The Cycling Grand Mothers of Coeur d'Alene

OH CANADA!

2010-09-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

Our journey begins. I have my new swagger wagon and Sally her new "Monster" truck. Half the fun is getting there.

Our usual picture...I wonder how many of these we have now.

Cathy driving my new swagger wagon!

Judy looking very comfortable.

On the ferry over it was very nice until it started raining and got a little rough. Some got a little sea sick. But when we got there it was great weather and very soon everyone was feeling much better.

Driving to Port Angeles we saw this darling little community and had to stop. It was so cute, the whole village looked like it stepped out of Pete's Dragon or some other Disney Movie.

Ok I don't know why these photos are jumping all over so we will just deal with it as it is. There was a tea house with hats and so we just picked our first pick and shot the photo....as you can see I did not choose well.

We stopped at this casino...not to gamble but to take some pictures with the totem poles....Doug always says we are a photo taking group with a cycling problem. The doormen were wondering what we were doing just jumping out taking pictures and then speeding off again.....the poles were probably made in china.

Our first dinner....the food was just ok. I got bugged because I saw an American flag just shoved in a bunched up ball in cupboard so I made Cathy get up with me and we rolled it on the pole and stood it up in the corner with some dignity. The waitresses just glared at us as we did it. This was in Port Angeles, good old USA,

I think she was tired.

Ok I have to just write what I can because these are jumping so much it is confusing me and it is getting late and I have to get this done. A big shout out to the wonderful people at the Proud Mary. The food was amazing and they treated us like royalty. Judy asked them to sing their national anthem for us so the owner and two waitresses sang for us. We stood in honor of their anthem and then they asked us to sing ours. Well after the flag incident in Port Angeles I was so proud of the CGs! We did a rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner that just blew them away. They were so impressed with our patriotic rendition and they were so sweet about our country. I found it a bit sad that the Canadians seemed to have more respect and honor for our country than our own folks back in Port Angeles. Ladies you sure can belt out a song when you want to.

Some sweet lady sitting so prim and proper in her yellow hat, I just had to take her picture. I just know she has to be British and she reminded me of my mum!

Our hostess at the Bed and Breakfast where we stayed. It was lovely and we thank her for a grand time. Thank you for sharing your lovely home with us and putting up with late night card games.

I have to give a shout out to our very own Captain Jack. A fine sailor he is and I hope we did not make him too crazy. Sometimes trying to get us to go where we need to go is like herding cats. He did keep a smile on his face and helped us out. Thank you sir!

We had our big adventure this month. We went back to Victoria Canada..oh my what a wonderful time. The Canadians are wonderful, the city is very bike friendly (even to the crazy yanks that don't always follow the road rules!). The food was amazing and even the ferry rides were a blast thanks to Captain Jack. The Proud Mary Restaurant was the best. They were so wonderful they sang us their national anthem and let us sing ours to them. I think the whole place heard us. It brought a tear to my eye! I was thrilled Maren got to join us and we were all present, well except for Karol, maybe next year. So here are my photos and I am sure my cycling sisters took some better ones....we shall see!! Well that is all for now. I need to get a new camera and soon my birthday will be here and I think that is what I am getting. More news later, love to read your comments please

Swimsuit models

2010-07-13T23:35:00.000-07:00

I have lots of photos from our adventures and I try to be nice and only put pictures that are kind....well unless it really is a very "special shot". I guess I was thinking about a few wonderful, beautiful women I heard talking about how they just won't put on a bathing suit because they don't think they look good enough. I thought wow, they are missing out on a whole lot of fun because of a silly suit. So here we are, all wonderful, beautiful, and having a blast. We sure laughed and enjoyed the sunshine and you know what? I don't think one person cared the least what we were wearing or how we looked in it. Imagine that.

2010-05-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

Downtown Coeur d'Alene Idaho

What a beautiful place to live!

Our first outing of the year was a hike on Tubbs Hill. I was the only one that made it out so I thought, what the heck, I have lived here for almost 12 years and have never been on this sweet little trail that is right downtown! I had so much fun that I took the grandkids out three days later.

Our next adventure was a hike on Kay's wonderful tree farm. They have hundreds of acres that have been in the family for over 100 years. We are sure grateful for families like that. Otherwise this area would look like the burbs of Seattle........lets keep our forests and land.....that is why this is such a great place! It was a wonderful hike. Now hopefully the weather will warm up enough for us to get on our bikes........to be continued as soon as I get the rest of the photos!

2010-02-12T14:42:00.000-08:00

We live in a glorious place.

The beauty overwhelms me sometimes. I know this is a gift from Heavenly Father.

Our cabin this year was up by Silverwood. It was closer to home and it was very nice.

Food is an important part of our club. In fact this year we have to get our cook book going. All these wonderful dishes will be in the book!

BIGGER BUNS!

Calendar girl

STOKE THAT FIRE BABY!

AND NOW FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT PEGGY FLEMING WILL DO A TRIPLE AXEL!!!THIS IS OUR FRIEND CUJO

HE GROWLED EVERY TIME WE WENT OUT UNTIL WE STARTED FEEDING HIM. THEN THE OWNERS TOLD US HE WAS ON A DIET. NO WONDER HE WAS GRUMPY!

THIS WAS ANOTHER FINE ADVENTURE FOR OUR LITTLE CLUB.
KEEP PEDALING AND DON'T FORGET TO SHIFT GEARS.
MAY YOUR HILLS ALWAYS BE DOWN.

Hope you had a very Merry Christmas and this New Year is a Grand One!

2010-02-12T12:40:00.000-08:00

We wish for all our friends and family a very happy and prosperous New Year! We look forward to another year of many laughs and fun exciting times! Please if you view this, leave a comment so I can get some feedback that this is even being looked at. I love to see anything so I know you are out there!!!!

Found my camera!!! Wait till you hear where it was....

2009-12-06T21:16:00.000-08:00

Things have been pretty surreal! My life has been pretty crazy lately!! I lost my camera on the camping trip and searched everything several times. I had given up and figured it was dropped or lifted by a passer-by when I decided to just ask Heavenly Father if it was gone just to let me know cause it was driving me crazy looking for it. So the next day I picked up my scripture bag and took out my scriptures and there it was in the bottom. I know I looked in there and had read my scriptures too. Well I am glad to have it back and to have the photos. (Prayer works!) Although the photos are very mixed up right now and no order. I want to thank the ladies for all the great times so far this year, we will be winding up our year this week. Thanks to my very dearest friend Maren Hansen for joining us on our camping adventure and I hope she can come up from southern California again next summer and join the madness. Our feet. Don't ask me why but we have years of feet pictures. I need to buy some really fun shoes now. Cathy is always on the ball. We can count on her to get things really rolling. You know, some people tell me I dress weird but I think Teresa has me beat for sure. This is how we roll! Lunch on the road. Here are some real rock stars. Twenty five miles in to Spokane! Spokane Falls. A great ride. We are so creative with our pictures. (I will show you how it's done..wink wink) The artsy shadow was just of the bike so Sally added the rider. Of course I was only supposed to get the shadow rider in. She has a cute butt anyway so it does not matter. Oops i forgot to flip it.

A real flower child! We could put this on a calendar. I am almost surprised we don't have real china. The food was that good. Sally slept the first night outside under the stars, until it started getting windy and some lightening. Judy slept in the trailer the next night. The stars were amazing. Yep, they will do anything for a picture. Or are they practicing for Survivor? Our camp was top of the line, we spared no expense. More food, oh yeah. We sure can cook We do ride in some awful pretty country. We sure are lucky. Ahh the Taj Mahal....Our tent. Well we were a little crowded and a little whiny. I think overall though it was pretty good. Thank heavens there was no rain. Tree huggers or muggers. For some reason we look like more people than we are..........I wonder if people that see us do this stuff think we are weird or maybe Japanese. They love to pose too. There is no greater joy than relaxing around a campfire. We sure had some good food! What a beautiful day! What a great camping trip. What a beautiful place. We have to revisit that place for sure. Our ride to Higgens Point ended with breakfast (THANK YOU SALLY). The waffles with pecans, caramel, and whipped cream probably deleted any good the ride did though! It was worth it though. It is amazing how good a sack lunch tastes out in the woods after hiking. Is that tupperware in her hand? Cathy always has good food. I like sitting next to her cause she shares the goodness. Three little monkeys sitting on a tree! Teasing, teasing , you can't catch me, along comes Mr. Crocadile........ No, but these ladies will do just about anything you ask them for a great picture. I bring my grandkids here and the five year olds scurry up this fallen tree's roots and hoot and holler when they get up there. Well I thought I would give it a try.......I am getting old!!! It was harder than they made it look. One of my favorite books as a child was "My side of the Mountain" where the little boy runs away and lives in a hollow tree. I guess he was much smaller. Not much room in there. Look at us glowing. Ahh the Cedar Forest. It is like going back into prehistoric times. I kept waiting for a dinosaur to jump out. Yes, a snake in the grass. I did not see it cause I would have caught it. Cathy assures me it was not poisonous. The beginning of my 55th birthday century. Unfortunately we had to stop at 30 miles to take my husband to the hospital after he crashed into a pole in the middle of the trail. He is fine and I am sure I could have made it on my smokin new bike he bought me for my birthday. A Carpe Diem Orbea, oh yeah, can't wait for spring!!!

Summer of '09

2009-09-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

Time has flown again!!!! I am posting a few things from our great summer but much more and better photos are coming. I lost my camera on the last trip so I will be begging, borrowing, and stealing all the shots I can. These seem pretty boring to what is coming up. So don't give up on me I will be posting a lot sooner soon!!!

We did the Sagle to Dover ride and found this cute little waterfalls. We all had cameras set on auto shoot and had to run over big rocks and try to keep from falling in the water to get this shot. Ok so these may not be in order. Our pre trip regular pose.....we need to come up with some new ones for sure. This shadow is awesome but I wish I had got the shot of Sally squatting to get on the shadow bike, now that was funny. This is where we stayed in Leavenworth Washington. A very cute bed and breakfast. We had a great big room where we all slept.....or did we play cards most the night....hmmmm. Well the Anderson's were very nice and their place is right downtown in beautiful Leavenworth. I felt like I was back in Germany at Garmisch. I think it is so funny how we get people to take our picture. Where ever we go we find someone and then we chat with them and tell them who we are and then Judy does her awesome missionary work. Ok, I thought I could trust these ladies but they LIED to me!!!! Well maybe it was not a lie, just a lack of sharing some information. I am terrified of deep, cold water. We decided to go white water rafting. Someone who I won't mention by name but her initials are cw made reservations and because everything was filled she put us in a level 3 trip. She did not happen to mention that fact until after we were DONE!!!! I was really scared but now looking back it was fun and I might even do it again some day. Sally got tossed overboard and Linda about jumped in after her. It was very wild but Captain John seemed to have things in control. Sorry no action shots. I was too scared and worried about losing my cookies and everyone else thought they could lose their cameras. Another flat fixed. You go girls. Ah, Hand and Foot. We sure love our cards. Thanks Sally for the fun. Eating again!!! A cute way to show her collection of aprons. This was the breakfast room. Linda and Salmon For whom the bell tolls......... Just one of our little tours on our ride. Now I know where Salmon come from. These do look like the Swiss Alps. Is that a Texas longhorn? Did we take a wrong turn?

Not a taste of India, thank heavens!

2009-04-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

When I volunteered to have the April meeting at my house I had visions of serving Indian food and great gifts from my adventure to Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur........well it did not work out. I was still feeling the food poisoning and that put a crimp in my shopping. We did eat Italian sausage cresant rolls and Pearadise dessert. The gift bags were light but everyone looked great in their bindis and bangles. It was again a wonderful night with wonderful friends. Now if only we could get the temperature above freezing long enough to get some rides in. Maybe we should become a card club. Anyone for some hand and foot?

Starting a new year 2009

2009-03-30T10:08:00.000-07:00

I love our annual planning meeting. This little cabin is one of my favorite places. We have had such wonderful times here. Bingo with "valuable prizes" and great snacks. No diets here. Our little walk was very refreshing. We are so blessed to live by this wonderful lake and the bike paths are really awesome. Growing old is inevitable but growing up is optional. Ah candlelight dinner. We even were a crafty bunch this year. The highlight of the night was hand and foot. We are addicted to Sally's wonderful card games. Breakfast of champions!!!!! Till next year. Hey we didn't do our foot shot!!! Our movie date at Sally's. We watched Calendar Girls and had a wonderful tea party. The scones and tea and yes, cards was great fun.

What a great bunch of gals. We sure have fun.

Can't wait for the warm weather and sunshine to return so we can get out and ride!!!!!!

We are the Carolers that don't do anything!

2008-12-30T00:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year to Everyone from

The Cycling Grandmothers of Coeur d'Alene!

We had our December gathering at the Davenport Hotel in Spokane this year.

We decided to wear hats and somehow it grew into dressing in "Dickens style"

Cathy even found a theme for her gifts and "dressed" them too.

We all went over the top with our outfits.

The funniest thing though was everyone kept asking us if we were going to sing.

We even considered giving it a try but none of us knew all the words to any song.

We thought maybe we could just call ourselves the La La's since that is how we filled in the lyrics we didn't know.

Then I remembered in the Veggie Tales there are these Pirates that sing a song about being the Pirates that don't do anything.

So here we are the Carolers that don't do anything!

Well, we don't sing but we do have a grand time

and we have style too.

We missed having Sally and Capri with us on this adventure and of course Carol is still missed too!

Our thanks to Goodwill and to all our supporters.

Catching up after a two months of travel and humdrums!

2008-10-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Do these handsome fellas look like sag-wagon drivers? Thanks guys for all your help and support. How many CG's does it take to load a bike rack? At least three and five with cameras! The wheels on the bike go round and round, round and round. I don't know, it just seemed like a fun idea. Here we go again! Laughter IS the best medicine! What a beautiful bunch of gals! Skipping stones should be an Olympic event! Sometimes the drive to the ride is as much fun as the ride itself. Man we live in a paradise! Who's behind? I have no idea who these people are or why they are on our blog! Here we are on our bikes. Yes we really do have bikes and we actually ride them!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Trick or Treat! Our annual Halloween Party was really fun. The food was wonderful and the game was fun. Good times as always with this group.

The Fairy "Grandmother" and her pumpkin! At midnight he turns back into a prince.

The cleaning lady and her old Putz!

Hmmmm, I'm not sure she can vote!

A bleeding heart Liberal. Ohh now that is scary!

The Wicked Witch of the Northwest and I can't see that guy cause of the forest!

Calamity Jane and Don Ho!

Huggy Bear and his "Lady".

A couple of sleepwalkers.

The Pirate and the Gumball Machine!

I think we are getting braver with our creativity!

Here are some more handsome fellas. My they are supportive husbands to go along with our madness. Too bad Doug couldn't be here, but he was in spirit, he wore tights last year so he gets a year off.

RIDE A CENTURY

(ONE OFF THE OLD BUCKET LIST)

Preparing for my upcoming "Century" ride my moral support is right by my side giving me encouragement. Thanks guys, I really appreciate the help! Here we are at 25 miles and still smiling. I think 50 is happening for sure. What a perfect fall day to ride! We did it! 50 Miles. Now to get up to 100! We don't look too tired I think another 50 is doable.

HOP ON GRANNY!

2008-08-18T08:24:00.000-07:00

From there to here, and here to there,

we ride our bikes most everywhere

We're Grannies of a special kind,

some may think we've lost our mind

But that's not true, Oh no, not true!

We just like to do things new.

So come and see,

oh come and see

what we did,

with our friend Capri! Up and down we jumped and played.

Into the night we really stayed.

You'll never say that we are bores,

we even made some nice s'mores!

Our planning meetings have become

another time to have some FUN! We love to laugh, and make a joke

but mean words really make us choke

We are nice and kind and sweet

and we do good to all we meet So you see we are good friends,

and our fun times,

will never end!

Yes, we did it!

2008-07-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

When you put your mind to doing something worthwhile it always seems to happen. Cathy losing her bike was especially disturbing to me. I remember when she got her bike and she was very excited and the bike was one she loved to ride. Now I know how attached you get to your bike, I have had mine for 17 years and my husband keeps telling me to get a new one but I just cannot bring myself to part with my "old friend". Cathy is always doing wonderful things for everybody, she is one of the most giving, charitable, and caring people I know. I'm thrilled she is able to replace her lost bike. I pray that the bike was really lost and not taken, because I feel sorry for the person who has to someday explain to a higher authority why he/she took Mrs. Clause's bike! Thank you to all the generous people who helped with the sale by donating and buying .... we sure are blessed.

THE IRON HORSE TRAIL IN WASHINGTON

2008-07-20T21:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to get these pictures up. Well as you can see above, early into the ride I was riding along enjoying the view and hit a big rock which turned my bike to the edge of the cliff and my foot got caught in the toe clip and over I went right into a raspberry bush. Now most would think oooh too bad, but no, it was oooh lucky thing, because before and after were rocky steep drop offs that would have really been a problem. So, I was a little dazed and confused the rest of the trip. In fact I do not remember most of the rest of the day. Good thing my good buddies were there to get me through the rest of the trail. It was really a great trail.

We love these Rails to Trails because the grade is always 2% and that is a good thing. Although it may be a little boring for our three "mountain goats" who on day two had to take a little detour for some little hills, not big enough to mention to the others. I'm rather thankful for my head injury, cause I rode up in the car and was getting winded even then!

Capri has double earned her CG's patch.....Capri remind me to give this to you!!!!

Take a good look at the bike Cathy is on cause it went MIA. We don't know if it fell off on the way home or if it was helped off, but when we got home it was no where to be seen. The Highway Patrol and Police have no clue either. Good News, we were able to make enough at our garage sale to replace it! We have GOOD JUNK and cookies!

See Judy's glowing heart? That is why she will always be President! It's true, no one else glows like that.

The Ensign Ranch was awesome. Sorry we forgot to pay. The check is in the mail......really it is :)

One thing we always do when we are on our rides is to make friends with everyone. That waiter was very friendly. He loved his job! I think he upsold us all!

I want to give a very big thank you to the drivers Carrie and Nancy. Sorry I did not get photos up but the only photo I got was of Nancy and it won't upload and Carrie must have been camera shy cause I don't have any. So ladies if you have some please share!!!! These ladies made this trip even better.

June's Spring Garden Party

2008-06-11T04:48:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely time at Kay's house this month. Wow the table was beautiful and the food was amazing, especially our virgin mint juleps! The hats really set the tone. Too bad it rained or we would have been out on the veranda sipping our mint juleps like real southern belles. Thank you Kay for the lovely fans and thank you to your lovely daughter for the cute shopping bags from Korea. How sweet of you and her for thinking of us. I hope the rain stops long enough for us to get a ride in this month. Iron Horse Trail here we come! Thanks to Neil for his willingness to act as paparazzi for us. We LOVE our photos!

First Ride!

2008-05-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

Our first ride together for the season! The weather was perfect and the ride was great. We drove to Lewiston and rode down the trail by the river into Hells Gate Park. Nice easy ride. Capri did great for her first time. Then four speed racers decided to challenge the "HILL" . They all made it up, Doug got a flat on the way. Kudos to those awesome riders, the rest of us took a quiet walk downtown and did a little shopping. Then we went to the top of the hill to greet the hill climbers. Fun was had by all. We are very blessed to have such a cohesive group. I can't wait for the next ride!

"THE TRUTH IS, FRIENDSHIP IS EVERY BIT AS SACRED AND ETERNAL AS MARRIAGE"

-KATHERINE MANSFIELD

I'm so tire'd I need to re-tire!

2008-05-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

May's meeting was at Teresa's house and after dining on the most delicious salad and garlic bread we had our meeting and then Jack and Doug came in to remind us that we had planned on having a lesson on changing our bike tires! We do love to talk! We all learned a lot about changing a tire..... I wish I could get some steel belted radials! It is harder than I thought. Now we have done it , it won't seem so scary to try on the trail. I will still keep praying for air in our tires though. Thank you Teresa and Jack for such a great evening and thanks to my sweetie for being there too. I think I will be sticking kind of close to him in the next two weeks since he is leaving for a while. Judy was missing but her bear was there in her place! Hope your birthday was as awesome as you are Judy and you had a great visit with your sister. Our ride to Lewiston is coming up on the 9th. Pray for sunshine and warmth. Ladies, we have a great year planned and I am looking forward to every minute with you.

Aspire to inspire before you expire!

Ride canceled due to cold, rain, wind and snow in forcast!

2008-04-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it is sad. We had to cancel the ride on Friday because of bad weather. We should have gotten together and had hot chocolate and played games. This is how we all felt about having to delay our first ride for the season. Pray for sunshine and warmth ladies. Keep training we will ride again!

Spring has Sprung and we are ready to RIDE!

2008-04-13T20:16:00.000-07:00

A wonderful time was had at April's meeting. Thank you to Cathy for getting us ready for spring. You always have such great surprises for us! I forgot to take my camera so here is a little spring picture I took last year in my opium fields. No not opium, poppy fields. :) Did I wake you up. We have our first ride this Friday! How exciting. In fact Linda was so excited that she called some and told them it was last Friday! I would have loved to ride if I was not already committed to something. The weather has finally warmed up and we do have a sun after all! So ladies be ready to meet at the spider on Friday. Bring a lunch and a smile and we will see you there!

"I am chi-a-neese if you pl-eese, I am chi-a-neese if you don't please"

2008-03-07T22:34:00.000-08:00

Each of us is a different book. Our stories are varied. There are comedies, love stories, novels and fortunately not much tragedy. Dewey decimal just doesn't cut it with us. We are free spirits. Don't label us or try to put us in categories. Each chapter is looked forward to. However these books won't sit on the shelf! Linda, thank you for such a fun time. I loved the come "Oriental". The food was so good. Dressing up is always fun. Judy wins the prize for the most creative. Teresa we sure did miss you and hope you are feeling better. Great meeting. We decided next year in the cold months to do something together. We need to keep moving all year! No more of this hibernating in the winter. We discussed the rides and all seemed well with our plans. We are still working on getting the cookbook going. Italy in 2009! Lets do it! The books are such a great idea, thank you Kay. I am looking forward to seeing how each of us prepare the other's pages. Just what each of us did for our covers was very interesting. What a fun and varied bunch we are. Ok I have put you all on as publishers and I have no idea why this is all underlined! Hey, this is a learning experience for me.

2008-02-25T11:51:00.000-08:00

Tea Party with the President

2008-02-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update for this month. We met at Judy's for a little tea party. Everyone brought their tea cups and we enjoyed the wonderful tea Judy bought at Trader Joe's in California. Cathy and Karol once again gave us some wonderful valentine treats and we got more photos. THANK YOU! The pastries were to die for and just when I told myself I was going to be in better shape this riding season! We missed Sally who was off globe trotting, lucky girl, and Capri who was stuck in the snow! Karol we missed you too, down there in the south. We went over our year's plans again and there were no real changes to be made from what we planned at the cabin. We are getting good at this planning thing. We have awesome rides planned this year. Some new trails and some old ones to revisit. I think it is fitting since Presidents Day is coming up we say a few words about our very own President. She is so dear to all of us and we would not be such a great group if not for her example, encouragement, and leadership. She is an amazing lady! (and so that is why we are making her stay in as President for life :) We love you Judy! )

Take time this month and kiss your Valentine and try to enjoy the snow. It is beautiful and DEEP!

"Remember, to keep your love full

in the loving cup

whenever you're wrong admit it

and whenever you're right shut-up"

RIDE ON!

THE BIKE RIDE

2008-02-05T16:29:00.000-08:00

THE BIKE RIDE

AUTHOR UNKNOWN

At first I saw God as an observer, like my judge, keeping track of all the things I did wrong. This way, God would know whether I merited heaven or hell when I died.

He was always out there, sort of like the President.

I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn't really know Him at all,

but later on, when I recognized Him better, it seemed as though life was rather like a

bike ride, on a tandem bike, and I noticed He was in the back helping me pedal.

I don't know when it was that He suggested we change places,

but life has not been the same since.....

life with God that is, making life much more exciting.

When I was in control, I knew the way. It was rather boring but predictable.

It was always the shortest distance between two points.

But when he took the lead, He knew delightful new paths; up mountains, and through rocky places and at breakneck speeds; it was all I could do to hang on!

Even though it looked like madness, He kept saying, "Pedal, Pedal!"

I worried and became anxious, asking, "Where are you taking me?"

He just laughed and didn't answer, and I found myself starting to trust.

I soon forgot my boring life and entered into the adventure, and when I'd say

"I'm scared!" He'd lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed; gifts of healing, acceptance and joy.

They gave me their gifts to take on my journey.

Our journey, that is, God's and mine.

And we were off again!

He said, "Give the gifts away, they are extra baggage, too much weight."

So I did, to the people we met,

and I found in giving, I received, and still our burden was light.

I did not trust Him at first, in control of my life.

I thought he'd wreck it.

But He knew bike secrets,

knew how to make it bend to take sharp corners,

jump to clear places filled with rocks,

fly to shorten scary passages.

And I'm learning to shut up and pedal in the strangest places,

and I'm beginning to enjoy the view and the cool breeze on my face

with my delightful constant companion, God.

And when I'm sure I can't go on anymore,

He just smiles and says,

"Pedal, I'm here too."

2008-01-31T09:16:00.000-08:00

Due to inclement weather all rides have been cancelled until the Big Thaw. OK! UNCLE! We have enough snow! Maybe we could be the Sledding Grandmothers of Coeur d'Alene. See you in the spring!

Annual Planning Meeting at the Cabin

2008-01-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

Our annual planning meeting was very productive, as always. We have a year of great rides planned and we will be starting on our official cookbook too. So here are some photos of the taste-tested food that we will be including in our book. The first one at left is the

CRUNCHIE MUNCHIES by Judy

6 Cups of three different cereal, Wheat,Corn, Rice Chex

1 lb peanuts, pecans, cashews or any other nut

1 1/2 cup butter ( the real deal, mother nature's best)

1 1/2 cup karo syrup (light)

2 cups of sugar

Mix butter, Karo syrup and sugar together in a heavy pan and stir until it comes to a boil for about 4 minutes. Put cereal and nuts in two large bowls and pour syrup over mixture. Mix well until cereal is coated. Spread out on wax paper to cool.

THE LADIES PERFECT SCRAMBLED EGGS by Judy

8 eggs

3 Tablespoons sour cream

1 Tablespoon water

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 Tablespoons butter

3/4 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup ham chunks

In a medium bowl beat eggs, sour cream, water and salt and pepper until fluffy.

Using a nonstick pan melt butter and cook eggs over low heat, stirring occasionally, until just set. (don't over cook)

Stir in cheese and ham cook until you reach desired consistency. The best is when the eggs are still soft and light.

GERMAN PANCAKES by Marilyn

3 cups whole milk

6 eggs

3 cups white flour

2 teaspoons salt

Mix eggs and milk on high until light and frothy. My mom always said "Beat the heck out of them"

Add flour and salt gradually while mixing on high.

Take about a tablespoon of Crisco and melt in hot pan.

Take about 3/4 cup of batter and pour in hot pan and roll pan to spread batter into a pan sized pancake. These will be thinner than traditional pancakes but heavier than crepes.

Serve with fresh lemon squeezed on and powdered or white sugar. Roll and then enjoy.

Annual Planning Meeting at the Cabin

2008-01-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

2008-01-28T16:49:00.000-08:00

This is the start of a new year.

We have been together for two years and we are looking forward to another year of laughter and adventure. We end each year with a Christmas luncheon. Thank you to the generous person who picked up the tab at the end. A mystery person we all love. We missed dear Karol who will always be a CG no matter how far away she goes. We welcome our newest CG, Capri.

Some Ladies Love their Saddlebags

2008-01-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

We are

the

Cycling Grandmothers

Coeur d'Alene Idaho

We believe that life is like a bike ride.

As we make our journey we shift our gears to get us over the hills and keep going.

Some of us need few gears and others many, but one thing is sure, we are all on the same ride and wear the same jersey.

We don't all pedal at the same speed.

Our tires get flat.

Our chains slip.

Sometimes the wind is in our face and we can get winded.

So we adjust our speed, shift our gears, and slow down to help each other and we enjoy the ride.

We are the Cycling Grandmothers of Coeur d'Alene

and the trails would seem much more difficult and the ride much longer if we were out there riding alone.

So here is some "sage" advice, a "sprinkling" of wisdom, and some goodies from the "sag wagon" of our lives to share and enjoy.

We are in low gear, on the downhill, our ride has been long but we have gone the distance ane we continue to laugh and pedal on!

Remember it is the Human Race and there are yellow jerseys for everyone on the ride!

Keep Pedaling

and

SMILE!

with love

THE CG'S

Judy

Kay

Cathy

Teresa

Marilyn

Linda

Sally

Karol

and

Capri