On Saturday morning, Karel and I headed out for a perfectly planned ride up to Flat Rock, into NC and back to our home.
First off - we just love our new bike stands from Feedback Sports - even though Karel installed a rack on our garage wall to hang our bikes, I can't believe we went so long without these affordable, easy to use floor stands!. Also, I just LOVE my new bar tape from Lizard Skins which matches our "Kona edition" Canari kits (we received a prototype product which Karel put on each of our bike handlebars).
The ride started out great and I was feeling strong staying behind Karel (for the most part) until we got to the watershed area and then up to Flat Rock. I was doing great switching my gears, primarily in the small chain ring to maintain a nice cadence when I came to a descending segment and I tried to change my gears into the big ring and well, no shifting was happening.
Hmmmm.
Hmmmm.
When I finally linked up with Karel at the top of the climb, I told him that I wasn't able to change my gears into the big ring and he let me know that my battery was dying in my Di2. Well there is a first time for everything!
It was just over a month when we last charged the battery on my bike (which is typical - about a month per charge depending on miles ridden) so I ended up turning around as Karel carried on with his ride as I was limited to less than 150 shifts before I was stuck in whatever gear I was left in when my battery completely died.
It was just over a month when we last charged the battery on my bike (which is typical - about a month per charge depending on miles ridden) so I ended up turning around as Karel carried on with his ride as I was limited to less than 150 shifts before I was stuck in whatever gear I was left in when my battery completely died.
Needless to say - it was a very interesting ride home just wondering when my battery would die. Thankfully, I made it home (over 20 miles) just fine on the rolling terrain in my small chain ring and was still able to change my gears for the steeper climbs.
As I was finishing my 4-mile run off the bike, Karel came home from his ride and told me about his exciting ride. Although both of us experienced a bit of a rain shower on the bike (for me in SC and Karel in NC), Karel was riding along when George Hincapie and two other guys rode right by Karel as Karel was doing a higher effort interval to finish his ride. Karel stayed draft legal behind George but it was certainly not an "easy" effort. At least we both had exciting stories to tell after our ride!
After some recovery food and a little resting while watching the TDF, we were off to Landrum to spend the late afternoon/evening with our friend Katie Malone and her hubby Brad and adorable baby Keene.
Katie is not only a triathlon coach and experienced triathlete but she is also a huge dog lover. She rescues Weimaraner's (she has 5 of them) but recently she rescued an adorable puppy named Claudette. What a sweetie!!!
It was nice to hang out, talk triathlons and snack on food but it's hard for a group of triathletes to stay still (and their furry children) so we all went out on the water.
The guys went kayaking and Katie and I went stand-up paddle boarding (SUP).
Katie had a small doggy life jacket that we put on Campy as this was his first time in open water. Although he can swim (by default when Karel wants to prove to me that Campy can swim in a pool), Campy is not a natural swimmer like his momma.
We decided to put Campy in the kayak so that he didn't have to be close to the water but after a few minutes of kayaking, Campy decided that he wanted to be out of the kayak.
So he jumped out!!!
I was so concerned about my little one swimming in the lake but Campy did not seem too concerned. Campy actually made his way to my paddleboard and I picked him up on his life jacket strap and Campy bravely stood on my paddleboard for the rest of our exploration around the lake.
Unlike Keene and Claudette, Campy was not so still on the board. He actually jumped off my board (on his own) twice. Karel says he was enjoying swimming and that's why he jumped off. I think he was trying to swim to shore to get the heck away from the water but nonetheless, Campy gave us quite an exciting thrill of a ride on the SUP.
Much better...back on land.
After our trip on the lake, it was time to eat!
Brad made burgers and I chopped up some sweet honeydew. We also snacked on chips.
Katie put mushrooms on the grill topped with pesto and fresh cut mozzarella cheese, topped with a thick slice of tomato - YUM!!!
I made a refreshing broccoli summer slaw:
2 bags broccoli slaw tossed with 6 ounce light Daisy sour cream. Add in 2 chopped pink lady apples, a handful of raisins and salt to taste. Refrigerate (if possible) for at least 4-8 hours before serving.
4th of July 2015 was filled with excitement and adventure.
Oh the fun we have while being out in nature!!
No surprise, Campy slept ALL day on Sunday. He was SOOOOO exhausted from his SUP workout.
