Until then!! : ))

On a personal note, I was recently (well 3 mos ago) promoted to Product Manager at my company so that has proven to be quite a task. I had to give up one of my classes with 24Hr Fitness as a cycle instructor to deal with the added travel of my new role. Don’t worry – I’m still teaching Thursday evenings at 6:30 in Carrollton so come on by and ride with me!

Also, I have rewarded myself with my first carbon bike! Yes, after 4 years with the same Orange Motobecane Sprint, I’ve decided to bite the bullet and get a new one. I can’t wait for it to get here – hopefully sometime in February (just in time for some early spring rides!).

Anywho, I am looking forward to another great ride with Bike MS. In two weeks, we’re having a captain’s meeting, and already cannot wait to hear what the other teams are doing out there to get their crew motivated!!

It’s been a crazy September and start to October. My birthday was this past Friday. I spent almost 19 hours on the road to visit with my family for less than 12 hours. It’s crazy but they are my family and it becomes clear every time we leave their house, why we must return the following month. My mom was in the hospital almost a full week. They couldn’t find out what was wrong with her. They finally released her with some medications in hopes of helping out with her medical problems. Now, even more than ever, I will make it a point to visit and stay with her as long as I can. Having lost my grandma in June helped me realize that I must make the most out of every minute I can spend with those I love. And I will.

Because of all the hectic-ness, I haven’t been on my bike since mid-September. That worries me. My cycling is my therapy for dealing with life’s stressful times. Because I haven’t been on my bike, I’ve been getting migraines more steadily, my insomnia is worsening, and it’s just hard to cope with all of that. I have a ride in less than 22 days and I am not so sure I’ll be ready for it. Because we have activities with the kids, I will not be able to ride again this weekend. Of course, I do have my 24Cycle classes, but they are truly not the same as actual bike riding. We’ll see. As a mother and wife, these things take precedence over cycling – especially in the off-season (as my husband puts it).

On a great note, registration opens up tomorrow. I realize I will have to give up my title as Nontraditional rider for the 2011 Bike MS ride. I truly enjoyed blogging for you and hope that some of my posts gave those of you out there with families and hectic work schedules a boost to get out and ride. After juggling schedules and arranging kids’ stuff and household duties, it all becomes worth it to feel the wind in your hair and the sun on your face. Yes, yes it does!

Well, then, what are you waiting for!? tomorrow, I will have my $15 registration fee and I will be at the awards party at Union Station to sign up for the 2011 Bike MS Sam’s Club Ride. The question is – WILL YOU?

See you there!

I am excited to report that next week, registration for the 2011 Bike MS ride opens up starting Tuesday, October 5th!! While I have been busy closing out fundraising for the team for the 2010 Bike MS, riding and raising funds for the Tour De Cure (for the American Diabetes Association) this past July, and currently fundraising and training for the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin at the end of October, I am most excited about starting all the activities for the Bike MS. This ride is definitely near and dear to my heart. The recruiting will soon start and we’ll try and train through the winter months. Some of our team members are anxious to start while others will not be returning. Our team sponsor, The Bicycle Path, wants to try and grow the team again this year. Our other team sponsor, FloTec, is hoping to return for another year of sponsoring our team tent and all the food and beverages that come along with it at TMS. I already feel overwhelmed and we haven’t even started!! LOL!

I’ve also been asked to help with the startup of a new team for the coming year. It’s really more like a mentor and only assisting the team captains in terms of how to start the team up, what to do when, and general “new team” questions. I don’t mind helping them at all. I know it was difficult to start it up – all team captains have been there. And I’m glad to have people at the MS Society like Kelly and Justin to help us along as well.

Well, gotta get back to work. Remember – 2010 BIKE MS AWARDS CEREMONY – OCTOBER 5!! Hope to see you there!!

We did most of it but the plugs were hard to get to (at least 8 of them were). Anywho, we’ll have to get another weekend free to go out and change those out. I’ve spent most of today driving around from doctor to doctor taking care of issues I have with my health. Also, I’m getting my daughter ready for braces so we spent about 2 hours at the dentist’s office getting teeth pulled. It hurt me to hear her screaming when they pulled them but I am happy to report that she is doing better now. : )

Tonight, I’m taking my husband to go mountain biking with me and the guys from The Bicycle Path. Normally, I teach my spin class on Tuesday evenings but with my health, I had to put some of them on hold until I am ready to go back. I’ve been given the ok, but since my classes already have subs, I cannot ask for them back so I’m taking this opportunity to try my skills at mountain biking. Wish me luck tonight. I hope the trees stay clear of me!! : )))

Today, I celebrate my 11th wedding anniversary. I’ve spent the day alone so far. The kiddos have a scout lock-in last night and so they are still there. I stayed home because I had a meeting last night and then a bike ride this morning. The meeting was successful and we’ve got a great group for “To Hell and Back”. However, I’ve been feeling a little sick. This morning, I couldn’t put myself through a ride this morning. I’ve been drinking lots of water today and so I hope I have the energy to ride tomorrow. I have to. We’ve got at least a 200 mile ride in 2 weeks. Wish me luck.

Tonight, we have a baptism party to attend and I hope that the family can go out together to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Tomorrow, I have the ride in the morning and then it’s off to Quinlan to work on my truck and car. I have to change brakes on my truck and possibly get into my 78 a little too. Either way, wish me luck! )

We had a great Tour de Cure!! Eleven members rode on July 24th with 4 of us riding 100 miles, 4 riding 100k, and 3 riding the 15 mile routes. Everyone had a great time. One member completed his first ever century! Another member completed her 2nd 100k and 2nd rally ever! We had a first time rally rider who was 8 years old who completed her 15 miles!! I was and am very proud of our team. There is nothing that can stand in our way to support such great causes!!

Part of the team is in the final preparation stage for To Hell and Back. What’s that you ask? Well, there are about 12 of us crazy members who think we can ride 300 miles in one weekend at the end of August in this Texas heat. We are attempting to ride 100 miles from Denton to Wichita Falls on Friday the 27th of Aug, then ride the 100 mile route at HH100 on the 28th, followed by a ride back to Denton for another 100 miles on the 29th. The ride will be fully supported with SAG and support from our very own team sponsors, The Bicycle Path. Our final logistics meeting is Wednesday of this week so hopefully, we’ll be all good to go after this weekend.

We’ve been training all summer long with The Bicycle Path on Sunday mornings. We’ve been a co-host to a Hotter Than Hell training program that ramps up the mileage and includes at least one rally a month to get ready for HHH. Last year, I had the opportunity to take tons of pictures. This year, our team has grown into a powerhouse of crazy fast riders. Needless to say, in hopes of hanging on to the end of the pack, I’ve opted to not lug around the camera. Even without the camera, it has been hard to hold on. But I am very proud of the team and I just keep telling myself – “they’re younger, they’re faster, and I just gotta stay with them!” : )

The kids have been keeping me busy too. Between summer visits with the grandparents and Boy Scouts and ushering at church, it has kept me on my toes. But there is nothing better than seeing my kids grow to be mature and thoughtful and mindful of others. We’ll be starting to get them to ride the local Monday night rides with The Bicycle Path hopefully starting next week. There are two other kids (both 5) who have already ridden with our Mon night group a couple of times. Before long, we’ll have a family friendly, easy paced ride for all to enjoy!

Well, gotta go. Tons to do!! Stay tuned!!

Oh! I finally did sign up for my first Livestrong Challenge in Austin at the end of October!! It consists of a run on a Saturday and a ride on a Sunday. I’m starting back on my Couch to 5k running program (because I don’t run) so stay tuned for some grapefruit stories (of my knee, that is!). : ))

Then, on Sunday, in order to further prepare for HH weekend, we’ll be riding another 70 miles. Our team is going to attempt a “To Hell and Back” ride. Yup, 300 miles in 3 days on HH weekend. We’ll be riding up to WF, riding the century route at HH, then riding back to Denton. We’ll have full SAG support and rest points along the way. Again, the heat will be the big determining factor because we are all solid endurance riders (didn’t say anything about speed, though). So, naturally, we need to ramp up our weekend and back-to-back riding. If I can still walk on Monday without too much moaning, I will have considered my weekend rides a success. Stay tuned! : )

In the morning, we made our way over to the Civic Center in Paris and had great-tasting pancakes, sausage, and juice. We had plenty of time to get ready (about an hour) which made for an easy preparation. I hate being rushed and was glad that the rest of the team felt the same way. As 8 am approached, we met a few other DFW area riders and one unexpected teammate who had driven up the morning of the ride. We went and lined up and prepared for a 110k ride. It was already hot, but if we were planning on riding 300 miles in AUgust, we might as well get used to the heat now. One of our members was participating in her FIRST rally! I was really excited for her and, within the group, we decided we would all stick together to motivate her along.

I had my camera and so the photo opportunities start flooding me. We took pictures along the route and at most of the rest stops. We spent a lot of time sharing the load up and down the small hills in Paris. Well, they were not that small but they were short and steep (highest grade was 9%). The temperatures started to crawl up and by 10 or so, the temperatures were in the high 90s and heat index in the low 100s. I loved this rally. This is probably THE most organized rally ever. Rest stops were about every 5 to 7 miles. They had freezing cold water, tons of ice, and lots of baked goods along with bananas and oranges. The rest stops were all stocked with very friendly and eager volunteers. Some rest stops included the local Boy Scout Troops. I couldn’t believe it. We had a motorcycle volunteer stopping for anyone on the side of the road even if they were only a few hundred feet apart. He would slow down for those slowly creeping up the steep climbs. I was very surprised.

I imagine there is huge support from the Paris community to make this a great rally to come back to year after year. I’m hooked. I’ll be coming back to Paris next year and may even make a weekend out of it – mainly because we were all too tired to drive back.

Great ride – check out our pics on the Pictures page.

Next weekend – July 24th – I’ll be participating in the Tour De Cure – a ride for the American Diabetes Association. We’ll be attempting 100 miles and hope that I can make it. Take care, enjoy the pics, and if you can, donate to the cause above by clicking on the link below.

http://main.diabetes.org/goto/connie.rios

I’ve been staying busy though. I worked with my Southside team in the Rio Grande Valley to get them ready to ride a rally at the end of May. I’ve also been working feverishly with our team sponsor, The Bicycle Path, to get a Hotter than Hell training schedule together. We’ve just completed our third week of training and so far, it’s gone without incidents. Whew. Two weeks ago, I was supposed to go to jail for Jerry’s Kids Muscular Dystrophy Association, but I had to back out for personal reasons and the fact that I could not raise $2,500.

Then it all went downhill. My grandmother was admitted to the hospital for cancer. It was a blow to our family. Doctors said nothing could be done because the cancer had spread. They gave her two weeks to live. She lived 12 days from the date of the diagnosis. She was laid to rest last week on Thursday. I’ve spent quite a bit of time back home with my family. She lived 92 wonderful years and will be dearly missed.

As we sat at the funeral home the day before the burial, my daughter looked at me with tears in her eyes and said “Mom, will you do a bike ride for cancer so that no more grammas have to die”… We sat there and cried together and I told her I would do that for her. I just can’t say no. I’ve been a part of the MS ride for four years because a close friend of mine has MS. I’ve done the Diabetes ride two years now in memory of my Grandfather who lived to be 94 years old with both legs amputated due to Diabetes. I lost my maternal grandfather to pancreatic cancer in 2001 but because we did not know him that well – he lived in Arkansas and my parents couldn’t afford to travel to see him – I had never really thought about a cancer ride. My husband has lost quite a few relatives on his side to cancer. But the sudden blow of my grandmother’s loss really made a mark in my heart to work for yet another great cause.

In October, I’ll be participating in the Livestrong Challenge in Austin. I’ve added another “new” goal to my newfound cause. I’ll be participating in their two-day challenge – running one day and cycling the following day. It’s more fundraising and I’m not much of a runner, but I’ve promised my daughter and so I’m going to do this for all those granddaughters and people who have lost a loved one to cancer.

Stay tuned…