Giddy-Up!

(slightly sweaty Rands)
I am one happy girl right now.

Not only did I spend a fantastic Saturday with Jero... I spent a fantastic Saturday with Jero on BICYCLES. I have lately rediscovered the thrill of road riding, and now I get to share the experience with my husband! (Thanks, of course, to a lot of time on CraigsList and BikeAthens.)

We headed out for Athens between 8-8:30am, grabbed some breakfast & yummy coffee at Jittery Joe's (Clemson), before heading to Jittery Joe's hometown. I tell you what, I think I just rediscovered bagels too. Anyhow, we had a good time talking on the way there and made good time to meet a cool dude named Mike at the BikeAthens homebase.

BikeAthens is a non-profit organization that advocates for the improvement of the Athens/Clarke County area in such a way as to encourage alternative forms of transportation (pedestrian/bus/bike). They also do bike recycling: folks donate their old bikes to BikeAthens, whose members fix and/or tune them up and give them to folks in the area who need a reliable form of transportation. Sometimes they get some fairly nice bikes that need some love and are still worth a pretty good amount - in this case, they tweak 'em & sell 'em to raise money for their mission. And that's how Jeromie found his bike - a Novara Randonee (REI-brand touring bike)! I also scored some sweet, gently-used SPD pedals, which should make my bike-commuting life just a little easier.

le vélo


In anticipation of a potential bike purchase, we'd brought my bike & a picnic lunch, so we pounced on the opportunity to ride around and see the town. We rode out and back on the Oconee River Greenway, then into town to poke around a vintage store I'd spotted on the way in. It's sad... I've never spent much time in Athens - maybe one show at the 40-Watt - but it's a really cool town. The downtown is beautiful & it looks like they have a wide variety of shops & restaurants. I wish we could've spent more time there, but the sky just about dumped on us & we needed to get back anyhow. We completed the trip with a stop at SweeTreats, which I will sorely miss when we move away.

I am so giddy about riding right now. I did a lot of riding when I was younger, but sort of fell away from it during college. Having a car and a too-busy schedule will do that to you. Well, now the car is gone, and partially because the bike's got the better of me (and riding the bike just makes me feel better). I also realize now that it's a good alternative to running... which I always seem to get injured doing. Maybe the bike'll balance me out! :-)

We rode in to church this morning, then home again after lunch and I didn't want to stop. Unfortunately, housework called. (Shedding season in the Rand house doesn't bode well for other activities.)

Well, you guys get the point. I'm excited.

(and a picture of my Jero because I think he's pretty swell.
and manly enough to drink out of a butterfly-laden Sigg.)