Redbud Classic

This weekend saw the 26Th annual Redbud Classic. It's named after the Redbud, Oklahoma's state tree, and one of the one of the earliest blooming Oklahoma native trees. It takes place in early April, when the Redbuds are in bloom. There are a variety of events including runs and cycling tours of various lengths, a kids' run, and a baby stroller event. This is the first year I participated. I've mainly avoided it because of the hilly course, the unreliable weather of early April, and sheer unadulterated laziness. Usually I am not ready to tackle a ride of any length this early in the season. Because I now live about a mile from the starting line, I had few excuses that would hold up, so I signed up, along with Shana and several of our group. The first part of last week saw high temperatures into the 80's, with morning lows in the high 50's to mid 60's. I mention this because this morning I rose to find a temperature of barely 40 degrees, with an expected high of 70. I weighed my clothing options, as did we all, and decided on a jacket, but no leg warmers. I thought I would warm up quickly, and the temperatures would rise quickly enough to make them unwanted baggage early in the ride. This turned out to be not at all true. At fifteen miles I was so cold that I swear I could not feel my calves at all. then we turned south into the wind. The good news was that we were not burning off much water, so our stops were pretty brief. The cold temperatures made lots of people get cramps in their legs. All of our group finished their chosen distances, albeit with generous amounts of whining. I was really glad I only chose to ride 33 miles instead of the fifty mile I had considered.

Alex, Jamie, and Vivian came for dinner Friday night to celebrate Alex's birthday. Oddly enough, I only took pictures of Vivian. I got Bad Grandma points by laughing when Vivian made loud animal noises at the table. Apparently I am not supposed to egg her on, but she was so cute I just had to laugh. She's almost walking, and an intrepid explorer. If Mom or Dad is out of sight she doesn't fuss; she just takes off to find them.