Jen and Rebecca were partners, with Stewart directing them through town

Jen, Rebecca, and I drove up that morning and met up with our pals Stewart, Chris, and Justin to grab some pizza before the race.  You might remember Rebecca from our post a few months ago about her getting in a serious accident at one of our races.  Thankfully she has made a complete recovery, and this was her first race since the accident.  Needless to say she was super nervous, but got on that steed and we all ended up kicking some serious ass!

Chris was my partner…who knows what he was doing here

The race had a Le Mans start, but we got positioned so that when the yell to “get the hell out of here” rang out, we were able to grab our bikes quick.  I will spare you the grisly details, but stops required things such as getting a tattoo (for a 30 minute time bonus) or your face painted, a pie in the face, jump rope, seed bombing, making and eating the worst peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and a game of capture the flag.  Those Altanta folks really know how to do an alleycat, that’s for sure.

Stewart, face painted and pied (from here)

Chris and I opted for the tattoo (also from here)

(from here again)

There were an insane number of people that ended up racing, something like 75 teams/150 people.  Chris and I did pretty well and ended up finishing in 10th place – I was the 2nd female to finish.  Jen and Rebecca got the first all female team, with 22th team to come in.  AND they both rode fixed.  Pretty freaking bad ass!

Stolen off of someone’s Facebook, thaaanks!

During the awards ceremony of sorts

The after party was insane.  Photo booths, art show, a marching band, DJ, dance party, TONS of people.

From one of the photo booths, Scott Lowden Photography

Beat Hate!

The next day we had a delicious breakfast at Stone Soup, and then we put Rebecca in the bag she and Jen won.  Made by RFM out of Atlanta.

Just kiddin’ guys. Don’t hurt me. (photos to follow, obvy)

Anna and I have talked about this a bit, so I thought I would put it out there to the interwebs:

Do you suddenly have trouble fitting your ass into your ‘pre-cycling’ jeans?

I was born with a bad case of pancake ass.  My entire life I had to rely on my hips and belts to hold my pants up as they would slide down over my flat booty.  Seriously…flat. I had gotten used to it, made proper blue jean purchasing adjustments (actually comes in handy to have no ass when you have a 34inch inseam) and was coming to terms with my affliction.  My flat ass and I were making friends.

Then I get on a bike.

One year-ish later, not one pair of those pants (or pencil skirts) fit this derriere.  I went from having trouble finding pants that didn’t sag to desperately searching for some with enough stretch to leave ample room.  From no remarks about my backside to “damn, those jeans make your ass look great!“.  I had to replace all my Long and lean, slim fit jeans with Curvy fit.  I was NOT a curvy girl until recently.

And I think I like it.  I think I like it a lot.

What about you, dear readers?  Anyone else experienced this ba-donk-a-donk phenomenon?  Please, do share!

It’s so cold, and I decided much earlier in the season that I prefer walking with less of a wind chill and a longer commute.  However, last night my alarm did not get set and I was therefore running insanely late this morning, so decided to ride Whitey at breakneck speed to work.  Running late also meant that I had insufficient fashion planning time, so although I had decided to ride, I also for some reason chose a ridiculously long skirt to wear.  As you know, once you commit to something enough to put it on there’s no time for a redesign.

I gobbled toast and a glass of OJ (I also used all my coffee up yesterday *tear) and bolted out the door.

Side note: I live across the street from a Planned Parenthood.  Currently there are some lovely religious types camped out on the sidewalk with signs and prayer beads for the 40 days of life.

So I’m in the parking lot and stuffing my skirt all which way up in my jacket and wrapping it around my waist while these lovely folks are looking on.  I rode away with some dignity still intact, but about a block further down I was not having much luck with containment and considered taking my skirt off to just ride in leggings.  Thankfully(?), stopping and disrobing took time that I did not had, so I opted for the ”not using my back break” technique.  It worked out OK.

At one stop light I was doing quite a bit of skirt adjusting, and then realized that there was a guy behind me on a bike.  I always try to be friendly when these rare encounters occur, so I hoisted a huge smile and said “HELLO!!!”…I think he was confused.

I can’t wait until it’s spring.

And that’s about all I’ve got.  Well that and a bunch of cookies that I made over the weekend.  They’re delicious.

The kids in Atlanta know how to throw a race/party, so I can pretty much guarantee a good time.

After the race, head over for this killer bike Art Opening.  10% of proceeds benefitting Sopo, a Bici-Coop like bike shop (actually, it is our inspiration!)

This is the Stowaway Jacket.  I want.  The asymmetrical zipper positioning is nice.

Here’s a picture of women (yes! women! straight off the Rapha website!) wearing said jacket.  Ow Ow!

The main problem, which is a sore subject for all Rapha prodcut admierers regardless of gender, is that they’re fucking expensive as hell!  At $260, I shall not be purchasing this little gem any time soon, if ever.

So, Rapha, how about you make these about 1/3 of the price they are currently listed?  And send me one for free?  That would be greeeeeeeat.

Well, ok maybe that’s a little harsh, but that’s what I think anyway.

The evening’s race participants traversed all manner of experience, gender, age, race, and regional loyalty (as well as one threesome), and it’s interesting to note that each race is marked by the significant number of new faces.  Which I think is great, because they all roll up to the finish line completely exhausted and by the end of the night can’t wait until the next race.

Stops included a dance competition and a fortune teller that had racers doing math problems, spelling derailleur, or generally making fools of themselves in front of strangers.  At one destination a shot called the “ashtray”, if taken, would give the racer a 4 minute time bonus.  When I questioned the racers afterward as to whether it was worth the terrible burning sensation, the responses were mixed.

Prizes went out to first, second, and third place, as well as first out of town team, first mixed gender team, first junior, and DFL.  Which means that most participants won something in the end. They liked that.

The after party consisted of ridiculous photo booth fun, dance party time with DJ Nastique, karaoke, and pie.  Oh the pie.  It was absolutely delicious and savored by all.  Especially considering the amazing group of people who brought it up from Greensboro, AL from their Pie Lab.  You should take a moment and check out what they’ve got going on over there; it’s inspiring to say the least.

The karaoke was of course fantastic.  Duets, medal renditions, and extreme tone deafness stand out as beautiful moments.

The beer was flowing, the company was wonderful, and I think it’s safe to say that good times were had by all.

One last thanks to all our sponsors and donators – we couldn’t have done it without you: Chrome, Knog, Rickshaw Bags, Good People Brewing, Higher Ground Roasters, Masi, T Photographic, DJ Nastique, Magic City Wholesale, and Pie Lab.

And, of course, Elisa and I were just fabulous.

It has been a cold, cold time here in Birmingham.  3 occasions of snow in the last week!  Oh, and I have had walking Pneumonia.  Good times.  I also moved successfully using panniers and friend’s trucks!  Here are some photos of our snow days. Enjoy.