Activity on The Trace

Lots of activity on the Wabash Tace yesterday. Was a windy day, mostly sunny, and high about 70. With the wind from the South, it would be a good day to ride there.
Headed out of Silver City. There were all sorts of creatures on the trail today. Some just in time for Halloween.
On the way I encountered a pick-up truck. Two guys checking out surveying marks. As I rode past Malvern, there was another pick-up parked on the trail. He was checking bridges (something about possibility of chaning some of the bridges from wood to concrete.
Same place, I encountered 2 of the other SWINT board members. They were clearing dead falls.
Turned around at White Cloud. Cross wind for the first couple miles. Most of the rest of the way I had a tail wind. legs were tired by the time I got back to the car. Pedaling into the wind took itout of me. Still logged 25 miles.

A Busy Week

I got a little behind in my blog this week, and it has been a busy week.
Sunday Morning Ride was back. Made our Tour de Bluffs. The first problem we encountered was mud under the railroad bridge on the Manawa Trail. A reroute was well used. Stopped at the Lake Manawa mountain bike trails - areas are still underwater. Nice morning, threatening to get hot. Rest stops at Indain Creek bridge, Riverside Grill, and Hy-Vee. Rode a different course from Hy-Vee to S 16th - I did not like it. Taking down N 8th, Dennis would ride sometimes on the street, sometimes sidewalks and ride the crosswalk, other times riding the wrong side of the street.

Monday I headed out to check the readjustments made to the rear shifter on my trail bike. While riding, I logged my 1000 miles so far for the year. That's over 200 miles over last year at this time. That's great, considering the lousy weather this Winder and Spring. Now if the trails will only dry out so i can ride some dirt...
Tuesday was a recovery day - and more rain. URGH
Wednesday Morning Ride - it was Wabash Trace or Pavement. Suggested to Blaine (no one else riding) the do the Tour de Bluffs, showing him the route downtown. Bike shifted great. Pretty good pace, good ride.
Over Thursday, I read about burning fat - sprints with a higher gear. Friday, I thought I would ride the FX and put the hammer down. URGH, there was a problem with my heart monitor - so could not push it riding. After getting back at the shop, I rode over to the mall, to buy replacement battery, still the same problem - receiver no getting the signal. For some reason, the Nike receiver is now was only working with the Nike chest strap. Previously, I could use interchangeably between the Nike and Sigma monitors.
Saturday was trail work at Wilderness Park in Lincoln. I grabbed the directions from the THOR web site, and could not find the trail crew. Checking at the various trailheads that I knew, I gave up and decided to ride at the Pioneer Blvd end. Quickly blocked by a big dead fall. One final attempt and I heard a weed wacker along Old Cheney Rd. Changed back to my jeans, grabbed my bike, and headed to the trail. Did a little work, a lot of visiting with the folks from Lincoln

Ended the week with another Sunday Morning Ride. No one else was riding, so I headed over to Rich (ZQG) QTH to check out SWIARC Field Day. The ride means about 3 miles on the Wabash Trace. LOTS of clean-up needed there. Greg has work time planned for Tuesday, about 4:30pm from the CB trailhead. Thanks to those whom have made the trail "passable" in the mean time.

And back to winter

After the glimpse of spring in my last post, here's the other side of January in Scotland. When we left Speyside on 2 January to travel back to Edinburgh sleet was beginning to fall. Between Grantown on Spey and Aviemore the snow started - 'blin' drift' in Scots (translation: 'blizzarding snow, blown by strong winds so that it obscures your vision. 'Blin' pronounced as in 'pin'. I'm feeling rather Inuit-ish with my Scots snow terminology!) - and the road filled up very quickly. South of Newtonmore the traffic halted completely. We were comforted by the sight of a snowplough/gritter a few cars ahead of us, but all the same it was sobering to sit in a car rocked by a gale, on a desolate stretch of road, with only a food stock of left-over Christmas cake, mince pies and kettle chips. Plus the survival blankets which we always carry in the winter.
We eventually got moving without any digging out being required, and by the time we reached Perth there was no snow to be seen. Yesterday and today we're back to gales, so the year has got off to a turbulent start.
Among the pictures of this week's storm damage on the BBC Scotland website, I noted the irony of a house featured in the 'Grand Designs' programme which had lost its roof (it's the 7th photo along). On either side the stolid, very ungrandly designed houses appear unscathed.

Recycling (1)

Big clearings out going on in our house just now. With our son about to go away to university in the autumn we have finally got round to updating his bedroom. Our daughter has sussed our glacial rate of progress on the home improvement front, and has decided that she's not going to wait until she's about to leave home for improvements to her room, thank you. The upshot has been bags and boxes full of outgrown/no emotional attachment/why do I have this anyway books and just 'stuff'. And my husband and I have also entered the fray, sorting through books that we'd forgotten we had.
Until now I've always been a hoarder of books. I would get rid of anything else, but not a book. But with the exception of the true favourites that I read and re-read, I have little stomach for fiction any more. Two university degrees spent dissecting novels have given me my fill of fictional worlds. Now I'm hungry for facts: history, current affairs, the natural world, anything that fills the huge gaps in my scientific knowledge.
The result of all this physical and mental creation of space was Saturday's mammoth trip to the Oxfam bookshop in Stockbridge to donate a dozen bags of books. Donating to charity shops is now a slick business, especially with Oxfam. You sign up to Gift Aid your donations if you're a tax payer, enabling the charity to reclaim the tax and so increase the value of the donation. You get a donor card, and a sheet of sticky labels with your unique donor number to put on each bag you bring to the shop.
While I didn't give the fiction section a second glance, I did have to steel myself not to browse the gardening shelves on my way out. Immediately starting to replace what I'd just donated wasn't the purpose of the exercise.

Tortilla Flat, AZ - Population 6

We leave Lost Dutchman and head to Tortilla Flat - population 6

We pass through Canyon Lake on the way



Sure wish we had that Amphicar!

We arrive at Tortilla Flat

and turn into the campground and find a nice site.

It's all about the view! Bet it's even better at the top of that hill.

Lets find out



Birds eye view of Tortilla Flat



A good place to just sit and contemplate

Apache Trail down below

Looks like Canyon Lake is just over the hill

Worked up an appetite so we head back down to Tortilla Flat for lunch.

Inside the Bar the walls and ceilings are covered with $1 bills, when we were here in 2000 there was $35,000, now there is $200,000. The bar stools are saddles - not very comfy but fun.

And they had fun with the ladies room

The food was great, time to rest up for our trip down Apache Trail tomorrow!

Till Later,

Meanwhile, we keep on Trek'n

Melissa and Gary

Windy morning

I'm not entirely sure where this came from. There have been some southerly winds blowing quite strongly here, but they don't often stay that way for long. It actually looked like dying down on Thursday, but it seems to have come back with renewed vigour in recent days. I'm certainly not complaining, anything that keeps the temperature down is a good thing as far as I'm concerned, and the wind seems to be doing that effectively, but it can make cycling interesting.
So it was this morning as I set off for a quick 68km or so in the hinterland early. Initially against it, and seemingly taking forever, but it's always surprising to discover the sheer scale of the difference it can make to one's average speed, which can seem very ordinary going against the wind, but can often rebound powerfully in the latter stages. In a way, this in itself can make a ride into an interesting chase, seeing a goal on the horizon, and gradually pulling it back, almost a sense of "I'm coming to get you".
We also should not leave out the attitude that one has to take on a long stretch against the wind, and the chance to show off the boring side of one's personality. It's that grim kind of chase that can often be so liberating, and yet the boring side of the personality gradually gives way to the arrogance that stems from closing in on a destination, gradually overcoming the wind, the turning of the tide, and suddenly realising that the wind can do no more to stop you.
Oh yeah, I took some photos from this morning's ride too. Enjoy.

Festive, Moray style

We were in two minds about the tastefulness of these Christmas tree decorations in Johnstons of Elgin cafe. On the one hand the mill produces tweeds worn by gamekeepers and lairds, so pheasant tail feathers adorning a Christmas tree seem quite in keeping. On the other hand, they struck us as somewhat removed from the peace and goodwill message. Perhaps we're growing soft down in the pampered south.

More comforting, in that familiar hasn't-changed-a-bit-since-I-was-a-child way, was the window display in Walker's of Aberlour. I was glad to see that this vast enterprise, purveyor of shortbread to airport shops all over the world, still has its retro window display of Christmas cake, mince pies, shortbread and Ecclefechan tarts. And against a holly-patterned cloth that reminded me of the Christmas wrapping paper of the 1970s.