Some really cute granddaughter ready to help Grandma with the yard work!!!

Well, yesterday was the day, and what a day it was!

The MS150 was this weekend and Saturday was to be the first century ride for Stef and Jamie.  They made it but not without an event.  Stef was trying to cross railroad tracks and she crashed.  Someone had gone down in front of her and she was trying to miss him. She did manage to miss him but still joined him on the ground.  But being the determined gal she is she got up and finished the ride with a couple of miles to go.

Later, in the ER she found out her elbow is broken. Not badly, but it hurts like crazy anyway.  The ER doc said no impact sports for at least a couple of weeks so Stef says she'll be on the stationary trainer so as not to lose the progress she's made so far.

My ride was less eventful.  98 miles in 4:46.  No crashes.  Clock time was 5:12 so rest stops were very limited.  Grab water, energy drink and off again.  I did stop long enough to talk to one of Stef's cousins but other than that, ride, ride, ride.  

My goal was sub 5 so I was quite please with the outcome.  Except of course for Stef's crash.  It is huge that Stef and Jamie finished their first century.  Most cyclists will never ride 100 miles in one day but they have!  This ride of course is more about health than time.  There were over 3000 riders raising money for the health of many people we'll never know.  I'm grateful that our family has the health to help those less fortunate than we.  

Jamie called to correct an error in my earlier blog.  She clarifies that she only pushed the bike once and that was up a significant up hill (I've climbed that hill and it's a tough one!).  The other time she stopped and got off the bike without pushing it.   Jamie's all upset because what she doesn't realize is that when you simply can't go any further it means you've worked really hard and have done all you can do and simply must rest.  It's not a bad thing to blow up on the bike, rather, it means you've given it all you've got and that's a good thing!

But, while we compliment your effort, it's fun to pick on you about you limits (everyone has them they are just different for each of us!).  Smile, you were one up already on embarrassing bike stuff already!

Oh my aching body!!!!  Rode 54 miles on the bicycle this morning.  Over the top of South Mountain just over 3,300 vertical feet of climbing for this ride.  Took about 3:22 to complete the ride!  So, I'm toast.  

Jamie who rode just under 30 miles had to resort to pushing her bike twice on the climb from the valley floor back to our house.  Way to go Grandma M who rode her butt into the ground!  Jamie came home and took a nap.  I came home took a bath, ate lunch, and had to work on our broken automatic sprinkler system so the yard can get watered.

No rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need any!  Boy am I exhausted!!!!!

Grandpa M

Tomorrow for her crimes against dad, Jamie is getting her butt kicked on the bicycle.  

Today, for pay backs, we'll just point out her bad form at blogging.  When adding a video, especially one your dad won't approve of, be sure the video fits into the space you've allotted and isn't too wide to fit!  (still love you, still love teasing you, still don't know which one we love more!)

Great day here today.  Summer is knocking on the door.  Tomorrow is suppose to get close to 90 degrees!   Planning a nice training ride with our MS group.  Should be long and enjoyable!

Dean's debut

If you will please feast your eyes to the right of the page you will see an amazing video clip from Dean's big news debut.

Sorry Dad

Those of you that know Dean, know that he is pretty much the king of Cycling... In other words... He is basically a Cycle Nazi.

Well... He happened to land himself on the news yesterday, on a bicycle with a basket.
It is fantastic to watch... And even more fantastic to make fun of him for it.

I suppose you could call one portion of it false advertising... Due to the fact that he DID NOT lose the 20 pounds he mentions, on this type of bike

OH WELL

Please enjoy!

And sorry for the advertisement at the beginning... I couldn't take it off!

Love you Dad! Sorry for hacking into your profile to make fun of you... But come on... IT HAS A BASKET!

Dean's big debut

Dad I am sorry but I had no choice....

Here is his big news debut on cycling...

Funny thing is that they put him on a bike with a basket... Those who know him, know that he is basically the kind of cycling, but not like this!

So here he is ladies and gentleman! Enjoy!

So, Ryan wants a post about my "other bike"  Well, I got my new wheels last night and took them for a ride.  Then this morning, I went to get on my bike with the new wheels to ride to work.  But, my new rear wheel with  a new tire had a freaking flat!!  So I rode my other bicycle to work.

But I suppose Ryan really wants to know if I've ridden one of the Harleys lately.  And the answer is sort of.  I rode the Harley to work one day earlier in the week.  It was rather uneventful but always nice to have a little wind in the hair time.  It's funny, the summer I first got a Harley, my bicycle was lonely after I got the Harley.  Now, I ride the bike more than the Harleys.  I enjoy both equally, but the bicycle gives me physical conditioning and the Hog - just pleasure.  

We've got the MS150 (a hundred miles bicycle ride on Saturday) coming up the end of this month so bike time is a must or the ride will be even more of a suffer fest.  Stef and Jamie are out on their bikes still (7:00 p.m.) as I write this.  They rode to work today as well.  But they have further to go than I did.   It's crunch time and there's a race to get ready for the ride now!

The Harleys are nice these days too.  With gas at crazy high prices both kinds of bikes are nice. Not that we can't afford the gas but rather who wants to?  I don't!  I think we need to drill more of America's own oil sources, build more refineries, build some more non-oil based power generation modes i.e. wind, hydroelectric, and even nuclear and gas prices will come down.  Of course we should continue to develop alternative fuels but those may be and seem to be years away from reaching their potential.  In the mean time, these steps can increase supply and reduce demand pressures and price too until we can replace the need for oil.  So we're trying to do what we can with bikes and Harleys.  

We aren't particularly "green" but we try to do what makes sense.  Not because we believe in man caused global warming but to be good users of available resources.  Including good users of our bodies as we age - by being in  the best shape we can.  

OK, so I've been catching a bit of indirect grief from Jamie for not making a post on my new computer - yet.  I've only had it just over 24 hours.  But some of us are very impatient.  You think she might be a bit edgy after her husband's recent mouth over haul?

Life at our house has been normal.  But this week should be unusually quite.  Nick leaves for NY in the morning leaving his mother and I to fend for ourselves this week.  If we can stand that much of each other, we hope to have some fun.  We may need to steal Maddy just to maintain our sanity!

Besides a MacBook Pro, Stef and the family came through with a nice set of bicycle race wheels. Shortly, I'll accept delivery of  a pair of Zipp 404s.  What a great Farther's Day.  Thanks guys!

All's well and quiet here.  Hope to maintain the status quo.