TGIF- 9/25/09

I'm going to spare you the normal friday rambling this week ... instead, I wanted to get the word out about an upcoming event being held by our title sponsor, CycleLife, featuring Dave Zabriskie's Yield to Life foundation.



Dave Zabriskie will be in town to promote the newly formed local chapter of his foundation, Yield to Life.

"It is my mission to humanize and personalize cyclists to help motorists to always be aware that we are "life" and that we deserve a safe space on the road. I love to ride my bike as do my fellow cyclists, but we should not have to place our lives at risk everyday for that enjoyment."

-David Zabriskie.

Yield to Life is a non-profit organization devoted to creating a safer environment for cyclists and, by so doing, encouraging more people to ride for their own health, the good of the environment and the well being of society. By making cycling safer and promoting the activity as a responsible means of transportation and a healthy means of recreation, Yield to Life can contribute to tackling some of today's major concerns—from such issues as pollution and global warming to obesity and diabetes. In this way, Yield to Life can play a role in increasing the quality of life not only for cyclists, but for everyone—for our generation and those to come.

Yield to Life’s Mission:

Yield to Life will engage in a vigorous awareness campaign to promote positive attitudes toward cyclists and replace any hostility that exists between motorists and cyclists with understanding, respect, and appreciation for all life on the road. Safety for every cyclist is the top priority of Yield to Life. Cycling is a healthy, life-affirming, environmentally-sound activity that adds value to anyone’s life. Since cyclists' lives are often in motorists’ hands, motorists must understand the vital role they play in a cyclist's safety

Yield to Life will concentrate on road-rule education programs for motorists and cyclists alike through driver's education programs, public awareness movements and media campaigns in order to ensure a safer and more harmonious environment for all those on the road.

Yield to Life will engage in a hands-on educational program with target audiences that range from school assemblies to corporate conventions. Workshops will be created to arm cyclists with tips for navigating through traffic and tools for riding in a safe and responsible manner.

Yield to Life will work on a database for cyclists to find the best, the safest and the most accommodating roads for commuting and for recreation.

FOR TICKET INFORMATION or to learn more about Dave's work off of the bike, please visit:

www.yieldtolife.org

Your support for this event and his foundation would be greatly appreciated.

Enjoy the weekend !!

TGIF - 9/11/09

This weekend's Turkey Day race marks the end of the road season, and also marks the anniversary of my first-ever road race. I entered that race barely being able to clip in - I was riding a borrowed steel serotta frame (too green at the time to appreciate what that was) that had down-tube shifters. I'm certain that the other women starting the 3/4 race took one look at me and decided to stay the heck away from the chick in the unmarked pearl izumi jersey. Thankfully, I did know enough not to have my visor on the helmet and I still didn't know what a camel-back was so I wasn't a total Fred. Probably close enough, though.

Speaking of getting a start- I rode out to the Cross practice held by Mid-Maryland Coaching (ie Coach SlaveDriver) last Sunday to meet up with Ev for a ride afterward ... it was some great entertainment. C-O and I were more or less heckling riders as they passed by. It did look like most were having fun, but I'm still not sold. Big props to Ev and her teammate, Bonnie, who were mastering the barriers where they got the brunt of our heckling. Say all you want, but anyone who gets out there to do something new and different without worrying about appearances gets huge props from me.

I didn't really do the math on my trek out to the practice - an hour and a half out to Folly Quarter Middle, an hour and a half ride with my Artemis friends and then ... an hour and a half back. Holy cannoli, I was on the bike for 4.5hrs ! That may not seem like a big deal to some, but remember I've been injured and relegated to trainer rides or staying close to home in case I have a flat. This was the longest ride I've done since ... March ?

The best thing that ever happened to my training route is the Rita's Italian ice that opened up about 1/2 hour from my house. I was closing on 4 hours and only convinced my legs to keep pedaling after promising a Rita's if I made it that far ...Hey, we take motivation in whatever form it comes in.

Happy Friday, ya'll.

TGIF- 9/4/09

Labor day weekend- where has the summer gone? Hopefully a bunch of you are heading to the Bay Country Century tomorrow- ABRT has been putting that event on for years and they do an awesome job every time. I'd go myself but ... well, I'm kinda looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow.

Vacation last week was much needed and exactly what the dr. ordered. On a whim, I went to Charlotte, NC, my favorite city in the US so far. (my caveat is that I haven't seen the west coast yet so it is "so far"). With a little research, I found Crowders Mtn State Park, where I spent 5 hours hiking one day and another couple hours cycling the next.

After refocusing and conquering a few mountains, I met up with Zim to head to Nashville, where we found ourselves at the Wildhorse Saloon, watching the Charlie Daniels Band. It was probably one of the best shows I've seen. I was raised on old country music and Charlie was old when I was young, so it was super cool to see him hit the stage with more energy than most performers I've seen.

We took a trip down to Memphis where we got to see Graceland - anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge fan of Elvis, so this was kinda a big deal to me. I was worried that it'd be super tacky but it was actually really well-done. I'm glad I went.

Zim and I spent the evening on Beale Street at the Rum Boogie Cafe. This is the place where national acts often randomly appear to jam on stage - they have a great display of guitars from artists who have performed there - Hootie, DMB, Aerosmith, AC/CD, Stevie Ray Vaughn ... very cool. There was a great blues band playing so we just enjoyed the atmosphere and people watching.

We started the next day by sharing mimosas at the Peabody Hotel, watching the marching of the ducks. I must be the only person that didn't know about this ... but in case you don't, here's a link to info.

All in all, it was a great week and a much needed break from the world. I managed to avoid the phone, emails and most text messages for almost 7 days ... that in itself is a novel idea.

Click on the photos above to link to my picasa album with more pics from the week ... happy to be back but really, really glad that I had the experience.

Happy Friday, ya'll ... enjoy the holiday.