Despite meeting a Roadrunner and Two Prince Charmings, Cece still Has a Bad Day on The Bike.....but it could have been worse!

Cece had been off the bike for 8 full days...the last time she did that , she had shoulder surgery!  But she was trying to play it smart.  She was fighting off a sinus infection and it was winning and she had pulled a back muscle in yoga. Do not laugh.  You should COME  to my  yoga class!  She was making sure her health would be fine for the Moab Century Ride!    Anyway,. she digresses......

When she started off her legs were stiff and she wondered if she remembered how to pedal.....and about 6 miles down the road, she stopped as a roadrunner crossed her path.  Roadrunners are blessings.  So, she took a moment to accept it.  Later she wondered, after 2 rear flats and a rear blow out, how the upcoming events were blessings...but she remembered that it was at that moment, that she felt her rear tire....at the roadrunner crossing!  What she felt was not good.  Her tire was low...very low and 6 miles ago she had just put in 120 psi.  She was going to ride longer, but not now.  NOW she turned around to go home.

 Not 1/2 mile later....she  had a true flat tire.  She questioned every passing cyclist as to whether they had a CO2 cartridge or a pump .  Nope,nope nope.  Cece herself had CO2 cartridges, and a spare tire, but the cartridges did not match her adapter...she must have grabbed the wrong cartridges!

But never fail.  Prince Charming No 1 came to the rescue.   Cece regrets not taking his pic but she was worried about riding home.  .Check out the Lycra on him though! The prince  stopped to ask if Cece was OK.  She explained the situation.  Did he have CO2 or a pump?.  Nope, but he lives about a mile away and he could fix it there.  Cece looked at him.  OK  Good energy. Cece rode and chit chatted with Prince Charming whose name was Wyatt.  He works at Intel.  Once at his house in the North Valley in a gated community, she discovered he was married with kids and had  two dachshunds.    He pumped Cece up and off she went back the way she came. 

Once again in about a 1/2 mile Cece had another flat.  This time she knew she had to walk.  The tire was just not holding air.  She contemplated the 6 mile walk back....in cleats.... URGH.  She looked the opposite direction and realized she could call a  friend and she could pick her up easily.  But as she looked back, she saw prince Charming No 2! "Hey what's wrong Chica?"  AH the call of the prince!  It turns out this  prince's name was Limo and he rides on the High Desert racing team.  He just took charge and took the rear wheel off , put in a new tube and pumped it up  as fast as lightening.Cece has no idea how she shot video!  : ) 

Anyway. with Limo's help, she was able to get back to the open space where she had parked her car.  Just as she did, she had a full blow out.  Luckily she was just about off her bike when that happened!  Where did Limo go?  In a trail of dust he was off to ride Tram and then out and back to Algodones.  Have fun, Cece wished him a great climb up Tramway!  OH!  How Cece just love, love, loves that hill! 

So, it was a bad day on the bike, but Cece met many nice people and good things happened.

Guess where Cece will be going first thing in the morning?  To her bike shop....

An Unexpected Adventure to Santa Fe

 Cece found herself in Santa Fe this past Saturday for a great adventure...and she did not have her camera as she did not anticipate the adventure!  A new acquaintance sent her to the plaza and gave her directions as to how to get there and how to find West San Francisco Street and wished her good luck to find a parking space on the street.  Cece was able to find the street and once she turned onto it, she discovered a parking garage to her delight!  She pulled up and spoke to the woman in the booth.The woman told her how much to pay.  "The parking is how much?" Cece asked.  "Why is it so expensive?"  The woman replied "It is Fiesta! This is special event parking."    Cece asked her "What is Fiesta?"  and the woman looked at her like she had two heads.  The woman told Cece to go ahead and enjoy herself and then the parking fee would not bother her any more.  Cece did just that and the woman was correct.... several hours later, the parking fee did not bother her.

Cece was on an adventure!  She had to be back to ABQ for a party, but some how time orientated Cece did not care about the  time.  She was having such a good time gallivanting  around that she knew she would eventually make it back to the city.

She remembered that this past Thursday was the burning of Zozobra...Old Man gloom.  A large puppet is made to signify the trouble and problems of the past year and he is set ablaze to signify that the troubles of the past are burned away and forgotten. This is the beginning of Fiesta time in Santa Fe.

Cece learned that, "Fiesta has been celebrated in Santa Fe since 1712 by proclamation of the then-governor of the province Jose Chacon Medina Salazar y Villaseor, the marquis of Penuela. It is the oldest civic celebration of its kind in North America. ZOZOBRA, which has gone up in flames every year since Will Shuster created it in 1924, became one of the symbols of the city, a potent reminder of the madcap celebrations of those times and one artist's generous dedication to his adopted home."

In the plaza, there was a grand Fiesta going on with lots of live music and craft booths and food.  When Cece finally got her party hours later and had not eaten all day, a friend asked her , "Well there is so much food there, why didn't you eat?"  Cece said all she smelled was deep fried food."  Her friend said, "And that  is a problem WHY?"  Cece just laughed.  She  did see some delicious looking roasted corn, but at that moment she was lured by live music.

One of the best parts of her great adventure was gallery hopping. She discovered some pottery by her  Favorite Hopi Potter Al Qoyawayma.

"If I can see the beauty in my hand,

if it touches my inner heart,

and I can mold it into harmonious beauty,

then I have met the challenge"

Cece also saw pottery buy another of her favorite artists, Barbara Gonzales from San Ildefonso Pueblo.  Barbara is the oldest great granddaughter of Maria Martinez and was given the name Sunbeam by Maria.  Cece has been fortunate to have met Barbara and to watch her fire her pottery.

Cece Finally made it back to ABQ after finally leaving the fiesta and doing a few more errands around Santa Fe.  The party was in full swing and they were just beginning to eat when she arrived!  Perfect timing!  It was wonderful to see friends and spend time with them!