TdG

The Tour de Gruene ride was a chilly 45 degrees this morning. My fingers were numb and too hard to change gears. I should have put my shoe covers on but thought it would warm up, it never did.

Tom Ryan used this format to post his rides. I like it so much I think I am going to use it too.

Total miles: 31.05
Total ascent: 1129
Total calories: 1678
Average speed: 13.5
Total ride time: 2 hours and 18 minutes

As we are gearing up, Robert says to me, “Babe, slow down. You always leave me behind. Don’t race off.” It was then that I promised to stay with him for the whole entire ride. What else can I do? I feel lucky to have a riding partner that wakes up with me at 5:45 AM on a Saturday to ride is really cold weather. At the end of the ride I found myself at 38 MPH to catch him on a down hill.

There were many people who wore a type of Halloween costumes. Against my better judgment, I took a few pictures while I was riding my bike. Some more pictures will be posted on my facebook.

Tonight, we are going to Austin to parade our costumes on 6th street, along with about 100,000 other people. I am going to dress up as a flapper with a frilly red dress. I think I am going to be sore tomorrow from all the shimming I plan on doing.

Tour de Gruene

This coming weekend is the Tour de Gruene bike ride, in Gruene Texas. Gruene is about a 45 minute drive from San Antonio with bike routes of 15 miles, 30 miles and 50 miles. Robert and I plan to ride the recreational 30 miler. This ride holds a special place in my heart because this is the first organized bike ride I ever did, nine years ago. It is an easy and beautiful ride along River Road.

The past two years this ride has been capped because of its popularity. Oh, did I mention that Lance Armstrong raced last year and won? I suspect he will race again this year because both the TTT and the ITT has been closed. The pictures is from the TdG from last year.

Update...A friend at work said that his friend from work is married to a guy that works at Mellow Johnny’s. And that guy said that Lance is in NY and NOT going to ride in the TdG.

Genetic Testing

It is mind boggling to think how much modern medicine and technology has advanced and how much knowledge is available. Do I really want to know if I carry the gene for cancer? How will it change my life? Will it determine if I have children? Since mom had pancreatic cancer and now breast cancer it seemed only plausible that mom carried the gene for cancer and passed it on to me.

I already had it planned out. If I got breast cancer, I was going to have a double mastectomy then get a new set of knockers. I got the idea from another lady whose daughter was having this exact surgery. Ya know you have to make things work for you in the positive even in a negative situation.

Mom had a follow-up appointment with the cancer specialist. Today, mom is cancer free. Her prognosis is good. The tumor was removed successfully with no other signs of cancer found. She had stage one cancer and will not be receiving chemo or radiation.

Part of determining the best treatment for my mom, the doctors did genetic testing to identify if she has the cancer gene and if so, if this gene was pasted down to my sister and me. If the test is positive, then there is a 50/50 chance that my sister and I will get cancer. This test came back negative. What a relief. Angela and I both signed a huge sigh of relief. A weight has been lifted.

There was good news in that doctor’s office. Mom is in good spirits. Minus a boob, mom is happy to show off her new chest. She asked me if I wanted to see and even before I could answer; her shirt was up to her chin. It is like an episode of Girls Gone Wild, Mama Style.

Booty Shaking

There is something about closing down a bar and going to bed while others are waking up that puts a hop back in my step.

As I excused myself this guy growled at me and said, “Sure baby girl I will move out of your way.” And then, while Robert stepped away, six different guys asked me to dance. Yessssss…. I still got it. This normally doesn’t happen to me but I had it goin’ on Saturday night and loved every minute of it!

Robert and I drove around all weekend running errands and enjoying the weather on the scooter. If you ever watched “The Cosby Show”, Bill Cosby would dance with his wife while sitting down. There was an episode where Bill had a cast on his foot so they danced sitting down, on the couch, cheek to cheek. This is what Robert and I do. We dance with each other when we are in the car or on the scooter. Since we are in our own seats, we don’t to the cheek to cheek thing and just freestyle some salsa moves. Sometimes a good song comes on and a dance breaks out.

Mama always tells me that I am the happiest when I am out dancing. She is right. It is the music and shaking my tail feathers that makes my heart smile.

Stress

Mom’s surgery was without any complications; mom is recovering and healing well. A miracle graced our family once before and I believe it will happen again. Yes, I may be reaching but it is what keeps my spirits lifted. I believe only good will come out of all situations.

My curiosity has spiked with Eastern medicine, pressure points, healers, “The Secret”, and Reiki. Oddly enough, my mom is open to any and all of my suggestions. So, off I go to my first Reiki class. It will be in November and I am excited with something new to look forward to.

It has been a few months since I have been regularly riding and I have noticed that I have extra time on my hands. This is the trouble. There is too much time to think about things and it is stressing me out. I have started to over analyze everything. Yes, everything. Everything thing from Mom’s health, not riding, yard work, genetic testing, picking up a new hobby over the winter months, Roxy, and relationships.

Seriously, even in my sleep I can not seem to relax. How crazy is that? When I am asleep, I started doing this weird thing with my tongue and rubbing it against my teeth. The rubbing caused my taste buds to start pealing off. The dentist said that eventually I will figure out that I am hurting myself and stop. This is what happens to me when I stop cycling. I stress myself out.

Rolling Along

Among all the turmoil that surrounds me, I seem to have a tremendous amount of faith and happiness that has fill me. I have returned back to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) and it is so comforting to be surrounded by the word and so many wonderful ladies.

Rich’s work has brought him real close to my neck of the woods and I expect to visit this weekend or sometime soon over the next two months. He sends out “hellos” to the crossroads gang.

Mom’s surgery was rescheduled until Tuesday due to operating room time limitations. For now, things are happening just the way they need to be and rolling along quite smoothly.

What if?

Today, the post is short. Too much going on and too much to prepare for.

There are so many questions going through my mind. Why my family? Why Mom? Why does this have to happen again? What if she isn’t strong enough?

Surgery is scheduled for Thursday, 10AM. If you are the praying kind, please pray for my mom. Pray for a successful surgery, quick recovery, strength to continue fighting her liver disease, and comfort for our family.