Pedaling for Patriots

We were very pleased to receive this letter of support from Florida Governor Charlie Crist and thank him and the state of Florida for their support.

Read the full letter

We did a 72 mile ride yesterday and ended up in Alexandria, VA about halfway through. We stopped in to the Firehook Bakery for breakfast and it was delicious! We had an egg and cheddar croissant and the egg and cheese had been baked right in. It was the absolutely perfect – only to be upstaged by the very friendly staff and patrons. It was so nice to walk in and be welcomed and feel instantly “at home”. We will definitely be going back! (we’re looking forward to trying the salads!)

We took the ferry over to Surry County, VA and had a great ride past corn, peanut, cotton and soybean fields, u-pick farms, and through the Chippokes Plantation State Park. We visited Bacon’s Castle (built in 1665), saw many beautiful churches and enjoyed seeing a birthday party petting zoo in someone’s front yard! It would be great to live in this area, as there are plenty of back roads for training. There were many miles where we saw nothing but tractors on the road. Hopefully we’ll have the opportunity to come back and ride here again!

We had a great ride yesterday around Williamsburg, VA. We were surprised to find so many bike lanes along the highways! Such a nice change. Motorists seem much more accustomed to seeing bicyclists as well, so most were very polite. We had a great lunch in Colonial Williamsburg (The Trellis), about halfway through our ride. Snooty hostess (I don’t think she appreciated our “outfits”), but the food was excellent. We did a loop around Jamestown Island, which was very scenic but the Colonial Parkway is 5 miles of cobblestones, which gave us quite a bumpy ride! The weather was gorgeous, as there had been a major storm the night before. A welcome change from the 100+ degrees we have been riding in!

We had the most amazing experience with a deer yesterday. We were on the W&OD, near Reston, and I saw what I thought was a very large dog, running with a woman. As we got closer we realized it was a deer and she stopped to watch us as we cycled past. We were no more than 2 feet from her! I’m not sure who was more curious. Every day we see groundhogs, chipmunks, squirrels and rabbits, but this was the first time we’ve seen a deer that close!

The aftermath of the deaths of five CIA officers and two contractors in a suicide bombing in Afghanistan in December has brought what the intelligence community says is an unparalleled outpouring of public sympathy and appreciation.

The CIA normally honors its fallen in private; a wall at headquarters memorializing the 90 officers who have died in action marks them with stars, not names. But the magnitude of the December loss has raised the profile.

More than $3 million has been raised to help the families of the dead by former agency personnel and the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit outfit that is dedicated to helping the survivors of those who die on duty.

Retired CIA officer Rob Richer is raising sponsors for a cross-country bicycle ride, with proceeds going to the families. And actor Dan Aykroyd (of “Ghostbusters” fame) and musician Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (alum of Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers bands) are headlining a July 8 charity dinner to raise money for the same cause.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/washcall070210/washcall070210/

These helmets made me smile!
http://www.wendmag.com/greenery/2009/12/the-dweeb-free-bicycle-helmet-is-finally-here/

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100608/ap_on_go_ot/us_cia_afghan_attack

That’s the most in one year since the agency’s founding. In addition to the seven CIA employees who died in Khost, five others were killed in the service of their duties this year, bringing to 102 the number of Americans who lost their lives while on the job for the Company.

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/06/the-night-beat-12-stars-at-the-cia/57740/

Or two or three or four! We just did a ride around Lake Anna on our new Trek 520’s, which have 7 more gears than our other bikes. What a difference that makes on hills!

We met last week with Kristin Wood of Max Muscle in Fairfax. She is working with us to develop a nutritional plan for our training. There’s so much to learn! (www.fairfax.maxmuscle.com) We are trying the Iso-Extreme for protein and the XTR for recovery and increased exercise intensity.