Ok...so it's been awhile. :{

I can't believe I let this lapse.  Anyway, we went for pizza in Chicago last November.  A place named Piece located on North Ave. in Chicago (www.piecechicago.com).  We took the family and it was a thumbs up from all.  One of the nice things about this place was the fact we could all get individual pizzas and everyone was able to pick what they like...even the non-pizza eater.  The place was quite busy when we went (Saturday afternoon) but our wait was fairly short.  The seating was quite crowded, but the atmosphere was nice.  If I am remembering correctly, there was a lot of wood decoration which made the place feel cozy.  Unfortunately, all of the pictures I took inside got deleted when I had to reboot my phone.  But here we are standing out front. 

The next big thing that has happened since last year is the purchase of our new road bikes.  They were our Christmas presents to each other, but we got them in October.  I think we both got to ride them once or twice before the season ended.  Hubs did the research, and since we didn't want to spend too much (just in case this was a passing fancy) we purchased lower end road bikes.  I went with the Giordano, solely because I liked the way it looked. Hubs chose the Tommaso.   I was going to match him, with the woman's version,  but I liked the pink on the Giordano.  Hubs says he chose the bikes from their reviews.  I don't know if that is the best way, but that's what we did.  Here we are....

 The first time I got on the bike, it was ROUGH!  I thought I was going to crash.  I had trouble steering, and I DID NOT LIKE how far I had to lean down.  It felt awkward, and my neck hurt because I did not know how to hold my head.  I was so worried that we had made a huge mistake in going with the road bikes instead of something else.  However, my worries are gone, and my neck pain has gotten much better, but my back still does not like me to lean down as much as I do.  I also do not like the seat.  I have been looking for a better one, but have not purchased one yet. Not only does my rear end hurt, it leaves my inner thigh and groin area in pain for a few days.  Almost making it too painful to ride at times.  Since researching, I have learned that the seat is not right for my "sit point."  I am hoping to figure this out, as it really affects my attitude towards riding.  Hubs also had difficulty getting used to his seat at first, but has not complained since  the first few rides.  We bought better padded biking shorts, which may have also helped. 

We are currently working towards our 3rd reward which is a trip to Minneapolis.  We're hoping to go at the end of October.  Our goal is a 20K ride.  That should be easily met if we keep up our progress.  We should have had this trip in May, but winter cold, injuries, and lack of motivation (on my part) stopped us.  (Winter really shouldn't have been an excuse since we also bought one of those indoor contraptions to put our bikes on to ride inside.  Hubs did that more than I did.  I typically used my elliptical instead.)  However, we are now back on track and doing well.  We ride every other day, except when Hubs has to work very late.  Marching band season is upon us again, too, so I have to work around that, as well.  We got up to 14K the other day, and it felt great...so I'm hoping 20K is next.  One our problems is the dogs that live in our area.  They chase us when we ride by, and it freaks me out (people around here do not always lock their dogs up).   We need to find a better route, that hopefully does not include as many dogs. 

Well, that is enough for now.  Thanks for sticking with us.