Introducing...me

[carimail]

Hi! I've been lurking here a bit and even posted a couple of times, but thought i'd properly introduce myself. I'm Cari (apparantly not the only one here, so I stick to my Carimail moniker). I live in Morgan Hill and I just got my first roadbike a couple of weeks ago as a birthday present from my husband. It's a Giant OCR Carbon 2. I love it.

Actually, today is my real birthday and all I wanted to do was take a long ride to make up for the Cinderella training ride i have to miss this weekend. I even ate a big carby breakfast, drank a lot of water, etc., etc. and then the rain came.

Also, my babysitters (aka in-laws) haven't shown up! I think I'll still go if they get here and just ride my old mtn. bike since I am quite the beginner and would hate to slip and break my head open.

I am really stoked about the Cinderella Classic. I really, really want to do this. I'm pretty out of shape, though, and it worries me. Any encouraging thoughts are more than welcome. Meanwhile, I'll try to just keep riding and riding until I can get some serious miles in. I love this group, though!

[CorsairMac]

Welcome to the board Cari. There's a thread under the open titled "getting to know you". gives you a chance to learn more about us than our mothers know - and tell us more about you! As for the Cindy - quite a few women here are doing that (of which I'm not one - yet!). I'm betting they can help you out and/or ride with you depending on your location.

and congrats on the new bike - give hubby a hug and a kiss from me for being such an awesome guy!

[cindysue]

Welcome Cari,

We have a few TE gals in the south bay. Some are quite experienced cyclists and others are just beginning like you and some are in-between. We try to do a TE get-together in the southbay about 2x / year and meet at other Bay Area locations throughout the year also. I'm sure our paths will meet soon (especially if you are doing the Cinderella training rides and/or metric century on 3/25).

Looking forward to hearing about your progress this season.

Best!

[cindysue]

and a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[luv'nAustin]

Happy Birthday Cari, hope your day is great and that you get your ride!
I look forward to reading more about you on the "getting to know you" thread.

karri

[Bike Goddess]

Hi Cari- Thanks for speaking up! Re today- that rain should go away by this afternoon so maybe you can get out! You have a great bike! Hills should eventually be lots of fun!

Re training for Cinderella- if you can't get up to San Jose, see if you have a group of riders closer to you. I ride with my local club and it has been great training for me. If you can find "no drop" rides, then you'll be fine EVEN if you are the last one! I was the last one for quite some time, but I'm so stubborn I kept working at it and now at least I'm in the middle of the group!

You have some great hills in your area which I reccommend you try for training if nothing else works. Hills develop your cardiovascular system plus strenghthen your legs. If you can do those hills in Morgan Hill, you'll be able to do the Cindy ride. I trust you have all the info and are on the mailing list.

Does your hubby ride as well? Maybe the two of you can get out for a ride. Distance does matter even if you don't do a lot of hills on those rides. IF you can do 45-50 miles in a ride, the Cinderella ride will be a snap for you. Maybe you can entice some of our southern people from San Jose to come join you on a ride or two!

Good luck. Hope to see you at Cinderella. It's lots of fun!

[slinkedog]

Hey Cari! I live in South San Jose and like to ride out around Calero/Chesbro/Uvas. I've been off my bike for a while, so maybe sometime we could get together for a ride! I always like to have a partner.

Saturday looks like a bust because of the rain, but I'm going to try to do a ride on Sunday in the afternoon.

Hope you enjoy your bike!! Happy Birthday!