Who needs a shower... A good hosing down at a family picnic is all you need:)

     With as crazy as our lives are these days, it's darn near impossible to plan family get-togethers in the summer where everyone is able to make it.  Surprisingly enough, my mom and all five of her grown children were there... Dad was looking down from above:)

     It seems like these days good old fashioned dirt is unfathomable, but not to my little grandbaby, William, who isn't so little anymore; he was as happy as a pig in mud, digging his way to China; almost to the point where he was  unrecognizable underneath the half inch layer of dirt.  
                                          

      After rolling on the ground, the once tow head was now literally a sandy blonde:)

     Of course, you might remember, back in the day, bath night was always Saturday, and this was Sunday; putting us in a total quandary.  No worries... that's what a backyard hose is for!  We can't drag 5 pounds of dirt into the house!

     My other little grandbaby Connor, who is actually still a baby, was overwhelmed by all of the "big people", but never lacked for free transportation; Uncle Matt was among the many to kart  this little cutie around.

 Getting our entire families there was next to impossible... in fact it was impossible; but we came pretty darn close.

   The amazing thing, however, was actually seeing kids running and swimming, and without electronics attached to their hands.

     Seeing all of these kids having so much fun just proved the theory that contrary to popular belief... you really can go back to the good ol' days, and I sure do miss them:)

Have a great weekend!!

Christine:)

Hop on! I'll take you with me:)

     Last Sunday was an absolute perfect day for a ride, and I wasn't about to let it get past me.  One of my riding buddies Gary, had mentioned his wife Heather, has a bike and was talking about getting back into riding, so I asked them to meet me at the University Parks trail because it was a great place to start.

     If you remember, the last time I attempted this trail I got rained on after about one mile.  This time I had my fingers crossed that I could actually get the whole trail in.

     You'll also remember I took a few random pictures when I came to an occasional  stop.  However, this time being that I have my camera trick mastered I planned to take you with me:)

     Again, I'm starting out at the back of the pack so I could take some photos without the others thinking I was crazy...

        But how else could I show you all of the flowers that have come up on this trail since the last time I was on it??  You know my bike is only a vessel, allowing my eyes to experience nature; and a lot more of it. 

          And now I'll point the lens behind me!  Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks:)

          The leaves on the trees are in full bloom at this point and this is probably the last time I'll see them so green before  they start to change color and fall off; after all, it is mid August already.  But if you look up, you can see the leaves may be starting to change already.  Or maybe it's just a branch that was traumatized from the last storm... 

     Now this is what I'm talking about... Pink flowers!  Summer in full bloom for sure!

     Remember how all last summer the trail was under construction, and by fall the only thing left was the edge lines...

 Look below... I can't believe one year later and they still haven't finished it!  I guess they have priorities...

                                        
     Riding a little further I finally found actual proof that fall is under way...  Look by the fence... 

                                                But wait... there's more!!

     Yep, I guess summer is on it's way out.  Looks like I'll be dodging acorns any day now... ugh!

     So there you have it... I took you on my bike ride, and you never even had to pedal... you're welcome:)

          It sure would be nice to live in a climate where I could ride my bike year round, but since that isn't an option right now, I'm going to appreciate every second I can until the first snow flake falls; and I can't wait to take you with me:)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

HEY, NICE BRACE!!

     You always hear about the streets of big cities where "cat calls" Like "nice legs!" are quite prevalent.  But in a smaller town, that is something I would never even imagine to happen.

     But the other day I was in the produce department at the grocery store, and out of nowhere I hear "I LIKE YOUR BRACE!"  I've heard of the produce department being a "meet market", but this was a bizarre comment.  I had to look behind me to see who could have made it.  

     It obviously came from a man who was walking 5 feet behind me.  Of course I didn't want to be rude so I replied  "thanks:)"...

     But before long it all began to make sense; He explained that he worked for the company that manufactures DONJOY braces.  So it was more of a shout out to his work than anything.

                                            

          I told him I bet he hasn't seen one with a pink frog on it before, to which he said it was very unique (my own personal touch).  

        Then he mentioned he was trying to diagnose my problem based on my gate.  No, it wasn't a knee replacement, nor a skiing accident, not even a run in with a bear.  It was boring old hyper-extension from foot drop-gone crazy.  Between the nerve zapper and the brace, I was a true bionic woman.

      He asked me how I like my brace and I told him one thing is for sure; I get a lot more questions than I did walking wobbly without it.  He pointed out that it was because people are fascinated by gadgets, and they open up the window for inquisitive by-passers looking for a great war story.  In most cases they really just want to tell their own...

         So I guess the next time I get another random question or comment, I have to remember, It's not me; it's simply my bionic gadgets they're fascinated by:)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

I can barely walk and chew gum; but I've mastered the art of taking pictures while riding...

          As I've told you, I had already hit every bike trail I knew of within an hour radius, but the key words were "that I knew of".  When I googled bike trails in the area there was a long list, and we had managed to ride them all.

     However, the last time we went to Maumee Bay State Park we happened to see signs outside the park that said "bike trail".  Well, last week I went with a couple of friends and they suggested we see where that trail went.  I wasn't about to fall for that "city streets disguised as a bike trail" trick again, but we decided to start at Maumee Bay and just wing it from there.

     Of course, you know that the most important part of a bike ride to me is capturing the beautiful scenery with my camera, but I had a feeling these two guys wanted to just get the ride in, so I started brain storming again... I was getting more comfortable on my bike since I changed out my stem and I was ready to try some tricks now.

     It wasn't long before I was confident enough to ride one handed while pulling my phone out of the holder, which was attached to the frame of my bike. The real trick was sliding it open and pressing the camera button, but I managed to finagle it:)

                        

          Here I am, feeling quite confident with my skill of riding as I snapped the pictures:)  They would have never stopped for me to take this picture below of the lake at Maumee Bay, but I got it!

                                         

          We rode around the park for a while and then headed out to find this new "trail".

     The next place I planned to impliment my new balancing act was at Bay Shore Park.  Once again, we never skipped a beat.

     We then saw a sign for the Leonard-Wasserman Bike Trail, and it was time to check it out.  From the very beginning I loved what I saw.  I've never in my life seen so many beautiful wild flowers!  And of course I got it all on camera:)

          I must have taken a million pictures, and if you ever have a few spare hours I can show them to you,lol.  Next we followed the trail through the campus of Clay High School.  As you can see the others had no idea how photo crazy I was getting.

     However, I did have to come back down to earth when I approached this railroad crossing; this crazy maze was hard enough without turning it into a circus act... no worries, I stopped and took the picture and then continued on:)

     This was turning into a very nice trail, and I was actually losing track of the miles we had gone.

     But before long we found ourselves riding through Pearson park, which was an interesting twist. We had now made it to three parks; all in a single bike ride.

     We were finally on our way back to Maumee Bay, and below you'll see my absolute favorite picture I took of Lake Erie. 

                                

I could have stopped and stared at this forever, but no time; we had a ride to finish.

                                   

        Almost 18 miles later we arrived back at Maumee Bay and I realized this bike route was one more great secret, and just because it isn't on the internet doesn't mean it isn't a trail.  This proves everything deserves a chance.

                                       
         I mentioned how I had mastered the art of getting my phone out of the case to take all of the pictures... and all while riding... well I never did master putting it back in the case... But one thing this bike ride taught me was... a sports bra has more than one purpose;)  The queen of improvise strikes again!


Have a great day!!

Christine:)

Fifty shades of green

          Back in the day my obsession was golf; but that was when my brain and foot were best friends.  Now that I moved on to a sport more conducive to my life I've become a stranger to the golf course.

       However, my BFF and long time golfing buddy, Kari, asked me to help her register players for a member guest golf tournament they were holding at Highland Meadows Golf Club; my old stomping ground. 
                                         
      Though I love my new hobby, I really missed all of my golfing buddies, and I was so happy she asked me.
                                     

      Biking gear has become my uniform over the last year or two, however, I was going to be at a golf course, and  I knew exactly which pink golf shirt I was going to wear.

     But the morning of the golf outing Kari texted me and told me to wear something green for their theme "fifty shades of green".  

     I looked in my closet and all I saw was pink, black, beige and white.  Seriously!?!?! not even pink with a splash of green??  Nope...

     But then I saw my leapfrog jersey and thought "hey, there's my green and with my splash of pink!" Here I thought I was actually going to get to wear my golf attire again, but I found myself at a golf course wearing a bike jersey instead.  Oh well,I tried:)

         I felt like I was home again; it was so nice and see all of my golf buddies.  The biggest thrill however, was that no one asked me my score:)  These days the only question that matters to me on a golf course is "what's for lunch??"

     Now I'm going back to find more trails:)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

The Ohio trails are nice, but it was time for the Kiwanis trail in Adrian Michigan:)

     Well I finally made it to every bike trail I know of in northwest Ohio within an hour drive, and now I had to start checking out Michigan.

     I read about the Kiwanis Trail in Adrian Michigan, so that would be my next venture.  Once again, the drive took almost as long as the bike ride it's self and though I was curious to see this trail, I was hopeful that it wasn't a wasted trip.

     When we first saw the trail I was beginning to chalk this up to a learning experience, because this trail sure didn't seem like it was worth the 45 minute drive it took to get there.

     This trail was 7 miles in length; totaling 14 if we went to the end and back.  You can see the trees were over grown and the pavement was quite weathered, but we were there, so we were riding on it.  Though not unlike fortune cookies; this ride appeared to be an observation more than a fortune.

          The cracked surface and overgrown foliage wasn't my idea of a perfect trail, but it was a different trail and  I didn't mind the change.

     However, it became a bit of a challenge when I discovered this wooden bridge, which was about fifty yards long, and slippery due to the rain falling off of the trees from the night before.

          Of course I rode about as fast as a turtle on sleeping pills, and held on for dear life so I made sure not to wipe out and go flying into the creek below.

                                         

          I was so relieved to finally make it to the other side in one piece, but it wasn't long before I discovered there were about five more of these wooden bridges throughout the trail.  

          I began to think I should have brought my ice skates...

     But just as I was ready to write this down in my book of "trails to never ride again", out of nowhere the pavement became the nicest brand new pavement I've been on in quite some time.

         Now this is what I'm talking about!  All of a sudden it felt more like a park than a primitive jungle.  It had transitioned into a whole new trail.

     And if this wasn't enough to be glad I drove here... I could hear the serine sound of the babbling brook as it trickled along side of the trail.  It was beginning to feel more like a rain forest now:)

     I guess you can't judge something without knowing the whole story...

     There are a lot of really nice bike trails right in my own back yard, but if I have to travel to  another state to find one that's amazing, then that's what I'll do; because anything worth having is worth the effort:)

 Have a great day!!

Christine:)

My bike is starting to fit like a glove... or maybe it's more like a catcher's mitt:)

     So I told you my bike was as customized for me as I could possibly make it; now the true test was to see if it made a difference. 

     One of the biggest challenges for me as far as riding a bike, is not to make my brain and muscles get mad at each other.  If I over work my body and become over heated my brain gives my muscles the silent treatment, causing them to go on strike.

     It's my right arm and right leg that have become the rebellious ones over the past few years, but with the way the pedals work, my right foot can free load from her twin if she needs to.

     Unfortunately, my arms aren't so lucky.  If my right arm turns into silly-putty, Ole' "south paw" can't take up the slack.  I have to try my best to make everyone happy, and not putting the weight of my 300 pound cement body (metaphorically speaking) on them helps a lot.

     As you can see in the picture below; this was when I was taking a casual short ride at Wild Wood Park.  My arms were okay because I wasn't over heated, though they were obviously over extended.

        However, if you look at the tedious ride I took in Detroit where I rode 23 miles with out a break, I can tell you one thing; my arms were ready to fall off.

                     

     But after I changed my stem out you can absolutely see a difference when I ride.  the picture below was from my 22 mile ride on the North Coast Inland trail last week.  My arms were certainly not over extended, and as a result, after the entire bike ride I still had a smile on my face.

     It took a little effort to find the right stem, but I'm glad we kept trying until we did.  Just like life; you can sit back and complain about all of the challenges, or you can go out and find the silver lining; I choose the latter:)

Have a great weekend!!

Christine:)