Woo-woo-woo!
 |
Yes, I am the happy puppy!!
Photo credit: Kim, after today's ride. |
I have met my $5,000 fundraising goal for the BikeMS Ride Across Minnesota (TRAM), thanks to the generosity of many friends - one of who donated twice to help me get closer to my goal and another who donated a second time within one week to get me to $5,000 even! I am very humbled by people rallying behind me and this cause that means a lot to me. There was a fundraising match this past week, and apparently another $500+ will get added to my fundraising total in a week or so.
I didn't ride much this week and didn't swim at all, given that we had thunderstorms pretty much every day, which I really hope won't be the case July 21-26!
We've been watching the golden retriever, Wallace, this week. I've taken to calling him "Big Boy." He is so big. And he can be stubborn. Like today, when he plopped in the grass in the park and rolled on his back instead of walking home. It is pretty hard to get a big inert creature up and moving, but we got home! He's a sweetie, though, and he's liking summer camp at our house. (He stayed with us in the spring, and liked long walks when it was cooler out.)
 |
They don't really play, and sometimes Haley steals
toys from Wallace, but they do like being together. Haley
really only has a couple of friends, so it is good for her
to remember how to interact with them. |
 |
| He is loving the kiddie pool. |
They are also happy puppies. I mean, really, what have they got to complain about?!?
This morning, Kim, Deb, Jill, and I (all of us are doing the TRAM) met nearby, rode 30 miles with a heat index of over 90, wiped off our sweat, and had brunch on an airy, shaded patio. It was fun to talk about the upcoming ride, and it got me more excited.
I stopped at the bike shop on the way home because I recently ordered one new tire for the bike I'll be using for the TRAM, but realized that both of the current tires have pretty good gouges out of them and I should get another one, too. I hate flat tires, and especially don't want one on the side of some random county highway. So, I ordered a second one.
I then came home, and set up one of the two tents my brother dropped off for me to try for the TRAM. (We just have a backpacking tent that won't work for Dan, me, and our gear - yes, Dan is riding this year, too!) The tents my brother has for me are not very fancy (appear to be kind of old, but well cared for, and have oddly small rain flies), but they are gigantic. So, I think they will not keep the rain out, probably. But, they are so big that we can probably just move around any puddles that gather inside? Ha ha. My options were 10x10 or 8x12 and both are 6 feet tall. I haven't been able to stand in a tent since I was a kid. I picked 8x12 and will take an extra tarp, rope, and stakes in case we need to get creative.
I then put the new front tire I had already bought on the bike and noticed that my rim tape (a piece of fabric that protects your tube from the little holes where the spokes go) is all wonky. I don't have any spare rim tape, so I called the bike shop and gave them a heads up that when the other tire comes in, I'd like them to put new rim tape on both wheels and then remount this new tire and put the other new tire on the back wheel. I then was feeling inspired and washed my bike and cleaned the cassette for the first time in, well, years?
I was so disgusting and sweaty from the bike ride, the tent wrestling, the bike stuff, and then a walk with the dogs that the shower I took before dinner was probably my most favorite shower, ever!
I was telling Kim today that since I raised $5,000, I get to do another BikeMS ride anywhere in the country with no fundraising obligations. We spent a good section of the bike ride talking about where it would be most fun to ride. We'll see what happens!
Thanks to all of you who have shown your support through donations, words of encouragement, etc. And I know some people wanted to donate but it wasn't in the cards for them this year, and that's totally understandable, too!
Check it out! Woo!
No comments:
Post a Comment