LGRaB Summer Games - 1st entry - meet *Leeza*

an easy breezy

bike ride

with the *boyf*

made up

my sunday afternoon.

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[the black & white effect with the shadowy

border looked beautiful on some of the pics.]

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i love this pic.

reminds me that we need helmets, though.

this is us riding in my queens neighborhood,

before heading east to long island.

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bright yellow LIVESTRONG.

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raising my seat higher.

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legs should be fully extended

with a pointed toe, right??

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arrived to

Eisenhower Park

in Garden City.

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in the pic above,

we had to get off our bikes

& walk around the Veterans Memorial.

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Now...

as you know,

[& if you didn't, now you do...]

in the first category, Social Cycling,

one of the bulleted "challenges' was to

say 'hi' to a cyclist at a red light.

well,
I think I might have done one better.
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while at the Veterans Memorial,
the *boyf* goes,
"Baby, don't you need to say 'hi' to another biker?"
I respond,
"Yes."
Then Tomas says,
"Well, why don't you say 'hi' to her?"
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I turn around and see the oldest woman in miles,
with a pretty awesome bike:
nice, wide seat,
cute basket,
bike-bell
{briiiiiing briiiiiiiing}
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after Tomas & I
discussed game play of how we would approach her,
I walked up and opened with,

"Excuse me, we were just admiring your bike. Do you think I could take a picture with you? I want to be just like you in a couple of years."

Haa haa...I thought she'd like that.

turns out we had stopped to talk to

'The Long Island Bike Woman'.

yeah, according to her, she's famous. i'm sure she's been biking all her life, but told us she got really into biking fourteen years ago, after her husband died. she says almost every county on Long Island knows her by name: Leeza.

[it might be spelled 'Lisa', but with her thick, heavy German accent, she pronounced it 'Leeza' and so that's how I'm spellin' it. That's how I like it. She was fabulous.]

i wish these videos were longer & you really got to hear her speak.

we talked for a good 15 minutes about her bike, picking out a bike, how her children and grandchildren tell her she needs a helmet.

she was so sharp, so on-point, and man WAS SHE OLD, but VIBRANT.

Tomas compared her face to that of The Fantastic Four's the Thing. [Not to her face, though - good gosh, no! Haa haa! He related that gem just to me.] She was really wrinkly, but so fascinating and lovely and uh! I just loved her. She was a living testament to biking = long life and longevity. It was amazing.

I'm already so incredibly appreciative to the LGRaB Summer Games for giving me an experience I never would have had otherwise, if I hadn't been on a scavenger hunt for a cyclist to say 'hi' to.

Now...

The Long Island Bike Lady is going to be on the lookout for us this summer, and we'll be on the lookout for Leeza.

I couldn't be more excited.

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our bike adventure continued deeper into the park to an unexpected, outdoor art fair.

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i think you know what little miss this reminded me of.

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the day was turning out to be such a blast.

can you tell i was enjoying it? Bwaaahaaa.

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mid-ride snack: hot dog & mini pringles pack.

bikes take a break, too.
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happy girl on her bike. love.

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this is probably my favorite pic.

i'm amongst my people: five year olds,

having just as much fun as them.

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i'm not sure if the boy in the pic above is

laughing with me, or at me.

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good times.
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the *boyf* is showing off that he can ride for an extended period of time with no hands [something I've yet to master]...we're almost home in this pic, and he was going to grill when we got there.

to say the least, he was a giddy giddy gumdrop.

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i hope this post has motivated you get outside at some point today, because outside really is fun. c'mon...it is.

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Happy Tuesday, tater tots!