Easter Bike Crash

Hmmm, what is new other than the fact that I have been lazy of late? Well, it seems like there are things that are ready to sprout just like my gladiolas in the front garden.

On Thursday evening, I had a mandatory cultural literacy lesson with my kid as I gave him the assignment to watch the original Clash of the Titans. He rolled his eyes at the low level special effects (I love that fake seagull, wait, that is a shadow of a fake seagull flying over those mountains!) and to see Maggie Smith, a.k.a. Professor McGonnigal from the Harry Potter movies, in one of her earlier roles. He seemed to enjoy it. I hoped he had paid attention because there would be a quiz later.

Last week I took advantage of the Good Friday Holiday and did a bike ride with Greyhound through The Woodlands. I am wondering now if I should be riding my bike more often through The Woodlands. The Woodlands seems to be a community that is aware of cyclists and runners on the shoulders of the roads. There is a local sprint triathlon in The Woodlands each year and I hear through the grapevine that there may be a bigger race next year. The people who live in "The Livable Forest" love it so much that they really do not venture south of Beltway 8 unless they have to go to work in the city. I have a feeling that I need to get to know the street names better. For some reason, it may be important in the future.

Once I got home I had to get the kid to swim practice and then find some lunch. After swim practice we headed to the multi-plex and viewed the new Clash of the Titans. The special effects were more current and sadly, no Maggie Smith. We talked about the film, but I kept it brief as I wanted the kid to percolate some more ideas. We did a little shopping at the local REI for some prizes for my TNT tri group's training session in the morning.

I was up early the next morning loading the car with buckets of plastic eggs and safety cones, along with water jugs and luggage to go to Canyon Lake for Easter. The TNT group did my famous 3rd annual Easter Egg Brick. The group rides against the clock for 1 hour to see how many miles they can get done and then they go on a 6 mile run and collect an egg from a bucket at each mile marker. In past years I have filled the eggs wih surprises like a gel or I have had clues in each egg that helped them solve a puzzle at the end that was based on USAT racing rules. This year I went simple and put tags with prizes listed on the tags in the eggs contained in the 3-mile marker bucket. Some of the shwag in the bag included running singlets, Kona coffee, running hats, Yanks!, triathlon key rings, NUUN, and Body Glide. A fun time was had by all and for many of them it was the farthest they had ever run. As soon as practice was over, the kid and I hit the road and headed west for Canyon Lake and we discussed the differences between the old and the new Clash of the Titans in detail.

We got to my Dad's around 2:30 or 3:00 in the afternoon. Val had iced bunny and chick cookies ready for us. Soon the wonderful smell of clam chowder was filling the air. Bud took off on my Dad's bike down the drive way. I told him to put on my helmet and gloves so that if he fell he would not get gravel in his palms. Well, his palms survived but his arm and shoulder look like raw hamburger. Bud was racing down a steep hill to the park on the edge of the lake and he did not see the speed bump at the bottom and when he hit it, he went down on his right side. With the adrenalin pumping, he got back on the bike, rode back up the monster hill and made it back to the house to find me before exploding into tears and telling me he crashed on the bike. I promptly washed the gravel out of his arm and stripped him out of his shirt to see his other wounds. Val was an LVN so she had plenty of gauze pads and bandage rolls to put on Bud's arm, elbow, shoulder, and shoulder blade. He looked like the beginnings of the mummy project. A few cookies and a Tylenol later he was back on the bike. I was a very proud mom. We will now have matching elbow scars!

It was nice to go to church the night before Easter. I got to sleep in....until 7:30 am! It was such a luxury! We saw the deer grabbing a nibble out by the wood pile. My Dad headed into San Antonio to get my step-sister, Kirsten, so she could have Easter diner with us. Soon, the kitchen was bustling with rising bread dough, potatoes in the oven, a ham on the grill and all sorts of other good things to eat. I wish that we did not have to rush off after diner, but we had to hit the road to get back before it was late because there was work and school waiting for us in the morning. Traffic was slow and stop and go on a major interstate highway 75 miles outside of Houston. I guess all the Mexicans (including me) were headed home from San Antonio after the Easter holidays. We got home by 10 pm and I was glad to be off the road.

I have been hearing little rumors of a future Ironman race that will be announced soon. I hear all sorts of things. Exciting things. I cannot wait until all of the information is revealed. I may have to sign up for another one of these goofy races!

Have a great week!

Liz