2018, So Far

It's been a fun filled year, so far. A lot has happened. Here's the condensed version of my mid-year review:





I spent time with family who visited & enjoyed the sunshine:

Went on long bike rides with nice, shady trees and met new friends:

Traveled to Memphis to work and enjoyed the view, while there:

Bought a new house and changed a faucet all by myself - well, with help from youtube:

Before (grody to the max!):

After (don't worry, I also changed the drain, too!):



Logged a lot of time at the beach:

And a lot of time on my paddle board:

Watched the sunrise and sunset:

Found time to run for coffee & spend Q.T. with friends:

Friday night Shuffleboard - not just for old people, anymore!

Excited to see Lynne Koplitz - one of my fav-o-rites!!

 And saw these two gems that made me giggle inside:

I hope you're enjoying your 2018, so far, too!!

3 State 3 Mountain "Challenge"

More like "torture."

My friends and I love riding bikes and torturing ourselves, it turns out.  So, we traveled to Chattanooga for the annual 3 State 3 Mountain torture ride.  We went to Niko's for dinner and good gracious was it deee-lish!  I had the farmer's pie.  It included all sorts of veggies rolled up in flaky filo.  Mmmm-mmm!

 

The day of the ride, we started climbing about 2 miles into the ride and climbed and climbed all day.  There were a few sweet descents sprinkled in.  When we topped the first mountain, it started drizzling.  Within about a minute, we were riding in an - all out - down pour.  Now, I'm a big ole scaredy cat when it comes to just riding in the rain, much less descending a mountain in the rain?  No thanks.  But, I was there, and there was only one way down.  So, cautiously, I descended.  My hands were cramping from my death grip I had on the breaks.  I was kinda freaked out, but survived.  This was the view from the bottom of the mountain.  I guess it was a nice consolation for living through that descent.

 
After climbing the 2nd mountain, we stopped to enjoy the view and take pictures.

Here is our rendition of 3 mountains. 

After the walk (yes, I walked and have no shame) to the top of lookout mountain, I was relieved, because, all we had to finish the 102 miles, was descend.  Well, yes, and no.  The route had so many hills left to climb on the descent.  Needless to say, it finally broke me.  About 90-95 miles in, I tried to cry about it.  However, I was so dehydrated, I couldn't even cry.  I even said, "I hate this ride...and I can't even cry.  I fail at life."  Once the climbs stopped, I was back to my old, smiley self.  Ok, after the climbs stopped and I had a fat beer in my hand...

On the descent from the last mountain, I got up to 45.8mph.  One thing I learned on this ride, I LOVE to descend - as long as it's not raining.  Climbing, not so much, but flying down a mountain, yes, please!

Would I do it again?  Probably not...unless my friends do some fancy convincing.

Hola Y'all

Well, I started riding again and have been struggling to catch up with everyone who seemed to have gotten faster over the winter. Who does that? The St. Patty's Day ride was the first organized ride in which we got to wear our new, cycledelic girl gang jerseys! Kathrine, who's the best SAG support person ever, happened to be wearing her tie dyed shirt and, therefore, was a cycledelic chick, too!

Cycledelics!

Rear view:  "you got chicked!"



We met a new friend along the way!

It happened to be a friend's birthday, as well! He and his wife were decorated to the gills in shamrocks.

And this joker was wearing his "crash test dummy" jersey. Evidently, he tested it out, earlier.



I Get Paid to Wear This Hat

I've watched this about 1,000 times. It's so hysterical, I just can't get enough. Beware, I'm going to be sooo annoying this year, repeating ALL of these quotes. "They have the best espresso here."




This one about triathletes is pretty funny, too. "You can read all about it on my blog...this? Or this?"




And...the one about runners:




I'll leave you with this...I get paid to wear this hat:



...and that's what happens when you have enough wine on a weekday!

Now, There's an Idea!

So, earlier this week, I attended an event at my local bike shop. It was "ladies night" and the Trek Representative talked to us about WSD (women's specific design) bikes. Local physical trainers talked to us, as well as, the City of Memphis Bicycle & Pedestrian Coordinator, Kyle Wagon-(something I can't ever pronounce, nor spell). I like ladies night mostly because of the free food, booze, chance to catch up with my friends and swag bags. Yes, I'm a sucker for free stuff.

While I was there, I met a girl who told me that she rode a Bianchi road bike that her boyfriend (now husband) gave to her as a gift. I thought about it for a second and came to this conclusion: if a guy gave me a bike as a gift, I'd marry him, too.

All the single fellas??

I'll be more than happy to provide my wish list.

Cycledelic

A few weeks ago the Cycledelic Girl Gang had their inaugural ride. Several girls couldn't make it, but those of us who did, had a great time. The morning of the ride was chilly and foggy, but we didn't let it bring us down.

In true Cycledelic fashion, we had to start with a *fist pump! And, I'm showing off my cool, new SpokeID. It's like roadid, except cooler, 'cuz it's made from a spoke...and, the lettering is engraved, not just stamped on (so that it can eventually rub off).



We're about to balance on two wheels, but balancing on one leg proved to be quite difficult. This was something like our 3rd take.



Once we started rolling, the fog started to lift. The roads were relatively quiet & serene, with the exception of this big 'ole jerk, who tried to run us off the road.






We stopped at the General Store (it's a must if you're cycling around Shelby Forest...or, even if you're not) for some grub and more photos!



They even had music for us.



After lunch, we went into the park for a little hiking and to work off all of the food we had just inhaled. It was such fun, but it was difficult to ride home after lunch and a hike. I just wanted to curl up in the sun and take a nap!

I'll leave you with my latest, "this is why I'm single" picture. I was going for "Goober," (was that his name) from "The Andy Griffith Show."



*Most of these pictures were stolen from Cat, but I told her I was going to steal them, so, it's cool.

BCB 100...or 124 if You're One of the Cool Kids

Earlier this month, I participated in the Memphis Hightailers Bluff City Blues Century ride. This year they offered a double metric century (that's 124 miles, folks) option. Since, I love to *test my physical limits, of course I tried the 124 mile route.

Here's the reusable goodie bag that all the participants received and if they signed up before a specific time, they also received cool BCB socks.



It was a bit chilly the day of the ride - about 60 degrees with a 10mph NE wind (and guess which direction the first 70 miles went...you guessed it, N freakin' E). Riding 124 miles is difficult enough, factor in fighting the wind and oh, brother. Regardless, we were bright eyed and ready to roll at the start. Here we are flashing double metric signs. Like they said in "Office Space," "&*^% it feels good to be a gangsta."



Leigh and me at the first SAG stop - there were about 30 people riding the 124 mile route - only 4 of which, were females. GIRL POWER!






One of my favorite stops was around mile 90, Randolph Landing. Here I am with the crew that I mainly rode with. Don't ask me what I'm doing in this picture...I have no idea. For the record, as soon as I bent down, my legs let me know that bending was definitely not a good idea.



It was great to accomplish my longest ride yet (124.75 to be exact), although, the first 70 miles were against the wind. During that first 70, every second I was thinking, "this was a bad idea...this was a really bad idea." When we finally turned for home, with the wind on our backs, I felt like I found my groove & started enjoying the scenery. After all was said and done, my saddle time was 7:30 with a 16.4mph avg. There's definitely room for improvement, but I'm happy with how I did. I was also happy with the huge cup of Fat Tire beer that was provided at the finish!

*read: torture myself because I was raised Catholic and that's what Catholics do...well, that and drink. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Here's What 80 Miles Looks Like

This past weekend, a 100 mile training group (of which, I'm a member), had a 75 mile bike ride. Due to a scenic detour, a few of my friends and I made it an 80-81 mile ride. We just aren't satisfied with the minimum, you see.

The weather was nice. Mid/upper 80s for most of the ride, with some cloud cover.

Here, everyone is chillin' at the last SAG stop.



One of my favorite cycling couples. They're still all smiles after 60-something miles!



Best. SAG Ever. They provided ice cold towels! Please refrain from jokes involving towels...thank you.



At one of the stops, this doozy caught my eye. Not the motorcycle - yawn...the helmet. Your eyes are not deceiving you. That is a sweet mohawk you see.



Here's my reaction when the guy wouldn't trade his mohawk helmet for mine. I mean, it goes with my bike and everything!



I know what you're thinking...and I agree. With a face like that, it is amazing that I'm still single.