Our friends Dave and Mandy treated us to a wonderful last minute night at the ballpark!
Mariners win!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Angels vs Mariners at Angels Stadium
Our friends Dave and Mandy treated us to a wonderful last minute night at the ballpark!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
L.A. Bike Tour - Race Report!
Race: LA Bike Tour!
When: May 25th, 5am
Course: 22 Miles through the streets of LA
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes!
Weather: Chilly at the start, cool and cloudy at the finish - perfect!
Total amount Chad & I raised for ThinkCure: $542!!
Total amount EVERYONE raised for ThinkCure: $50,581!!!!!!
Wow wow wow. What a wonderful experience, on so many levels. I don't even really know where to start!
I guess I'll start at 3:26am, which is when I got up in order to make it to the start line in time. I woke up surprisingly alert and ready to go - which was very nice as I was fully expecting to drag my sleep deprived rear out of bed, feeling icky and headache-y. Instead I happily threw a cup of coffee in my belly, tossed my bike in the car and drove on down to Exposition Park with plenty of time to spare.
The sheer number of cyclists really astounded to me, and I'm sure I didn't even get a good perspective on the actual size of our group - 10,000 strong! That's 20,000 wheels! Well, give or take - I did see a few tandems out there. :)
Once the ride started and I got past the first few sketchy miles where everyone jockeys for position I got this huge smile on my face and thought very clearly to myself:
"This is really cool."
I know, sounds a little lame, but that's exactly what I thought - because that's exactly what it was! I have never been in a situation where I was riding alongside so many other cyclists, with absolutely nothing to stop us - no lights, cars, pedestrians...Just whirring tires, dinging bells, and open, quiet air. For a short 22 shining miles I saw what it would be like if everyone lived on a bike instead of in a car. And it was...well, really cool.
You may be wondering where Chad was in all this. He was supposed to do the ride as well, and has been fundraising right along with me, but at the last minute he was booked on a commercial that conflicted directly with the ride. I missed him the whole time, and I know he would have loved every minute of it, but I'm also so happy he was cast in a nice, big, paying commercial!
I won't give you a play by play of the whole ride, but I would like to give you some snapshots that have stayed with me:
-The teamwork within this enormous group - total strangers working together to maneuver the course, calling out left turn, right turn, debris... I love that.
-The announcer at the start line - he kept us all awake and entertained, particularly when he put a call out for the owner of a found bike seat "If you sit down and find something missing, please come see me up front."
-The spectators along the route! I did NOT expect anyone to be awake and cheering us on at 5 in the morning, but there they were, and they were very sweet. :)
-A big floofy orange cat sitting on the sidewalk who meowed at me just as I went by.
-I did not get a flat tire!! Many riders did, as LA is notorious for its unrepaired potholes. Phew!
-At the finish line the wonderful folks from ThinkCure had a great breakfast for their riders, and free massages as well! Ahhhh. :)
-Meeting Rich Cordova, CEO of CHLA! I had not had the pleasure before, and it was lovely to have a little chat with him whilst waiting in line for aforementioned free massage.
-And last but not least, thinking our Aunt Paula during the ride, and knowing that this ride was inspired by and in solidarity with her as she is fighting cancer. It made the ride personal and meaningful to me.
After the ride I decided to go up and watch some of the LA Marathon, which was inspirational all on it's own! I LOVED getting to watch and cheer for those 17,000 strangers at the start of a really incredible journey. I am now even more excited to make that journey myself in October!
Other wonderful marathon moments:
The Achilles folks, particularly the young blind man and his guide who ran the marathon together. I think that is the most amazing organization.
The handcrank/wheelchair racers!! I can barely stand the thought of running 26.2 miles with my legs, let alone with my arms. I think seeing them was especially touching to me as many of them were veterans, and I was imagining what it might mean to them to be racing on Memorial Day.
The man who was talking on his Blue Tooth while running the marathon, followed by a kid talking on his Blackberry while running the marathon. Talk about multi-tasking!
The juggling marathon runner.
The barefoot marathon runner.
The runners who congratulated ME for finishing the bike tour as they ran by! Twist!
All in all, a wonderful morning, a breathtaking (literally!) ride, all for a fantastic cause. Thank you, thank you a million times over, to everyone who donated to both Chad and I, and helped us be a small part of a huge endeavor. Here's to you, and here's to Paula, and to an end for cancer!
When: May 25th, 5am
Course: 22 Miles through the streets of LA
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes!
Weather: Chilly at the start, cool and cloudy at the finish - perfect!
Total amount Chad & I raised for ThinkCure: $542!!
Total amount EVERYONE raised for ThinkCure: $50,581!!!!!!
Wow wow wow. What a wonderful experience, on so many levels. I don't even really know where to start!
I guess I'll start at 3:26am, which is when I got up in order to make it to the start line in time. I woke up surprisingly alert and ready to go - which was very nice as I was fully expecting to drag my sleep deprived rear out of bed, feeling icky and headache-y. Instead I happily threw a cup of coffee in my belly, tossed my bike in the car and drove on down to Exposition Park with plenty of time to spare.
The sheer number of cyclists really astounded to me, and I'm sure I didn't even get a good perspective on the actual size of our group - 10,000 strong! That's 20,000 wheels! Well, give or take - I did see a few tandems out there. :)
Once the ride started and I got past the first few sketchy miles where everyone jockeys for position I got this huge smile on my face and thought very clearly to myself:
"This is really cool."
I know, sounds a little lame, but that's exactly what I thought - because that's exactly what it was! I have never been in a situation where I was riding alongside so many other cyclists, with absolutely nothing to stop us - no lights, cars, pedestrians...Just whirring tires, dinging bells, and open, quiet air. For a short 22 shining miles I saw what it would be like if everyone lived on a bike instead of in a car. And it was...well, really cool.
You may be wondering where Chad was in all this. He was supposed to do the ride as well, and has been fundraising right along with me, but at the last minute he was booked on a commercial that conflicted directly with the ride. I missed him the whole time, and I know he would have loved every minute of it, but I'm also so happy he was cast in a nice, big, paying commercial!
I won't give you a play by play of the whole ride, but I would like to give you some snapshots that have stayed with me:
-The teamwork within this enormous group - total strangers working together to maneuver the course, calling out left turn, right turn, debris... I love that.
-The announcer at the start line - he kept us all awake and entertained, particularly when he put a call out for the owner of a found bike seat "If you sit down and find something missing, please come see me up front."
-The spectators along the route! I did NOT expect anyone to be awake and cheering us on at 5 in the morning, but there they were, and they were very sweet. :)
-A big floofy orange cat sitting on the sidewalk who meowed at me just as I went by.
-I did not get a flat tire!! Many riders did, as LA is notorious for its unrepaired potholes. Phew!
-At the finish line the wonderful folks from ThinkCure had a great breakfast for their riders, and free massages as well! Ahhhh. :)
-Meeting Rich Cordova, CEO of CHLA! I had not had the pleasure before, and it was lovely to have a little chat with him whilst waiting in line for aforementioned free massage.
-And last but not least, thinking our Aunt Paula during the ride, and knowing that this ride was inspired by and in solidarity with her as she is fighting cancer. It made the ride personal and meaningful to me.
After the ride I decided to go up and watch some of the LA Marathon, which was inspirational all on it's own! I LOVED getting to watch and cheer for those 17,000 strangers at the start of a really incredible journey. I am now even more excited to make that journey myself in October!
Other wonderful marathon moments:
The Achilles folks, particularly the young blind man and his guide who ran the marathon together. I think that is the most amazing organization.
The handcrank/wheelchair racers!! I can barely stand the thought of running 26.2 miles with my legs, let alone with my arms. I think seeing them was especially touching to me as many of them were veterans, and I was imagining what it might mean to them to be racing on Memorial Day.
The man who was talking on his Blue Tooth while running the marathon, followed by a kid talking on his Blackberry while running the marathon. Talk about multi-tasking!
The juggling marathon runner.
The barefoot marathon runner.
The runners who congratulated ME for finishing the bike tour as they ran by! Twist!
All in all, a wonderful morning, a breathtaking (literally!) ride, all for a fantastic cause. Thank you, thank you a million times over, to everyone who donated to both Chad and I, and helped us be a small part of a huge endeavor. Here's to you, and here's to Paula, and to an end for cancer!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Congratulations Bryan and Rachel!
Chad and I are endlessly bummed that we were not able to be with you on your beautiful day, but we were with you in spirit and were thinking of you and your families all day. I hope it was everything that you wanted it to be and more!
Now I am itching for a full report and some gorgeous photos. :) I can't wait much longer!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
BtW Day and the LA Bike Tour
Today was Bike to Work Day for LA County, so in the spirit of saving the earth and all that Chad and I rode up to my building together this morning. A mere 3.8 miles each way, easily biked in less than a half hour, but it has always seemed so much more impossible than the 14+ roundtrip ride I used to make in Seattle, rain or shine. The route is not as safe (no bike lanes, lots of traffic, not many other bikers), the ride home in 90degree heat is unappealing (okay, only a problem in the summer), and there are no shower/changing facilities at work (I do not wish to ride up 20 floors in the elevator wearing spandex and bike cleats).
But today I did it! And rather ingeniously too. We rode slow so I wouldn't be all gross and sweaty when we got there, and once we pulled into the parking structure I slipped on my nice shoes, threw a skirt on over my bike shorts and a blouse over a tank top. Tada! Brave Bike Commuter Lindsay becomes Mild-Mannered Development Assistant Lindsay in a matter of seconds. :)
Of course one of the best parts of Bike to Work Day is the free stuff, and we took home a good cache of schwag, if not a king's ransom. I must say that BtW day LA is no where near what it could be, especially compared to Seattle's, but due to the small number of people participating we did get special attention - they practically shoved Clif Bars in our bags, saying they had way too many. We also finally got our coveted LA Bike Map, which I've been trying to track down since we moved here. Why do they make it so hard??
Anyway, it was good to get out on our bikes, since we have the LA Bike Tour coming up in less than two weeks! Chad and I have been raising money as we participate in this ride for an organization called ThinkCure, which funds accelarated cancer research projects through Children's Hospital Los Angeles and City of Hope. Our wonderful Aunt Paula was diagnosed with cancer this year, and as we can't be with her physically right now while she's going through such intense, difficult treatment we thought this could be one small way that we could support her from afar.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
As a child...
I would wake my mom up at 4 in the morning asking if we could go out and buy "exercise clothes".My brother, sister and I would play for hours out in the woods behind our house, pretending we were stranded in the wilderness.
I climbed a very tall tree almost daily.
I ate bowl after bowl of cereal whilst reading the Babysitters Club series.
I wore red glasses.
I chopped my hair VERY short in third grade and was sometimes mistaken for a boy which was very embarrassing to me, even though I was most definitely a tom boy.
I loved to write stories and would take a pen and paper with me on road trips in case I got an idea.I shared a room with my sister.
Someone once told me it was okay to refuse something (like a cookie or other food) if I didn't want it, and from then on instead of accepting automatically I refused automatically, just because I knew I could.
I had a severe fear of authority, was mortified if I ever got in trouble.
I wondered sometimes if life was a movie, and I was the main character. What an important realization it is for a child that the world does not revolve around you. :)
Thanks for the idea, Rebekah & Jenny!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)