Found this post in my drafts; I guess I forgot to publish it. Better late than never!

November 20, 2017

This past weekend was T4K-filled! We kicked it off on Friday night with Friendsgiving.

I made deviled eggs for the first time ever!

Saturday started bright and early. We went on a new route, making three loops along Scenic Drive. The hills were a challenge, but the views were phenomenal! On the ride, I also (re)learned that:

  1. Cross-wheeling is dangerous.
  2. Helmets are very important.

This happened when I took my most intense fall so far, while on our second loop. Luckily, the place where I fell was perfect - we had Leslie on SAG just a bit back and it was a quiet road. My ride group was so great about getting me and my bike off of the road as soon as possible, and they even went to knock on a couple doors to get some paper towels to help wipe off my blood.

After getting patched up by some teammates ("it's the injured taking care of the injured!"), my stubborn self made it through the rest of the ride, faltering only one more time and walking up one rather steep hill all three times. (Some day I will CONQUER that hill.) I haven't gotten back on the bike since then because I need to wait until the large bruises on my left knee and right thigh heal up. It's unfortunate that I'm going to be put on probation with less than 9 miles left to meet the 200-mile deadline, but I'd rather take the time off so that I can get back on the bike stronger than ever. After all, it's not a race to Alaska!

I spent my afternoon resting and then headed out to the Circuit of the Americas racetrack to volunteer at LLS's Light the Night event. We arrived just in time to enjoy the finale fireworks before helping to tear down the event.

Coins for Cancer was pretty fun. A teammate and I stood at a corner for three hours. We had someone a lane or two over from the median throw us two wadded up $1 bills and shout "My daughter did it last year!" as he drove by. We also met someone whose cousin had married the sister of another teammate. We had a group of teenagers who felt bad about only being able to give us a $1 bill. Through the generosity of these people and many more, we raised about $210 in our corner alone. It was also great to see the open-mouthed, wide-eyed reactions of children after they finished reading our sign.

The rest of the afternoon was a break, but the evening was back to T4K with Business Development Committee meeting and Youth Program Team meeting.

It's been a busy and somewhat difficult weekend, and I haven't had a good night's sleep in a while. Hopefully that changes soon. Until next time, catch me limping around campus while listening to Christmas music (because yes, it is officially that time of year now!)

Miles ridden: 191.5
Number of falls: 9