Moving along

Well, the endurance ride is less than two weeks away. I haven't been able to train as much or the way that I wanted to, but I can see God's hand in what has and hasn't happened, so I have to trust Him that I will be able to finish the 11 hours. I was able to go out for a longer ride on Sunday, doing right around 3 hours. I have no idea how far I went, because I still haven't gotten the odometer hooked up, but at least I know my butt will easily endure 3 straight hours on the bike. That's almost 1/3 of the ride time, so I think I'm good on that score. Oh, I know I'll still be sore at the end of the day on June 9th, but at least I won't be going into it a total rookie.

A huge praise - I finally got the handle bars adjusted, so my back feels great, even three hours into a ride. And the numbness in my hands is greatly diminished due to the new position. Took nearly an hour and three trips into Menard's, but it is finally done!!

I reserved my spot at LaSalle manor with Emmaus today, so it is beginning to feel real.

Thanks to everyone who has already agreed to sponsor me. There is room for plenty more :)

As we get closer, please continue to pray for those of us training, those that are working the administrative details, and the men we are reaching through Emmaus Ministries. Again, the link is www.streets.org for more information.

Finally, one last prayer request - WEATHER! God's will be done, but I would find it much more enjoyable to ride in 65-75 degree weather with low humidity and low winds. We had that this past weekend, but today shot up to 87. Those of you who know me well will laugh when I say I will gladly endure 90-100 degree heat for the rest of the summer if it will just stay under 80-85 on Saturday June 9th!!!!

God Bless you all,

Kelly

A disappointment

Well, next to the T-ball debacle, that was the next most humiliating experience of my life. Not only was I the only rider there not in those special shoes that clip onto the bike pedals, not in official riding gear and with a bike with a side basket and kickstand, I was the slowest rider there and ended up with my own personal escort.

I could have endured all of that if I had actually learned something. Turns out riding in a pack is mostly common sense. They didn't tell me anything I didn't already know from running information in the Army or couldn't have figured out myself just from observation. And cornering? Something that comes with practice.

So, even though I've paid my money I don't think I'll go back for the next two weeks to endure more humiliation. Fortunately the Emmaus ride is about endurance, not speed!

A great day!

Well, I did my first long ride of the season today. After getting the bike out of winter storage on Monday, I rode for 30 minutes on Tuesday and 40 minutes on Wednesday.

Today, I loaded it up and rode on the Forest Preserve paths after church. Did a total of 16 miles in about 2 hours with a couple of breaks. A huge thanks to the two girls selling water at the Corner of Glenview and Harms Roads. Good luck in buying the wheelchairs for disabled athletes and I hope you can talk tomorrow!

Nearly 5 hours later and the only ill effects seem to be my butt. I am definitely saddle sore. I wonder if it will go away with more riding. I remember now that that was one of the problems with the long Saturday rides last year, I never wanted to ride on Sunday because of a sore rear end.

I didn't even bother taking the bike off the car because I have my first riding lesson tomorow night. I've never heard of these before, but I found out that there is a class on riding in a pack, and they will go over basics like cornering, drinking on the bike, etc. All things that I think will serve me well in my upcoming adventure.

It's official

I'm in. I've registered, gotten my packet of information, and called today for my reservations at the LaSalle Manor in Plano, IL. I'm going to be a part of Emmaus Ministries' Endurance Ride 2007.

For more information about Emmaus Ministries, please visit www.streets.org.

You can find more information about the Endurance Ride fundraiser at www.streets.org/enduranceride.html.

Check back often to hear about my training goals and progress.

• Goal #1 to be accomplished by May 1, 2007 is to purchase a bike rack for my car so I can transport it to ride in several different locations for training (and more importantly, to and from the fundraiser!).

• Goal #2 is to begin riding as soon as possible. I should already be doing this, but um, snow tends to be a de-motivator for bicycling!!