Tour de Cashiers

Look, I stocked up on batting....

12 yards of Pellon Nature's Touch Cotton batting. I'm switching things up from my usual Warm & White. The 1995 cotton batting on my old WIP that I just finished was so thick and fluffy that I decided to check some other brands for a beefier loft than the Warm and White. The Pellon seems to be an improvement so I bought 12 yards at Joann's with a 50% off coupon. I have one of my VA donation quilts on the frame now. The pellon seems to have less stretch so I am already impressed. We'll have to see how it feels after a wash and dry.

It's not very exciting but that's all the fabric fix you get, it's bikes from here on out.

Except for this:

I was featured on My Quilt Infatuation's Needle and Thread Thursday! Thanks a bunch

Last weekend the Hubs and I rode to Athens, GA with one of his riding buddies (Dave) and his wife (Libby) to take in some of the Athens Twilight Criterion. We had some locals participating in the racing so that added to the excitement. I believe #122 above is one of our guys. He qualified along with another Augusta rider for a first row call-out on the main event! He was Four and the other was Two. Not bad for two local amateurs in a field that included a two-time Olympian and a large number of pros.

If you can make out the guy in the pink helmet, fourth from the left, he's our other front row guy.

They didn't win but one did hang onto the peleton for a majority of the race. Crits are crazy scary.

On the way over to Athens we stopped at an antique shop in one of the no-light towns that dot the southern back roads so Libby could purchase a vintage lamp she spied on Craig's List.

This is the style of the lamp but not the exact one she bought. I snagged this photo off the Internet. It was beautiful and I may be just a bit jealous.

I had met Libby one time about 20 years ago and it was nice to reconnect. Who knew Hub's best riding buddy's wife was transitioning to modern furniture! Her process is just getting started whereas I've been at it for years. She grew up traditional and I grew up modern so she is starting from scratch unlike my journey back to my roots. 

Now for what I have been up to this weekend.

This is my view at the start of the 2015 Tour de Cashiers Quarter Century.  It was my most brutal mountain ride to date. Once we turned left at the end of that straight stretch in the photo we started one of the most crushing climbs I have ever done, on cold legs!

Here's a goofy photo of me that a kind lady offered to take prior to the start. I look so oblivious to the torture I am about to endure. 

I am calling this my first Bike and Hike because I actually got off my bike about 5-6 times and hiked  up some of the inclines. I have never done that before! I shot this photo about half way through the ride just before I hopped back on my bike for a winding white knuckle descent.

Not only would I rank this my hardest ride but it was also the prettiest and the best smelling if you eliminate the rest stop next to the donkey ranch. 

I'm not sure who came up with that spot for a rest stop but not only was it adjacent to a donkey ranch, it was at the bottom of a brutal climb. I set aside my pride and walked up that incline even though all the volunteers could watch my walk of shame. The fact that I wasn't the only walker did soften the blow a bit.

So, long story short, I did finish and was never tempted to let the sweeper car pick me up. 

What I learned along the way...

I need to spend more time in this seat...

...than I do in this seat.

I know what you're thinking..."How can anyone sit in either one of those seats!" I happen to like them both.

And, I need to drop a few pounds. Starting with the five that I didn't have on my last mountain ride and then continuing on to the 15 that I needed to lose even when I successfully drug my carcass up that last mountain ride!

Next post will be dripping with fabric and quilting, I promise.

Thanks for visiting!

Linking up with:

Lorna's Let's Bee Social at Sew Fresh Quilts