Twin Peaks Tree

A very old tree stands "next to" the Twin Peaks in Tahoe.

Teddy Bear Furbabies Getting Adopted!

Momma's been tryin' to figgur out what to do with her un-PC furs. (She got one -a Chinese Raccoon coat (whimper) fur her 18th birthday from her grandmother.) She inherited a few more from her grandma later - an ermine stole, a fox wrap and a sable coat. And then... she found this site and contacted Liane, the Fairy Godmother, who makes "memory" bears. Momma sent her furses off to Liane. A month or two later, several gorgeous bears arrived in a box, each wrapped in a bootiful fabric bag with a ribbon. Momma wanted to give family members a Teddy Bear in memory of her wonderful grandmother. She started by meeting two of her grandchildren at their school!
Avalon checks some of them out!
They are the most softest, prettiest Teddy Bears we all ever saw. I think you can see that there are some pretty big smiles worn by the adoptees - thank you so much, Liane - what talent you have! C. is pretty happy, alright! And that bear will be furry happy too! Next day, we visited Momma's youngest two grandkids, E. and B. There were eight fur Teddy Bears left!
E. is working hard to choose which furry Baby she'll take fur herself and which her sissie should have as well!

Here is a picture of the Babies they adopted and below are the choices they had to choose from! We still have some stops to make for our Bear adoptions! It's wonderful to have found someone to help us reuse these coats - Liane has apparently made "memory" bears and other animals (bunnies) from especially loved shirts, denims and so on. If you have any fabrics you have a particular fondness for, you can definitely recycle them as a... bear?? Have a wonderful weekend!

A New, Old Color

This is a corner in the children's bathroom.  For twenty years it's been white.  I bought a pretty, sweet Rachel Ashwell Shabby Chic shower curtain with pink roses and green leaves and thought the walls would look good painted green.
I painted almost the whole room and lived with it for a few weeks.  It never did grow on me.  
We were having company last weekend and I didn't want them having to use that bathroom like it was, so I painted it back white.  I think beadboard looks best white anyway.  Now I have to decide on a color for the baseboards and back of the door.  I've tried green, yellow, and pink.
I thought I'd like the pink to match the shower curtain, but the color I picked out looked like Pepto Bismol once it was on the wall.  Yuck!  I'm going to have it toned down and made a little more peachy.  I'll take pictures.

Fishtail Palm Frond

Looking up from beneath a fishtail palm in Oakland, CA.

Fall Colors at Gunflint Narrows

Flashing back a little bit here to late September at Gunflint Lake on the Gunflint Trail in northern Minnesota. The vibrant leaf colors made for a stark contrast to the fire-scarred Canadian shoreline of Gunflint Lake. I wanted to share this one with you after shooting it, but it got lost in the shuffle and I forgot about it until now!

Bears in the Road

I've had them run across the road in front of me while driving in the car.
I've had them mosey out in front of the car, stand there and look at me, then saunter off the road on the other side.
But I've never followed a group of black bears riding on a trailer!
Last time I was in Tennessee, I followed this truck and trailer out of town. They looked to be the kind of sculptures made with a chain saw from large blocks of wood. They were well done and were probably going to some craft fair or antique store.
I got a good chuckle out of them. Looks like there may be an owl there on the left. This is why I take my camera everywhere with me!

Paseo de la Mesa

Today I headed back to the West side of Albuquerque to ride. The Paseo de la Mesa Recreational Trail looked like (by the map) just the ride I wanted.

WRONG!

Right out of the parking lot, it was CLIMB. And no let-up for almost 2 miles. With the altitude and my general condition, I had to walk up sections of the trail. It was about 1 3/4 miles up to the West. When the trail turned North, the trail turned into a big rollercoaster.

I was not even ready to ride the rollers, don't think the legs would handle them. At 2 miles, I turned around (at the point in today's photo).

Felt good to coast down the hill. Even used brakes to hold my speed down. BTW, Google Earth shows the the climbing was about 300 ft elevation gain in the 1.75 miles (average 3.25% slope).

, a reflection

This past year was an uncomfortable one for me.  At times I felt like I didn't know myself anymore.  I have anger issues.  I'm grouchy and irritable.  Most of the time I felt like life was pressing in too hard, and I wanted to retreat.  Some days have been better than others.
This photo is blurry.  It adequately conveys my image of myself this past year.  Things are shifting in uncomfortable ways.  I'll share more about that after Christmas as I begin looking toward the new year and making plans.
I have high hopes for ...  I love fresh beginnings.  It's like opening a new journal for the first time and seeing all those crisp, white, blank pages.  The pen is poised...

Owned

In previous posts I've talked about all sorts of people and things getting owned, today it was my turn. Perhaps most gallingly, I could (and indeed should) have prevented it. With the bushfire smoke still covering much of the area immediately to the west of here, I headed south for the Tweed Valley, with the intention of producing the 200km day ride for August. The weather conditions were just about perfect (despite dropping to 5 degrees C early), the air was clear in the NSW side of the Macpherson Range, and I was feeling pretty good.


58.8km into the ride -- "Pssshhh!". Not a problem, in went the spare tube, well, hang on, there could be a problem, I left my repair kit at home. Another flat and I'd be in trouble. Figuring this was unlikely, I pressed on regardless. 85.1km -- "Pssshhhh!". This actually happened in the section between Brays Creek and Uki, probably the prettiest of the entire ride. On a side note, I've heard there is a possibility that area could be flooded in the next 10 years to build a new dam. Surely a better option that destroying a beautiful area is to simply teach people who to conserve and recycle water.
For the moment, however, I was left with more problems. I managed to hitch a ride with a local to Uki, the hardware store (well, that section of the general store) was open, but no repair kits. The only other option I now had was Murwillumbah, 15km north, and I'd probably have to walk the whole damn way. Now the temperature was rising -- 27 degrees C, and so was my temper! It's amazing that for the one person who had assisted me earlier, hundreds of others seemed to have no interest in my situation at all, and several even felt like shouting abuse.
Then an angel came down from heaven (or at least Murwillumbah, from where she'd cycled). She didn't have wings or a halo, but she had the repair kit I needed. The 200km ride wouldn't happen, but at least I'd be able to make it home in a reasonably timely fashion. I patched the two tubes and we said our goodbyes, I headed north, half expecting to get another puncture along the way (incredibly I didn't). Murwillumbah, Urliup (where I paused for food and sunscreen), toward Bilambil, and the last of those beautiful green meadows with those exquisite yellow flowers before heading back into suburbia.

And now I'm left to reflect on a situation that I simply treated too lightly. On a multi-day (or multi-week) tour I would have made absolutely sure I was kitted up to the max, but for some reason I just didn't show this ride the respect it deserved, and it bit me. Even though I finished the day with a respectable 145km, I'm viewing this as a failure. I'm unlikely to get another chance to do a 200km day ride this month, so effectively the challenge to ride a 200km day ride in every month of 2005 is over, and I have failed. I did, however, learn a lesson, and perhaps that is all we can hope for. From now on, I will treat all day rides with the respect they deserve.

Return of the greenery

Leaving Bilambil, on the way to Urliup.



I ended up heading for a "Tweed Mystery Ride" today, regardless of the fact that nobody else seemed interested. Just lately I seem to be riding Urliup Road every week, although today there were a surprising number of wildflowers out. Surprising, because this isn't really the time of year for them.



After coming out near Murwillumbah, I climbed Tomewin, then followed the dirt road across the ridge back toward Bilambil. This section of the ride has some really great views. One day I'll get a picture of Mt Warning when it's not shrouded in mist.





There's something about a ridgetop dirt road through a rainforest. It has a character all of it's own, especially the solitude, where one can be alone with their thoughts, and with nature in it's most pristine form. This is good for the soul. Eventually I descended to Bilambil, then found another climb through the John Hogan Rainforest, over the ridge, and down onto the Pilgrims' Road. This was actually the first time I've done this section during the day for quite a while, and it felt almost unusual. The last few times I've ridden Hogan's Road, it's been in the darkness.

The rest of the ride was basically a cruise along the Tweed River for a bit, before climbing Terranora, and heading home with my cranks making some noises that will need to be looked at in greater detail. I think I'll just replace them only two weeks out from a tour. This seems the logical thing to do.



For those still reading, yes, that means I did not end up going to O'Reillys as planned. I'm currently at a bit of a strange, almost fearful, place with that ride. The issue seems to be that last time I did it, I basically blew it apart. I got up there a full ten minutes faster than I ever have before. I know that I'm buckley's chance of repeating that performance (at least while the weather's warm), and that seems to be deterring me from riding up there again. With Mt Jerusalem next weekend, and Victoria after that, it will be at least a month before I can put that to bed. I'm just not sure how to go about it. I guess I'll work it out. Right now, I'll just have to enjoy the rides I have!

Why I Ride

Very simply, I ride to live.
Some folks say they live to ride, but I ride to live.
In March 2005 I suffered a stroke. The stroke was caused by a failed heart valve. At my cardiac rehab exit interview I was asked what I was going for exercise to continue my recovery. I was not sure but knew I had to do something.
You know how things just work out? I knew I did not enjoy running and walking – that’s “work”. I decided to check out buying a bicycle. I had problems finding a sales clerk at the local department stores. It was a Sunday, a bicycle shop in the area was open – I stopped to check them out.
Bill put me on a comfort bike. I had not been on a bicycle since as a kid. What are all of these levers for on the handlebar? With tentative pedal strokes I was on my adventure. In that abbreviated season I logged nearly 800 miles.
In no time, I “out grew” that bike. Bought a hybrid. In my first riding season, I logged over 2000 miles and added a hardtail mountain bike to my stable. I sent in my dues for THOR (Trails Have Our Respect – the local dirt trail advocacy group), Soon the singletrack was calling me. I fell in love with riding in the woods on a sweet singletrack.
I started feeling great – physically and emotionally. My speed and endurance increased. Asked my doctor if we could try dropping the anti-depressant that I was on. In no time, cycling became my medication.
Sure, I have bad days, but nothing that a bicycle ride couldn't cure!
For 4 years I served as Webmaster for THOR and spent time on the South West Iowa Nature Trails board (Wabash Trace Nature Trail). In I logged over 3000 miles in my bikes, which now included a trail bike.
Every time I made a trip out of town one or two bicycles were on the car rack. I started searching new trail to explore. Singletrack, Rails-to-Trails, country roads, and bicycle paths – they are all routes to adventure.
Late I hit a speed bump in the road of recovery. A lump on my shoulder turned out to be cancer. A later biopsy confirmed that it had spread into my lungs. But I did not let this stop me. When the trips for treatments seemed to be more than I could bear, I went out for a bicycle ride. I ended up over 300 miles pedaling during 7 weeks of radiation and 11 weeks of chemo.
For a reward for seeing through the treatments, I bought a road bike. Rule #1: The authorized number of bicycles is equal to the number currently owned plus 1.
My cycling friends and cardiac rehab folks consider me as an inspiration. For me, I want to spread the word of what cycling has done for me and how it can help others.
For over 30 years, you would not see me without my pipe. Was always off for a smoke break. With the week in the hospital I decided to stop smoking. Now, I have not been able to lose weight by pedaling, but my cardiovascular system is in much better shape (my cardiologist is very pleased). My balance is greatly improved (but still can't do a track stand). My depression is basically gone.
I have learned about singletrack design and maintenance. I have cleared brush and downed trees from trails. Six years ago I learned to speak all over. Now, I feel confident enough to speak about what cycling means to me. I want to spread the word.
As I and writing this, I am in the hospital to “freeze” a tumor on the left kidney. A biopsy will decide if it was cancer. In about 6 weeks we will do the same thing all over again for a tumor on the right kidney. My cycling is giving me the drive and determination that I will tame that beast. After all, there are a lot of more bicycle trails to explore. More folks to get on the cycling bandwagon.
That is Why I Ride