MS150 - This wind blows!

This was the most difficult ride we've done in 6 years. We had strong head/cross winds and it was COLD! Most people were unprepared for the cold -- if you look at the pictures many are in short sleeves on day one. On day two people were wearing anything they could to keep warm -- including their flannel pajamas!



You would layer up to get warm, but with the strong head wind you would work so hard that you would sweat and be cold when the wind blew. This was especially true when standing still at the rest stops - the wind would just whip through your wet clothes. Here's Brian with our gear at lunch on day two -- note all our layers hanging out to dry on our bikes.



Our average speed was at least 2 mph below what it usually is on the first day. That resulted in finishing in 10 hours 45 minutes instead of our normal 7 hours 30 minutes.

Of course there was lots of scenery to take in, but I have to say that this year I spent more time with my head down concentrating on getting up the hills than enjoying it. Although this one field was too good to pass up...



Sunday was much better. It was still cold, but the wind was calm during the morning, so we set a fast pace early. We crossed the finish line in downtown Austin at around 2 pm.

The saga continues...

Not 5 seconds after I clicked "Publish" Wally escaped again. A huge gust of wind blew the front door open. He went from sitting in between my feet while I was on the computer to light speed down the hall and out the door. More than 2 hours of pleading, thousands of treats and a can of yummy wet food later and I got him back. It's a Wally record!

He would stand 3 feet away from me and shiver (it's really cold out) and cry, but wouldn't let me touch him or put the leash on him. I finally talked him into jumping in my lap while sitting in the truck in the driveway.

Now he's inside and exhausted (but certainly not hungry) and of course he wants to sleep in my lap.

All doors of the house are now locked and bolted to prevent wind and/or Kayla assisted escape.

New Man in My Life

Here he is .... The new "little man" in my life - Wally. One night I had a dream that Molly hadn't died, she was just lost and I had to find her. The next day we found this little boy wandering around the neighborhood. I figured it must be fate. He'd been walking up and down the streets of the neighborhood all day and no one could catch him. It took me a while but with lots of treats and canned dog food I was able to convince him to come in the house. We named him Wally because it sounds like Molly.


He's very smart, affectionate and cuddly. He gets along great with the other dogs too. In the house he sticks to us like glue. Follows from room to room, sits in our laps on the couch and sleeps in between us at night.


Outside it's a whole other story! He runs away at any given opportunity and won't come to us. I can open the front door completely and the girls will not run out so I was not at all used to this behavior. If the door opens a crack he is off like a shot, running and staying just out of reach. It's all great fun to him and the game can go on for an hour or more. We also learned that he knows every loose board and tiny hole in our fence. So he can get out of the back yard whenever he chooses. Hence the leash and tie out in the next picture. He can't be out in the back yard without being secured!


So I thought I had this all under control. He gets picked up when I open the front door and put out on the tie out when he is in the back yard. Ha! he can't out smart me!

Yesterday, however he proved he is still way smarter than me. He got Kayla to open the back door for him! Then he proceeded to run around the neighborhood for 2 hours with me mostly in tow. He always came back to the house just when I was frustrated enough to leave him out there. He would wait at the front door, I would open it and he would run off again! Eventually I caught the little sneak when he crawled back under the fence and returned to the back yard!

Here's his sneaky look....