Adventures in Allentown

I haven't had much time to write as I've been busy adventuring and working in grand ol' Allentown. After I said my goodbyes, I had to figure out how to pack my car. I only brought things I thought I would need. I think I did alright.

Gardens are a necessity in my book.

Then I headed to Harrisburg to pick up my friend Amy. We hadn't seen each other for more than two years and it was a merry reunion. Amy was coming with me so that she could attend a friendly beach trip later in the week.

That's my Girl!

Now that we stuffed ourselves in the car we were ready for our journey back to Allentown.

SO MUCH STUFF.

We were lodging at the lovable James' house and made a nice night trip to a diner. Actually, we went to lots of diners in the past 2 weeks.

NOTABLES; beard, smirk, cake, See Jane Ride Gear!

Our next adventure consisted of swimming, as the temperatures were HOT HOT HOT. I tagged along with Amy and Andrew, and headed to Glen Onoko to play in some waterfalls and the Lehigh River.

Watching out for rafters and rapids.

When Sunday rolled around my group of friends set out for Seaside Heights, NJ. We had a fun day of hi-jinks, sand, some alcohol and an overall good time.

Pretty sure this is my first Photobomb.

Balconies = Pimping

We went out to The Garfield Hotel and had a nice dance party to a cute little acoustic act.

Amy and Andrew invented dancing in 12,000,000 BC

I visited more friends upon our return to Allentown. I made sure to see Michelle and the kiddos! Because the weather was ridiculous we decided to run in the Kutztown University fountain and Meghan came too.

Smile for goodness sakes!

Ladies!

 
I also got a job at Petco and am having a good time. On my way home one day I came across this little lady and we played and played. I've been having a hard time not having critters around.

 This is Reeses.

Tom tells me that Vali and Murphy are doing well. He tried to get Vali a kiddie pool to swim in, but everywhere is sold out. Hope you're all out either adventuring, or staying cool. I started shopping for (cheaper)bikes, and am trying to help with some trail building for the Coal Cracker, however the weather is a little too much. However, the fellas did recently put up the video promoting the race.

Right around the corner! CAN'T WAIT.

My bumming around trip in Allentown has taught me a lot of things, all while having tons of fun and spending time with some really great people. I have another chapter coming up, and I'll be sure to share it soon.

Fat Girls on Bikes

So I saw this, and instantly needed to share. First off, I need to plug my friend Alicia's blog yet again, not just because she is creative and awesome, but because she just shared some amazing shots of her bike Lulu that I adore.

She was recently featured in a blog Fuck Yeah Fat Girls On Bikes. Um is that not AWESOME?!

Alicia has always been a promoter of having a positive body image, regardless of your size, and I admire her so much for it, especially in this day and age of physical perfectionism.

So, check out her blog, check out Fat Girls, love yourself, and get on your bike!

The ride tonight got rained out, and my work schedule is now when the Janes tend to go on most of their rides. Fear not, I will ride again, hopefully soon.

Training a Champion

So remember in my last post where I said I was having some personal issues and didn't feel like writing much? Well 10 days have passed and I felt I should say SOMETHING. Here's a little story about Vali's first trip.

Two weeks ago Tom and I decided that we would go for a small bike ride at Circleville Park. We had become so hopeful about Vali being a bike dog. We knew that even though he was young that we could at least get away with a short ride, and see how he did.

Vali says, "Safety First!"

Vali loves to chase the bikes, so before we got to the field we let him off leash in the baseball fields across from the park. He followed for a short bit but then made a break for the road. We are bad parents, in that we trusted him too much. Lesson learned. We got to the park and decided that we wouldn't let him off leash until we got to the woods. Here he is going up the hill. I might also add that I used to hate this hill, but now it ain't no thang.

 You can tell from his pulling, he really wants to GO.

We let him go and he followed us for a good while. He even went the right ways when I'd yell LEFT LEFT LEFT. He stopped when he met up with another dog, they sniffed and we continued. Just when we thought everything was going well, he decided to make a break for it and run to the park. I have never seen him run this fast in his life and he was gone. I left it up to Tom to catch him, and spent the time trying to find where they both went, as it started to rain. 

I'm not too fond of my face in this picture, 

but Vali looks overwhelmed with accomplishment.

We met up and had a photo opp, then continued. He was much better behaved on our way home. Tom even was able to ride with him leashed and he kept pace.

Look at him go!

The next post will be full of DRAMA. I don't know if you're ready for it.