Christmas-time!

The most frightful weather had finally passed.

Costco has some weird stuff. I threatened Tim that I was bringing these guys back.

Today was a blast! At least, it was after all the craziness ended. I'm glad I didn't post earlier or it might have been a very different attitude. Wednesday is my day off so I had planned on biking some errands, one of which happened to be heading over to Costco to pick up Christmas decorations for Practical Cycle. I was really excited about this adventure. 

It took me awhile to get ready to go, funnier because I don't even have the kiddos to slow me down. By the time I left the house on the Mundo, it was raining. Real rain, too, like Portland. A third of the way, it began dumping. Pouring rain doesn't happen very often in Sacramento. You can tell by the number of people wearing jeans and Uggs. We don't know what to do when it rains! I was luckily wearing a pair of leggings, nylon pants, and rain pants with a rain jacket over my fleece jacket and scarf. Unfortunately, I hadn't planned my shoes very well because I was hoping to get some rain boots as one of my errands. My right sock soaked through first, my left shortly after. My gloves were useless soon, too. I love riding in the rain because eventually, you're as wet as you can get and nothing else matters. Getting off the bike, however, I started to get cold. Thankfully, Costco was nice and warm. I wandered around eating as many samples as I could to help reenergize. 

Disney Cars bicycles. Huh?

I ended up getting lots of great Christmas decorations as well as 2 lbs of cheese for my mom and a set of base-layer pants for both Jose and myself. When I got it out to the bike, I suddenly realized I had no idea what I was going to do. 

The nightmare begins!

I was slightly concerned about the rain so I had asked for a sheet of plastic, thinking they could give me some of the stuff off the giant wrapped pallets. Instead, they gave me a few feet of plastic wrap. Not very helpful but there was a little window of clear weather that I was hoping would last. 

AAARrrrggggHHH!!!

This is when I started freaking out. The Peanut Shell was in the way, my panniers weren't big enough, I didn't have enough bungees or tie-downs. The dang wreath was not going to work. It was windy and I getting really worried. I even called Jose (who had taken his parents' car to school this morning) and told him I was giving up. I begged him to come get the wreath. I kept working at the bike and twittering my frustration. Dorie and Kath were cheering me on. So many people were walking by, shaking their heads, asking me if I really was going to do this. I told them no. I was getting picked up. I was done. Jose got out of class to save me. 

Then, I finally wrenched the wreath out of the giant box. 

Yay!!! Two lighted garlands, six boxes of light strings, two sets of thermals, two pounds sliced Jarlsburg, two Chariot stroller wheels that had just been fixed at REI, and one insanely huge wreath. I was covered in glitter.

Woo hooo! I called Jose, twittered my success, and off I went! The wind was gusty but the rain held off. I was navigating around fallen branches and slippery leaves. It was beautiful! 

So far, so good!

I love the American River Parkway.

Amazingly, the wreath made it in one piece! 

Arrived at Practical Cycle!

Hmmm, maybe I should keep my bike decorated for the holidays.

You have no idea how happy I was! Poor Jose got yelled at by his teacher for running out to get me, what a sweet guy. I keep wondering what I would have done if he hadn't happened to have been available. My parents weren't even in town for them to come save me. Tim would have ridden out to help. Dorie told me to run back into Costco and buy more bungees. She and Kath were the ones who kept encouraging me to try even though I was giving up. They were the ones sending hints and ideas and general positive thoughts. 

After getting home, changing out of my soaked clothes, and resting a bit, I hopped on the BionX and rode off to do some home visits for my exchange student program. The BionX was a great relief to have a nice, relaxing ride after today's craziness. It also has the best lights. Another crisp, dry night ride--my favorite! The fun light displays made it even better. 

The Fabulous Forties certainly put out an amazing light display. I felt like I was in a parade.