Vote early, vote often for the t-shirt design you think should represent the 2009 Margarita Ride on September 12 (voting on the right side pane). Also, in the comments section, a few of us have been talking about the plethora of t-shirts we own and have talked about making cycling socks for the event in years to come. What do you think? Is the t-shirt just too classic or would you rather have cycling socks with a cool Margarita Ride logo?
The MS Bike Tour is making its way from Sioux Falls to Vermillion again this year and I'm looking forward to seeing many familiar faces once again. If you are not doing anything, there is still time to sign up and ride with Team Road Kill by clicking HERE.
If you can't ride, would you consider a donation to the cause? Helping the MS Society has become such a passion of mine that any help you could give would be appreciated. Only have one (1) dollar that you can give? GREAT! Have one hundred (100) dollars to give? SWEET! Something in between? AWESOME! You can donate by clicking HERE.
Have more questions? Leave a comment or email me at bikingbrady AT gmail DOT com.
As most of you know, I've really been babying the back as of late so I haven't really done many hard pushes on the bike and my conditioning is showing it. I needed the stress release tonight as a few computer issues that I've been working on are driving me crazy. I took off into a 10-15 mph wind on a solo ride and realized I was holding about 18.5 mph. I decided to keep pushing to see if I could kick the overall average above 20 mph.
Results: 20.5 mph average including in town riding. My back, well, it might not be ecstatic about my push, but it isn't completely disowning me either. I also had a couple thoughts about my computer issues along the way. Bike therapy complete. Cost = free. Paid in full.
We took two car loads (10 people in all) to a family fun day and went to Fremont, Nebraska to see Thomas the Tank Engine. Austin and Marissa didn't seem real excited in the beginning but by the end, they would be hard pressed to say they didn't have at least SOME fun.
We took "the Grandma's" along: Grandma's Laura, Bonnie, and Beverly along with Laura's sister LeeAnn and our niece Adriana and all the Brady Bunch. I think everybody who went had a great time. I even have pictures that prove that my "too old for this" 13 year old had fun. Without further ado, our day in a few pictures.
Carson standing in front of Thomas.
The model railroad of Thomas was also pretty awesome. Only thing missing from where I was sitting was Gomez Addams blowing it up. Sorry for those who miss that reference.
Carson resisted the urge to smile on the train.
So Dad offered a little tickle assistance.
Carson meeting Sir Topham Hat
Thomas on the move
Austin busted having fun too.
Carson had fun on the Thomas bouncy slide too. He was making others nervous while I just laughed.
Yes, I'm way behind on blogging, but I had to throw some kudos out to the boys from FAB for a great FABRAD 2009 on July 11. I loved the route, the weather, the food, and seeing almost every area cycling blogger.
We had a great paceline going until we hit the hills in Iowa and then things spread out a bit. After a stop in Inwood, IA --possibly my first EVER trip to Inwood-- to regroup we were off again. CDV and I took off ahead of the main group and it quickly became evident that he was not feeling good. As we would learn later, without going into details, it was NOT biking related and he would be moderately incapacitated the rest of his Saturday. He survived the 60 miles and I stayed with him even with his pleas that I leave him to die in peace.
I put the route out on the South Dakota By Bike blog. Now that there more Garmin users out there, I could use some help getting some of your favorite routes out there as well. If you have deeper detail on the roads we took for FABRAD, let me know that as well and I'll update that post so others have a great ride route.
Pretty tame report. Went to a couple area bike rides and had a couple family gatherings with my Niece being back from Colorado. Also got picked up when the BBT (Big Blue Tandem) flatted around Elk Point and I figured out that I had a Shrader valve tube for replacement. DOH!
Although it hasn't been stated on here, many of you know that the Gut Check is out for 2009. At least solo. The back issue and very busy job of being Dad has made it evident that the thought of doing the Gut Check solo may never appear again. Maybe I'll get a wild hair to do it again, but at this point in my life I wouldn't count on it.
My reasoning? Well, I like to walk. Many of you don't see when I have my "bad back" days. It's not fun. Easy long rides don't bother me. When I ride really hard I struggle. Of course, some would argue that what I consider an easy ride, really isn't anyway.
Another reason is that I really don't have anything to prove. I completed the Gut Check. On the worst weather year that the ride has had, with an additional 20 mile detour, a torrential downpour from a storm that about wiped a town in the Black Hills off the map, and a relentless headwind that would break the will of many a person that year.
What it comes down to is the fact I'm not a professional. I'm not getting paid for this. I do want to push myself, but I want to enjoy my cycling years as pain free as possible. Something has to give. Somewhere, the voices start getting a little smarter and tell you what you need to hear, whether it's what you want to hear or not.
The last final thought on 2009 Gut Check: I'd entertain the thought of doing a leap frog team with 4-8 guys who want to hammer it and get done fast (Hey, I didn't say I wasn't still a little competitive!). I need to know fairly soon however if you are interested in a leap frog team otherwise I'm planning another camping trip with the family. For those who don't know, a leap frog team is a team that take turns on the bike and can go as long as they want to go and then trade off with another teammate. Please email me or leave a comment if you are interested.
The bed that I had the honor of helping Laura's Grandpa build came this weekend and is duly installed. Not without funny stories of it's own. We tried our best not to have to take it apart.
Attempt #1: We tried to take it through the front door and the railing was in the way. No matter how we tried, it wasn't going to fit.
Attempt #2: Through the garage. It too couldn't make the angle to get into the kitchen due to the wall configuration.
Attempt #3: Remove the front railing and go in the front door. SUCCESS!!! Well, not completely. We got it into the hallway heading to our bedroom and it became evident that it wasn't going to angle into our bedroom. Sigh...
Attempt #4: Last ditch effort. Took the screws out of the middle of the bed to separate it into two halves. Off came the screen and windows and we moved it right into the room with two people on each side.
If there was any neighbors bored on a Sunday late afternoon, I'm sure they got some cheap entertainment watching it all go down.
In the process of preparing for the bed we moved everything out of the room. Laura had done some checking under the carpet and the wood floor underneath looked in great condition. Long story short, up came the carpet and now we have a brand new bedroom. A purple paint job, wood floors and a new bed. After a night of "knob installation", pulling up all the carpet tacks and tack strips, and Laura cleaning the floors, it looks great! Without further ado, our "new" bedroom.
The headboard and drawer front wood is from a tree that was native to Brunswick, NE. Grandpa Hertel actually planed the boards down himself. 
Seven drawers per side and a look at the wood floors that were discovered.
