Last Sunday Nelson, Justin and I went for a long ride. It was my first century! We rode 122 miles, down to the coast for a dip and then back up to a lake near town to camp for the night. We got up early and rode 15 miles back into town. I had a lot of fun and pushed myself really hard. It was rough for me to ride so far with a loaded bike in the summer sun but I like knowing I can do it. It was good preparation for Justin and I’s July tour, its only a few weeks away!
The race went really well! The turnout was much lower than I would have liked but it was the hottest day of the year so far on a holiday weekend in a college town during summer, so I wasn’t really expecting a ton of people.
Everyone that did race seemed to have a blast. The checkpoints went really smoothly and were hilarious. Brushing your teeth for two minutes, self portrait drawing, eating a carrot, getting your heart rate down….
Tom won first overall and had his eyes set on my bag, he seemed super stoked to win it. He makes these awesome belts from recycled bike tires. He sponsored the race with a few, you can find him at bicyclebelts.com.
Harmony won first lady and got a $100 gift certificate to Old Field Cycles, our local frame builder. ( I can hear him working underneath me right now!)
This was my younger sisters first race ever and I am so proud of her, she got second place ladies on a hybrid bike! She picked a crane bell for a prize. She also did 5 pull ups during the race *badass*. I love her.
Thanks to all the sponsors. Bicycle Belts, Joe’s Bike shop, University Cycles, Krank it up!, Bread and Roses, Sweat Pea Cafe, Old Field Cycles and of course Anhaica Bags.
Nervous Ramblings
I am throwing my first Alley cat today. I am nervous, what if no one comes????
I never really think about how hard it is to promote events and make them successful, it is so much work.
Right now I am cooking beans for homemade black bean burgers and waiting for the first rise on a bunch of buns. We are providing bean burgers for all the racers.
I hope someone awesome wins the bag I put in for Anhaica sponsorship. Its a waxed canvas blue roll top. I have this weird ego thing when it comes to sponsoring, I always want my bags to go for high placings. One day I will be that good, one day I will be able to throw messenger bags at all the races.
I need more coffee I think.
I got 5th over all in a race last week. I gotta start beating them boys, 1st girl is depressingly easy to get, where are all my rad fast ladies at???
Last night was the annual ride of silence. We deliver ghost bikes for anyone who was killed while cycling in the last year. Unfortunately we had one to deliver last night. My first ghost ride was for a friend who died when I first moved back to Tallahassee, he had been eating dinner with a bunch of us and left the restaurant to go help a friend, the last time I saw him was lying dead on the pavement in the intersection. I didn’t realize how much the ride last night was going to affect me. I didn’t know the man who died 10 months but I share a sense on community with all of us who chose to ride. I miss every single one of us who has been senselessly murdered while cycling. Ride safe, please, we need you here.
Attention world: You can now officially stop GIF-making. Somebody won.
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Just got in from a lovely bike ride by the super moon light.
I love where I live and how abundant food is and how many of my girlfriends are farmers!
I have been enjoying a ton of really tasty winter/spring/summer crop combinations, one of the other great things about living in this climate is how you can still be harvesting beets and also munching on sugar snaps wile picking your first squash and ‘maters!
I just put together a chopped salad of cucumbers, radishes (both from my friend Mary’s farm), squash, onion (my garden!) and a green pepper ( from the store, thought I needed it for the tempeh cakes I made last night for my sisters grad party but ended up not needing it.) It am leaving it to sit for a minute with some lemon juice and zest, olive oil, salt and cayenne while Justin finishes a polo bike he is building and we get some swimming in. Then I am going to add the first purple potatoes from garden to the last beets from my friends Katie and Arron’s farm and make something. I will find a way to add in the fennel from Mary too!
The burger is from a few nights ago, rice bean and beet burger. With kale pesto! Soooo good, really cheap and bright pink!
Enjoy the food porn! I hope everyone else is eating as well as I am!
A few of the women fiercely defending ecosystems the world over.
There are some really, really amazing women on this list.
Truth.
