I Can't Be the First One to Make This Mistake

So, I get this email from the local special needs support group with info on an upcoming fundraiser ride for Autism Speaks.

I've been crazy busy (beloved 15 yr old dog died, whole family got the plague, yadda yadda yadda), so I set it aside with a cursory glance.  According to my grand plan this was supposed to be my Ironman summer, so theoretically an 80 mile bike ride should be doable. 

Except that - instead of training for the last 5 years - I went and had two babies instead. And the Bearness of it all simply isn't conducive to intensive triathlon training. I am totally cool with that. It's just that sometimes the crazy people who live in my head, well, aren't.

I made a mental note to contact the event coordinator to see if there were shorter loops for an out of shape cyclist like me. Ya know, the kind who gets the bike out for the first time in two years and manages to wipe out twice in 10 miles because she's not used to the new clip placement the podiatrist recommended.

Hope to get my bike back from the shop today!

Anyway. Tangent.

My calendar is filling up fast, so last night I pulled up the message to decide if it was worth following up.

I read it again. And again.  Because something was nagging at me.  I finally put my finger on it the fourth time through.

80 mile bike ride. Starting at... wait for it... the Harley-Davidson in Villa Park.

Yup. They mean the other kind of bike.

Instead of feeling like a complete moron, I decided to be happy that - in my world - the idea of an 80 mile ride on an actual bicycle is perfectly reasonable. 

I should probably also be happy I did not show up to a biker event in dorktastic cycling gear.

Here's a link if you're the other kind of biker and would like to participate in the 2012 Ride for Autism Speaks Chicago on Sunday, September 16.