Yesterday was quite the adventure, from beginning to end. I guess you could say my Sunday Funday technically started Saturday night. I went to dinner with a few college friends and it was great to catch up - one just got back from Afghanistan, so it was pretty neat to hear about his experiences as a pilot for the Marine Corps over there. While we were out, my phone was blowing up with people dropping left and right from riding Sunday morning (38 degrees with 25-35mph winds sounds just awesome for riding). I bailed on the Galveston ride, but was still planning to do Tour de Houston - with people who are way way too fast for me. What was I thinking? No idea. I finally sent a reply that said I might be out as well, as I was ordering a drink from the bar at Armadillo Palace, and had a little peer pressure to "live a little" from my friends. I convinced myself to at least get my stuff somewhat ready Saturday night when I got home in case I did end up riding Sunday morning.
Sunday morning came and I woke up a few minutes before my alarm and was still on the fence. I finally convinced myself to get up when my alarm went off, knowing I'd probably regret not riding and that I've never regretted riding. I threw on far more clothes than one should have to wear for a late March bike ride in Houston and headed out the door.
We actually did the "anti-Tour de Houston" and started from a coffee shop in the Heights and hopped on the route a little before the masses came through. I was freezing - big surprise. The route was ~70 miles, so we'd have ~35 straight into the damn wind. Every time we stopped and got started again, I was colder and the wind was significantly stronger. My first contact blew out less than 5 miles into the ride and the second blew out not much later. I had sunglasses on too. Thank goodness they are disposables and that I'm not that blind. It is also good the Shama Cycles kits are pretty easy to pick out without being able to see! I managed to hold onto the group for 22 miles and then 2 gusts of wind threw me off the back and I just could not catch back up. Luckily two of the guys waited back for me after a while and got me through the worst part on Westheimer Parkway - THANK YOU!! We caught back up and I yo-yoed with them for a while. We finally got a tail wind close to 40 miles in. They flew and my poor legs didn't so much fly. But at least they didn't have to work nearly as hard as they had been. We all grouped back up around mile 47 and I said I was going to take a short cut to the other coffee shop we decided to go to close to the end, and that they didn't need to wait on me any more - I said I had Mother Nature there to push me home!
I think their extra little loop downtown that I cut off gave them ~2 miles more than the route I did, yet they were all done ordering their coffee and some of them halfway through it by the time I got there! No problem though - I was happy to be alive at that point after venturing up Studemont by myself. I thought I was going to blow over into the bayou when I was crossing it. At one point I literally thought I was about to start rolling backwards down the little hill. Awesome.
As I finished my last bite of apple pastry and last sip of hot chocolate, dreading the short ride in the wind back to our starting place, talks of brunch came up. I said "didn't we just do that? because I sure just ate a brunch's worth of calories." They said nope - brunch is in a little while after we get cleaned up. So it was. The ride back to my car ended up not being that bad at all, but I made sure I had plenty of "protectors" ahead of me to break some of the wind. Haha - that sounds funny.
Brunch was very nice. I've gotten to know a group of cyclists pretty well over the last few months and they are all awesome people from all walks of life. I feel like I have a lot to learn from each one of them, with cycling only being a small part of what there is to learn. The group is also ever-changing and evolving which is fun too. I love meeting new people and had not necessarily been doing a very good job of it during the recent past.
I was thrilled to get home from brunch in time for a short nap before church. I headed to church and was excited to see we were going to sing one of my childhood favorite hymns when I sat down and opened the bulletin - "Lord of the Dance," which is performed to "Simple Gifts" tune, as part of Aaron Copeland's "Appalachian Spring." I am already feeling at home at the Sunday night St. Luke's service - I think so much of it is just the familiarity of a Methodist service, and something I haven't had on a regular basis in a long long time. I got an even bigger treat before we even got to the hymn though when the crème de la crème of the choir members surprised us. A different pianist sat down and played a few notes then a heavenly voice came from behind us. I kind of looked up and back, to see if there was a choir loft, but didn't see anyone on quick glance, so still didn't know where she was. I didn't want to turn completely around and look like a total newbie, so I just sat. THEN, several heavenly voices, high and low, sang together in unison and I got goose bumps it was so beautiful. I finally had to turn around again, and turns out they were in the little foyer area between the outside door and back of the church. There are glass windows separating the area, but no roof, so the sound was free to fill the entire chapel. WOW. I really felt at home then since the choir at my church in Beaumont is one of my favorite things about it. There were probably only 8-12 people, but I am not sure if I have ever heard something like that in such an unassuming atmosphere.
I again enjoyed the sermon - this week it was on "Deliver us from evil" as part of the series on The Lord's Prayer. Afterward I was saying hi to the pastor and she introduced me to a girl, Jordan, and said she was also a part of the young adult group. Jordan immediately invited me to dinner with some of the others and I said "yes", without hesitation. Then she asked the pastor if she could run into the sanctuary quickly to sing something and I asked if I could come along because the chapel was the only part of the church I had seen. All the while, I'm thinking to myself "who is this person you are being right now?" Saying yes to dinner with people I have never ever met, then inviting myself on basically a tour of the church by a complete stranger? Go me. Those may seem like little things, but those are things that I would not usually do inside my little comfort box. I've been stepping outside of my box a little here and there recently, and so far, things are pretty neat outside of that box! I was rewarded for inviting myself into the sanctuary with her as well - she sang the Our Father as well as a Latin hymn with a voice that filled the entire huge, dark, empty church and again gave me goose bumps. She was nervous to sing in front of me, and was just going in there to see what "really belting it out in a church that big" would be like. There were tears in my eyes before she was done singing and I told her she had absolutely nothing at all to be nervous about. We then headed to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings where I met a handful of other people - all very very nice and welcoming.
After that, I talked to my cousin on the phone for almost an hour which was great too. I haven’t talked to him in way too long so I was very nice to catch up. I had intended to go to bed around 7:30, as soon as I got home from church, but obviously that didn’t happen. I’m tired today, and feel like I have a hangover from the weekend, but it was definitely worth it.
I know I am blessed to be surrounded by such great people, and I am so thankful. There is a part of me that still feels very very lost, but that part didn't seem to come around yesterday which was great.
Ooh, on another somewhat related note - if anyone ever wants to come to the 6pm service at St. Luke's with me, please do!! I do not believe in pushing my beliefs on anyone, as I know it is a very personal thing, and have been very upset by others who have tried to push their beliefs on me, but if you want to come, consider this an open invitation and let me know!
Sunday morning came and I woke up a few minutes before my alarm and was still on the fence. I finally convinced myself to get up when my alarm went off, knowing I'd probably regret not riding and that I've never regretted riding. I threw on far more clothes than one should have to wear for a late March bike ride in Houston and headed out the door.
We actually did the "anti-Tour de Houston" and started from a coffee shop in the Heights and hopped on the route a little before the masses came through. I was freezing - big surprise. The route was ~70 miles, so we'd have ~35 straight into the damn wind. Every time we stopped and got started again, I was colder and the wind was significantly stronger. My first contact blew out less than 5 miles into the ride and the second blew out not much later. I had sunglasses on too. Thank goodness they are disposables and that I'm not that blind. It is also good the Shama Cycles kits are pretty easy to pick out without being able to see! I managed to hold onto the group for 22 miles and then 2 gusts of wind threw me off the back and I just could not catch back up. Luckily two of the guys waited back for me after a while and got me through the worst part on Westheimer Parkway - THANK YOU!! We caught back up and I yo-yoed with them for a while. We finally got a tail wind close to 40 miles in. They flew and my poor legs didn't so much fly. But at least they didn't have to work nearly as hard as they had been. We all grouped back up around mile 47 and I said I was going to take a short cut to the other coffee shop we decided to go to close to the end, and that they didn't need to wait on me any more - I said I had Mother Nature there to push me home!
I think their extra little loop downtown that I cut off gave them ~2 miles more than the route I did, yet they were all done ordering their coffee and some of them halfway through it by the time I got there! No problem though - I was happy to be alive at that point after venturing up Studemont by myself. I thought I was going to blow over into the bayou when I was crossing it. At one point I literally thought I was about to start rolling backwards down the little hill. Awesome.
As I finished my last bite of apple pastry and last sip of hot chocolate, dreading the short ride in the wind back to our starting place, talks of brunch came up. I said "didn't we just do that? because I sure just ate a brunch's worth of calories." They said nope - brunch is in a little while after we get cleaned up. So it was. The ride back to my car ended up not being that bad at all, but I made sure I had plenty of "protectors" ahead of me to break some of the wind. Haha - that sounds funny.
Brunch was very nice. I've gotten to know a group of cyclists pretty well over the last few months and they are all awesome people from all walks of life. I feel like I have a lot to learn from each one of them, with cycling only being a small part of what there is to learn. The group is also ever-changing and evolving which is fun too. I love meeting new people and had not necessarily been doing a very good job of it during the recent past.
I was thrilled to get home from brunch in time for a short nap before church. I headed to church and was excited to see we were going to sing one of my childhood favorite hymns when I sat down and opened the bulletin - "Lord of the Dance," which is performed to "Simple Gifts" tune, as part of Aaron Copeland's "Appalachian Spring." I am already feeling at home at the Sunday night St. Luke's service - I think so much of it is just the familiarity of a Methodist service, and something I haven't had on a regular basis in a long long time. I got an even bigger treat before we even got to the hymn though when the crème de la crème of the choir members surprised us. A different pianist sat down and played a few notes then a heavenly voice came from behind us. I kind of looked up and back, to see if there was a choir loft, but didn't see anyone on quick glance, so still didn't know where she was. I didn't want to turn completely around and look like a total newbie, so I just sat. THEN, several heavenly voices, high and low, sang together in unison and I got goose bumps it was so beautiful. I finally had to turn around again, and turns out they were in the little foyer area between the outside door and back of the church. There are glass windows separating the area, but no roof, so the sound was free to fill the entire chapel. WOW. I really felt at home then since the choir at my church in Beaumont is one of my favorite things about it. There were probably only 8-12 people, but I am not sure if I have ever heard something like that in such an unassuming atmosphere.
I again enjoyed the sermon - this week it was on "Deliver us from evil" as part of the series on The Lord's Prayer. Afterward I was saying hi to the pastor and she introduced me to a girl, Jordan, and said she was also a part of the young adult group. Jordan immediately invited me to dinner with some of the others and I said "yes", without hesitation. Then she asked the pastor if she could run into the sanctuary quickly to sing something and I asked if I could come along because the chapel was the only part of the church I had seen. All the while, I'm thinking to myself "who is this person you are being right now?" Saying yes to dinner with people I have never ever met, then inviting myself on basically a tour of the church by a complete stranger? Go me. Those may seem like little things, but those are things that I would not usually do inside my little comfort box. I've been stepping outside of my box a little here and there recently, and so far, things are pretty neat outside of that box! I was rewarded for inviting myself into the sanctuary with her as well - she sang the Our Father as well as a Latin hymn with a voice that filled the entire huge, dark, empty church and again gave me goose bumps. She was nervous to sing in front of me, and was just going in there to see what "really belting it out in a church that big" would be like. There were tears in my eyes before she was done singing and I told her she had absolutely nothing at all to be nervous about. We then headed to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings where I met a handful of other people - all very very nice and welcoming.
After that, I talked to my cousin on the phone for almost an hour which was great too. I haven’t talked to him in way too long so I was very nice to catch up. I had intended to go to bed around 7:30, as soon as I got home from church, but obviously that didn’t happen. I’m tired today, and feel like I have a hangover from the weekend, but it was definitely worth it.
I know I am blessed to be surrounded by such great people, and I am so thankful. There is a part of me that still feels very very lost, but that part didn't seem to come around yesterday which was great.
Ooh, on another somewhat related note - if anyone ever wants to come to the 6pm service at St. Luke's with me, please do!! I do not believe in pushing my beliefs on anyone, as I know it is a very personal thing, and have been very upset by others who have tried to push their beliefs on me, but if you want to come, consider this an open invitation and let me know!
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