Family Bike Day and 9 miles in 90 degrees :)

Let's just start off with the cutest thing I have to offer you in this blog post:

That's my baby girl! Those of you who have had toddlers understand why this picture is blurry - once they start walking, they're in constant motion. Check out that ladybug helmet! So, next weekend is Bike the Drive, Chicago's awesomest bike event of the year, and that's saying a lot as Chicago has a great bike culture. 30 miles of car-free Lake Shore Drive, from Bryn Mawr to 57th street, and the funds raised support the Active Transportation Alliance, one of the 12 nonprofits I'm promoting this year. You can still register! In preparation, Savva figured out how to assemble the bike trailer that Dad & Kathy got us before Eliana was even born. Then this morning we managed to attach it to the bike, get Elly strapped safely in, and ride about 3 miles north along the lakefront. I was afraid that Eliana wouldn't like wearing the helmet, but she loved it and cried when I tried to take it off. Yes!

I think I've been at Bike the Drive either as a rider or as a volunteer every year for at least the past 9 years, but maybe more. Here's pics from 2011, when little two month old Eliana stayed home with Grandma while Savva & I went out on our early morning biking date. It was eerily foggy the whole time, and nice and cool.

And here's from May 2006, near the end of my first year of teaching. I volunteered at the north rest stop with some of the many awesome Lake View students. (I'm the photographer, so I'm not in the picture. But I did indeed look young enough that first year that you might have had trouble picking me out of the group.)

Amra Durmic, Jaime Torres, Miguel Ayala, Enes Mehmedovic,
David Castro, Jonathan Blanco, Diana Hernandez and Tina Bruce

And here's the 2004 Bike the Drive, with my Dad and my brother Daniel. These two guys are my biking partners from way way way back when. Dad used to take us out on the lakefront path for "Quality Time With Your Father," when we were quite little. We called it the Trail of Death, because unfortunately Daniel, being 2 years younger than I, hadn't quite mastered the art of keeping a bike steady and ended up with lots of scraped and bruised parts - plus then Dad got a flat tire when we were about a million miles from the car and we had to walk FOREVER, or so it seemed to us kids. But we probably got ice cream (or Susie's fries) at the end, which makes everything okay.

After hearing on the news that we hit 90 degrees today, the highest of the year so far, I sighed, drank some extra water, and headed out for my planned 9 mile run. (Actually, it wasn't 90 degrees for me, because I was on the lakefront. Still. Warm.)

I didn't want to stray too far from home in case my knee really started giving me trouble, so I ran 3 miles north, then 2 miles south, then 1 1/2 miles back north and finally 2 1/2 miles south, back to my starting point. And my knee felt great! A really nice run, I feel totally ready for the Soldier Field 10 mile race one week from today. Bear down!