Let The Cycling Season Begin and I've Been Tagged

Thursday evening was the kick-off for the spring season with Team in Training and this morning was the first group meeting for the cycle team. Most of the team met at a local bike shop to talk about bike fit, helmets, shorts, jerseys, gloves, etc. You know, all those things they will need for the season.

But, there were a few of us who have done America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride before and we took off for a nice ride. If you are not local, you won't care where we went, but for those of you who are local, here is what we did. We started at Bicycle Sport Shop and head out on Barton Springs toward Mopac. We rode south on the access road to Loop 360 and then headed north from there. We rode up to 2222, crossed under the bridge and started back. I have forgotten how much hills take out of me. And as we were coming back, I noticed my bike was making a rattling noise. Not good. We couldn't figure out where it was coming from while I was riding, so I stopped. My gears in the back were somehow loose. Not good. I was done. But, I got in 20 miles on some great hills and feel good about it. It will take me a little time to get use to the hills again, but I'll get there. It's amazing how much different running and cycling are.

One of my teammates was taking his bike to the mechanic that I use and offered to take my bike for me, so my bike is now with the mechanic. Hopefully I'll have it back by mid week. In the mean time, if I ride I'll just use my tri bike. The joys of having two nice bikes.

And if the training has started, that also means that the fundraising has started. For those that don't know, I became involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program in 2005 because my brother-in-law is a lymphoma survivor. I've stayed involved because I have met many people since then that have had leukemia or lymphoma. Some have survived and some have not. And it makes me mad. Especially when kids are the victim. So, I fundraise once a year with the hope that one day there WILL be a cure.

If you would like to help me raise money to fight leukemia & lymphoma, you can visit my fundraising site at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ctx/ambbr09/broehling and make a donation. No donation is too small or too big. Seriously, if you give up going out for lunch just once and donate that money, it will make a difference. If you would prefer to donate by check, let me know and I'll get you the details. I know the economy is tough right now and I know some of you have other causes you support, so I truly appreciate any donation!

And now, I have been informed that I've been tagged by Suz over at Day by Day...My Life As A Busy Bee with the "honest scrap" award.

The rules for this award are:
First, choose a minimum of seven blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.
Secondly, show the seven winners' names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with “Honest Scrap".
Lastly, list at least ten honest things about yourself.

I'm going to do what Suz did and pick the last 7 people who commented on my blog.

Grandma J over at Ask Grandma J. Grandma J is one of my favorites. When I ran my first marathon with Team in Training, she actually came out to meet me at the finish line because I had been signing her grandson's caringbridge page. How cool is that? And now she lives not too far from me and she drove up and had lunch with me and Cortney one day.

Missy is a fellow triathlete. Only she has done something I still have on my "to do" list. She has finished an ironman. I enjoy reading her blog and about her training. Plus, she has a boxer, too!

I can't put a link to Shauna's page because it's password protected, but she is another wonderful person I met because I found her son's caringbridge page. One of these days we want to run a marathon together.

Not sure how Steve found me, but he was nice enough to leave a comment. He's a fellow triathlete as well. Thanks for visiting Steve!

Suz commented as well and she's the one who tagged me. I'm not sure it's fair that I'm tagging her back, but I need seven, so I'm cheating.

M is another of my caringbridge friends. And she actually came out to meet me when I did the Nike Women's Marathon, but in all the excitement and exhaustion of the day, it didn't happen. So, I guess I'll have to get back out there so I can meet her in person. She's an awesome mom and teacher.

And if you are reading this and haven't signed my blog, TAG, you're it!

Now for the honest part.
1. I'm not a morning person during the week, but can jump out of bed and be cheery when I'm headed to training with my TNT friends.
2. I'm very competitive and it frustrates me that I'm not faster in the water, on the bike, or while running.
3. I don't use the dishwasher. I was dishes by hand.
4. I love to take naps.
5. I love to read.
6. I would love to be on Survivor or the Amazing Race.
7. I'm a reality TV show junkie.
8. I can't imagine not spending Christmas Day somewhere other than my parents and hope they never move far away.
9. I don't like when people call after 8:00 at night. Especially telemarketers. I hang up on them.
10. If I'm watching one of my reality shows and the phone rings, I sometimes let it go to voice mail because I don't want to be interuppted.

So there you have it.