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#7. Do A Bike Race: Tour de Pink Recap!

This morning I rode in my first ever biking event. It was a lot of fun and I definitely want to do more like it.

Whenever I thought about it yesterday, I got nervous. Mainly just because I had never done this type of race before so I was afraid of not being prepared and not knowing where to go or what to do. It wasn’t timed or competitive, so I wasn’t worried about doing well. And since this was my first time, I chose to go the shortest distance, 12 miles, which is less than I routinely ride so I knew it would be easy.

My wonderful husband came with me because I didn’t know anyone else, but he was NOT happy when I told him that we needed to leave the house by 5:30 a.m. He grumbled and grumbled, but when it was actually time for me to wake him up he didn’t complain at all and was very sweet.

A little nervous!

So we drove the 45 minutes to the race site and parked. It was still dark, and I had no idea where to pick up my registration packet. Fortunately it wasn’t hard to find; we just followed the music. The packet contained a t-shirt, water bottle, magnet, pen, and information about breast cancer and other racing events. I put my biking shoes on, visited the bathroom one last time, then got into place. David was able to hang out with me at the starting line right up until the end!

Waiting around for the race to start.

Bye David, see you when I get back!

Off into the crowd…

As for the course itself, we first had to navigate out of the college campus that we started on. After that we were on a rough road, going fairly slowly. I was getting a little frustrated until someone passed me and I realized that it was OK for me to pass the people in front of me whenever I wanted to, as long as I was safe. After that I started passing a bunch of people. Most of the course was flat, smooth highway with very little traffic. The back half had some rolling hills but they were still fairly easy. I saw one pit stop where a lot of people pulled off the road, but I kept going. If I had been riding a longer distance I probably would have stopped, but I didn’t think it was necessary.

Toward the end I had the road pretty much to myself. When I made the turn for the last mile there wasn’t another biker in sight. When I coasted through the finish line the volunteers were all just sitting around, but when they saw me they all started cheering. It was kind of embarrassing and cool at the same time. I immediately saw David and rode up to him. He said, “You’re the first one finished! You won the Tour de Pink!” I kept telling him that it wasn’t a race, that all the serious cyclists were probably going much longer distances, but he kept saying, “You won!” It was so cute. :)

Me and my man after the race!

We didn’t stick around for the after-race festivities because I realized that if we left right away we could make it to church on time. And we did, although we were both so tired that I don’t think the sermon really sunk in for either of us. I would definitely do this event again, and next time I think I’ll go a longer distance.

Having participated in this also made my wish list grow. Here are some things that I definitely want to acquire soon:

1. A women’s specific seat. Riding on mine makes my bum and my female area go numb ever so quickly. I constantly have to stand up just to relieve the pressure.

2. A saddle bag. I need a place to put my phone and my keys when I ride. Right now I just shove my phone in my pants, but it’s not too comfortable.

3. A flat tire repair kit. I haven’t had one yet, but I want to be prepared when it happens.

Next up on the race agenda is the Galveston Seawall Crawl 5k on November 7. Gotta start focusing on running again!

September 13, 2009
Car Dreams

Last Saturday my mom asked to borrow my truck for a couple of hours. I’ve managed to stretch that into five days and counting. I’m not in ANY hurry to get it back. As much affection as I have for Bubba, he’s kind of driving me crazy right now.

This is what went through my head when I got my mom’s car: Wow this is so awesome, I can just open the door and get in and out! Ooh, power windows! Cruise control! POWER STEERING THAT WORKS! Whoa, better watch my speed, it’s easy to let an automatic get away from me. Such a relief not to have to keep an eye on the temperature gauge. It’s so easy to turn and park!!!

I’m ready for a new car. I want this:

But my truck really isn’t worth much at all, so every month I drive it is a car payment saved.

Sometimes being frugal really sucks.

September 10, 2009
I Am…

…not hungry even though it’s my lunchbreak thanks to the free bagels and cookies someone brought to work.

…excited about having joined 20-something bloggers.

…contemplating an attempt on a VERY low-cost, creative makeover to my dining room. Any ideas? (It needs help desperately.)

…trying to convince my husband to team up with my youngest brother on a blog because they are both hilarious.

…loving my job. I had a dream that I quit and began working in a clinic instead and I hated it.

…excited about the prospect of being able to do a little more with my blog design thanks to my brother.

…wondering which of my 101 goals to tackle next.

…nearing the end of two books simultaneously, which makes me feel incredibly productive.

…relieved that my new stethoscope was delivered today.

…dying for a shopping spree.

September 9, 2009
Book Club: The Time Traveler’s Wife

Seems like everyone’s been reading this book lately, even though it was published back in 2003. A movie will do that for a book. That’s why I decided to read it, anyway: I was interested in seeing the movie, had heard the book was good, and thought now was as good a time as any to read it.

For those of you who haven’t read it yet, or if you’re a guy and aren’t planning to read it (which is probably a good choice on your part), here’s a quick synopsis. There is this guy named Henry, and he’s a time traveler. It’s a genetic defect. He can’t really control where or when he goes, but he tends to frequent familiar, big events in his life. He ends up marrying a girl named Clare, and after they meet in the present he goes back to visit her when she was growing up a lot. This is their story.

First of all, let’s just get the whole “time travel” thing out of the way. Humans seem to be obsessed with it. (See: time travel films and fiction.) I’m not immune to the fascination of the concept; I’ve read A Brief History of Time. I’ve had deep discussions with my physicist friend about it. I loved the time travel aspect in The Prisoner of Azkaban. I guess we all have such a hard time living in the present that we want to go back and change the past or see what’s coming in our future. But anyway, that’s neither here nor there because we are discussing this book, not contemplating the meaning of life. As far as this book goes, you have to let the time travel issue go. If you try to figure it out, you just may go crazy, because it doesn’t make sense.

Case in point: there is one scene where Henry travels back in time and he is with his younger self in his bedroom. His father catches the two Henrys doing something…less than appropriate with each other (and may I just say now: SICK! Sick sick sick.) and the younger Henry gets mad at the older Henry for not preventing it. Older Henry basically says, “Just wait. You’ll do the same thing.” That got me thinking: so the younger Henry will grow up and do the same thing, then he’ll tell the younger Henry HE visits that HE’LL do the same thing, and on and on and on, and basically Henry will be perpetually alive. I just had to forget about figuring that one out.

This is not really science fiction; it’s a love story and a pretty good one. Unfortunately, it had really been talked up to me, so all in all it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I think the reason that I merely liked this book a lot instead of LOVING it was because I didn’t fully relate to the main characters. They are somewhat privileged, off on their own in Chicago and into the punk scene as well as things like art and opera. They like to party and swear and have sex pretty much all the time. That’s cool and all, but it’s not something that strikes a chord with me.

But the thing that DID resonate was that Henry and Clare were utterly in love with each other, like I am utterly in love with my husband. That’s why, when I read the end of the book while on the bus, I had to physically hold my face to keep from crying. I didn’t want to be the weird girl weeping in front of a bunch of strangers. If you want to make me cry, just make me read a book or watch a movie where a husband dies young. And then make his wife find a love letter for to read “upon his death.” Guaranteed tears every single time.

Who was your favorite character?

I guess my favorite character would have to be…Clare. Lame, but she was the only one I could kind of identify with, being the wife. I also enjoyed the scenes with Kimy in them. She was very lovable.

What would you have liked to read more about?

I think my favorite parts were when Henry went back in time and met with Clare in the Meadow. He was on his best behavior, and she was young and innocent. From reading those scenes I had one image of Henry in my mind, and THAT Henry was a lot more attractive to me than the person he ended up being.

Overall rating?

I give it 3 out of 5 stars. It was a solid love story with a very interesting element added. Never boring, emotional at the end, and therefore I would recommend it.

And what about the movie?

I saw the movie a few days after finishing the book, which I thought would be a good idea but I don’t think it really was. It was kind of overkill on the story for me. But the movie actually turned out to be a nice surprise because Henry and Clare were much more like normal people and I could relate to them a lot better. It wasn’t hard for me to follow the time travel escapades, but that’s probably because I knew the story. I don’t know if it would have been confusing for someone who didn’t. Again, I was trying extremely hard not to cry, but the tears just spilled over; they couldn’t be helped.

Now it’s your turn to tell me what you thought of the book (or movie)! Comment away.

Next month’s book: It’s another girly one, sorry boys. We’re reading Midwives by Chris Bohjalian and I’ll be writing my review sometime the week of October 4-10. Join me!

September 4, 2009
A Typical Mid-Week Day Off

6:35 a.m. – David’s first alarm goes off. I nudge him, he presses snooze.

6:44 a.m. – David’s first alarm goes off again. I nudge him, he presses snooze again.

6:45 a.m. – David’s second alarm goes off. I nudge him, he presses snooze.

6:49 a.m. – David’s third alarm goes off. I nudge him, he presses snooze.

6:53 a.m. – David’s first alarm goes off again. I nudge him, he presses snooze again.

6:54 a.m. – David’s second alarm goes off again. I nudge him, he presses snooze again.

6:57 a.m. – David’s fourth alarm goes off. I nudge him, he presses snooze.

6:58 a.m. – David’s third alarm goes off again. I nudge him, he presses snooze.

…this goes on with five separate alarms, until…

7:30 a.m. – I wake up to the sound of our dog Cleo vomiting at the foot of our bed. David decides to finally get up and get ready for work.

7:45 a.m. – Brush my teeth, make David’s lunch, and see him out to his car.

8:00 a.m. – Eat my breakfast of champions, Honey Bunches of Oats with skim milk, while perusing the Internet.

This is where the magic happens.

9:01 a.m. – Leave to go on a bike ride. Listen to Kyla Roma’s mix tape #2, which is excellent. I think I’m doing pretty well on my bike until some old dude passes me. He does have some rockin’ calves though.

10:40 a.m. – Arrive home. Shower, shave, and generally groom myself. This is a necessity at this point.

11:20 a.m. – Prepare for my errands by packaging some books and writing my grocery list.

That last item was REALLY hard to find.

12:10 p.m. – Go to the post office to mail a few books for paperbackswap.com and bookmooch.com, and to the grocery store.

1:30 p.m. – Pull into my garage and hear a sizzling sound followed by the engine of my truck steaming. Notice that my it is leaking some sort of fluid in large quantities. Call my husband, then my dad, decide to attempt driving it to the shop. Put the groceries away first, though.

2:00 p.m. – Arrive at Starlite Auto, just barely. It was a bumpy ride. Mechanic tells me I should find a ride home because my truck will probably be there awhile.

I get nostalgic thinking that this may have been my last ride with Bubba.

2:15 p.m. – My dad picks me up and takes me home. Thanks Dad!

2:30 p.m. – Back to my previous plans. I begin cleaning the house like a madwoman. Declutter, do dishes, start laundry, sweep, vacuum, wipe and disinfect.

4:40 p.m. – I make a sandwich and begin perusing the Internet once again.

A lightly toasted bagel, light mayo, honey mustard, slice of cheese, three slices of honey ham. Perfection.

6:10 p.m. – My father-in-law brings me Chick-fil-a! Yes, I do eat it even though I have just eaten a sandwich a little over an hour ago. Oops.

7:25 p.m. – David comes home and has a present for me!

I promptly realize that I have forgotten all the steps to solving it that I knew only a few days ago.

7:30 p.m. – We go to my parents’ house to retrieve my truck. They picked it up from the shop for me before closing because they live right down the street. Turns out it was only a blown radiator hose and was fixed for a mere $65! So Bubba and I can continue tempting fate.

7:50 p.m. – Back at home, I type some blog posts while David watches college football.

9:30 p.m. – I shut down the computer, brush my teeth, pet the dogs, and climb into bed. David tucks me in. I will soon read a few pages before falling asleep. I reflect on the day: I exercised, cleaned the house, did my necessary errands, and dealt with a broken truck. I would have liked to walk the dogs and read more, but that’s okay. I feel rested and ready to tackle work in the morning. I’m calling today a success!

September 3, 2009