From the Inside Out

We woke early on Thursday — the time change will do that to you — so we grabbed a quick breakfast and went exploring again. This time, we decided to make the trek to the Fortress perched on top of the hill overlooking Salzburg. It’s an interesting place to visit, but the best part is the view from that location. As you can see below, it’s amazing.

After exploring the fortress, we met our tour guides and got prepped for the afternoon ride. We added our pedals, ensured the bikes had a proper fit, and did a short test ride before meeting up with the entire group for lunch at a local restaurant.

We began our 11-mile warm-up ride through the heart of Salzburg after lunch. Salburg has the most extensive bike paths in all of Europe. It’s terrific. The ride took us along the river and through a couple of small neighboring cities. The views were great. The scenery is so beautiful here, and biking along the paths gives you an opportunity to see parts of the country that you would never see if you were in a car or train. You also get to ride with the locals because there are tons of people who cycle here. I’ve never seen to many people on bikes. It’s really neat.

It was a great start to our trip. The only down side was that it began raining after dinner. When I’m cycling, rain is not my friend! I’m more of a sunshine gal when I’m on my bike. Pray for sun!

And, as always, you can see more pictures in my Austria photo album.

Our latest show, Blame It On The Pony Express, opened last weekend at McKinney Repertory Theatre. The audiences were fantastic! Adults and kids had a blast cheering, booing, laughing, and throwing popcorn — and so did we. I absolutely love melodramas. They are so much fun for the actors and the audience.

I was able to reprise my role as the cranky, but loveable piano player, Ivory Keyes. The character is lots of fun to play because she speaks her mind and provides much of the background music for the show. It’s a unique role that allows me to use both my acting and musical abilities, so I really enjoy it.

The show continues to run through this weekend. We’re performing at 8 pm on Friday and Saturday, and our final performance is on Sunday at 2 pm. If you haven’t seen the show yet, get your tickets now, and bring a can of food to get a free bag of popcorn. All canned food donations will go to the local food bank.

Check out a few preview pictures below (and more in the albums section of my blog).

There seems to be a plague sweeping the country, and I am one of the unfortunate who got caught in it’s grasp. I came down with it on Tuesday, and five days later, I’m still sick. It’s miserable — fever, chills, congestion, sore throat, and fatigue. I’m not having fun. And it doesn’t seem to be getting much better. That’s the scary part.

I cancelled all of my plans today so I could get some rest before Tech Week begins. I bailed out of singing at church, bailed from the set load, and bailed out of rehearsal tonight. It’s a desperate attempt to give my body the energy it needs to kick the butt of this virus once and for all! I hope it works.

Besides wallowing in misery all weekend, I did manage to drag myself out of bed to see Jerry Seinfeld live on Friday night. We purchased tickets a few weeks ago, and since it’s an extremely rare event for the comedian to perform in Dallas, I was not going to cancel. I just hope I didn’t infect everyone sitting near me.

Winspear/ATT PAC — Waiting for the show to begin

The show was amazing. Tom Papa, the host for the Marriage Ref TV show, opened for Jerry, and he did a fantastic job of warming up the crowd. He also proved that you can be funny without cursing or delving into potty humor. I was impressed. After Tom’s set, Jerry jogged onto the stage, and he was immediately welcomed with a standing ovation. He personalized his act for the crowd in the beginning by starting with a few jokes about the Winspear, the venue where he was performing here in Dallas. He then moved on to a more standard set of jokes, but in typically Jerry Seinfeld fashion, they were all hilarious.

I was exhausted at the end of the evening and all of the laughing made my throat hurt more, but I wouldn’t have missed it for anything. I was glad I went. Who knows when, or if, he’ll be back, and I needed a bright spot in the middle of my suffering. After all, they do say that laughter is the best medicine.

It started at 5 am on Saturday. We dragged ourselves out of bed, finished packing, and loaded our bikes in the Jeep. We were on our way to our first MS 150 ride, a cycling event benefiting the MS Society. We drove to the starting point in Frisco, dropped off our luggage which would be transported to our hotel for an overnight stay near the Texas Motor Speedway where we would end our first day of riding. My goal was to ride the Express route (50 miles on day one; 30 miles on day two), and Gary’s goal was to ride the full 150 miles in two days.

It was still dark when we reached the starting point and began to line up with our teams. The “night person” in my head was complaining about the early hour, but it didn’t matter, I was excited about the ride. I had been looking forward to it for many months.

By 7 am, the sun had risen, and members of the Cisco team were gathered at the starting line with us.

The ride started out on the Dallas North Toll road road, which had a lane closed to allow a safe route for all of the cyclists. The ride was also supported by local law enforcement who managed traffic control. With over 3,000 cyclists, it was an important job! Our course took us Northward to Decatur before taking us back South to reach the Texas Motor Speedway. Rest stops stocked with food, drinks, tech support, and bathrooms were staggered about every 10 miles along the route. The picture above is from Rest Stop #3.

Around mile 40, we reached Lake Ray Roberts and rode across the dam. It was extremely windy that day and the wind was whipping across the road, but the view of the lake was great. I will admit that when I looked over at that smooth water, I wanted to be wakeboarding in it instead of on my bike pedaling over it. It was a moment of weakness in my fatigued state…haha!

Ten miles later, I reached the end of my ride and attained my goal of 50 miles! My ride ended at the lunch stop, so while Gary continued onward, I joined with another Cisco rider and enjoyed the free lunch provided by Subway. It felt good to be done with the hardest part of my ride.

After lunch, I jumped on the shuttle which transported me to Texas Motor Speedway. Once there, I joined up with other Cisco riders and the volunteers in the Team Cisco tent. I also took advantage of the massage therapist in the tent. She was amazing, and the massage felt great after a long ride!

A few hours later, Gary finished his 86 mile ride and crossed the finish line. We were there to cheer for him as he rode across. It was a fantastic finish to a great day.

By the end of the day, rumors were already spreading that storms were brewing and the ride might have to be cancelled on Sunday. We went back to our hotel that evening hoping we would be able to continue the ride to Sundance Square in Fort Worth, but the forecast was discouraging. Storms were supposed to start in the late hours of the night and continue all day on Sunday.

We woke again at 5 am and received a text moments later informing us that the ride had been cancelled due to severe storms. By the time we left the hotel, the temperature was in the 40s and the weather was threatening. I was relieved that they cancelled the ride. I would not have wanted to ride in those conditions.

We were transported back to the TMS where we caught a shuttle that would take us back to Frisco where our car was parked. Our bicycles would be transported back later in the day. Even though the second day had a disappointing end, the entire experience was still lots of fun. I’m hoping to ride the full route next year — and praying for good weather!

Next up…riding in Salzburg and Prague! The adventure continues soon…

They say that time flies when you are having fun. I guess that means I’ve been having lots of fun lately! Between work, church, rehearsals at McKinney Repertory Theatre, and training for the MS 150, I scarcely remember the month of April. It’s a good fuzzy blur of activity.

As I sit writing this blog, the world is eagerly awaiting the marriage of Kate and William. The festivities will take place at 5 am local time on Friday, but for me, I’m anticipating another momentous event. An event that will also start in the wee hours of the morning. It may not be as big as the wedding of a prince, but it holds tremendous meaning for me. It’s the MS 150 ride on Saturday and Sunday. I’m both excited and intimidated, but despite my conflicting feelings, I’m eager to get it started.

If you’ve been reading my blog, then you know I’ve been training for a long time for this ride. I even survived a crash and fall on my last ride the Sunday before the event. In spite of the soreness, I’m moving forward. I’m pushing through it, and I’m ready to go.

There’s only one more day left! Wish me good luck, sunny skies, and warm, dry weather.