In continuation with my last post, here are some examples of things we’ve seen on kids that we don’t recommend!

This helmet is situated too far back on the child’s head. It is not secure around his ears.

This helmet is on backwards!



This helmet is snug around his ears. The front of the helmet is going to protect the frontal part of his head, and it will not slip around his head.

I may be preaching to the choir with this post, but, I just see too many silly parents running after kids on bikes with no helmets! Let’s be responsible adults and suggest a helmet to the parent. And, I can honestly say that we have done this on more than one occasion…to the extent of donating our old ones so that heads can be safe!

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My dear friend Penny was the “Raffle Queen” this past weekend at the women’s clinic.  She had the honor of giving away lots of FREE STUFF.  With over 100 women at the clinic, we had some really great sponsors to offer our women.  The following are just a few of the items that I thought (I’m opinionated) you would all be interested in hearing about!

First up: My-Alibi.



Don’t you love that shirt? I want one!!

One of my personal favorites: Abbee makes clothes to make women feel beautiful on the bike. She has designed the BLOOMER which is basically a very short boy short with a high quality chamois in it to be worn under a skirt. It’s a high dollar item, however, you only need one and if you ride a lot, I’d highly recommend.

Next up: Mission Products
I love the new Orange Lip Balm, the After-Sun Lotion, and the Moisturizing Face SPF18. They make a wide variety of products for the athlete. I have so far enjoyed all the products with my favorite being the lip balm. And after my husband and family spent 4 hours at the air show and coming home severely sunburned, he’s found the After-Sun lotion to be really helpful and nice on hot skin.


Finally, Kokopelli Bicycle Jewelry

I should also mention that our local bike shop, Redlands Cyclery was one of the title sponsors who provided fantastic bike support, event space and the Kokopelli jewelry. Thank you Redlands Cyclery for all your support, we appreciate it!



Above, the “racer” group. That’s me in the back in the red kit in a support capacity. Again, the women’s bike clinic was a huge success and I’m sure we will be back again next year! All the women who participated in this weekend’s clinic will receive 4 upgrade points through U.S.A. Cycling Association (that’s if they wanted it)!

Thanks again to the all sponsors, volunteers, and participants! We’ve had a successful weekend.

P.S. I am partial to these products but nobody is paying me for my opinion. FTC…blah blah blah…

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The women’s road cycling clinic has been a huge 3 day event.  I have been involved as much as possible all three days, hence no postings.  Pictured above are three girls imitating a paceline and how to rotate  when riding a bike.   It was quite hilarious watching them pretend to pedal forward while on feet.  We’ve had 100 participants this weekend all learning brand new skills – from how to corner, how to climb, how to change gears to how to change a tire!  My good friends, Katia and Bobbi are both brand new to riding and have learned many many new things and it’s been a blast watching them soak it all up like a sponge!

More on the clinic and sponsors in the next few days!

P.S. You can read more about Bobbi’s experience here. {And, she’s riding my old bike}

Don’t forget to enter the 7th Generation giveaway.

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Less than two weeks to the women’s clinic! We now have 76 women riders registered which means there is only 24 spaces left.  This is a great opportunity to learn much needed cycling skills for women of all ages and abilities.  If you’re new to riding, they will walk you through the basics of wearing a clipless shoe, how to clip out at a stop light and how to power through corners.  If you are an old pro, there will be professional women racers there who can help you get faster with your racing.  Off the bike sessions include nutrition, flexibility, and bike tactics.   The women who participated last year had nothing but positive things to say!

I also wanted to give a shout out to our generous sponsors!

My Alibi

Mission Products

Owater

Arrowhead Water

Chipotle

Stell’s Coffee

The Bagel Pedler

Ayers Hotel

You can read more about the clinic on Southern California Cycling. (scroll down about halfway).

Please register for the Women’s Cycling Clinic using SoCalReg.

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Interested in natural home-made soaps? Check out Just Soap that has been made by bicycle! 

A unique item for mother’s day- for those of you who are cyclists? Or just a cool gift idea? Either way,  I know lots of people who’d be excited to get a homemade gift such as this!!

You can order five gift boxes of soap for $15.75! Sounds like a great price to me.

For more information click here.

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Today, after a long hiatus, I returned to the cycling world.  Instead of going out for an expensive dinner, we (or I should say, me) decided that a bike ride would be a much better way to spend time together! My lovely bike has not been ridden since mid- December or earlier!  As you all know, I’ve been cross fitting since December and have had no time or motivation to do anything else. But, it’s spring here in Southern California and it feels great to be outside.

Problem with today, is that I was SORE. Very sore, as usual from the weeks work- yesterday in particular including multiple side shuffles with a weighted medicine ball below my knees! Ugg, my inner quads are incredibly tender.

I posted on twitter this morning, “Dear legs, I understand you are not happy. However, I have a date with my hubby and my bike. Cooperate please! You will rest later.”

And, off we went…




After a quick decision amongst the group, it was decided that a ride to Yucaipa and Calimesa was in order. “How many miles is it?”, “Oh, around 50!”, “Really, 50?!” “Not sure I can do 50 as I haven’t been on my bike in six months, but, ok….”

My quads were SCREAMING on any and all climbs or at times when I needed to push the pace, but, amazingly and to my own astonishment, the ride went very well. In the past, a ride like that would sound and be like a sufferfest, but not today. The guys were amazed that I was keeping up on the climbs! Yeah, for me. I felt great and was actually having fun. Thinking that cross fit has made me an incredibly fit individual so that I can go out on these 2+ hour rides and do just fine.

The rewards post ride included a very hot capuccino…


And, a late breakfast with friends!

Life is good, enjoy the moments!

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In honor of Earth Day, today in Denver, Colorado the B-cycle has been launched! B-cycle is a bicycle sharing program with 500 bikes across the city. Simply insert your credit card {$5 per 24 hour period} and check out a bike! You can use it for one hour or 24 hours!  Simply return it to a B-cycle station when you are done with it.

I love this concept.  You can vote to get it in your city here.  The EFFECTS of using a bicycle for even a few miles is mind boggling.   If just 10% of my city’s population used a bicycle for 30 miles, it would equal 203, 658 miles.  It would save 10,000 gallons of gas.  Remove 6,788 cars and burn 9,571,080 calories!  And, even better, that’s going to help each rider lose .4 pounds just by biking 30 miles.

Don’t forget that cycling is blast.  It makes me feel like a kid again.  Now, if I could just get over my fear of my 6 year old riding in traffic, I’d be in business.

Take every opportunity to do something fun for you and your family!

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The Redlands Classic is quickly coming to an end and the racing has been amazing! My friends and I have been out an finding fantastic adventures with our children all the while watching the races. We love it. Friday was by far our best adventure as we took the kids on a big hiking adventure all in the name of spectating!

We hiked to the top of a “castle” to get a view of the Beaumont Stage Race with the kids.

We went searching for bear tracks!

The boys competed in their individual kids’ races!

We got to watch the professional women’s criterium race- featuring Amber Neben and Ina-Yoko Teutenberg.

Yes, entertaining our children sometimes will include a snow cone!

Rachel and Tammy (A Mom in Red High Heels) get together for a photo while our children are on the climbing wall.

Now, off to enjoy the rest of the weekend!

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First off, you need to be introduced to the Peanut Butter.  Thankfully, this peanut butter is only sold in select markets- Sprouts, Henry’s and maybe Whole Foods (not sure).  For me, that is a minimum of one hour drive time to obtain this peanut butter.  Dark Chocolate Dreams is THE BEST EVER.  Holy smokes.  13 grams of fat in 2 tablespoons! Yikes.  That is out of my “zone budget” for one meal by like 10 grams!! Truthfully, I haven’t had much PB since starting the Zone diet because of the high fat content, boo.  But, man, oh, man, is it delicious.

Second part of this coolness is that Peanut Butter & Company has sponsored a cycling team.  Even better is that it’s a women’s cycling team!  To top that, these amazing women will be competing in the Redlands Bicycle Classic this week.  Stay tuned for more information on this event.  It’s always exciting for me to be a volunteer/spectator/parent during the Redlands Classic.  Last year, I had the privilege of meeting Amber Neben and I am always excited to support women’s racing in my town.

More about the PB & Co women’s team on Cycling News.  And, you can read more about the PB and the women on PB & Co’s site. I am dreaming now, but, wouldn’t it be great if they were actually selling the peanut butter during the Redlands Classic at a booth?

Stay tuned for more information on the Redlands Classic.  Even if you’re not a cyclist, be excited with me, ok?  This is a BIG DEAL for my town.

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Last year’s incredibly popular women’s cycling clinic is returning this spring to Redlands, California!  It is open to only 100 riders!  We have three professional women cyclists flying in from Seattle, Washington to run the clinic and have as many volunteers as needed.  This event was a huge success in 2009 and we hope for it be even better this year.  The on-the-bike instruction will include sprinting, pace lining, riding etiquette, and group riding skills along with off the bike instruction on bike maintenance, yoga, strength training, racing tactics, and nutrition.

This event is not to be missed if you are new to cycling or are interested in bike racing even if it’s just a remote possibility! It is open to all women with a bike and helmet!   Sponsors include Mission Products, Mi-Alibi, Owater, Kool N’Fit, local eateries and hotels!

MAY 15-16, 2010

Register online at www.SoCalReg.com

I highly recommend this for any woman intersted in cycling!

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