Monday, August 31, 2009

At Last! My Next Travel Adventure!


November BikePolo Tour! It's bike themed, but the tour will be executed by the aid of a motor and four wheels. The plan is that a few of the Austin Texas Bicycle Polo Social Club will take an extended social outing through the Midwest, Northeast, and Southern polo club cities. We begin and end with tournaments and have tons of fun in between.

My goals for this trip:
-) hit the road, see portions of the country I have yet to see
-) have fun with my friends and make new ones- I believe that is called networking
-) improve my game, strengthen our club's bond, promote ATX and our Polo Club
-) take a few notes on how to host successful and super fun tournaments in the future
-) **I really hope to gain some sponsor(*ahem*, ATX companies especially) support and plan to represent them on the trip and help grow their business
-) i hope to film/document the entire trip and create something to show and share after it is all over
-) personally I hope to see a vast improvement in my performance from the COMO tournament to the NOLA tourney!

Stoked! Get ready to buy some of our printed t-shirts, delicious baked goods, come to a fundraising party or two, hit up my paypal donations button on this page, and help us out getting this ball rolling!

We will be driving and depending on the size of our crew, we will need to plan accordingly for rental fee/gas prices, etc.

BAND FRIENDS: anyone have a van they are comfortable with renting to us for a reasonable rate?! I have a spotless driving record...

Stay tuned here and at ATXBPSC for breaking news and updates on plans!

xo,
mo

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Just like a Prayer....


A friend of mine recently equated [Austin]cycling to a religion. I guffawed at first but then gave it a second thought and considered that he may be on to something. I know that cycling is a lifestyle choice that I have made that directs a lot of the ways that I interact with my friends, and this city, and the places that I live and patron, and where I work, etc.. It determines the amount of consumption I am capable of per day and gives me plenty of time to reflect on my day and my life.

The recent visit of the Bicycle Film Festival, with it's plethora of beautiful and varied velo- themed flicks, reiterated how much people love their bikes and their communities, their lifestyle choices and their beneficial impact on this planet.

I am so proud to know so many tuned-in, totally rad, alternative lifestyle, bike geeks who totally love their two wheeled steeds, their human powers, and their beautiful planet.

Go online, run a search for your local bike community. Read the blogs, get hip to the local cycling politics, look at the flickr pics, donate to cycling fundraisers, support your local bicycle cooperative community, oggle the "chicks and bikes" and "girls on bikes!" pin-up's, connect humans all around the world via their shared passion for the road or the trail, the ramp, or the polo court. Just take a minute to recall the number of cyclists you are starting to see in your neck of the woods. Remember the huge smile they probably had smacked on their face?! Life feeling like a redundant routine? Bored, overweight, under-challenged? Consider opening your heart and your thoughts to the eclectic and ever-accepting social, sport-like, anti-sedentary, serendipitous cycling counter-culture! Like Freddy Mercury and Queen exclaimed, "Get on your bike and RIDE!".

If cycling is like a religion, then I think I have finally found the good word that I can speak to the masses. I plan to teach by example of course, every day, for as long as I live.

Work to eat, eat to live, live to bike, bike to work! -Peggy McKenzie

Bike Love from me to you,
Maureen Mo Grady

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Thursday! Polo! Hooray!


















Man, I love having something to look forward to mid- week! I have been MIA for sooooooo long it seems thanks to my wanderlust, but I am back and ready to play!

I have some errands to run today, then I need to get CASH better equipped for polo....cages, etc.

Lookin' forward to seeing my polo pals!
5:30pm, Eastwoods Park, tonight!
ATX Bike Polo Social Club
xoxo,
Mo [Money]

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

ooops.

Whoa. I totally forgot about this thing...
...because I have been terribly busy being terribly important cycling, working, playing bike polo and travelling here, there, and everywhere.

I have been on a steady kick of traveling this summer. London, Croatia, Lake Ozark Missouri, Lake Sacandaga New York, and the most epic road trip from Austin to the mountains of west Texas (via Carlsbad Caverns NM, Santa Fe NM, the Grand Canyon AZ, and Balmorhea, Fort Davis, and Marfa TX).


Well, I am back and it is time to dive head first into work and polo. Work because I need to save some major dough so that I can go on my next adventure: Polo Peeps Polo Tour 2009! I want to talk some of my polo teammates into driving north, east, then south with me in November. The goal of this tour is to hit the road and see some new sights, meet polo peeps in new places, play pick-up polo on different turf, compete in a few tourneys, learn some new play, and have a blast of a good time!

Guerilla Polo is starting to happen here for a total of Three days of practice! Awesome!

I plan on getting back in the swing of this writing thing so check back from time to time.