Yeah, summer is finally here!  What awesome weather we've been having compared to last year when it rained so much.  We've been doing a ton of riding since the kids and I are training for the Pan Mass Challenge.  The 50 mile one day teen ride will take place on August 8 and raises money for the Jimmy Fund which supports cancer research.  If you are interested in donating, click here.  Upcoming bike trips this summer include Cape Vincent (Thousand Islands in upstate, NY), Martha's Vineyard, and parts of PA.

The Redbones Bike party back in June was really fun this year since the kids and my friend Leah came.  It was a beautiful night with no rain (yeah!) and the pulled pork sandwiches were to die for.  Mike's grand prize raffle bike was awesome and the winners, Elizabeth and Justin of Somerville, were ecstatic.  All proceeds went to NEMBA and MassBike.   Check out the pictures.

The opening at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC back in May was amazing!  We took the train down and got a lovely tour of Michael Maraham's office (the curator) and then he took all the builders (Sacha White, Peter Weigle, Richard Sachs, Jeff Jones, Dario Pegoretti, and Mike) and their significant others out for lunch .  He also put us up in a swanky hotel.  The show itself was wonderful and very well attended.  Only a certain number of people were allowed to be in the room at one time and my parents told us that the line to get in was out the door!  My favorite part was Richard's collection of New Yorker covers with bicycle themes.  The show runs until August 15 if you want to go.  There is also a book available now too on Amazon!

Mike and I went on a fabulous trip to San Francisco back in April.  The first half of the week was spent in the city since I had a work conference to go to.  We brought our folding bikes with us (Mike made himself a new one since his original one got stolen at NAHBS) and we biked all over including Japan Town, Coit Tower, and Lombard Street!  The second half of the week we went to Napa to visit Curtis Inglis and his wife Mitzi.  We biked all over wine country and also visited Sean at Soulcraft, Jeremy at Sycip, Steve at Rex Cycles, and my friend Mary in Sacramento.  Check out all of our pictures.

Bay Colony Rail Trail News:  I've been appointed secretary to the Bay Colony Rail Trail Association which is trying to convert an abandoned rail road line into a bike trail that runs right behind our house in Medfield all the way to Newton.  So far, each town along the path has written a letter requesting a feasibility study.  We submitted our request to the Boston Region MPO which was accepted and we are slated for the 2011 fiscal calendar.  You can join our mailing list by sending an email to mailinglistsubscribe@baycolonyrailtrail.org

Ride on....

Sincerely, Betsy and Mike