Life as a mother and wife and owner of a batch of puppies has kept me from posting so far.

I rode up with Shiraz and others who aren't converts to TE (yet ). We had great conversations and solved many of the current day world dilemas in our two hour trip to Logan. We stopped at Al's for some ride snacks/drinks and headed to the Best Western Weston Inn - a recommend for next year. We unloaded our bikes and set out for the Firehouse.

Dinner was great. Yellow took some great pictures that she posted earlier. Don't let her fool you by her comments, she is very much a beautiful individual, both inside and out. It was great to meet her. Some people you just click with and I now consider her a friend. She is a strong and knowledgeable rider. I enjoyed meeting Alex, Lifesgreat, and Cyclasutra. How fun to be able to put a face to a name. It was also fun to meet their friends that came along (more TE converts???)

We headed back to the hotel for more conversation and some sleep.

This ride was my first century. It took 7-71/2 hours of actual on the bike time, even though I started at 8:30am and finished at 9:45pm. Yes, you read that right. Buckle up, the story is a little long, but a fun and adventurous one, to say the least.

Wow, what was with the wind in the first place? I was like the rest of you - too warm, too cold. I even got hailed on briefly. I purchased a jersey and long finger gloves in the park the night before the ride and was extremely happy with that decision. I had given myself permission to bail on the ride if it was too windy. I was happy that the wind was a head wind on the first of the ride, because that only meant one thing, tailwinds coming home, right?? I CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT THE WIND SHIFTED AT LUNCH!! Headwinds both ways? I might have bailed at lunch, but I didn't know how I was getting home to Idaho, so I kept on riding...........................

Things started to get interesting around mile 20 when my cell phone rang. My dog back home had her first puppy and I got the play by play discourse from my kids about how they discovered the first pup and how my husband had to cut the sack off of it to save it because the mother dog, Roxie, didn't know what it was (her first pup from her first litter) and ran and hid. While we were on the phone with each other, my dog had two more pups. The kids were so excited that I had to hear the story three different times, once from each of them. I ended the phone conversation and hit the road.

While I was riding, I thought through the process of how I was going to get home if Roxie had a difficult time birthing the rest of the puppies and my husband had to take her to the vet. Even though I rode down with Shiraz and company, my husband and kids had planned to leave Roxie under the watch of our neighbor and pick me up in Utah. This plan was hatched before we knew that she'd have her pups that day - in our minds it was more of a precaution than anything.

It was about this time in my ride that I reached the intersection where the 100 mile riders were to go North and the 80 mile riders were to go East. I had spent about 40 minutes on the phone and lost enough ride time that I missed the cut off for the 100 mile course. The closed course sign was up, although they were letting riders through as long as they understood that the sag wagons were done with the loop and that the lunch station might have slim pickins' by the time we reached it.

I left a message with Shiraz hoping that she'd catch the message and that I could abort the ride and head home with them, as they were riding a shorter course. I was hoping to spare my very busy puppy delivering husband the job of coming to get me and free him up in case of an emergency. I took the 80 mile route while I hoped for a return call from Shiraz.

I hit the lunch station and ate. Again I called home and told my husband that I couldn't catch a ride home as I had not heard from Shiraz. My neighbor, who is a blessing in so many ways, offered to come to Logan and pick me up. What a lifesaver this woman is.

I rode into the park with 80 miles, had my faux champagne, and hit the road again. I was able to ride into the Logan with 90 miles under my belt, or is it spandex waistline?? I met my gracious neighbor. We ate dinner, picked up my luggage from the hotel, toured the U of U campus via the car, and headed for home.

I needed 10 more miles to make 100. I wanted it so badly that I was willing to get it done even if it meant sliding into the driveway at 11:59pm!!
We reached Blackfoot (my hometown) at 9:00 pm. I knew that if I went home and saw my husband, kids, and puppies (10 was the final count at 5:45) that I would stay home and be disappointed with 90. My wonderful neighbor dropped me off at the bike path, where I FROZE my rump roast off and finished up the last 10 miles. I cruised into the driveway at 10:00 with a big old smile on my face.

It was a great end to a great day. My first century. My first time having a dog with puppies. A great big bear hug by a wonderful man. Smiling, animated faces of three kids talking in unison and telling stories of how amazing it was to see their beloved dog have babies. A fantastic neighbor who would do anything for someone in need. A dog so proud of her babies. A hot bath. A good nights sleep. A God who answered my prayers for a safe ride.

I will post ride and puppy pictures later! It's 5:00 here and people think that they need dinner.