GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLFRIEND GATHERINGS

Learning from YOU to empower ME !

Best Things in Life #9 – A Bike Ride

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Our Bike PathI won’t say exactly how many years it has been since I threw my leg over, mounted, and rode a bike.   However, I will give you a hint – Beyoncé wasn’t born yet when I did it last.  So, when one of my girlfriends suggested joining her on her weekend bike rides I laughed – loudly.

This conversation occurred on an early cold morning this past March, 2014 while my friend was waiting for the start of the Tour de Houston.   A small group of us had decided to cheer her off, go have breakfast, and cheer her back when she crossed the finish line after her 40-mile ride.   Before she rode off, she announced to us that she was going to nag us until we agreed to join her for the 2015 Tour de Houston.

At breakfast, we munched and discussed her outlandish comment.  However, by the time we stopped for coffee at Starbucks the idea wasn’t so crazy anymore.   At the finish line, we gave her flowers and told her we had decided to join her next year – but only for the 20-mile ride.   After all, we had a whole year to train.

That was the beginning of the wonderful times we have been sharing since March, 2014.

Heidi Bike Riders

Now, the four of us meet every Saturday morning at 6:30am to ride our bikes on the trails in Deussen Park which is near Lake Houston.   We meet this early because it is September in Houston and even then it is humid.   Our weekly distance is already at and beyond 20 miles.   We started our rides on old and borrowed bikes but now each one of us has spent $1000+ on a new bike and accessories.    The guys at Bike Barn are our new best friends and we call our bikes our new boyfriends.   They are reliable, exciting, and sure do give us a thrill!

There have been some down times – crashes, chasing dogs, falls & setbacks, aching muscles – which we have encountered but mostly there has been lots of laughter and camaraderie.   Some of us have started our rides with the handle bars turned backwards, helmets on backwards, and dragging from too much fun the night before.    However, the two things we can always count on is encouragement from each other and the beautiful sights as we pedal, pedal, pedal on the bike paths, through the woods, up the hills and near the lake.  When we need a water break we hang out at Pavilion #9 which I named “Cloud 9”.   It is also our meet-up point when we ride separate paths.

Pavilion 9 -2 Pavilion 9 - 1

It only took the first ride for me to fall in love with biking again.

I can’t adequately describe to you how it feels to watch the sun rise over the lake as we pedal on our bike path with our laughter traveling on the wind but here is a photo to give you a glimpse.

Our Bike Path with Sunrise

Here are some more pictures of our beautiful views.  All beautiful views captured and presented in this post were taken by one of my fellow bikers (Veronica Owens) who was featured for her photography on my blog site during Women’s History Month.

Our Bike Path - Water Our Bike Path - Water-2

Our Bike Path with Fog Our Bike Path with Trees

 

Women of A Certain Age – The Yearly Mammogram

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Recently, I had my yearly visit with Lisa, the mammography technician at The Woman’s Place.

As I stood there holding my breath, with my breast feeling like a large lump of peanut butter smashed between two crackers, I wanted to scream at the “man” that had invented that damned torturous device used for the mammogram exam.

I vowed to research his name and send him a scathing email advising him to try it on certain parts of his body to attain empathy for the female experience.  However, like having a baby, the pain (and the vow) was soon forgotten as I went back into the “busy-ness” of my daily life.

Now, I have made a discovery that I plan to try next year.   Since none of my girlfriends have mentioned it to me, I assume that they have not made this discovery so I decided to blog about it this week.

3D Mammography – (called Tomosynthesis) – is the newest technology.   This type of mammogram shows the breast in slices and will detect small/hidden cancer, which is good news for women with dense breasts.  It has been reported there has been up to a 50% reduction in the false positive rate because of this new technology.  The best news is that it is now FDA approved and available to all women for a cost of the insurance payment plus $50 out-of-pocket.  I call that a bargain for reported less discomfort and more peace of mind.

Take this information, do your research, and consider this type of mammography for your next exam.

Also, I want to share a sad story with you about the importance of the yearly mammogram.   Once a group of female co-workers and I formed a mammogram pack to remind each other to make and keep our yearly mammogram exams.   One year, one of these co-workers informed us that she was in the advance stage of breast cancer.   We were all shocked and inquired as to how this remained undetected through her yearly exams.   She confessed to us that she had lied to us and it had been 10 years since she had a mammogram.    As a result, she had a double mastectomy to save her life.

I never understood why she lied to us each year.

So, ladies, please nudge all of the females in your life to take care of themselves.   Please share this information and this story with them.   Let them know that technology is changing and there are now easier ways to have this critical exam.

Questions:

Do you have your annual mammograms?

Do you have any friends that are neglectful with these critical exams?

Would you be willing to try the new technology?