Across the River

Many Oak Cliff residents speak of the rest of Dallas as being "across the river," referring to the somewhat underwhelming Trinity River that separates downtown and North Dallas from Oak Cliff. Arik and I made our first bike-powered foray across the river this afternoon. We enjoyed surprisingly light traffic- went across the bridge, through Victory Park, past my new office (won't be in it till November!), hopped on the Katy Trail, meandered through the M streets, then Lakewood, rolled by my elementary school, which I hadn't seen since 6th grade, then slowly rode next to White Rock (tons of people out for Memorial Day) and finally to my casa. It was a pretty awesome feeling to make it so far under our own power, and we shared a celebratory fist bump as we pulled into the driveway. We'd planned on surprising my parents, but alas they weren't home! So we killed some time by biking around the lake. They were home when we got back and rewarded us with a tasty dinner. We had to get movin' pretty quickly to beat the sun, so we bid farewell to them and headed back to OC. Our timing was pretty perfect- the sun started to set just as we crossed the bridge, and we made it home with daylight to spare. Walked the pups in the dwindling light, then kicked back on the couch. In all, we rode 36.6 miles- not too shabby!

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike

Ride of Silence

Today Arik and I did the Ride of Silence around White Rock Lake, a ride in memory of bicyclists killed on the road and in support of increasing awareness of bikers. My mom fashioned us some makeshift black armbands out of an old belt, and those who'd survived wrecks with cars wore red armbands- we saw a few of those. We were a bit late getting started so we had to get a lil speedy to catch up to the group. We caught up about 15 minutes in and it was really something else- as the name suggests, there was absolutely no talking. Curious onlookers lined the road, unsure of what to make of the hundreds of bikers rolling by slowly in silence. The scene was somber and serene- the lake was calm, the sun was going down, and all was quiet but for a smattering of quacks from the ducks. We often had to slow down almost to a complete stop to negotiate some barriers, so it took about an hour and twenty minutes to make it around the lake, but it was nice to enjoy a slow reflective ride. There were quite a few colorful characters: we saw one guy who wore a belt that held 4 what looked like beer cans, and another guy with a bike wheel tatooed on each calf. At the end, we all lined a parking lot on the lake, bagpipes played, and white bikes in memorium of killed cyclists were rolled around. Then we headed up the street to my parents' house, empowered by the numbers we'd just witnessed, but a little more aware of how dangerous sharing (or not sharing, as is often the case in Dallas) the road with cars can be.

Biking along the lake- Dallas skyline on the right

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike

Cedar Hill State Park

After spending yesterday morning and much of the afternoon watching the rain and crossing our fingers, we took advantage of a lull and headed off for Cedar Hill State Park yesterday afternoon. The roads were still wet, the skies were still kinda foreboding, but we were happy to get moving! Jeff, Kate, Arik and I left Oak Cliff about 4 and made it to CHSP around 6. We enjoyed mostly low traffic roads and made it through some tough hills. We found a nice campsite, got set up, and had a tasty dinner. The boys went to the marina and bought some firewood (there wasn't any dry wood around) and we got a nice fire going. We turned in pretty early and were awakened this morning by the melodious sounds of...... 20 screeching crows. doh! We ate some oatmeal in the cool morning air (crazy that 60 degrees now feels cool to me- I guess I've adjusted to Texas weather already!) and started heading home. It was sunny and 70 degrees- perfect riding weather! The hills didn't feel quite as bad on the way back, but we did have to survive a high speed chase by a Jack Russell Terrier- that little dude was vicious and he'd clearly chosen my bike as the one to attack! We rolled back into Oak Cliff close to 11. We headed straight to our favorite eatery- Spiral Diner- and enjoyed their Sunday brunch. I foolishly scoffed down about 10 pancakes, and after 2 hours of riding my belly wasn't too pleased! Thankfully we were close to home. We bid farewell to Jeff and Kate and rolled back to the casa. A hot shower and some slobbery kisses from our bulldog later, and we're now well rested. Our gear worked great, we enjoyed a pretty ride, and got to hang out with good friends- overall a great weekend mini trip! Here are some pix:

Leavin' OC

About 1/3 of the way there

On the road

Arik guarding the bikes at Walgreens


Some nice motivation on the way up a big hill

How we entertained ourselves

Our campsite

The crew on the way home

That's all for now!

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike

Done!

Mia graduated from law school last Saturday, and after 20 hours in the bug, Arik and Mia have returned to D-town.


We've met our new bulldog, seen long missed friends and family, and are ready for our first mini bike adventure!


Tomorrow afternoon we're biking with our buds Jeff and Kate to Cedar Hill State Park (about 15 miles away), camping there for the night, and heading back Sunday morning. It'll be our first chance to test out all our new gear and the longest trip we've been on since we got our new bikes. We'll let ya know how it goes and will hopefully have some pix to share!

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike

Apologies

A quick "our bad" for not being better bloggers- Mia's LAST EVER law school exam is this coming Tuesday and her LAST EVER law school paper is due the following week (she's not excited about this or anything) so we've been blog bums.

We promise the posts will pick up once we get back to D-town after all the graduation craziness!

In the meantime, please let us know if there's anyone you'd like us to ride in honor or memory of and of course feel free to mosey on over to the livestrong site!

Thanks again for all the love and support!

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike

40 Days to D-town

We've been pluggin' along with our cold weather workout regimen, but I'm starting to get stir crazy with the stationary biking and can't wait to get back to Dallas. It snowed here last night, so my hopes that Spring might finally be settling in were dashed. Fortunately we don't have long to go- I (Mia) graduate on May 9, a mere 40 days away! Then it's finally back to hot sunny Dallas for good for the first time in 3 years. We'll both return with a new appreciation for our hometown. Arik's been rockin' the Hyperfit workouts- he goes 5 days a week and does 2 classes in a row twice a week. The other 3 days, he comes home from class and bikes for an hour. He's a trooper!

Furry Arik on the Rowing Machine

Arik Post-Haircut & the Hyperfit Crew (on the right in yellow)

Last week I figured it was time we learned some camping basics. We considered getting "Camping for Dummies" on Amazon, but decided to raid the info on the internetz first. We found quite a treasure trove of tips, including:

- How to Dig a Cat Hole (or, where to stick your poop when there aren't any toilets around- vital info to be sure!)

-How to Survive a Bear Attack: I know it's an irrational fear, but the idea of being prodded awake by a furry bear paw has been one of my recurring nightmares about the trip. Fortunately, knowledge is power! Amongst the helpful hints I learned:

• Never run or scream. Grizzly bears can run 30-35 mph. (whoa!)
• Talk softly to a non-aggressive bear, but give an aggressive bear some sass! (yell, throw stuff etc.)
• Use bear spray but only as a last resort

Armed with Knowledge (and a can of bear spray), We Will Survive Your Ferocious Attacks!

- What to eat. Though most of the recommendations are for standard no spoil camp fare (GORP, peanut butter, etc.), we also discovered freeze dried meals! Just add boiling water to the bag, let it sit, and enjoy a gourmet (or at least more gourmet than GORP) meal! We'll probably bring a few along for a special treat.

That's all we have for now- let us know what we're missing!

We've also been gearing up via big online sales. We got the bike shorts I'll wear on the trip for 50% off (they're only 40% off now- muahaha!). We also got Arik's bike shoes for 25% off, and a long sleeved shirt for me for 20% off. Yippee! Alas we paid full price for our tent, but it should be worth it. I should note that even on sale, this stuff is all pretty pricey. We hope this tour will mark the beginning of a lifetime of outdoor adventures, so we're buying gear that'll stick around for a while.

As always, thanks to everyone who's offered support, encouragement, and donations!

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike

Tax-Deductible Advertising + Warm, Squishy Feeling = (hopefully) Donations!

Arik and I have pretty much exhausted our networks as far as fundraising goes. We are so thankful to our friends and family who have donated and sent us notes of support. Now we're branchin' out! We're trading ad space on our bikes (in the form of stickers) for donations to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Please help spread the word! Local business owners, your employer, even the kid who mows your lawn, all may be potential donors!

Be well,

Arik and Mia

http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2009/ariknmiabike