A Few More Photos from the Weekend

LAUREN: It's hard to believe that the ride occurred one week ago today. It seems like ages ago now, but the experience was unforgettable and incredibly fun. Kudos to the Challenge staff for another great event.

Here are more pictures from a fun-filled weekend.

Angie Kelly and her buddy, Bruskie.

Our Prom Pose - (left to right) Melissa, Jen, Angie, Jerry and me.

All the way from Denver, Colorado - Patricia and Michael Birdsong and me.

Erica Brown working hard at the LAF Booth at the LIVESTRONG Village

Jen telling people about Prop 15 at the LAF Booth

Volunteer (and LIVESTRONG Day 2007 Delegate) Rebecca Esparza

Sue, Jen and I having some fun in the LAF Booth

Lining Up for the Start of the Ride

Steve and Ralph - our great riding partners

Preparing to Start

Low Water Crossing - We had to get off our bikes and walk across it.

Jen Riding Into the Rest Stop

Connecting with Old Friends at a Rest Stop

(left to right) Rob and Spencer Sartin, Bill Eby, me and Jen

What a view! This was at a rest stop.

Those are real longhorns. We rode past them and I stopped to take a quick photo.

Don't you love Texas?

My husband, Richard, was waiting for me at the finish line.

It was our two-year anniversary that day.



Jen and Matt, her husband. He was waiting for her at the finish line too.

Yellow Roses

JENNIFER: When our friend Michael sent us these photos from last weekend's LIVESTRONG Challenge, I couldn't keep them between just Lauren and me. It's more fun to share!

LIVESTRONG means...

JENNIFER: ...pushing through the pain and not giving up!

LIVESTRONG also means supporting each other and seeing challenges through, together.

That's what Lauren and I did today at the LIVESTRONG Challenge. We ended up doing the 40-mile ride (it was really more like 45). It was very hilly and much more difficult than last year. It was a beautiful day and we had a wonderful ride.

Thanks to Steve and Ralph for riding with us and making it such a fun day.

I'll write more later (I'm tired!) but I wanted to post a few photos.

Here we are on Ride morning - pretty morning sky!

Our friends cheering at the start line

Lauren, Ralph, Steve and Jennifer - a great team!

Are we crazy? Yes, but it's for a GREAT cause!

LAUREN: Okay folks, time flew by and the LIVESTRONG Challenge Austin is just a few days away. Are we in tip-top shape for this event? Well, not really; but it could be worse. We weren't able to train as well as we did last year, but there is nothing we can do about it now. Our strategy is to stay hydrated, pace ourselves and to have fun with our riding mates. So far, it looks like we will have two members from last year's original riding crew - Uncle Steve and Ralph. My buddy, Loubel, from Pink Ribbons Project may also join us. We tend to pick up folks along the way and that's okay by us. We enjoy the conversation and will welcome the distraction from our hurting legs any time. If you can't tell, I am really excited about this ride. So many friends will be in from out of town - including Jerry and Angie, Michael and Patricia, and Erica B. - and I can't wait to see everyone. It's going to be great!


In between the "few" training rides we had, here are a few pictures to show you what we have been doing.

UT Women's Football Clinic - That's Melanie, Mack Brown and me!




Watching the Killers at ACL Fest: That's me and Jen with our super supporters - Gwen, Melissa and Devon!




That's me and Jen watching Blue October AFTER we rode 30 miles that day!

Traveling for work: This photo is from National Manufacturing Week near Chicago. Pretty, isn't it?

UT Football Game vs. Rice: We won that one. Hook'em!

Watching my pal, Lisa, complete a Half-Ironman. That's me, Lisa, Jeff (her husband) and a real longhorn!

P.S. I just signed up to do the MS 150 (the ride from Houston to Austin) as part of the National Instruments Cycling Team. Fun times!

I think I've been in denial...

JENNIFER: It's not like I can really ignore the fact that the LIVESTRONG Challenge is almost here. I mean, I do work at the LAF.

The Challenge team sits right next to Marketing, and I've seen them working their tails off to plan the Challenge events in Philly and Portland. We get updates in monthly staff meetings and I get all the emails from the Challenge team with fundraising updates and other important information.

So the fact that the LIVESTRONG Challenge Austin will be here in 10 days is not a surprise. But am I ready for it? Welllllll...

To our credit, Lauren and I have been riding together. Two weekends ago we rode for almost two hours, the weekend before we rode for three hours, the weekend before that we rode for two...but still, we both know we're not in as good of shape for this ride as we were for last year's ride.

I'm not prepared. The more I think about it, the more nervous I get. What have I gotten myself into?