becoming 1(hundred) with my new bike!

Today, I completed my first Century Ride...... and as I'm writing this post - I.AM.STANDING.UP!  100 miles on a bike can make you're..... well just about everything sore!  We ended up taking a wrong turn at some point and found ourselves at the finish line only completing 60 miles.... and as you probably guessed - we did not STOP.  we turned around to find the 100 mile route and FINISH our ride :)  when we arrived at the last hydration/food station - we found nothing but an empty ski resort.... they had closed the aid station already.  we had biked about 10 miles without water and i was getting desperate. (it was about 86 degrees this afternoon)  i told Ross that we were stopping at the next house that had any sort of movement or any sign of a human around.  (we were pretty much biking in the corn and grape fields all day).  we found a guy pulling out of his drivway and asked him if we could fill our water bottles out of his garden hose.  we headed back out on the course to finish the 100 miles.

 before our journey began

 Ross thought this sign was funny - Antwerp is a town we visited in Belgium.  It was one of the locations where the Tour de France came through last summer.

 Ross told me that when you finish a Century Ride - you hold up your bike.  I think he was being funny - but after riding 100 miles I certainly wasn't going to sit on the bike for a picture :)

Mackinac or Mackinaw?

 on our way to Mackinac Island!  as we were leaving the mainland - Graham said "goodbye America - see you in 2 days". 

 haha - bike cart located outside our condo :)

 we haven't been to the island for almost 8 years - now they have a Starbucks!

 a Cinderella fudge slipper

 just in time for the 4th of July

 awe - my sweet jilly

 moon rising

 thoroughly enjoying her ice cream cone

 haha!

 view of the sunset from our condo on the island

 doing some inter-island trail riding with my buddy, Helen

 making a Cairn (staking rocks)

 family portrait using the timer on the camera

 Helen's Cairn

 arch rock

 family picnic at the base of the Fort

 time for a UPS delivery to the island :)

 cooling off on a hot day

 my beach beauty

 exhausted beach beauty

 The Mighty Mackinac Bridge (5 miles long)

 BIG rock small CHILDREN

 a view of the bridge from St. Ignace in the UP of Michigan

 dinner in St Ignace

 silly Helen

 silly Jilly

 awe - sisterly LOVE

photo taken by Helen

Hot Air Balloon Fesival and Air Show- Battle Creek

 on saturday, we attended the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Battle Creek - an annual event that Ross used to attend when he was growing up.  The Thunderbirds made their only Michigan appearance.

 the Thunderbirds were LOUD! :)

 taking a seat in a glider

 playing tennis with Nerf balls :)

 watching the sunset before the Balloon Illumination