Group shot at halfway point at Rock Hall, originally uploaded by Aunt Christina.

Happy July Fourth everyone! I had a fantastic, albeit very energetic and lengthy, July Fourth holiday yesterday. As you see here, I rode my bike to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. But that was already halfway through the day! First, after the usual wee morning hours horse feeding, I drove to Cleveland Heights for breakfast with my bike team. Patti made us wonderful French toast, on Italian bread, with Canadian Bacon, for an international July 4. :-)



Then we set out on the first of two rides, with Patti as our Pace Car for the start (see Flickr photo of her driving her scooter!) First, a 15 mile ride in the neighborhood and to the park bike trail in nearby Shaker Heights. That was enjoyable, until I began to notice that instead of being in the first group of 5 or 6 bikes, I kept being passed up by other teammates. And it was getting harder to pedal.... Turned out we were on a very gradual incline of a few degrees, not enough to *look* like a hill, but enough of a grade that it became a real challenge to keep up my speed of 15mph. No way Jose. Eventually we hit some awesome downhills through the park, on a very curvy and shady wooded trail. It was a nice workout. (I'm curious to see the footage we shot of the ride: our co captain wore a Helmet Cam the whole time!)

And that would have been enough for most people, but oh no, not the Paladins!! We need to get in our miles. So after a brief rest and recharge back at Patti's house, we set out on our second ride, another 15 (ended up 20 mile) ride, but north this time, through Rockefeller Park and MLK drive--picturesque woodsy biking trail--and then urban he**--the torn up city streets of Cleveland, under heavy construction in some parts. We ended up along the lakefront, where we were buffeted by winds as we rode along the shore to end up at the Rock Hall. Whew. If it wasn't a hill, which we encountered on our way back (you have to go about 200 feet back uphill from the lakeshore to get to the "Heights'--they ain't called that for no reason!), it was headwinds for a few miles. Suffice to say it seemed like a lot more than 20 miles total by the time I finished. Oy.



This is the view from just off the bike path at the rocks and waves along the lakeshore.

But having made it back, we got to stuff our faces with really good food at our team picnic. Ahhhh. And my brother had shown up with my niece, whom I saw for about 2 minutes in between her frenzied playing with other kids all over the house and yard... Okay. First half of day done. THEN, because I love a good party and want to see all of my friends whenever I can, I scarfed some Aleve, ignored my body's clamoring for a serious NAP and drove about 15 minutes from there to Euclid, further towards the lake, for a Fourth gaming party with my scifi club gang that ended with fireworks on the back porch! Yay! (Professional fireworks, sent up by the city.)

I had a grand time, played some fun games like Labyrinth, Go Mental, Taboo, and a new one called Seismic where you set up roads leading out of San Andreas--but watch out for earthquakes, they destroy your highways and take away your points! It was interesting. I ate a lot more, of course, and at the end of the day I practiced taking fireworks photos, but I didn't really like how they turned out. There was no way to avoid the telephone wires and trees in the way. But I fiddled with settings and got some interesting colors.
Tonight I went to see fireworks in Kent, and I'll upload those photos tomorrow, see how they turned out.

I hope all of you had a spectacular July Fourth too, and Happy Independence Day to you!