[/caption]286.11 Miles April was a great month for cycling. The rain let up a little bit, leaving most trails open for business. I said most. The mighty Sacramento opened her mouth and swallowed parts of the river trail. A few days later the water receded, lapping at the edges of the trail and leaving smaller portions under water. On one such day, I rode it with some of my gal pals and we encountered a flooded part of the trail. It was tough to tell how deep the water was, but in order to get home we had to ride through the water. I watched my friends ride through, rooster tails of water shooting up behind them, their shoes dunking in the water. I took a deep breath and braced myself for soggy socks. I loathe riding in wet socks. Halfway through the water, I laughed because I'm so abnormally tall, the water didn't even begin to reach my pedals. I rode home with a new appreciation for the term 'high and dry'.
2 Really Attractive Moments I've mentioned before that cycling is a sexy sport. I mean the spandex alone make all cyclists a 10 on the attractive scale, right? Just nod your head and let me have my happy delusion. Well, let me tell you, Spandex is just the tip of the iceberg friends. For example, when you get home from your second bike ride of the day and just want to sit down for a second, the sight and smell of you in all your cycling glory will prompt your beloved to spout sweet nothings like, "You smell ripe." Oh baby, save that talk for the bedroom! Or picture this. You're out on a spring ride with your man. The day is gorgeous and all the wildflowers are in bloom. Your allergies make their presence known and there is nary a tissue in sight. So you pull to the side of the road and give the old farmer blow. Your man will roll up behind you and, overwhelmed by such an attractive act, he'll utter, "Sexy." You'll gaze lovingly into your man's eyes and in your most sultry voice say, "Tell me something I don't know." They you'll use your gloved hand to wipe the snot off your face.
1 Irritating Squeak For the past nine months, The Rocket has had an irritating squeak. Time after time I've taken her to the bike shop to vanquish the squeak. All of these trips had been fruitless, because as every cyclist knows the squeak that you hear on rides mysteriously disappears when you go to the bike shop. Finally the squeak had reached intolerable proportions, squeaking with EVERY SINGLE pedal stroke. Let me tell you, that way madness lies. Then finally, finally the mystery of the squeak was solved. All these months I've been riding around with the wrong cleats. My pedals require LOOK Delta cleats. I was riding around on LOOK Keo cleats, which look remarkably similar. Here see for yourself.
[caption id="attachment_3907" align="alignleft" width="180" caption="Delta"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_3908" align="alignright" width="161" caption="Keo"]
[/caption]Both are black. Both are triangular-shaped. Both are LOOK pedals. You can see how I'd mistake one for the other. You can see how this simple mix up befuddled the boys at my favorite bike shop. The Delta locks into my pedal nice and tight, making happy, smooth, quiet pedal strokes. The Keo locks in loosely and causes horrid, mind numbing squeaking that makes me want to throw my bike over the side of the Dam. Let me tell you, it was a blessed, blessed day when the bike shop boys realized I was riding around on the wrong cleats. After a good laugh, they set me up with a new set of cleats. Since the cause of the squeak had eluded them for so long, they gave me a new and correct pair of cleats for free, making me love my bike shop and my bike shop boys even more than I already do.
1 Fangirl Moment I've mentioned my friend, Abby, before. Over Easter vacation Abby and I took a road trip to see the Ellen show. We had a fantastic time and I loved every second of our trip. Funny enough, my fangirl moment doesn't directly involve Ellen. Although Ellen and I did make eye contact when she danced right next to me, but that's another story for another time. The day after we returned from our trip, Abby had a big mountain bike race. She raced 20 miles on her mountain bike. Can you even fathom such a thing? I'm a total roadie. I can pedal for hundreds of miles, but never would I consider entering a race. Or worse yet, entering a mountain bike race on super technical terrain. It just sounds like all kinds of torture. But Abby loves it. So I made a big sign for her, bought a whistle and some pom poms and set up close to the halfway point to cheer Abby on. When she came zipping through, I went nuts, waving my sign like a maniac. At the end of the race I cheered her on at the finish line, totally in awe that she finished such a grueling race. She was all smiles and thanked me about 100 times for making her a sign. Apparently it was a first for her. And that's what makes me such a fan of Abby, she does incredibly big things, but is moved by the smallest gestures.
1 Easter Ride Easter service always leaves me in tears. Easter is my favorite day of the year, something I had in common with my grandmother. I spent the last 2 Easters at my grandmother's church in Southern California. In 2009 I was there to celebrate her birthday and in 2010, I was there for her funeral. After church, I'd meet up with my Uncle Jon for a bike ride. He's quite the accomplished cyclist and I love our rides together. This year I didn't go to Southern California, meaning I didn't get to go on an Easter ride with my uncle. At Easter service this year, we sung the some of the same hymns we sang at my grandmother's church last year. I bawled my eyes out, not only for the beauty of the song, but for the profound hole that my grandmother's death has left in my life. It seemed there was only one thing to do to assuage my grief. I gathered some of my cycling girls and pedaled my sadness up to Shasta Dam. It was a beautiful ride, the wind whipping the tears off my cheeks. There's something about riding that releases heartache and plants healing in its place.9 Donors Thank you Adam & Suzy C., Anita J., Betty C., Chris F., Janice L., Joy G., Katie L., Laura G., and Tracy H. for donating to the LiveStrong Foundation on my behalf. You've donated $385 on my behalf and I'm touched by your generosity.
$615 to Reach My Goal If you'd like to make a donation on my behalf to help fund cancer research and treatment, please click here. It's my honor to ride in support of and in memory of your loved ones. Thanks so much for your support!
I look forward to telling you all about my cycling adventures in May!
Fondly,
Alicia
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