Virtually everything repeats

Gotta try to make this quick before my free time is up, as I listen to Daddy making Baby Girl laugh her little pants off downstairs 😂🥰

It’s been six weeks since we started our lockdown, and so much is still uncertain. Stay at home orders have been modified to last “indefinitely,” facial coverings are required when outside as of today (Thank you to Eliel Cycling, a local cycling clothing company, for making some super cool ones!), and professional cycling has gone virtual, and nobody knows if/when for certain whether another live race will happen in 2020. Perhaps only the Cyclocross calendar has any hope of going on as planned. 

And now, it’s starting to get to Baby Girl. This morning after another virtual Circle Time, she shared some with me some feelings of sadness. In her own sweet 5 year old way, she shared she wants “the cold to go away;” she doesn’t want to do anymore virtual classes, she wants to go back to her classroom and see her friends for real. At that moment, my heart broke and exploded with love and pride at the same time. Sad for my little girl who misses playing with her friends so so much, and so proud of her for being able to recognize and express how she’s feeling about all this.

It’s tough on all of us to visit friends and family through a small screen. To meet with coworkers this way. To celebrate birthdays. To have play dates. To watch cyclist avatars on a screen “race” while real humans are in their garages, bedrooms, patios spinning on a home trainer like hamsters on a wheel for an hour. And yet, at least we have that. At least we can still see these people we care about. What must it have been like in 1918 when those people were quarantined?

My friend Deacon Mike has been posting such great stuff during this lockdown, and he shared a poem last week that I’ve shared with a lot of people and I’m now sharing it on this blog. I leave you with this, food for thought...Straight from his blog:

History repeats itself.
This is a poem written
in 1869 and reprinted
in 1919 during the Spanish Flu Pandemic.

Written in1869 by Kathleen O'Mara

And people stayed at home
And read books
And listened
And did exercises
And made art and played
And learned new ways of being
And stopped and listened
More deeply
Someone meditated, someone prayed
Someone met their shadow
And people began to think differently
And people healed.
And in the absence of people who
Lived in ignorant ways
Dangerous, meaningless and heartless,
The earth also began to heal
And when the danger ended and
People found themselves
They grieved for the dead
And made new choices
And dreamed of new visions
And created new ways of living
And completely healed the earth
Just as they were healed.

Wow ... 1869 ... reprinted in 1919

Some ramblings after a month of lockdown

(Note: I wrote this on 20 April 20 and forgot to post.) Well, it’s been one month now since the state of California went on lockdown, and it feels  more like six. Somewhere not long ago I read or heard “the days feel like months and the months feel like days.” So so true during this lockdown time. The weeks seem to drag on, and by the time we get to Friday we feel like a month has gone by. And we’re exhausted as if the days between the weekends did in fact add up to a month. Crazy.

I made another batch of chocolate chip cookies this weekend—the family favorite comfort food. I’m really trying to be present and mindful to cherish this time we have as a family, and it helps in those tense moments when one of us is close to a meltdown or having a rough day or morning. And we’ve done some fun stuff and laughed a lot. Baby Girl makes me laugh everyday with some of the things she says. 

Things I’m enjoying during this time:
Baking more with our new oven
Getting creative with my little one
Face mask fashion
All the memes to lighten the mood

Predictions we’d never believed six months ago:
Face mask fashion 🙃
Selling pot will be labeled an “essential business” 😳
We will all be confined to our homes at the same time, worldwide
Zoom will be a new household name
There will be a “toilet paper run” in all the stores
No Spring Classics (in the Springtime anyway)
It will rain in Roubaix on Easter, and we still won’t have a rainy Paris-Roubaix race 🥴
No Giro d’Italia
Virtual bike races will indeed happen...with professional cyclists 😵
Villages in India will see the Himalayan mountains from 100 miles away
Pollution in major metropolitan areas will be drastically reduced in a matter of weeks
“Bear hunting” will be allowed in suburban neighborhoods
Riding your bike will become a new favorite pastime...by everyone in your neighborhood 
Walking your dog will become the highlight of your day

Things I miss most:
Play dates and get-togethers with our MOPS group
Anticipating and welcoming home Daddy after a long day
Baby Girl bringing home her beautiful crafts and drawings from preschool
Surprising her by showing up early to gymnastics so I can watch her

And especially Bike races! 
Man I miss bike races. As a fan going through withdrawals, mourning, whatever this is, I can’t imagine what the riders must be feeling like not being with their teams either racing or training for upcoming races. I’m sure their families are happy to spend so much time with them, though. 

Yesterday Peter Sagan was live on Instagram, and although I missed it, he posted it for later viewing. Thanks for doing that Peter! 🤘He truly is a gem and a wise young man, and the world is a much better place because of him. Even if he did shave his head because his brothers bet he wouldn’t, maybe especially so 🤪 Why so serious, right? And his Quarantine beard is just smh worthy. But that’s one of the benefits of this time I suppose. You can not shower, shave, or wear pants for days and nobody cares cuz nobody sees you...except for the people who live with you!

The New Normal...

We've had a lot of rain this week, it's starting to feel like we live in the NW instead of a southern CA beach town. These days, I am loving the rain! More warm fires, more cuddling, and more baking! In fact, today it's been raining since we went to bed last night and has only changed in intensity.

As we prepare to spend the afternoon reflecting on all things Good Friday during this hunker down Lockdown, I am choosing to focus on the things for which I'm most grateful. 

My husband.
My baby girl who just turned FIVE!!!
My Boxer girl Sophie
Our home and the roof over our heads
Our heating in the house, though I must say, our Nest is so confused right now with all this staying home business
My family who joined us in a virtual birthday party to sing happy birthday to our girl
Jesus, for being a living example of how to live, and for sacrificing himself for us
For this rain pouring down right now, watering all of our plants (maybe not so much the little flash of lightning I just think I saw out of the corner of my eye!)
For Peter Sagan and his amazing personality
For everyone else who makes us laugh during this crazy time

And mostly(hah), for chocolate chip cookies and birthday cake.

These past few weeks have been challenging as we've learned how to stay at home while staying sane. I think we are finally finding a routine, and everyday I try to remind myself I want to come out of this a new/renewed person, in my faith, my mental AND physical well-being, my marriage, my parenting...among others.

I read an interesting article this week about productivity in this COVID-19 time, and I want to share it with you because it kinda hit home with me, especially the comment about the "alleged" free time LOL Here is the link.  

This week especially we have had to learn to celebrate in new ways with our families, as we celebrate Passover and Easter. Let us never forget how meaningful family gatherings of any kind are, and let us never again take them for granted the next time we consider attending (or not attending) them in the future.

My hope is our "New Normal" is one of better appreciation of each other and our families, and a renewed sense of family and close friends. Connection is important, in these times and even when/if we go back to "normal." We cannot overuse FaceTime, Zoom, Skype, whatever to connect with families near and far.

Now, go wash your hands ;) and give your family a big hug.

xoxoxo

PS I want to share this wonderful poem shared by my friend Deacon Mike earlier this week:

"When this is over, may we never again take for granted

A handshake with a stranger

Full shelves at the store

Conversations with neighbors

A crowded theater

Friday night out

The taste of communion

A routine checkup

The school rush each morning

Coffee with a friend

The stadium roaring

Each deep breath

A boring Tuesday

Life itself.

When this ends

may we find

that we have become

more like the people

we wanted to be

we were called to be

we hoped to be

and may we stay

that way — better

for each other

because of the worst."

by Laura Kelly Fanucci

"The Numbers" and all the "extra" time

Well, things have escalated rather quickly here and there and everywhere in just a few short weeks. According to "the numbers," in 3 weeks’ time San Diego has gone from 5 to nearly 1000, the US has exceeded 200K, and the world over 1 million. Astonishing, to say the least. If you focus on the numbers... 

Italy is a few weeks ahead of us in the new “lockdown” era...I'm curious what a day in the life of one of those families with young children looks like right now. How are they coping? What are their struggles? Daily habits?

We have been making the best of it, I suppose. I’m very thankful to be in California right now. The sudden closures and lockdown our governor and local authorities "quickly" put in place thus far seems to be having a positive effect on things. “The numbers are not as bad as projected” is basically what they’re saying, as they brace for a busy month, predicting that April will determine how things really play out in our state...as far as "the numbers" go. Sigh. 

Now that everything has been cancelled (including ALL bike races around the world through June 1st), we’re slowly adjusting to our “new normal.” I think our family is doing a great job hunkering down and doing what we’re told to help flatten the curve and keep ourselves and those around us healthy. As far as internal operations, I’d give us a C+ for these first couple of weeks. My husband will probably give us a higher grade than that though 😉 I've found it particularly difficult to be positive lately, but my wise husband recommended if I look at the news, focus on the local stuff, and try not to pay as much attention to the national or international news, which is awful and horrifying and all of those not-so feel good words. And I think it's helped me a lot in the last few days. 

"The numbers" are hard for me. I was an accountant for more years than I care to remember, and to me, those digits were just that. When you work with millions of dollars in numbers, they kinda have to be. I guess. But this pandemic thing is different. Those numbers don't represent dollar bills and pennies. They represent something, someONE, living, possibly suffering or worse. Those are parents, grandparents, children, etc....and they matter. They're not "just numbers." AND my husband is right. If we focus too much on these numbers, we go out-of-our-minds-lose-it crazy, worrying and stressing out and using up that precious energy we need. To be here, now, for our families who are with us today within these walls. And that energy is precious, isn't it? Let us never take that for granted. Especially now. 

I keep hearing things like “Now that you’ve got all this time on your hands, this is a great time to blah blah blah.” I wonder, am I the only one who does not have all that free time? Because I sure feel like I've got a lot less time these days. I suppose those with no children (or jobs :( ?) God bless you for having this extra time. I can’t help feeling a little jealous on some level.

Life for us is very different. My husband is working from home full time (which he just loves 😳). My daughter’s preschool has been out for 3 weeks now, and they won’t be returning to the physical classroom this school year. (Sadly, this means we won’t be having her cute little “preschool graduation” on Daddy’s birthday.) She’s had virtual circle time a few times. Though I can tell she’s dying for a real play date. I’ve been working from home for my part time gig when I can. It’s been hard though, juggling everything. 

It seems before all this corona stuff started, I already I struggled with not enough “me” time and nearly nonexistent self care. Now that we’re all together and safe at home (yes, safe, not stuck. Think about that...), it’s like one super long weekend except Daddy's upstairs working most of the day, I have the added stress of figuring out when I'll be able to squeeze in a couple of work hours. The rest of the time is spent entertaining (or finding entertainment for) our almost 5 year old (!!!) and keeping the walls from falling in on us.

Three weeks of this now. It seems so temporary—heck, who am I kidding? This doesn’t feel REAL at all! Anything but. It’s all so strange, and I don’t think I’m coping well yet. But I will get better. I have to, for the sake of my family and my own sanity. 🤪 Right? We will see.

I think it just hit me (literally in the middle of the night last night) that this situation is unlikely to change anytime soon. And this led me to think about our habits...If habits form in as little as three weeks, we’ll have plenty of time to create new ones during this lockdown, yes? What kind will they be — good habits, bad habits, or somewhere in between? I think that is up to us. We get to choose the kinds of habits we want to create during this time, for ourselves and even for our little ones, and our marriage too. And extra time or not, we will inevitably have some new habits in place when this is all behind us. I hope mine are the good kind. 

And with that, my husband’s meeting has started which means my little time is up and my baby girl needs me to help her make a water slide out back(??!!). So this is most likely some long, depressing ramble (ugh). 

Sorry. I'll try to do better next time. In my next post, I’ll share some of the FUN stuff we’re doing to spend this time together.

Stay tuned.

We’re all in this together...alone

This week evolved somewhat unexpectedly, yet if you’ve been paying attention to current world events, not surprisingly. Monday began with Daddy working from home (his favorite thing...not!) and Baby Girl (BG) starting an early Spring Break because, of all things, a lack of cleaning supplies available to purchase 🤦🏻‍♀️ Panic buying and hoarding has become a worldwide epidemic alongside this pandemic. First it was ridiculous amounts of toilet paper and bottled water, and now grocery store shelves are just bare. Challenging times bring out one’s true character, and quite often the worst in some. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis is no exception.

BG had a dentist appointment scheduled for Monday that, after being confirmed on Sunday, got cancelled due to state mandates that would evolve into a full lockdown by Friday. Tuesday morning her preschool switched gears and broadcast Circle Time live on their Instagram account, and Sarah went to gymnastics camp in the afternoon, which was reserved for the regular camp goers to keep the groups small (at that time all the surrounding schools were closed until at least April 6th.) I think the restrictions on Monday were gatherings under 50 people, so churches, schools, and a lot of other gathering places were shut down (for at least until the end of the month). 

Daily Circle Time and other videos got us through the week, and on Wednesday night, we made the decision to pull Sarah out of gymnastics camp. As it turned out, we were a day ahead of the governor’s statewide “stay at home” mandate. As of Friday, the state has officially begun full lockdown mode to flatten the curve.

Things escalated quickly throughout the week as the world around us went remote and virtual. (Let’s hope we don’t break the inter webs!) Last week’s press conference announced 5 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in San Diego county (4 of which were no residents) and by midweek that number jumped to over 60 followed by 115 by Friday. And statewide, nationwide and worldwide numbers keep climbing. A little sliver of light appeared though...for 2 (maybe 3 now?) days China (where this all started) has reported zero new cases. And as of now, there’s no evidence of becoming reinfected. Meanwhile, Europe and the rest of the world reel from how quickly this virus is spreading, as each country ignores and/or accepts the seriousness of it all, and the government officials take action at whatever pace they feel is right, as confirmed cases escalate and we wait. At this time, I feel very fortunate to live in California, where our governor hasn’t waited for federal agencies to make up their minds about what to do and has effectively taken the matter into his own hands.

So yeah, it’s kind of in our best interest at this time to be prudent and conscious of the seriousness of the situation. Our governor has buckled down and by Thursday evening we had an executive order from him to stay home unless absolutely necessary. While most of the cases in California are currently in the northern half of the state, we need to do our best to flatten the curve as much as possible. Fortunately he said we can still walk the dogs 🙃 which also means family walks and short bike rides around our little neighborhood. The main message remains: wash your hands and maintain “social distancing” of at least 3 feet from everyone not in your household. And stay home!

This week has been so surreal as events unfolded and everything rapidly changed from normal routine to an ever-changing and uncertain time. Social distancing has become the new normal. Everything by now has been closed or cancelled: the zoo, the aquarium, Disneyland (for the first time since 9/11), bars and restaurants...everything. Non-urgent Doctor appointments have been cancelled indefinitely to free up healthcare professionals for any and every emergency needed now and in the indefinite future. Oh yeah, and no more sports. All of the Spring Classics have been cancelled, hopefully to be rescheduled for the Fall. All Springtime stage races and even the start of the Giro d’Italia have been cancelled/postponed. Basically, the entire 2020 cycling season seems at risk, which has been a major bummer.

Instead of being in the middle of an exciting Spring Classics 2020, we’re at the beginning of The Great Lockdown of 2020. Homebound and finding ways to occupy our time, entertain ourselves and especially our little monkey children as we wait this thing out. Hoping not to go stir crazy, or worse, get infected. We’re bracing ourselves for the worst as we hope for the best, and pray all of our loved ones stay healthy. 

We’re sometimes entertained by social media memes that appear, as well as the reminiscent posts of bike races past to keep things light and our cycling hopes alive. Celebrities across all platforms are getting philosophical and reflective as we’re all forced to slow down and spend precious closeness with our families.

Almost on cue, as the race withdrawals were beginning, and particularly on this day when the 111th edition of Milan San Remo was supposed to happen, FloBikes rebroadcast last year’s race. As my husband went on a 3-hour bike ride and BG watched Disney+, I watched the race from my iPad in the kitchen and baked chocolate chip cookies. 

After eating 4 or more cookies, I heard that bike trainer in the corner beckoning me to burn off those sinful cookies, so I obediently climbed on and churned for the last hour of the race, effectively burning through the sugar rush. And my wrist did well! Honestly my butt hurt before my wrist, because, well, a saddle is not just a saddle 🤷🏻‍♀️

About the race: I’d forgotten how exciting the last 5K had been, and the feelings from last year returned!! It didn’t seem to matter that I knew who won or where Sagan placed (4th, missing the podium by inches!). It was just great to watch a bike race again.

Most significantly, as I watched the interviews and the podium presentation, I realized what a terrific and welcome escape from reality these last 3 hours had been. I even had to remind me self this whole Corona Crisis wasn’t just a dream. Although admittedly, when the broadcast first began and they cycled through various images of Italy, I got a bit tearful for this beautiful country that has been so devastated by the virus. My heart aches for these people, and I truly hope things start to turn around for them very soon.

Probably the biggest tragedy of the week for us (and let’s hope it stays that way throughout all this) was the loss of our Roku remote. 😖 And this time, the remote finder feature failed because, we “think,” the remote got accidentally dropped in a trash can and subsequently (and quite efficiently by my husband) thrown into the trash bin, which unfortunately was out on the curb because it was trash day that day. Of all the times to lose our most used remote...smh A replacement was quickly ordered on Amazon and we switched to Apple TV for a few days. First World problems for sure...

The irony of this is how everyone keeps saying, “We’re all in this together...we’ll get through this together, etc, etc.” Yet we’re all being mandated to stay away from each other. And so yes, we are in this together...alone 🤷🏻‍♀️

Thanks for reading the ramble 🤪

Girl dads are the best

Last night, Baby Girl (BG) experienced a mini-milestone—she received her first little bottle of nail polish, Princess Rapunzel Purple in fact, with sparkly princess toe separators 🤩 She was so excited you’d have thought I gave her a puppy. It was so precious. She promptly asked if I would paint her nails, and we shared a tender moment as I painted her finger nails while she sat in my lap. 

Lately BG has been keen on “painting” her finger- and toenails with a purple marker. She also enjoys painting ours 🤪 So I decided to lookup on Amazon whether there was some kind of “kid-safe” version of nail polish available. (Duh, of course Mama, where’ve you been?!) Oh boy do they! Pick your favorite character—My Little Pony, Trolls, Minnie Mouse, and of course Disney Princesses. Nontoxic, water-based, peel-off, etc. Of course I had to get the princess ones. Tiny little bottles shaped like ball gowns 😍 I decided to give her just one for now; after all, her birthday and Easter are just a few weeks away.

And what a hit! She painted her own toenails, then Daddy’s! And then Daddy’s finger nails too! Before peeling off polish from her own nails and painting them again 🤪

This Girl Dad is once again The Best Daddy Ever. 🤘🥳😍

Back in the saddle for real!

Now that I’m cleared to start riding my bike again, we decided to go for a family bike ride today! It was officially our first family ride at Lake Miramar, and I even rode my newly resurrected mountain bike. 

We only made it about a kilometer out before we had to turn around, but it was truly a milestone in our journey of becoming a cycling family. Poor BG was pedaling so hard her legs kept hurting, and as much as she cried “Shut up legs!” she only had so much in her for this first time. Our neighborhood is mostly flat, and the path around the lake fluctuates a lot. We tried coaching her to coast on the “downhill” parts but she only knows one speed”full gas” 🤪🚴 It was actually a great learning experience for all of us, and turned out to be quite long enough for my wrist. 

The wrist did okay. I layered two different wraps for support, which seemed to work well, but my I’ll-used wrist started complaining nonetheless...right around the time BG stopped and refused to pedal forward another rotation. And it’s been kinda sore all afternoon.

The guy at our other local bike shop suggested using tape. Less bulky he says, and it’s what a lot of cyclists do for the cobbles. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think I’ll try that next time and see how I do. Either way, I gotta take it day by day. We wanna do another short ride tomorrow, but we will see how the wrist feels.

Stay tuned.

This was my favorite moment of our little ride today 💚😎😍:

A birthday wish granted

Last Friday I had a follow up appointment with my ortho doc regarding my wrist. I really didn’t know what to expect, although I think PT has been going pretty well. I’ve definitely made progress but who knows how rapidly or slowly it’s been 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

During the appointment I casually mentioned that the occupational therapist had said I can try starting out slowly with the bike if I think my wrist can handle it. (My thinking is I’d start on the trainer for minutes at a time to test it out and see how the wrist responds.) My doc said, “If the therapist is okay with it, I’m okay with it!” 😵🤩

Just in time for my birthday 🥳 Of course right after the appointment the weather changed...we got rain and it was colder. So of course my wrist, which had been feeling pretty good up until that point, started to complain 🤦🏻‍♀️ Nonetheless, this past Tuesday we went on a short family bike ride around the block! 

And my wrist did okay! Ooh and my Ruby got some upgrades since I last hopped aboard, but I’ll save that for the birthday post.

Right now I’ve gotta go get my little monkey from gymnastics 😉

Stay tuned 😎🤘🙃

When rainbow dreams come true 🌈

Several years ago I created this blog when my husband bought his dream car. Since then we’ve had many more dreams realized—some seemingly insignificant yet special memories, and some life changing. (Unfortunately/Fortunately, many of them weren’t chronicled here.)

This weekend marked another dream realized, and it probably falls somewhere in the middle of the dream spectrum, but no matter, it undoubtedly fits in the “über cool and awesome” category! 😎 oh and this weekend just happened to be the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Dubendorf, Switzerland 🇨🇭So appropriately, this was Rainbow Weekend. 🌈

Yesterday was “New Bike Day” in our house—for anyone counting, yes that’s the third one in less than six months! Today was my husband’s turn for a new bike. A bit unexpectedly I might add. I mean, he’s been ogling a certain beautiful specimen of a bike lately but we hadn’t exactly set out to get him a new bike in 2020. Especially one in this price range. However, this is no ordinary bike, and it wasn’t going to be available for long with the new models coming out soon, specifically in the Sagan Collection 🤩😵🤪 (What?!?! Wait a minute. I’M the big Sagan fan! 😵 Why is HE getting one of these bikes?!!! Because he’s no ordinary husband 😉

In a recent moment of clarity, I thought, “Just get the bike, do it anyway, you only live once, you can’t take it with you, you’ll regret it if you don’t act now.” Stuff like that. It reminded me of a lost opportunity several years ago, and that moment will forever be known in our family as the Vermont Castings moment. 

Husband found a 2020 Specialized Sagan Edition Roubaix in his frame size sometime before Christmas. Not local, up in NorCal somewhere. A week or so ago it was still there. He starts saying things like: That’s okay, I don’t really need a new bike right now, I’ll wait for the next version to come out, besides it’ll be just as good if not better, right? He’ll always be chasing rainbows...blah-blah-blah. (Note: This year’s theme is/was Chasing Rainbows...complete with a beautiful subtle yet SHINY, SPARKLY rainbow paint job. Next year’s was undetermined at that moment...but I had my theories...)

Once he started down this way of thinking, I realized it was time to Seize the Ride. I knew, I mean I just knew in my gut, this next collection was going to be all about green (Afterall, one doesn’t win 7 green Tour de France jerseys everyday. Plus his gran Fondo was all about the green.) So based on that nudge, I said to him “Get the bike.” You might imagine his reaction (Whaaat?!?!!!!). Ironically, almost immediately after he made the call to our local bike shop to get the bike transferred down here, the new collection was announced: Sometimes Rainbows, Forever Green 💚🌈 AND, at this time, only in Tarmac and Venge frames. Roubaix in April perhaps? We will see. Nevertheless, my husband isn’t exactly a fan of green 🥴

They transferred the bike to our local bike shop in just a few short days 💪 The guys at the bike shop ogled it, of course, even taking it out in the sunlight for a better look at its unique paint job, and admiring it for a few days before we got there to retrieve it. Apparently they’d not seen one in-person. Our little gift to them 💚🌈🤘 In fact, they think it may even be the only one of its kind in our city! 🤩 My husband loves being different, so this just got him even more excited about owning it! I’m sorry I made you wait until the weekend to get it 🥴

So yesterday we retrieved the most beautiful bike I’ve ever set eyes on. Instant bike envy. It got quite a bit of attention, too, as the group ride folks were returning from their morning rides. (We even met someone training for the BWR who’d just returned from the club’s first gravel ride.)

So hold up a minute, you say. Bike envy??!!! Didn’t YOU just get a new shiny bike?!, you ask incredulously. Yes I got a new bike last Fall. And yes, of course I still have bike envy!!!! After all, I’m a HUGE Peter Sagan fan! 🤪🤘 AND...This thing is absolutely gorgeous! However, I do not deserve one. Not today. Maybe not ever, depending upon how this next year goes and when I can get back in the saddle for real. BUT, my husband? He definitely deserves this bike!! For many reasons, not the least because he works so hard and does so much for our family. He also deserves it because he’s been riding bikes his whole life. He didn’t stop after childhood like too many of us do. He’s always been into bikes; in fact he remembers when Specialized only sold bike tires(!!!), and he’s even got a Shimano 600 crank from one of his first bikes. Yet another good reason: He’s not going to crash on this bike. He’s going to ride it and enjoy it to the full. As he should.

As you might imagine, pictures do no justice to the beautiful paint job on this bike. It truly is very beautiful IRL. Way better than even I expected! Even so, here’s some “bike porn” for any of you enthusiasts who might be reading this, and anyone else who’s simply curious 🙃

As if she fell down from the heavens 😍

Just look at her sparkle! 🌈🤩

First quickie ride in front of the house

First proper ride

That last photo was taken on my husband’s first ride this morning. He sent me a couple of these throughout his ride because, well, if you had a bike that looked this beautiful in the sunlight and just brightly smiled up at you whenever you looked down, wouldn’t you stop and take pictures too?! Or is that just us? 🥴🤷🏻‍♀️ Why so serious 🤪

Needless to say, we had a fun day at the bike shop shopping for various accoutrements for the new bike (better TUBELESS(!!!) tires, cool bottle cages, proper pedals, etc), and ever since bringing her to her forever home, we periodically escape to the garage just to look at the beautiful specimen who now resides in our garage. And, surprisingly, I nearly had to shove M out the door to go for his ceremonial first ride this morning.
“Go ride your new bike.”
“Right now?”
“Yes!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes go! Stop asking are you sure. Go before I change my mind!”
🤪🤣 It kinda went down like that. 
I’m just disappointed I couldn’t go with him! 🤷🏻‍♀️😖

So...What did he think? “OMG it’s so fast!!!” And he said it in a bit of a childlike, giddy way, with a twinkle in his eyes. I think he likes it 😉 Now to find the perfect name for her...🤔

Now here’s yet another cool thing about buying this particular bike at this particular time of year: He gets to enter a special contest for a chance to win a trip to Paris-Roubaix this April 😵 with a special seat at the finish line inside the Roubaix Velodrome! Pretty cool, huh? Sure it’s a long shot, but someone has to win, so why not us! 

We will see 😉

Back in the saddle?

Well....sort of 🤪

At my last appointment with the orthopedic doctor, I asked him, can I get back on my bike? His response: Oh no no no. Not for at least 3 months from the date of injury!”

So of course I went home and figured out what day that was and circled it on my calendar! 😂 Date of injury: October 26, 3 months later - January 26. Ironically, this was the day Peter Sagan turned 30. Kinda fitting, then, that the first day my butt touches a bike saddle was on this day...cuz I had been training for the chance to ride with the champ when I had my “moment of stupid.” 

My wonderfully supportive husband set up the bike trainer in the living room for me, and I officially sat on a bike for the first time since my crash. 🥳 So...I didn’t exactly go for a ride, but I did get on a bike! 🤪 Why so serious, one might say. And now the question remains: WHEN will I actually officially be back on my bike? Well, I’m doing physical therapy now, and I’ve shown great improvement in my range of motion in the last 3-4 weeks, so.......We will see! 😉

Oh and be on the lookout for a much delayed Christmas post. Stay tuned 🙃