Tour Des Chutes - X Style

We recently participated in the Tour Des Chutes (to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the St. Charles Cancer Center) with our good friends Jenny & Ryder and our new friends Tammy & Erin.

It was a wonderfully organized event that drew riders from all walks of life. There were distances for everyone - 7, 25, 48, 70 & 100 miles. We opted for the 7 mile ride and what a wonderful ride it was.

The morning was beautiful and cool and according to the organizers we had 4 times as many riders in our category as last year. Everyone enjoyed the leisurely ride through Broken Top. Thanks to the neighborhood for hosting us. We loved exploring your part of town.

The kids did a great job in the trailer and we really enjoyed being together for the morning. We rode in honor of "Oma" and in rememberance of "Grandpa Don". I think we will make this a regular summer event and I look forward to the day when my kids can ride on their own and eventually take off on one of the longer distances. I only hope I can keep up!!

Thanks to all the great folks who organized and volunteered for this great event.

Tunage for the Kids

I installed some little speakers in the trailer today for the kids. They have quite a library going on my iPod, so they should be able to listen to it while we ride. It's SWEEEEET dude!

SLIZZY in her full glory

I finally took a picture of my set up for when I go to Stroller Strides. You'll notice my duffle bag filled with exercise bands on one side and my "summer" mat for stretching and ab work on the other side.

I've pared the load down so it's not too ridiculously heavy I think. I always have to remember I have 50 lbs. behind me in the form of two wiggly bodies.

I just need some signage now. I'd like something I can hang off the back of the trailer and then set up at the park for when we're doing class. I know people are curious as to what we are all doing there with our strollers.

Hopefully I can get something worked out soon.

Side Note: we went to ShopKo after class. I almost bought a new tent and would have had no problem getting it home on the bike, but I couldn't decide which one I wanted. I did buy a bell though and on the way home there were like 6 cyclists riding on my street all at the same time. It was really cool.

X on people!

Grocery Haul

We did our first grocery haul today. 3 big reusable bags of food and one box of baby wipes. It was quite a load with two kids behind and the hot hot heat!!

We stopped at the smoothie hut on the way home too. It was a good addition to our ride.

I was going to take a picture, but we were just too hot.

X on people!

Xtracycle has a name (& some new parts - Thanks Sunnyside)

So this morning on NPR I heard a story about the Model T (aka the Tin Lizzy). They said one possible reason for the name was that work horses were often called Lizzy or Elizabeth before the car. So, I've adopted the name for my Xtracycle "Steel Lizzy" because my bike is a steel frame - forever now to be known as SLIZZY.

I had thought about Stangelizzy too (Stong-a-lizzy) so this fits for that too.

Thanks to they guys at Sunnyside Sports for hooking me up with some great new pedals (w/ toe baskets) which were very needed and some new tires. I like the ride a lot. I'm also excited about the versatility of the Frog light I bought. So Thanks!

Today's Haul

Today we went to Stroller Strides, of course, and then we went to ShopKo for a prescription, new shirts and some make-up. Then we headed to Office Depot for some office supplies, a new Crayola lap desk (eraseable!!) and some coloring pages w/ magic pens. It was a good load with my trusty co-pilots K2 and The Bean.

Fun was had by all!

Mommy found her happy place!!!!!!!!

Today I finally got to ride without the kids for the first time. What a great feeling that was. I came home and told my hubby that mommy was in her happy place (again, finally)!!!!!!!!!

Today I hauled - 2 kids, 2 new tires, 1 gallon of milk, a box of pedals and various odds and ends.

X on people!

Bike43 goes to work

So, we rode the X and trailer to work today. All my equipment fit perfectly in the X and the trailer is so easy to put on and off. It actually worked great for my Stroller Strides class. I was worried about it's handling - the BOB can really spoil you, but I think it will be fine. Maybe not as chic for the kids, but I loved it.

The ride home included a stop at Costco for just a couple items and a stop at the park. If we can get the helmets to fit right on K2 I think it will be just fine.

I can see my life changing before my eyes.

X on people!

Stickin' it to the Saudis!

So, I can't really bankrupt OPEC, but I can sure give 'em the old 3 fingered salute. So this is my way of doing it.......
Don't tell my mom.

X on people!

My New Limo

Here's my new Kid Limo. We rode it to the Old Mill today to see a free showing of "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" It was an awesome ride and a totally funny movie. The kids did great, we just have to get K2's helmet adjusted better. His poor little head.

We made it from our house to the Old Mill in about 25 minutes which was great and the route we took was awesome too. No major hills, good bike path / lanes and The Bean actually fell asleep.

We stopped to see our favorite DJ - Cate, at The Mountain and showed off our new ride. She gave the Bean a Wall-E t-shirt from the midnight showing and totally made Beanie's day. Thanks Cate!

Well, we'll probably ride it to Stroller Strides tomorrow for the first time. We'll see how that goes. It should be a pretty short ride if we find the right route.

X on people!