What do you do to pamper yourself and relax?

Well, I've already written about my little flowers/cupcake routine on occasional Mondays. In the spring and through the summer, I like to get pedicures. Sometimes my daughter Michelle and I go together. Giving myself time to write in this blog is also a form of pampering and relaxation.

Believe it or not, my bike rides are an important way of pampering myself. I began cycling in cross-state rides in 2006 and have done RAGBRAI (the Iowa ride) three times, the Shoreline West ride in Michigan twice, and the BRAG in Georgia once. The cross-state rides are very challenging, but they also have an "adult summer camp" quality to them, as my friend Sue likes to say. We decide on our destination ride for the summer, and often it's the only time during the year that I see most of my cycling friends. The rides are usually a week long and we camp along the way. The only goal we have each day is to reach the next camp, and we have all day to do it on a pre-determined route. The few decisions we have to make usually involve food--where and when to eat our meals. The rides are a chance to catch up with my friends' lives, and the camaraderie involved in successfully doing such a physically demanding activity is a rewarding and special thing to experience. The shower at the end of a long day of cycling is always awesome and makes me feel like a new person again. And yes, we do some "celebratory" drinking and sometimes (often?) get pretty silly and slap-happy. On almost every ride, we meet new people and our circle of cycling friends becomes larger. I guess these bike rides would be considered an unusual form of pampering but I truly consider them a joyful and relaxing activity and I'm so glad my friend Sue introduced me to them!