Western Spirit Cycling

There I was: in the office. I was supposed to be working on the budget the other day…sound familiar???…and I couldn’t keep my brain from daydreaming about going on a bike ride. So, what does any logical employee do?

I quietly closed the doors to the office, opened up my internet browser, and googled “Mountain Biking Video White Rim”.

To my surprise, the Western Spirit White Rim video was #3 in the google search! I went to our site and watched all five White Rim videos. It was awesome. I then proceeded to watch some other videos on our site. I got it out of my system and went straight back to work. I swear.

Have you ever waited 9 months for something? A bike trip? A baby?!?!?

I am getting anxious. My baby is due in 2 weeks, and I won’t be on a bike trip for another year at least. Right now my world is full of brand new diaper bags, changing pads, onesies, reusable diapers, and waiting.

Is there such a thing as ‘waiting-phobia’? You know, the fear of waiting? I ask because I have been waiting so long that I fear I might fear waiting from now on!

Otherwise, my desk is temporarily distracted with payroll, taxes, and budgeting!

We recently sent out postcards to all of our previous guests in our database, and we have noticed that many of our guests have moved! So, the Western Spirit Team is joining forces to update the database and get in touch with previous guests.

That’s where the story begins.

I was calling a handful of ‘return to sender’ cards on Monday. It was the last card of the day. I think it was 6pm Texas time. I said, “Your postcard was returned…have you moved?” She said, “Oh I’m so sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to go on a trip this year!”

Well, that happens, so I just asked for her new address so that I could update the database. She hurriedly replied, “No, see-I got pregnant last year, and now I have a 5 month old baby, and I’m going to miss out on my bike trip this year!”

You can just imagine what happened next! We proceeded to have a 20 minute conversation about babies, birth, pregnancy, and biking with babies! She told me all about her Chariot trailer. I told her how excited I was to bike around with my baby to be (due in 3 weeks or less!)

We ended the conversation with best wishes and hopes that we might see each other on a Western Spirit Family Trip in 2010. I can’t wait.

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Other than growing a baby in my belly, there’s not much else happening in my life these days. January is definitely a time for reflection, introspection, and TRIP PLANNING!!! 

I was looking at the trips we already have lining up for the Spring, and I must say, I wanna go! There’s a Sonoran Desert Tour that just sounds fabulous. I’ve actually not ever been down to Tucson to ride. I hear the singletrack is awesome in the Santa Rita Mountains! Saguaros, chollas, barrel cactus, prickly pear, and ocotillo-perfect desert beauty.

Well, I’ll be looking more into the fall for myself. My baby’s due February 20th, so that makes any of our cool Spring trips out of the question. But believe me, I am taking this peaceful time in January to plan my trips for the year!!!

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So, I just watched a few of the new videos posted on our website. I must say, they are all very well done and inspiring. Yeah. Inspiring to the point where I am crawling out of my skin to get back on my bike! I wanna go biking!

Maybe they will have the same effect on you?!?! Check out my favorite new video:

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Christmas time! What a time. I must admit that I did not do the “shop-till-you-drop” thing this year…or for the past 10 years I suppose. Chad (the lucky father of my growing child and love of my life) asked me, “What do you need for Christmas this year?” I said, “A new camera…and a massage…and a night light…oh, and a bivy for the Chariot bike trailer we’re buying for the baby in my belly.”

I then asked him, “What do YOU need for Christmas?” Chad replied, “A book, a coffee mug, and a new pair of sunglasses.”

We live in Moab, UT. So needless to say, much of our shopping is done online. BUT, we were lucky enough to find some of the things locally-a massage right from Chad’s hands, a night light at a local gift shop, and a book and mug at Arches Book Company. Not bad for keeping it local. As for the rest, the purchases were made online. No bustle.

What’s the meaning of Christmas? For us this year, Christmas was the excuse to get the stuff that we couldn’t justify buying in November. But the real gift I received this year was a gift from myself. Being almost 9 months pregnant and having an entire 12 pound free-range organic turkey cooking in the oven for just me and my husband was the best Christmas gift I have ever had!

I just had a visit yesterday with the Midwife. All is well, and we have 8 weeks to go (give or take 2 weeks) which means that I have 8 weeks until I get to ride my bike again, right?

Maybe I’m too hopeful? My friends who have had children are not so optimistic. OK-I hear you. But, can I daydream at least?

My dream….Costa Rica in February. Western Spirit has a bike trip going to Costa Rica La Vuelta Sur (the Southern Tour) in February. Mmmmmmm. Rainforest. Volcanoes. The Pacific Ocean. Beaches. Rivers. On this trip I would get to ride my bike, hike across the Irazu volcano, raft the Pacuare River, sea kayak in the Pacific, and eat great food all week long. Multi-sport sounds really good to me right now, as I sit at my computer and blog my heart out.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I could not be happier to be pregnant right now in my life. I would not trade anything for the experience that I’m going to have giving birth in February. Not even Costa Rica. Really. I’d rather be sitting in the birthing tub than sitting in the Pacuare or the Pacific. Next year? We’ll see. My dreams might be changing as quickly as the shape of my belly. I may just crave the comfort of a place like the Grand Tetons to take my little boy. Who knows?

Right now, I’m just dreaming of biking and Christmas ham.

Hmmmm. So what do all of these things have in common? Chocolate. Sex. Biking.

I can remember the last time I did each of these!

Since I’m nearing the end of my pregnancy, I have noticed some ‘changes’ in my behavior. First: chocolate. I want it so badly, and I really need to stop. It’s not the weight that concerns me (well, maybe a little), but it’s the SUGAR! It’s no good for the baby to have so much sugar. I am barely 5′2″, and the baby measured to be in the 77th percentile. When I eat chocolate, the little one does a party dance that just wrecks my ribs! So, I’m cutting back. My last bite was 15 minutes ago.

Second: sex. Now, don’t think you are going to get anything juicy from me here. I’M PREGNANT for God’s sake! But, I have been enjoying something better…It’s a rare phenomenon that I thought was just myth until it happened to me. I fell in love again with my husband, Chad. I can’t describe it. I just love him more and more every day. The ‘little things’ that once drove me crazy (almost to psychoanalysis) now just roll off the back. What a love drug! And no, I won’t tell you when the last time was in this category!

Finally: biking. I am not going to count my bike commute since it has become more infrequent anyway (read my last blog-Doc. says I need to walk more), but instead my last mountain biking trip. Hold on a second…I’m starting to tear up. Really, I’m tearing! May 21st I hoped on my bike and soared down the big decent and onto the White Rim. It was a Western Spirit trip, so naturally the food was yummy! But the best part was the ride. It’s not super duper technical. It’s just gorgeous and fun fun fun. On this particular trip we had rain every day which is pretty unusual for the desert. It was quite possibly one of my favorite trips ever. Just to follow the water down sections of slickrock-just to splash through huge potholes filled with brown water on the trail-just to stop and rinse my face in other crystal clear potholes off the trail filled with that afternoon’s cool rain. Oh man, I wanna go back there.

Funny enough, it was just after that trip that Chad and I got the news that would keep me from anymore trips for the season. PREGNANT. PREGNANT. PREGNANT.

I wouldn’t change anything for the world, but I have been fantasizing about having a zipper on my belly so I could take the baby out for an afternoon and ride the Slickrock Bike Trail up in Sand Flats. I’ll just have to wait.

Emily ‘the pregnant one’ Niehaus

From Emily in the office:

We’re starting to get the cold bite in the air here in Moab. The shade feels like mini ice caves…but then I burst out into the sun, the icicles melt, and I’m warm again.

I grew up in Ohio, and I had the opportunity to ride my bicycle to school. It was so much fun. I always loved the freedom of the ride. As I got older though, the ride became less interesting…and I soon turned my focus onto boys and high school football games!

I’ve been living it up in Moab for the past 6 years where my bike commute returned! What a lifestyle choice I have made. I have lived and worked in many different places where the commute was too far or dangerous. I’m so lucky to again get on my bike in the morning and ride to work.

I’m pregnant these days, and my doctor told me that I need to walk as much as possible. SO, I’ve been missing my bike ride every morning. I’m still taking every opportunity I can to ride my bike around town to run errands, but for now the bike is parked at my house when I come to work.

I’m looking forward to having this baby! Like a geek, I have researched all the different stroller combinations out there. My husband Chad and I were psyched to find on Chariot’s website that they sell a bike trailer/stroller combo that would be perfect for us! While the babe is still little, we’ll use an attachment called the ‘baby bivy’ and stroll the kid around town (it’s like an infant car seat for a bike trailer). When the babe is biggger, it’s back to biking!!!

I’m looking forward to next fall. I plan on riding the White Rim with Western Spirit, so I’ll have the Spring and Summer to get my bike legs back. BUT I’m really excited for the Summer of 2010 when me, my 1 year old, and my husband can all go on one of Western Spirit’s family trips. (I’m thinking the Redwoods.) We’ll have the opportunity to bring our bike trailer along. Chad and I will get the chance to share trail riding and camping with the little one and not have to do any of the cooking or logistics!!!

Anyway, my commute…what a hoot!