(I know, I'm really bad at coming up with good blog post titles.)

Hopefully anyone reading this entry will do me a favor and bookmark this blog. My friend Nadine is campaigning for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Man & Woman of the Year, and I am really proud of her for stepping up to the challenge! If there is anyone more deserving of this title, it's Nadine, so please support her in her efforts to help the millions affected by leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and Hodgkin's disease.

There are some great fundraising events coming up, so bookmark or add her blog to your RSS feed, and get involved!

The 2009 MS Ride is being held at the beginning of June this year, which gives me a little less than three months to prepare. Last year I considered upping my personal challenge to do the full century, but at the time I wasn't doing my other type of riding: horse.

With Cass back in in the picture, I actually (well, hopefully, barring any significant injuries to either him or myself) might have the chance to compete consistently this year… something I've been trying to do for the past 3 years. The fact that Cass is a much more suitable partner for me than Cody ever was has been a motivation to challenge myself and work harder at becoming a better rider. I really, really want(ed) to compete at Rubicon, but it's on the same weekend as the MS ride. Granted, the metric century is only on Saturday, so technically I can compete Sunday, but I'm not sure if my body can handle that amount of stress.

Right now, my two bikes are sitting in my living room, waiting to have their tires pumped and hit the road. However, I've been avoiding them for three reasons: one, the roads here in Arlington are still covered in salt ; two, I can't make the time; and three, it's still just a little bit cold here.

In a month or so, I won't have an excuse based on temperature or lack of daylight hours. Somehow I need to figure out how to fit Cass and biking in the same day a few times a week. I can [bike] ride in the morning (which would mean getting up at 5 AM or so), go to work, ride Cass after work, and then collapse from exhaustion… but the main concern I have is riding that early in the morning. The alternative is to ride solely on the bike trails, but I have an aversion to them mainly because people on bikes can be more dangerous than cars. The other option is to ride my bike after work and then ride Cass, because we have lights in our ring and I can ride after dark.

I need to be Superwoman, if only for two months…