Now that our puppy Kai has had all of his shots, it was time to take him out exploring.  Saturday, we started out by first bringing him on a short hike at Starkey Park.  Then, we headed over to Pet Beach at Honeymoon Island for a swim.  He did awesome at both places!!

Sunday, we left Kai at home and headed over to Morris Bridge. Got a quick 15 mile ride in before it started to rain.  And that's about it... Bye for now. 

 

Project Wedgie

Had fun building this for our backyard...had even more fun riding it!!! 

After watching the tour all morning long, I was ready to do a little riding myself.  So, we loaded up and headed over to Lakeland.  It was only about a gazillion degrees out, but no worries, I was going to be riding at my favorite place and I couldn't let a little heat bother me. The trails were perfectly packed today and our ride was going very smoothly.  We came upon Sneaky Snake and for some reason I'm unable to make the last climb out.  I'm terrible about using my gears. I figure, if I can't power up the climb without switching gears, well then... I just can't make it.  But, that's kind of stupid, huh??   So, after my first attempt today, my Dad told me to go 2 gears lower.  And what do you know, I made the climb.  Then, I had to do it  2 more times to make sure it just wasn't a fluke.

1st attempt



Second attempt, I made the climb.

 Now, The Moe was a different story.  I tried this trail for the first time today.  And gee, I counted 13.  13 times I had to put my feet down, not good!!  Lots of rooty climbs followed by tight trees, then more rooty climbs and tight trees.  It was very hard to get going, especially since I kept putting my feet down. But I'm not going to let it discourage me, so maybe next time I will try for 10 (10x feet down).  Pretty descent goal to shoot for, huh???

GO EVANS!!!!

URBAN MTB CRIT

 Now that was fun!!! I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into having never done these types of races before.  But I ended up having an awesome time.  I took Sebastian's advice and lined up toward the front.  Of course all of the super fast racers passed me when they got  a chance, but I think I had a pretty good pace going on.  There was a total of 7 women racing yesterday and my goal was only to beat one.  The first 2 women took off like a rockets and I never saw them again until they lapped me toward the end on the last lap.  And the third woman wasn't too far ahead me, but she was just too fast to keep up with.  So, I just held my position knowing that there were still 3 women behind me. I paced myself and ended up doing 6 laps in the 35 minute time limit. I had such a good time and definitely want to do it again next year.  Oh... and thanks to Cody's Mom and Brian for the awesome pictures.   

My Next Race

So...I  guess I'm going to be doing the next race by myself.  Normally, my Dad would race with me, but not this time. He has one of those rigid singlespeed bikes, not the best kind of bike for this type of race.  And plus his fingers are all messed up.  I'm pretty sure he has broken at least 3 of them and never got them fixed, so the whole riding down the stairs part with no suspension would be pure torture for him. Anyway, it'll be just me this time and my first race on the road. And to be honest, I'm a little nervous. I've been watching the tour...I've seen what happens to those poor racers when they crash.  Not that I will riding 30/40 mph or anything, but still that road can really tear you up!!  I'll just have to be careful and go at a nice safe pace and hope nobody knocks me over.  Looking forward to the challenge.

Can I Ride Down Stairs??

 That's a question I have been asking myself.  Just for fun... I would like to compete in the URBAN MTB CRIT next weekend.  I just wasn't sure about riding down the stairs though.  I've ridden down curbs and a couple stairs in a parking lot before, but never a bunch of them.  I mean come on, how often do you come across a set of stairs in the woods??  But how bad can it be, just like riding down a rooty downhill, right?? So, it was time to find a place where I could practice.  After riding around, we came across only one place, my Mom's old high school.

OK, that was easy!!  Now I feel better about the race next weekend. 

You know...I have been riding for about 6 years now...and I think I have gotten hurt more in the past week on my BMX bike, than I have in the entire 6 years on my MTB.  I finally gave up yesterday, took my own advice, and decided to wear shin guards. Yeah...I was bunny hopping over something and slipped a pedal again, for the 5,000th time. Talk about PAIN!!!  I looked down and saw a hole in my shin.  Probably needed stitches, but how do you sew up a hole??  Anyway, it took me about an hour to recover from that little incident. The pain and the blood made me super nauseous.  Man...got to give credit to those BMXers, they are some tough riders!    

So after being beat up all week, I was more than happy to leave the BMX bike behind and head to Alafia.  I got on my MTB today... and I felt like I was floating.  Then... I was flying.  Flying over the handle bars that is, on one of the downhills on Roller Coaster.  That HURT!!   I ended up hitting my knee on a cinder block and added 2 more boo boos to my hideous collection.   Other than that, it was a good ride.  Happy 4th!!

Finally 10

It's my birthday today...and I'm finally 10.   I had a mellow birthday this year, which I liked!!  It began with a little shopping with my Dad.   First, we stopped off at J&R's.  I needed to put a little flare on my bike, so I bought 2 sets of grips (1 purple, 1 aqua).  Then, we headed over to the mall where I picked up some funky sunglasses for a bargain price of $12.95 and bought a bunch of stickers to decorate my helmet.  After that, we grabbed my monster cookie cake... and headed home.  The rest of the day was spent riding and hanging out with friends and family.  Not the most exciting birthday, but I really liked  it.   

BACKCOUNTRY RESEARCH

Check out the awesomeness on these AWESOME STRAPS!!  Thank you Backcountry Research!!  I have been using your straps for awhile now and I love them. But...I never knew they came in such cool colors (I have just a plain black one).  So, thanks again... and the Zebra strap is going on my bike today!