Too much fun in Two days

This past Tuesday and Wednesday were so much fun I'm not even sure where to begin...

Late last week I received an email from my sponsors telling me that they were going to be flying into town for Ladies night at the Ada Bike Shop. I spent the weekend in an excited haze trying to clean my house (I tend to leave a lot of piles all over the place) and coaching not-so-little Ben. Ben LOVES everybody and get's really excited when we have visitors. And when he gets excited he likes to do things...like chew on my converse tennis shoes. Or run around with my sports bra in his mouth. And then there was that time that I caught him licking the chamois of my cycling shorts after I did a long ride. Sweet.

Needless to say he received much coaching about NOT chewing my sponsors shoes....

Tuesday arrived before I knew it and I woke up really early. I had a lot going on. Not only was I speaking at ladies night but I was also scheduled to do a short interview on the radio. Talk about nerve wrecking. The radio interview was scheduled for 9:45 a.m. and I was completely calm about it until 9:30. Then the nervousness kicked in and by 9:45 my heart was beating so fast I felt like it was in my mouth. I absolutely can't stand the way my voice sounds so it's hard to listen to but here is a link to the interview. And btw...when I refer to Mackenzie as a driver I really meant pilot. I'm sure everyone listening imagined Mackenzie driving her tandem partner around in a car. Whoops!!!

The rest of the morning flew by and then it was time to meet up with Mike and Kelly from Salsa! I was really excited to see them and show them around. After a quick lunch it was time to get ready for Ladies Night!!!

Everyone at the Ada Bike Shop worked really hard to ensure that the event would be a success and it definitely paid off. There was a huge turnout and the vibe was amazing. I wish I could bottle the feeling I had of being around so many great people. Having my Salsa sponsors come to the event made it extra special for me. It's really great to ride for a company that not only makes such awesome bikes, but also supports female cyclists.

Mike gave such a great speech that I almost felt like I didn't need to get on the podium :-)

I'll be the first to admit that I was really, REALLY nervous to speak. It was nice sharing the podium with Mackenzie though, and once I looked into the crowd of all of my friends I felt much more comfortable.

And then it was time to eat, drink and be merry! I've been wanting a Fidel Cap from Salsa forever....
Every time I looked around there seemed to be another friend wearing the cap...
I'm not sure what the final tally of ladies night was, but at one point there were about 80 awesome females under the same roof. Pretty cool if you ask me.

I had plans to take Mike and Kelly to ride at Luton Park on Wednesday and was relieved to wake up to sunny skies. This time of year you never know. On our way to the trail we had to drop Ben off to the dog sitter since we were going to be gone for most of the day. Ben was sitting in the back seat of the truck with Kelly and I think it was more excitement then he could handle. The little guy "let one out" and it was completely toxic. All I have to say is POOR Kelly because she bore the brunt of it all. We had to drive with all the windows down and Ben might NOT be getting an invitation to visit QBP anytime soon :-)

The rest of the day was perfect. I mean, how could it not be? I got to ride with my sponsors on fun trail in perfect weather. If only I could do that every day. After taking lots of pictures we had a late lunch and then I did a short interview. I went into the interview pretty confident that I would be able to speak coherently but au contraire. It was one blooper after blooper after blooper. I even messed up answering where I was from. How is that even possible??? I think I'm going to have to fly out to visit the Salsa gang for a retry. Maybe I can even bring Ben.

And speaking of Ben...he had a good day hanging out with the dog sitter and playing. Naomi (our greyhound) is much to dignified to roll around in the dirt, so Ben was in his element while playing with his pal Stuart.

Stuart on top....
Then it was Ben's turn....And a quick break for water!
I can't believe that tomorrow is already Friday. These last couple of days were so busy that I've hardly been thinking about the upcoming weekend. Tomorrow I'm going to pack in the morning and then we are heading up to Traverse City in the late afternoon.

It's Iceman time...ready or not I'm racing!