Happy Birthday to me!! Hello everybody! Christopher here to talk about my birthday weekend. Sunday I turned 39 and started celebrating as soon as I got off work on Friday.

To start out the celebrating, Mandy and I met up with our friends Tom, Aubree, John, and Mark and made some new friends Calvert, Mark and Joel on Friday evening for le Tour de Pants bike ride. This was a very casual 13 mile bike ride but to make it fun, we all got dressed up in our “fun” shorts. I wore some Bermuda shorts and Mandy wore her fun polka-dot shorts. But it was Aubree that was voted the “best” shorts. They were quite colorful. After the ride, we all stopped in at Spin! Pizza and enjoyed a cool refreshment before Mandy and I retired for the night.

The next morning came early. The alarm was going off at 5 am and I found an alarm sound that was appropriate for Mandy. It was the sound of a bugle going off at an army base to wake up the troops! Mandy just giggled and was up and at it. This morning we were joined by our friends Alex and Tom.

We just met up at a park that was close and Mandy knows all too well. This is has been her starting point for years when it comes to her training. I was able to start out with them on the first 4 miles but it was tough. Hilly and my shins splints where really starting to burn.

After the first four miles, I grabbed my bike and followed behind the three of them so they could do another 4 mile lap, all the while, I was their pack horse and carried their water for them. It was definitely a hot one; even at 7:30 am. After that loop, Tom had to bolt because of work but Mandy and Alex did another 2 miles to complete her 10 miles schedule for the training plan.

Also, for a birthday present, my father traded me Jeeps. Mine was needing some work done on it, so to save me some dollars, my father traded me his for mine. His was the exact same year, just in much better condition and half the mileage. But there was one thing missing. I needed something to represent what I love to do, so I stuck this bad boy on the back of it. Thanks for the Jeep, Dad!

Later that night, Mandy had made reservations for us at J. Gilberts. What a great steak restaurant! The food was tasty and the service was excellent! Just before our dinner was served, Mandy handed me my birthday card. It was very sweet card but inside was another surprise…

…ear jewelry! Fitting, don’t you think? I’ve seen these a while back and have been wanting them but Mandy beat me to it. Thanks baby!

We finished off the evening at Jardine’s. This was Mandy’s first time there and she loved it. We sat in a romantic corner, had a couple of cocktails and listened to some Latin Jazz. It was a great end to a perfect evening!

The next day was a lot of relaxing, but not before I was surprised in the morning to Mandy singing Happy Birthday and bringing in my favorite dessert, Hostess Ding Dongs. I don’t need no cake, I’m good with these!

In all it was great Birthday weekend. Thanks to Mandy for making it wonderful for me!!

As I reflect on the years of my life up to now, I can say that I have had some good birthdays and I have had some good times. I remember a couple of years ago I listened to a Slipknot song for the first time and I just loved it. The song is “Vendetta.” There is a line in that song that just stuck with me. “Are you ready for the time of your life?” I listened to that song again today as I road home on my bicycle and I started to think, these last couple of years of my life have been the time of my life. I have kept my nose clean and really enjoyed life to its fullest. I have gotten married to a beautiful woman and my soul mate. So, “Are you ready for the time of your life?”… hell yes I am. I have been waiting for this moment, and I never knew it.

Cheers,

Christopher

We were excited to take part in the first Spin! Pizza bike ride at their location off of Main Street on the Plaza last night.  It was a gorgeous day: sunny and 70s but with a pretty strong wind.  We had our friends Tom, Luke, and Mark meet up with us, as well as Christopher’s brother, Bryan.  We were pleasantly surprised to find that we recognized quite a few faces from the Kansas City Tweed Ride last weekend. Another thing we quickly noticed: we were practically the only people not wearing lycra.  We’re not knocking the lycra clothing style, but it’s not exactly what we have in mind for our fun bike ride adventures. We’ll save those for the races.

There were two routes to choose from. We opted for the more leisurely 11 mile route as opposed to the faster paced 20+ mile, considering this was our first time out.  We actually got separated from the group a few times, and our ride became a little more aggressive in an attempt to catch back up!  Afterwards we celebrated with pizza and beer (and wine!) and relaxed with our friends.  Spin! Pizza has rides every Wednesday night at 6:00 at their Plaza location, so don’t be surprised if you see us out there cruising along on our bikes next week!  You’re all invited if you’d like to join in on the fun!

M&C