Projects & Mowbray Mtn...

I have a love hate relationship with my project... and Mowbray Mtn. The first sometimes affects the latter...

1 - This project is both a godsend and hell on earth at times. I love 90% of the people I work with... really. I've made some amazing friends and great business contacts over the past year. That being said, the 10% of whom I can not stand... make the most noise and sometimes make me want to pull my hair out. Which leads to a difficult decision. I have the opportunity to leave this project and join another one where I would have more of a managerial role. A bit of a quandry and the pros & cons with either decision are:

Current Project -
Pro - Those 90%
Con - Those 10%
Pro - I can bring my kicka$$ new Madone 5.5 w/ SRAM Force every week w/ the hope to ride w/ the local bike club
Con - Most of the time my beautiful new bike just sits in the hotel room b/c of the work day never ending
Pro - 4 hours driving distance from home meaning I can change my schedule rather easily to be here early or go home early...
Con - Atlanta Monday morning & Thur evening traffic
Pro - Hotel is awesome and right next to a great gym
Con - Losing airline status/miles
Pro - Relatively easy role
Con - Too easy role
Pro - Met some great locals who I ride and hang out with
Con - Ever changing scope
Pro - Get to see how my company & this customer shutdown a project
Con - Project may never end
Pro - Customer really likes me and mentioned they'll pay extra to keep me
Con - Working weekends / Can't ever make weekend plans w/ hubby & friends (&)
Con - Constantly packing for multiple weeks b/c never know if I'll have to work the weekend

New Project:
Pro - Mgmt Role
Con - On the Left Coast
Pro - San Diego rocks!
Con - Flying to CA every week
Pro - Great riding
Con - Can't ride my new Madone
Pro - Can ship my old Madone 4.5 there (hence why I bought the new Madone)
Con - Thursday night red-eyes
Pro - More miles and better airline status
Con - More hours clocked in a plane
Pro - Can sleep while on a flight... can't do that currently while driving...
Con - One less night at home w/ the hubby
Pro - New Client
Con - New Client could be as difficult as current one
Pro - Project is from the new group I belong to at work
Con - Could be short-term and then have me on the bench
Pro - Could be long-term and a real career booster
Con - Unknown regarding the folks I'll be working with
Pro - More consistent than current project
Pro - My manager's manager's manager had me in mind to go to this project

Okay... lots of pros and cons... and they aren't exactly one for one... I'm leaning toward staying... but really torn...

2 - Mowbray Mtn... when I do get away from work at a reasonable hour on Tuesdays... I join the local bike club for a 34 mile jaunt... through some rollers and up to... Mowbray Mtn. A 3 mile 6-7% grade climb that at 8 or 9 am would be perfectly fine... but by the time I'm at the base of the climb... which is normally 6:45 pm... I might feel like a million bucks... or I might want to just go to bed... The last two weeks... it's been the latter. But... when asked the question, "You climbing tonight?" Is there any other answer other than, "of course..."??? If someone asks you, you have to do it... right? Only if you avoid the question can you get out of it with some slight hint of dignity... Mowbray Mtn wouldn't be such a bear if it weren't 1 - the steepest at the very beginning and 3/4 the way in... 2 - After a full 10 hour day at work... 3 - In an environment that is humid as hell... alas... It's a good climb... would probably be considered a Cat1 or 2... Not nearly as long as climbs like Caesar's Head, but definitely steeper... and rather depressing when I'm passed by Cat 1-3 riders who blast past me going double my speed... but... at least there are those who pass me at the beginning, whom I catch up to and pass at the end b/c I saved some energy... now that is a wonderful feeling!

Anyway... this note has been rather informational in nature and not a lot of prose to it... I'll work harder next time... towards the end of the work week my brain tends to just blurt out information rather than think in full sentences! Maybe this weekend after rest, hubby & puppy time, a few rides, and perhaps a trip to see the new Harry Potter... I'll be ready for the real world again...

Customers, Weather, and why I'm here

I'm new to this whole blogging thing but have been thinking about it for a while now. First things first, Hi, I'm the Wandering Cyclist! If it's a weekday you'll find me in some part of the US working for a customer hoping that the weather holds, the customer is nice, and I can get out of work at a reasonable hour to ride my bike with the local bike club. If it's a weekend, I'm either riding with my hubby/cycling team/fundraising team, or I'm unpacking, packing, working, cleaning, cooking, sleeping, doing yard work, doing laundry or relaxing. So, as you can see... Monday through Thursday the options are simple, work, ride, eat, sleep. The weekends however... are a complete mess. This is my life and I love it!

For work... I wander... however as of today I've been on the same project for precisely 1 year. Not typical and especially not bad given the current economy. It started slow and was only suppose to be a short-term gig... that turned into 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and now... will probably end up at 13 months. Where to next? Possibly the left coast (did I mention I'm an East Coast gal?)... I'm sure with future blogs you'll hear me drone on and on about customers, the late nights, 6 12's, etc, but I'll try to keep the complaining to a minimum. After all, what do I have to complain about? More about that to come in future blogs...



So where does the "Cyclist" part of my name come from? Well, at the end of August I'll have had my road bike for 1 year... and I'm looking forward to celebrating that event! Why? Cycling changed my life, saved my marriage, and gave me a theme. A good friend who was a runner took up cycling and convinced me to try it. I was already mountain biking and enjoying the heck out of that... so why not get a roadie and see what this "it" sport is all about? It didn't take long to jump head first into this crazy two-wheeling society and convince the hubby to do so as well. Cycling has a rather high barrier to entry, however some really great local bike shops make it rather painless... and sites like bonktown.com feed the need to get all the right gear.

So... here I am... the Wandering Cyclist... sharing my journey