Hotter 'N Hell 100

Today we rode in the Hotter 'N Hell 100 in Wichita Falls. It was pretty amazing.


There were about 13,000 bikers riding various distances. I rode the 100K (63 miles) and Rian rode the 100 miles. I was not very excited about the ride, because I was so worried about all the bikers. It was as crowded and crazy as I thought it would be. We started near the front (by accident) and thought we were kinda clear of all the madness. We were not, however. :)There were soooooo many bikers. It was CRAZY! It was really crazy-cool, too, tho. We've done marathons with that many people but never have started with that many people on bikes.

It was cool/scary/exciting/fun. Rian and I took a picture and we were off.


The first 20 miles were very, very crowded, but it thinned out (sorta) and I found my pace. By about mile 40 I had plenty of room to move about and not be so crowded in (just in time to almost be done... grrrr).
We rode through lots of wide open Texas countryside. It was pretty, although I admit that I didn't look around too much. I had to focus too much on the riders around me to avoid being smooshed or crashed into. Lots of dumb-ass riders out there. Just like drivers; I like to think I'm not the idiot on the road- everyone else is the idiot (but in this case that's more true than normal). On the other hand, it was really neat not to be all alone on the ride. Most of my rides like that I'm alone a lott. It was nice to always have people around to break up the monotony.

Rest stop 1: blew by it because I'm freaking awesome (well mostly because I didn't need anything).

Rest stop 2: Luau stop. Pretty cool rest stop. Leis, photos with "island natives" and great fruit.

Rest stop 3: waited for 10 minutes in the porta line (but HAD to go, so no choice). Good stop- didn't stay long.

Rest stop 4: blew by it because I didn't need anything.

Rest stop 5: awesome stop!! I ate a snow cone (cherry flavor), wiped down with some cold towels, and enjoyed some shade.

The BEST part of the day was going through Sheppard Air Force Base. We got to go by some really cool planes. Then we went down a street that was lined with soldiers who were yelling at the top of their lungs at you. It was AWESOME!!! I finished strong and feeling great.
My avg. was pretty good (for me being out of racing shape). Not too bad. The whole ride felt so awesome. The weather was great. The route was great. The roads were kinda rough, but not so bad. The atmosphere was amazing.
I'd like to do it again.

Here I am resting in the car after showering and cooling off. HHH is Okaly Dokaly with me!
Rian had finished his 100 mile and was running a brick while I sat in the car and took a picture of myself and listened to Green Day. Life is good. :)


Here's a really cool professional photo of the start. Look at all those bikes- they go on like that for blocks and blocks... some people took almost an hour to get to the starting banner you see up front. http://www.timesrecordnews.com/photos/2009/aug/29/30992/

One of the best sunrises ever!

So today I get up at 5:15 (WTF is wrong with me anyway?). I had planned to be out the door for a long ride before work. Well- it's still pitch black at 6 am (who knew?) so that plan was scratched. I left at 6:25 and got a shorter long ride in. As I'm riding around Stars and Stripes park at the lake- I look over and see the most amazing sunrise. Beautiful pinks, purples, blues, oranges. GORGEOUS! The picture is above. I stopped, looked at it and the reflection of it off the water, the ducks swimming so peacefully, and thanked God for his beautiuful painting. No matter how talented an artist is- I don't think beauty such as that can be catpured. Before I knew it, the beautiful colors of the sky disappeared as the sun peeked above the horizon further. Bummer. :(

What a great way to start the day, though. It was quiet, calm, pretty, and serene. What more can you ask for in the morning?

Houdini dogs

So today the dogs decided to go on a little adventure... and a good time was had by all (well, all but Rian).

The side gate didn't quite get shut all the way. When R left to go to the gym for a swim this morning, Jimbo (the golden) was standing at the front gate waiting on him. By standing at the front gate, I mean standing OUTSIDE in the yard on the wrong side of the front gate. 'Twas not a good thing to see.
So R locks Jimbo back up and heads to the gym. A couple hours later he returns and finds the other two knuckleheads missing, and Jimbo whining like a lost, lonely puppy.
So R goes on a dog-hunting expedition and after driving all around the neighborhood looking for blackie (Max) and grandma (Cookie- who is deaf and blind), he finds them in the neighbor's yard foaming at the mouth and exhausted. Sheesh!!! And I JUST took their collars off last month because the constant head shaking and tag jingling was driving me INSANE. Luckily they didn't want to go on a grand adventure- and thought the neighborhood was enough of a trip for one day.

So now I'm off to head back to school for Open House night. Joy! At least this year I don't have to give the dreaded "parent speech" in my classroom. That always made me sooooo nervous. This year as Librarian, parents will come to my room on an "come and go" basis. Not nearly as nerve-racking.

Another day in paradise. Life is good!

Where the heck have I been?

Sunburns suck. More about that later.

My last blog post was January 26th. It's been, oh... about 8 months since my last visit.
I just don't know what happened to me. Here's a quiz for you. Keep your eyes on your own paper.

I haven't posted in 8 months because I've been:
a. busy finishing an old job and finding a new job
b. lazy
c. stupid
d. forgetful
e. all of the above

You pick which one you want. I choose all of the above. A little of column a, a little of column b.

The best news during my absence?

Are you ready?

Sitting down?

Really ready?

I got a job as a librarian 3 miles from home (by bike- about 2.5 miles by car). The best part???? I GET TO RIDE MY BIKE TO WORK EVERY DAY. Let the cheering begin. I'm now a bike commuter.
Life is so grand. Not only do I have a DREAM job- but I can ride my bike to my dream job. Does it get any better than that???? I think not.
I rode my bike to work 3 out of 5 days last week. Couldn't ride 2 days because of heavy downpours and lightning. I have a few things that will put me in my car instead of on my bike:

1. lightning and rain. One or the other are fine. Combine the two and a steel lightning magnet and you have crispy Tanya. Not good.
2. snow or ice. That's just plain damn crazy.
3. oversleeping. a very real possibility for me. especially the first few weeks of school.


I'm really, really into biking now. I try to ride my bike as often as possible and for as many errands as possible. Sometimes I just combine my errands and run them all in one day and drive. Realistically it's not possible to ride my bike everywhere. The city is just too spread out. Blasted Midwest towns. It's all a part of my plan to not only sneak in more exercise every day, but to lessen my carbon footprint and to be a good example for my students.

Today's bike adventure: rode 40 miles with Alison from a lake to a town 20 miles away. It was a lot of fun, and a doggone good day for riding. As sad as I am about daylight going bye-bye, the cooler temps and less humidity sure is nice. I'm not getting too attached to it, tho, as I know the heat isn't finished with us just yet...

Oh, ,and my serious sunburn that I got two weeks ago is finally healing (see picture). Doesn't look so bad in the picture, but it blistered and got all creepy looking (think Texas Chainsaw Massacre). It was the one time I forgot my sunscreen. Bad me... :(