January 2002
Happy New Year! During December, we decided to delay our Christmas letter until January, so we could bring you this special announcement: we’re having a baby! We waited until Christmastime when we were with our families in Texas and Oklahoma to tell them the good news. They were all pleased and surprised. Our child is due mid July 2002 and that may just be long enough for us to prepare for all the changes in our lives and home.
We experienced a very full year in 2001 with many weekend trips for mountain biking together and Tim’s bicycle races in North and South Carolina. We spent two long weekends mountain biking at Tsali, NC (near the Smoky Mountains); one in May to celebrate our anniversary and one in October before the end of the season. We had beautiful weather in May and brisk weather in October, but enjoyed the trails each time. For our summer vacation, we chose Amelia Island, Florida. We enjoyed the eight-hour drive from Durham to just over the border into Florida and found the island to have pleasant beaches and an interesting historical district. We biked the “sand dune” trails at Fort Clinch, boogie boarded everyday, and watched Fourth of July fireworks from the beach. On the way home, we spent a night in Savannah, GA and toured the riverfront and historic squares.
Tim spent his second cycling season training hard and improving his confidence with experience and new equipment. He rode in several races in the spring and early summer, including the North Carolina State Games time trial and criterium. In August, we spent a long weekend in Ashville, NC for the French Broad Cycling Classic. This three-day event was highlighted by a treacherous road race in the mountains outside Asheville in the pouring rain. In September, Tim placed 7th in the 29th annual Carolina Cup in Greensboro, NC. The following weekend, we traveled to Greenville, SC for the Dividing Waters Omnium and Tim placed 7th in each of the three events. In October we returned to Greenville for the ultimate event of the season: the Michelin Classic. Tim competed in his first race as a category 4 cyclist, then we watched the professional cyclists ride the final Saturday race. The pros ride with impressive speed. That night we stopped by the event’s celebratory party, where the attendees included several top pro cyclists from Lance Armstrong’s USPS team and Olympic gold medallist track cyclist Marty Nothstein.
Tim’s mother visited us for a long weekend in May and my parents, David and his girlfriend, Tetyana visited over an extended Labor Day weekend. Mom and Dad helped us finish a second bookcase. We marked both family visits with a night out to the ballgame: the Durham Bulls stadium is 15 minutes from our home and a favorite warm weather date.
In our free time, we continue to toil in the yard and garden with green grass and red tomatoes as our rewards. Our home improvement pace has slowed down: we have one room left to paint and for this particular room, we’ll be selecting the colors after the ultrasound next month.
We’d love to hear from you; our home email address is kirksey@nc.rr.com. We hope you have a happy and healthy 2002!!!
Top L) Michelle on the trails at Tsali in May, with flame azaleas in the background.
Top R) Michelle and Tim celebrate their 6th wedding anniversary with dinner on the deck at Nantahala Village, overlooking the Smokies.
Bottom L) Tim mountain biking at Tsali.
Bottom R) Tim racing at the Carolina Cup in Greensboro, NC.