#5 Tall Tips - Pants

After Saturay's Hilly ride, I stopped in Edinburgh at the outlet mall. Among some other items, I found a pair of wool pants at J Crew that were on sale and had cuffs. Which brings me to one of my best clothes-buying tips - look for cuffed pants!

Whenever I run into another tall female one of the first questions they usually ask is, "Where do you buy your clothes?" I have a 36-inch inseam and it's a rarity that I can walk into a store and buy pants off the rack. Once, while visiting a 6'3" girlfriend in Ft. Lauderdale, I found TWO pair of extra tall jeans on a sale rack at the Gap. I bought them both and gave one to my friend!

So back to my tips. First, I scan the pant bottoms looking for any that hang to the floor. Next, I look for cuffs that I can let out. Voila - super long pants! This trick is best done with dress pants, as jeans will leave a mark along the hemline. However, I did do it once to a pair of dark jeans and colored in the line with a black marker.

Stores that carry extra long pants (mostly online): Banana Republic, Eddie Bauer, Gap, J Crew and The Buckle.

#4 Hilly Hundred Weekend

October 24 & 25 I participated in the 42nd annual Hilly Hundred.



The Hilly is put on by the Central Indiana Bicycling Association (CIBA) and is one of the country's best weekend rides. It's based in Ellettsville, Indiana (near Bloomington) and consists of 50-mile routes Saturday and Sunday through very hilly southern Indiana. It's one of the most challenging rides I've done, but it's also one of the most fun. The ride is limited to 5,000 riders. Riders pin fanny flags to the backs of their bike bags (or themselves) so you can see where they're from. I saw a few from California, one from Germany and another from England.

I have done this ride about 12 times (I've lost track!) and have ridden with friends, my brother and even by myself. This year I rode with my CIBA bike buddy Steve. Saturday began dreary and drizzly. The sun came out by lunch and it turned out to be a pretty nice day. Sunday was even better - sunny skies and a high temp of 62 degrees. We made it up every hill - even the killer "Mt. Tabor" which is a 20% incline. To ease the pain between hills, we enjoyed the fall foliage, which seemed to be at its peak. We also enjoyed the rest stops (3 per day) which included food and entertainment.

After Saturday's ride Steve and I hit the sale tent. Each year there is a huge tent full of bike vendors with a lot of great deals. Matthews Bicycles always has a 50% off everything sale. I also like BicycleEverything - it's an online store based in Brownsburg (http://www.bicycleeverything.com/). There's a hot guy who works there who's my height. Last year when I was perusing the merchandise he seemed a bit awed by my height and started talking to me. I rode with Steve last year also, and since he's 6'4" people probably think we're a couple. I took a chance and, after leaving Steve outside, went back, gave "hot bike guy" my business card and told him, "I'm not with that guy." What happened? Never heard from him. So this year I went back to the place, kept my head up, smiled at him, and bought a pair of wool socks and some gloves. I was a tiny bit embarrassed, but I needed them and I got a great deal!

#3 Stood Up!?

My original idea for this blog was to write about my dating experiences. Dating can be rough enough for the "average", but throw in that I'm a foot taller than most men and hilarity can ensue! After thinking about it for a minute, I realized that my postings would be few and far between if I limited it to dating. (Cue music from SNL's Debbie Downer.) Therefore I will post the occasional date for your reading pleasure.

I had a first date last Sunday with a man I'll call "Sandy". I met Sandy at a local restaurant and we had dinner at the bar. Sandy is 6'3" [first mistake - I broke the Jim Harbaugh rule! (see posting #2)], is nice looking, funny and seems like a nice guy. We had a pleasant date and shared some laughs. I did like him, but wasn't entirely attracted to him. He asked me out again for Tuesday. I try to give a guy at least two dates to see if anything changes, so I accepted. He had a short business trip in another city Tuesday and said he'd be back by late afternoon and would call me. I arrived home from work and proceeded to try on items I'd bought that day for Halloween (check back for that posting!), but by around 6 p.m. I hadn't heard from him. Hmmmm. By 6:30 I had changed clothes and had started doing some stuff around the yard and tried not to get too dirty. By 7 I was assured I had been stood up. Are you serious? Do 41-year-old men still do that? I must admit that I was a bit relieved that I didn't have to try to figure out how much I liked him and if/how to let him down easy, but c'mon man! That is just rude. Next...

#2 Jim Harbaugh "Rule"

Some of you may wonder if I have a height requirement, being that I am 6'6". Technically, I don't. If I'm attracted to someone, I'll go out with him. This being said, I do feel more comfortable with man close to my height. I have an informal heigh limit of 6'4". I have no idea why I picked that height, but it sounds good and two inches isn't that much of a difference. When Jim Harbaugh played for the Indianapolis Colts I would tell people that my height limit was 6'4", but I would go 6'3" for Jim Harbaugh.

I still would, however I believe he's happily married and living somewhere in California. As luck would have it, I met Jim at the 2003 NCAA Men's Final Four in New Orleans. Don't we make a great-looking couple? I forgot to mention the rule to him though. Darn it!

#1 Hey Everyone!

This will be my introductory post. I thought it would be fun to have a blog after watching Julie and Julia. (I wonder how many others thought the same thing?) I also have friends with a blog and love keeping up with their happenings online. So here I am, trying it out.

I find humor in many things in life and figured this would be a great way to keep track of them while possibly entertaining others. Being taller than average and a WOMAN makes things even more interesting. I hope you enjoy reading about my adventures in the city (where I work), the suburbs (where I live) and wherever I may travel.