Bike Wreck #1 of the Season...

 Well, I have been on my bike 3-4 times so far this summer...and I have already had my first crash of the season....YIKES!   Instead of bloggie buddy, JoJo calling me "jackalope"  maybe I should be "bike wreck jackalope"!!   (If you don't know the unfortunate jackalope incident I had, you can find it here on this blog.)  And, don't forget the "unfortunate bike incident" I had immediately after my jackalope incidicent that same year...followed later by the "unfortunate dance incident".  

I should have known it was NOT a good night for a bike ride...I was a little sore from riding bikes on Sunday.  So, I decided I'd ride my comfort bike...kinda  a more relaxed ride.   I got on, and thought the seat was way too high.  What?  Did I shrink since last year?  Hmmm.  So, got it adjusted, then decided it was crooked.   So, adjustment time again.   Finally I figured it was me, not the seat...and we got on our way.   We were about 3-4 blocks from home, and Brooklyn was riding ahead of me.   All of a sudden, he started to fall, and he just kinda stood down and put his bike down.

Meanwhile, I screeched on my brakes, and tried to not hit him (we were on a sidewalk).   I crashed.  I let out some obscenities.  Rather loudly.    (Not horrible obscenities, but still...)   I noticed a jogger across the street.  Wonder what he thought of my lovely little spectacle.

Heres the bruises on the inside of my knee.  Kinda hard to envision from this photo... (I took it myself and had to somewhat contort myself to do that...) but it's swollen and red and bruising.  And, I'm a little sore all over! 

Yep, I'm the epitome of gracefulness.  (Just so you know, I did finish the bike ride.)

Bike Trip

Our annual bike trip to the Mikkleson Trail in South Dakota was last weekend. We have an awesome group of friends that we go with. This year was a "wash"..literally. It poured rain, and we were unable to ride.

We still had fun, though...we toured Mount Moriah Cemetary, as I wrote earlier (see here).

Then, on Saturday, we toured two wineries...go figure that I'd enjoy that! It was awesome! Then, we gathered to watch UW play football on TV. I went with three others on a hike that afternoon, as it cleared off some. It still would have been too bad to ride on the trail. That night, supper at the Alpine Inn at Hill City, famous for their filet mignon. (It's all they serve in the evening.)

Sunday morning was more rain, so we enjoyed company for a bit, then headed off in different directions. We went to Rapid City for a while with friends and headed home.

It was disappointing to not be able to ride, but a great time with good friends. We may have to change up to an earlier date next year, as we have had rainy cool weather the past three years.

Bike Trip 2009 Photos

Bike Ride 2008

Bike Ride 2007

At least I had NO ACCIDENTS! :-)

A Day Away...

We headed to South Dakota today for our annual bike ride on the Mikkelson Trail. We did not ride today, but just enjoyed the day. We will ride both Saturday and Sunday.

Today, some of us went to see Mount Moriah. (It is Deadwoods' historic boot hill cemetary, where "Wild Bill" Hickock, Calamity Jane, Potato Creek Johnny, among so many others were buried.) It was really interesting and also a good hike. The cemetary is on a hill, and is quite a bit of walking. We really enjoyed it.

Here is a slideshow, be sure and click so you can read the captions about the photos. If you want, you can go to the photo page and view instead: (Mount Moriah Photos).




After, went to the crab legs and prime rib buffet at the Silverado, and ate too much. It was quite tasty! We walked for quite a while, stopping in various stores to look around and casinos where I played a whole $2.00 on the nickel machines, and then headed back to the motel. Tomorrow, up bright and early to peddle....

Goals....

While Brooklyn and his buddy, Bailey attended Transformers II on Sunday, I decided to get in a work out on my bike. It was a little warm, but not horribly hot. So, I took off with my helmet on. I got out of town (over the overpass for starters, which always has been a challenge for me in the past) and then to the highway. I got to riding and decided I thought I could make it to Berea. I almost quit a couple times, but I made it! Of course, then I had to ride back! But, I made it! I rode a bit over 20 miles total! I was proud of me....I couldn't do that at all last summer. So, even though I didn't win the "biggest loser contest", I have come a long way in the past few months! I was just proud to set that goal Sunday and stick to it, instead of turning back! I have to continue on and meeting new challenges. So, I may be bragging a bit, and that is not a desireable trait...but I just was excited to have met the goal I set! Now, back to being humble....and working on those darned state uploads at work today....today is D Day...the final day...and I guess I have the goal of getting those errors cleared that were generated when the assessment uploads got done on Friday....wish me luck!

First Peek at the Iris

You may remember last year our bike rides through the Iris Farm ?? They were so beautiful and we rode through there quite often. Brooklyn and I rode through on Sunday, and they are just starting to bloom. I can't wait until they are all in full bloom again!


For more photos, you can view the Summer Fun 2009 album.