Weekend Ride Pics and Still no Baby...

We headed up to Bear Creek on Saturday so I could try out my 29er on the 5 mile climb up to Potatopatch Mtn. For whatever reason, I've never had the opportunity to ride my SS all the way to the top, so I figured what better time than when at 38 weeks...anything to pass the time, right?

Crazy enough, I made it without too much trouble, although without working abdominal muscles, I couldn't generate a lot of power on the really steep section of road and had to resort to a cadence of what felt like 30 rpm. Dreadfully slow it seemed on that section, but overall, we were the same speed as going a pretty good clip on geared bikes.

After making poor Chris (who'd much rather ride singletrack) suffer up that climb, he wanted to go down Bear Creek, which I wasn't totally jazzed about because I knew I'd have to be slow and I knew it would be muddy. But knowing that compromise is important, we headed down the slightly squishy Bear Creek Trail. I stopped about halfway down the downhill for a bathroom break and we heard some strange animal snarl/growl/I don't even know...that I'd NEVER heard before. Chris said it sounded like a cougar....and of course it came from down the hill where we had to go. I usually think the peeps who claim they've seen cougars in North Georgia are full of it, but we stayed close together anyway...just in case!

That was the highlight of our ride as the rest of the downhill was pretty slow and uneventful for me...oh, except for us both getting doused with chiggers or something in the grass field before we hit the hard left onto the singletrack. All of a sudden we were both itching like crazy!



I like this picture...I look normal sized.



So lets see here...I'm carrying 16 lbs of baby and baby related goop, plus 6 lbs in my pack (yes, I weighed it). Please tell me I'm going to feel fast and light after she is born??!!



Gosh, I'm freaking huge!



Sunday we finished putting shelves up in the nursery closet so now I can officially say that room is DONE! I was having Braxton Hicks contractions all day, so I was beginning to get excited. I went for a long walk/jog that evening to move things along. As I was laying there in bed trying to fall asleep they seemed to get stronger so I was like whoo hoo!!! FINALLY! But no...they subsided by morning and now I haven't felt a peep. Bummer because I really didn't feel like going into work today...Please tell me this isn't going to drag on for another two weeks!

Fall Weekend in August

We just had a great weekend, with crisp fall-like temperatures. I was glad I convinced Chris that we should go riding rather than clean out the garage on Saturday, because it was absolutely gorgeous up in the Mountains and dare I say even a bit cool in the shade. It would have been a great weekend to camp up there, but the thought of being on a Thermarest didn't sound all that appealing.

Sunday we headed to Red Top Mountain State Park, where Chris spent some time teaching orienteering skills to some folks while I did my pregger bike/hike brick. Another fine day in the woods and another week I can cross off my calendar. Supposedly only 3 more (or less?) to go!

Bricks

..or more appropriately named...my "pregger brick". It consists of 5-6 laps on the Red Top Bike Trail on my singlespeed and then a hike around the 5 mile Homestead Trail. I've gotten to the point where about 2-3 hours is all I feel like riding, so I'm putting the usual long Wednesday ride on hold for a few weeks in lieu of some shorter workouts closer to home. I still think I'll drag Chris up to the mountains on the weekends, after all, I won't feel so bad if my water breaks in my OWN car! Perhaps driving on some crappy, washboardy FS roads would help in that department??

We had our final baby shower last night, again at Pappadeaux. Great eatin', except for the fact that all that spicy cajun food really works me over at this point! Got a lot of cute gifts and I just finished putting a baby swing together. I hope she uses this stuff for longer than 3 months...because if not we'll have one mother of a garage sale!

Off to the doc today for my weekly checkup where they essentially just weigh me and check my blood pressure, then send me home to cook some more. Good times!

Strong AR

We had a nice weekend up in Tennessee where Chris raced the Strong AR with Kim and Goble. I had meant to ride around and take pictures of them on the bike, but they ended up moving faster than I predicted so I missed them and ended up never seeing them on the bike.

I did manage to get in a good ride on the Big Frog Loop, where I saw 2 bears...one of which I nearly collided with coming around a corner on a downhill. He heard me coming down the road and was trying to get away, but ended up running across the road right in front of me. Thankfully I wasn't going super fast and my brakes work well! Always lots of wildlife up near the Big Frog Wilderness, but I was happy once I made it back to the main FS roads where the racers were riding..just to scare off any other bears and boars that happened to be hanging around. Did I mention I really don't like boars?

Chris and his team did well, although a somewhat conservative approach on some of the bike points cost them time that took them out of contention for the win. They still finished 3rd among some stout competition though, so it was still a good showing for them and they took home some cash for their efforts.

We spent Saturday night in Etowah, TN at Kim's parent's cabin, which was nice and peaceful. Sunday we just lounged around, dried gear, and consumed calories.

Now that the race is over and I am in my 37th week, I am going to start my 5 mile a day hiking regimen (on my non-bike ride days). Hopefully all that walking around will spur some action and the little kicker can make her appearance a couple of weeks early!

Tick Tock

That's me a ticking-time bomb...wondering when I will actually pop. I'm less than a month out so I guess it could be any day now. Thankfully it wasn't yesterday, as we went for a MTB ride in the rain, but in all honesty, it was nice to not have the sun beating down on us. And hopefully, it won't be this Saturday either, as Chris is racing at the Strong AR and I think his teammates will be just slightly annoyed if I go into labor and force them to pull out of the race. Frankly, I'll be slightly annoyed too, because I think his team will do really well. Next week though...I'm completely open!

We had another doc visit/ultrasound today and by their estimations, the little porker is up to 6 lbs 2 oz already. I guess it's all the apple dumplings, ice cream, and chocolate milk (all "recovery" food) I've been eating. So much for having a small baby, as I'm sure she'll pack on another 2+ pounds if I go the entire 40 weeks...ugh. It also just goes to show that the amount of weight you gain does not determine how big the kid is gonna be when it pops out, so somebody please tell those doctors who recommend a 30 lb minimum weight gain that it just makes the women plump up, not their offspring.

Gotta go stretch my legs on a hike tonight and maybe will go ride at Red Top tomorrow.

Jacks River Falls and Tanasi

Had a fun weekend out in the woods. Convinced Chris to ignore all the household chores we needed to do and instead go for a hike to Jacks River Falls on Saturday. It was pretty as usual, but very crowded. Lots of girls in bikinis, but I was afraid to take my shirt off for fear of making everyone run and hide!

On Sunday, we headed up to the Ocoee Whitewater Center so that Chris, Bryan and Kim could do a little training before the Strong AR this weekend. They decided to do mostly forest service roads, so I joined them on their ride. I have to say the riding is getting tougher on me, but I managed to survive another 3 hours in the saddle. I'm really starting to have a hard time getting enough calories in for both me AND my passenger and my legs just aren't recovering like they used to. My body used to buffer lactic acid much more efficinently, not to mention this extra weight HAS to be slowing me down. I keep telling myself that I'll be stronger afterwards, so that is my light at the end of the tunnel!

Month 8

Allright...home stretch...with an emphasis on SSTTTTRRREEEETTTTCCCHHHH! Hopefully a month or less left of this whole baby cookin' gig. My doc said its likely that I'll be a couple of weeks early just due to my size - that was music to my ears! I hope he guessed right! I'd like to make it until August 15th, as I'd hate to interfere with Chris's plans to race the Strong AR up in Tennessee, but anytime after that, let the contractions begin!

Still riding and was able to get out on the new 29er Singlespeed on the Noontootla loop on Wednesday. Every time we head out on ride, I wonder...hmmmm...what's going to happen today...I'm hoping that I end up with some great story to tell my daughter some day about how I went into labor at Winding Stair Gap and had to ride back to the car and go to the hospital in my bike clothes. It just wouldn't be right happening any other way.

Nursery DONE!

How is it that puttting the final touches on a freaking bedroom is more exhasting than a 3.5 hour ride in the Cohuttas? We FINALLY finished our nursery yesterday but damn, I need a recovery day now!

Our color scheme was blues and greens and did I mention there are some frogs? Hopefully she won't have frog-o-phobia! It is not a "girlish" room, but blues and greens are soothing on mom's eyes, and that's what really matters at this point! I like pink on my bike jerseys, but not on my walls thank you very much...

Saturday

Had a nice ride today with Chris up near Ellijay. We essentially did the route used for Southern Cross in reverse, so we could do the big climbing at the beginning of the ride. I was a little concerned that it might be a bit over ambitious since my rides during the last 3 weeks have been in the 2 hour range (mainly due to time constraints and riding partners), but I felt pretty good and was able to climb pretty much the same as usual. I keep telling Chris that at some point I WILL get way slower, but he thinks I'm lying..

Honestly, I'm amazed that he was able to go blazing down FS 17 and 630 with no rear brake whatsoever...I wouldn't have been so brave! The pavement ride from Crandall back to FS 18 was pretty hot, especially compared to the shady forest roads, so we stopped at the river and cooled off and refueled. I dropped some crumbs from a blueberry muffin into the river and attracted some pretty big fish that came right up to me...probably tastes better than worms, so I'll remember that should I ever take up fishing (ha!).

Tomorrow we should hopefully finish the nursery and I might hit Blankets for a SS ride in between thunderstorms if I'm feeling motivated. The One9 hasn't come in yet (grr) so I'm still impatiently waiting.