Seriously- I earned every $ that has been donated

Buddy ride group

The Steves- my heroes!

Peni & Carol rockin' it

#@%$&* hills

Pre-ride shots, you can tell they are pre-ride b/c we are smiling (o;

MiaMiaMiaMiaMiaMiaMia

Ouch. I think I am still feeling the leftover pain from Saturday’s ride. Kicked off the weekend with an after-work, work drink to celebrate Art and Gregory’s birthdays. Art had requested Martinis which was a surprisingly big hit (well with the boys at least). From there Mike and I headed to the Temple Bar for a brew. By the time I got home and showered, it was almost 23h. Saturday morning I was up and out of the house fairly early ready to take on the Tour de Loraine in Dublin. My malldar was on in full effect, and for once, I knew where I was going as I headed to the meet spot- just down the street from Stoneridge Shopping Center. We all got parked and geared up, and I realized that I was in for it when Coach Cyd said this was going to be a tough ride (what was going on ? Usually when we ask, “Will there be hills?” “Will it be hard?” etc… they say Noooooooooooooooooooo. And here they were preparing us for the worst). But I figured we’d just done a 65 mile ride with 4,000 feet of climb last week, so how bad could it really be, right? WRONG!!!!!!!!!! The first 20 or so miles went ok, but I got separated from my buddies Carol and Peni going down a switchbacking descent. I figured I’d meet up with them at the first SAG stop, so I hit up the food/drink and headed to the port-o-potty when I heard, “Elizabeth, we’re rolling!” Shami butter in hand (you don’t even want to know) I ran out of the port-o-potty with my spandex pants sagging, hopped on my bike and headed off for fear of being left behind. It wasn’t until I reached the group that I realized that Peni and Carol weren’t with them. Oops. It was all downhill from there (figuratively, unfortunately). First my breaks started rubbing. What IS the deal?! My bike really did earn the name Brittney. Then, my chain locked up on me again as we were going up hill. I dropped off to take a look and the group headed on. What was so frustrating was that my Dad had even surprised me with a tune-up and taken her in to get ready to go- mind you this is the 3rd time since Oct. that my bike has gone into the shop. This is when hero #1 came to the rescue. Steve (Zimmerman) was out patrolling in his car, cowbell and all. He pulled up, helped me fix my breaks (bless him) and offered to drive me up ahead to catch back up to the group (Aahem, yes, I’d fixed the chain myself. I will now take a bow). I figured I may as well wait for Peni and Carol, since I am used to riding with them and thought maybe I’d have better luck once back with my ladies. So… I waited about another 10 min. and finally we were reunited. Then we started on the real hills (doing the 3 Bears ride from a month or so ago again, only this time from the opposite and more difficult direction). Peni and Carol are monsters on hills, so they were up ahead of me as I struggled. I don’t know what the matter was, but my head just wasn’t in it at all, and for the first time, I really think I saw how psychological it can be. I was just starting to get really frustrated when hero #2 (another Steve- Bamberger) pulled up alongside of me, and just in time too. I honestly don’t think I could have made it up Papa Bear without his encouragement, support, and listening to my whining. Sorry. I just couldn’t help it. We actually did finish the full distance, cycling through 13 different cities (and getting NO LOVE in Walnut Creek. Good thing Monica wasn’t there b/c she might have gotten into an argument with the honking cars). I think we were on the road for about 7 hours (someone correct me if I’m wrong), and I burned over 4,000 calories! Woah. I crashed around 8 PM that night and woke up at 1 AM on Sunday morning in so much pain, but I couldn’t even roll over to get up and take some Advil. I’m utterly confused. I have never been for the night or following morning after a ride, and I am still sore. I’ve also had a throbbing headache and don’t know what the heck is going on. But, today I got to chat with Jesse for 2 hours! It was so great to catch up with her, and definitely a nice way to start my Sunday morning. Then I got back in bed, cuddled up with Mr. B and watched some T.V. That was followed by a bubble bath (which I desperately needed to warm up and ease my aching body). Then it was off to the barn to see Pokey (who must have missed me b/c she kept nickering at me. I totally felt the love). Unfortunately, I was too sore to contemplate giving her a real workout, so I just cleaned her stall, and hopped on bareback to ride her around the property trails and let her soak up some sunshine. Left the barn to meet Jodie at Valley Fair. I think it’d been over a week since we’d seen eachother. Then, I headed over to Jed and Holly’s to visit them, and of course gush over Mia belle who was cute as ever. I just adore her. As her Dad says, “Her head blewed up”. Haha. She’s definitely a little bit more substantial, alert, moving her head around, constantly tracking both Mom and Dad, and flailing her arms and legs. She was in good spirits and crashed just in time for a sushi dinner. That’s all for now. This is the last week to make a donation as all my funds need to be in by Wednesday Feb. 20, so if you’d still like to contribute, it’s not too late! Please visit my page at http://www.active.com/donate/tntgsf/tntgsfECloern I hope you all have a fantastic week. xoxo, Elizabeth