Adopting Senior Dogs: An Emotional Week That Nearly Broke Me

There were multiple times this week when I thought I was going to have to put Lacey to sleep. I knew when I was adopting senior dogs that this was what I had signed up for: to give her the best days, months or years of her life that were left. But when that suddenly seemed to be here this week I selfishly wasn’t ready.

All of the pain, grief, loss, and trauma that I’ve held for the past 34 years spilled out when it became evident that she might not make it. I found myself mourning my first marriage, traumas from my childhood, and the most recent break up. So many unresolved things came to light and all I could do was cry, pet my sweet pup and tell her it was ok to go. 

I think I’ve cried more this week than I have all of the last 10 years. I am cried out.

Somehow despite years of work in therapy, it took sweet Lacey potentially leaving this world to unleash all the feelings I’ve been holding back for years.

So if you see me over the next little bit and I seem a little extra, I’m feeling a lot more feelings than usual and my therapist is taking a holiday. I’m doing my best, just like we all are. 

As for the pup? Well, Lacey seems to be on the mend and was even willing to venture out with me for a walk dressed in her Halloween costume. (She needs a coat, but I haven’t gotten her one yet- this seems pretty good as a replacement.) 

Bike Giveaway!

This bike is too small for me and I’d like to give it to someone who is need of a bike.

This isn’t a fancy bike - it’s an 8x2, 26” REI brand Junior’s CX bike, but would work as a small adult road, cx or training bike. It’s currently got a training tire on the back that would need to be changed out before it’s ridden on the road (for safety purposes) but is otherwise mechanically sound.

Please feel free to nominate yourself, a neighbor, a friend or anyone else. I’ll pick someone in the next couple of days- ideally would love to give this to a front-line or essential worker.

Please send me a message letting me know a bit about the person and why they should get the bike!

Humanoids of Surly Feature

As long time readers know, I’ve been a fan of Surly Bikes for a long time. Basically since I started riding bikes as an adult. So when they reached out to me a bit ago to ask if I would be interested in being featured on their Humanoids of Surly Blog, I was over the moon!

The blog post came out yesterday and the response has been overwhelming. I don’t know what weird little corner of the internet I exist in, but thank you all for making it so supportive, friendly and welcoming.

Check out the Surly blog here and look for more fun stuff soon!

Humanoids of Surly Blog Post

Why I love using a trainer to ride indoors

I had an indoor bike trainer a few years ago – it made a really good door stop and dust collector but I really didn’t ride it much… it was hard to set up, loud, and I had no idea what sort of resistance level I was working with. If you asked me what brand it was I couldn’t tell you – I had bought whatever seemed decent in an attempt to keep riding through the Seattle winter. Clearly I didn’t listen to my friends and all the internet advice that told me to spend a few extra bucks for a Smart Trainer. I ended up hating the trainer and hardly ever riding it.

Fast forward three years and I’m back on the trainer game, this time off to a much more successful start. I’ve got the Saris M2 Smart Trainer and have already logged nearly 200 miles indoors! While it’s not a replacement for carefree days outside in the sun, it’s a darn good backup when it’s raining, too smoky to breathe, or you know, a global pandemic.  Read on for details on how you can win a Saris trainer….

Ready to jump on the trainer!

Why I love my trainer

Here’s a few other reasons why I’ve become a convert to using a Smart trainer:

• Easy to set up

• Connects with online cycling apps like Rouvy and Zwift, where you can ride in real-time with friends and strangers!

• Realistically simulates real-world riding, including hill climbing and descending

• It’s actually a really good work out!

Setting up your trainer

A quick word on the setup. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I am literally the least handy or mechanically inclined person in the world. My curtains literally fell down a day after I put them up. So when I say this trainer is easy to set up, I’m not lying. From box to riding, it was about 15 minutes, including the digital connections! It’s got fancy integrated cadence, speed and power data and dual ANT+ FE-C and Bluetooth sensors, so you really don’t need any other connections too.

I do think a lot of people would do a double-take at seeing my touring bike on a trainer, but you know what, ride what you got, right? Full disclosure, I bought a cheap road bike that I intended to use as a trainer bike, but it’s really ill-fitting. So with a quick tire change (**very important – make sure if you’re using a trainer you’re using either a smooth tire or a tire intended for use on a trainer!**), I was able to use my Surly on the M2 trainer. Sure I don’t need the racks and fenders and safety pizza, but why not ride my favorite and most comfortable bike?

It’s honestly kind of funny – when I’m riding outdoors I hardly ever pay attention to speed, watts, cadence – I’m out there to ride.  But indoors, I guess because there isn’t scenery to look at or bakeries to stop at, the stats are pretty fun.

The Saris M2 is a “wheel-on” trainer, so you can use your current set-up (as long as your tires are smooth.

I’m really looking forward to continuing to ride my trainer and improve my fitness with it. Most winters, I don’t ride very much and then every spring, it’s a bit of a slog to get my legs back into riding shape for touring and bikepacking season. I’m hopeful that riding indoors will keep build my endurance and stamina throughout the winter so when the good riding weather comes around again, I’ll be able to go further and recover faster!

Want to join me in the trainer fun? Well, lucky you, I’ve partnered up with Saris and Machines for Freedom to help promote the Ultimate Indoor Cycling Giveaway! Go here and enter to win a slew of really amazing prizes including:

* MP1 Nfinity trainer platform
* H3 direct drive smart trainer
* TD1 trainer desk
* 1-year subscription to ROUVY
* PLUS! Machines For Freedom Essential Cycling Short
*The Luxe Cropped Base
*The Summerweight Long Sleeve Jersey in the new Moonlight Print
*The Twilight Jacket
* AND! New Insulated Water Bottles in Palmera to stay hydrated!

Kailey Kornhauser and I will also be hosting a series of Friday rides at Noon PST on Zwift we’re calling “All Bodies on Bikes.” These will be no-drop virtual rides where we can sweat together virtually! Find me on Zwift (Marley Blonsky), follow me, and I can invite you to the meetups!

Good luck and see you on the trainer!!  

Giveaway link: https://www.saris.com/page/saris-x-machines-giveaway