posted August 29th, 2008 by George
I’ve been wanting to take the family on an organized bike ride for some time. We thought that this would be a good year to give it a go. Every year my home town of Wichita Falls hosts the Hotter’n Hell Hundred bike race and fun ride. We registered as a family, and held a family vote to pick our team name. The Blue Eyed Racers got the most votes.
We started preparing for the 25 mile ride in July. Our original plan was for me to pull the trailer bike (the half-bike looking thing that attaches to my bike) and take one kid’s bike. 
The two kids could switch off between the small bike and being towed when they needed to rest. We quickly realized that this would not work. Kat was just too big for her bike and they both struggled in various hilly spots with the small, single-speed bike. Tiger wasn’t able to go more than about 3 miles at a time on his own, but that’s not too bad when you consider that he just learned to ride without training wheels on July 8th!! We couldn’t set the seat height high enough for Kat and low enough for Tiger at the same time so they were both uncomfortable. So, we checked Kat’s savings account and decided that we would pay for half of a new bike for her. She picked a purple Diamondback girl’s bike with 6 gears. 
I really wanted her next bike to have at least one shifter. My hope was that with the gear advantage and larger bike she would be able to make it the 25 miles on her own. We only had a few weeks for her to get used to it, so we went on several rides working our way up in miles. We got as high as 18 miles two weeks before the big ride.
We loaded up the bikes and headed to WF on Friday. The ride was to start at 7:00AM Saturday. I was concerned about parking and getting to our designated starting area, so we got up early and made it there just after 6:30AM. There were over 11,000 riders in this year’s ride. The official 100 mile race starts first, then all the fun riders head out in order of the distance (100 miles, 100K, 50 miles, 25 miles, then 10K). After waiting our turn, we crossed the start line at 7:30AM.
We held an average speed just over 8 miles per hour and finished in about 3 hours riding time. With 2 long rest stops and multiple water breaks on the roadside we finished the ride in 4 hours and 15 minutes. This slow of a pace was hard for me at times. It’s particularly hard to go slow and keep my balance while pulling Tiger on the trailer bike. I have to compensate for his moving around or leaning and it’s just easier to do when you have more speed to give you some stability. But this was an impressive pace for Kat to maintain. We are very proud of her for finishing this ride all on her own. It was a challenge for sure, but she stuck it out and made it.
You can check out more photos from the ride here.
Filed under: Bicycling, Get Outside, Live Well, Savor Life on August 29th, 2008 | 6 Comments »
posted August 29th, 2008 by Shannon
Overheard this summer:
Tiger, I DON’T think it’s a good idea to pick your nose with a sword. – Daddy
Filed under: Laugh More on August 29th, 2008 | No Comments »
posted August 22nd, 2008 by Shannon
A quick look through my draft posts resulted in my finding this. It happened almost a year ago, right before Tiger turned four. Too bad this did not become a regular conversation between us! Enjoy.
“Mommy, how ’bout this be the last time I throw the ball to you? And then you throw the ball to me and how ’bout that be the last time you throw the ball to me? And then you can go back and finish putting the dishes in the dishwasher… And I’ll help you.”
I kid you not, my son spoke those words today. He also followed through with his offer to help me load the dishwasher. All totally unprovoked.
Filed under: Laugh More on August 22nd, 2008 | 2 Comments »
posted August 16th, 2008 by Shannon
This morning I was gathering up the water bottles for today’s bike ride. George had previously filled up all the bottles and placed them in the frig, but Tiger had gotten his out of the frig, used it at breakfast, and left it empty. I was filling his water bottle at the sink when he walked into the kitchen and said he wanted cold water from the refrigerator.
There’s a small pitcher in the frig that the kids use to fill their water cups when they are thirsty. George and I don’t use it often so I forget about it. Thinking it would be a nice mommy thing to do, I give a little sigh and then reply that I can do that for him. The water currently in his bottle is poured out and the bottle is re-filled with cold frig water. The lid is screwed back on and I’m gathering up all the bottles when he adds one last request.
“… And five pieces of ice, too.”
I reply that we are running late. I’ve already filled his bottle with cold water and I just don’t have time to put five pieces of ice in too. He stops, thinks, and then replies as he walks out of the kitchen.
“Okay…..just four pieces of ice then.”
Filed under: Laugh More on August 16th, 2008 | 5 Comments »
posted August 8th, 2008 by Shannon
Kat has grown out of her bike and needed a larger one. We wanted to get it today so she could practice on the new bike a bit before the long bike ride we’re taking in 2 weeks. If you had been at our house this morning, you would have overheard this:
Me: Kat, you need to get some shoes on your feet.
< 10 minutes later >
Me: Kat, you have to have shoes before we go bike shopping. I’d hate to have to go bike shopping without you.
Kat: No, no, noooo! You can’t do that. I’m … one of the important people!
Filed under: Laugh More, Savor Life on August 8th, 2008 | 1 Comment »
posted August 1st, 2008 by Shannon
I recently found an old journal of funny stories from the past few years that I thought I’d share. Here’s your first funny from that archive. Enjoy!
We were relaxing in the backyard on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with Kat and Tiger. (This was before Bear was born.) The kids and George were playing in the sandbox under one of the large cottonwood trees. George said, “There’s just something about getting dirty that’s good for the psyche.” No more than three minutes later he amends that statement with, â€Oh gross!! …. When I said there was something good about getting dirty, I was NOT referring to bird poop!â€
Filed under: Family, Laugh More, Savor Life on August 1st, 2008 | No Comments »
posted July 25th, 2008 by Shannon
A little humor for your Friday.
When can wood fly?
When it’s a ceiling fan!
– made up completely by Kat
Filed under: Family on July 25th, 2008 | 3 Comments »
posted July 21st, 2008 by George
I’m just a kid, and you’re a grown up. You know lots of stuff that I don’t know. I’m just trying to learn.
— Kat
Said during a trip to the hardware store. I was getting a bit tired of a long string of questions while I was trying to locate the items I was there to buy. I let it get to me and asked her to stop asking so many questions which irritated her and prompted the quote above.
I know she’s right; it’s not always easy being patient.
Filed under: Quote of the Day, Savor Life on July 21st, 2008 | 3 Comments »
posted July 19th, 2008 by Shannon
- I got to watch as my latest niece entered this world….barely. I made it there with a mere 12 minutes to spare.
- I detoured through downtown Dallas. Twice. In the dark. The first was around midnight and was the result of a decision to not take my planned exit since it looked like a parking lot for as far as I could see. The second detour was around 2am (when the bars are closing) because the city of Dallas apparently forgot to put out the second half of their “Hwy 30 This Way” signs.
- I crawled back in bed at 3am and sweet hubby let me sleep in a couple of hours.
- Back over to Dallas again this afternoon so the kiddos could see their newest cousin. And so I could actually hold said new arrival.
- And then finally, I ran my little legs out playing kickball tonight with some friends. I can’t remember the last time I was this sore.
A wonderful day. An exhausting day. Welcome to this world, sweet niece!
Filed under: Family on July 19th, 2008 | 2 Comments »
posted July 1st, 2008 by George
“The new phone books are here! The new phone books are here! . . . I’m somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity – your name in print – that makes people. I’m in print! Things are going to start happening to me now.”
— Navin R. Johnson, The Jerk c. 1979
Well it may not be as prestigious as getting my name in the phone book, but I did get quoted a few times in the local Fort Worth news paper. There was an article about bicycling in the city and specifically riding to work. I had been cycling to work since May, so the reporter was interested in some of my experiences.
You can read the whole article here.
Filed under: Bicycling on July 1st, 2008 | 1 Comment »