The Road Less Traveled

Especially by ladies in spandex.

If felt quite liberating being out of camp in such a fashion considering where we are.

We went on one last Social Pace (meaning the guys didn't hammer it so the ladies could keep up) ride of the season. Everyone is packing up for the summer and some of us for good so we celebrated in Udhailiyah Cycling Club Style.

Our camp is surrounded by oil field roads. Some in excellent condition and others a bit pitted and ruddy and after 6 days of shamals the dunes have crept across parts of the road.

We rose before the sun and set out at 4:30AM. The wind was minimal, the dust low, and a commencing heat of 90 degrees for the 50 mile ride. Other than a camel crossing and a few photo stops we rode on an on passed nice garbage free dunes. There was the occasional dead goat dumping ground but thankfully the stinky microbe phase had passed.

By the end, even after drafting Chris most of the way home my legs were shot. I'm so glad the pack of wild puppies we passed decided not to charge because I'm not sure I could have out run them. Sad I know.

1600 calories later we ended with celebratory Krispy Kreme and some mango milk.

I was pretty much a waste of space the rest of the day but am so glad our hubbies took us out for one last ride.

Taking It To The Next Level

To take it to the next level you need:

To get up at 3:30AM before the real heat sets in.

You need to pack water....bottles and bottles of ice cold water.

You need to endure 120 degree heat over the pavement.

You need to keep the paceline.

You need to take the roads less traveled.

You need a lot of testosterone... natural not synthetic.

You need some of the smoothest legs in the Eastern Provence.

You need to know when to kick back in the shade.

You need to be just a wee bit INSANE!

You need to be on a first name bases of the proprietor of the local Bedouin-11.

You need a Sag Wag with a driver, A/C, and cooler of extra water.

You need 2 liters of fluid to replace the 13 lbs you left behind in the desert.

When you take it to the next level you start out a 105 mile ride as friends but you end as brothers.

Fitness Club On Fire

Our Fitness Club has been On Fire this year so we celebrated with an end of season BBQ.

First we feasted!
Sorry the picture is so small but I wanted to show you how we do it here. About 3 weeks before an event someone calls the Recreation Department asking for rugs, chairs, tables, sound system equipment, etc. Their crew sets it up, takes it all down when done, and will provide a team of helpers throughout the event if needed. We can even get a helium tank for balloons if we want at no cost to us.

After the feast but before a game of Ultimate Frisbee our President had a few words about outstanding successes of the season, rankings in our race series, and last but not least some awards for things like:
Mental Toughness
Most Attractive to the Wrong Crowd
Fastest Person Who Didn't Spend a Small Fortune
Rookie of the Year (Yours truly)
......just to name a few.

Those who wanted to give out their own recognition awards did so too, such as the following saying written on a pair of bike shorts:
Pain is the Weakness Coming Out of You.....

and a fur covered bike helmet.

Kara recounted a story about a friend who has worn her bike helmet backward not once but....

TWICE!
She gave all the blonds in our group a hand mirror so they can do a quick once over before the next ride.

These are all the Fit Mammas in our group.

The week before the event a short survey was sent out. Now keep in mind only a handful of people actually responded but the numbers are outstanding!
(UDH 2011 Team Jersey)

General Recognition: August 2010-May 2011

Who ran further than they ever had before?
4

Who ran a marathon?
3, with another 4 who ran a 1/2 marathon

Participated in their first bike race?
8

Participated in a bike race?
18

Rode further than they ever had before?
11

Who caught a ride from a Bedouin back to camp?
5

Completed a century (100 mi, 160K)?
4

Saw improvement in their times during the season?
all

Participated in their first triathlon?
9

Participated in a triathlon?
20

Total Swim Miles/KM 177 mi (285 km)
Total Cycle Miles/KM 22705 mi (36540 km)
Total Run Miles/KM 1700 mi (2736 km)


Lastly we did lose a member of our group but quite frankly we were all happy to say good bye;) to...
Drum Roll Please......

Total Weight Lost Since August 2010
228+ lbs

Falcons Baseball Finale

A sand storm postponed the much anticipated first and last and only match between the UDH Falcons and Abqaiq Team.

Then a scheduling conflict with the other team threatened another postponement for the season finale. In the end the coaches decided to go ahead as scheduled and play kids vs. parents.

But to our surprise so many kids showed up we had enough players to play each other.

It was a coach pitch game where every player got a chance to hit. If after 3 pitches from the coach were missed then they were given a chance with the tee.

Innings changed after every child had his turn up to bat.

The coaches also moved kids to different positions each time they were on the field.

It was awesome to see all the kids and coaches hard work come together for this final game.

This team of first graders and up have really come a long way this season. Sadly, the head coach is moving in July. Hopefully those who remain behind can keep the enthusiasm going.

Zach was never that excited about practice and equally unexcited about the final game.

You'd never know it by looking at these clips.

It wasn't a serious game by any means and there were slip ups and silliness throughout.

Chris and I were super proud of him. He played really well and when he struggled he didn't give up or whine or fuss about it. He just kept going until he got a good solid hit.

Just shy of making it home the the hitter behind Zach sent it right to third base where he was tagged out ending the game.

As for this little guy he so wanted to get out their on the field for a bit of action. Originally I hired a babysitter because I thought I'd be playing but when enough kids showed up I was able to take pictures of the whole game instead while my friend Michelle chased him around the bleachers.