A City Bike Tour at the End of the Fall

Two weeks ago I received a mail that promoted a bike tour in the Taipei City. My attention was captured. It said, “Come to have a city bike tour to enjoy the beauty of Fall before winter comes. The activity includes a lot of programs in addition to biking.

It was just what I needed; riding a bike probably for the very last time of the year, breathing in fresh air, appreciating beautiful scenery, exploring some beautiful parks and many more. I missed the excitement and joy I had while biking in Seattle with my sister. So, I made a quick decision and registered. I don’t have a bike, but I can borrow one. From whom? I thought of Pamela and Moses immediately. They both joined a T/Ms biking group and they have good bikes. It was pity that Pamela was still in China, or she would definitely join me.
I didn’t forward the information to other goldies as I was 100% sure that none of them could or would join it. We had to get up very early before 6:00 a.m. Unlike me, they are not crazy about biking enough to sacrifice their beauty sleep. And they don’t have a bike. The first and foremost reason was that though the program looked interesting, what if it turned out the opposite?

At Kate’s Birthday party, I asked Moses to lend me the bike. To assure him that I borrowed the bike for a good course, I e-mailed him the flyer of the activity. Hey, why not invite him to join? He was experienced enough to tell if the activity was worth attending or not. If he joined, it’d further encouraged me and I would not be alone. Whenever it comes a time like this, I’d feel sorry for myself that no one in my family could join me for the activity that I like.

Hooray! Moses wanted to join the biking. What a spirit! I didn’t bother to think whether he did find the activity interesting or he was actually worried about my biking skill. I planned to meet him at 7:20 a.m. to get the bike. Moses proposed 6:20 a.m. to play safe. We settled it finally at 6:40 a.m. I had to get up at 5:30 the latest. I just hoped it would not kill me by getting up so early as there was no way for me to go to bed early.

Things went swell. I had no problem to get up, arrived at Moses’ in time and followed Moses to the gathering spot way before others. I didn’t know there was a biking trail right starting from Moses community. We made a little detour, yet the unexpected forty minutes ride in the early morning was extremely uplifting. I just loved biking.

The only disappointment I had for the activity was that we waited for almost an hour for others to come. The weather that caused others to hesitate to come didn’t bother me at all. On the contrary I liked it cloudy and drizzling on and off. We should have felt lucky it was not hot at all
The rest was just easy and relaxing. We were divided into three groups. We rode in a slow pace keeping waiting for others. I was OK with it, but I was afraid that it was too slow for Moses. Comparing with us, he was a true biker.
Except all the benefits I mentioned above, I also learned some tips of riding a bike properly, history of the areas we toured, some good hiking trails introduced by the leader. I will definitely try these hiking trails as hiking is also my cup of tea, too.

The whole trip was easy. The real challenge was the long biking before and after the activity. It took Moses and I another 40 minutes to ride back to his home. That back and forth ride gave me the sweat I need.

Well, actually there was one minor thing that made the whole activity not so perfect. Right in front of Moses home, just when we were only about 20 meters away to get off the bike, both us had a small accident. When I saw Moses fall of his bike suddenly, I couldn’t believe it and panicked. Then it came my turn when I tried to clutch the brake. Who would know that the sidewalk was so slippery with rain? I fell really hard and it took me probably five minutes to get back on my feet completely. I think it taught us a lesson, always keep an eye on the road you take. You can never be too careful.

Trini

Kate’s Joyful and Sensuous Birthday Party

I’m not a party animal, but goldies’ parties are the ones that I won’t miss for anything else. When Kate’s Birthday Party was announced, my first reaction was“VIVA Kate!” We had another good reason to revive our youth.
Quick minded Sherry stood out and proposed, “We need to prepare a different dance to cheer up Kate and her guests, and add excitement to her birthday - the most important day of her life. Irene happened to have learned a new dance “Mambo No. 5” and suggested that we do this dance. After watching the movie clip Irene sent, and seeing Irene do the demo at Sherry’s birthday party, we all agreed unanimous that it’s the very one, not difficult yet full of passion. http://picasaweb.google.com/taipeitmtrini/KateSJoyfulAndSensuousParty#

For the last two weeks Irene spent her precious time hunting props – golden and red hats - to go with the red and gold bing bling tops, and coaching goldies separately. Everyone was busy with their work or engagements. It was hard to work out a time that was good for all of us. Nevertheless we still managed to get together on Saturday afternoon, the day before Kate’s party, to do the dress rehearsal. After two hours sweating, we finally got it all set. Of course we needed to do our homework in advance at home practicing on our own.

Kate remained silent most of the time. Being the Birthday Star, she couldn’t join us. But we knew she was busy, too, organizing her party and preparing herself for a big surprise.

When I and greeting every guest. After exchanging a few words excitedly, she waltzed away to attend other guests. Having no time to do the stage rehearsal, Irene briefly explained the line position to me. Being Kate’s dear pals, we were given the honor and privilege to do the opening dance. Soon after Linda arrived, the program began. Our efforts were rewarded, and our purpose was achieved. All the guests were cheerewalked in the Artco De Cafe (典藏咖啡館）shortly before 1:00 p.m., most of the guests were already there. The room was fully packed with loud cheerful chatting voices. Kate, the elegant birthday star, was dressed in red and gold ChiPao and busy in receiving d up by our exotic dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPBfiuJrYvY
The guests were basically divided into two groups. Kate’s Chinese opera group, and T/Ms group. Opera group did operas, and T/Ms group did talent shows. The climaxes were when Kate gave personal shows - Chinese Opera, Ballroom Dance and a duet with William. Kate received a standing ovation for her gifted talents. We could tell that Kate dedicated herself and devoted a lot of time to make her Birthday party an unforgettable and joyful one.

Of course we didn’t waste a minute to chat, eat and taking photos. Thanks to Kate we had a very lovely and enjoyable afternoon. Again I wish Kate evergreen happiness, a truly beautiful future and a life full of smiles cheers. This is just the beginning of another wonderful year in her life!

Trini

Happy Birthday to Sherry and Virginia

Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time. - Jean Paul Richter
All the goldies were born in the 2nd half of year. Since August, we have celebrated each other’s birthday one after another. This month it’s Sherry, Virginia and Kate’s turn. What amazed us is that Sherry and Virginia were born on the same day – Oct. 9th, the day before our Double Tenth Day.

It’s said that girls born in the 2nd half of the year is more beautiful. No matter if it’s true or not, we enjoy thinking that we are beautiful.

Sherry’s dear brother is a good cook. He always shows his generous love for Sherry by offering his home to receive her friends and cook for them. I’ve had the privilege to enjoy Jimmy’s dishes four or five times. I must say every time was a great treat.

Pamela and I arrived around 6:30 p.m. and were the 3rd and 4th to arrive. Irene and Michelle were already there and they were enjoying a great time with Sherry. Others will be arriving around 7:00 p.m. So, we took a short moment to read an article in the T/Ms magazine. Thanks to Sherry’s persistence, our reading can be continued. Surprisingly Sherry announced that Virginia would join us, too.

What a pleasant surprise! We hadn’t seen her for quite a long time. Sherry and Virginia share the same birthday by odd chance. She received a passionate welcome from us when she showed up with a bag of a famous finger-licking snack in her hand. I was mentally prepared to go home with a full stomach. Gina, Kate, Lydia arrived respectfully. Sherry’s husband Azen arrived in time with two bottles of wine in his hands. Apparently it was going to be a big feast!

When dinner began to serve, Jimmy kept receiving compliments from goldies. All the dishes were not only scrumptious but also healthy. Virginia, a photographer, took pictures of every dish whereas I buried my head in all the dishes to enjoy the food. I can’t list all the topics we covered while eating, but I am perfectly sure that Laugher never seized.

Time to blow the candles! Jimmy took out a beautifully decorated chocolate fruit cake. It’s the climax of the whole party. We sang “Happy Birthday Songs” to both Sherry and Virginia while Virginia played the piano. Ignoring my overloaded stomach, I had two pieces of cake. To add a little xxx surprise and fun to the party, I took out some cosmetic kits I prepared for goldies to do the lucky draw. After the game, it was the "must-have" group photo time. It further excited us. Standing in position, changing positions, posing and getting ready, zoop! One after another, we took plenty enough Pictures.Finally time to go and give quietness back to the hosts. I must thank Sherry and Jimmy for such an exciting and enjoyable evening! A JOY SHARED IS A JOY DOUBLED. It's the conclusion given by Sherry for her Birthday party. Let me share a quote with all the goldies - You're not getting older, you're getting better. – Unknown

Two weeks later, it will be Kate’s Birthday Party. Simply can’t wait for it to come!

Trini
http://picasaweb.google.com.tw/taipeitmtrini/SherryVirginiaSBirthday#