Critically Massive

Yesterday was the second Critical mass of my life and it was AMAZING! If I've said before that I like biking in groups, I like even better biking in a group of about 150. The weather is nice and finals are just far enough away, loads of people decided to go for a Critical Mass ride. In that light the ride was incredibly fun and full of new experiences. Here's a shot of the group going over the Hennepin Avenue bridge:

We were in the middle of the pack. The month before traffic was able to get by on this bridge, not this month!

When there is such a large group there are actually Critical Mass techniques, mostly for the protection of bikers and annoyance of drivers. At intersections people actually stand with their bikes in front of cars until everyone rides by, so that the car can't make a mad dash through the crowd. That's quite dangerous. Plenty of people fell off their bikes anyway, there was no need for added car danger. I didn't get a shot of the tactics, but I did get a good picture of a "rally." I forgot what Andy called it. At the intersection of Hennepin and Lagoon in Uptown the ride stopped and a bunch of people rode around in circles. Then they picked up their biked and chanted: "Whose streets? Our streets!"

Bike "gang"

It was really funny. Then they did that again at another intersection, except it was interrupted by fire trucks. I got a video of that one and it sounds pretty badass. So once I figure out how to get a video on here, I'll post it (any help would be appreciated). This was quite the exciting night, I was really happy to be apart of it. Especially since it is for a good cause, people really should bike more. Andy's idea of a legal Critical Mass would be even better though, because then drivers would be annoyed, but not have any legal defense against us.

Here are some random pictures that I took because I was excited about being able to ride my bike and not fall off while taking pictures. Also, for the interest of Pete, I rode Paddy:

Paddy the bike. I wrapped those handlebars myself with the orange tape. That's why it looks so bad.

Andy and his friend Patrick, leaning on each other. They got tired.

I made sure that my helmet matched my shirt, always looking my best.

Ross on Delilah.

Going under the Washington Avenue Bridge, I think this is a pretty picture.

Downtown Minneapolis, this was taken the second round through.

Relay for Life

Last night was the University of Minnesota's Relay for Life, a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. SANE got a team together and I participated. The whole point is to have a member of your team walking around the track at all times (the event took place in the field house) for 12 hours. That's a long time.
At any rate, these events tend to be a bit hard for me to get through and I've been thinking about my grandma a lot. She died of breast cancer when I was eight. Seeing the survivors walk the first lap was difficult because I wish that my grandma could have been walking with them. I pictured her trailing behind with a smile on her face. This whole idea of people surviving cancer is amazing to me. Growing up, I didn't really understand what was wrong with my grandma, just that she was sick and had something called cancer. For the longest time, I think until just last year, I didn't think of cancer as anything you could survive. Once you had it, that was the end and it was going to be horrible.
My greatest regret is that I didn't get to know my grandma that well. I was young, when we'd go to Indiana she would always have sacks of goodies for us. I remember her being a good person, always thinking of others. One time when she was in Minnesota, she noticed that I had two very nice combs, and my mom had one come which was missing a lot of teeth. She taught me to share and not be selfish with my things, and encouraged me to give one of my nice combs to my mom. I don't have many memories of my grandma, and the ones I do have are fading. I never really understood why my grandma wore wigs, but I remember them on little stands in her bedroom. One time she took her wig off for me to show me her hair that was growing back. There was just a little bit, and it was as soft as baby's hair. I couldn't understand why she didn't have hair, and I didn't know the significance of it growing back.
I wish I knew her better. I wish I knew all of my family better, we seem to take each other for granted at times. And so with Uncle Ron's death this morning, I really wish I could have gotten to know him better. He was so funny and full of life. But that's all I really know, and I wish I knew more. I'm mostly sad about the things I missed out on in life.
At times I feel like I don't value the relationships I do have with people. It has been very easy for me to write off people in my life. Though now I do really enjoy the people I have become friends with, they are much more caring, intelligent, and interesting people than who I hung out with in high school. I don't want to lose the people I have become close with, and I don't want to lose the family that I have before I get to know them better. Sometimes I wish I was a better communicator and not so awkward so that this would be easier.

Dental Habits

I'm really excited about this new Listerine I bought. You're all probably excited too, since there is a surprising amount of interest in my dental health.

My daily dental regimen, soft bristle toothbrush from Boynton, two kinds of floss for alternating days, and anticavitiy mouthwash!

Generally when I see something pretty-colored, I want it. That's what happened when I first saw new purple Listerine. However, this is actually ANTICAVITY! So hopefully it helps me get fewer cavities and I won't be so embarrassed when I go to the dentist. This is a delightful addition to my flossing activity.

Superfly and Made of Steel

How I spent my Easter Vacation. This past weekend Tony, his girlfriend Laura, Clare and I took a jaunt to Indiana to celebrate Easter with my family. It was quite fun, I enjoy going home and spending some quiet time with my parents and animals. My cat Tipper is really fat now and it's funny. Chip is as rambunctious as ever, though getting greyer around his eyes.

Windmills just south of Rockford, IL.

Friday we got home in time to get some food. Clare and I took pictures at the old graveyard. It was rather sad, there were a lot of infant graves. Though it was cool to see really old head stones, mostly from the mid 1800s. After we got back there was a rousing game of Trivial Pursuit, where I strategically chose Clare as my partner because I knew she would kick ass. And we won.

Anne Death's death was no laughing matter. Nor did anyone see it coming.

Saturday was a bit entertaining. Tony's friends who go to Purdue, Jon and Peter came for a visit. We decided to take the ATV Dad had purchased a few weeks ago for a ramble through the woods while Mom and Dad hid eggs for the egg hunt. It started all well and fine, we were having a good time. Until I decided to try my hand at the wheel and travelling up a steep embankment with a curve. My lack of experience driving 4-wheelers/anything with a motor for the past 7 months came into play when I didn't let off the throttle, didn't turn hard enough, and missed the brake. I hit a bump (that bump that occurs when you go off a trail), flew off, and rolled down the hill a bit until I hit a small tree. The ATV hit a larger tree.

Before.

After.

The amazing thing about this fall is that despite flying through the air aways, hitting the ground, and rolling down a hill - I'm okay. I was super sore and in lots of pain Saturday, but that's mostly gone away. I probably have a total of 4 small bruises. The most injured part of my body is my right foot that got all scratched up because somehow my shoe AND sock fell off. So now I'm just horrified that I managed to break something really expensive. Though the ATV starts now, it'll probably cost a lot to fix it. Not to mention how un-fun it is to push something like that up a hill.

After we finally made it back to the house, we had our Easter egg hunt, which was loads of fun as usual. Then we had delicious dinner. That night we watched The Wind that Shakes the Barley, which made my day, even if we had to keep stopping it to let the DVD cool down.

The ride home was incredibly not fun, especially since my muscles were really stiff, and got stiffer the more I didn't move. Also, now I have a healthy fear of anything with a motor. The whole time I was driving I kept feeling like I was going to lose control of the car and we'd all go flying into a ditch. So I'm really glad I don't drive, and that I power my own way of getting around on my bike.

Things that make me happy: Tony got a Peachy-Pooh finally from Maple Corner.

Not as delicious as it sounds.

I also flossed last night.

Quickie

The Minnesota Daily had a picture from Critical Mass last Friday. Their estimate was 30 people, mine was a bit high I guess. This picture is from the Washington Avenue Bridge. I actually watched the girl take this picture. So I'm to the left more, out of the shot.


I've also flossed for 7 days in a row now. Go me!