Last Couple Of Days,

The last couple of days have been both fun and stressful. The fun part first - Jeff participated in a Duathlon at WPAFB on Tues night and came in 4th. Given he lost to Jeff Coudron, Brian Baker and a kid that I don't know - that was a good duathlon! We met Egg and T-Bolt at Classic afterwards for a delightful dinner - even though Egg wanted to talk about chains and tires vs. what T-Bolt and I were discussing (lol).

Wed Goose met Egg, Rhino, Mthd and Big Tim for the last full course Delight Night Ride. I don't have the full details but I guess Egg and Rhino put on a good battle/show. Goose said they both rode their you know whats off! Guess Big Tim had something happen at work and had to turn around on HIS road. I have never heard/seen Big Tim not complete a ride so I know something was wrong. I hope "it" heals quickly. Goose was really happy with his ride tonight. Said he was able to get on Egg's wheel and hang on.

Our dog had his surgery today. We honestly thought we would have to put him down. He had a very large tumor on his face that the Vet removed - he is a little sleepy tonight, but is alive and will wag his tail if you talk to him.

When I dropped AJ after at school this afternoon I had a mother tell me about the playground time yesterday. I guess some kids from his pre-school were playing with AJ. He was always playing with someone new in the area (his family is from India). Couple of the little ones said something about the other kid having "dark" skin and didn't want to play with him. AJ stayed with his new friend and let the other 2 walk way. Jeff and I along with his parents have really worked hard on teaching him skin color makes no difference - you either like them or you don't - end of conversation. The mother wanted to let me know because she was "concerned" and thought I would like to know. Yes we do want to know so we can say how proud that we are of him. Come on moms, he is 5 and so are your children - color of eyes, hair or skin should not make a difference! OK off my soap box for tonight!

Egg In The House = No Rain

Egg came up to play with Goose today. After I had a terrible record riding this past week - lots of rain, schedule off, I knew I could get in a good ride today ----- cause it never rains on Egg :)

Egg took Goose out on some of the old roads and worked him hard. They arrived home and Goose was still alive! He went out for a short run while Egg and I shared some laughs and rut beers. He stayed for a while after Goose was done, lots of laughs (poking fun at Goose, of course). Egg's new truck is awesome. Was afraid we wouldn't get out paint/cookout party - but we came up with a project the boys can work on together while I cook.

I made it 20 miles and had fun. What more could somebody want out of a day!

Mad Cow TT

First one Goose has done this year. Way tooo much fun tonight. Egg kicked ass, poor Tim had a flat, Goose and T-Bolt rode excellent. Egg will have the times/mph posted. That isn't my job - just to time.

Big Tim's daughter is in from NY so it was Egg, Goose and I with T-Bolt meeting us for a drink. Excellent dinner. Thanks to Egg for the dinner.

I had so much fun today - excellent ride for me, daughter got a job, superb TT tonight. Way to go guys.

Still Working on Mthd Mayhem

I am still working on my view of Sunday. But I think I learned a few new lessons. Caring water in the front seat for quick refills, making sure everyone (including my husband) eats at the stops, a few new first aid supplies for heat/cold. Sunday was a hard day due to the heat. Cold can be just as cruel as wind and rain. It just shows that you MUST be prepared (just like a Boy Scout!)

Thanks to all that had to wait near the end - I know it is so difficult to get started again after a rest - I personally (and I know Goose does also) appreciate it. Once again, I will stick in the back of my brain - take water/food ahead and go back for the ones struggling.

Bottom line - I had fun - friendships made stronger - it just confirms who Jeff or I can call on when something happens.

Peace to all :) with the handshake that we give in Mass (some accept - others turn their backs)

Really behind

Wow - I am so behind. I think we me riding almost everyday, along with everything else going on in our life right now - this has slipped.

Last couple of weeks have been busy. Mad Cows did their First Annual Zanesfield ride Aug 2, AJ has his second Triathlon Aug 8 and today (9th) was the Mthd's (Ultimate) Mayhem, Today had 26 climbs, I think they went up more than then came down (I know that really isn't possible), It finally got summer hot (today of all days!). They went through lots of water/Gatorade (with very few potty stops - there wasn't much fluid left to get rid of). Everybody was a true team player today - the encouragement given was the ultimate. Today just reaffirmed that there is no "I" in team.

Good job guys! A special thanks to Mthd's family for the excellent food after the ride. It was delicious and much appreciated. Ron did an excellent job on breaking down the ride into segments, made the maps easier to follow (especially the detours I had to take). I asked Jeff on the way home if he would do it again - given how much hard the course was this year over last - he just smiled and said yes.

I will give my take on the ride, all the critters I saw and pictures tomorrow.

Asheville Day 4

OK - I am way behind in blogs - I know :(. So here is my view on day 4:

This was by far the hardest day to sag for. Today Rhino, TKO and Wooley joined the group (Egg, Goose, Mthd, Big Tim and Maji). Drove and parked at Lake Tahoma on Route 80. Egg promised today was going to be an easy drive for me - actually only a couple of turns - CAN'T GET LOST! Of course we had to get the before picture. They headed out on Rt 80 with a climb that is about 3.7 miles to the Pkwy with plenty of switchbacks. As I No way would I go down the mountain at their speed. The view was spectacular. Several overlooks to pull off on and just stare of the beauty.

Goose seemed to be hanging tough and riding well today. He was finally able to conquer his Rt 80 demons. It was starting to get a little warm out and everyone was still riding well. We had planned water stops to make sure everyone had what they needed. Well, that almost worked.

After everyone getting water and food they headed out the the 11 mile climb to the turn off for Mitchell State Park. The plan was for me to be at the bottom to refuel if they needed it. The first 4 came by fairly quick and nobody needed anything. I "thought" I had enough time to get the tote of water and food to the top and make it back down in time for the others. I passed Jeff on my way back down and he was in his zone and not answering me (I know what is new). I also psrsed Big Tim and he didn't need anything. As I got down a little further, I saw Rhino who needed water. I felt bad because he was suppose to get it at the bottom not mid way. Got him his water and he went on his way. Then came Maji bringing up the rear. He had found a man who was sagging for his running son and he shared water with him. I am really glad Maji asked him. Finally had everybody at the top. Looks like Wooley was a little warm!

Jeff was sharing his story of passing the entrance to Mitchell up. He said he looked at the mountain and remembered it be steeper. I know - how can you miss the BIG sign at the bottom - I don't know but he did. He went about a mile out of the way but turned around and got back on track.

This was before they headed back down - which was going to be fun. Since they had done nothing but climbed - the fun descent was next up.

I let everyone head out first so I didn't hold them up going down. I ended up behind a car with an elderly driver who only drove about 6-7 miles an hour. When I finally made it back to where everyone parked, first thing Egg asked if I got lost. Nope, just couldn't pass the car and they were going the same way I was.

The guys all shook hands, exchanged stories, and loaded up for the trip back. We hit the local ice cream stand at the end of 80 which was very extremely good. What a day, I was exhausted and I only drove . We headed back to the hotel, showered, Egg, Mthd and Maji loaded up the van for their trip home. We went to dinner before they left - and a BIG thanks to Mr and Mrs Big Tim for our dinner. After hugs and kisses (well from me) they headed home to Ohio. Tim and Doreen were staying another day and the same with us.

Sunday brought a much earned day of relaxation. Goose and I headed into town and walked around for a while. We ended up going back to the hotel and getting in the pool. Met a nice couple on motorcycles from Cincinnati. She had talked about seeing a group of guys riding their bikes and I put on my Mad Cow T-shirt and she told me that was on their jerseys. We got a good laugh out of that -- she couldn't tell me enough that you guys are nuts. All I could do was smile and nod. I decided not to waste my breathe by trying to tell her how cool it really is.

We headed home on Monday and back to the old grind on Tuesday.

Asheville Day 3

This is just a sample of the day's beautiful views. After a foggy yesterday, this was a welcome sight.
I think today was my favorite scenic wise. Beautiful back country roads, very little traffic, so much character (homes/barns/trailers) - not just the ones in this picture! I think this picture details the general humor that this trip consisted of - lots of fun/jokes/one liners. We started at Mars Hill riding the Devil's Fork challenge route a day early. The roads were well marked with arrows and I have a very descriptive route on paper (well I did until Egg stuck it in his back pocket by mistake!)

The first climb was Bone Camp Road with climbs and fast winding descents. Something told me that this was what was on tap for today. Long hard climbs with a reward of fast descents.

Next up was Grapevine Road. Beautiful countryside views. I starting winding around a mountain and the road didn't seem to be in that good of shape. I kept climbing in the car. I looked out to the right and there was no guard rail (not unusual for country roads, but this was winding road was going fairly high). I finally decided that I must have missed a turn somewhere and was able to get turned around and headed back down the mountain. Nope, here came Goose and Egg - I yelled at Egg that he was NUTZ!

Soon to follow was Mthd (after his potty break), Big Tim and Maji. After everyone was accounted for I head on down the road for a refueling spot. Found a new church on top of a hill with a view out over the valley.

Across the road was the community dawg that Goose made friends with. Her tag said Susie, but who knows. She was friendly and just wanted her belly scratched.

Of course we had to pictures at the the historic Chapel Hill Church! Wish we would have Maji's star wars toy for this picture. This was just a sample of the character that the mountains had to offer.

They headed back out for a grinding 2-3 miles of 16% climb. Unfortunately, this road didn't have the "community friendly dawg" like Susie. This dog was not nice, he chased Egg, Goose, Mtd and Big Tim. I was a little further up the road but could hear him. After the guys passed me, I headed back down a little to warn Maji. The damn dog sat down in the middle of the road and wasn't letting me by. About that time here came Maji, no water in his bottle to squirt him so I launched an empty bottle at him hoping he would chase it and not Maji. I guess it worked, he didn't get Todd. It was until that evening did I know that the dog got Goose's rear wheel.

Egg was FINALLY getting to ride for himself, for the first time today. He spent most of the ride going back between everyone making sure they we OK and coaching them through their struggles. This is what we can FUNDICATION BABY! Egg reached the state line first

Followed by Goose

Mthd making everything look easy

Big Tim with the usual big smile

And, our partial streaker, Maji. Todd was starting to overheat. We did what we could with ice in his bottle and in a bag to cool him down.

The Appalachian trail passes right by the top and we saw hikers coming and going. They used this stop to refuel and then headed on their way The descent was and I didn't even try to stay with them in the car - toooo fast for me! This took them back up to Sam's Gap and into N.C. again. Egg stay with Goose while Mthd stayed with Big Tim. halfway up. We knew Maji was suffering from the heat. While refueling Mthd and Egg posed for this. They went on and I waited on Maji to make sure he was OK. Got him refueled and he was on his way.

Maji rode most of the route, but we had planned for me to pick him up before that last climb. Egg called to see where we were - we were about 10 minutes behind them.

That day was a hard day of long, long climbs - fast descents. I admire Maji for his determination and conquering the evils. Egg coached Goose over some long hard climbs, Mthd road as smooth as usual and I always enjoy the big smiles you get from Big Tim. Awesome ride guys. I had so much fun that day.