Race for the Cure 2008

Imagine an intimate sprint/jog/stroll with about 20,000 of your closest friends. Well, perhaps not closest friends, but definitely soul mates as everyone there has been touched by the fiend named "Breast Cancer."

Each participant paid a fee to take part (proceeds going to breast cancer research). Along with great goodies like tee shirts, hats, bracelets, scarves, pedometers, hot/cold compress thingies, and refreshments; each participant received a number with a sheet on which was printed: "In celebration of..." Each participant noted who they were honoring or why they were participating.

Ali's said: "In celebration of my Mom."

Stephanie's said: "In celebration of Martha and my Mom."

Bill's said: "In memory of Martha." (Martha, Bill's Mom, passed away from breast cancer 13 years ago.)

Tammy's said: "In celebration of ME! Three year survivor!"

Tammy commented that as they jogged, walked and jostled along there was a mixture of laughter and tears from strangers brought together by their life and death struggles with The Fiend. Survivors, family members and friends celebrating a life extended, or missing loved ones departed, all joined together through the bonds of common experience. Those that have battled the Fiend, whether successful or not, all share in their common knowledge of suffering and struggling against a pernicious enemy. From that commonality comes a camaraderie and intimacy of understanding that allows strangers to embrace, laugh and cry together while progressing along the 5K route on the streets of the city. It is an unforgettable experience.

Race for the Cure 2008 participants included Ali, Tammy, Stephanie, Bill and Wyatt (the lazy one lounging about in the stroller). Race for the Cure 2007 participants included Ali, Steve Cope (Ali's husband), Megan and Tammy.

This marks the second year the Card girls and other family members have participated in Race for the Cure. This tradition will continue in future years. Could there be a better way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday morning in May? Come and join in the Race for the Cure 2009!

Great Moments in Card Family History

Here are some great moments in the history of the Russ and Tammy Card family, some extended family too. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do when we reminisce - that means you'll have to roll around on the floor having giggle fits. Of course, most of this will be meaningless to you unless you were there. But we don't care. It makes us smile to think back on these events anyway.

... "Are you ready to order?" asks the waitress at Hires Big H. "Duuuuuuuuuuuh," says Tammy.

... Russ accidentally throws his dance partner into the fire pit during a performance of "Dance on a Country Grave" at BYU.

... Tammy bouncing off the plate glass window at Big 5 Sports which she thought was a doorway.

... "What can I get you?" asks the teenager behind the counter at the Yogurt Parlor. "Did you wash your hands?" asks Tammy.
(Editorial comment: funny that so many of Tammy's embarrassing moments take place in eating establishments.)

... Russ mixes up the lyrics to "Molasses to Rum to Slaves" in the dress rehearsal for 1776 at BYU, which forces the orchestra to jump around in the score to stay with him. During notes after the rehearsal, the conductor comments, "Russ, you may want to take a look at the lyrics."
(Editorial comment: funny that so many of Russ's embarrassing moments take place in theatrical productions.)

... After carrying tray after tray of food upstairs to our table at Los Hermanos, Russ comments to the waitress, "You should get a dumbwaiter to help with that." "We have one," she replies, "but we keep him in the kitchen."

... Russ falls down the stairs on Christmas Eve hurting his back.
... Russ falls down the stairs while carrying Abbie, our Yorkie puppy, sending the little furball tumbling down the stairs.
... Russ falls up the stairs breaking his toe.
(Editor's note: Russ now avoid stairs, preferring to reach other levels using ladders, elevators, Star Trek transporters.)

... "Look what I can do!" says Tammy just before the rolls her trike in the middle of the street.

Remind me of some more, and I'll add them.

Moose on the Loose

Last Fall a couple of moose came to visit the cabin while Russ was standing in the driveway. It is hard to see, but the one on the left is batting at a water spigot with its head. Shortly after this picture was taken, the clever moose succeeded in turning on the water.

Russ got to thinking (a new experience for him, as we all know). His thoughts went something like this:

"What if the moose drops by sometime when we're not here and turns on the water, then leaves? Hmmn. Can you say flood? Can you say wash away the gravel driveway? Can you say swimming pool in the crawlspace? And terror of terros, can you say get a nasty letter from the Timberlakes Water Company for using culinary water for landscaping? Aaaargh!"

Needless to say, we now keep a loop of rope over the water spigot so it can't be flipped up and turned on. Of course, the moose can probably untie the rope using its teeth and tongue. In fact, it probably does that whenever it needs a drink. Then it shuts off the water and reties the rope so we won't know. Ha, ha! Very funny. Then again, our water usage has been going up...

Being only a few feet from a couple of moose really brings home how large they are. So, sorry Doc, you can't keep them as pets.

Got Triker's Grin?

Have you got triker's grin? We do!

Here we are at the beach in Lincoln City, Oregon on twin WizWheelz TerraTrike Tours. Since then we've tried a bunch of different trikes - easy to do when you own a recumbents-only bike shop (see Recumbent Cycles of Utah at www.rcutah.com) - but right now we're riding Greenspeed trikes. Tammy rides a GT-3. Russ rides an X-5 tricked out with a Schlumpf High Speed Drive.

Last August we took part in the ULCER (Utah Lake Century Epic Ride). It was the longest Tammy had ever ridden since completing her cancer treatments. We did the 34 mile route, and had a wonderful time. For that ride, Tammy was on her WizWheelz TerraTrike Tour and Russ was riding his Catrike Expedition. We're looking forward to doing more long-distance organized rides this year.

At the mid-summer Bent Bike Boogie Tammy had a close encounter with a bird. When we stopped at Vivian Park, a very precocious bird hopped right up to Tammy while she was sitting on her trike. The bird first jumped onto the right front wheel of Tammy's trike. But before too long, the bird hopped right on Tammy's leg. Look closely, and you'll see it.


If you haven't tried a tadpole trike, you should. But be warned, you'll probably end up getting triker's grin.