June started out heavy on the bikes, which is just the way I like it. Road bike, cruiser, Hazel on the bike, Barkernews' new cyclocross bike...it's been a month for two wheels.
Since I can't race, I rode out to Swan Island to support some teammates and Barkernews who were riding in the Hammer Velo crit. Sara came along too. It was so nice to ride with a teammate for the first time in several months. Due to Barkernews and I's frequent weekend escapes to the sun, we are often riding alone and do not have the opportunity to ride with our respective teams or friends.
Let's play the guessing game in this picture. Can you pick out the pregnant chick? How about the racing chicks? Or the 51-year-old teammate who just obliterated the Cat 3/4 field at the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic Stage Race (true story)? What about the coach?
Barkernews didn't do as well as hoped in the crit due to his (successful) crash-avoidance technique, but Hazel and I cheered loud and hard for him. My girls held their own too. And Hazel perfected her "DLF-but-I-think-I-won" attitude in the kiddie crit.
The next day, I chased Barkernews and the trailer down Highway 30 and around Sauvie Island on a mission to pick strawberries. My little strawberry picker picked three times the amount of strawberries than Barkernews and I picked. I guess she earned her nap in the trailer.
And then the weekday racing started. Barkernews made some Wednesday night forays on to Mt. Tabor, where Hazel and I planted our butts on a blanket and shared a large amount of picnic food with Heather while we cheered him on. No pictures because I am lame.
Like clockwork, Monday night short track mountain bike racing arrived and Hazel got very excited, raced her bike and remained very excited, proceeding to talk about the next bike race all week long. Barkernews raced his bike some more, loudly proclaiming that "Road bike training prepares one NOT AT ALL for mountain bike racing." Having had my own ass kicked at short track racing multiple times, I could not help but agree. It IS one hell of a good time though and highly addictive, so look for us at the infield at PIR on Monday nights this summer.
In our constant pursuit of summer, we ended up at Kahneeta one weekend, after spending a large amount of time researching the question, "Where will the sun appear?" Kahneeta isn't really camping- it's more like glamping- but it includes a large, hot springs-fed pool and some of the most gorgeous road biking in the state.
Hazel rode her bike around and around and around the campground while Barkernews got in an epic ride and I struggled against the wind and uphill for 14 miles. It felt like my heart rate was 5000bpm, but DAMN, the view was gorgeous and I was DETERMINED. No hill nor wicked head wind was going to beat this pregnant girl down. A difficult day on my bike, even pregnant, usually beats pretty much everything else. Again, no pictures because that would have been, um, humiliating.
Hazel might disagree with me. According to her, a difficult day at the pool pretty much beats everything else. Dragging her out of there was an exercise in bribery and counting to 10.
Hazel and I spent the subsequent weekend in Bend with Craig and Katie while Barkernews and his dad celebrated Father's Day with a fishing trip. Surprisingly, neither of us hopped on a bike at all. We did spend quite a bit of time soaking up the desert sun by the river and on inner tubes, floating down the river. I missed my bike, but not so much I was willing to give up my river time. A girl has to have some priorities in life.
Summer has officially started. May it contain lots of bikes, lots of camping, lots of sunshine and lots of time together.
