FATS and Warmer Weather

The boys and I headed to Fats for some long base ride time.  The weather was warm and the drive was a great time to catch up on all the guys' goings-on.  AND....we bought a bag of peanut butter M&Ms and they were AWESOME!  (alas, the weather was so warm that I also got bit by a fire ant AND a mosquito!)



I was looking rather dapper with my ultra cool new white grips......



........and the even cooler white Hayes brake levers that Shey just installed.  Shabam!  I now have brakes that, well, brake!  Yeah!  That made it a really fun ride and I absolutely loved my hours in the woods.  Thanks so much to my very excellent bike mechanic, whom I sometimes have to bribe with a six pack and/or Starbucks, but always keeps my bike running smooth for me.  Love you and much gratitude, Shey!

FATS is a really cool trail system in South Carolina, with a lot of very fast, ultra-smooth trail.  You have to be very careful, because the trail is so fast, to watch for oncoming traffic.  (that keeps you on your toes)   It is a really wonderful, feel good trail to hit during the winter for long zone 2 rides.  


I checked out the signage, as I wasn't  sure when hunting season ended, if ever, but......

 

thanks to Sorella Cycling, I got the orange thing COVERED!

The VW wagon hit some serious miles on the way to FATS, so we had to stop to take a photo.

Good times, great ride and the legs felt really great to be back on the bike. 

Snow in January!! (head to Florida!)

We had a really great snow two weekends ago and it stayed on the ground (well, turned more to ice) for the whole week! That is uber cool in the south!

I FINALLY finished up with my LAST surgery (I seriously hope, because this getting sooo old) on the Friday before the snow and couldn't resist sneaking out for a little ride on the ice. Yep, my dad was absolutely right, BIG MISTAKE! Serious pain the next morning. Nope, two pairs of riding shorts doesn't really make a difference. Oh well, what's a little more recovery time, right? (don't tell my dad, though)

I think I saw a total of like 4 cars on the road. It was really quiet and peaceful.

So there was no school for the boys and no work for me for the entire week and we LOVED it! Shey wanted to hit the mountains for a day or two on the following weekend, but I checked the temps in Florida and it was going to be 68 and sunny.....hmmmm, no comparison!

So, what do you do when you have 7 hours of ride time in store and the temps in Ellijay will reach a high of 54? You inch over the ice to the highway and head to FLORIDA!!!! Yeah!!!!

San Felasco on Saturday and Santos on Sunday.

There were armadillos everywhere at San Felasco, but none would pose for a good pic. Oh, my gosh, is there anything better than a snickers bar at the halfway mark of a 3+ hour ride....I think not!

We hit rain on the way back on Monday, so we didn't stop at Arrowhead or Dauset and it was nice to get back home pretty early in the day.

Shey has had sinus issues, so he puts on little show for us now and then.

Samantha, otherwise knows as "satan", likes to sleep up in the vent in the garage.

It is quite a circus act for her to get up and down from there, but she loves it and talks to us while we work in the garage. You can see where the vent is in the top left of this picture. She can also walk through that passageway and get to the basement.......where she sometimes finds herself stuck.

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Christmas 2010

We had another cool and relaxing Christmas this year. We headed out on our traditional Christmas lights drive, with hot cocoa, (and no Wendy's drive through this time) then back to the house for some more time together and gifts.

We found this awesome book just below Boston. We thought it was perfect for Shey....now he is prepared!

We still use the stockings that my mom made for us. (mine is 37 years old and still kickin') Thanks for making them so big, mom....more room for loot!

Everett got a really cool messenger bag and a laptop sleeve....now he just needs to finish saving up for the actual laptop. :>)

Jansen got a punching bag that I am very excited about. (I have always wanted one and can finally use a teenager as an excuse to have one)

Shey and I both got new backpacks to wear when riding. Yea! My larger camelback is super stiff and really much more comfortable when hiking than when riding. Can't wait to try them out.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!