Swim, Bike, Run!

This past Sunday my friends and I "competed" in the Boulder Peak Triathlon. After much training, we all finished and exceeded our goals! The race consisted of a 1.5K swim, 42K bike ride, and a 10K run. Although we weren't actually racing anyone but ourselves, it is always fun to get the adrenaline going in a race environment.

As you can see from the photo, Marcy, Lauren, Karen, Holly and I were all pretty excited to show off our huge muscles.

Actually, I did feel pretty tough until I found out that one of the athletes in the race ran into a BEAR while going 35mph on her bike! I'm not kidding -- check out the news story on it: http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/local_story_205183705.html. Who runs into a bear while riding her bike? Plus, who would actually finish the race after a huge wipeout involving a bear?Now, that's tough!

It was a great event, and lots of fun to train with my sister and friends. Joe seemed to be "busy" that weekend, but I'll have to make sure he doesn't have any plans next year. Any other takers for this event next summer?

Go for the Gorge!

Last weekend was the 2006 MS 150 Bike Tour. This was my second year participating, and I was grateful to have Joe, Holly, and my dad also join me this year. My best friend, Marcy's dad suffers from MS, and each year she is the captain of the "Mac Supertrain" Team (her dad's name is Mac).

The ride once again proved to be very challenging, extremely rewarding and lots of fun! We rode in a constant rain all day Saturday -- it is VERY rare to have an entire day of rain in Colorado, especially in July! Despite our soggy shoes and wet clothes, we made it to Colorado College in Colorado Springs, where we spent the night in the dorms. After our dinner and massages, we crashed! The sun came out for most of the day on Sunday, as we rode further south past Canon City onto the Royal Gorge. This is the highest suspension bridge in North America! (The picture kind of reminds me of the two of us in front of another suspension bridge!!) The "MS 150" is a bit of a misnomer -- as Joe and I pedaled across the finish line, my odometer read 170 miles!!

One of the funniest moments (I wish I had a picture of it!) was when Joe and I rushed to the airport in an attempt catch our flight to SLC on Sunday night. Yes, we showed up to the ticket counter in our biking clothes -- smelly, tired, sore, and hungry -- just as the flight was departing from the gate. I don't know if the ticket agents were impressed or just wanted to get rid of us, but they put us on the first flight Monday morning for only $25 each without charging us the fare difference! I guess missing our flight wasn't funny at the time, but at least we can laugh about it now!

It was a great ride, and it was an honor to raise money for the National MS Socitey in the process. We are accepting recruits for the team next year! Boog says he's in!

Welcome!

I have officially visited our new blog!

I guess now that we are getting married, I should get used to all decisions starting with "We decided...." As Joe said, I had no idea the blog was being created until I saw the email he sent! But, I agree, it's a great way to keep in touch. I have been checking Boog & Tracey's blog quite frequently, and I love to see the latest photos and read what they have been up to. I hope this will allow you to keep updated on the happenings in our lives as well. I have to admit, it is rather exciting to see "Kelly & Joe Cronley" at the top of the page, even though it's not quite official yet. Enjoy the postings!

Kelly and Joe visit the cabin

Recently Kelly and I made the trip to The Cabin. One of the requirements prior to marriage into the Cronley family is making a trip to The Cabin. It was great to see all the relatives that were there for Rachel and William Oppen's wedding reception. It was great to see The Cabin and drive the ol' Toyota pick up. The beast still runs! (and its good for another 100,000 miles) It was tough to see The Cabin go, as mom recently sold The Cabin to Uncle Peter, but all good things must come to an end. Additionally, I was able to sell my snowmobile and trailer to Cousin Tom Sheridan during our visit.

Kelly enjoyed her stay at The Cabin, but I am sure the plush accommodations at the Walbridge Cabin had much to do with her opinion of The Cabin. Sleeping at The Cabin was entirely out of the question.

I will certainly miss The Cabin, but I was very happy to have had the opportunity to say "Good-Bye" to an old friend.

I just learned how to post a picture onto this blog. Enjoy!

Kelly & Joe start their own blog

Greetings all! Kelly and I have gotten jealous with all the hoopla and attention Boog and Tracey are getting over their blog and the birth of Marin Elaine, so we recently decided to create our own hoopla and blog. Well, it pretty much was a unilateral decision on my part, since as I write this posting, Kelly is unaware of the blog entirely. In the coming weeks/months/years, we hope to keep you informed of the happenings in our life. Come to think of it, I think we are getting married soon. That should generate some hoopla. Now we're talking. Anyway, that is all for now. More to follow.