Heartbreak

Heartbreak. My puppy-girl left me much too soon. Exuberantly chasing birds, too impatient to wait for anyone to grab her leash. But birds are more adept at crossing roads than are puppies. In an instant she was gone. I am missing her puppy kisses, hugs, smiles and even the headaches she gave me.

Just 7 months ago, we said hello to Eureka (post) and we were looking forward to celebrating her 1st birthday in June. This is far too soon to say goodbye. Admittedly, this isn't the first time that she did something stupid and dangerous in her life, but she just wasn't as lucky this time.

Santa Fe Century

100 miles by bicycle - beginning and ending in Santa Fe. Here's the map, with North to the left (sorry, it fits in the picture better that way). We started at 7:30am and finished just before 4:30pm. So 9 hours, although my bike computer claims I was rolling for just over 7 hours. Where did I spend those idle 2 hours? At the rest-stops which I've numbered along the route (first one in Madrid). There were 6 of them, which doesn't seem like too many but apparently I spent an average of 20 minutes at each one.

Starting out with the Team in Training group. Not only have we been training together since February, we also each raised thousands of dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. All of my teammates will be doing a Century at Lake Tahoe in June, some of them (those pictured) also came to Santa Fe with me.

First stop: Madrid. Looking good after 26 miles of pure biking fun! That first stretch was mostly downhill, but right after this stop we had a lot of uphill work.

Heartbreak Hill: too bad the great view is behind the cyclists! I'm not in this picture, but I looked exactly like that as I walked up the hill. The best thing about this hill is that it's the last hill for 40 miles.

After Heartbreak Hill, there is a whole lot of flat-ish road through the plains. Unfortunately, in New Mexico it is always windy on the plains. We kept a pace line through most of this which makes the miles go by much faster. In Galisteo at mile 82, we had our last break before heading up the hills back into Santa Fe. Throughout the ride, I kept reminding myself to take it easy so that I wouldn't be burnt before that last 15-mile uphill push. Apparently, my pacing worked because I climbed up Lamy Hill without a problem and flew on through the last 10 miles back to the finish line. Maybe riding along the shoulder of I25 gave me the adrenaline rush I needed to push through those last miles.

Finished! 101 miles and 9 hours later.

April

My brother came for a visit a few weeks ago to witness me getting older by a year... and we had some fun riding scooters, hiking in the Jemez, buying longhorns at Jackalope (can't believe I didn't get a picture of that), and eating birthday ice cream cake.

80 Miles

Today marks the 2-week countdown to the Santa Fe Century ride. In preparation, I bicycled 80 miles yesterday, starting at the Santa Ana Star Casino in Bernalillo to the Gilman Tunnels (photo above from a few years ago), and back again. This was one of the most scenic rides I've ever done. It was tough work climbing the hills up to the tunnels, and I was worried about being able to finish the ride after being so burnt at the turn-around point. The ride back turned out to be pure fun in the sun... but less scenic as it flew by so quickly :)

Next week, it'll be 85 miles. Then finally, the 100 miles of the Santa Fe Century. I'm ready to be done with it. These long rides are getting tough. After this, I may stick with 50-mile rides for fun.

Happy Birthday, Carla!

This photo is likely the first time I actually met my cousins Carla and Julia. I don't know how many more times in my life I spent the 4th of July with them. Usually playing in their pool and watching the fireworks over Lake Saint Clair.