UmmSqueaky Member

Thanks all. I don't have the time or the talent to make such fabulous costumes so I commission them from very talented fabulous local costumers here in the Twin Cities. Just found another picture floating around FB today.

In 2013, being super psyched to debut the first cosplay I had commissioned only to look like this in pictures: Now I get to look like this in pictures (from this last weekend):

Do it now and along the way - they make great before and after pictures!

Heya, long time no see. Totally wiffed it on the winter biking this year. I procrastinated getting my studded tires on my winter bike, and then we got slammed with crazy ice coating everything and I didn't really feel like bike commuting on an ice rink. February has brought some crazy weather for Minnesota - highs in the…

10/3 - 23 miles 10/4 - 23 miles - gorgeous fall weather for the most part after a very rainy late September. Like 60 degrees on the way into work and 75 on the way home. The morning commute is now more and more in the dark - I usually try to leave by 6:30 but I've been postponing it until a bit later so it's lighter out.…

October signals my switch into crazy trial prep mode - biggest trial of my life starts the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. October goal is to bike at least 3 days a week, swim at least 2 and not go out for lunch more than twice. Ultimate goal is to end the trial without gaining weight. 10/3 - 23 miles month to date: 23 miles…

9/10: 19 miles 9/12: 23 miles 9/13: 18 miles 9/15: 18 miles 9/19: 17 miles 9/23: 9 miles 9/26: 17 miles 9/27: 9 miles 9/28: 28 miles 9/30: 53 miles - set out with the intention of doing a century this morning. Obviously did not make it. About 40 miles in I ran out of energy and headed home. Not sure what happened, as I've…

9/10: 19 miles 9/12: 23 miles 9/13: 18 miles 9/15: 18 miles 9/19: 17 miles 9/23: 9 miles 9/26: 17 miles 9/27: 9 miles 9/28: 28 miles - ughhhhhhhh this month has sucked re: mileage. It's rained for basically the last week and a half. My fendered rain bike is out of commission and I'm not riding my road bike in the rain…

9/10: 19 miles 9/12: 23 miles 9/13: 18 miles 9/15: 18 miles - holy cow guys I'm so freakin excited! My commute and Minneapolis in general is pretty flat, so I don't get a lot of hill work in. A few years back, the one stretch of hills on my commute closed due to a landslide and it's just now finally opened back up. So now…

I'm back from Iceland and boy did I miss my bike. I have however crossed "bike around iceland" off my wish list - holy heck I do NOT want to bike around Iceland. Windy, intermittent rain, super narrow roads with 0 shoulder, tons o hills and mountains, lots of gravel stretches even on the main ring road. Saw a few dozen…

Plain greek yogurt + chocolate protein powder + raspberries = sweet and a huge wallop of protein

So this is an excuse to talk about our bikes, yes? My first adult bike. Present from my parents in high school. I didn't ride it for a good 10 year stretch and got back to riding in my early 30s. Mid 90s schwinn mountain bike. Fixed it up with studded tires and it's now my winter commuter. This one is called "Purple Rain."…

Going to hike a glacier

8/1: 28 miles 8/2: 22 miles 8/3: 28 miles 8/5: 28 miles 8/7: 12 miles 8/8: 23 miles 8/9: 18 miles 8/10: 23 miles 8/13: 7 miles 8/14: 21 miles 8/15: 23 miles 8/16: 16 miles 8/17: 28 miles 8/18: 18 miles 8/22: 23 miles Month to date: 318 miles Year to date: 2735 miles

8/1: 28 miles 8/2: 22 miles 8/3: 28 miles 8/5: 28 miles 8/7: 12 miles 8/8: 23 miles 8/9: 18 miles 8/10: 23 miles 8/13: 7 miles 8/14: 21 miles 8/15: 23 miles 8/16: 16 miles 8/17: 28 miles 8/18: 18 miles - another ride home interrupted and open swim canceled by rain this week, boooooo. Month to date: 295 miles Year to date:…

8/1: 28 miles 8/2: 22 miles 8/3: 28 miles 8/5: 28 miles 8/7: 12 miles 8/8: 23 miles 8/9: 18 miles 8/10: 23 miles 8/13: 7 miles 8/14: 21 miles 8/15: 23 miles 8/16: 16 miles 8/17: 28 miles - uneventful but pleasant. Thighs are feeling a bit sore, so not pushing myself too much this week Month to date: 277 miles Year to date:…

@Ohhim Thanks for the feedback! I've been using my phone to track my biking and running, but can't use the phone during a USAT race, so I figure I should get a swim/bike/run tracker that I can use both in training and in a race. Definitely want something to track my swims, as I went into the tri completely blind as to…

8/1: 28 miles 8/2: 22 miles 8/3: 28 miles 8/5: 28 miles 8/7: 12 miles 8/8: 23 miles 8/9: 18 miles 8/10: 23 miles 8/13: 7 miles 8/14: 21 miles 8/15: 23 miles 8/16: 16 miles - alas, thunderstorm on the way home, so I was rained out of both my evening ride and my open swim :( Only 3 more open swims this season then it's off…

@Ohhim @Djproulx If I weren't going on vacation shortly, I'd probably sign up for another one in September! But for now, fixing a goal to work on running and swimming with an eye towards 2017. Might also venture outside my comfort zone and see about joining a group ride. I'm a solitary cyclist and groups intimidate me, but…

Welcome to the wonderful world of cycling! Ditto the suggestions above (especially learning to change a tire/basic bike maintenance) and add a plug for a bike skirt (bike shorts under a skirt). The section between my mid thighs and belly button is my least favorite body section and bike skirts are wonderful covers. When…

8/1: 28 miles 8/2: 22 miles 8/3: 28 miles 8/5: 28 miles 8/7: 12 miles 8/8: 23 miles 8/9: 18 miles 8/10: 23 miles 8/13: 7 miles 8/14: 21 miles: Triathlon today. My new motto: why suck at one sport when you can suck at 3?!?? Overall, it actually didn't suck - I really enjoyed it (even the running, which I was expecting to…

8/1: 28 miles 8/2: 22 miles 8/3: 28 miles 8/5: 28 miles 8/7: 12 miles 8/8: 23 miles 8/9: 18 miles 8/10: 23 miles - hoping for rain tonight to break the humidity Month to date: 192 miles Year to date: 2608 miles

8/1: 28 miles 8/2: 22 miles 8/3: 28 miles 8/5: 28 miles 8/7: 12 miles 8/8: 23 miles - a vicious bee sting on my inner thigh is itching like crazy, especially in bike shorts, making riding no bueno Month to date: 151 miles Year to date: 2567 miles

8/1: 28 miles 8/2: 22 miles 8/3: 28 miles 8/5: 28 miles 8/7: 12 miles - did a mini tri this morning to practice transitions, 200 yard swim/3 mile bike/2 mile run (really only 1 mile run but I did the run twice). 16 women, I was in the middle of the pack out of the swim, and then first after the bike. Lost my lead rather…

@Ohhim thanks for the link! Iceland would be a fabulous bike trip, if I had more time. Argh time.

8/1: 28 miles 8/2: 22 miles 8/3: 28 miles - the super humidity in the morning must have sapped all the power out of me, so the ride home was harder than normal. No run after the ride, too hot and no energy. Month to date: 78 miles Year to date: 2494 miles

Yaaay biking! Welcome! I'll speak to your "what do I wear??" question. I'm a year round cyclist living in Minnesota who will bike any day the roads aren't glare ice or covered in a foot of snow and the windchill isn't 50 below 0. The key is layering and keep it flexible. Between temperature and wind I have a half a dozen…

8/1: 28 miles 8/2: 22 miles - two for two with brick workouts. bike, swim, bike today. Lake was calm. Should have done two laps but my couch and game of thrones binge was calling! Month to date: 50 miles Year to date: 2466 miles

No mileage goal again this month. My first triathlon is fast approaching on August 14th, so the first two weeks are still all about the cross training. Third week will be a recovery and then the last week I'm headed to iceland. No biking there, but lots and lots of hiking and a trek across a glacier. 8/1: 28 miles - long…

7/5 - 21 miles. 7/6 - 23 miles 7/11 - 28 miles 7/12 - 27 miles 7/13 - 23 miles 7/14 - 10 miles 7/15 - 23 miles 7/18 - 28 miles 7/19 - 27 miles 7/20 - 17 miles 7/21 - 17 miles 7/22 - 28 miles 7/24 - 5 miles 7/25 - 23 miles 7/26 - 28 miles 7/28 - 23 miles 7/29 - 23 miles - did a great job avoiding running Wednesday through…