BluepoofBikes Motorcycle Adventures

We can't shoot.

Awesome drawing by Melissa, to ease our collective pain over having the worlds' suckiest wrist shots.

Drunken Pirates update

Oh my goodness, I haven't talked about hockey in a month.  That there is just not acceptable.

The Drunken Pirates continue to impress and amaze with our mad skillz...or maybe just our enthusiastic suggestions that the other team be keelhauled or walk the plank, yarrrrr.

We're in second place in the division right now (just two points behind Nora and Wendy's team) and have a ton of scorers -- 10 out of 13 skaters have at least one point.  I've already tied my point count from last season, which is totally meaningless but nevertheless gets me all worked up.  It drives Peter insane that I pay attention to my stats, but I'm a program manager! I can't help being OCD! ;)

Anyway, we're not quite halfway through the season and I'm glad to have the chance to skate with this team for another 3 months.  

Our next game is Sunday, against the Monkeys on Ice (Andrea and Cheddah's team). :)

Burninating the Eva Bash!

Yesterday was Eva Bash, a fun mini-tournament that Eva of the Big Fat Flying Pigs put on to raise money for the AIDS LifeCycle ride.

There were four teams in the tourney; all local to the Bay Area: the Burninators, the Black List, the Bucktooth Angry Dolphins, and of course the Big Fat Flying Pigs.    So many people that I knew! :D

Peter also had a game yesterday -- the Team Danger game that was rescheduled from last Monday -- but in a different city, so I was on my own for getting to the rink.  Bwa ha ha.

Heather passes out team bandanas before the first game...I chose a cute one with frogs all over it.  I wore it in both games and it seemed to serve me well!

Game 1: Burninators vs Black List: 2-2.

Our first game was at 4:15pm against the Black List.  I played center with Jean and Jen Schwartz.  It was my first time playing center in at least a couple of months, so I was a bit rusty....and exhausted after a couple of end-to-end runs!  Being sick for six weeks apparently takes a bit of endurance outta ya...who'd'a'thunk it?

I think I might have actually knocked over Nora in this game....whether it was me or gravity, we both went down in front of the Burninators net.  I narrowly avoided being smoooooshed and Nora laughed at me that it would be my own fault if she landed on me.  ;)

We spent the whole game being even-steven for shots on goal. I think the Black List finally eked out a couple more SOG than we had, but we finished the game tied, 2-2.  

Between-games goofing off

There were four games in the tournament; we had game 1 and game 4.  That left a couple of hours in-between the games for general mayhem.  Most of us stuck around the rink and chatted, tried to find some food, and watched NHL playoff games.

Kim (who was on the Black List and thus only had a one-game break) demonstrates the height of must-dress-quickly hockey fashion:

The Big Fat Flying Pigs team mascot and...I think the pig is actually an MP3 player:

Our locker room, complete with Trogdor and his thatched-roof cottage.  Amazingly, women's locker rooms generally don't smell that bad, even during tournaments.  Boys, don't you ever wash your gear??

The Sharks game started about 20 minutes before we had to go back to the locker room and get dressed for our second game.  That was enough time to see Joe Thornton's goal, though! Welcome to the playoffs, Joe, nice to finally see you.

Game 2: Burninators vs Bucktooth Angry Dolphins: 4-2.

Our first time beating the Dolphins! Hooray!  :D 

Playing the Dolphins is always really fun.  I know almost everyone on the team and they're good, strong players.   Luckily for me, a couple of them are even on the Drunken Pirates, my normal NCWHL team! :)

I played left wing for this game, with Jean on right wing and Becky on center.  Becky is all kinds of awesome to play with; she can play any position quickly, smartly, and damn well.  My hero!  

I had my best play of the tournament at the end of game 2; Becky brought it into the zone and passed to me; I deked around a defenseman then brought the puck way over to the righthand side of the net to get around the other D.  I had a wide open backhand shot, which the goalie was able to get, but it was a decent shot on goal, at least!

Liz commented after the game that she saw our line doing some nice things; hopefully that means we'll play together again.  That was a fun line.  

After-game revelries.

After our game, everyone got dressed and reconvened in the sports bar for raffles, food, and Sharks-watching.

Lots of cool raffle prizes -- I won an iPhone cover. :)

Andrea wasn't sure what to make of winning a funny beefcake guys-in-funny-drag calendar....

Jennie and Graham scored the women's golf clubs:

Sharon's going to have to take up scrapbooking now...we expect a beautiful montage of our next Burninators game!!

Fortunately Tracy's new purse matches her Dolphins orange tracksuit.  Whew.

Liz and Cara hang out and represent our team during the raffle:

We all hung out until Marleau's game winning goal in overtime, when the entire bar went totally batshit and yelling and screaming and cheering.  Sharks in 7! ;)

A great mini-tournament for a great cause with great people.  Thanks, Eva, and everyone else! 

Summer 2009 team: Drunken Pirates!

Our Summer 2009 team is chosen and named! I think this is going to be a really fun team (I say that every season, don't I? It's always true, too).

Tonight was our second game of the season but the first game that most people were there for.  It was also my first game since March 8!  Yeesh.  But I've been cleared by all of my doctors to get back on the ice and it felt really good.  I'm a bit sore now but had no heart or lung problems on the ice.

I think my favorite thing about tonight's game was that EIGHT different people had points!  Jeannie, Alice, Nancy, Jennifer, Teresa, Bridget, Lindsay, and I all got points.  Holy crap.  The final score was 6-3 and obviously a lot of those goals had assists.  It was truly a team game.

I had a great time on a line with Jenny and Teresa.  :)  I'm putting myself at wing this season (though I may play D some, too, depending on the game) and am looking forward to it.

No Maroon for me this season

Well, Maroon evals are over and I didn't make it.  I'm allowing myself today to be pissed and disappointed about it and starting tomorrow, I'll be excited for the next Red season.

I think I could have made it if it hadn't been for the lung infection.  Everyone that saw me at evals said I looked really terrible (health-wise, not skills-wise) on Friday in particular, and that clearly counted against me.  Doh.  The feedback was that it didn't look like I could hang with Maroon skaters in the scrimmage: the same people that I've subbed with and have played with/against in tournaments with no trouble.  

I'm not one for excuses, but I really do think this was the lungs and not my general conditioning.  

I'm still glad that I tried out, if for no other reason than that the drills will be fresh in my mind for next season's evals.

At any rate, April got some good pics at yesterday's scrimmage during the evals.  I'm in the black jersey and white socks.

And this great series of my steal from Marci....

Puck Ewes stats

Here are my stats for the Puck Ewes:

Team: Puck Ewes (R4)
Player: Carolyn Bierman
Number: 94
Games Played: 17
Points: 3
Goals: 2
Assists: 1
Penalties in minutes: 4

Not that high-scoring of a season, but I did get the foil out a few times. ;)

Division stats for the season:

Team	GP	PTS	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	SOG
R1 - Gitterdun	17	24	11	4	2	0	44	33	355
R2 - Red Menace	16	17	8	7	1	0	38	31	334
R3 - Puck Bunnies	15	11	4	8	3	0	15	36	197
R4 - Puck Ewes	17	13	5	9	3	0	20	28	300
R5 - Wee Ninjas	17	17	8	8	1	0	37	26	357

I love you, Robby Glantz!

Best $160 ever spent ever ever ever.

(photos copyright April Tse.  No stealie for you!)

I can nitpick those photos, of course -- why is my blade pointed up? Why is my right arm still down in the second photo? -- but this is light years away from how I was skating at just the beginning of the season.

I'm looking forward already to the next class. :)

More info on Robby Glantz clinics

Susie's Squirrels vs We're Not Tired!: 3-2

While hanging out at Give Hockey A Try Day on Saturday night, Liz asked me to sub for her Maroon team last night.  I think I said "yes!!" before she'd even finished asking. ;)

I wasn't sure that I'd recognize Julie, Liz's co-captain, so I looked up the roster for Susie's Squirrels before the game...and realized that I knew almost everyone on it!  I guess that shouldn't surprise me since I've skated with the Burninators a few times now, which is also Liz's team, but yay!  I wouldn't be alone on a big scawy Maroon bench! ;)

I was really happy with how I played for the Squirrels.  My blue line fu was strong and I kept some strong plays in the zone . 

One of my favorite things about the game was going up against Murty, who was playing right wing for We're Not Tired!.  I'd really liked playing on Murty's line in Vacaville, so playing against her was a blast.  She got past me a few times, but I stopped her with poke checks a few times, too.  I never really have a problem going up against people I know and being physical (this has gotten me in trouble, oops) but Murty is a physical skater, too, so it was a bunch of fun.   After the game she punched me in the shoulder and said I was a tough cookie.  *beam*

Here's one of me (white jersey) and Murty (maroon jersey and white helmet):

I was playing on a D line with Gladys (also of Burninator fame and glory), which kept both of us giggling the whole game.  We were a +2 for the game, so we joked that our mere presence on the ice allowed the Squirrels to score (we were both subs for the team).   But then Marci and Tricia were out when our team scored, so there went that stellar theory. ;)

Gladys and I:

I was really happy to get Peter's pictures of the game and see this shining example of the V position!! Thank you, Robby Glantz!

Overall, I had a really fun game and I played well despite still shaking off last week's cold.  A couple of people asked if I would be trying out for Maroon next month, which made me really happy.

Anyway, I'm glad I could help Susie's Squirrels emerge victorious against the top-ranked We're Not Tired!

New gear day!

Yesterday was a great "new gear day" for both hobbies.  My new motorcycling pants arrived from NewEnough, plus Peter and I had a successful East/West Hockey outing.

First up, the bike gear.

First Gear HT Overpants 2.0

I suppose it's not terribly surprising that my older bike gear started falling apart; I've already had to replace my jacket and boots over the past year or so, so now it was time for the pants upgrade.

I stuck with the same make and model as my last pair -- FirstGear HT Overpants -- since I really like the design and fit.  

They're waterproof up to an all-day deluge, fit well over jeans or work pants, and are comfortable for all-day touring.  I really like how the side zipper goes all the way up to the hip on each leg, making the pants very easy to take on and off...plus, while touring, I can just unzip the legs at restaurants or tourist spots and get some air without taking the pants all the way off.

At 5'1" and a muscular 125 lbs, I wear their smallest size, Women's 6.  The legs are a little too long, but not obnoxiously so, and the fit is great.

     

Tourmaster Women's Sentinel Rain Pants

Next up, new rain pants.  I've had my old pair -- Tourmaster Elite -- since 2002, so that's a pretty good run.  The matching jacket that I bought at the time is still in great shape, but the pants ripped the last time I wrestled my boot through.

Since I got the Elite set in '02 (in a men's size XS), Tourmaster has added women's rain gear to their lineup (YAY!!!).  So, this time, I was able to do a fit and sizing upgrade.

The Sentinel pants seem like they're going to work pretty well.  My only complaint is the same one I had with the Elite -- they have a side zipper at the base of the leg so that you can take the rain pants on/off while leaving your boots on, but the gusset isn't really wide enough to get the boot comfortably through without snagging the pants.  This is what eventually ripped my Elite pants, though I suppose I shouldn't really be complaining since it took 7 years of wear before that rip happened.

I bought a size S and they fit well over jeans and the aforementioned HT Overpants.

The pictures below are while wearing all three of those layers:

     

CCM Vector 6 Chest Protector 

And now, the hockey gear.

I didn't really need a new chest protector, but I'm starting to get into enough scrums along the boards that the slightly too-big fit of my original one was bugging me.  The elastic around the waist was stretched out and the whole thing would ride up and hit the bottom of my neck.

I tried on a few pair at East/West and came out with this CCM.  

Surprisingly (to both me and Jason, the shop employee), the Senior (adult) S size fit me pretty well; we were both expecting to delve into the Junior sizes.   This particular line of chest protectors must run small for the sizes, as Peter tried on a Senior L and it fit him (he normally takes a M).

Nike Bauer Vapor XVI Hockey Pants

Ah, my eternal search for hockey pants that fit!  I ripped the crap out of my Reebok 8K pants in Vegas and figured I could spring for a new pair while waiting for the magical "free time" needed to sew up the 8Ks.

I tried on a pair of CCMs that I really liked, but East/West only went down to Senior S in them.  Those were way too big;  if I fit them in the crotch, the waistband was literally in my armpits, and if I tugged them down so the waist/hips fit, I looked like a hiphop groupie with the crotch at my knees.  Tip to hockey gear manufacturers: short people play your damn sport.

Anyway, eventually I tried on the Nike Bauer Vapor XVI pants in a Junior L and I like the fit.  They have slightly less armor than either my Reeboks or the CCMs I tried on, but I think that'll be OK.  We'll see how it goes the first time I get a slapshot to my thigh. ;)  

The Junior L seems to be the right size for me, looking at the little sizing chart that came with them.  Heh, the same chart has "Age Guidelines" and apparently I am the same size as an 11 year old boy.  

I'm not sure why I look psychotic in this first picture.  Hrm.

       

San Jose Burninators vs San Jose Bucktooth Angry Dolphins: 3-3

Man, this tourney is taking forever for me to write up!  OK, this is the last game.  Promise! Then I can start writing about *other* hockey games. ;)

I was so glad to end the tourney against the Dolphins since it's always so much more fun to play against people you know.  They were a really strong team in this incarnation, beating us 2-0 in our pre-tournament scrimmage, and my personal goal was just to hold my own.

Once again my line was absolutely awesome, with Sharon and Murty scoring 2 of our 3 goals.  Once again I had no points at all for the game, but I choose to believe that my incredible and inspirational positioning set up the plays that let them score. *cough*.  ;)

Light the lamp, Burninators!

Our tie in this game can clearly be attributed to Lucinda's, Sharyn's, and my matching patriotic headgear.

And that was the Vacaville tourney.  Points-wise, we tied with the Dolphins for 3rd place, but using the goal differentiator as a tie-breaker, well....you did notice we lost 0-9 on Sunday morning, right? ;)

The Seals and the North Stars played for the championship (I hear the Seals won, 1-0), but Cheddah and I chose to head home instead of staying to watch -- the weather was terrible and neither of us wanted to be stuck in traffic in the storm.

I don't know when the Burninators are playing next but I hope it's not too long!