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Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Austin Ironman 70.3 - Sunday November 8th

 Austin Ironman 70.3 - Sunday November 8th

2015 was declared the #YearToTri when I signed up for the Austin half ironman on December 17th of last year.  Now that is a big C-word.  The whole season has been filled with many great races, trainings, and events with a great bunch of teammates, friends, family and supporters.  I did my first Triathlon ever at the Austin Rookie Tri, coming in 7th for my division despite panicking on the swim and resorting to the side stroke as a faster stroke than “doggie paddle” since I apparently wasn’t going to be able to put my face in the water.  I went on to compete in more of the Tri series with the all-women’s Skeese Greets, the Couples Tri, and Kerrville, not to mention an epic family event at Ski to Sea, Dempsey Challenge, and many other benefit runs and rides.

Coming into the Ironman, I had to make a proactive decision about the race and how far I would go.  For those of you who do not know, on August 15th I was coming down a hill on a training ride in Austin when it began to rain.  Despite my best efforts to handle my bike appropriately given the conditions, I ended up crashing.  The bike was fairly fine, I had a number of impact points but they all would heal, but I did land on my head. The impact cracked my helmet all the way through and gave me a pretty good concussion.  The recovery from that has been long and filled with weeks of not training, frustration, and trying to do everything I need to get better to attend Kerrville, Dempsey, and the Ironman.  Despite good progress, I am still suffering from post-concussion symptoms.  As I understand it, the symptoms could last up to a year, which is no fun.  Always wear your helmet peeps.

I decided that I would do the swim, and then rest in transition 1 (T1) for a minimum of 3 minutes to reassess my ability to safely ride a bike for 56 miles with other people and road and wind conditions.  I decided ahead of time not to do the run, which was a hard decision to make and even harder to execute on race day, but it ended up being the right decision.

Photo credit: Norm Quach

Sunday morning started off so early many of you may have thought the small numbers on the clock referred to Saturday night.  It was a mere 53◦ F outside, which may be nice if you have hot chocolate and plans to sit around a fire, but was a little cold to be half dressed, barefoot, and about to hop in the water for an hour of leisurely swimming with you and 2,500 of your new best friends.  The water temperature was 69.2◦ F, which sounded like it might be nice to get into since it was colder outside, but I was worried about getting cold on the swim; you lose heat 25x faster in water than in air, and let’s be honest, I have trouble swimming in Barton Springs (68 degree spring fed water) any time of year.  The wind was blowing between 5 and 20 mph that day.  When I got in the water at 7:45 for the 11th wave of athletes, the chop on the water was high and the wind was blowing strong.  The waves were pushing me out of the water, and then I was collapsing back into the water, which wasn’t doing any favors for the dizziness in my head.  I managed to not drink too much Decker Lake water (thank goodness, because as rumor has it, there is a cooling pipe that goes through the lake from the power plant).  The second leg was with the wind, so between that and just getting my feet wet in the competition, I found my groove and really started swimming for real.  Normally the half Ironman swim is 1.2 miles long, if you follow the course markers, but with the wind and my personal need to be farther away from the elbows and flailing body parts of the other swimmers, I ended up doing 1.39 miles.  The last leg of the swim was brutal as the wind was blowing us off course.  I was forced to swim with only one arm in order to stay on course, and even then a kayaker had to come and tell me to head back the other direction.  I bet they got a lot of exercise that day getting people back onto the course.

When you stand up from being horizontal in the water for an hour (53 min in my case), sometimes it takes a minute to get your bearings and not tip over.  The event crew has volunteers in the water to help you with standing up and getting your bearings.  For me, it took them, plus hanging onto the fence to stay upright, but I didn’t lose an opportunity to ham it up for the camera.

Photo credit: Norm Quach
 After the swim, and executing my mandatory rest period, I ended up being in T1 for 14:30 (my normal average is close to 2:30); I blame it on putting on biking shorts while wet.  Never try that at home kids. 

After my tea and crumpets in T1, I hopped on my beautiful bike, The Boyfriend, to tackle 56 miles and 1,555 feet of elevation on the Austin-Manor-Elgin roads and hills.  In the last two weeks Austin has been hit by flooding (250 road closures) and high rains and winds.  Although the event coordinators tried their best to clean up the roads of debris and mark the hazards, the road conditions were less than optimal.  Oh, and for extra fun, we had wind. 

I found out on Monday how strong the conditions were for the swim and the bike.  I heard there were 100 people removed from the water and a number of ambulance calls on the ride.  I personally saw the rescue boat going back and forth in the water and one person go over their handlebars hard right in front of me on a washed out road.  I spoke with some people on the ride and they were surprised at the elevation gain and even walked some of the hills.  There were a number of spots I wasn’t thrilled about on the roads, but overall it was an amazing ride.  I am blessed to be able to train in a great area, on hills, with teammates that push my abilities and support my progress.  This made a mere 1500 feet of climbing easy for me.  The skies were clear and the temperatures warmed up.  I didn’t end up taking off my kitten jacket, but I probably could have gotten away with just a vest and arm warmers.  I got tons of compliments on my Vanderkitten gear; I had been looking forward to participating in this Tri with my kitten tri kit, so it was great to share Vanderkitten with other female athletes and hear how much they liked the kit.





The bike course took me past many roads I’ve ridden with my local team, and past fun places like the Manor corner market and the Ghost Town, complete with a bar and spooky events.  I was passed by old, young, aerobars, flat pedals, and all my teammates, who whooped and hollered when they saw me J.  Thirteen weeks of not training took its toll, but I have a great time and even managed to average 12 miles an hour (slow for me, but good for the amount of biking I’ve been doing) – and I climbed every hill on my bike!
  
Photo Credit: Irene Albright

This is me being very excited to see my mom and Amie at the end of my bike ride, and therefore the end of my Ironman.  I made a new division, called Aqua Bike Ironman 57.2 and had a great time doing it. 

Photo Credit: Irene Albright

Photo Credit: Irene Albright

A number of my local teammates were racing, as well as my friend from SF, Amy, to whom I credit getting me into racing on the bike and then into Triathlons.  My mom and BFF, Amie, came to cheer me on, and so did a number of other friends.  It is no small deal to be in the middle of a race, hurting, pushing, trying, and then all of a sudden see a friendly encouraging face.  Those moments are the fuel that lights our fires and reminds us of our determination and goals.  It meant so much to me to have supporters, near and far, on race day.  A big shout out to you all!  Thank you.
Melissa with a pile of awesome signs

Mark, Laura, Norm, Amy





Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Three brilliant days in Austin
For new Austinites or people just wanting an Austin adventure, I share this list of really great places to check out.

The first step is to log onto this website and order a travel guide:

You may consider following Austin360 on Twitter for things happening the weekend you are here, as well as checking out the local calendars.  Pick up a Chronicle for music guides.  You may also want Tabbed Out, an app that allows you to open a tab and check out at any time.

Three brilliant days in Austin
Day 1: Start off going to Kerbey Lane Café on Kerbey Lane (a must eat, alternatives to all suggestions listed below).  Although this is up on 38th street and there are multiple Kerbey choices, it is worth the trip for the atmosphere and to see the original location.  Order at least one pancake of the Gingerbread, seasonal special (pumpkin right now), or the daily special.  Get the Kerbey Queso.  After you have had those two things, then order anything you want ;-).  The migas with queso on top is fantastic, but I haven’t had anything bad there.

Head to South Congress to walk around from about Nellie street to Annie (about 6 solid blocks).  There will be odd shops, eateries, food trucks, a craft market on the weekends, and lots of eye candy.  Stop by Jo’s for a coffee, Docs or Hopdaddy’s for a beer and something fried (DO NOT leave Austin without trying fried pickles – the Alamo Draft House has my favorite fried pickles).  Swing by the Continental Club for some live music and good atmosphere.

For dinner, head out to Craft Pride on Rainey Street and order some Via 313 Pizza from the food trailer in the back.  There are a dozen really good places on Rainey street, so you won’t go hungry even if you aren’t feeling like a starch after some fantastic pancakes in the morning.

Day 2:  Walk (renting bikes would be better for this) down to the Lady Bird hike and bike trial, follow it west, cross over the Lamar bridge on the trail, continue west then cross over again at Barton Springs.  If you plug “Taco Deli Spyglass” into your iPhone maps, and ask for walking directions, you can just follow that map. Just past mile marker 1 on the Greenbelt, you will head up a step-ish trail to find yourself across the street from a fabulous breakfast taco place, Taco Deli.  It’s BYOB, so maybe pack beer and your swimsuit!

On your way back, you can stop by Barton Springs for a cool dip in the spring fed water hole (68 degrees year-round).  Austin’s city codes also allow women to be topless where men can be, so don’t be surprised to find real sunbathers among the kids running around.  Keep Austin Weird.

After you cool off, head up Guadalupe, past the main drag by campus, to find a fabulous little craft brew bar that serves French-American food, Hopfields.  There is also a decent wine selection.

In the evening, take a haunted Austin tour on Segway to hear all the dead stories, including some really great ones at the Driskoll!  There will also be a stop for the Austin bats and The Capital at night, which is gorgeous.

Round out your evening with Tex-Mex at Trudy’s.  Get the Mexican Martini and have someone else drive home.  They will cut you off after two; they are that strong.

Day 3: Get up super early to pick up some Torchy’s Tacos and Jo’s coffee so you have some munchies to stand in line at Franklin’s BBQ.  You will be in line for about 5-6 hours, so plan accordingly.  Rent chairs for $5 and bring entertainment.  Don’t go on Sunday since they won’t serve beer until after noon.  They start serving alcohol and drinks in line at 9, and open at 11.  By 9 am the line is long enough that you may or may not get food (by 2 pm).  For those of us living in the city, they allow preordering (many months out) on the first of the month.  Check out their website for more details.

If that didn’t tire you out, walk down to East 6th Street.  This is the cool part of 6th street.  Check out the jazz lounges, eateries, food trucks, and random fun stuff.  Grab a mixed cocktail at Whistlers or wine or beer at Hi-Hat.  For dinner, you can stay in that area and have Asian fusion at Qui, or head to another central part of Austin, and grab some roasted bone marrow and other amazing delectables at Arro’s.
 _________________________________________________________________________

Outtakes:
Explore Austin’s hill country.  Take a drive up to Mount Bonnell and look over the Colorado River/Town Lake.  This is a fantastic view at sunset, and romantic spot at night, but note that the park does close, so if you are up there, don’t leave your car in the parking lot as a red flag J.  On the way back down the mountain, you can stop at the arthouse, Laguna Gloria.  It costs $5 to walk around, but they currently have a Pet Sounds art exhibit that is fun.  It’s also a nice little hike around an inlet of the Colorado River.  For lunch, stop by Hula Hut and sit out on the deck overlooking the Colorado River/Town Lake.  Grab a coffee next door at Mozart’s.  They have beer there, but it’s time after this adventure to get back to real craft brews.

Or make up your own adventure.  You can find many must-east-see-do’s, if you don't believe me, see the overwhelming list of the things I could think of off the top of my head!

BBQ
Rudy’s
Snow’s
Salt Lick
Kruetz’s
County Line (great homemade bread and a location near the lake, but their BBQ isn’t my favorite)

TexMex
Trudy’s – order the Mexican Martini (get the top shelf liquor).  This puppy is so strong that they only let you order two.  Period.
Kerbey Lane
Magnolia Café
Pappasitos
Chuy’s
Hula Hut

Good food finds – a really nice dinner, reservations recommended ($$$-$$$$)
Justine’s
Arro
Qui
Uchiko
Barley Swine

Must Eats/Other food finds
Kerbey Lane (go to the one on Kerbey Lane)
Taco Deli
Torchy’s Tacos
Salt and Time

Explore Austin
AMAO – Arthouse – it costs $5 to walk around, but they currently have a Pet Sounds art exhibit that is fun.  It’s also a nice little hike around an inlet of the Colorado River.  http://theartschool.amoa.org/
Check out a tap room at a local brewery - http://bitchbeer.org/2012/08/14/your-guide-to-austin-area-brewery-tours-and-tastings/.  I’ve been up to this taproom, and it was fun, but a little north and maybe nothing super special to get a car for: http://austinbeerworks.com/
South Lamar shopping – including Book People as a must-see, and the original Whole Foods.
South Congress shopping – weird and awesome finds.  Hard to park; grab a cab or pedicab (or walk!)
Lake Travis – nothing like 11 miles of dammed lake to goggle at.  Best sunset view (but not best food) is at Oasis.

Bars - Craft Beer
Draught House – this is my Monday night haunt (tell Constance I sent you/we work together)
Hi-Hat – Great beers, but also has a really nice dry rose.  The Cuban sandwich and pretzels are good eats! (tell Habeab I sent you)
Craft Pride - craftprideaustin.com
Hopfields
ABGB

Vino, Wines, and fermented grapes
Uncorked
Vino Vino
Max’s Wine and Dive bar

Mixed cocktails
Whistler’s

Fried Chicken

Tasting rooms
-          This tasting room has specials you can only buy at the taproom. They are known for their sours and farmhouse ale specialties.
Hops and Grain
Austin Beer works
Independence Brewing Co.

Mountain Biking

Swimming Holes
Lake Travis
Hamilton Pools
Barton Springs
Schliterbahn

Getting around
Car2Go
City Bike
Pedicabs
Taxi
Bus
Light Rail


Good places to gather more details (especially if you don’t trust my recommendations ;-)):




Friday, June 20, 2014
Loire River Valley wine tour by bicycle

My girlfriends and I stayed at a Loire Valley Breaks, a cycling tour bed and breakfast place, outside of St. Nicholas de Bourgueil, in the heart of the Loire River Valley, and some of the best French wine country there is.

 What could go wrong with bikes, castles, and wine?  (Notice I’m the only one wearing a helmet.)

 

Thank goodness the French take safety seriously.  You aren’t allowed to be out after dark without one of these on… did I mention the no helmet thing?

 

 It’s okay, we took every moment on the bike seriously.










Thanks goodness, otherwise we never would have made it to the winery…

 

 

Or the castles…

And adventure awaits us...










Chateau de Villandry

I both love and freaked out a bit that we could sit at a table inside the castle and drink a bottle of wine we brought with us... in broad daylight!  Why don't I live in Europe?  They speak my language.





 











Chenoncaeau













The wine cellar of Chenoncaeau





And the fiver star restaurant on the grounds, but let's face it, I could have been *almost* as happy with wine and pie.









We rode a total of 115 miles through that region and over 1800 feet of climbing, hitting Samur, Langeis (and riding along the tour de France bike route), Villandry, Chenonceau (built and maintained by women) , Restigne, Bourgueil, and Montsoreau.  We had lots of great food, wine, adventures, and stories.  I’d highly recommend the place we stayed for all age groups.  When you go, tell Mark and Debbie I said hi. 

 

Until then, happy and safe riding.  Keep the rubber to the road.





Sunday, March 31, 2013
Easter Sunday 2013

Michael J. Albright


January 4, 1948 – March 31, 2013


"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal." ~From a headstone in Ireland


Born in the boom just after World War II, my dad grew up in rural Pennsylvania, the son of a seamstress and Navy serviceman. Unusual for the time, he learned how to sew and cook, but also played football and read everything he could get his hands on. He lived in science fiction stories, and attempted to blow up nearly everything in the school Chemistry lab.

Growing up it was clear I was my father’s daughter. I not only inherited his horrible eyesight (and good button nose), but I got his strong-headedness and lack of patience. I knew my father. He knew me. He humored me as a quite impressionable child, he tolerated me as a stubborn-know-it-all teenager, and recently we got to know each other all over again as adults.

After college, I moved to the left coast, but in the last year, I spent most of my time in Texas, going to Whole Foods every day to pick up fresh bread with my dad, stopping by SBUX for a decaf Americana (sometimes on ice) times two, and chatting with all the people that he regularly talked with – from the baristas, to the wine stockers, to the beer gurus, to the bread makers. My dad was friends with everyone.

My dad was the kind of person that if you were standing behind him in line to get coffee, or seated next to him on the plane, you would know everything about his family. He was *so* proud of his daughters and their accomplishments. As a people person, he found a way to connect to everyone, going out of his way to share experiences around those connections. He would bring back beer bottles from Japan for my cousins, Chris and Brian. He would call Brian from airports telling him which new exotic beers he was trying, and once he even stopped in Philly to have a foo foo European beer with Chris. He was a collector, both of hobbies and things, and he liked to share all of it – his love of SBUX, sand from beaches all over the world, coins, and bier deckels. While he was visiting my aunt and uncle, Steph & Rich, they went up to the the North Fork Brewery, Wedding Chapel and Beer Shrine for pizza. While there, he noticed the proprietor didn’t have a Rolling Rock pony bottle in the beer bottle collection displayed around the restaurant. He got in touch with the owner and sent the bottle up to WA to be added to the collection. This story typifies how Mike had interests as broad as daylight, an ability to strike up a conversation in person or over email with just about anyone, and took things seriously enough to follow up, as with a new beer bottle for the collection in a brewery in a godforsaken area of Washington.

Beer was obviously an important theme in my dad’s life, but it wasn’t the only one. In my childhood, he spent endless hours with us working on the dollhouses and miniature creations. He took pictures and memorialized family trips, moments and people. He will, amongst other things, be well remembered for his large camera lenses and quick flashes.

While I was in high school, he became obsessed with Jeeps – we had three in the family and I think that’s where it all started. He collected and traded and sold toy jeeps, took pictures of the Jeep everywhere we went, posted pictures, and made friends with similar interests, this time online! He also sought out others with his same name and we even met a daughter of such an acquaintance in Hawai’i, Laura Albright.

Outside of having numerous hobbies and interests, and keeping everyone up to date through the web, he also held down a very important job. He was dedicated to his work and making sure everyone had top customer service. Although he originally got into chemistry to “blow shit up”, he ended up devoting his life work to creating and training medical professionals and researchers on how and why to use medical imaging equipment. He even spent some time working on oncology research, publishing three papers on 5-FU, a chemotherapy drug he actually ended up taking to battle his cancer. So when I say my parents knew a lot about the cancer and treatment my dad was going through, I mean they knew a LOT.

Stories and thoughts came flooding in even before I asked people to share thoughts to include in this eulogy. Besides the stories above, my dad will be known for camping, Germany, computers and new tech gadgets, sending packages, sharing spices and peppers, and of course the infamous fireworks caper of 2006 in St. George Utah. Incoming plane! *Run*, I think that was the cops!

This Easter Sunday, we all lost. We each lost something unique and different. For me, I lost a friend, an adventurer, a financial consultant, a house handy-man (even in my house on the other coast!), an instructor of arts, science, and household plumbing, an inspiration to life-long learning, a lover of books and sharing stories, a fast-flashing photographer, and… my dad.

We are now the only ones bound by time and body, but until that time comes for us, our memories of him will live on.

SPREADING OF ASHES

Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them. --George Eliot

Today, we remember my dad, Mike - long before his time should have come, long before we wanted to say goodbye, and long before we had opportunities to make all the memoires we wanted. We are here on the hike and bike trail that has deep meaning for this family. My dad and mom took many walks here with their devoted black lab, Samantha. They watched this path as it was built, they meet the path regulars, they know the neighbors that live along these shores, and loved the food from the businesses nearby. In the coming months, we hope to place a thinking spot here in memorial of my dad – a bench in a place that means much to all of us.

Dad, I hope you are listening… I hope this new adventure takes you far. You will be and are greatly missed. With part of your ashes, we are delivering you back to the earth, here, in each of the places we remember you fondly and know you took enjoyment in visiting - Flour’s hike and bike path, the Grand Canyon, and the beaches and cliffs in Kauai. We will see you again one day.

OBITUARIES

The Star-Ledger (North Plainfield NJ)

The Express-Times (Easton PA)

The Evening Sun (Hanover PA)

The York Times


Wednesday, February 09, 2011


Saturday, December 25, 2010
Christmas in Arizona
The cowgirls




The neat Arizona weather we experienced while there: rain, sun, and fog!