Greetings! Christopher here and bike week has begun and there is a lot happening! Last year during bike week, I only managed to make it in 3 days before my legs were starting to turn to mush; and when it rained on that Thursday, it was very easy for me to throw in the towel. It’s only 10 miles into work, but 60+ miles when my body was not used to it, I was starting to tire pretty fast. This year I going to make sure and ride all 5 days I have a little extra motivation; Mandy is going to do it with me! This helps me out for many reasons, but mostly to keep me company. I love having her with me when I go for rides, plus it helps to get out of bed knowing that we are doing this together.

We did a test ride on Thursday of last week to try out the route and make sure it was safe enough with the early morning rat race. Chouteau Trafficway has a little road construction, but it’s not too bad and it really only takes about 30 minutes of causal riding to make it downtown. Our Monday was very successful, and we are excited to keep this up for the whole week. The gas we will save means more money in our pocket and getting out of the car and enjoying the weather helps out our attitude. It helps wake us up and give us a better start on the day. Mondays are never any fun, but after that bike ride in this morning, it sure gave us a better outlook. As my co-worker told me this morning, you are very “Zen like” today.

There is so much going on this week by way of bike and BikeWalkKC.com has all the scoop on their site. Go check it out and see what you can do to help support cycling in our city! One of the events that we will be attending is the Tour de Brew this Sunday. We had a lot of fun on it last year, and of course we will be riding it again this year. Much like last year, we will be riding the 30 mile course.

The very next weekend we are signed up for the Pedaler’s Jamboree once again! This will be our 1 year anniversary, and we couldn’t be more excited to participate in this ride again. It was a great way for us to spend our Honeymoon weekend last year, why wouldn’t we want to sign up again?! Call us simple, but we don’t need much. Beaches and resorts? Nah! Give us bike trails and music and we will be just as happy!

Also, on May 31st, the Clips of Faith Beer and Film Festival will be back in town. Go and enjoy some beer tasting from New Belgium Brewery and watch some short clips made up by the fans.

So grab your bikes and come meet up with us on one or all of these events! The more bikes we get out on the street, the happier this city will be! Promise.

M&C

[Mandy] Well, we’ve gone and done it again: we’re switching gears! With Christopher still lifting heavy but training to be in half marathon shape, I’ve also toned down my running and have allowed myself to focus on my other love: weightlifting. For a short time during my early 20s I focused solely on lifting heavy and putting on size…I was actually trying to gain weight! I got my bench press max up to 150lbs and was able to squat 185lb. I loved the feeling of moving heavy weight and feeling strong!  After my last marathon in October, it took me a little while to adjust to the idea of not running as much and to allow myself the freedom to try new things and to return to old loves. Christopher has been a great partner and has supported me and pushed me to venture back out and to take some time to devote to other forms of exercise. We’ve been lifting, running, cross-training on the elliptical, hitting abs pretty hard, biking, throwing in some crossfit exercises, and researching and experimenting new weight-lifting moves. We’ve been pretty impressed with ourselves in keeping things new and exciting and pushing ourselves to new levels…which brings me to my topic

I feel a little lost without goals, so I’ve set a few weightlifting goals that I would like to reach by the end of June.  I want to bench press 135 lbs, squat 185 lbs, dead lift 185 lbs, and do 12 unassisted pull ups. I have a lot of work to do in a short amount of time, but I’ve been feeling so motivated and having so much fun with our workout routines, I’m hoping my drive will get me there! I have the best workout partner who knows when to push me and when to taunt me with a pacifier when I’m being a baby We signed up for the Hospital Hill Half Marathon in June, which will be Christopher’s first official half marathon! We’re doing our best to keep up our running as much as possible while still pushing ourselves in other areas. We’ll keep you posted on the race, but I’m sure we’ll only have good things to relay!

Mandy had a bit of spill on the sidewalk on our late night 12 miler.

On a quick side note, I am very happy to report that I just got new shoes! I’ve been running in my Saucony Kinvaras and have loved them, but I’ve been itching to drop down to more of a minimalist shoe. I’d love to be able to eventually run in Vibrams, but I think my body requires more of a transition. The Saucony Hattori is the lightest and most minimal running shoe that they offer; and after ordering them last week I was able to run the first 8 miles of our 12 mile run in them on Saturday night. I didn’t want to do too much in them too soon and risk injuring myself, but it was so hard to take them off after only 8 miles. I think I’m really going to love running in them. They are extremely light weight and don’t have much to them at all. It’s pretty close to the feeling of running barefoot!

[Christopher] The original idea was to just sign up for the Waddell and Reed Kansas City Half Marathon in October, but we were already putting in the miles now, so I figured what the hell. Why not, right? I’m looking forward to it. I’m not really setting a goal for time. I just want to finish it and know that I can without any issues (i.e. endurance, injury, etc.). We are still going to do the Kansas City Half as well. Hey, this is my big year of turning 4 – 0. Why not bring it in with a bang of all sorts of events?

I got a new pair of Vibram’s just a couple of days ago. They are the KomodoSports. These are my third pair of Vibram’s and they are all a bit different than the next; but so far these are my favorite. They have an extra adjustment on the side to make them a bit more snug. I took them to the test on Saturday night and they worked well! I’m looking forward to taking them to the trails to see how they feel there as well.

As I said, we have ton of events coming up that we are looking forward to doing. This month especially is our most favorite since we will be celebrating our one year anniversary on the Katy Trail again for the Pedaler’s Jamboree! Bike month starts this month, and national Bike Week is May 14 through the 20th. Lots of things coming. We really need to step up our game. Mandy has to make sure and show off those BAD ASS socks I got her as a gift whenever she can!

As always, if anybody ever wants to join us, please feel free to ask or just show up! We always welcome everyone; the more the merrier.

M&C

It is that time again! Time for Tour de Brew 2012! We had so much fun last year that of course we are participating again this year! They did a great job of organizing the event and the layout of the course. Much like last year, there are three courses you can take: a 15 mile, a 30 mile, and a 62 mile. We will be taking the 30 mile again this year. It will again be starting out and ending at Knucklehead’s saloon. The day will May 20th so click HERE now and sign up! Anybody that wants to join us on this event, please let us know. It’s a lot of fun and an easy ride to participate in. So grab those bicycles and helmets and let’s go!

M&C

The long awaited for day  had finally arrived! We had been looking forward to The Kansas City Tweed Ride for a full year after participating in last year’s ride; we had been plotting our outfits and working on our bikes in preparation for this fun event.  Christopher had completed his Peugeot (and she looks gorgeous!) and we updated my vintage AMF with an octopus head badge and home made wooden rack. We had put our blood, sweat, and tears into these bikes and couldn’t have been happier with the way they turned out! Christopher and I were excited to show off our steam punk attire; we gave our accessories careful thought and had pieced them together over several months. We sometimes wish we could dress like this every day!

We had been watching the weather all week. The forecast had called for severe storms all day, but we lucked out and had gorgeous weather! It was near 70 and partly cloudy, and we couldn’t have been happier. We all met at 10:00 to mingle and check out everyone else’s outfits and bicycles and to take part in the contests for different categories for prizes to be handed out at the end of the ride. The ride started promptly at 11, and we took a casual route through Cliff Drive and it’s surrounding scenic areas. We made a stop at the Kansas City Museum at Corinthian Hall for coffee and tea provided by Eleos Coffee and cookies provided by the Rainey girls. It gave us a chance to visit with the other riders and relax a little, enjoying the day.

It was fun to see everyone’s picnic gear, and Christopher and I had fashioned our own decorative lunch box on our bicycle racks. We took a group picture on the front steps of the museum, and the ride concluded back at the Plaza Colonnade.  Christopher and I were surprised that we won a few of the categories for our outfits! Afterwards a small group of us went to Winslow’s BBQ in the River Market for lunch.  It was such a great day for the KC Tweed Ride! We encourage all of you to take part in this ride next year. We promise you’ll have a great time! Check out the fun video we put together at the bottom!

On a side note, our new friend from Pilot Valve was kind enough to make these valve stem caps for our bike! Thanks Elise! You are awesome!

M&C

The 2012 3rd Annual Tweed Ride is just around the corner! Are you ready to have a grand ole time?! After our first attendance in last year’s ride, we knew without a doubt we were participating this year as well.  We had the whole year to plan our attire and get to work on fixing up our bicycles that we planned on riding.  We decided to take a steampunk approach with our look this year; we researched outfits and accessories online and started slowly piecing them together. I decided to try my hand at riding in a dress and heels, while Christopher found some old fashioned riding pants with a top hat and vest (the vest being specially made by my mother!).  Although Christopher decided not to grow out the handlebar moustache this year (too much maintenance), we did find a fun addition to put in place of it. We won’t give away too many details; you’ll just have to stay tuned for pictures of the finished product!

While deciding to stick with the bike that I used last year, we were able to add a fun steampunk head badge  to dress it up a little.  Christopher, excited for another bicycle build, restored his Peugeot for a classic look.  He’s still in the process of finishing it up, so hopefully it’ll be ready to go for next week’s ride. It’s already looking pretty sweet; we can’t wait to show you pictures!

The ride will take place April 14th at Cliff Drive in Kessler Park; we’ll  be meeting at 10:00 with the ride starting at 11:00.  We would love to have company if anyone cares to join us! It will be a fun, casual ride for all ages and levels followed by a picnic and time to mingle.

If you want an idea of what to expect and what takes place, click on the link below to see last year’s ride!

2011 Kansas City Tweed Ride Indeed!

M&C