And unlike Kasey, who's been killing her 5K training by running like this:
The cyclists in this crew have been wasting time online watching things like this:
So, we decided we should probably get out on the bikes. So I'll break the weekend in manageable bite-sized parts to make it easier to read, using bold-face titles.
"Just a second... I need to wash the vomit out of my mustache"
Hey-oh! Got your attention, no? That was the quote-of-the-day as voted by Spencer and Andrew, and spoken by... me. Allow me to elaborate:
We started our Saturday at 8:30, and conspicuously vomit-free. We had, however, decided to take Andrew up the infamous hills of Redbud, before completing a nice 23 mile loop on Highway 360.
We attacked the first hill pretty hard. Or, perhaps I should say I attacked the first hill pretty hard. At least for someone who had been up late the night before at the pub watching the Giants choke... and who ate a lot of yogurt for breakfast... and who did not drink enough water in the morning... and who in no way ever makes excuses for embarrassing behaviors.
So, anyway... a little yogurt came up. Just letting me know I needed to drink some water. I did. Then I felt great. We kept going.
We decided to cut the loop a little shorter than typical, to go up a pretty big hill on Spicewood Springs that Andrew had had his eye on for a while. In totally unrelated news, I found out that Andrew was a masochist during this ride. Just the usual cyclist-type chit chat.
Llamas!
This morning, Spencer and I decided to get in some more miles. So we decided to load up his truck with the bikes, and drive an hour out to Marble Falls, TX. I have to say before getting into details: it turned out to be a ride that kind of dragged toward the end... but it was absolutely beautiful.
I wish that picture (taken more toward the end of the ride) did it justice. We spent the first and last 15 miles of the ride on county roads running through the Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge... and it was the most beautiful cumulative 30 miles I've ever ridden.
The other great thing, was that we spent all our riding time today on county and farm-to-market roads, which are typically pretty rough to ride on. But these were great! Very fresh asphalt on most of them. Totally smooth riding. And I think there must be lot of cyclists who take advantage because we got tons of waves from the locals (all driving by in their huge trucks)!
(And if you think I'm joking because county-living Texans in their trucks can't possibly be waving at unshaven bike-riding pinkos... you're wrong. We ran into so many nice people out there... and how could you not be nice when surrounded by that much beauty!)
Oh... and Llamas:
Is it just me or does that one have a thing for Spencer?
New Friends
We continued up to Burnet, did a loop North of town, and went back through the Refuge to the truck for a total of 60 miles. The top of the loop was where we started to slow down: we hit a strong headwind while going uphill, and Spencer started to feel the fact that he'd been recovering from a cold. We passed some huge ranches, but mostly just got a bit beat up by the wind.
But back in Burnet, we found every cyclists heaven after a hard stretch of road: FOOD! A glorious Subway had appeared on the horizon and, alas, it was not a mirage. And next to the Subway? Another cyclist! She had her bike turned upside-down in typical make-shift tuning fashion. She'd popped a spoke (third or fourth of the trip, I'm pretty sure), and asked if we new how to true a wheel.
So I gave her a hand as best I could to get the wheel spinning so it wouldn't rub on her brake pads. During this, we obviously got to talking, and found out that she's been riding across the country!
She goes by T, and is cruising across the southern half of the States with Gaby (who I'm sorry to say we didn't have the privilege of meeting). Together, they are the Raw Roamers, and they're riding "for the prevention, education and reversal of diabetes and other food and exercise related illnesses." They're traveling from Jacksonville, FL to the shores of California and doing their thing. I wish T and Gaby the best of luck. If you'd like to help them out on their ride, you can head over to their site and hook them up with a donation.
After eating and saying goodbye, Spencer and I continued on to finish the last of our 60 mile day. Going back through the Refuge as the sun began to get lower in the sky, was simply absolutely beautiful.
Thank You!
I would just like to thank everyone for their support as we approach the end of this training and fundraising journey. Your support is what makes it all possible.
To those of you who have been so generous as to donate, thank you thank you thank you. With your help we are about half way to our team goal of $2,250.
For the rest of you, thank you thank you thank you for still being friends with me even though I'm constantly begging for money. Just know that I do it because I think it is a cause worthy of support.
As for me, I'm about 40% of the way to my goal of $10 per mile to be run and ridden during the LIVESTRONG weekend. So, if you'd like to help me get the rest of the way there (maybe sponsor one of those 103.1 miles?), you can by clicking this link.
Andrew, Hillary, Kasey, and Spencer are also working toward their goals, so please take a look at all the fundraising meters on the Donate Page, read some blog posts, and decide who you'd like to help in their quest for LIVESTRONG glory!
Happy Riding!
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