2023 Year In Review
JANUARY
I started my year by volunteering on New Year’s Day with Cascade Bicycle Club and their Pedaling Relief Project. This project helps get food to the under- privileged and homeless by working with local grocery stores and several food banks. On Sundays we rescue food from the PCC stores in the Ballard and Fremont neighborhoods of Seattle, load it into bins, trailers and bike bags, then ride about 10 miles south to a pop-up food bank in the SODO district.
When we arrived at the pop-up food bank, there was a long line of people waiting. This was my first time doing it. It was chilly on New Year’s Day, but it was also invigorating. Instead of lounging and wasting the day after a night of partying, I got to help give back to my community. Many people in line thanked us and I could tell they really appreciated our help.
I continued to volunteer on Sundays as much as I could for the rest of 2023.
Later in the month, William had some elective surgery that caused him a lot of pain for several weeks. Pain pills and ice only gave him minimal relief and I felt so sorry for him. I tried to be a good nurse to him since he did such a great job for me when I had my knees replaced six years ago.
February
In February a friend and I loaded up our bikes and did a road trip to California. Not only did it get us out of the cold, wet weather in Seattle, but we were going to ride in the Tour de Palm Springs. This is a huge bike event that typically attracts around 8,000 cyclists. It also honors first responders, military and veterans.
The community really turns out for this event. There were marching bands and cheerleaders at the start with more bands at each major rest stop. As we rode around the Coachella Valley, many locals were cheering us on from their front lawns, ringing cow bells and whistling.
I rode 90 miles that day…the longest I’ve ever ridden and without getting in much long-distance riding to lead up to it. The weather was perfect for the ride, too, with temperatures in the low 70s.
On our way back home, we made a stop in Redding, CA, and rode both the Sacramento River Trail and the Sacramento River Rail Trail. These trails were so enjoyable that I hope to get back there to ride again in the future!
Later in 2023, I learned that both these trails were just inducted into the Rail Trails Hall of Fame.
For my birthday on the 22nd, I didn’t do very much. William prepared a nice dinner for us and I basically relaxed all day.
MARCH
Since we couldn’t have a party for William’s 50th birthday during the Covid pandemic, friends decided to throw him a big party for his 53rd on March 5th. The theme was “Faces of William” and everyone had to dress up as a version of William from his past. It was a lot of fun and William was the only one who wasn’t dressed up.
I bought a cheap, used road bike because I got a hair-brained idea to ride in my first ever triathlon in August and needed to start training on a non-electric bike.
On March 27th I flew to the Netherlands for a ten-day bike and barge tour around the country. It was a great way to see the Netherlands, but the weather didn’t cooperate, and it rained nearly every day I was there.
A friend went with me, and we shared a room on the barge. We didn’t have to take our bikes since they were being supplied by the tour company.
While the tour company and ride leaders weren’t that great, it was a nice way to check out bike lanes and trails that were done right and to see places I may not have seen by car or a bus. Plus, the food for dinner each night on the barge was amazing! For the cheap price of the tour, I can’t complain too much.
The day we were due to fly back to the U.S., my friend and I took a covid test because we had been coughing a lot and felt like crap. Sure enough, we tested positive! I had had covid while traveling in Australia in 2020. Luckily this time it was more like a bad head cold than what I experienced the first time around. We masked up and flew home anyway.
APRIL
On April 23rd I rode in the Ride For Major Taylor event. This is a fundraising bike event and named after a black man in the 1920s who was a top cyclist in his day. The route is tough with very steep hills.
It was chilly and rainy at times, but the scenery was great. Unfortunately, I overheated and started vomiting and had the worse headache.
The following weekend I went to Camano Island and camped overnight with a friend. It was the first time camping at Camano Island State Park. That evening, I rode around the area exploring and enjoying the views.
We both rode in the McClinchy Mile the next day. This was the second time I rode in this event.
During my ride, I almost got a flat tire. Somehow, I picked up a wood screw that went through the tire tread sideways and didn’t puncture the tube. Talk about luck!
MAY
At the beginning of May, Cascade Bicycle Club held their fundraising breakfast (this link has my speech). They asked me to speak and do the “ask.” With William’s help, I came up with a pretty good one.
I was so nervous that morning…there were over 450 people in attendance. I had never had to speak about myself in front of that many people! As I spoke, I felt my throat tighten and tried to take calming breaths. After the event, several people came up to speak to me and what my speech meant to them. It was humbling.
The second weekend in May, I spend the night at Bayview State Park camping in my tent. This is another nice campground that is quiet and near the water with a nice beach.
In the morning, I packed up and headed to the start line for the Skagit Spring Classic. I had planned to ride the century (100-mile) route but ended up riding 65 miles. I wasn’t feeling well and think I had been pushing myself too hard.
Later in the month, I rented an Airbnb in Ellensburg to help Cascade scout some routes for a potential Ellensburg Tour summer. I was also there to ride in Your Canyon For A Day, which closes down the highway while cyclists enjoy riding through the canyon.
While scouting routes out of Ellensburg, we rode part of the Palouse to Cascades Trail. It was very bumpy with lots of gravel. At times I felt like my eyeballs were vibrating and I couldn’t focus! We ended up behind about 70 horses and had to constantly stop for them to move over and let us pass (without spooking the horses). It also made the ride very dusty and I was pretty dirty by the time we finished.
I got to finally see what the fuss about Suncadia (a resort) was all about as we rode through the forest there. It was gorgeous!
My canyon ride that weekend was equally gorgeous. I told Cascade that they had to include it in the Ellensburg Tour!
While I was having my own adventures, William went with a friend and did a bike tour from Prague to Vienna. I was so jealous and made him promise that we would do something similar in 2024 for our 25th wedding anniversary.
JUNE
On June 3rd I rode in Flying Wheels through the hills and farmland near Snohomish. I wasn’t ready to do a century ride just yet but did the 50-mile route instead. Next year I plan to do the century!
The next weekend I joined other Cascade volunteers and went on a one-night bikepacking trip. I hooked up my trailer to my bike and had it and my panniers loaded with camping gear and food.
We rode to a farm to camp overnight. They had alpacas, goats, geese, ducks, chickens and a calf. For dinner we had pizza that we picked up from town and carried with us. An oven in the barn allowed us to reheat the pizza.
Later we hooked up our propane tank to a fire ring where we roasted marshmallows and socialized.
The next morning, we purchased eggs from the farm and a couple of volunteers cooked a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs with cheese, sauteed kale from the garden and cherry tomatoes provided by another volunteer.
What a great weekend spending time with other cyclists!
I spent the next Friday night camping at the high school in Toutle with other cyclists so we could be there early to ride Tour de Blast. This is a ride from Toutle to Mount St. Helen and back. Part of the highway washed out over the winter, so the route was cut a bit short.
I only rode 15 miles to the first rest stop before turning around. I was cold and it had started to rain heavily. By the time I got back to my car, I was drenched and chilled to the bone! I was also covered in gray ash. Ever since the volcano erupted, ash seems to have lingered. Luckily, I had dry, though dirty, clothes in the car and was able to change and get warm.
I had cycling events planned for just about everything weekend in June. Starting June 22nd, I camped at Pearrygin State Park in Winthrop and participated in the Winthrop Gravel Tour. I shared my campsite with a woman who worked for Adventure Cyclist out of Mon- tana. She had driven her truck camper to ride the tour and do a story about it.
I’m not much of a gravel rider since my bike doesn’t have any fork shocks. The first day, though, I was glad I had come to participate. Once I climbed up to the ridgeline of one of the mountains, my breath caught as I saw the view. It was spectacular!
I decided to drive home the next morning instead of riding gravel for two more days. If I had a different bike, I would have stayed.
JULY
The first day in July was a Saturday and I took my son, Marcus, Haylee and MJ to Sequim on the peninsula to the Olympic Game Farm. Marcus had been there before with me and his daughters, but this was the first time for Haylee and MJ. As we drove through in the car and the bison and elk stuck their heads in the car, squeals and giggles could be heard.
My dad and youngest brother, Billy, left Harrisburg, PA by train and headed to Seattle. After only making it as far as Pittsburgh and sitting on the track for 16 hours, they gave up, got a hotel for the night and caught a plane the next day.
They were coming to visit, but Billy was also going to be my support driver for my very first double century ride called the STP (Seattle to Portland). Billy got talked into doing support for Cascade which meant our hotels would be free.
I was nervous about riding STP. I hadn’t yet ridden a single century, let alone another one the following day!
Since I was one of the volunteers of the year, I wore the #1 bib on my jersey. I also wore a tutu and a unicorn horn on my helmet to support the Trevor Project (my oldest grandchild is trans-gendered).
Most of my ride each day is a blur. As I crossed the finish line in Portland, the cheers from the crowd got to me and I started crying when I got off my bike. I never expected such a wave of emotion to hit me! Total mileage between the two days was 207 and actual moving time on my bike was a total of 13 hours (roughly 16 mph).
The following week we spent with family. I got to meet my oldest grandchild from TX for the first time after flying him to Seattle. He got to meet his great-grandfather for the first time, too. I also took everyone to the Mount Baker Ski area. Most of my family had never seen such tall mountains and majestic views!
Too soon it was time for everyone to go back home. Daddy and Billy got stranded on the train again and finally changed course in Chicago and flew the rest of the way home.
The last weekend in July was spent on the peninsula and participating in the Grays Harbor Tour. I camped for three nights at Lake Sylvia State Park, having secured a site with electricity to recharge my bike batteries each night. It was a great weekend, even though I only did two of the three days of the tour.
AUGUST
I rode Tour de Cure as a red rider (a rider living with diabetes) for the second year in a row. It’s probably the most important charity bike ride that I do since I started riding again. Because I’m a red rider, I got a free jersey with my registration, which is a nice bonus. Unfortunately, since they changed the month of the event from May to August, we had less than 100 riders this year (it’s back to May in 2024).
The next weekend was the one I was nervous about…the Girlfriends Triathlon. I hadn’t really done any training and was just hoping I could finish. Swimming a half mile was first and I don’t think I could have finished it if Michael and Daidrie hadn’t been there cheering me on! After getting out of the water, I toweled myself off, put on my bike shoes and helmet and started the second part, a 12-mile bike ride. It wasn’t that difficult, but using gears wasn’t something I was used to since my ebike doesn’t have them. This analog bike did, plus I missed the added boost the ebike gives me. The third segment was the 5k run. I walked just about all of it, stopping often to cool off under a tree (it was over 90 degrees by this point). I jogged the last 100 yards over the finish line. I did it, but I don’t think I’ll ever do it again!
Next was Tour de Whidbey. I love riding on Whidbey Island and always look for opportunities to do so! This time I camped overnight at Fort Ebey State Park. I even did a lot of trail walking the night before the bike event.
The following weekend I was a support driver for RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver & Party) so I could see the route and decide if I wanted to ride it in 2024 (I think I will). Similar to STP, this is a two-day event with a total mileage of around 189 miles.
SEPTEMBER
The weekend after Labor Day had me driving with a bike friend to Liberty Lake on the other side of the state for the RIM (Riders In Motion) ride. They have some gorgeous trails out there and I rode 60 miles that day.
I did another road support stint for Cascade and their Ellensburg Tour followed by riding the Kitsap Color Classic, which had some really big hills to climb.
The last weekend in September, I was doing my final century of the year, riding Reach The Beach, which raises money for the American Lung Association. It got both a jersey and bike shorts because I raised over $500 this year. I also won the drawing for the free hotel stay in Westport.
Marcus sold his condo since they are moving to Roda, Spain in the new year, so they moved in with us for a bit. I’m not used to the chaos, so Haylee and I bumped heads a bit, but we figured it out.
OCTOBER
Haylee and MJ left to Australia so they could visit her family before going to Spain. Marcus continued to stay with us. He’s such a good son…doing things around the house for me without asking and it’s been great spending time and cooking for him like I did before he grew up and started his own family. It’s hard to believe that he turned 40 in August (or that his brother will be 43 this coming February).
Since August, I had been hit with some big expenses. It started with Luna spending the night at the vet (cost $1,800). Then I needed rear brakes on my car ($800) and a new emission sensor ($600). I was also notified by Social Security that they over-paid me in 2022, so I had to pay them back $2,000. The final straw was when someone stole the rear wheels off of my car right before I left for a short trip to New Orleans! The insurance covered it, but my deductible was $500. Plus, the lack of client work has caused my once healthy savings to be depleted. Needless to say the fall season had me stressing a lot!
NOVEMBER
As he does every year, William sent me away during his costume party the Saturday after Halloween. I’m not big on parties and stress about the mess. He has found it easier to send me away so he can take his time about clean-up. This year I went to New Orleans (first time) from November 2-7. While there I did a bike tour and a lot of walking. The food wasn’t as great as I was anticipating (I can cook Cajun better than the restaurants I visited). But I did make some new friends at the hostel where I stayed.
We spent Thanksgiving with William’s parents. I made the turkey and gravy, and they provided the sides. I usually don’t eat much these days, but I had second helpings of everything that day!
On November 27th, I had my first cataract surgery on my right eye. I recovered quickly and was driving again five days later. I have yet to get scheduled by the VA for the left eye (hoping for January).
DECEMBER
It’s been a laid-back month with only a little client work since August. I didn’t buy a lot of Christmas presents this year because of my financial situation. Plus, with the kids/grandkids gone (Marcus flew to Australia to join Haylee & MJ on the 12th), we didn’t even put up a tree. William decorated the front porch and that was the extent of our decorations. I just wasn’t in much of a holiday spirit.
We went to Bill & Wanda’s for Christmas and exchanged gifts (most being white elephant gifts). My big surprise was that William and Wand went in together and bought me a camping safari in Kenya for next fall (leaving right before William’s annual costume party)! It’s been on my bucket list and never thought I could afford it, so I was in a bit of shock when they gave me a teaser over Thanksgiving. Get- ting the actual itinerary for Christmas made it more real…I still can’t believe it, but I’m so grateful for this opportunity to explore more of the world!
I lost 35 pounds since last December and can now wear a size 12 or medium (five years ago it was a size 24W or 2XL).
2024 PLANS
Besides entering more cycling events and putting at least 2000 miles on my bike in 2024, there are some big plans in the works.
First, the surgery I thought might be in February to remove the excess skin in my abdomen (from losing so much weight) will be postponed. I want to lose my final 30 lbs before having it done.
2024 will have us celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and we plan to celebrate by doing an ebike tour in Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in June. After the tour, we’ll stop in Roda, Spain to visit Marcus and his family since they will be settled by then.
And then there’s the Kenya safari the end of October.
HAVE A GREAT 2024 EVERYONE!
