Lost River in July

Fun in West Virginia.

Shoes

I have become more practical with my shoes and fell in love with Danskos. (I would kill myself in the above shoes!) We have an outlet center about an hour away. Today they have a sale and a few of us from work are going this morning. The ironic part is that we all wear the same size so there may be some fighting over shoes within the car. I mentioned that we should have a shoe coop. We could come to work with flip flops and decide what shoes to where out of our pool of Danksos when we get to work.

I just finished doing some yoga so I don't get too aggressive while shopping. And the bonus today is that today's shoppers get a free bag with a purchase. Yay!! Like I need another bag. I actually started giving some away. Aaaah. Breath in... Breath out. Wish me luck!

Cruisers

We took our cruisers out for a Friday night spin for ice cream; hit the record on the DVR to tape the last few holes of the PGA; made it downtown Lancaster around 7:30 but did not get ice cream as the line grew as we tried to lock the bikes.

Instead, we rode up the alley to Carr's Restaurant for a beer. Tim Carr, the owner, has outdoor dining in the alley-way Fridays and Saturdays for the summer. Fabulous idea! capitalizing on First Friday's for sure. It is a great space dining in the alley. Tonight featured a a jazz band (last week was a bluegrass/folk band). I was dancing swing in my seat to Duke Ellington. (It don't mean a thing, when it ain't got that swing...) We enjoyed the evening then weaved our way around town on our way home to see the final second round holes of the PGA. (The pictures are from last Friday's, First Friday. The city was hopping! The Central Market building is to the left. I will post other pictures of that weekend later.)

It was betting night and I had Tiger leading by four under and the closest guy would be Harrington. As betting goes, I won and lost. It was painful as we watched Tiger get ready to chip in his third shot and the tape stopped with the club head paused up against the ball. Ugh. So here I am checking the Internet to see that he bogeyed the 18th. UGH! Yet he is still four under leading into the third round. Tiger, you are the Emperor!

Someone made the comment that he has the Emperor's ??? Two kids (of each gender), a Swedish wife and the millions. Huh? I thought the comment was pretty out there. He has the awesome talent to back it all up, though.

August Racing

Not much of it! Enjoying the last major of the year. Hoping Tiger pulls it off for the year. Damn, he is struggling, again.

Why I Love Summer

MJ & Blueberries

My camera is working. Must keep it away for any moisture as I had it in a basket with cold cantalopes and even with the camera in the bag, the lens would not retract. But I got lucky, it is working after I borrowed a friend's camera for a weekend. Yay!

Blueberries and Tequila

I had the most beautiful ride today that happened a bit after some whining. I had planned to do the A ride and get my arse handed to me but I thought I wanted to do a great workout. I had a cue sheet from doing the ride years ago so I was prepared to get dropped. Stanford gave me the "honey, why don't you ride to Christiana and feed us? You would have a tailwind and all." Grrr. When I am set with a plan, I don't like to change it. Those of you that know me, that's how I roll. But once I work though it, I can change.

So I googled what roads to use and since I was running late, I needed to ride one of the busier roads. The route was probably a little over 25 miles (a lot less than 37 hard, steady miles with the club ride) and slow. I enjoyed the scenery; looking around at the cows, chickens, property auctions, the Amish, etc. Everyone including the animals said hello and smiled back. The humidity had not kicked in yet and the farmlands of Lancaster County were lush green. There were tourists on bikes taking pictures of albino deer, vans of tourists visiting Mascot Roller Mills, others bused in buying fresh pies, soft pretzels, eggs and miniature horses. I rode roads that I had not ventured on yet and even though they rolled up, they were the most beautiful.

Route 772 (east) was the busy road I traveled on to get to Christiana and it had a decent shoulder. I turned on Hensel Road and it was breathtaking. As I rolled up the hill looking at someone's colorful flowers, I turned around and saw their fabulous view of Lancaster County. The other beautiful roads were Hoover and Smyrna Roads. The tourists were out in full force today and I was reminded why. Even I was one of the sights as a guide pointed me out as I passed their "buggy".

The other plus was that I got to be with me. I know, painful, isn't it? (Yes, quiet time can surely be painful, especially with one's self.) As I was talking to the animals and Amish, I also worked through some of my stuff. Or at least acknowledged "my stuff", reminded myself to love and be loved, how precious life is and it's worth the fight (whatever your vice or illness), and that riding a bike can just be enough sometimes. It is great to clear the head and just be ... with you and me.