sure it was going to be warm so I put on my cycling shorts (I know I said I’d never wear them but well you know what happens) and a short sleeved t-shirt and my usual sweatshirt but when I got out of the car at the ride it was bloody freezing it had dropped 5 degrees since leaving Houston. Have I told y’all how much I hate the cold? Well it’s a lot. After I get back to the car from signing it there is Smug Git with his shirt off

Me: “WTF! Please I need some warning if you’re going to do that when I’m about”

Oh god all that white fleshy man boobs then I turn to look away and the guy at the next car is doing the exact same thing! What is it with you flabby men and taking your tops off? You can’t do that before you leave the house in the morning? Really!! Then I look up at the sky because it’s the only place left to look and I see the big black clouds fast approaching and I know it’s going to rain. Now I’m really worried, I am shit scared to ride in the rain and I’m clipped in. We head up to the start line and I can feel the first drops of rain, I’m not happy at all, then the announcer tells us that we are going to start about 30 minutes late to let the rain blow through, because our car is too far away we just try and find some shelter. So there we are freezing our butts off but relatively dry just waiting for the rain to stop when just then I see all these guys that are all kitted out looking like, well not quite Lance Armstrong but you get the idea, with all the gear on packing up their cars and leaving! What the hell! You wimps get back here! Then SG says to me “you know if you want we can do the 32 miles today”

Me: “Nope we’re doing 51”

Yay! The rain has just stopped and we go back to the start and then I see this guy come up and I kid you not he looked like Jimmy Buffet. He was wearing Khakis’, a Hawaii shirt and sunglasses. He looked like he was going on vacation. I mean really, I worry about what I look like - I have a wee bit of make up on, my hair combed, my earrings in, a dab of perfume and some lippy on (well you never know if I fall off I might need help from a big burly first responder) Honestly you see some sights.

The ride starts and we set off. It’s still cold but at least we are on the move and so far I’m clipped in and all is well. About a three quarters of an hour later the sun came out and it is a glorious day to be riding my bike most of the ride was in Sam Houston national forest so some of the scenery is amazing. Texas really is a beautiful place to ride in spring time. If you don’t ride, you don’t know what you missing. I was under the impression that Texas was flat, oh no we had plenty of hills and at one point SG told me he thought I was going to give birth with all the panting and puffing but I did not get off my bike and walk once so big pat on the back for me. When we got to the first rest stop we were dead last the volunteers were just waiting for us and then they were packing up to go home so big shout out to all the volunteers who fed us, made us feel great and sent us on our way. Thanks guys we could not do these ride without you. Second rest stop we were second to last but you know what? I don’t really care. For me it’s not a race, I just want to finish (but really before those two losers at the end) anyway we did it! 51 miles up hills both ways and my longest single day ride so far. Hopefully I’ll be back on my bike next week.

Serious bit…

As you all know I’m riding for Multiple Sclerosis and would really appreciate it if you could donate something towards this very worthwhile cause. I thank everyone who has already donated to me you don’t know how much it means to me I’m very thankful to be able to call you all my friends. I also have another wee favor to ask. Smug Git and I have to volunteer at one of the rides but I really don’t want to miss a ride. If any of you out there would like to volunteer for us I would be forever in your debt and there will be a great reward for helping us out. The volunteer jobs are SAG wagon or rest stop if you would like to do this let me know.

Here is my link http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/izzi

See y’all next week… love Iz