Cycle for Life 2012

Another fantastic weekend is in the books! And thanks to all of my supporters and donators, it was a huge success as well!

Let’s flash back to Friday.  It started with swim practice, and shortly after I got home, Travis showed up.  Then, we packed the car and hit the road to Erie. 

Quickly after checking in to the hotel, we headed to Olive Garden for some carbo loading!

I stuck to soup, salad, and breadsticks.  I am totally in love with their chicken and gnocchi soup!!

We also split their pumpkin cheesecake for dessert.  It was TO. DIE. FOR.  You must try it!

Then, it was back to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep! Early morning wake up call, quick breakfast, and off to the CF Aptalis Cycle for Life we went!

For the event, there was a 30 mile and a 65 mile option.  We were doing the longer one, and our group ride started at 8 a.m.  It was a little chilly, but we made do!  About 7 miles in, we had our first rest stop.

The rest stops had great options: water, Gatorade, apples, bananas, PB&J, and pretzels!  After the first stop, there were 3 more about every 15 miles.  The course was gorgeous, and we went along a road that had Lake Erie in the distance.  We then went into New York and around Lake Findley which was also amazing.  I only managed a few shots during breaks, though, including this random:

And another random shot during a rest stop:

That may have happened before my chain popped off as I was going uphill on a slightly busy road…not cool.  I fell off and it felt like it was slow motion as it was happening.  I could not manage to unclip quickly enough.  Luckily some of the guys were there to help me out! I had visions of myself getting run over by a truck!  That was about the time this quote was spoken by a fellow rider: “There are two types of cyclers: those who have fallen, and those who have yet to.”

Around mile 50, one of the guys in the group popped a tube, so below is the guys helping him out.  Did I mention that, out of the 5 riders who chose the longer route, I was the only girl?  Travis is the one in the safety yellow jersey.

After we finished the 60ish miles (cut it a little short due to some construction), there was refueling and an award ceremony.  Here’s me accepting one of my awards! I was the second highest fundraiser (thanks to you amazing people)!

Not the most flattering picture (can you say helmet hair?!), but what can I really expect after 4 hours of riding and another hour during the rest stops + bike mishaps!

Travis and I also won the second highest fundraising team! 

The awards were made from these two adorable kiddos who have cystic fibrosis! Watch this adorable video!

I also got an awesome jersey for reaching a certain fundraising level!

After the ride, we headed to Pittsburgh for the night to spend some time with my parents.  We went to Max and Erma’s for dinner (which I love), but then I went home to homemade chocolate chip cookies and these amazing things:

To continue the fall awesomeness, Travis and I hit up Panera on the way back to Shippensburg yesterday, and I got a pumpkin pie bagel.  Delicious!

I just love life some times . 

How were your weekends? Do anything fun?!