I woke up and had a nutella sammy and a peach for breakfast.  Although it was almost noon, so I guess it qualified as an early lunch.

I got these peaches on sale at Safeway last week, and have not been impressed.  They are not very sweet…  I’m going to try ones from the farmers market next week.  Remember the Monster peaches?  I can’t wait until those are back!!  Enough of these wimpy peaches.

After breakfast, it was time for me to get back up.  Time to get back on the bike.  Scared?  Check.  Ready?  Um… no check.  But did it anyways.  I knew if I didn’t get back on today, the day after, my fear would just get bigger in my mind and I never would. 

First we went on a quick trip around the block.  It went well, I felt ok.  So I decided to just do it.  Rather than turning back into the driveway to talk to S and tell him I was ready, I just headed out to the main road.  Plus, I thought that would make it easier because it wouldn’t force me to exit the sharp right out of the driveway toward the main street.  We stopped at the stoplight to turn onto the main street.  S pulled up beside me and gave me a questioning look.  I gave him a thumbs up… the light turned green, and we were off!

I rode my bike to Barnes and Nobles!  It is only about 3 miles from where we live, but there are many turns, traffic lights, and lots of cars!  Not to mention the parking lot is small, crowded and has many speed bumps.  I didn’t drop the bike, or even come close.  I was so proud of myself!

Inside B&N, I had a celebratory caramel frappuccino.  I was actually HOT, because my heart was racing so fast!

But shortly after finishing the frappuccino, I realized that I still had to drive back home. 

I’m proud to say that the ride home was just as good.  Getting started and getting out of the parking lot was tricky, but I did well.  There was no bike dropping, no near accidents, just fun, good driving. 

I’m really glad it was a good experience.  It helped boost my confidence in riding again, and helped confirm my belief that you just need to get up one more time than you fall

We then got on S’s bike together and went to Cycle Gear, where I bought a new riding jacket.  I also got gloves and a shaded visor for my helmet so I can ride in the sun:

The pink gloves match my new black and pink riding jacket (you can see a little in the Santa Cruz pic below!)  Certified badass???  Maybe….

We stopped back at home and I had a bag of pop chips.  BBQ flavor… not a single serving bag   I also drank one of my bottles of POM!

S and I continued the celebration by taking a long ride to Santa Cruz – him driving, me riding on the back.  We parked on the pier and walked around.  It was a gorgeous day!  The sun was shining, boats out on the water. 

Like my new jacket?

Like my man?

The sea lions were swimming again.  Love watching them swim.

Then we got… sweets from Marinis!!!!  Yes, although I managed to say no to fudge the last time I was there, with my sister and Brett, this time I had to say yes.  I got a big chunk of mudslide fudge.

Holy yum.  I don’t even know what kind of fudge the light brown color is, but the dark brown is chocolate and it has oreo cookies in it.  Need I say more?

S got a giant pixie stick.  We sat on the bench in the sun and ate our goods… totally felt like I was back in grade school.  Sitting with my crush on the bench, sharing a huge pixie stick.  Except for the fact that I was carrying a motorcycle helmet.

Then this guy came and sat on the ledge in front of us.

At first I thought he was just balancing on one leg, like a flamingo or something.  I dunno… doing seagull yoga?  But then, S and I realized he only had one leg!  Poor guy, it was hilarious.  He had serious skill, though… hopping along the ledge and taking off and landing with one foot.  He kept flying away and then coming back.  He liked us!

For dinner, I made a big salad with shrimp, eggs, almonds, broccoli, cheese… the works!

Dessert was 3 chocolate chip cookies left over from my sister’s birthday, and a girl scout cookie. 

Lesson of the day?  Don’t give up.  When you fall down, get back up.