Another ride, a visit, and a dedicated wife

I guess I will actually write this in a different order.  On Saturday Sarah, Gabs and I went to the 112th St Diner.  It was a cute little place.  Picture any diner on a 1950s-1960s movie.  Picture The Max on Saved by the Bell, but then picture the waitresses being about 40-60 years older.  I know, we aren't the type of breakfast going people - unless it's the Maltby Cafe.  But our friends Deb and Ben had a drop in Everett and were going to be in the area for a few hours.  Typically they are here during the middle of the night so we dont get to see them (they are the couple that are paying off their bills by trucking - currently on a dedicated I-5 route).  It was great to see them and catch up a bit.  They have been wonderful friends, supporters of our dedication to LIVESTRONG, and always sending post cards.  It's really fun getting mail from them.

They hail from Bend, OR (though both grew up in the Midwest as well) and absolutely love the PacNW and Bend.  I've heard that Bend is a beautiful area - as is the rest of Central Oregon.  Once, Deb said that we should come down to visit because it is a cycling town and has some great hikes.  There is actually a ride on July 23 - Tour des Chutes - but originally Sarah said we wouldnt be able to do it because she wanted some weekend we could celebrate our anniversary.  Well, she also thought that I had a ride just about every weekend of the summer.  I don't.  So it looks like we might take a family vacation to Bend that weekend and maybe even see if we can extend it to see more of the area and do some hiking.  We still need to work out the details.  However, it is really going to push me on my riding.  It is a ride with various lengths from 10-90 miles.  I will shoot for the goal of the 90-mile ride.  It is in its 6th year and is a local ride based on the Ride for the Roses, and actually, all proceeds go to the LAF and the Cancer department of St. Charles Hospital.  The challenge that I'll really have to train for is that I have the STP (203 mi) the weekend before, and the Echelon Gran Fondo (100 mi) the week after.  That is right, 400 miles in 3 weeks.  I should be in pretty darn good shape this summer!

Sarah has been so amazing through all of this. At times I wonder if she is just bearing with me for one year and then might ask for a bigger diamond - I'll have to find out.  But she really has been great.  She knows how much I love it and how much I want to get into better shape.  I'm going to drop 20-30 lbs this year which would put me right in the healthy weight range for where I should be with my height.  It will also be fun having she and Gabs with on these rides because then we can have these little family vacations in Bend and Austin.  Even better, she stopped in at a local gym the other day - Anytime Fitness - and spoke to the owner about doing some type of event to help out with our fundraising.  I know I can be a little bit nuts about LIVESTRONG from time to time, but I love that she has embraced it just as much.  Just like the diagnosis - we are in it together!  Just another thing to remind me how lucky of a guy I am.  Now I just need to surprise her with a bike or figure out some way to get her riding with me and realizing how amazing it is to be on a bike.  It would be wonderful, especially when the kids are older just to get up on a Saturday morning and go for a nice long ride together - seeing new beautiful areas, even traveling and doing some riding - ok, I think I have to get a game plan to make that a reality!

LIVESTRONG!