Congratulations! Great job, and great pictures Mimi!
(I like the rock)
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Well, guys,
it was amazing. The weather was supposed to be crappy, rain all day... We agreed there would be no racing if it rained, just a "Social Ride"
We started with 12 teams but a lot of people dropped out, so there were only 9 teams. Each team was comprised of a woman and two men. Most of the people that rode have already done tough rides like Ramrod, so a measly little ten mile uphill race was just no big deal for most of them.
Well, the morning broke with a light high cloud cover, 50 degrees... no wind.
It couldn't be better!
There had been a lot of emails flying back and forth with people posturing and insulting each other. One gal sounded so tough her two guys both backed out and she ended up with a new team. We all had goofy team names and dressed the part. my team wore western shirts and spurs.
my husband's team was team arsenal, so they wore little ducks on their heads.. (dont' ask me!)
So we all went down to the start of the race. Lucky for me, my husband and i did this same ride on our own tandem at our own speed a few weeks ago.
Phew! and it's a good thing, i had enough OTHER things to be worried about (the weather, the bike, the saddle, whether my animal-son was going to go too fast and hurt himself) at least I already knew the course and there were no nasty surprises for me.
I followed my husband's advice, I Closed my eyes on the long scary downhills, and pedalled my butt off for the whole 10 miles. The only time I didn't give it my all is when Peter (the captain) told me to relax.
My son Tom who is 25 kept up with us the whole time, except after the 12 % grade he decided to stop for a potty break. (Bad move, son, tandems are fast going downhill!!) well; he actually caught up with us eventually, he was really booking down that hill.
We passed two different teams, that were 3 and 5 minutes ahead of us.
The first place team consisted of two professional racers and a very strong randonneuring guy.
The second team to come in the woman had done an Ironman in Hawaii and one of the guys had done some serious biking too . Their third was a very young strong guy kind of like my son.
my husband's team, the best looking; came in 5th.
my husband is holding the rock he put in my son's pannier! (i found it before
we started)
Congratulations! Great job, and great pictures Mimi!
(I like the rock)
"If Americans want to live the American Dream, they should go to Denmark." - Richard Wilkinson
Awesome Mimi! Thank you for sharing the photos. The rock cracks me up. It sounds like something my husband would do. I am glad it was such a nice day.
Jennifer
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
-Aristotle
MIMITABBY FTW!!!!1111one!!!
No, seriously. Congratulations, that's totally awesome!
Aperte mala cm est mulier, tum demum est bona. -- Syrus, Maxims
(When a woman is openly bad, she is at last good.)
Edepol nunc nos tempus est malas peioris fieri. -- Plautus, Miles Gloriosus
(Now is the time for bad girls to become worse still.)
Sounds like great fun. Thanks for sharing!
The pics are great. Thanks for sharing. Good job on the bronze. You TE ladies never cease to amaze me.
Now, the question is... would he have told anyone before the race started if you hadn't found the rock?
Oh, that's gonna bruise...![]()
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Only the suppressed word is dangerous. ~Ludwig Börne
no, he would NOT have told. He and Tom have been doing this to each other for years!
edit: husband says he would not have let it go; he would have told Tom.
Yeah Mimi! Congrats!! And I must say, the ducks on the helmet look cute. Kinda beenie-ish.
On on another happy note, at least your DH didn't put the rock in YOUR pannier!
Hey, what fun!!! Congrats. And please, inquiring minds want to know the connection between Team Arsenal (an English football team, as far as I know) and ducks!
"My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved;I have been given much and I have given something in return...Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and an adventure." O. Sacks
GO MIMI! WOO!!![]()
(Strange! It lowered the caps in my post!)
OMG, that looks like you had a great time.
And congrats!!! That's wonderful.
Mimi - congratulations! Excellent and well-deserved.
More races to come right?![]()
CONGRATULATIONS on your bronze!!! Well done!!!![]()
Another inspiration to the aspiring cyclist
Mimi! Congratulations! What great pix! Is that your son with the other duck-adorned helmet? Love the rock in pannier idea.Good job!
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Run like a dachshund! Ride like a superhero! Swim like a three-legged cat!
TE Bianchi Girls Rock
no, Lise, my son who is on MY team is the one in the red cowboy shirt next to me.
I don't know if there will be more races; but i won't be quite so afraid next time!