Losing It

I love my Wednesday morning bike rides.

Sometimes they don't love me.

Take last week for example. We took off at our usual brisk pace and a few miles in, we hit the first set of railroad tracks. I heard a clink but thought nothing of it.

Fortunately, Dave did. He turned back and checked out the tracks while I nonchalantly waited with the group. A few seconds later, he returned - with my car key! Yikes! That could have been ugly. Perhaps I need a safer storage location.

We charged through the rest of the ride. Patty was on fire and I was hanging on her wheel. We had great fun and finished in the low 18 mph range. Yes!

I chatted for a few minutes and then realized that I needed to get my butt home - said goodbye to the crew and zipped off in my car.

When I got home, I discovered my bike helmet dangling from the tire of my bike which was (fortunately) securely attached to my car. Somehow my gloves were still in the helmet. I felt very lucky.

It was only later that I realized my sunglasses had also been in my helmet. Damn. But all in all, I still felt lucky.

And then, Kathryn brought me my sunglasses! They had fallen and were a little scratched but really not too bad.

As much as I tried to lose it, my friends were there to help me out. Thanks, guys!!!
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Mommy of the Year

Here are the results of an interview with my children:

1. What is something mama always says to you?
Rainbow: I love you
Taz: I love you

2. What makes mama happy?
Rainbow: When I snuggle with her
Taz: Snuggling

3. What makes mama sad?
Rainbow: When I get hurt
Taz: Us not kissing her or arguing

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Rainbow: By tickling me
Taz: You tickle me under my chin

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Rainbow: She looked like me
Taz: I don’t know… rotten, I’m guessing . Got in trouble a lot.

6. How old is your mom?
Rainbow: I know this… 42!
Taz: 42, 3?

7. How tall is your mom?
Rainbow: About four feet I think
Taz: Five six

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Rainbow: Snuggle
Taz: Sleep, snuggle

9. What does your mom do when you aren't around?
Rainbow: Read or sleep
Taz: Cry

10. If your mom became famous, what would she be famous for?
Rainbow: Cooking
Taz: (long pause) You???? I don’t know

11. What is your mom really good at?
Rainbow: Sleeping
Taz: Reading

12. What is your mom not very good at?
Rainbow: Not burning herself when she cooks
Taz: Being mean

13. What does your mom do for her job?
Rainbow: Work
Taz: CEO

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Rainbow: Chinese
Taz: Choiboni

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
Rainbow: She pays attention to me
Taz: That you have enough money to afford two houses

16. If mom were a cartoon character, which would she be?
Rainbow: Bugs Bunny because she would look funny
Taz: A hot woman

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Rainbow: Shop
Taz: Eat and snuggle and watch movies

18. How are you and your mom the same?
Rainbow: We like to shop
Taz: Eyes and personalities

19. How are you and your mom different?
Rainbow: She snores and I don’t
Taz: You don’t really like things flashing in your face and I don’t really care

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Rainbow: Because she pays attention to me
Taz: Because you say it over and over and over and over

21. Where is your mom’s favorite place to go?
Rainbow: Nordstrom
Taz: My room

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
Rainbow: His funniness
Taz: Oh gosh! Ahhhh…. ?

23. What’s mom's favorite color?
Rainbow: Pink
Taz: Green

24. When did your mom and dad get married?
Rainbow: like 40 years ago
Taz: When they were 20?

25. What color is Moms hair?
Rainbow: like a brownish color
Taz: Well you dye it, so…. It’s brown
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Calling MightyB out for the Sandbagger that she is

I've been riding with MightyB for a few years. She likes to hang at the back of the pack and never ever lead it. On the rare occasion that she does end up in front, she blasts ahead of everyone else unintentionally. And when the group includes other fast people, she is right there hanging with them. So I know she is a superstar in sandbagger clothing.

But she really brought home how good she is on Thursday night.

The two of us met at West Creek to take advantage of gorgeous weather and do the Goochland loop. For the first few minutes, we were warming up and chatting. And then we hit the first hill. MightyB pulled away from me like I was standing still. When I finally caught her, she mentioned casually that she was working on hills. Hmmm, I think maybe she's got it...

We hit the gates at CapOne soon after. I blasted through while MB went through them more cautiously, giving me a rare opportunity to ride ahead. I giggled as I pulled out an ill-gotten lead. Mere moments later, however, MB caught me.

On the next hill, we passed a tricked-out solo cyclist. As we passed him, he told me to catch MB. As if. I laughed.

He passed me back on the next hill and told me again to get moving and catch her. He rode on and we did a slightly different route. Soon, though, he was passing me again. At this point, MB was well ahead of me. Conte dude (he had a lot more sponsors on his jersey, but to be honest this is the main one I saw - not because it was the most prominent but because it was on his ass) told me to grab his wheel and he would help me catch up with her. I did and hung on. He caught her, waved me behind her, and zipped around.

And that's when he learned that I knew of which I spoke. She grabbed his wheel and the two of them were off to the races. Seriously, I had a sip of water and couldn't even see them again when I looked forward.

Again MB waited for me. We hit the half way point, turned around, and did it all again. In total we rode 26 miles.

Mighty B is a big sandbagger.

Just putting it out there.
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