Sweet Sixteen

That cute silver tooth girl, my niece Alexis, turn sixteen today.



These days she is a spunky, vibrant, and out spoken teenager with purple hair. The only relief I get from that statement is that the purple washes out. None the less, I love her just the same.



Lexi is living with her father in Abilene, Texas and I miss her terribly. She is very affectionate and always greets me with a big hug.



Happy Birthday wishes to you- Alexis Nichole Buckley. Remember to live happy and continue to explore all of life’s opportunities. Don’t stop playing your guitar and singing to the world.

Conquer the Coast, 2011

The anticipation of a bike ride always gets to me. There is a mental checklist I have to ensure I have my gear, nutrition, and my bike is in order. I rode my bike to the start line and enjoyed watching one rider being helicoptered to the start of the ride- talk about a grand entrance.



We started with crossing the harbor bridge and catching a spectacular view of the sunrise. It is mornings like this that make me want to start each day with riding my bike into the sunrise. It is morning likes this that make me want to be on tour, forget life, forget work and ride my bike everywhere.

Conquer the coast has an eighteen mile stretch that is labeled “the hardest time trial you can find in Texas”. The head wind hits you straight on when you turn off the ferry and head down Mustang Island on chip-and-seal asphalt. It is brutal. Once you take another turn over JFK bridge, the wind turns in your favor.

This is one of my favorite rides of the year. It is flat and if the weather is perfect, the wind is behind you. I had no two hundred and sixty pound anchor slowing me down and I am quite pleased with my finishing time. Another finisher medal and another 70 miles on my mile log keeps Barbie and her bike happy.

Hail Mary

It is a daily adventure to commute to work. There is always emotional excitement plus the physical workout with the nine mile commute in and the eleven mile commute home.

My favorite experience was when a dear friend blew me kisses out her car window and said have a good day, love. I have had flirty and scary hello’s; friendly beep, beeps; angry honk, honks; and the not so nice cut off and a flick of the middle finger.

There was the flat tire on the bike and the eighteen wheeler that had a blow out two lanes away from me; the getting stuck in the middle of a busy four lane road with heavy traffic trying to cross the final two lanes; and there was the balancing act of uneven pavement, do I ride into the curve or swing into the car coming up next to me.

Oh and then there is crossing Huebner road. For this route, I always say a Hail Mary and pray that the Stop Light gods will be generous. It is not ideal, but passing a red light and crossing four lanes of traffic before the rush is better than weaving through speeding cars.

This is my fourth year of commuting to work and I absolutely love it. I get excited about getting to work, I get excited about being at work and thrilled when I finally leave work to go outside and play. It is like I have not grown up and I still ride my bike everywhere I go. I dread the weather change and when it will be too cold for this Texas girl to brave the chill.

Fly Away

She buzzed her way around the table and she could have landed anywhere. The water glass or fork would have been better place than the syrup bowl. The syrup stuck to her wings and she could not fly her way out.

For a moment I contemplated what to do. Too much pressure might hurt her. Gently, the knife was used to lift her up and place her on the banister. She began to drag her body on the wood leaving a pile of syrup in her path. She licked her body and fluttered her wings in an effort to remove the syrup. Hopefully, she would be light enough to fly again.

This poor little fly was covered in syrup and put herself into a sticky situation. I could relate for I have put myself in a similar situation many a time. You fall down; you lick yourself off, and then get back up again.

As much as I wanted to stay until she lifted away, I believe all stories should have a happy ending. Little Miss Fly cleaned off her wings and flew off into Paradise.

Eastern Shore 2011

I am drooling and lost in a daze as I dream about riding from Main to Florida. One day, one year, maybe it will be possible. Every day I ask myself if I should or shouldn’t read the blogs and let the jealousy build up. The answer is different every day. Either way, here is a list of some blog links so I may reference at a later time. Also to help with keeping the blog roll down.

Eastern Shore 2011 Blogs
http://whereislance.com/index.php?id=7
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/directory/?o=RrzKj&user=TouringbyBike&v=Eq
http://crosscountryrider.blogspot.com/

XC Blogs
http://www.rideforkidssake.com/
http://myassisred.blogspot.com/
http://3415milesonabike.blogspot.com/
http://web.me.com/yoviny/My_ass_is_red/Blog/Blog.html
http://tybikes.blogspot.com/
http://gaiasmysticalcorner.blogspot.com/

Karma

You know what they say about karma- it’s a bitch. Today, I know what it feels like. All those bad things I have done in my past have come back to haunt me. I guess it is just life. That is all I can attribute it to.

It does not matter that NOW my intentions are good or that I want to make things right. I have done my best to live honestly, be nice, and do the right thing. Not just at work but in my personal life.

Today, I feel like my best intentions have failed me. As the years change and I learn from my mistakes, I hope that this lesson remains. Honesty is the best policy.