Best Lemonade Ever, Part 3

WAIT! This is the third post in a series. If you have not already read the earlier posts, please do so before reading this one! Start with Part One and then Part Two

Now that you’re all caught up, let’s continue to the best part of the day, and possibly the entire weekend...BOWLING!

Wait, what?! How can bowling be exciting?? Well, let me tell you...with Peter Sagan, ANYTHING can be exciting 😉 This was probably the most “intimate” of the VIP events. Private bowling alley with open bar and all the bowling your heart desires for roughly 2 hours. And Peter spent time visiting at each of the 4 lanes. We were especially graced with his presence as he spent a good half-hour bowling with our very own Baby Girl! 🥰 It was the most tender of moments while onlookers watched with delight as Peter, the pro cycling GOAT and most popular cyclist on the planet, gave our precious 4 year old a private bowling lesson. We weren’t quite sure who was having more fun, the little girl or the big kid, and no one dared interrupt this precious moment. Meanwhile the photographers had a field day and inevitably captured this moment perfectly 🥰

It was definitely the highlight of my weekend, BG had the time of her life, and as my husband pointed out, she didn’t seem to care who he was, which quite possibly made this time even more enjoyable for Superstar Sagan. Although I must add, my daughter is a huge fan of Peter and gets excited whenever she sees him, whether on-screen or in person. In fact, she calls the rainbow jersey AND the green jersey (of any cycling discipline) “Sagan jerseys.” and was quite confused when he “let” someone else wear the rainbow bands this past season 🤪 Remember, she’s four, so he’s worn that jersey most of her life 🤷🏻‍♀️🙃

Now that they’ve played together, Peter is most definitely her friend and she solidified that with hugs and high fives during their time together. At the end of the night, she leapt into his arms and gave him a huge hug and kiss as if he was a favorite uncle. A night my husband and I will never forget, and we hope one which will also live in the memories of both BG and Peter for many years to come 💚

In Peter’s world of racing and so much popularity, I have to believe these moments shared with his youngest fans hold a special place in his heart. Small children are little people with no facades, no expectations or biases. They are innocent and pure and honest and without hidden agendas or the obscurity that crazy adult fans tend to carry with them. If I was someone with limited privacy and downtime like Mr Sagan, I think interacting with “Littles” would bring me the greatest joy, reminders of the simplicity of life and its greatest treasures. While representing our future world, These precious little people are quite possibly our best representation of how to live “Why so serious?”

(Photos courtesy of the Sagan Fondo Gran Roadie-Oh event photographers) 

Best lemonade ever, Part 2

So where was I? Oh! If you haven’t yet read Part 1, please do that first here

Saturday morning started out slow but as soon as we told BG we were going to see Peter Sagan, she couldn’t wait to leave the house! First on the agenda was to put rainbow bands on my cast, and my husband was the master artist, and BG even helped! It was an absolute masterpiece 🤩💚💪💥😎😍 The dogs walked/laid around the house looking sad and forlorn as we packed up some things for our overnight trip. Sure, we only live 30 minutes or so away from the venue, but the ride started at 7am on Sunday and I know how we operate in the morning as it is. The hotel I chose turned out to be literally a 5 minute walk away from everywhere we needed to be, and it was perfect. And our doggies were being well taken care of while we were “away.” 😉

We left the house less than an hour off schedule and it actually turned out to be perfect timing. After dropping off our stuff at the hotel, we walked to the festival area, and after a few minutes visiting a couple booths, we ran into Gabri, who was alone! 😳 We chatted with him, learned a few things about his history with soccer 😉, and who should come walking around the corner from where we came was the Man Himself. How he managed to walk as far as he did without an entourage following behind him was surprising to me. Although I suppose he looks a little different in regular street clothes 🤷🏻‍♀️ The crowd soon gathered though, of course. Break over, Peto 🙃

We greeted him and he asked about my green cast. I think it was either my husband or Gabri who told him it’s green just for him. He said, “Oh, sorry to hear that” and he and Gabri (and others around) commented on the cool rainbow bands. I asked if he would perhaps sign my cast later at bowling or something (we didn’t bring the special markers and I didn’t know if he had somewhere he needed to be), and he said “Of corse. I sign it now for you,” and Gabri whipped out a big black sharpie. As he signed it I noticed a somewhat official looking photographer taking pictures but thought nothing of it until the moment showed up later on social media 🤪 It was a very cool moment indeed, and things were just getting warmed up.

We saw the event organizer and stopped and chatted with him for a bit, which was fun. We got to know him better through the weekend—very cool guy, probably our age 😎🤘

Then the next couple of hours we chatted with the sponsors, got our registration packets, and eventually ate all while BG, donning her BORA-hansgrohe jersey, strolled around on her balance bike stealing hearts everywhere she went. She especially won the heart of one of the sponsors who asked if she could post pictures of her on IG. She gained lots of fans, and by Sunday morning all the Expo venders knew her. In fact, she wanted to keep the wearing her jersey “because when I wear it everyone thinks I’m a star” (As her mother I’m not sure if I should be concerned or proud about that statement from her 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️😳🤣)

After a quick return to the hotel to drop off our new acquisitions (ahem, there were a few purchases made 😎 as well as some freebies 🤩), we went back for the VIP dinner party followed by bowling. At the dinner party, there was another entertaining great interview with Peter, this time supplemented with questions from the audience. I got to ask him one, but I think the real winner was from the guy who asked “Why are women so attracted to you?” 😂😳🤪 Deservedly so, the question got some Twitter attention the next morning 😂 and I actually met that guy the next day 😝

As much fun as we’d had by this point, we were in for a real treat at the bowling party...

Stay tuned...

Best Lemonade Ever, Part 1

“When Life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

There really are no words to adequately express the Pure awesomeness of this past weekend. Let me try it this way: 

Perfectly...

Phenomenal

Exciting

Terrific

Excellent

Rad

Sensational

Awesome 

Great 

Amazing 

Nirvana

Ya see what I did there? 🤪😎

Even all of those words aren’t enough. Once in a lifetime? Perhaps but I hope not! 😝 

The festivities started on Friday night with a charity gala at Bill Walton’s house. At one point I wondered if we’d even make it there! Babysitter mixup and my husband’s busy stressful week at work...but God did not disappoint us! In fact, when I think back about our plans for this weekend, it was similar to our birth plan when I was pregnant! 😂 A lot of things did not go as planned and everything worked out perfectly! My angel mom friend Toni came over to help me get fancy (hair, makeup, etc) AND she stayed to watch BG for us 💚 We arrived later than hoped but we managed a few minutes to mingle before dinner.

Two hundred people mingled throughout Bill’s memorabilia-filled downstairs and patio over appetizers and special IPA craft brewed specifically for the weekend event. I even got the chance to chat with the guy who used to hold the record for winning the most green jerseys in the Tour de France, Erik Zabel. He asked about my arm and when I explained it to him, he immediately made me feel better. “Ah yes I have done that as well! It happens so fast there is not enough time to clip out of your pedahls. Lots of professional cyclists have done the same. It is very common actually!” Such a nice guy! Another guy asked if my green cast was just for this event and we got to tell him the story. I even had a couple of people come by and take pictures of my cast 🤪 Too funny.

Dinner and the rest of the event occurred out on Bill’s tennis courts—imagine 200 people converging on fancy-lit tennis courts. It was super cool and I wish I’d taken more pictures. The atmosphere was amazing, as was the food and all the people we met. Interestingly, there seemed to be a lot of chatter about the Tour of California not happening next year. 

Once the program began and all the “shop talk” started, I felt like I was finally among the people of the cycling world. I thought, “OMG These are my people!!!” It felt like Cycling Twitter had come to life for me and it was so exciting to be around this kind of energy 🤩

The interviews with Erik and Peter were awesome! I recorded Peter’s (and then of course watched a much better quality video of it the next morning from Twitter!), and the auction was jaw dropping 😳💪 In a very short time, nearly $100K was raised for CAF and Outride. The items auctioned off were so amazing, we may have to budget for one of them for next year!

We got to chat with Gabri for awhile at the end and what a fantastic conversation we had! That guy is absolutely hilarious 🤣 and so fun to talk with about anything!

We got home to a beautiful sleeping princess who had been on the couch waiting for us. And none of us could have imagined how amazing our weekend adventures would turn out. Especially for this little one 😉

Stay tuned...

Part 2 is here

Getting dropped...

In cycling, the phrase “getting dropped” means you’re falling behind the group you’re riding with. So with regard to timely posts in this blog, you could say I’ve been dropped. There’s always a reason for getting dropped, and my case is no exception (wink).

Two weeks ago, during our 5-hour training ride, I experienced a significant setback that ultimately ended my training 😩 After 3 hours in the saddle I made a really stupid mistake and boy did I learn from this one! 😳 I stupidly decided to follow my husband off trail and then, when I realized the incline was too steep and I was going way to slow, I forgot to clip out, and fell, comically apparently, onto my right side. I landed very hard on my right wrist. My dear husband gave me a few minutes to gather myself before approaching, which gave me time to cry a little, more for my bike than me at that moment. I was mad at myself for hurting my bike right after it got tuned up.

My wrist hurt but I could move it (barely), and I guess I’m a true cyclist now because I rode my bike injured for a good 3km back to the car. I’ll spare the details for now and just summarize with this: If I could take that moment back, I would not hesitate.

The last two weeks have been challenging, to say the least. I’m in a cast, and I need assistance with the most basic daily tasks. I’m even typing this with my left hand. Oh yeah and I’m right handed 😳

The bottom line: I’ve got a hairline fracture on my radius 🦴  right where the bone meets my wrist, and besides being told I can’t drive, I am officially out of the ride this weekend. That has been very hard for me to accept. However, my husband will ride and we will make the most of it with all the other festivities starting tonight at the charity gala at Bill Walton’s house!

Oh yeah, and of course I got a GREEN cast! 💚 I mean, we ARE celebrating SEVEN GREEN JERSEYS in the Tour de France after all. And when I get asked how I did it, my answer will be “Practicing my wheelies!” 🤪 Why so serious 🤪

#Seizetheride