Today's short, painful ride

The last few months I've been riding with my parents.  They've gotten into biking, bought brand new bikes and have wanted to hit the trails.  So, all of my rides have been flat.

That's fine ... except I rode today over by Eagle Creek.  Read: Fishback and other hills :)

Wow.  12 miles and 2 sore legs later I crawled home.  The good news is my riding bruise on my calf is healing nicely :)

I hope you all are enjoying your rides!

ahem.....Danny.......

Are you going to blog about the Holland Hundred? And did anyone do RAIN, for that matter? I want details!

Gaga over beer!

Tonight I worked my first concession stand at Conseco.  Holy cow was it intense at times!! (Mostly because we had a lot of set-backs ... we ran out of cups and beer regularly!)

It was some FANTASTIC people watching.  I also learned how to correctly pour a beer from the tap!  I knew to tilt the cup ... but I didn't know you should let the tap run for about 2 seconds before you put your cup underneath.  Oops.  Some of my first pours had a lot of head on them.  Oh well!  I got muuuch better by the end of the night!

I also got to steal a glimpse of the concert.  I love Gaga, but I have to say, I heard a lot of complaints from some big fans while working!  They said her show was amateur:  she didn't play enough songs people knew, those that were popular she saved for the very end and she only had one angle on the jumbo-tron, so it was often difficult to really see.  *Interesting!*

Thanks to everyone who helped me navigate the concession stand tonight!! And a huge shout out to anyone who went to Lenny's tonight!! I'm going to call tomorrow to find out how well I did!

Great Hill Ride Everyone!

Kudos to everyone who rode yesterday from Southwestway!

Lisa got mosquito gassed and wasn't feeling to well but she hung in there with us to Centenary and like a trooper went to the top for the turn arround.

Kate you are an animal, great job pulling and climbing, way to show some intestinal fortitude.

Tony, you are really improving...... and that is all you are getting from me (wink) :)

Also, I am planning to be at SWW every Tuesday for some time to come, if anyone wants to join me on a regular basis. Tony has expressed interest and just doesn't want to ride alone out there. As long as I know that someone else is coming, I will hang around at the start until 6pm, but if I am not expecting anyone, I will be out of there more like 5:15 or 5:30

This Saturday, I am going to do the Holland 100 with Danny and the West Michigan JDRF team. I know that Danny's Brother in Law has offered camping in his back yard, but not being much for camping, I have found a decent hotel within 15 miles that I was able to get a special rate of $39.93 plus tax etc if anyone is interested in the details.

Melissa and I are going up Friday night at 4pm and I have extra room in the bike rack if anyone is interested.

Peace, love and a cure for diabetes

CU on the road team

Michael

Lenny's for a Cure, anyone???

This Thursday, July 15th -- Lenny's in Avon is doing a fundraiser for JDRF!!  Bring this flyer from 5-8 and a portion of the proceeds go to the organization!! YAY!!!!

Since this silly blogger won't let me put the pdf right on here, I've got a link to the flyer you need on my website -- just click the "Eat for a Cure" JDRF benefit flyer that has a picture of Lisa and I!

Thanks for a great ride!

This note is a bit tardy, but I wanted to say thanks to Tony, Kevin G., Kevin S., Sarah & Michael for the ride on Wednesday.  Truth be told, I was not very excited about the ride - it was hot, I was tired, I had been sick the day before and I would have much rather gone home and slept on the couch, but since I had the map, I thought I'd better show up.  I actually felt better once I got there and despite being a bit slow intially, I had a great ride.  I would have to say though the best part was Tony's fall.  No I'm not being mean, he and his bike were fine and it was funny to see him lean over onto the grass in slow motion.  I'm feeling much better about riding on Saturday - see everyone there.

Training Times Available for June

You should have all received a copy of the Training Times Newsletter for June from the National Office.  If you didn't or you have misplaced it you can find a copy on the Training Times link located on the left hand side of the blog.  This month's edition has a lot of good information about fundraising, including some motivation - someone has already raised $72,000.

the sunrise club: hills with the boys

Danny, Tony, Richard (father of youth ambassador Nick), Michael, and I started the 4th of July off with a bang. An early one.

Despite some initial grumbling because alarms rang too early and the sky looked like this when we left home, we met for some hill work leaving at sunrise.













Tony had some choice words about the ride organizer concerning departure time, but he was the first to arrive. I think he just couldn't pass up the opportunity to practice his patented slingshot technique. The one where he drafts behind me at the base of a hill and then swooshes past at top speed. :)

Danny, on the other hand, was all smiles. He was happy to get his ride in and still have a whole day ahead of him.





Michael's foot has healed enough for him to be on the bike again, but still with his boot. This gave the rest of us an opportunity to feel on more even footing. Even disabled and out of practice, Michael can set the pace.

We set out fairly quickly. I felt good today with speed, but I soon realized that the hills were harder this morning than they have been. Ooops. Someone's been too busy to spend time on strength training at the gym lately, and hasn't been hitting the hills often enough either. I'm sorry to say I felt a big difference. You know what that means....I see more hills in my near future. Still, it was an awesome workout and a fun time with friends. I do love riding with you, gentlemen! Hope you'll meet me again soon.

Apparently it's biking day in Avon!

I've seen 5 different families out on bikes this evening! It's so cute ... like little ducks all in a row :)

Our neighbors even biked to Dairy Queen and back.  Show offs! LOL  I hope you are all getting good mileage in!

OH! And my article got published in the IndyStar
http://newsfromyou.indystar.com/posts/small-hands-big-hearts-two-hendricks-county-girls-do-their-part-to-help-the-animals-injured-by-the-gulf-oil-spill