Mountain Bike Monday - Close Encounters

I hope you all had a wonderful long Memorial Day weekend! We sure did! We got in two long bike rides at the Park and encountered several creatures! But, before we get to the weekend, last Thursday we took a ride at Poco on the Lakeview Trails! We encountered a nice long black snake just chillin' on the side of the trail. He was about the mid-point of Lakeview Too! I caught a glimpse of something black out of the corner of my eye and turned to see this guy!

Well, after that I decided maybe we'd jump out onto some fireroads and explore a new section of the park. We found another road that led to the lake.

On our way back to the car, we encountered this little guy, who seemed to be struggling to get up a pretty steep bank. So, we helped him along!

The ride was good and we had a nice time riding and looking around! I honestly forgot how many miles we completed, but I'm guessing it was about 13!

So, on Saturday, with the long weekend here and knowing we could get two great rides in, we met MBM at the park and hit the Lakeview Trails first!

With less than a half mile to go I was riding along (second in line - my previously planned new position in the riding order) and all of a sudden a black snake darted out from underneath a log right in front of me. I hit the breaks really hard and as he came to almost meet his fate by my front tire, he swerved to go around just in time to be saved! According to Dynamo and MBM I screamed so loud the people at the pool could hear me! That was honestly the closest I've ever been to one of those things. He was honestly just as scared as I was. I could tell! So, after I composed myself, I yelled to Dynamo saying, "hurry, we gotta get his picture so we can send it to Mario!" Remember, Mario and I are in a little competition to see who can find the most wildlife (must be documented by photo or video to count).

Dynamo managed to get this guy's picture before he headed off under another log!

My heart didn't stop racing for a while!!

So, after completing Lakeview, Dynamo and I wanted to continue on over to the Blue Trail. On our way we encountered a giant turtle in the middle of the fireroad.

He really didn't want to pose for his picture to be taken. We tried! He was the biggest turtle we'd ever seen out at the park. Awesome!!

We completed our Saturday ride logging in 22 miles, about 18 of them singletrack! Good ride!

We took a break on Sunday and enjoyed the time at home! But, yesterday we were back out there again riding!! This time we tackled the Blue and Green Trails and then went over to the Forest Exploration Trail. On our way to the Blue and Green, we encountered another big turtle!! He was trying to get up the hill too!

Dynamo got this closeup!

While on Forest Exploration, we saw this creature!

And, after snapping some photos of that snake (again, for Mario), we traveled onward on the Fendley Station Loop! Dynamo and I wanted to check out the creek crossing again, so we did. The water was pretty low. I was hoping it would be cool! But, it wasn't! Honestly, as hot as it was I wouldn't have minded if I fell in since I was soooooo hot!!! My feet got a little damp after crossing, but no big deal!

As we made the circle back around we finished another great ride logging in 19 miles!

I've enjoyed our rides together! It's fun looking for wildlife and checking out the Park, especially since there's a contest involved now! I feel like I'm getting stronger every day. I'm able to go over obstacles a lot easier now. I'm able to ride harder and longer. All of this is because my trainer, Dynamo, has taken the time to teach me!!! He's been so patient and helpful!!

So, to sum it up...In our last 4 rides we've encountered 4 snakes and 3 turtles! Lots of squirrels too, but they don't count!

Dance Recital Recap

Last Friday night we went to see our adopted niece, Jordan, perform in her dance recital! She was a star!!

She is so funny...

Here are the two sisters together...

We're so grateful to have such wonderful friends and two wonderful nieces!

I promise I've been working...

I know I've been a little slow this week with posting projects, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working. Two completed projects are going out to their recipients in the mail today, and once they receive them I'll post pictures. Until then, here is an in progress pic and hint...

It has to do with my cousin's wedding back in April.

Blues and Greens for the Bride

Over the weekend I attended a bridal shower for a friend getting married in July! I combed the registry to get an idea of her colors and decided to make her a kitchen gift set. I wanted her to have something special and handmade. I wanted her to have something you couldn't buy in a store. Something she would know was made just for her.

Here was her card...

Yes, I'm still on the free motion sewing kick!
Here's a closeup...

I made her a hot pad holder...

And, a decorative dish towel...

And, an apron...

And, they all match!!!!

Mountain Bike Monday - Clinic and Ride Report

So...over the weekend we decided to check out this skills clinic offered for free in downtown Richmond on the Buttermilk trail. We saw the post on Cycling Central VA, and Dynamo thought it would be excellent for me to go and learn from someone else other than him. You know how you never believe what your spouse tells you to do is right?!? I'd been wanting to check out the trails downtown, but wasn't sure if I was ready for the technical sections. This clinic was a great opportunity to take it slow, get some instruction on how to tackle the obstacles (what line to take, etc), and meet other riders.

We were so busy that the only photo we got was of this train tressle, which we parked under. I'll do better next time, I promise! I did learn a lot and truly appreciate Courtney's time. It was nice to see other riders and meet new people. I was very pleased. I tackled just about every obstacle she took us on, and even if I didn't make it all the way through it, at least I tried. I made it downhill on the rocks and roots, but uphill was another story. I do feel much more comfortable with roots and rocks each time I ride. I even went down a couple of steep, rocky sections at the clinic. It felt good on the bike. MUTT and I are working well together! I am much more balanced on the bike and feel like I'm getting the handle of how to shift my weight and when to do it. We completed about 4.5 miles at the clinic and then had a little break before meeting up with our friends Rachel and Clay at Pocohontas.

So, we rode a little bit of fireroad from the top parking lot to the green trail at Poco...

We were so excited that Rachel and Clay wanted to ride with us! Rachel has only been out on the trails a couple of times and had bad experiences each time (we're talking broken pinkie finger here!) so we'd been trying to convince her to try Poco. We didn't want her first experiences to leave a bad taste in her mouth because mountain biking is super fun.

She did FANTASTIC!!!!! And, I think she had fun this time! I hope she'll want to come back and ride with us again!

We did run into a little "friend" on the trail (Mario, I think I'm winning in the snake tally)...

Good thing Dynamo was the leader! He simply stopped and put his hand up to stop me and said, "You may want to stop there." He was so calm unlike me when I see these things! Argh!!!

This snake was not in any hurry. We sat and watched him slowly slither over to the log on the side of the trail. Rachel said it was about as fun as watching paint dry! It's just amazing to me how most of the snakes we see are not afraid of us or in any hurry. I guess they're used to people out there!

Here's another pic...

So, that was about all the excitement we encountered at the park. It was fun and we had a lovely time with our friends! It's funny to have two "Rachels".

Oh, and we rode the red section off the blue trail at Poco during the week last week. It had lots of whooptie doos and logs! Check out these pics...

Very Vintage

Tags, tags, and more tags....

My friend found a book on vintage papercrafts at a flea market and brought it to me! She absolutely loved the tags in the book, so I decided to make her a few similar to those in the book as a thank you for thinking of me. I'm excited to be able to add this great new book to my collection.

I just love this one...

And, a few more...

Fabric Collage for Baby

I attended a baby shower on Sunday and wanted to bring a handmade gift that would be unique and special. So, I decided that every baby girl needs a little blanket...

Here's a closeup...

When I was little I had a little blanket that was soft, but had a silky part too! So, on this blanket I added a strip of satin ribbon. The backing is a very soft minkie type material. The collage on the front creates texture for the baby's little fingers to rub as well.

It was a tiny blanket. Little ones just need something to hold onto, suck on, or tote around everywhere. So, it just needs to be soft and lovable. The Amy Butler base fabric was so soft! I just love her stuff! And, the baby's room is going to be green and pink, so I tried to stick with the theme!

And, every mom needs a few burp cloths to match of course...

And, the gift bag tag matched too...

Mom seemed pleased with the gift. This will be her 3rd baby, but first little girl!!