Charley Castex, the psychic fellow I consulted recently, urged me to think big when it came time to move on this bike ride project. I'm now in New Orleans at a conference of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs and have been stepping out, talking about the ride, working on connecting women in food with this project of mine.
Yesterday during our Info Fair, our trade show, I tried on a chef coat from Chef Designs. It fit me PERFECTLY and the sponsor said they'd send one to me. I tiptoed out from my comfort zone and told them, quietly at first, about my ride project. I then blabbered on about how I'd like to do some events as I ride across the country, sharing the early warning signs for ovarian cancer, speaking with women in the food world and others. We'll have a day off a week and maybe I could hook up with a local woman-owned place to do an event. Well, these gals got VERY excited about it and chirped about how they'd like to help, which did catch me off guard. But as they talked, I got excited too, letting their enthusiasm wash over me.
Later, during our dinner, the time when we celebrate the women in our industry, I saw them again and they said they were REALLY excited about my ride and told me they really want to do more. So I'm not sure how that will all work, but it makes me think that staying small and keeping this to myself is not necessary, and that this ride could really be a big thing.
So shall it be.
Today is my last day here. I'll fly home tomorrow. Back to work, back to training, back to my life and to the letter and to the next phase of this thing.
Oh - it also looks like I am getting closer to making the connection to a funding recipient. Hope hope hope. And if I don't identify any specific group, I'm going to do my letter and start the fund raising anyway.
Here goes.
Showing posts with label biking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label biking. Show all posts
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Here we GO!!!
July 22, 2008
Though I did not ride today, nor do I PLAN to ride today, it seems like a good day to start writing about my bike trip.
On March 1 (give or take a few days) 2009, I will start riding my bike across the United States. Roughly speaking, that is 8 1/2 months from now. I decided to take on this project in May after completing a nice, fairly easy one week ride on the Outer Banks of my current home state. It would have been REALLY easy except that the weather was not so good and we found ourselves riding with big wind and, one day, high water. Still, the week was healing for me, a first trip out on my own after the unexpected end to my life partnership. So it goes. I did the trip and now am going to do another one.
But today is today and this is my new blog and tra la for that, I say.
And, more about today. Today could be like any other day, but it could also be a significant departure. I mean, here it is, my first blog post.
Tomorrow, not just any other Wednesday, is the day that WNC Magazine comes here to shoot a story about me cooking with all local foods. Instead of vacuuming or straightening, here I sit, typing, dreaming of a date 8 1/2 months from now (or is that 7 1/2?) I should be cooking, organizing, planning the meal, making lists of things I must not forget. Instead I continue to write and worry about the outbreak of - poison ivy? - on my chin and the chigger bite on my belly. The chigger bite will not be seen but the chin thing is cause for concern. No makeup! Yipes!!
Okay - the bike ride. 3100 miles. 50 days of riding on a 58 day trip. Yee ha! Me and 30 strangers. I wonder about them, wonder who I might meet.
I want to make this a fundraiser for Ovarian Cancer. This is my 20th year of cancer-free life. Seems worth celebrating, don't you think? And it is my Golden Year this year, the year my age and birth year match. 54. Seems worth celebrating, yes?
But now, yes, I should and will go tend to my chin and to my lists and will accept this as my first entry. First of many. An auspicious day.
One aside, I've been wishing for someone to "make it all better' for a long time. i keep wishing for that. Things keep happening to me, as they do to others, no doubt. And I search for something outside of myself for solace. It doesn't come. So I've been practicing "Let's jsut see what happens..." as a mantra. Today I altered it somewhat to, "Let's imagine that that solace is IN you right now and you can reach it and use it." It made me calm down some. A good first day for that too.
Ciao for now.
Laurey
Asheville, North Carolina
35°34'48”N, 82°33'21”W .
Though I did not ride today, nor do I PLAN to ride today, it seems like a good day to start writing about my bike trip.
On March 1 (give or take a few days) 2009, I will start riding my bike across the United States. Roughly speaking, that is 8 1/2 months from now. I decided to take on this project in May after completing a nice, fairly easy one week ride on the Outer Banks of my current home state. It would have been REALLY easy except that the weather was not so good and we found ourselves riding with big wind and, one day, high water. Still, the week was healing for me, a first trip out on my own after the unexpected end to my life partnership. So it goes. I did the trip and now am going to do another one.
But today is today and this is my new blog and tra la for that, I say.
And, more about today. Today could be like any other day, but it could also be a significant departure. I mean, here it is, my first blog post.
Tomorrow, not just any other Wednesday, is the day that WNC Magazine comes here to shoot a story about me cooking with all local foods. Instead of vacuuming or straightening, here I sit, typing, dreaming of a date 8 1/2 months from now (or is that 7 1/2?) I should be cooking, organizing, planning the meal, making lists of things I must not forget. Instead I continue to write and worry about the outbreak of - poison ivy? - on my chin and the chigger bite on my belly. The chigger bite will not be seen but the chin thing is cause for concern. No makeup! Yipes!!
Okay - the bike ride. 3100 miles. 50 days of riding on a 58 day trip. Yee ha! Me and 30 strangers. I wonder about them, wonder who I might meet.
I want to make this a fundraiser for Ovarian Cancer. This is my 20th year of cancer-free life. Seems worth celebrating, don't you think? And it is my Golden Year this year, the year my age and birth year match. 54. Seems worth celebrating, yes?
But now, yes, I should and will go tend to my chin and to my lists and will accept this as my first entry. First of many. An auspicious day.
One aside, I've been wishing for someone to "make it all better' for a long time. i keep wishing for that. Things keep happening to me, as they do to others, no doubt. And I search for something outside of myself for solace. It doesn't come. So I've been practicing "Let's jsut see what happens..." as a mantra. Today I altered it somewhat to, "Let's imagine that that solace is IN you right now and you can reach it and use it." It made me calm down some. A good first day for that too.
Ciao for now.
Laurey
Asheville, North Carolina
35°34'48”N, 82°33'21”W .
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