The Shellfish Girls

What started as a "how funny would it be" phone call somehow morphed into a full-blown costume party for me and Zim. There was really no rhyme or reason for the costumes, which made it even more amusing.
Zim and PJ hamming it up. (c'mon, that's funny!)

You can barely see my good friend Billy in the BBC kit behind Robin - he deadpanned "Wendy, I'm glad to see you're finally coming out of your shell"

Bob, the Fiddler, was extremely entertained by the dancing shellfish ... and we were thankful for music for heckle-by.
You can find these photos, along with results, at the Chesapeake Wheelmen website.

Our costumes invited many interesting comments ... some of the more memorable ones:

• Crab telling a passerby "Man, I'm steamed".
• Me loudly asking Robin why she was always so crabby
• Walking by a confused group of people, asking where the Bay was. They responded by actually pointing in the general direction of the Bay.
• Being asked if we were getting paid for this, and whether we do this at ALL the races.
• Getting a suggestion that we should stick around because there was a bike race getting ready to start (uhm... did they think we dressed up as shellfish on a regular basis just for the fun?)
• A woman telling us not to listen if a man suggested that we had good pot-holders (?)
• Watching Chicken shake her head as she slowly realized that the two shellfish on the course were, indeed, her friends/teammates. She managed to comment "I don't even know what to say" as we chased her up the final pitch in the course.
• Various exclamations that we were cracking each other/everyone else up
• Crab running along side cyclists encouraging them to "Claw their way up the hill."
• Commentary that those riders who veered to the other side of the road when passing us must have shellfish allergies
• A comment to the Lobster that she had a great tail

Thanks to Chesapeake Wheelmen, who didn't throw us off the course, to Bob the fiddler, who put up with our antics and to the riders, who did all of the real work and didn't necessarily hate us. Big thanks to those who let us know that they appreciated our entertainment - it was one of the funniest experiences I've had in a long time.

Since the CW didn't know who we were, we are now known as either the "Shellfish girls" or the "Crab girls". I suppose I've been called worse !

Other big news: I am now cast-free !!! It came off yesterday morning and I officially removed the bar-tape from my car's steering wheel on my way back from the Dr ... fully recovered, just need to work out the stiffness from being in one position for 12-weeks.