GEEZE! Those are some HUGE sunglasses!

Status update: 26 days left until the BIG day and only a mere $75 dollars left to reach my fundraising goal. SWEET! On this week's 3/60/T ride I went big (mainly because I chickened out on the big ride the week prior because of a daunting steep hill - which in its own right is super scarey!). BUT I would not be deterred this week! Mind over matter and I opted for the riding option that accounted for the full 60 miles + some definite climbing.As soon as we hit mile 4 I was seriously questioning/doubting my sainity.Wow that hill was TOUGH (began at a 4, lessened to a 3, then finally some relief at a 2 incline)! What a way to start you Saturday @ 7:00 in the morning huffing and puffing at 4 miles an hour up a hill! Thankfully, I had Jim K. in my corner; he was the Micky to my Rocky and a big reason I made it up that hill! Thanks Jim! Thankfully that proved to be the most difficult portion of the day's ride. The rest of the ride was actually quite lovely, and long. Which brings me to this:What do you do for 4 hours without any other brain stimulation other than trying to focus on keeping your knees over your toes while you pedal. Well, you think. A lot. While I am curious what everyone else thinks about on these rides I can only tell you what goes on in my head. For me, 90% of my brain space (while continually pumping my legs) is thinking about what I'm going to eat as soon as we are done. Which is GREAT because i LOVE to eat!My favorite food to fixate on during these rides are big JUICY bacon cheeseburgers. I often switch between in-n-out, Outback, or a homemade burger. I'm still not sure is better, but all make for a great distraction while cranking up a hill.And for the remaining 10% of the time while I'm not thinking about lunch *at 7:30 in the morning* I like to think about my journey to becoming a "big girl" bicycle rider. So I have the spandex covered, terrible tan lines from my gloves and the shoes that make you walk like you're wearing ski boots, but the one thing I don't have are those fancy (and pretty rad) wrap-around sunglasses that all the bikers have. Nope. My sunglasses are HUGE. To my defense, they are the only pair I have, and they are prescription so - this is "how I do." Maybe this is my brain not willing to fully commit to the biker lifestyle of those who wake up at 5:00 in the morning to ride before work (man that's dedication!). But the honest truth is that I kinda like that these are rather obnoxioius for the sport. In my own defense due to thier shear size they are an excellent defense mechanism against any rogue bug that wants to fly in my eye on the decent down a nice hill. So, despite the odd facial accessories, I think I'm doing alright on my journey to becoming a "big girl cyclist." Though we'll see what happens with next weeks ride; it sounds scary with a lot of climbing. I still need to work on this mind over matter thing (or I need to get a bart pass for the bail out) :)