It's my last ride before the bike to the bay; I wonder if I have time to get in a quick Triathlon!!

     So the Bike To The Bay is finally here; and I have no choice but to be ready!!  Last weekend I knew I needed to give it one more test run before the ride.  Of course my test runs are always around 20 miles.  Like marathon runners; you train for endurance and then the day of the race you push it harder than you have ever done before.

    Maumee Bay State Park seemed to be a good place for my "last chance workout", because there are many other trails we could continue on to beyond the park it's self.  The bonus was that this park is so pretty, and I was in a site seeing mood this day:) Oh, who am I kidding... I'm always in a sight seeing mood!!

        My three riding buddies for this ride, Robert, Tom and Gary, are also fellow Leapfrogs.  We all knew the heat was supposed to be brutal on this particular day; but we can't control the heat on the day of the ride so this would be a great test.

     It wasn't long before we discovered that they were having a triathlon at Maumee Bay State Park that day.  For a quick second we all thought about joining them... Okay, maybe we didn't... but we at least wanted to be nosy and check it out before we headed out of the park and on to another trail.

     Besides, I didn't bring my bathing suit with me...

       So we were soon on our way to another trail.  Gary was the ring master at this point, and he first took us over to the Laurence-Wassermann Trail; which took us through the Clay High School campus.

    As hot as it was, I was hoping this ginormous fan would cool us off... Then Tom tells me it's a wind tunnel to generate power to the surrounding area...  I guess a giant fan was  too good to be true:)

     I'm sure you know by now, I'm always looking for some cool action pictures; but not unlike the stairs at Side Cut Park, when I offered the guys five bucks to do some stunts with their bikes on these skateboard ramps, sadly, I had no takers:( What's a girl gotta do to find some serious dare devils anyway?!?

Now, this right here is my idea of a real stunt...

     This might not look like any big deal to you; but trying to make those sharp zig zag turns across the railroad tracks without hitting my foot on the front tire was harder than it looks:) But since this was a train track... remember that little engine??  I just told myself (and anyone who was listening...) "I think I can..." :) Oh, common! Tell me you wouldn't do the same, lol.

     Eventually, our ride took us to Pearson Park.  Tom asked if anyone wanted to check out the nature center while we were there.  He didn't have to ask me twice; it was a few minutes of not riding, and you know I live for the scenic part of the ride:) 

     I could have stared at this nature preserve all day; but once again, these bikes weren't gonna ride themselves:)

   So we were soon back on Cedar Point Road, heading back to Maumee Bay State Park; and as luck would have it, we found our selves surrounded by the Triathlon riders.  I told Tom this was the perfect chance for me to tell everyone I actually rode in a Triathlon!!  Of course he told me I shouldn't lie:)  But who's lying?!?!  I was  riding, and I was smack dab in the middle of a Triathlon!! "Tom you tell your story how you want to". :)

     So we may not have done the entire Triathlon that day; but after that ride I still considered us winners!  And I know we are absolutely ready for the Bike to the Bay tomorrow!! Come rain or shine, we got this!!  Wish us luck:)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)