Everything Old is New AF

A year ago I set my heart on an unknown race, the Swift Summit 200/100.  A double century with time cut-offs and no drive along SAG sounded like a dream challenge!  I ended up not finishing the race, missing the fourth control cut-off by a half hour.  I made big plans to return to the scene of the crime in 2018 and exact my revenge.

Then I learned that a pair of my dear friends are getting married on that very day.  As important as bikes and racing are to me, my friends come first.  This particular race has won all sorts of accolades since its 2017 kickoff and will have huge attendance, so my absence will have no effect on anyone but me.  Still, a "did not start" feels icky.

Pair this news with the cruddy dark weather of winter and the hibernation required by the flu, and your dear Bicycle Kitty has been spending way too much time at home licking her wounds.  While licking, I often check out facebook or intsagram and lo and behold - the rest of the world is having fun on bikes without me!

To combat my isolation and feeling of leftouted-ness, I joined a team.  A race team.  Of ladies who ride fast in all sorts of conditions on all sorts of terrain.  They are TeamAF and now I'm BicycleKittyAF.  While waiting to find "the perfect challenge" to replace the Swift Summit, I'll have training rides with cool riders.

I've started making a 2018 ride schedule to soothe my frazzled nerves.  Here goes:

• F Brunch Series with Team AF - January Sundays - no idea what to expect
• Caddyshack! Bill Murray tribute ride - Saturday, February 3, facebook event here
• Worst Day of the Year ride - Sunday, February 11th - find me at the breakfast table
• French Toast ride - Saturday, February 24th at 10am - email me for details
• Dalles Mt 60 - Saturday, March 10th - tentative, I need a car ride out there!
• French Toast ride - Saturday, March 24th at 10am - email me for details
• Gorge Gravel Grinder - Sunday, April 8th
• Tour de Beavs - Friday, April 20 - Sunday, April 22
• Oregon Epic Gravel - Saturday, May 5th - tentative, I need a car ride out there!
• Oregon Northback - May 25th - June 2nd - like the Oregon Outback only shorter 
• Strawberry Century - Saturday, June 9th

The rest of the summer is a grab bag of who knows what.  If you'd like more details, to join any of above, or to offer me a car ride to the Dalles Mt 60 or Oregon Epic Gravel, drop me a note or comment below.

Thanks, readers and riders, and I hope your year is off to a grand start.