A Few More Pics

Final Thoughts and Lessons Learned

I started off this blog saying I was trying to get out of a funk caused by a couple of personal losses. My goal was not to solve all the world's problems, just get me back in it. Trying to rejuvenate my inner self, and find joy in what has been provided. Here are some of the things I've realized.

1. I need to breathe fresh air, to feel the of warmth from the sun, and to enjoy the cool refreshment from the rain. My allergies have been non-existent since I started riding. This has kept me from missing out on lots of things I would normally be too sick to do. I have more energy, and crave being outside more and more. I suppose this is why I don't like the gym...I like being outside :-)

2. When I'm riding I think of nothing else but riding...mainly because I have to focus so much to finish what I start. Takes the stress of the day away, and builds confidence in what I'm doing. Good stuff.

3. I made a new year's resolution back in 2000 that I would do something every year that I had never done before. This was actually the start of me breaking out of my box. Obviously, this bike ride fits that resolution. The difference with this bike ride vs. any other thing I've done, is that because I had to train for it almost everyday, I got off the couch almost everyday. Other things were just one day events (concerts, sky diving, trips, etc.). I enjoyed the challenge of the daily grind.

4. Surrounding myself with motivated people is a good thing. Keeping to myself isn't horrible, however it's not as productive and lacks the luster needed to keep going when things are down. I haven't kept totally to myself, I've just been a minimalist. This was a good envelope to push.

5. I've been forced into eating healthier. I even turned down fast food today...twice!!! This is a definate change. I feel so much better when I don't eat all that junk. And, the workouts are better too. Although sometimes I have to choke down the salad, I know it's worth the effort. Not perfect yet...still like my sweets...but I think this new outlook is good.

6. I am more overweight and out of shape than I realized. I truly thought it wouldn't take much to get in shape, but I was totally wrong. I've let myself go for years, so this is going to take some work to get back where I need to be.

Overall, I am proud of my accomplishment and the side effects it has brought. I'm still in shock that I did it, but the more it sinks in, the more pleased I am. I am looking for my next big ride. Here I come!!!

The Ride

Here we are! We dubbed ourselves the "Weekend Warriors" Diane came to pick me up, and we had our first fall. LeCreshia fell up the stairs to my front door. Not to worry, she bounced back and we were on our way to Weatherford, TX with Farfalla Viola on her first road trip.


After a fine steak dinner at Logan's Steakhouse, we parked our steady stead in our room at the Econolodge.

LeCreshia and I figured out in the motel parking lot, as she was giving her bike it's inaugural ride, that the chain was not properly attached to her bike. Diane, the master of all bike tools, came to the rescue. We had our second casualty when Diane dropped her trusty tool on her foot. You see the ice pack on her foot...OUCH!! Still she worked away getting not only the chain fixed, but Cre's new seat in place and ready for the Weekend Warriors to charge ahead.



The next morning, after a breakfast of good ol' Raisin Bran, we were off to the trail.

Here I am making biking look GOOD!!! Got all the gear I can stand, and am nervous, anxious, and literally couln't believe we were there. Couldn't believe it was already May 15th. I was also very excited...can you tell :-)

Conditions: Cloudy skies, about 70 degrees, (drum roll please)5 mph wind, can you believe it!!! I was so happy about that. Rain was supposed to come in the afternoon, so our goal was to get back by about 2ish. It was 9:30 when we started.

And we're off. Isn't it beautiful?!

About 3.5 miles into it, we stopped to take some "action shots." How'd I do? :-)

We meandered though many farms along the way, so I had to get some animal shots. I'm a city girl, and this is as close to the real thing as I get. It was very cool!!


At the 14 mile mark we were stopped in our tracks. We found out later that an earlier flood had caused a wash out hole 5 ft wide and 4 ft deep in our trail. We were rerouted through the Mineral Wells State Park, where we were going to pick up the back end of the trail.

We made it to Mineral Wells!!! This is at the entrance to the Mineral Wells State Park. A few miles up the road is where we were headed to catch the back end of the trail.

OOPS!!! That new bike seat decided to have an attitude.

We pulled in to a Chevron station, got some new tools (because we didn't actually bring any with us on the trail), and put Diane's expertise back to work. After she fixed it, we decided to have lunch at Subway. At this point we had gone 20 miles and had an appetite on the attack...growl...

We ate and had made it back to the entrance to the State Park when that seat acted up again. The Lord was definatly on our side, because after Diane and Cre had taken the seat apart, and were looking at the pieces in wonderment, a truck with two Boy Scout troop leaders, two men in their late 50s early 60s, stopped and saved the day. They put humpty dumpty back together again :-) We love the Boy Scouts of America...just wish I had thought to take thier pic...oops!!

We didn't make it to the other end of the trail, however on our way back through the state park we passed this area of the lake that was overflowing, from the recent flood, over the roadways...YIKES!!

After I took this shot (which by the way is the closest I've EVER been to a longhorn...WOAH!!) the trail had a bit of a divit from the flooding. I needed to kinda make a little jump up to get over it, and when I did...well, I missed it totally, and the bike stopped and I didn't. I landed on the bar. Although it hurt, I couldn't stop laughing at what I had just attempted and failed. They didn't see it, but man it was funny at the time.

That darn seat!!!

LOOK!!! A deer!!! Closest I've ever been to one of those too!! I was truly impressed with all the animals out there.

At the top of the tree you can barely see a cardinal. They were everywhere. There were butterflies everywhere too, but I couldn't get one of those to sit still long enough to get a shot.

Chillin' with about 10 miles to go.

Here we are at the highest point in the trail. The 6 or so miles it took to get from the last pic to this pic was a very brutal uphill climb. Obviously, on the way to Mineral Wells, we had this awesome downhill adventure, breeze in our hair, lovin' life. Coming back up was no small feat. This is our victory shot, because it was all downhill from here...WOOHOO!!!

The last half-mile. Beautiful canopy of trees and shade.

WE DID IT!!! 37 miles of bike riding for the Weekend Warriors was a success. Here's the proof in case you have doubts ;-)

I WIN!! I beat mother nature again. It's 3 to 1 right now. We got back around 4:30 and still beat the rain. In fact, it didn't rain at all the whole day!!! I set my goal, trained best I could, and conquered it well!!

Then I crashed :-) On the way home, there was an Elvis sighting. A big, gigantic blow-up thingy on top of a car dealership, with his infamous white suit and mic in hand. Every adventure needs an Elvis sighting.

Thank you Diane and Cre for a wonderful adventure!! Thank you for waiting for me to train well enough to make this ride with you. Thank you for pushing me in order to accomplish a great personal goal. Thank you Farfalla Viola for being AWESOME!!!

UN-Believable!!!

I did it!!! Now, I'm sore, tired and need to get to bed. The next couple of days I'm being pampered by my husband with a night at the Crescent and a Spa Day there as well. I'll post the story when I return. I will say, have no fear...there WAS an Elvis sighting...phew...that was a close one :-)

Interesting Development: 1 Day Left

I am glad to say that the wind is only 13mph today, and it looks like it will be the same tomorrow. The interesting development is that after 3 months of this area slowly moving into a drought, we have severe thunderstorms going on as I type. Not to be dismayed, I am headed off to Walmart for the last little doodads, and Diane is picking me up at 5. We are forging ahead with our plans despite the lastest kick in the fancy pants from mother nature. Tomorrow is the big day! I looked on the park's website and they also have a "Wildflower Bike Ride" tour on their calendar. Not that we are doing that, but I could insert some bad joke about stopping to smell the flowers here if I wanted to :-)

We do have a backup plan if we get rained out. Shopping!!! It's still a girls' weekend whether we ride or not. BUT, let me tell you...if I don't get to ride, it's not like I'm not going to come back. I've trained for this, and I'm doing it one way or another. So, off to Walmart I go. Sunscreen here I come.

Enfuego!!!

I rode 14 miles last night, and the wind was blowing up to 25 mph as usual. Today my legs feel like they are on fire. Good thing I'm resting today. FIRE!!!

And the Wind Blew...

So, at 8pm when I decided that the wind wasn't blowing any harder than other "bad wind days" (slowed down from 30 mph with 47 mph gusts to 20 mph with 28 mph gusts) it was time to try out the CamelBak. VERY cool contraption. Water tasted like plastic, however it was right there for the taking. VERY cool contraption. The wind was in from the south, which was perfect since my uphill is headed north. I made it uphill in the fastest time yet! Then, downhill was a different story. I hit a brick wall (figuratively of course), and it took me 25 minutes to ride 3.5 miles tonight. Got a good little workout though.




Spoke to Diane tonight. She's the outdoorsy one of the group. Her email address includes her love for mountian climbing. She informed me that this 40 mile ride is her warm up for her 14,000 feet mountain climb in Colorado this summer. WOW!!! She also told me she hasn't been on her bike in about a month. YEAH...evening the playing ground. Also, LeCreshia, who just purchased her bike about a month ago, hasn't given it the inaugural ride yet!! Another point for me :-) That's a pic of her bike. If I called it the Silver Bullet she'd get mad, so I'll have to come up with something else. Cre works out on a regular basis though, so, I'm anticipating their athletic abilities to trump my aspiring ath-a-let-a-cism. I did learn that the plan is that once we get to Mineral Wells, we are going to have lunch and take a long relaxing break. I LIKE BREAKS :-) Ok, must shower, clean dishes and go to bed. Now this is getting boring...

Wind Advisory

To add to my "40's"...the wind advisory from the National Weather Service says winds are going to be up to 40 mph this afternoon. Good times!!! Mother nature and I will go rounds again today, and she ain't gonna like it :-)

Last Week of Training

This is my new gear. The CamelBak is for hydration, the seat cover is for the more padding needed to keep my tooshie from falling off, and the watch is to look cool :-) (or maybe time the thing next weekend...whatever) Our hotel has been booked, and fear is rearing it's ugly head. "What am I thinking??!!" now applies to the 40 mile trek. I'm going to shoot for 25 miles tomorrow, and then tone it down the rest of the week. I do think I "should" be able to do this. I just get reminded regularly how out of shape and overweight I really am. I can't believe I let it get this bad. I didn't even know until I started really training for this thing, how bad I had let it get. I eat horribly, I never get out and exercise on a regular basis, and I'm paying the price. This has been a DEFINATE eye opener. I can't wait for this to be more fun than work. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting outside almost everyday, getting to enjoy the sun and the rain and the mud :-) Lisa Moore's house is next, but then I want another trek. I want to keep this up. Outdoors, I am coming for ya!!

21 MILES!!!!!

I need a nap...

My training goal has been met!!! I wanted to be able to do at least 20 miles (since that's the length of the trail) once before the big day. I figured if I can do it once, I can do it more than once. It was 78 degrees, wind gusts up to 24 mph, I felt every bit of it, and I conquered. I also need a shower :-)

AND...I got hit by flying rocks, and have bruises. The only thing I can figure is that a car kicked up the rocks, that then ricocheted off the stone wall I was riding by, and hit me in the arm, both legs and chest. OOOOOWWWWWWWCCCCHHHHHH!!!!! Who saw that coming??? I'm just thankful they didn't hit me in the face...geesh!!

The Cool Down

After each bike ride, Kevin and I sit on his tailgate while I eat my apple and drink water to cool down. We chit chat about how to save the world, promote world peace, and what's for dinner the next night. The usual generalities. Today is trash day, so last night people were taking thier trash to the curb for pick up, etc. While we were solving the economic crisis, people walked up to the trash pile across the street and started digging through it!!!! We were shocked!! The house is for sale because the owners were elderly, one passed away, and the other moved out to a nursing home. They'd lived there for over 30 years. Their now adult children have been cleaning it out. What could possibly be worth anything in their trash?!?!? I know Gene would have blown a gasket if he knew folks were digging through his trash...hehehe. Well, he is the guy that stole our fire wood...maybe karma is comin' around here...hehehe. It was just weird to see that.

9 Days Left: Joanna vs. Mother Nature - Round 2

WE'RE EVEN!!!

Yesterday was SO windy all day. I've noticed that most of the time that when it's windy during the day, it slows down at sundown. Not last night!! So, I battled Mother Nature once again.

Conditions: Clear-ish, 78 degrees, 15 mph winds gusting up to 25 mph.

I am stronger this time around, and the gusts were 10mph slower than the day she won. I rode the tough route with all the hills. On my way up the last big one, the wind was blowing so hard that, literally, I peddled down with my left leg and the bike just stopped. It didn't go anywhere. My first thought, "HUH???" My next thought, "OH NO!!!" So, I pumped it as hard as I could. It was my slow-mo scene for this blog. I could hear "Chariots of Fire" playing in the background. (does that date me? eeek...) Yes, she tried to stop me. No, she di-en't!! I rolled right over and through her wind!! I feel so great about it this morning!! I am sore in some new spots. Whatever!! I WIN!!

For today, I'm pushing it back up to 20 miles. One week left of training, so "forward march!" (Never really got to say that much...long story, not about biking...so you don't get to hear it...mwahahahaha...) Last time it took about 2 hours. Will probably take that much time again. No worries, just want to make sure I can do it. (fade out with "Chariots of Fire" music...)

13 Days Left: I'm Thankful For...

Sunset bikerides, cool temps after a rain, that the rain stopped in enough time for me to take the sunset bikeride, my knee not hurting, my legs getting stronger, my allergies being non-existent this season, mud puddles (harnessing my inner-child and splashing right through them...yes, I'm a mess right now...lol), sprinkler systems that are spraying water right by the sidewalk (yup, rode through that too...hehehe), people who notice me coming and move to the side, my friends who are willing to take the ride with me, my family and friends who are willing to cheer me on, my husband who seconds as my "coach", and the Lord who is making it all possible.

Biker's Tan

I now have a biker's tan developing. This is interesting to me because I have never developed a tan before. My outside outings are usually in spurts, so I either am generally white, or sunburned in spurts. Even as a kid, I never really tanned. This should be interesting. Got the little line where the fancy pants stop on my leg, and then also where my sleeves stop on my arm. Not so much by my ankles yet, but I'm sure that's coming, along with the sunglasses lines. CRAZY!!!!

14 Days to Go: I Love Sunscreen!!!

I don't know what it is about sunscreen, but I absolutely LOVE the smell. It smells like the beach, the sun, the ocean, the lake, fishing, sunbathing, boating, having a cookout, being at the park, and all kinds of fun festivities all wrapped into one. It was warm enough to need to wear some today, and it just brought the whole summer element to this experience. I LOVE the smell of suncreen!!! Now, I guess I'll add the smell of biking to that list :-)

Today's conditions: Sunny, 79 degrees, 17mph winds with gusts up to 25mph

At least it was only the gusts that were 25 mph, instead of the wind being that strong before any gusting. What a great ride today. 10.5 miles, beautiful weather, it was perfect. I did find where I can purchase some weed if necessary. Can't mistake that smell anywhere. 3rd house behind the fence on Gateway, in case anyone was wondering...lol!! I'm so glad my knee is cooperating again. I'm shooting for 14miles tomorrow, and getting as close as I can to 20 miles before next weekend. And then there will be one week left...WHEW, this 40 days is going fast!!!

15 Days Left: It's a Breeze...

This is where I have a gym membership. Today, I stick my tongue out to it and say phooey...I ride outside!!!! I'm SOOOO excited to be back outside today. The wind died down to a breeze, my knee acted right, all things were good!! Since I've been off for a week, I only went 7 miles today, hoping to be back up to at least about 15 here in the next couple of days. Need to make sure my knee can handle it, but it's looking good right now!! WOOHOO!!!