There is advantage in the wisdom won from pain" -- Aeschylus

I guess there is an advantage won from pain. Aeschylus was smart when he spoke those wise words back in 200 b.c. or whenever it was he lived (does anyone know who he is?)... In any case, I experienced quite a bit of pain this past weekend, not because I biked for a long ass time (ass taken literally in this sense), but because when I bike, I get nervous and when I get nervous, my brain goes blank and apparently I forget how to stop my bike at stop lights and I tip over and fall off on occassion, so yeah, I fell a few times. I have the bruises to prove it. But I did finish and I did learn a lot. Let me back up...

Last weekend was our MS 150 ride from Churchill Downs (home of the KY Derby, you will see a horse theme here)... through Louisville (for longer than anticipated) to Frankfort via a lot of back winding roads. The first day was beautiful, but extremely long, thanks in large part to my inability to follow directions and thus, we (Sarah and I- Jackie was smart and stayed with the group) got lost. We went about 10 miles out of our way on day 1 making it an 85 mile ride, totaling about 5 hours and 30 some odd minutes, not counting the stops. Needless to say, we were tired. Oh yeah, and we were just halfway there. I wanted to go home. BUTTT (no pun intended), we stuck it out, stayed in a nice little Holiday Inn Express on Saturday night and got up nice and early to set out on our voyage from Frankfort's Solato Wildlife Forest or something to KEENELAND- aka, the finish line. Day 2 was awesome. Really, it was. We started off with a nasty hill- and horses and hills seemed to be the theme for the day, but it was a great time for me to learn more about my bike, how to climb hills, use my gears correctly and still enjoy the most beautiful scenery that Kentucky has to offer. I met some amazing people with awesome stories along the way and I hope I am able to keep up this theme over the next couple of months!

After we finished the ride, we were all tired and worn out, but I have to say, other than my butt being sore, I have recovered rather quickly and I was able to ride yesterday and swim this morning. I am extremely glad I finished the ride with Sarah and Jackie, who were way more tough than me. I know I would have been mad if I would have thrown in the towel after the falls and frustrations of getting lost. I dont feel too bad and I am hoping to can gear up to do a good triathlon this weekend!

Below are some of the pictures from the weekend- I hope you enjoy them almost as much as we enjoyed the ride!!

There is advantage in the wisdom won from pain" -- Aeschylus