The first Spooks and Spokes Halloween Ride was fun, and we would say it was a success! Starting out at Grinder’s, there were 17 riders that gathered. We made our way up to The Filling Station, and unfortunately 2 riders had to drop out. One had to go to work and the other was not confident in their bike that they had just purchased. After a brief stop for some coffee, we made our way down to the Plaza to show off the costumes, and also to make drivers aware of cyclist on the streets. We had a good time waving and shouting “Happy Halloween!” to passers-by, pedestrians and motorists; all joined in on the shouting and honking. It was a great time! We made a stop at O’Dowd’s to enjoy a quick drink and then up to McCoy’s for some lunch. Finally we made our way back to Grinder’s where we enjoyed celebratory drinks and a much-needed Chili bomb pizza.
In all, it was a fun ride and the weather was great. Next year we will plan on more of a bicycle ride and fewer stops. The stops were fun, but getting out and enjoying the bicycle is what it’s all about! Thanks to all that showed up and we hope to make it more fun next year!
The 3rd Annual Tour de BBQ was a blast this year! Over 2500 participants showed up to help the fight against cancer with the Livestrong Army of Kansas City. This is the 2nd time we’ve attended this event, and it will not be the last! This year was very well organized with staggered starts and plenty of volunteer help. Not to mention, they added more BBQ stops along the way! There was a 62 mile, 35 mile, and 15 mile course; but we opted for the 35 mile to take it easy and enjoy the day. We were elated to find out that there were 5 restaurants that we were able to stop at instead of a mere 3 like last year. Last year was not quite as organized, and we were only able to get BBQ at one place, which was our last stop. This year we were able to get plenty of BBQ and a few drinks, and were able to enjoy the day with full bellies! Stop one was Smokestack, stop two was Oklahoma Joe’s, three was RJ’s BBQ, then Johnny’s BBQ, and lastly was Woodyard. Woodyard was by far the best BBQ that we’ve had in a long time, but all were amazing and very accommodating. It was a gorgeous day, and at the end of the ride we were able to enjoy a concert at Power and Light while sitting at Gordon Biersch chowing down on appetizers and throwing back cold drinks. Again, we were thrilled that it was so organized this year, and we would definitely recommend everyone coming out and joining us next year! Plus, you get to help in the fight against cancer….extra bonus!
At the end of the night we were wonderfully exhausted, and we stopped in at a local hole-in-the-wall bar for our house for a couple drinks. We ended up back at home enjoying the evening on the deck with music, drinks, and lots of Tomfoolerie! That’s how we roll
This Sunday Funday was just like old times. Nothing to do, nowhere to be, just riding the bikes, having fun, and killing time.
We started out with brunch at Beer Kitchen. With Tom in tow, we met up with our friends Stormy and Matreena. Matreena is a fitness competitor and trainer. She always has some rather helpful tips on her blog. Click here to find out more! Stormy is an amazing tattoo artist and is currently working at Windhorse Tattooing. Recently, he has gotten himself into fitness competitions as well. They make a great team!
After having stuffed ourselves with delicious food from Beer Kitchen, we needed to get out and enjoy the fantastic weather and also ride off the full bellies. We made our way up to one of our favorite places, The Gaf. We ordered our drinks and sat outside to enjoy the air. After a brief R n’ R, we headed on back down to Westport, and as we rounded the corner we heard the base sounds from Sunday Solace at Californos. Of course we had to stop in there to say hello to all of our good friends attending the last Sunday Solace of the season.
Last, but certainly not least, we made our way over to tea drops. This seems to be a mandatory stop for us as we finish the day. What better way to finish a great day but with some bubble teas?! One word, YUMMY.
What can I say about this day? I guess I could say it was damn near perfect. I just love days like this!
Like always, we had plans to go to bed early Friday night in an attempt to get up at the crack of dawn to get in a long bike ride and run before the heat of the day set in. Like always, we failed that attempt and didn’t get up at 6am like we wanted; rather we rolled out of bed around 10:30, and it was already close to 90 degrees. My marathon training called for a 12 mile run that day, and since we had our Rock the Crossroads 5K scheduled that night at 7:30, I decided to run the remaining 9 miles beforehand for a collective 12. Even with the heat soaring around noon, I was able to get in 5 miles outside with Christopher biking alongside me; he took it fairly slow with me in an attempt to conserve some energy and not overexert ourselves. We didn’t want to be too exhausted for our run that evening! We then headed to the gym where he got in a strong arm workout, and I ran the last 4 miles on the treadmill. We had just enough time to get in some food and lie down for about 30 minutes before we had to start getting ready for the race.
Our friend Tom met us at our house, and the three of us headed out for Grinders in the Crossroads of KC where the race would start and finish. It was extremely hot and humid and well over 90 degrees. There were over 700 people who had signed up, and crowds were milling about as we walked over to the start. The course looped around Grinders and through downtown KC, and there was one killer of a hill to climb! There were a few water stations along the way and thankfully some kind people with hoses and sprinklers to cool off! The heat and humidity were a little overwhelming, but we were able to complete all 3.1 miles in 31 minutes and 25 seconds, making this Christopher’s 2nd official 5K! He’s well under way to becoming prepared for his 6 mile run in September at the Wakarusa Off-Road Challenge, and his determination and desire to take on new challenges never ceases to amaze me. I am so proud of him, and he continues to inspire me! Tom finished 5th in his age group with a time of 21:21. Congratulations, Tom!
After the race we cooled down with LOTS of water and a towel soaking in ice. We were drenched with sweat but still headed over to Grinders with the rest of the crowd to celebrate with a chili bomb pizza and delicious beer! The night ended up gorgeous and somewhat cool, and we spent the rest of the night relaxing and enjoying live music. Our 2nd 5K race together was another success! Check out our video below and the links for photos and race results.
The big day had arrived! We had plans to be married at the Truman Memorial Building on Friday the 27th at 12:30 in the afternoon. Accompanied only by our parents and siblings, we wanted this private affair to be meaningful and to the point; we have plans for a big wedding and celebration the following year, but we just didn’t want to wait! We had morning mimosas as we packed our belongings for our weekend getaway in Columbia for the Pedaler’s Jamboree: a 30 mile bike ride from Columbia to Boonville. With reservations at a Bed and Breakfast in Boonville, we would be biking the 30 miles back to Columbia on Sunday. The ceremony was lovely and intimate, and we were so happy to be surrounded by our loved ones as we committed our hearts and lives to one another forever. After the ceremony we headed directly to Café Verona, a quaint Italian restaurant in Independence Square with a romantic tradition of having couples engrave their names onto locks, fastening them on the wrought iron gate out front, and then throwing away the key forever! We kept our keys at the suggestion of Cathy (Mandy’s mother) to be thrown away into the river as we rode along the Katy Trail that weekend. Lunch was fantastic, and we had our first champagne toast as husband and wife in our new wedding gift, champagne flutes from Cathy (Mom)! As soon as lunch was over, we said our goodbyes and hit the road to spend the evening in Columbia celebrating our marriage.
We stopped along the way in a small town for a window marker to write the traditional “Just Married” on the back window of the Explorer. Once we got to Columbia we checked into our hotel, and we were elated to see a “not so dirty duckie” on our jacuzzi. We ran some quick errands before stopping in at Murry’s, an Italian restaurant with live jazz; we quickly left when we were seated in a cramped corner with a screaming child :). We opted instead to head to Bleu , a favorite restaurant we’d been to before the last time we were in Columbia. To our surprise, we ran into Peter, a friend of Christopher’s, who was nice enough to buy us some champagne in honor of our big day. Exhausted from the excitement of the day (Mandy was still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she had a new last name), we retired early to prepare for our big weekend.
We woke up early the following morning and headed to registration for the Pedaler’s Jamboree. Sporting our cruisers for the event, we fixed our new baskets and homemade “Just Married” signs to the back of our bikes, and they were the hit of the ride! We grabbed breakfast at the starting point, Shiloh Bar and Grill, which is a stone’s throw from where we jump onto the MKT Trail for the start of the ride. The weekend was originally slated to be 90 and sunny, but Saturday morning was unusually cool and windy, with a hint of mist. We hopped on our bikes around 11 and started off on the MKT trail for about 8 miles before it connected to the Katy Trail. We stopped at the first creek we came to and threw away our keys to the lock we fastened on the gate at Café Verona, never to be found again! Our first stop was in Huntsdale, about 12 miles into the ride. They had a blues band, snacks, and beer, and we stopped long enough to fuel up and say hello to the Groody Bros (which are the guys who have done work for us on both of our bikes).
Between Huntsdale and our next stop at Rocheport, we made some pit stops at a bluff with Native American pictographs and also a marker for the Lewis and Clark expedition. We made friends with some very fun people from Omaha, Nebraska, and we hiked with them up a huge hill to the Les Bourgeois Vineyards where they bought us a celebratory glass of wine! Thank you Victor and Stephanie! Our 2nd stop was in Rocheport, and we enjoyed another beer but didn’t stop long as we were eager to continue on our way. We passed through an old train railroad cave, and opted to ride through flooded parts of the trail that were actually closed off instead of taking the detours. The weather turned out to be perfect for us: it was cloudy most of the day which helped us stay cool, and the mist was very refreshing! Our last stop was in Franklin and this proved to be a very happening place! Swarms of people milled about, talking, laughing, and listening to the bands. We argued over whose beer was more badass: Christopher chose the IPA with an angry elephant head on the front, and Mandy chose the Buffalo Sweat…Mandy is still insistent that hers is more badass. We were happy to be interviewed by our new friend Bill Poindexter for his blog Carfree American. We have posted this video below.
We rode the few remaining miles to Boonville where we decided to check into our Bed Breakfast at the Highstreet Victorian before heading to the concert and post-ride party. Our Bed and Breakfast was beautiful, and our innkeepers Gene and Kriss were wonderful! They gave us some blankets to take with us to the concert because it was so rainy and cold! The headlining bands were Ha Ha Tonka (Mandy’s new favorite) and the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. We’re sad to report that we were so exhausted and tired from the last few days that we cut the party short and were back and in bed before 9, missing the last band! We knew we had a long day’s ride ahead of us on Sunday, and we wanted to be well-rested.
The next morning we had breakfast with some of the other guests, and we were out the door and on the road by 9:15! Our trip back was faster, and our stops weren’t nearly as long as the day before. We were anxious to get back home, but we still stopped and enjoyed some of the sites and visited with our new friends. At our stop in Rocheport, we walked back to our bikes after listening to one of the bands, and we were very happy to discover that an anonymous person had placed leis on our bicycle baskets! All weekend long we had heard “Congratulations” and how happy people were for us newlyweds. It was a great end to the trip!
By the time we made it back to Columbia, we were pretty tired but happy, and we stopped in at Shiloh for lunch before heading back to Kansas City. Getting back home around 5, we were happy to see our boys, and we spent the evening drinking wine and eating sausage, cheese, and crackers while watching The Expendables and Rocky IV (what better way to spend your honeymoon than watching kickass movies? Mandy said she was so happy her head was going to explode). It was a great start to the rest of our lives as Mr. and Mrs. Beltz, and you all were with us in spirit! We appreciate all of your love and support as we continue this awesome journey together. Please take a look at our fun video below; it’s just clips of our weekend together set to one of the meaningful songs that signifies our relationship.
The first Spooks and Spokes Halloween Ride was fun, and we would say it was a success! Starting out at Grinder’s, there were 17 riders that gathered. We made our way up to The Filling Station, and unfortunately 2 riders had to drop out. One had to go to work and the other was not confident in their bike that they had just purchased. After a brief stop for some coffee, we made our way down to the Plaza to show off the costumes, and also to make drivers aware of cyclist on the streets. We had a good time waving and shouting “Happy Halloween!” to passers-by, pedestrians and motorists; all joined in on the shouting and honking. It was a great time! We made a stop at O’Dowd’s to enjoy a quick drink and then up to McCoy’s for some lunch. Finally we made our way back to Grinder’s where we enjoyed celebratory drinks and a much-needed Chili bomb pizza.
