Brad and I have kind of a bad history when it comes to many holidays.  Valentine’s Day, Independence Day and Christmas have all been pretty bad at least once each, in the four years we’ve been together.  This Friday will mark the one-year anniversary of when Brad first became sick after floating the Truckee River and contracting some kind of violent stomach bug (for those who don’t know, he was very ill for about six months – and very healthy now!)  That is aside from the fact that we both got the crap beaten out of us by the river last Independence Day.  I might have had a slight panic attack, which might have made it worse, but that’s besides the point.

We didn’t really think much of it when we decided to do our “celebrating” on the third.  But in hindsight, it worked.  Well, either it worked, or it completely didn’t matter at all.  We did suffer a flat tire, but it didn’t end up ruining our day.  And that was the best.

Brad and I so look forward to, and cherish, the very rare day that we both have off.  It doesn’t happen often, being that he works weekends at the hospital and I work weekdays.  So when I found out I’d have the third off, we were stoked to sleep in, lay around, have a nice breakfast AND GO FOR A NICE LONG BIKE RIDE.  So we rode the trail that goes from downtown Reno all the way to east Sparks.

It was fun and peaceful and just so nice to do what we like to do.  Together.  On the way back, we realized Brad’s front tire was completely flat and we didn’t have a travel pump.  And apparently the pump his tires require is somewhat rare.  After lots of calling, we finally found someone that could bring our pump all the way to us (did I mention, we were in Sparks?)  My little sister’s roommate was our savior and we were back on the road.

There was definitely a moment for each of us where we could have gotten really pissed off and upset.  And it could have completely ruined our day.  But it’s quite amazing how much difference a positive attitude can make.  It’s easy, of course, to remain positive when it’s not your own tire that’s flat.  But it’s contagious.  I was determined to find a solution, and we did.  And all was good.  And we still had a fantastic day.

us out in Sparks. we rode all the way to the Legends from our house, which is south of downtown.

on the way back. it really is a beautiful trail.

getting close to wingfield as the sun was setting - there's river in this shot somewhere.

So I guess what I’m trying to say is that bad shit happens, sometimes when we’re trying to celebrate (which might be our own fault – as human beings – for having high expectation), but what matters is how you deal with it.

So … sorry for the two-week-long (or at least it was two weeks back when I started this post) hiatus.  Seems like it’s taken longer than I thought it would to get out of that funk, I guess.  But I think I’m officially out of it.  At least for now (haha, I’m not stupid enough to think it won’t return).  As I’ve said before, time with family is license to eat like shit, and a weekend in Vegas is no different.  I seriously tried to brainstorm ways to get to go for a bike ride while visiting family for three days, but darn-it they just don’t make those overhead compartments big enough for my bike!  However, running around after a two-year-old niece is pretty good exercise:

see? she won't even stop playing long enough for me to take a picture (yes, that is a pink baseball mit and a purple ball)

So, I didn’t get much activity while in Vegas, but I was pretty quick to get back to riding to work.  Although I haven’t been so good about riding otherwise (neither has the boyfriend).  Wait, that’s not true.  We DID go on one long ride to Michael’s so we could buy paints to decorate our watering can (we’re crafty).  This is what happens when you don’t ride for several weeks:

lots-o-dust

So, to any of my local friends reading this: GET A BIKE!  Then we can ride together and be merry.  Go, right now, to the Reno Bike Project and buy one. (But please, for the love of everything that is holy–or unholy–wear a damn helmet.  And if you need to know why, please check out my friend David LaPlante’s blog post, “An Ode to Helmet Hair and the Vanity of the Fools. Don’t be a dumbass, wear a helmet.” Srsly.

However, I WILL be going for a ride tonight, however, to go see Veer, a bicycling documentary that will benefit the Bike Project.  They are going to have a bike valet. That.  Is.  Awesome.  So, hopefully more frequent, longer distance bike rides in the future.

In other, completely unrelated news, we have an awesome garden coming along in our planter box:

basil to the left, chives, lettuce, more chives and tomatoes on the upper right. yeaaahhh.

And a pretty little watering can to go with:

we're crafty.

and lastly, my niece is awesome.  Just an FYI.

LEGO FINGERS!!!

Challenge for next week: go on the Scheels Tuesday night bike ride.

Went for a quick ride to Ace Hardware last night.  Riding in a dress is interesting.  But feasible.

So, we never ended up going for our Sunday ride.  I know, we suck.  Not sure how but Sunday screamed by so fast even though we barely did anything.  Had Sunday brunch at Voila! with my dad and his new girlfriend.  And you know how much I heart Voila!

my faja and his girlfriend, karen

Oh right, and Brad graduated from UNR on Saturday, which was nice.  It’s graduation, y’know.  REALLY hot day, forever long ceremony.  It was crazy how hot it was this weekend, actually!  Luckily we were in the shade, but it was way too hot for May.  I’m glad it’s back to 83 today   Anyway, he just happened to be like 10th from the last person called.  Out of almost 2,000 people.  We barbecued, drank beer, got a little sunburned in the backyard.  Good times.

So anyway, for some reason, we just did not make it out to ride our bikes.  We did however make it to the hardware store to buy supplies for my new planter box (!!)  We are very excited to start growing stuff   Brad figures we’ll start with some herbs and then plant some onions, garlic, shallots, etc. in the fall.

My dad had my car Monday morning so I was forced to ride to work.  Which is definitely a good thing because I am confident I would not have done so otherwise.  Definitely also contributed to my riding this morning as well.  Today, I VOLUNTARILY went a different way which involved two very large hills.  Okay, not “very large” but pretty big for me.  In the morning.  Before food.  And coffee.  Go me.

Dad and Karen come back from Calif. tonight, so probably no ride, but hopefully we’ll do our “long” ride one day soon.    Brad, if you are reading this, note the sad face!  Kidding!

I tried uploading a blog post from my phone, but it sure did not work.  Ah well.

So, basically, I sucked this week and hardly rode at all.  I rode to work both Monday and Tuesday, but ended up having Brad come get both me and my bike each day.  Riding home after a 13-hour day just wasn’t appealing enough.  I gave up for the week because 1) I was just too busy and 2) I had places that needed to be driven to.  Boo, I was a lame, excuse-making slacker.

But, by Friday, I was itching to ride, so the boyfriend and I took a ride to check out the Reno River Festival.

pre-ride. in the sun. cute expression.

It was alright.  Mostly just a bunch of people.  We ended up going down to the West Street Market for some gyros at Niko’s and shared a yummy beer at the wine bar.  We rode home and thought we’d stay in for the night, but ended up going back out (on our bikes) to have some drinks at Jungle Vino with my BFF Annie and her boyfriend.  Fun times.  Was the first time I’ve really ridden in the dark.  That was interesting.  I need a much better headlight though, if I’m going to keep doing that.

Even though they’re usually short and not nearly frequent enough, I really love going for bike rides with that boy of mine.  I probably never would have gotten the bike if it weren’t for him.

Yesterday started off rough, but ended with a nice ride to Starbucks and then down to pick up dinner from Jimmy John’s.  Yep, I rode all the way to the University and back!  Sierra at dusk was a little scary though.

Goal for next week: ride to work (and back!!) every day.  Or at least four days.  It’s just TOO pretty out to be driving to work!

Hooray!  Brad and I both vowed to not drive at all yesterday, and we rode our bikes everywhere we went!  It was my first day riding to work.  Brad came with me and we make a mini piedibus and he dropped me off at work on his way to school. 

After work, he came to pick me up and we rode to Bicycle Warehouse to pick up the basket I ordered (running to go take a picture):

my adorable wicker basket

We then rode to Sushi Pier 2 for some all you can eat.  We then had to ride home.  Ouchies.

Oh, I almost forgot to gush about our fabulous ride on Tuesday night!  Monday was super nice, but Tuesday was a good, long, hill-ish ride.

We rode down to Wingfield Park and then to Idlewild (which, by the way, is my new favorite park) from there.  We then rode up Hunter Lake to Plumb and home again.  I may have just learned to weeks ago to ride again, but I am feeling really comfortable!

I rode again to work this morning.  This time, by myself.  I think I did pretty well!  Will probably skip tomorrow because it’s supposed to be cold, but I think I could definitely ride to work three or so times a week.  I’m loving it!

I guess that’s all for now.

So, after another surprise boyfriendly visit (I love those, by the way–if you are reading this, boyfriend), I went home to Brad who was already preparing a picnic for us to take on our ride to Wingfield.  It took us a lot longer to prep than we expected, but we still got a decent ride in before dark.  (We also got to take a stroll through our neighbors’ new garden and man am I excited for all the stuff they’re growing!)

So, we finally started on our ride at around 6:30.  Wingfield Park is not even a mile and a half from my house, so that’s not really what scared me, but being on the road with cars on Arlington .. ick.  It ended up being pretty quiet so I did okay.  I think I am almost ready to ride to work soon!

So, we rode to Wingfield and had our little picnic on the grass.

Disclaimer: I was a little camera-happy so prepare yourself for lots of Becca-and-Brad pictures!

Brad, pretending to not notice I'm taking pictures of him.

We had an experimental home-made pasta salad.  We are so cute.  It’s almost disgusting.  Okay, it is.  We are totally that couple I used to hate.  I wanted to lay on the grass some more but Brad wasn’t really enjoying it as much as I was.

me, laying on the grass. brad, not amused.

brad hijacked my phone and caught one of me getting ready to go. good thing i was already smiling

Then we rode around the park a bit.  We were going to sit and have a beer at the Tap House, but it was too crowded, so we decided to just sit down by the river to enjoy our amazingly delicious dessert.

balsamic-honey strawberries with a whipped vanilla bean mascarpone topping. heaven.

No reason for putting this here, I just thought it was super cute.

And that was our evening.  We rode back just as the sun went down (loving that it’s light out til 8 these days!)  Can’t wait to do it again.