Hello, everybody. Yes, I am still here, just being lazy about writing, and reading, and commenting, and so many other things. So here is an update on latest happenings in my little universe.

You may remember I had been training for the Cinderella Challenge Ride. The was training hard: long rides, steep hills, sore butt, sore quads, you know, all that fun stuff associated with cycling. Our group had been very lucky throughout our training; only one ride was cancelled because of a scary weather forecast.  Other than that most of our Saturdays were perfect, not too cold, not too hot, some wind but not too challenging, just perfect. The Friday before the ride was beautiful, sunny and warm, so we had a hard time believing what the weather people were saying about Saturday, especially that Sunday was supposed to be perfect also. What they were saying was that we could expect lots of rain and gusty winds up to 40mph. We decided to show up anyway and make up our minds as whether to ride or not later. After all, forecasters are not always right, yes? 

I was surprised to see how big an event that ride was. Last year they had 2,400 registered riders, this year a lot of people decided not to ride because of the weather. The morning was windy and there were dark clouds all around us; still we were hoping for the best and left as soon as everybody registered. Despite the wind, our pace was surprisingly decent, but as soon as we got to the first aid/refuel station it started raining. It was still not too bad so we moved on. And then we came to the decision point. To the left was a shorter route for the smart people, to the right, the longer, challenge route, the one our group had signed up for. Now the wind really picked up. Smart ladies decided to go left. I heard our group leader say, "we are going for the challenge". She claims she said, " I am going for the challenge". Whichever the case, I ended up in a not-so-smart-group.
We headed up towards Patterson Pass. Have I told you before what a mean pass that is? So as you would expect you go up but just as you think your legs are about die on you, and you are ready to stop and walk, it gets even steeper. Add to that nasty winds and it becomes real fun. Of course some of us are better trained than others. Joyce, the one responsible for me doing the challenge route, was riding next to me as if there was no hill or wind at all. Oh, and did I mention she is 4 years older than I am? Gosh, this woman is just freaking amazing! How I made it to the top is beyond me. I think I did not want Joyce to see what a wimp I was so I kept on going. Once at the top we decided not to stop but just go down before the weather got really nasty. This is a very windy area even on calm days. There is a reason why they planted all those windmills there. Take that, add unpredictable gusts and my sincere dislike of descents and you have a picture of me clutching my bike and praying that I get down in one piece and not caring one little bit if Joyce saw me as a wimp or not. Last year, I think, one lady had a very serious crash there and had to be airlifted to the hospital --- I was so glad I was told that story. Right!

I made it down safely but that was not the end of our adventure. The rain turned into a serious downpour and it seemed that the winds got even stronger. Fortunately there was very little traffic on the road because I felt as if I was tossed all around and had little control over the bike making me an easy target for passing cars. But we had no choice but to keep on going through yet another pass, up and down another hill, and another windy stretch. Every mile seemed longer than the previous one.

At the next aid station we decided to cut our ride short since a couple of the ladies in our now very small group were getting extremely cold. Later on, once we were done, one of them admitted she was so cold, she was getting quite disoriented. I wish she had told us about it sooner but all ended well so I'll leave it at that. 

So what are my final thoughts about this ride? I... LOVED IT! Let me say it again: I  L O V E D   IT!!! These days I am actually checking weather forecasts to see if there are any more rainy and windy days in the future so I can go for a fun ride. This is weird even for me. I do not think I would be this happy if we had completed the whole course in a nice weather. Yes, there is definitely something wrong with me.
I am sorry but I don't have any photos of our ride to share. It is a bit difficult to bike and shoot pictures, you know. 

So now that the biking challenge is done I can focus more on running and backpacking training. 

Manzanita

I was going to run a half marathon but I decided to scrap it because my Achilles tendon started bugging me again and I do not want to risk injuring it again. So for now my runs are rather short and slow but I am fine with that. And yes, I will keep on biking, even if it is not raining. :)

I am thinking that I will combine my training for John Muir Trail with my Pikes Peak Marathon training. Both require a lot of ascents and lots and lots of endurance. So just like last year, there will be a lot of backpack hauling and trail running in my future. 

And speaking of backpacking, we took advantage of my teen's spring break, and headed out for a couple of days to my favorite local state park. I think I could live there, especially now when all is so green and fresh. 

As usual, I thought I was in heaven even if our water bottles froze in the morning but how can I complain if the moon was almost full, and frogs and owls were serenading us at night. 

We recharged our batteries and now are ready for another quarter of juggling homeschooling, house chores, training, volunteer work and whatever else life throws our way.

This is the site for my next Halloween

Don't you just want to sit on that branch and look at the views?

I am posting it here because... it smelled so nice

I call this home