Nearly a New Year

2015 is just around the corner.  Literally... it's only two days away.

2014 has been... well, pretty darn great, if you're asking.

I had a great racing season.

Work went well as I settled into being Department Chair.

Another chapter of my dissertation was accepted for publication (coming in 2015) and a new paper was accepted to the Nineteenth Century Studies Association conference in Boston.

I'm headed to Italy in just a few month's time and am looking forward to seeing such an amazing place with students in tow.

I have had another wonderful year with a man that I adore and am looking forward to many, many more.

My friends and family are healthy and happy.

So... what's in store for 2015?

Another great racing season with some great friends, teammates, and competition.  I'm finally getting to race alongside some women that I've admired for years and we're having a great time getting our winter riding on together.

Another year of Department Chairing... and then... sabbatical!!

I will continue to work on getting the dissertation ready for publication.  I'm really hoping that I can add to it and make it book worthy soon.

Maybe a few more tattoos?  (Just kidding, Mom... the 17 that I have already are plenty!)

Stop teasing my mom about tattoos... maybe.

Have even more fun than 2014.

Enjoy life to the fullest and love every moment that I spend with the people that I love.

Come to terms with decisions made and chances taken.  It's not that I want to live without regrets, but I want to be at peace with the path that I've chosen to walk.

Keep on smiling!!

Happy New Year, All!

Happy Christmas!

Just a quick note to say that I hope all of you out there have a really beautiful holiday season... so, 

Happy Christmas!

And have a fantastically great New Year!

From the house of Choppah to you!

One Year Anniversary Gift

December 12th was the one year anniversary of my surgery.

I feel great.

I know how lucky I am.  I was lucky that my injury was operable.  I was lucky that one of the best spinal surgeons in the nation is 20 minutes away.  I was lucky that I knew the right questions to ask, the right people to ask, and that I tried everything I could before going in for surgery.  I am lucky that the surgery was a success.

Am I perfect today?  No... but I'm pretty daggon close!

So, in honor of a great 2014 and in the optimistic light of an even more spectacular 2015, Mr. Porkchop let me splurge a bit on this...

She's a beautiful 2015 S-Works Amira!  I'm so happee!!

I picked her up today and immediately got out on the road for a 2.5 hour windy ride.  It was glorious. She has yet to be named... I'm currently taking suggestions and waiting for her to let me know what she likes to be called.  But, I'm just so thrilled with her.

Here's to a fantastic 2015!

Dubious, Awesome, and Dubiously Awesome Christmas Songs

It seems fitting at this festive time of the year, to do a little analysis of some of the Christmas songs that have caught my attention.  Some of these appear on the list because they are awesome.  Others because they straddle the line between awesome and rather dubious.  And, some because they are just plain wrong.

So... here we go... in no particular order.

1.  Dubiously Awesome: I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus by: everyone who ever wanted to sing a cute little song about witnessing their mom cheating on their father with a big hairy dude in a red suit.

Srsly.  This song is adorable.  Especially the John Mellencamp version with the little kid voices at the end singing about Mommy kissing Santa.

But, srsly... the lyrics?  "What a laugh it would have been..."?  My thoughts are if Mr. Porkchop came downstairs and found me smooching some dude under the mistletoe, the last thing he'd do is laugh.

2.  Just dubious: Baby, It's Cold Outside.

I've always loved the Ray Charles version of this song.  Perhaps because it's Ray Charles and it sounds like he's singing with Miss Piggy.  But, I digress...

The other day, I heard the Dean Martin and Martina McBride version and it hit me...

This song is a bit questionable... if you listen very carefully to the lyrics... it's kinda date-rapey.  She keeps saying no, he keeps begging for some booty. And, then, there's the line about the drink... "Hey, what's in this drink?"  ROOFIES?!?!  Not so sure that this is the best Christmas-themed song.  Unless, of course, you watch the original version, which is hilarious...

3.  Just plain Awesome... Baby, Please Come Home.

Bono.  Singing a Christmas song begging "me" to come home to him?  Yes, please.  Larry Mullen, Jr. will be there, too, right??  :)

4.  The Most Dubiously Awesome Pairing Ever...

The Killers: Don't Shoot Me Santa and Boots

Every year, The Killers put out a new Christmas song (which reminds me that I need to go download the 2014 version today).  The past few years have included a really gorgeous ballad called Boots that reminisces about family and the holidays and includes a really touching video, and a tongue-in-cheek, super cheeky song about a Santa who takes care of his naughty list in a particularly tough manner.

I might also nominate "Don't Shoot Me Santa" for the best, bad Christmas sweaters in a music video.  

5.  Another dubious pairing of a different type.

Bing Crosby.

And David Bowie.

I feel that I need to say nothing more.

Happy Christmas, all!

The Post With the Giant Cookie Blob

I'm pretty prideful about my cookies, normally.

In grad school, a recipe that I made became known as the Cosmopolitan Craisin Cookie since I brought it to my class about Cosmopolitanism in American art.  It was a hit.  They gave me a PhD because of those cookies.  I'm certain of it.

But, today's adventure in pre-Christmas Cookie making was, how shall I put it... craptastic.

I was trying to make a cookie that I had never made before. It was to be a masterpiece of gooey awesomeness that included chocolate chips (both while and milk), cornflake crunch (a scrumptious baked mix of cornflakes, sugar and butter), and marshmallows.  Mmmm... like I said, gooey goodness.

I was further inspired by the amazing photo that the recipe maker used on her (his?) blog...

Holy crap... I must make these and eat them until I can no longer roll my rotund form out the front door!!!

I was so excited!!  I followed the recipe to a "t."  I chilled the dough overnight, knowing that chilled butter cooks better.  I excitedly pulled the pans out of the fridge and ensconced them in a pre-heated 375 degree oven.  And then I waited.  I was warned that they would crackle a bit (ooooh, the sound of marshmallows becoming melty wonderousness in the oven was so scintillating!!).  I was warned that they might even spread a bit.  Those 15-18 minutes of excited impatience was like an exquisite form of epicurean torture.  

And then....

This.

Yeah... not exactly a blue-ribbon bake off, eh?  I'm thinking that it was the butter.  Too much of it, causing the batter to simply transform into a flattened crispy blob rather than puffy little mouthfuls of awesome.

Will I try them again, you ask?  Most likely... mainly because they tasted amazing, despite their unfortunately inadequate post-baked state.

Bake on, cookie monsters.  Bake on.

10 Things That Make for an Awesome Bike Race

A lot of people ask me about riding bikes. 

 “Doesn’t it take a lot of time?”  Yep.  No doubt about it.  Practice makes perfect in cycling, so the hours I spend on my bike are important.  But, I’d rather put the hours in outside with my friends than on my butt watching TV.

“Isn’t it expensive?”  It’s beyond expensive, actually.  It’s a ridiculously monetarily draining sport.  But, once you fall in love with a sports car, you can’t go back to driving a Yugo, now can you?

“Are you really supposed to ride in the road?”  Face palm.  Most of the time I just give this one the proper “Are you really supposed to be breathing my oxygen?” face.  Or, if you prefer, a solid snort of derision also works well.

“Isn’t it dangerous?”   Um… sure, but so is origami… those paper cuts can be nasty.

“Why do you race?”  Ahhh… One of my favorite questions to answer… personally, I race because I love it.  It’s fun, it allows me a sort of social activity on a weekly basis, and – if the proper elements are involved – it can be incredibly personally rewarding.

So, since everyone likely has their own list of what they think makes for an awesome race, I’ll include mine here…

10 Things That Make an Awesome Bike Race

10.  A great course!  This means something different for every racer, of course.  Some like steep climbs (no, thank you), others like simple, flat, 4-corner crits (meh).  Me?  I like technical races with a little bit of everything thrown at you.  Lots of corners make for some challenging fun, while a longer straight here or there or a moderate climb allows for attacks and breaks. 

9.  A nice selection of categories.  This one might be specifically geared at promoters, but any race that allows for racers to compete at a level that they feel comfortable is great.  Note that this goes both for those experienced riders as well as beginners.  For women, it’s really nice if the Cat 4 riders get their own race or can be put in a solid 3/4 field.  Open races are great, too, giving those same novice riders the chance to “up their game.”  But, the options are always nice.  I often wonder what would happen (besides obvious utter chaos) if men just had “Open” fields where Cat 5s were expected to vie for a win against our domestic Cat 1s and pros.  I guess that would just be the Greentree Training Crit, eh?  But, I digress….

8.  Fun swag!  I don’t race to win money.  Some people do.  I do not.  This is mainly because I’m a domestique rider whose job is to deliver my sprinters to the line to win races (and money).  I race for a variety of other reasons, but a paycheck at the end of the day is not generally one of them.  BUT.  Swag is always fun!  Especially prime swag… whether it’s a pair of socks, Jim Bernstein’s delicious coffee roasts, or a case of brewskis, winning a prime is a fun way to grab a little goody.  Plus, it’s fun to try to win primes!  :)

7.  Proper Training.  Racing when you’re out of shape or not ready to race is not fun.  Srsly.  Not. Fun.  If I think that I’m going to line up for a race when I’ve just been dawdling around on my bike to the local pub and back, it’s unlikely that I will have much fun or think that much of anything is awesome.  I’m just sayin’.

6.  Great crowds!  I’ve been fortunate enough to have raced at events like the Liberty Classic in Philadelphia and the Iron Hill Twilight Crit in West Chester.  The crowds at these events are amazingly awesome.  Plus, they’re hometown crowds for me… so, to hear my name as I’m wheezing my way up the Manayunk Wall is pretty rad.  But, great crowds come in a variety of sizes.  From the small local crit where my husband yells at me on every lap to the state championship races where every local cyclist I know is rooting for every other local cyclist they know, having a crowd out for an event is so key.  A little cheer from the side of the road, “Don’t quit now!!” can mean the difference between sitting up and finishing mid pack or digging a little harder to grab a podium spot.

5.  Willingness to take chances!  There’s nothing more boring than a race in which no one is willing to take a chance.  An awesome race has you on the edge of your seat (literally), watching your competitors and expecting the attacks, the moves, the exciting attempts to get away, etc.  And, of course, for me… it’s always about taking chances.  As The Jensy once said, “If you are at the start line with 200 riders, and you are not going to try to attack or try to win, you’ve’ already lost. If you go out on attack, you have maybe 10 percent chance. Maybe it’s five, maybe 15. But I’d rather take 10 percent than no chance at all.”

4.  Good sportsmanship.  Be nice.  Both on and off the bike.  Be nice.  Both before and after the race.  Be nice. Good sportsmanship is absolutely key to a fabulous event.  Yes, sometimes racing is frustrating.  Sometimes you just want to scream and yell and be a complete jerkwad.  Fight that urge.  Be nice.  Go back to your car, grab a teammate, ride AWAY from the race… and then explode for 10 seconds.  Then breathe.  Then, return to the race area and be a gracious winner/loser/competitor/etc.  And be nice.  Oh, and always thank the promoter, the officials, and any volunteers that you see at the race. 

3. Strong Competitors are a MUST.  Sure, it’s great to win races.  But, I guarantee that if you are cherry-picking races because you KNOW that you’re stronger than every other rider in the field… that win will not be as awesome as if you’re pushing yourself to race against strong competitors.  If you can push yourself to race against racers that are better than you, do it.  Having stronger competitors around you makes everything more exciting. And, it makes a good result even more rewarding and fulfilling.

2.  Teammates.  I could have done a whole blog post about teammates.  Hell, I could write a novel (or twelve) about teammates.  Racing alone can be nice.  Having the opportunity to be concerned only with your own wheel is kinda fun sometimes.  But, NOTHING compares to racing with teammates.  Nothing is as rewarding as training together, practicing tactics together, planning tactics, and then seeing them come to fruition.  Nothing compares to being on the front with one lap to go, your sprinter tacked onto your back wheel like a remora on a shark.  Hearing her (or him) begin to yell, “Go… faster.. now… go, go GO!!” and ramping up for a sprint that you know will end 100 yards from the finish line.  Gasping for air as you pull off and watch your sprinter put in one final kick to win a race.  And, then that sprinter turns to YOU and hugs YOU and says, “THANK YOU!”  What could possibly be better than that?!?! 

I guess being the sprinter that gets the wicked sweet lead out and win would be better, but….  ;)

1.  The knowledge that “It’s Only Bike Racing.”  By far the most important rule to an awesome bike race…remembering that we aren’t curing cancer out there, people.  We aren’t finding the secret to world peace.  We aren’t figuring out how to end racism, or sexism, or any other form of –ism that ruins people’s lives.  We are racing bikes.   We are reliving the best moments of our childhood when we hopped on our Schwinns and sped up and down the neighborhood pretending to be free.  We are allowing ourselves a privileged moment of joy in the midst of lives that really do deal with the big issues.  So, remember when you’re out there… “It’s ONLY bike racing!” 

So, as you anticipate the arrival of the 2015 race season (I know I’m already counting down the days until the first step up to the line) think about what will make your first race awesome.  And, then make those things happen.

Keep the rubber side down, folks… and may the tailwind rise to meet you!

Big Brother

No... not THAT Big Brother.

MY big brother.

He's coming for a visit.

He's in town on work and I get to spend some time with him.   That's pretty rad, since we really don't get to see one another very often.

It's inspired me to a really crappy haiku!

I'm quite excited.
For a visit from my bro.
Fun times lie ahead.

The end.

Halloween Has Come and Gone

By far my favorite holiday, Halloween came and went a bit too quickly this year.

In truth, life seems to have sped up in general over the last couple of years.  It seems like just yesterday I was in my 20s, contemplating life as an adult.  Now, I'm moving closer to 40, enjoying my life as an adult, but still feeling like I'm in my 20s (except for the day after a visit to the gym, when my body reminds me that I'm not a bouncy-trouncy 24 year old!).

There is a lot going on 'round here.  I've been holding off on saying too much on the blog because I wanted to be sure that things were going to turn out as I was hoping before I went spewing them about the interwebs.  But, as things have, in fact, begun to settle down, I suppose that I can share some exciting stuff.

The Italy trip in May 2015 is a GO!  My colleague and I have begun the process of information sessions on campus.  Our first session brought in 15 students.  This is great... and bad.  Since we can only take a maximum of 8 students, the fact that nearly double that showed up for our first (of three) info sessions suggests that we will have to disappoint quite a few students by not selecting them.  Unless, of course, their financially solvent enough to pay their own way in full.  (Highly unlikely).

I was granted a sabbatical for 2016.  I'm not sure yet if I will take it then or push it off for another year.  But, the fact that I got it is pretty awesome.  Most of my colleagues applied several times before getting it... I was awarded one on my first shot.  Pretty awesome.  I'm hoping to use the time to get my dissertation published.  :)

The team is undergoing some pretty dramatic changes, too.  Some of the gals have decided to retire from racing.  This makes me personally sad for me and unselfishly happy for them.  I know that it's the right move for them, but knowing that I won't see them as much during the summer definitely makes me sad.  With their departure from the team, we were faced with a crisis of sorts.  With no riders down in the Maryland/DC area, what would we do?  So... we decided to move the whole thing north.  In short, the team is continuing to soldier on.  We'll be quite a bit smaller in 2015.  But, we'll be housed in the Philly area and we'll start making a name for ourselves up here.  I'm quite certain that we will be able to grow the team and recruit new riders for the upcoming seasons.  So, keep an eye out for the women in Wasabi... we'll be rocking and rolling at a crit near you come March!

That's it for now... I leave you with some photos of my Halloween adventures...

 Axel Rose, Slash, and a Viking Princess walk into a room....

 Crossfit Zombies are very scary...

 MINIONS!!

 Mountain biking on Halloween with Death and She-Ra!  What more could a witchy Porkchop want?

The post with New Stuff

So... it's been a busy time around the Porkchop house... we've been busy spending our hard-earned cash on some new stuff around the house.  And, while I hate parting with our dollars with stuff that doesn't have wheels (teehee), I admit that it's been money VERY well spent.  We're both so happy about the house (inside and out) right now, that we're just... well... like pigs in poop (as the saying goes).

So, the one thing that doesn't show so well in photos is the new electrical work that we had done.  NO MORE BLOWING CIRCUITS!  YESSSSS!!!!  WE can actually run two appliances in the kitchen without cringing!  What an awesome change!

And then, there's the stuff that we CAN take photos of...

The new fence:

We no longer have to look at the piles of garbage that get blown into the old chain link fence.  Car headlights from the lot behind can no longer stream through our rear windows.  We can sit peacefully in our backyard.  AND... it looks absolutely lovely!  Who knew that we had such a nice backyard?!  Next summer, we'll do some nice landscaping back there and we'll have a true oasis!

The New Dining Room:

Well, it's really the same old dining room that it has been, except that we repainted, knocked out the old corner cabinets and put in these new beautiful ones, and made some new cornices for the windows.  The room is amazing.  Truly one of my favorite rooms in the house, suddenly.  It's clean, it's crisp, the light that comes through the light filtering blinds keeps it airy and nice.  And, it's GREEN!  Which is my favorite color, after all!  :)

I've ben getting out on the Mountain Bike again lately... which has also been nice.  It's been MANY years since I did some riding in the woods.  So much has changed since those days.  People no longer ride wooden wheels, there are these strange things called shocks, and the bikes practically pedal themselves.  ;)  OK - I might be exaggerating a bit.  BUT... this is the first time I've ever ridden a full-suspension OR a 29 inch wheel, so it's quite different than "the old days."  I still kinda suck at it... but I'm determined to spend this off-season getting less sucky.  I might even do a race next weekend.  Maybe.  Perhaps... Perchance.

Happy October, everyone!!!  Halloween is just around the corner (the BEST holiday EVER)!  I hope you have your costumes ready!  :)

That Time of Year Again...

Yep... it's that time of year again... when I go back to classes full time, start to zip through the weeks like they're standing still.  That time of year when the weather gets a little cooler (YAY!), the days get a little shorter (BOO!), and my cycling life gets a little calmer (Meh).

It's been a truly amazing race season for me.  I was not really sure if I would EVER have a race season like this again.  I feared that the surgery in December would be the end of my high end competitive career and I would have to settle for something new in my cycling journey.  But... I was very lucky and I'm now writing this post on the back end of a cycling season that proved to be one of the best that I've had in a long time.  It might not seem that way from the list of results that appear on my USA Cycling page, but a number next to my name in a long list of names doesn't necessarily tell you much.

The season started out hard - I was doing the Spring Series races in NJ against the Master's Men and getting my doors blown off.  The few times I was able to stay with them to the end, I was on the rivet the entire time and would sleep for hours when I got home.  The good side of that was... my back and my nerve weren't hurting.

As the race season got going, I started to feel stronger.  My training began to come together, I started contending sprints and upping the pace on group rides.  I started getting out on longer rides with the Bordas and Hauber that increased my endurance.  Things were looking good.

As the race season got going, I found myself on the steps of the podium a few times - which I NEVER would have expected after the way I felt after surgery.  I ended up 3rd in the NJ State Elite Road Race, 2nd at the Freedom Tour, and 1st in the NJ State 35+ Master's Road Race.  I brought home a State Champ jersey thanks to amazing help from a new friend and future 2015 teammate Meredith Ehn!

I raced a dozen professional level races, including 7 days of the Tour of America's Dairylands.  I think that's more professional racing then I've done since I got my Cat 2 upgrade a few years back!  I wasn't finding the podium (or even seeing it from a distance!) at any of those races... but I was finishing with the field (sometimes), and even managing to launch some attacks and make some moves in the races now and then.

And, all through this, my back and nerve have felt great.

I've made one other major change this year that I'm super stoked about.  I've decided to hire a new coach for the 2015 season.  It's been a while since I've had a coach.  Obviously, the last two years have been a total wash, so it's not like I've needed one.  But, as this season neared completion and I thought about 2015, I realized that I really need to be accountable to someone.  I need someone looking at my data and telling me to kick it up a notch.  I feel REALLY fortunate that the person that I wanted to work with was thrilled to work with me.  I know that I'll only benefit under the watchful eye of Tina Pic as I work my way through this off-season in preparation for another great year of racing in 2015.

So, to say that 2014 was a good year would be an understatement.  It's been fantastic.  I've never felt so lucky in all of my life.  Truly.

Thank you to my amazing husband for putting up with me this summer and being so unbelievably supportive as I jumped back into racing with both feet and all 10 toes.  I couldn't ask for a better partner to share my life with and I am so thankful for his belief and patience!  He puts up with a LOT and I will likely spend all of my off-season finding ways to thank him for 2014 and start paying forward for 2015!

Wyoming Visit: Part 1

OK... so... I've been home for about a week and haven't had time to write this post.  So, here goes...

The trip out west was more awesome than anticipated.  Not only did I get to spend some wonderful time with my parents and my sister, brother-in-law and niece, but we had some amazing experiences out on our journeys.

Here's how it went.

We traveled over the mountain to try to see the wild horses.  On our way over the Big Horns, we stopped at Shell Falls.  It was a beautiful site with hummingbirds buzzing your head and the beautiful sound of rushing water through the canyon.

Then, we headed into Greybull and onward to find the McCullough Peaks Horses just west of the city.  Knowing that this was all a giant crapshoot - we might drive out there and see absolutely nothing, we had our cameras and binoculars at the ready.  As we neared the end of the gravel road that cuts through the horse range, I began to lose faith - we were going to go home empty handed - my mother yells, "There they are!"

And, there they were... a herd of between 100-125 horses galloping along the fence line directly toward our car and the road upon which we were driving.  We got up to the next cattle guard and stopped.  I got out.  Here's what we saw...

It was amazing.  I just kept shooting and shooting as they ran across in front of the car.  Beautiful painted horses, strong stallions leading the groups, BABIES!  It was so cool.  As we drove up to the end of the road, it opened up to a vista of the badlands:

OK - that's it for now.  More to come later!

Birds and Bunnies and stuff...

So, another trip to the John Heinz Nature Preserve yielded a few more decent shots with the borrowed zoom lens.  I'm getting the hang of the settings and managed to catch some decent shots this time around.  I admit that I'm jealous of Christian's 500mm zoom - but beggar's can't be choosers, and I'm just pleased as punch that he's willing to let me borrow the 300mm for my upcoming trip west.

So, here's a few shots I got today, including some digital manipulations... not bad, says I... not bad.

Sometimes, You Just Have to Destroy Stuff

And, sometimes, that destruction happens at 7am in your dining room...

We've had these cabinets since we moved in.  They have about 4 coats of paint on them, the doors (removed in this first photo) don't shut right and constantly get stuck.  They are, in essence, a mess.  So, we finally decided that we would splurge a bit and replace them.  The question then became... how hard are these going to be to remove?

So, this morning, I guess I was a bit bored - or maybe just motivated - but, I decided to find out just how hard it would be.

When I got to this point, I was feeling pretty confident that it would be easy...

Then, I encountered the anchor screws that had four coats of paint over them.  Hmmmm.... after a bit of sweat equity, I got those out.  After that, it was a breeze!  The whole thing just popped off the wall.  Success!

Behind the cabinet, I discovered wall paper that's probably been there since the 1950s.  Lovely.  It, too, had been painted over several times...

I've decided that I'll sand it all down really well, fill in the few minor holes that were the result of removing screws and a few nails, and repaint.  After all, we're going to put in some new cabinets like the ones in the final photo in a few weeks, so there's no real reason to go crazy returning the wall surface to a state of perfection.

Possible paint colors - sage green with a light brownish accent wall?  Maybe?  Perhaps?  Perchance?

Considering that the cabinets are coming unfinished, if anyone wishes to join me for a staining, sanding, and polyurethaning party sometime later this month, please let me know.  Volunteers will be fed, provided with beverages of their choosing, and (of course) will have the joy of my company for a few hours!  :)