Cycling Project - the Kyle line

My daughter left today for two weeks of hillwalking on the West coast of Scotland. One of the unique features of my children's school is this two week period in May every year when the whole year group in S3, or the 14-15 year olds - all 230 of them - are split into small groups of about a dozen and go off into Scotland's wild places, with 3 or so teachers per group. No bookwork, no science-project-homework-on-the-side. Just physical endeavour, some of it pretty challenging. The prosaic name for this experience is 'S3 Projects'. It's based on the philosophy of the Scottish-born American environmentalist John Muir, who wrote "I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in."
Because I want to stay as close to the progress of the seasons as possible, I'm not going to post her photos when she gets back - I'll do that at the same time next year. Instead, I've got a guest photographer for the next two weeks - my son, who kept a photo record of his Project 3 years ago. This involved cycling a 450 mile circuit from Inverness up the North West coast of Scotland, along the top, and then back down to Inverness. They camped for the most part, with the occasional luxury stay in a Youth Hostel.
So here is a nameless station, on the first day of cycling. It's on the railway line from Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, the mainland terminus for the Isle of Skye. My son can't remember what the station was called, and I can't quite read the sign in the photo below. It could be Achanalt. Anyway, the group hit one of the many quiet times on the line.
(edited to add: Day 1 - Inverness to Contin, 18 miles)

Those passengers waiting on the up line (or is it the down?) get a more robust waiting room.

Year Three - Day Four

"Year Three - Day Four" was written by Annie in Austin for her Transplantable Rose Blog.

It's hot and dry and the rain that splashed other parts of Austin has missed me so I've been hand-watering the borders to keep the summer flowers alive. Please come in through the garden gate and look to the left. The two white 'Acoma' crepe myrtles started blooming a few days ago - as much a marker for true summer as any other sign from nature. They survived 5 years in pots on the deck of our other house, and were barely 3-feet tall in spring of .. when we ousted the existing hot pink, mildewed crepe myrtles so we could plant these here. Now they're almost 8-feet tall, softening the view with white flowers.
If you now turn and look to the right you can see across the whole garden back to the dark corner with the shed at the left and the patio table with its striped umbrella at right. The larger of the two triangle beds is closest to us - it has a 'Little Gem' magnolia and a tall metal obelisk. We made this bed two years ago. I didn't exactly plan this riot of color but that's what happens when tropical butterfly weed, a 'Black Prince' butterfly bush, Salvia farinacea, 'Cupani' sweet peas, lantana, pink coneflowers and Platycodon/Balloonflowers bloom at once. I hope they "clash well", as Henry Mitchell used to say.

The second triangle bed comes next - only a few months old, it's a jumble of plants and looks a little too McDonald's right now. Some were bought on purpose, like the three lavenders, the Cherry Pepper, narrow-leaved zinnias and moss roses, and some lifted from other beds like the Hummingbird sage/Salvia coccinea and yellow snapdragons.

Off to the right is the patio, with the disappearing fountain attracting birds and animals. Philo and I have seen a pair of hummingbirds taking dips in the water, but haven't been fast enough to take a photo of them. This squirrel stayed still while I snapped his picture through the window.

Along the edge of the gravel near the fountain is a pot of lavender in bloom. It's been growing in that clay pot for nearly seven years, but none of the lavender I've planted in the ground have lived through a winter. Will the three new plants in the triangle beat the odds?
Behind the lavender is a 'Mutabilis' rose. It opens individual flowers that change from pale yellow to apricot to pink to deep rose in the course of a day.
Behind the rose is pot of salvia and behind the salvia is a Mexican Fan palm in a big pot.
The salvia next to the rose is Salvia 'Hot Lips' - temperature seems to affect the colors. There are a few solid red, a scattering of 'lips' and some solid white flowers right now.
I spray out and refill this birdbath several times a day and now the area around it has the best grass in the entire yard. The flower bed along the back fence has red flowers for hummingbirds, tall white flowers in the center and large white leaves in front of some glossy-leaved shrubs toward the right.
Take a closer look at those white leaves - they're caladium bulbs that were planted in the ground back at the beginning of May. They have nice patterns but no names - the bag just said 'White caladium bulbs'. Next fall I'll try to remember to dig the bulbs before the leaves disappear. They'll bloom again if kept in a bag of perlite in the garage until spring.
Do you recognize the tall white flower? It's the 'Blue River II' perennial hibiscus - a division from my old Illinois garden. This plant has done really well in Austin - a suitable subject for my first blog post two years ago.

Past the flower beds the deep shadows begin - with more than half the garden under the canopy of two big pecans. A bed edged with timbers and full of Asiatic jasmine was here when we came - the timbers are gone, I fight the jasmine and we're playing with rocks along the edge. Some kind of sandy soil was used to fill the original bed. Now bulbs like this calla lily seem to like it here where the shade is dappled. Two years seems like a long time right now. Those garden bloggers who have passed the five year point, like MSS of Zanthan Gardens (September ..), Kathy Purdy at Cold Climate Gardening (August ..), Entangled at Cultivated (April ..) and Bill at Prairie Point (March ..) have my deepest respect and admiration.
And to all of you who have stopped here during the past two years, many thanks!

"Year Three - Day Four" was written by Annie in Austin for her Transplantable Rose Blog.

Arizona Hibiscus

A tropical hibiscus at the Royal Palms Resort in Phoenix, Arizona.

Ride to Trails Center

Since the last day I rode, we had lots of clouds and 2 storms that left us a dusting of snow. Anyway, the weather finally started turning into Spring temperatures.

At noon, it was mostly sunny and in the low to mid 50s. Light breeze from the East. HAD to get out for a bike ride. Kitted up, loaded the hybrid on the car and headed to the Wabash Trace Trailhead. No plans for just how far I would ride.

Stopped at Indian Creek Bridge for a rest and some water. Visited with another rider. Turned North on Indian Creek Trail. As I neared Veteran's Memorial Trail, I decide I was feeling good enough to continue on to the Western Historic Trails Center. After all, I had not been there yet this year - needed to show my face.

As I parked the bike, I realized its Thursday - Jam & Bread day. Stopped in long enough to sign the register. Sat on the retaining wall for eat a granola bar and drank a bottle of G2. Time to head back to the car.

Knew I would have to take it easy on the way back as I was basically riding into the wind. Rode at a steady 9-10 mph. Stopped for a drink of water once I was along E Manawa Drive. When I was ready to turn over to Lake Manawa Trail, I stopped for a little more water and starteded sucking on a shot blok. Knew one would help me make it back to the car.

Climbing up after tunnel and RR trestle, I knew that I had made the right decision as for length of the ride. Exhausted and legs almost shot when I got back to the car. Loaded the bike and headed home.

Great ride! Re-hydrated with more water and PowerAde Zero. Topped the afternoon with my large salad. It will feel good to get horizontal in bed this evening.

Today's photo is my hybrid at the Trails Center. With very little color in the photo, processed it in monochrome and added some sepia tint. OH, I ended up with 16 miles, the longest ride of the season (so far).

A Nice Ride

I got in a nice long five hour road ride today. That's a good nice long ride for a mom.
Nice because I finally don't feel so beat after riding for five hours. Nice because I can finally feel all the long Saturdays and the single speed Wednesdays and the Thursday commute and the spin class and the weights paying off. Nice because I don't feel like I'm limping home at the end anymore. Nice because I can feel the improvement and yet I'm not doing any real training.
Nice because next weekend is the first mountain bike race of the season for me and I've got some nice good miles in my legs. Speed may be another thing, but at least the endurance is there for now.
Today I rode out to Danville Peets, turned up into the hills and then headed over into the Alamo hills for a few whirly loops and then popped back out in Alamo and back into Oakland. I kept myself hydrated and fed and did some singing along the way. Nice, nice, nice.
The drivers were nice today, the walkers were nice today, other cyclists were nice today and waved, (except for trac who gave me the nod). The Peets worker was a little grumpy, but their banana bread is really good so who cares.
Back home, Morgan played girl scout dad and hung out with some of the moms and other little brownies selling cookies in the safeway parking lot. Tomorrow he's in for a single speed mtb ride up on Mt. Diablo, which sounds crazy to me because it's apparently a lot of up and up and up. And up on one speed. Unless he can put his geared bike back together, which is what he's doing right now down in the garage.
For a few years now we've fallen into a nice pattern of shared riding days on the weekends.
Saturday is my day for a long ride and Sunday is his day. We usually try and each get out there pretty early, because most weekends also include those other 2 small people in our clan and their kid stuff and games and what not.
It's a good thing to have a husband who shares the same hobby as you do. It makes things a lot easier.

Southerish

Mahi mahi breakfast

Our auto-pilot system

Herve at the tiller during rush hour

Suzi hammering away through a solo

Herve impatiently walking the boat quietly cussing the lack of wind in french

Chris lobster diving

I´ve had coffee in worse places

The resort we could afford

The roads we like best to cross the island

Nassau beach on the way to fish fry

Our traditional home cooked Bahaman meal

Davie Hogan at home in the sand

Bike packing island style

Sorry to leave you all hanging. My little laptop took a lightning bolt for the team and is totally fried.* So I'm at the mercy of finding computers where I can. Bare with me as I belt out this posts with very little prof reading. I've also teamed up with a Don Juan sailor turned bike tourist named Chris. We are currently ever so slightly grounded in Mexico city. It been a fantastic shit show to get here to say the least:

We worked for weeks on the boat in the ship yard. Finally we got it back in the water fairly happy with the complete retrofit. We tried to set out to open water from Palm Beach but the wind and current had other plans for us. We tried several sketchy times to clear the canal but turned back every time just before crashing on the rocks. We decided to motor south on the intercoastal water way down to the larger outlet in Ft. Lauderdale. Three days and lots of draw bridges later we splashed into the big blue. The wind blew strong in our faces from the Southeast and the gulf stream tried to carry us to Quebec. For a few discouraging days we beat into the wind, sailing non stop around the clock and could still see the Ft. Lauderdale skyline.We could have walked to Panama faster. The plan became to motor\ sail East towards the shelter of the Bahamas and the other side of the Gulf stream. But once again the wind had other plans for us. Like shutting of completely. The ocean became a glassy lake and we became dependant on the severely underpowered little 9.9 Suzuki outboard. The current was so strong to the north that all the motoring we did pretty much just kept us in place. Herve the Captain is probably the most impatient, brash and cheapskate of a man I have ever met. He screamed and yelled and treated me like a ten year old cuz I'm still learning to sail. But it was he who kept changing coarse, yelling different coordinates and running us in circles. As we neared the first inhabited island of the Bahamas he ran us aground the first time in a haste to get there before we ran out of gas. Good thing were in a Catamaran know for a very little draw and were able to get off that sandbar. Soon I was standing up on the mast spreaders looking out at the beautiful water, pointing out sandbars and bull sharks on the way in. We spent a night, got some gas and sipped beers with the locals on Andros Island. The next day luckily we only kissed one reef with the hull taking off only paint and still managed to make a speedy 25 miles in 24 hours. When finally New Providence and Nassau can into view and we headed for shore. Herve didn't want to pay the cruzing tax or docking fees so we hid in a neighborhood canal, pulling up to an abandon house (or so we thought). We went for breakfast and when Herve pulled some crap saying we owed him and wouldn't pay for his own meal. (we worked 2 weeks of 10 hour days for him in the ship yard with him not so much as buying us food) That was the last straw for Chris and I. We jumped ship.

We knew we needed to get to immigration and get our passports stamped but... things just started getting in the way. Like exploring the island, swimming, diving, riding and beach camping. So when we went to report to Immigration at the airport a few days had gone by. No big deal, so we though. Instantly were charged with illegal entry and put in custody. Were held all day and lots of accusations and threats were made. Were cuffed together and thrown on a bus. Two Americans in a sea of Hatian, Cuban and South American refugees.We're all thrown into a heavily guarded camp of human squalor. The conditions were pretty brutal.A tightly run black market\ bribery game is the only thing to keep you from starving or sleeping on the filthy concrete with the rats. We made friends though and were treated to sharing a single shredded mattress for the night. Man, I feel really bad for the good dudes we met that had been in there for months. Next afternoon we were called out and told the news that we would be able to buy tickets and leave right away. If we couldn't buy tickets we would rot till the embassy was able to get us out. We bought tickets. And luckily (with lots of insisting) able to stall long enough to get the bikes on the plane with us. A 35 minute flight for what it took us 5 days on the boat.

In Miami we stayed with the ever so amazing Federica. A great time followed- celebrating our resent deportation, cheersing beers and laughing at the incredibly defunct way we went about getting so little south for so much effort.

Resigned to flying we bought more tickets to Panama City**. Naturally we almost missed the flight and had a mad race across the city and a record breaking bike boxing. It was just so hard to change out of Frederica's underwear (what she offered Chris and I to wear while doing our laundry) and put down our coffee cups.

We are here in Mexico city on a bit of an extended layover. Panama now requires an ongoing ticket in order to enter the country (as of Sept. and being strictly enforced). This we don't have for good reason. We had planned to get another boat to Colombia. After much debate they said we could enter if we have $500 cash on us. We made a dash to the ATM but all I got was a travel fraud alert and my account suspended. Our plane went on without us.The fee for missing\ changing flights makes me wanna stab out my left eye but what are you gonna do? freak out? yea I did a bit of that. So we're hanging out here in the airport for a few days till I can contact my bank on Monday. Making the best of it. Man I can´t wait to get back to cycling- what I know and love.

*Sitting in the boat one night while it was up on blocks in the boat yard. I was on my lap top when a lightning storm rolled in and the sky opened up. We hadn't finished patching the fiberglass on the roof and soon the inside the boat was also raining. I was under the only dry spot, when all of a sudden there was a sharp crack and a brilliant flash. An arc of electricity shot through my fingers from the keyboard and I was literally thrown out of my seat. It felt like I just got hit on the tail bone with a sledge hammer and all the hair on my body was standing up. I stumbled out onto the cockpit half expecting the world to be gone but nothing had changed, other than now I have a computer with a friend motherboard.

** If you ask why we don´t just ride? Its cuz I have already pedaled to Panama city and have no real urge to do it again. I´m more excited about finding our way to Colombia and picking up this world tour where I left off.

Wisconsin Riding

This week I am in Wisconsin to visit friends and family. Getting in some riding, too.
Sunday I rode the Fox River Trail. It was a 1.5 miles for his house t the trailhead. Most of the trail section I rode is paved. There was one section still crushed gravel. Brought the full suspension trail bike since I was planning to ride some dirt.
Was a good day for a ride - lots of folks on the trail. High just over 50, mostly sunny, light breeze from the south. I turned around when I hit the second unpaved section. That was enough for me for the day - made it a 24 mile ride.
The first photo here was taken on the Fox River Trail.
Monday I was a little further south. Finally I was able to ride some of the trails at Kettle Moraine State Park - North Unit.
Checked in with the Forest Service Office and bought my vehicle and bike passes. My plan was to ride Greenbush trails. They looked to be about my speed s I walked a little there 2 years ago. WRONG - as I headed on the trail with my bike, it turned into rougher, lots of wet roots and rocks. The weather turned to fog and mist. I rode Loop 2 and headed to the New Fane trails. The Forest Service office told me that those trails are a little easier.

The New Fane mountain bike trails is a stacked loop system. Loop 1 is a very easy, nearly flat trail. It was a good 1/2 mile ride to get back into riding singletrack on unfamiliar trails. Loop 2 (1 mile) is a little more difficult. There were a couple spots where I walked the hill.
I rode onto Loop 3. This 2 mile loop is a bit more challenging. By the time I got to the intersection with Loop 4, I decide to not push myself. After all, I was riding alone and on unfamiliar trails. I already had a good workout, so it was time to ride the trail on to the trailhead.
The mountain bike trails here are hilly. They mostly follow the contour of the land. Lots of short up and down with a few level spots to catch your breath. I was able to speed down some of the hills, hitting 13 mph!
The New Fane trails are just the ticket for my riding ability. They were fun, enjoyable and challenging, while not pushing over my head. Next time, I will head there with the goal of finishing all 4 loops. A great day (weather not withstanding) dancing on the pedals. At New Fane I logged 4.3 miles, average 5.1 mph, max of 13.0 mph.
Last evening I was thinking of riding pavement today. When I got up. my legs told me "NO".

Trail Condition Report

The last week, I have been busy riding my bicycles and checking the various trails in Council Bluffs. We had some pretty miserable weather over the last week- hot and humid. Add in the regular storms during the week. The weekend turned out nice. Still got in 100 miles in the last 7 days.
Most of the rides have been between Xtreme Wheels and the Western Historic Trails Center. One ride up Dumfries Hill on the Wabash Trace. The last couple days I brought me D-SLR camera and shoot some HDR photos.
The top photo on today's posting is of the Dumfries Bridge on the Wabash Trace.
The Missouri River is up this week. There were heavy rains north (up-river) last week. Word is that the Corps of Engineers is also releasing more water through Gavin's Point Dam. I even heard that river level may rise as much as 3 feet from its current level!

Today, I headed out from the bike shop to the Trails Center. Rode the Lake Manawa Trail and stopped by the mountain bike trails to checkout their condition.
The second photo shows the flood waters over the THOR trails at Lake Manawa. The water is over the road that leads to the river boat ramp. Its going to be a long summer - hope the river drops so we can ride the dirt trails later this year!
Since the river rose back earlier this summer, the Iowa Riverfront Trail has been under water behind the Western Historic Trails Center. The waters have been slowly receding. The folks there have been busy clearing the trails of trees that dropped across the trail.
The next photo in this blog posting shows the water still over Iowa Riverfront Trail. There is a marked detour around that section of the trail.

From the Trails Center, I decided to complete the loop around Council Bluffs. The next section of the trail that was causing me concern was under Harrahs Casino. I had heard that the lower parking lot was under water.
There is water in the parking lot and the trail is flooded along the river. There is no marked path to ride under the parking structure. I dumped the bike on the mud riding past the equipment parked there. Not hurt, just some mud. Be careful riding under the structure - the pavement is slick with river silt mud.
In the final photo on this posting, you can see how high the river is.
Rode on up the trail to the Bob Bridge. Took a few of HDR (High Dynamic Range) photos along the way. In the 25 summer seasons that I have lived here, I do not remember seeing the Missouri River that high. Most times when there has been flooding on the Missouri, it has been downstream from Omaha/Council Bluffs.

The next stop was the end of the Iowa Riverfront Trails at Big Lake. The rode there has been flooded and is closed. The trail is high enough that is it dry. Big Lake is "full".
Headed on through town on N 8th and my normal route to Harry Langdon. After over 22 miles under my belt, I was pleased that my legs were strong enough to carry me up the hill there at 10 mph.
Ended up with 26 miles, about 2 hours and a quarter. A good ride, several good photos.

Food for free

The wild blackberries, or brambles as they're called in Scotland, are ripening. I took this photo on the Water of Leith walkway/cycle path which runs through the city from the hills down to the port of Leith. The brambles along the walkway always attract a varied collection of harvesters. This lady was the first I've seen this year, and she was very smartly dressed for the occasion. I didn't dare get any closer for a better shot, or take the time to zoom in. The wrath of an Edinburgh Lady is not to be incurred lightly.

Snowpack Profile Update

There is 17" of new snow on the ground since the extreme avalanche conditions and avalanche activity earlier this week. The forecast is calling for 12-18" tonight and 7-11" on Saturday with the possibility of more snow on Sunday.





Neither a compression test or extended column test yielded any failures. No evidence of recent avalanche activity in the immediate area allows me to think that the slope did not fail earlier in the week, unlike many other slopes in the area.





All layers were well defined and fairly settled.

Snow Worm

Spring has Sprung!

It was a great bike riding weekend. Sunday morning I headed to the Mall for breakfast. Panera Bread is in the middle of a move. We were talking about checking out Mickey D's. I was the only one to make it.
It was already in the 50s at 9am. Took a little nap (tired after the dirt ride yesterday). Then prepped the Super T (road bike) for a ride. Drove to Wabash Trace Trailhead Park. Gonna be a busy day on The Trace, too.
The route today was Lake Manawa Trail, Indian Creek Trail. Veteran's Memorial Trail and Western Heritage Trail to the Trails Center. Stopped in for a visit and time for a granola bar and G2.
Retraced my way back to Indian Creek Trail, turning North to S. 16th. From there the connector to S 8th and to Xtreme Wheels downtown. A little more visiting and talking bikes.
Rode down Harry Landon Blvd and South Avenue back to Wabash Trace Trailhead Park.
My day was not finished. After a quick change of clothes at home, it was off to Aksarben Village for a THOR (Trails Have Our Respect) Marketing Committee meeting.
Today's photo was taken at Lake Manawa Mountain Bike Trails (Long's Loop) on Saturday during my dirt ride - a shameless ad for THOR.

Spiral Aloe

Fibonacci, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

This is one of the coolest plants I've ever seen. The natural geometric pattern is incredible...this specimen was at the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden in California.