It is amazing how different it is in Globe only an hour and a half's drive out of the center of Phoenix. Rural areas make for more enjoyable rides, but sometimes you do end up eating frozen burritos and canned peaches. Originally Posted February 15, 2007
Globe - 26.87 milesAfter continually putting off a trip to the bathroom for four hours, I made my way out of the frosty tent. My shorts that I'd rinsed in the shower were stiffened in the shape of the picnic bench. We waited for our tents to dry and for Jon to sense the morning's "disturbance in the force" and then rolled out around ten. Linda wouldn't let us pay for our campsite. We're supposed to save it for next time. The DQ was closed on the east end of town and probably had been for quite some time. No shake today. The frozen breakfast burritos were lacking. Superior really is nestled in a beautiful section of Arizona surrounded by stacked (pancakelike) rock formations. However, it is virtually a ghost town now only used as an old west movie set. "From mining to motion pictures" and "Where history lives" adorn posted signs for the passers by. Then we had our climb up to 4600 ft through windy roads and a tunnel spread over a shoulder less 11 miles. Then tunnel was just frightening. The noise from the semis didn't leave an empty space in your head. Halfway through the climb we stopped to eat at a turnoff for a campground. Some New Mexicans in a Jeep had the same idea and treated us to a can of Miller-lite. Then the shoulders improved and we eventually hit the top. We rolled down through the chilled air and stopped at Taco Bell. Jon seemed disappointed I hadn't warned him about it. I think they have Taco Bell in Australia. I used the phonebook to find the way to the warm showers and we rode/walked our bikes through hilly Globe to the excellent hospitality at the Hansen house. After dinner, Larry showed us the video of the family trip 9 years ago by bike from Globe to Canada. Susan seemed somewhat bewildered that I, especially as a woman, would want to do this trip alone. 34.2 max - 7.2 avg
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Here I painted a photograph of a man photographing a cactus. Originally Posted February 14, 2007
Superior - 46.18 milesPink pancakes and corresponding milk commemorated the national holiday as the family of nine bustled about their morning routine. I lazily laid on the couch watching one of the young boys deflate Jon's air mattress. I slowly moved about and joined the groomed bunch at the table. One asked for a pancake with writing, but I don't think it was ever received. One after the next, the children made it off to school and mom and the 2 month old went for a haircut. Dad left, kissing each child one by one. In the peace of quiet suburbia, we rolled our bikes out of the we're-in-the-process-of-moving garage. Two and a half miles later, we were at a Starbucks. Jon is quite keen on them and I hadn't had any coffee. An hour later after much discussion with a pair from some sort of house garaunteeing business, we moved on. They drove a big truck and were quite facinated with Jon's stories. Most people are. At least an hour later we were on the 60 and moving away from Phoenix. We went through a bit of a pass with nonexistent shoulders and dropped down into Superior. You'd think it would be at a peak. Pulling up into the RV park on the west side of town instead of the east as indicated, Linda offered us her car. For an intriguing change of pace, we setup our tents, locked the manacles, and drove to the store. We fueled up for the next day and I looked forward to the canned peaches. I ate; Jon showered. It blew and then rained and blew. I borrowed Linda's cell phone. On returing it she invited me in for cookies and tea. How could I resist when it was cold outside? Moments later, we decided we should invite Jon in. Huddled, eating his canned peaches, he eagerly accepted my passed on invitation. As usual, Jon told his stories, some of which are good everytime and I will eventually know by heart. When I finally sneaked off to take my shower, Linda confided that she really didn't get to hear much about me.
I don't send out Christmas cards because I'm not in the mood in December. But in January I have a festive string of family photos and glossy cards in my hall and I feel inspired. This year I sent out a Valentine's Day Update. I settled on a booklet format and started reflecting on our last year and a half. Working around the theme Write With Love made it easier to outline each page/topic. The other bonus about waiting until February is already having updated return addresses from all those cards and letters. I do mail out to a ton of people that never mail me anything. Sometimes I hear back and it is rewarding to reconnect with friends and family. Sometimes I never hear back. I hope that the news from our lives brings some joy to yours. Originally Posted February 13, 2007
Mesa - 49.69 milesPhoenix puts me in a foul mood. When riding through this city, communication is more important when dodging traffic, but it is extremely difficult. We stopped for subs and Jon checked the grass for needles. I rode from Glendale to 8700 University. Grandpa's spot on the golf course was right where its been for the last 20 years. Sharon, feeling better, greeted me with lemonade. After dinner, I hugged goodbye and rode the half hour backwards in the dark to the warm showers in Mesa. They weren't expecting me to show up and Jon was busy competing with the 14 year old unit of the household. They both take starwars trivia to another level. Currently I'm lying on the couch, my bed for the night, listening to Jon and Layne in a regular rant. The hot topic of the moment is education. There is something comforting about the consistency of the rants. They Mormon storyteller who works for the Interdisciplinary Program at ASU is eating it up. The story about parent teacher conferences where Jon tells the parents that their child should drop out and start life and a trade...degrees in carpet laying. 11.1 avg - 4:26:24 time In my writing 15 years ago I mentioned PIPs (Previously Important People). I don't think I came up with the term, but I really can't recall. Giving this some serious reflection I realize that there aren't just PIPs. I'm also considering other titles we give ourselves: PAP Previously Adventurous Person PEP Previously Energetic Person PCP Previously Carefree Person PHP Previously Happy Person I know it is easy to get hung up on the past and think that the best is behind us. It is also easy to think that the best is yet to come. I recently watched the movie Hector and the Search for Happiness and it reminded me that happiness is in the pursuit. As long as I'm not a PLP (Previously Living Person), I'd like to embrace what I am: CCP Currently Creative Person COP Currently Organized Person I'm probably also a CTP Currently Tired Person otherwise I would be able to come up with better acronyms. Originally Posted February 12, 2007
Glendale - 25.25 milesSurprise deserves some serious reflection. It has PIP's (Previously Important People), running trash men, themed brunches, and beading groups. No on really gets buried here. Myrna and Larry have a plot in North Dakota.
We're staying at our second warm showers of the trip. Susan and Greg are wonderful and they've left us to go about our business. As we rode through Surprise and Glendale, Jon asked me if my speedo was working. I was confused for a moment until I realized he was refering to my cycle computer. My Vetta wasn't calibrated correctly or I'm not really sure. It wasn't giving me reliable information. So I returned it to REI. As always, they took it back only asking what was wrong. I picked up a wireless cateye. It is a bit more user friendly and it works. I tried to explain to him the dangers of calling it a speedo in the states, but there was too much traffic. I've eaten the ham sandwitches I'd made earlier in the day with the supplies Myrna provided. They were quite wonderful. That was one of the many things I'd done before our 3pm departure. Jon was having technological difficulties and it appeared he was about to have a nervous breakdown. I also took a nap, ate leftovers, ate two ham sandwitches, chatted with Myrna, watched Larry get ready for his softball game and watched him return victorious. All in all it was relaxing day. Avg. 11.4 - Max 18.6 - Time 2:12:17 I prefer decorations to parties. One involves fun crafting. The other involves people. These are two of my favorite ways to decorate for holidays. I made cute little egg tic-tac-toe for a birthday party and I'm just reusing the grape vine, twine, and hot glue grid again. Hearts are a pretty easy shape. The eggs were easier to cut out though. The hearts are all painted with fountain pen ink that are very richly saturated with pretty pigments. I used Bristol paper for the heart garland too. The hearts are hot glued to the string and then I needed to add a little extra to the bottoms of the hearts to keep them from flipping up. All in all, pretty easy and they will pack up small. I'm thinking a string of clovers for St. Patrick's Day? Originally Posted February 11, 2007
Surprise: A day of rest - 0 milesOnce again Sunday is our day of rest. The Hinkel's home is a warm home full of good chats and wonderful hospitality. It is also part of Sun City Grand. The grass is gravel and it never needs to be mowed. The plants don't really seem like plants and they all died when it got cold. It actually rained today. I thought it was exciting. Everyone else seemed somewhat afraid. Myrna and Larry took us to the neighborhood Valentine's brunch. The mimosa fountain seemed to have a leak, but it wasn't anything that a cookie sheet couldn't fix. There was also a chocolate fountain, but it never seemed to flow. Great conversations. Everyone seemed to really be enamored with the Alaskan and the Australian biking across the country. Then Larry drove us all to REI. Over the last week Jon and I have been telling each other what we need to remember to get. When we actually made it there it took a moment or two for it all to come back. The most exciting for me were some gel padded gloves and extra handlebar tape. Hopefully, I can still fight the numbness in my hands. On the way back through the maze of houses that look all the same, we glanced at green patches of grass and streets named for desert plants. Century Plant looks a bit like Agave. I'm probably spelling this wrong. Lori and her husband Ken came from Las Vegas for dinner. These cousins don't actually live in Las Vegas. They live in Anthem, but were out there for a show. More good conversation and pork spare ribs led me to remember that I needed to look into accomodations for the next few days. After a few calls, we have warmshowers for the next two nights. I chatted with Grandpa and I plan to stop by on Tuesday. His lady friend is sick, so he wouldn't recommend that we stay there. The warmshowers isn't too far away from him. Finally the project of uploading photos is done and I can relax or put the tape on my handlebars. I think the grammy's or something are on. Originally Posted February 10, 2007
Surprise - 60 milesI should write a bit before I fade completely. I haven't done the addition yet, but we did at least 50 miles. I was doing really well. I was just blowing past Jon. Then he realized his recurring flat. Suddenly my success was slightly disproportionate. I should have known better; Jon woke up to a flat rear. he had a flat tire and cat urinated on my text. The piss rinsed right off, but we were delayed about an hour. Jon couldn't find the source of the puncture. Then we rolled down to someone or other's kitchen. I had the breakfast burrito and hashbrowns. Jon ordered a "full stack" of pancakes. He asked me what I normally put on my pancakes as he asked for lemon juice and surgar. It's how they do things in the land down under. Cheers. The plant pictured with the bikes is a Joshua Tree. For the longest time I would hear the call of a Mourning Dove in the morning and think it's an owl... Originally Posted February 09, 2007
Aguila - 66 milesAs we sit at our superb campside in Aguila, two teenagers frolic about. These cats were even bold enough to enter our tents. This is a pleasent end to a long day. We went 66 miles and gained 1300 ft. The gradient, however, was much easier than the first set of mountains coming out of San Diego. Except for a few moments, it didn't even seem like there was a hill. Tomorrow should be a piece of cake. This is good news to my knees. Fortunately my hands are improving since I adjusted my handle bars. The time change and the long day has thrown us off because we are both still up at 10:40. While John was holding down the fort, I rode into town and gave the Hinkel's a call. We didn't want to surprise the folks in Surprise by getting there a day early. Please excuse the pun. The cafe in Wenden was distinctly in the middle of nowhere. It reminded me of Sitka. The woman working there, who I would venture to guess is the owner, ran from the earthquakes in California to Arizona. Everyone in the desert seems to be running from something. They are used-to-be's. The t-shirt in the Hope gas station said "Your beyond hope". Luckily the sin on the road said "you're". The last 15 miles to Aguila, which were mostly in the dark, were a fun last push. That was the deal. If we stayed in Quartzsite, then I would willingly push the next two long days to Surprise. It was a good deal because they day riding into Quartzsite was dreadfully hot. We may actually have RV's to thank for me republishing this blog. Up here in Washington a couple months ago I was chatting with a friend. She and her husband usually go down South with their RV this time of year. I asked where they liked to go. I think Quartzite was the first spot named! So I had to go looking back at my old blog to see what I'd written all these years ago. Seeds were planted and one thing let to another... Originally Posted February 08, 2007
Quartzite - 22 milesWe stopped early today... mostly at my request and against Jon's advice. But now he agrees that it was a good idea. We lost an hour of time going into Arizona. That makes today a short riding day. Then tomorrow we're looking at Aguila. And actually we're thinking we'll make it to Surprise on Saturday. I'll have to give Myrna and Larry a call tomorrow to keep them up to date. More decent weather, but it's hot. I'm actually missing the rain. It only took a little over a week. You can't have it all. RV's are everywhere. They are on the road. They are in the towns. They are nestled amongst the hills. They are even in the sky. Ok... they weren't in the sky, but a plane dragging a sign advertising RV sales was in the sky. We are staying at an RV park. Camping in Aguila is RV camping. The land is pretty void of vegetation, however we are starting to see the classic cactus... you know the one that looks like a pitch fork. Libraries. I figure that by the end of this trip I'll have stopped at at least 30 different libraries. Every one that I've been too has free internet. This library has a table full of 16 year olds arguing in a friendly manner while studying for some drivers ed test. They were amused when I asked them if we were in Quartzite. In the end I will be a library internet connoisseur. Also of note... Quartzite must be where all the fair food trailers go for the winter. There must be hundreds of them along main street. I'm probably exaggerating, but not that much. Car accidents, church things, walk around town, go to Mc Donalds, talk to strangers, and wait to get killed... that's what these four girls said there is to do around town for folks their age. I hope they were joking about a few of those. Church things are scary. The librarian is going to kick me out so I must adios. Please excuse the pretty rough quality on this comic... new format for me... We do not know what was really going on here. There was a woman alone on the side of the road who looked like she needed help... but she didn't really want help from us. You can read Jon's version of the story here. Maybe we only narrowly escaped being kidnapped? Maybe she was a secret agent trying to bait the bad guys into abducting her so they could catch them? Leave your theory in the comments! Originally Posted February 07, 2007
Blythe - 53 milesThis is where I am currently in the library. I haven't yet composed my thoughts for the day so I'll change this at my next stop. I need to tap out John outside and let him come in.
The continuation... Today was relatively uneventful. We descended from the Chocolate Mountains. I took pictures of Palo Verde Peak, agricultural canals, and fields. There was also a phenomenal sunset that was kept away by the fence of the RV park. We had an interesting interaction with a woman on the side of the road 14 miles out of Palo Verde. John's blog of the encounter really does it justice. But in short and until he posts... there was some "business" gone bad with a schizophrenic and a gun. How she is in the desert without water. Here at the RV park on the Colorado River it is noisy, but the water his hot. There's a pool, but it's not worth the trouble. I'm really getting into burritos. I had two yesterday and three today. I wouldn't advise it, but we camped in the Chocolate Mountains. I have no idea who owns the land, but after the helicopter hovered directly above us, I had trouble going to sleep. I got in my sleeping bag and tried to relax. But I heard footsteps. I'd lift up my head to hear them better and they would stop. After several rounds of footsteps, lift, nothing, down, footsteps, lift, nothing. I talked to John. That's just your pulse on your pillow. This is one of those days I was very grateful to be traveling with John. Originally Posted February 06, 2007
Chocolate Mountains - 43 milesI sat looking up at the stars. I thought of Rob. He loves stars. I was with him for three months and I did enjoy him. Relationships are beautiful and complex. John and I seem to be traveling well together... so far. I almost had to bust his ass to campu up here in the Chocolate Mountains(pics to follow). Eventually I just made the decision for myself. But, he decided to follow me off the road.
The stars are out in full force with the aircraft bouncing around between them. A helicopter was no more than about 100m above us. No doubt it checked us out. I wouldn't be half surprised if a border patrol truck came rolling up in the middle of the night to check us out. Out heat signatures are all over the place. We went through the sand dunes. On the right were dirt bikes and four wheelers. On the left was vegetation. The difference was quite remarkable and disappointing. The five points on my body that are in contact with the bike hurt. They're still getting broken in. I just want to take a minute to let you know that I had a flip phone on this trip. I am pretty sure it was pre-paid so I used a phone card whenever I had a land line. I didn't get a smart phone for another three years. I used the computers and internet at libraries to upload pictures, blog, and make plans for future accommodations. Instead of using GPS and Siri, I relied heavily on cyclists that came before me. I can't imagine how much different logistics would be for a trip like this now. Adventure Cycling AssociationThese guys make amazing detailed turn by turn maps of bike routes across the country. I purchased and used their Southern Tier map set. They've changed it a little bit since then to make it more interesting and safe. A friend of mine from Sitka, Jeff Budd, had completed the route some time before I went and tipped me off to this great organization. This is their route map from on their website. I highly recommend! WarmshowersJean Andre Vallery was the first host we found using Warmshowers. The idea is that cyclists host touring cyclists. I've gotten to host a couple of folks since I went on my trip, but honestly I haven't checked in on the site in a while. We found a ton of amazing hosts this way and a ton of them had done tours themselves. This is a graphic right off their website that helps explain things. Originally Posted February 05, 2007
Brawley - 60 milesToday we made it to Brawley and are resting peacefully at the travel something or other lodge. There is a shower and it is warm. I got to chat with a bunch of folks via land line and phone card. All good conversations. They all seem too busy. I feel I am adequately busy. That's nice for a change. John is out on the street trying to get in touch with his girlfriend in Australia. This is the real reason I am awake. Today we had 18 miles of descent from 3000 feet to below sea-level. I liked going more than 4 mph. We stopped at a bike shop in El Centro. One of the workers used to live in Sitka, but he didn't want to talk about it. They weren't incredibly helpful all around, but John really needed a tube or two. We stopped in Ocotillo and ate tacos and milkshakes. John always gets the malts. Then we rode through Plaster City. I have a picture of a sign I'll post later. All that's there is a drywall factory. When we stopped in El Centro, there was an official Blue Angels car in the parking lot. I can remember seeing them at Seafair in Seattle when I was just a tot.
Originally Posted February 04, 2007
Sunday: A day of rest - 0 milesAgain I am typing out from Jacumba. Andre was nice enough to get us to stay an extra day. Course when a sulfur hot springs is involved we don't need much encouragement. This morning we walked the 300 yards to the fence. Border control quickly became aware of our presence and instructed us to stop putting foot prints in their smoothed out section that parallels the fence. Apparently they need to see the foot prints... Then we went over to the sulfur hot springs and soaked in the jacuzzi for over an hour. That was quite nice. Someone should remind me not to post a descriptor like nice. It just doesn't to it justice or anything for that matter. I had a bit of a headache, so I loafed around for a while watching parts of movies on television. Currently the boys are off at the hot springs again while I hold down the fort. It's been great to get some pictures up and on the site. I'm considering taking another shower... There are a few cacti pictured. The two brownish ones I don't know anything about, but the green one is what Patron is made from. I feel like I've been lacking detail, but if you check out John's Blog with the link on the right, he fills in where I don't. It's been fun listening to John and Jean's chatter in the background, but we'll be heading out tomorrow for 18 miles of decent from 2800ft back down to sea level and below. I have 7 maps and tomorrow we'll probably at least finish the fourth if not the fifth of the 15 panels on the first. If that was too confusing, I'm sorry. A very memorable moment on the bike tour was accidentally competing in a road race. Competing is a bit of a stretch. If I recall on day three of the bike tour, I hurt so much and the hills were so steep that I walked my bike for a third of the day. Originally Posted February 03, 2007
Jucumba - 37 milesI'm typing out from Andre's house here in the border town of Jucumba. It's at the bottom of a hill 300 yards from Mexico in the neighborhood of Patron's roots. Once again some amazing hospitality meeting us at the end of a long day. We were giving Andre a ring from the pay phone and we rode to his house in the dark. We're his first warm showers guests since he moved here in November. We feel pretty special and he hooked us up with laundry and an air mattress. The good news is that the climbing is pretty much over. We have a little tomorrow, but it is nothing like yesterday or even today. Along our travels today since we left the ranch we ran into a bike race. We were definitely a little out of place loaded up as hundreds of men... and a few women with tiny butts whizzing right by. However, they did give me a nice shout as I went across the finish line. I did put in a bit of a push at the end. I think I even passed one of the racers. After the race ended, the day drifted away from us as the miles flew past down the huge hill. Afterwords I heard them saying things like "Did you get him in the gap or did you break away." This post isn't really organized, but I'd like to get to sleep sometime tonight and let John use the computer. So many wonderful and varied hosts on my bike tour! Jerry and Margaret enjoyed a large gated-off ranch with horses and warm weather year round. They had poodles, good food, and friends. She mentioned something that stuck with me. She was living her dream. Was I living my dream pedaling across the country? I was certainly living a dream. It almost doesn't feel real anymore. Reading back in my journal, I wasn't sure of very much at all. Retrospectively, this was the trip of a lifetime. At the time is was hard to think about anything other than my sore butt from the increased time in the saddle. Am I living my dream now? In the moment it is alway hard to think past the poopy diapers announced with a "Happy New Year!". It is hard to see past the shouts for "Up! Up! Up!" interspersed with exhausted tears. It is hard to move beyond the thunder of the child bear crawling through our small house at an alarming speed. I am glad I'm journaling and sketching now recording these hard moments. 15 years from now I'll look back and I hope I'll say I was living my dream. Are you living your dream? What is your dream? Can you think back to a time when you were living your dream? I don't have all the answers, but I'm going to try to love my life now for what it is AND I am going to chase my dreams. I don't think they are mutually exclusive. Originally Posted February 02, 2007
Jerry and Margaret's Ranch - 18 milesWe're staying with Jerry and Margaret after a climbing 3000ft over 20.9 miles. It was basically all up hill. They put us up in their unfinished garage. It is huge and their house is huge and it is beautiful. Wendy, their friend the interior designer, brought fruit salad to dinner. They offered us leftovers: meatloaf, chicken barley soup, homemade bread, salmon, and baked beans. It was all delicious. Great conversation and Jerry and Jon spoke quite a bit about their motor bikes. But I'm beat. It was a long hard day and we stopped at their call box by their gate hoping they'd put us up. They have a bunch of sweet poodles that enjoyed getting loves. One was named Reba... In the morning they had us up for breakfast and coffee. Once again their hospitality was wonderful in their bead board kitchen. As Margaret said, she's living her dream. Originally Posted February 01, 2007
Lake Jennings - 25 miles
Many thanks to my 21 year old self for making these notes about what I brought on the trip, because now I just can't remember. I do remember that I felt like I had enough stuff... such a nice lesson to recall. I don't have a lot of this gear anymore. I do still have and use the bike, helmet, panniers, sleeping bag, bike shoes, sleeping pad, and this mesh safety shirt. You can see that the back of the shirt is pretty faded in the bottom left corner of the picture. I tried setting up this tent at the end of last summer and it was flaking and falling apart. So I salvaged a bit of the notions off of it and, with great pause, threw it in the trash. Originally Posted February 01, 2007
Packing ListThis list is not yet finished... A note on packing... everyone packs differently. That's it. Left Rear Pannier - The brains of the operation. Right Rear Pannier - Tools and overnight stuff. On Bike/Body - Waterbottles and sunglasses and stuff. Handlebar Bag - Everything I need to make it through the day. Front Pannier - Back up food in the bottom's of both and clothing split between the two in no particualar fashion. A note on clothing... if I did it over I would bring two refelctive mesh shirts and less longsleeve shirts. Most days I wore the reflective shirt and my bike shorts. Assume everything is some variety of synthetic unless I specify otherwise. cycling shorts (2) reflective mesh t-shirt nylon shorts lightweight jeans cycling tights long underwear underwear sports bra (2) regular bra swimming suit balaclava patagonia longsleeve zip-T (2) longsleeve shirt cotton t-shirt fleece vest fleece jacket windbreaker lightweight rain jacket and pants bike gloves bike socks (3) fleece socks (I keep in the bottom of my sleeping bag) chacos bike shoes reflective pant ankle straps sunglasses helmet w/sideview mirror Rear Rack tent - Meridian 1 made by Mountain Hardwear. Sets up fast. I sent the tent home half way through and just set it up using the poles, rainfly, and ground sheet now. sleeping pad - Thermarest: Z-lite cargo net bungee - holds it all together sometimes I tuck food under the net or whatever else I need to What I love about this post now are all the details leading up to meeting Jon Walker who I traveled with for a little over a month to Del Rio, TX. If I wrote up this bike trip in a book, I probably would throw in a foreshadowing line like: Little did she know how handy that 100 pounds of gear would prove to be. Originally Posted January 31, 2007
San Diego
Originally Posted January 30, 2007
The TrainWhen I woke, there was a palm tree. The sun had risen and breakfast was no longer being served. I pull out my ziplock of almonds and begin splitting them apart with my teeth revealing their smooth inner flanks. The train is stopped again as we wait our turn to get past the work gang. The snowy countryside of Oregon is now long gone. The bilingual boy of two years and six months is telling his mother incessently that his teddy bear nees to go to sleep. This is shortly after he dumped his dixie cup of water on the floor. I wake again. The rolling hills echo one another. Through the mist the cattle graze over the sparsly green grass at dusk. As we snake along slicing through nature, the hills give birth to lights and a city. The shuffly heterosexual male walks by commenting on my state of consciousness. And then on my journaling with scarlett ink..."hott stuff"...I don't have a red pen. And then have I read The Scarlett Letter. And then a joke about Hester Prynne's actions because everyone needs a hobby. Again, the shuffling by... his finger touched his lips and he leaned in as I kept my water bottle firmly in my face. "There once was a song...the sound of silence" Squakity-squak-wak-6:45 dinner reservations-squakity-squak-wak. "God-damn" Earlier he pegged me and Jew as a non-Christian because we didn't get a vague hymn reference regarding a cross-eyed doll. I'd consider moving if I thought it would help me avoid him. What are you doing tomorrow? I am not getting on a train or doing anything earth shattering. We'll probably reconcile our bank account or paint some trim we replaced a couple months ago. Do I wish I were getting on a train to go on a bike tour? I'm not sure. I've been having fun lately reflecting on some mundane daily events through little poems. A couple nights ago Karl even helped me write one and you can hear him reading it here: Originally Posted January 28, 2007
My next post will be from California. I get on the train tomorrow. I'm almost packed. YouTube has really evolved in the last 15 years. I never really used that much on my bike tour 15 years ago. I've got a new YouTube channel now. There still isn't too much on it; just a few reviews. My most popular one so far is my review of the StablO Portable Easel with 1,700 views! Originally Posted January 25, 2007
I signed up for a YouTube account. Here is a short clip I took on the Yukon canoeing expedition.
"Time has escaped me without much definition between the days." I love this quote from 15 years ago! Early pandemic I heard this exact sentiment so many times from so many of our customers. People were home alone doing the exact same thing everyday or doing nothing at all. For me early pandemic meant working from home (like always), but homeschooling and lots of other random stressors thrown in there. I didn't have any trouble remembering which day of the week it was. I loved that my social calendar was wiped clean! I had more time to do a lot of things I really wanted to do (like go for a walk everyday). I am sure that I didn't properly appreciate 15 years ago this feeling of having time. Time to exercise. Time to rest. Time to let thoughts wander. Oh and quiet! My life was so much quieter then. I miss the quiet. Of course in another 15 years I bet I will even miss the noise of little children arguing. Yesterday I stole a few moments and popped out to the now updated Waterman Pier. Originally Posted January 24, 2007
Tomorrow it gets boxed.
I recently picked up this tiny little sketchbook just 3.5 x 5.5". I can really keep it in my purse and sketch something fast. I added the watercolor later when I was back at my desk. My kids were very excited to be in the sketch and even held still a bit for me. We've been huge fans of Manchester State Park lately listening to the California Sea Lions and watching all the water fowl. I even spotted some Surf Scoters. Originally Posted January 22, 2007
Manchester State ParkThis didn't make it from my journal to my blog 15 years ago. I can't imagine why... I think I was house sitting and Nadia is a cat. I really can't imagine how you would even make a Juicy Fruit flavored soup. Any ideas? I lost Nadia. The water heater is broken. I ate juicy fruit flavored soup. My ride was short. Previously Posted January 19, 2007
Dist. 3.3 - Time 0:16:42 Here's a fun previously unpublished excerpt from my journal 15 years ago: I'm going to go for a ride today. I really need to. I've probably undone all of the training I did over a week ago. I can't wait to go. It will be good for me. Good like a pumice stone is for my feet. It might be harsh and it might wear me down, but it leaves me with a healthier cleaner me. Turns out 15 years ago the first draft my blog was in a hardcover At-A-Glance A5 daily diary style journal. Turns out there is a bunch I didn't tell you. There was a lot of self doubt. I doubted I would be able to make the trip across the country on a bicycle. My back might give out. I might run out of money. I was afraid of explaining the failure to everyone. Here is one little nugget that I should have shared: I spoke with a friend. |
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