Saturday, May 30, 2009

Preparing for Long Distance Rides

Dolomiti

They say a good rule of thumb when working up to a long distance ride, is to ride in a week the number of miles you plan to do in a day. This morning I looked at my wall calendar (which now resembles a numerology chart) and realised that I've ridden around 200 miles over the past week, Saturday to Friday, distributed over the seven days as 16-60-0-0-24-40-60.




Today I feel all right. A little beat up, but no more than usual. Still, I am not convinced that doing this milage over the course of multiple days means that I can ride even 100 miles in one go. After a 60 mile day I am depleted to the point that in the end I cannot imagine being in the saddle a second longer.




And I take too many breaks. For instance, yesterday's milage was divided into: 8 easy miles alone/ break/ 20 hilly miles with a fast partner/ lunch break/ 24 hilly miles with a fast partner/ break/ 8 easy miles alone. Is it even fair to call that a 60 mile ride? The longest I've done so far in a group without breaks has been a measly 35 miles.




I don't like the idea of "training," and prefer to think of these rides as preparation. I never want to get to the point where I hate being on the bike and have to force myself to ride. What I like about the past week is that I've managed to not only put in 200 miles, but to feel good about it. What I don't like, is the limit I am sensing: After 60 miles I just don't feel that those remaining 40 are in me.




How do you prepare for long distance rides? Is it normal to feel a daily milage ceiling past which you can't seem to advance?

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center II

On Friday, October 10th, the second reincarnation of the Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center was opened to the public and dedicated to the highly regarded and revered Washington State Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson. Funding for the original saucer-shaped visitor center (check out the image to the right - a distinct likeness of the old JVC and a flying saucer taking off into space) was guaranteed much to his hard-work and dedication, so it was only fitting that the new visitor center also carry his name. Peter Jackson (the son of Henry Jackson, not the director) spoke at the ceremony, highlighting his father's love of wilderness, his desire to protect our country's most precious spaces, and to create enjoyable ways for people to learn from and enjoy these amazing places throughout our country and this state. The ceremony drew big-wigs from Washington (D.C. that is), including the Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Representative Norm Dicks of Washington's Sixth Congressional District, and the Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Parks. Other distinguished guests included local Nisqually tribal elder Zelma McCloud, National Park Service Pacific West Regional Director Jon Jarvis, the aforementioned Peter Jackson of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, Mount Rainier National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga, an elder representative from the Consolidated tribes and bands of the Yakama Nation; yours truly of course and another famed NPS persona, Mike (Gator) Gauthier, dressed to the nine's in his class "A" uniform, and several hundred other attendees at the ceremony.

The new 'green', energy efficient JVC II is architecturally designed to match its surroundings and the historical park style, referred to as 'Park Service Rustic'. The feeling of the building when you first enter is dictated mostly by the space, due to the height of the ceiling and massive windows that line the entirety of the wall, naturally lighting the surroundings. However, it could also have something to do with the weird climber want-to-be mannequin placed high atop the climbing display. A feeling of comfort is there too. Above you are post and beam rafters, held together with cast iron fixtures and signs made from a menagerie of dark metal and wood. Overall, I was impressed and I think the sentiment was shared by most.
If you missed the grand opening, fret not, as you will have ample opportunity to view the building on weekends and most holidays, including the winter/holiday break from December 20th through January 4th. And as has been the tradition up at Paradise for many years, Ranger-led snowshoe walks will begin at the new JVC (snow permitting) on December 20th. The two public walks (12:30, 2:30) are approximately 1.5 miles in duration and last less than two hours and are moderate to strenuous. The walks are an amazing opportunity to experience the Park and Mountain in the wintertime. The adjacent photo was taken this past winter as I was returning from one of my group snowshoe walks - a beautiful view of the old JVC at sunset.
The opening of the JVC II means one more VERY important thing....re-opening our beloved Climbing Information Center (CIC) up at Paradise next summer. The CIC will function as it did before; climbing rangers staffing the desk will issue climbing permits and sell climbing passes, provide up-to-date route and snow conditions, weather forecasts, advice and as can only be expected from climbers (and NO ONE else) when they are awake and moving at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday - perhaps some witty banter as well. See you all on the Mountain!

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Two Rutland bicycle rides

More cycling than I've done for ages.





Ride 1 - via Preston, Ridlington and Braunston



This involved a few hills - the roads were much quieter than the tracks around Rutland Water.






Manton church






A glimpse of the water from higher ground






The lost village of Martinsthorpe







Ride 2 - via Langham, Barleythorpe and Oakham, then via Exton, Fort Henry and Barnsdale.




Monday, May 25, 2009

Ice Mountain


































Another shot of the ice piles that were lining Grand Portage Bay before last weekend's winter storm. This pile of ice was maybe 4 or 5 feet tall, and I was laying on the ground on my side to get as low of a perspective as possible in order to make the ice pile look as large as possible. It would have been nice to have a blue sky or some more interesting clouds for a background, but this is what the sky looked like on the only day the ice was there before the winter storm hit. After the storm, the ice piles were diminished considerably thanks to the pounding waves from Lake Superior.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

The Simple Life with Issy Morgans



"I live a very simple life" IssyMorgans Where do I start? This girl is complicated. I don't think I've ever received a morebewildering personalprofile from a climber.But lets begin. Issy Morgans is a tight ass. Her words, not mine.

Sheworks for a tight ass, my words not hers, in a climbing gym in Logan on the south side of Brisbane that not only doesn't have the internet but doesn't even have a computer.How tight is that?







Morgan(s) my bad.



Last time I posted photos of Issy I was stuck for a single word to describe her style. Lee Cujesoffered "composed".

The composure runs deep. She not only plans every meal for a week ahead, she plans every little thing she will do for a year. Climbers, I have stopped laughing at driven people and started taking lessons. I admire the dedication I see in people who are working hard on improvement.



Issy doesn't watch TV, hasn't watched a movie for over a year, doesn't eat out.

She says, "I work hard and save hard, I'm persistent and routine".



A fear of leading kept her indoor for nine years. Look at her now.

Let the picturestell thestory.































Here's Issy's answers to the quiz:



Q: Fave crags - A:Coolum and the Blue MountainsQ: Fave music - A: Listen to the radio most of the time jjj and Nova

Q: Fave movie - A: haven't watched a normal movie in over 12 months!

Q: Fave mag - A: I guess this would have to be Rock mag as its the only mag I have bought since I was a teenager!

Q: Fave celeb -A: Couldn't name any apart from Chris Sharma

Q: Fave cafe - A:Grandmas kitchen, I don't eat out!

A: Dogs - The question was "Cats or Dogs"?

A: Rock - The question was "Rock or Rap"?

A: Jeans - The question was "Frocks or Jeans"?

Issy scored 8/9 on the quiz. The correct answer was "Frocks"



The simple lunch - a rice cracker and water.



If I can re-phrase her words just a little, she says one of the things she is planning to do is to be more spontaneous.



Enjoy the simple things Issy.We love your positive style.

jj

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

So, What was in that Box?

Well, it's been nearly 5 weeks since Denise Levenick issued a Treasure Hunt! A Challenge for Genea Bloggers so I should have had plenty of time to open and explore the contents of the box! But, as always it seems, time has gotten away from me and the box was still sitting in the same spot, unopened. Until last night.

I didn't really expect to find any valuable treasures within, but I'll admit I was a little surprised. It's been a little over two years since the box was packed up, and memory can be a funny thing. Just get my mother and her four siblings together telling family stories and you'll get five different versions of the same event! But I digress. Back to the box.

After cutting the tape and pulling out the crumpled newspaper that was used as a filler, the discoveries began. On top, several magazines, from the 1960s and 70s, in very good condition by the way, especially considering that they would have traveled with me to every duty station while I was in the Navy.

  • Kennedy And His Family in Pictures by the editors of Look. No date on the cover but one of the inside pages has a copyright date of 1963. It probably came out the week after his funeral. I was a sophomore in high school. Inside the pages was a "First Day Cover" envelope issued by the post office on May 29, 1964.
  • Flying Saucers was another special edition by the editors of Look, copyright 1967.
  • Apollo 11: On the Moon was a Look special edition that came out in late 1969. Sunday, July 20th, 1969 10:56:20 P.M. Neil Armstrong declared "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." My youngest brother was graduating from Navy Basic Training at Great Lakes that weekend. Mom, my sister and I were there to visit him and spent some time glued to the television screen in the motel room.
  • There is life on the Moon. . . was a publication of Pace magazine in August 1969 and includes essays from Arthur C. Clarke, Wernher von Braun, Ray Bradbury and eight other scientists and science fiction writers. It was billed as a "down-to-earth" look at space.
  • Prizewinning Pictures from Life's photography contest was published on December 25, 1970. I was stationed at Norfolk, Virginia and pilfered this copy from the station library, where I was working at the time. I was hoping to get into the Navy's photography school.
Next up was a mess of cards, letters, photographs, and travel pamphlets. Just tossed in the box haphazardly. Most of the cards and letters are still in their envelopes. Birthday cards (predominantly that 50th milestone), along with notes from cousins and aunts. I haven't sorted through them yet to determine whether I want or need to keep them. They will temporarily go into another box for sorting at a later date. With the travel pamphlets were post cards and souvenir brochures, all from our trip to Mississippi and Louisiana the end of June and into July of ... Pascagoula, New Orleans, Monroe, Shiloh Battlefield in Tennessee.

Beneath that mess was a sheet of cardboard. At first I thought I had reached the bottom of the box but then realized I'd only gotten halfway down. Lifting the cardboard revealed, what else, but another box! Measuring 9x12 and 4" deep.

I totally do not remember this box! It may have been packed up when we sold the farm house in 1997, but I'm thinking it may have been earlier, back when I quit my job in Fort Wayne in 1986 and put all my belongings in storage for a year. Regardless, these are my treasures, rediscovered!
  • My birth certificate, issued in 1969 to prove my age for joining the Navy. Why is it a treasure? It includes my mother's maiden name. Current birth certificates issued by the state of Indiana no longer have that, they just have the mother's first name.
  • Several "at a glance" calendars from 1972, 1978, 1979. With sparse notes but enough to jog the old memory about certain events.
  • Letters. Letters that I thought had been lost. In a way, I guess they were. Being boxed up for 10 or maybe 20 years. Most appear to be from my time in Japan (May 1977-May 1979) and through school (Indiana State 1979-1982). From family, and from friends long relegated to the back recesses of my mind. I opened several, but they are all going back into the box for now. I'm just not sure I'm ready for the flood of emotions they are bringing back. Long lost, found again. These letters won't be making it into the pages of this blog!
Personal treasures partially revealed, to be put back for yet another day. I can only wonder what will happen to them after I'm gone. Who will be the one to re-discover them then and what will they think? The question becomes, for me, is this: Do I really want someone else to find some of the letters? Taken out of the context of my life their true meaning is lost. And, as with most discoveries more questions will arise than will be answered.

So, there you have it. Are my treasures valuable? Intrinsically, yes. Monetarily, no. But as a family researcher, where does their real value lie?

Alta Vista Snow Pit

Howdy Everyone!

This week's snow pit is from the east side of Alta Vista and features the massive amount of new snow that we received during last week's storm cycle.

As you can see from the pit graph, there is small sun crust at the surface (that made for bad skiing) and below that is a 105 cm layer of cold, new snow. This layer has settled about 5" and continues to stabilize. Below this layer there are a number of complex ice crust layers that were observed just below the surface in the Feb. 9th snow pit near The Castle in the Tatoosh Range. These layers remain a source of instability and are acting as release surfaces for the deep slab avalanches that have been occurring in Washington.




Stability tests from the Alta Vista snow pit did not indicate deep instability. The compression, extended column, and the Rutschblock tests had failures either near the surface or did not fail. However, as noted by NWAC, even as the snowpack stabilizes there are still persistent weak layers, and localized areas throughout the region are experiencing large, slab releases.

The forecast is showing another series of fronts that are expected to cross the Northwest through the end of the weekend, bringing significant new snow accumulation. Cautious route finding is encouraged if traveling in the backcountry.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Norrøna Lyngen down jacket?









First time I have done something like this. But the priceis a$100 off what I paid for mine a couple of years ago. While notcheap itis an exceptionaljacket. Normal retail is 349 Euro or $465 today! I get nothing from this. Just a friendlyheads up to the localsthat might be interested. B/C has 47 in stock and three color choices @ $279.16 delivered. Gotta love a strong dollar.



http://www.backcountry.com/norrna-lyngen-down-jacket-mens



http://www.norrona.com/Products/3172-09/lyngen-down750-jacket-w



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//03/design-triumphsthe-norrna-lyngen-down.html





NORRĂ˜NA (V) MAGAZINE - A ski oddysey from Norrøna on Vimeo.

Two Bridges

derrybridge2

It is exciting to see new things happening in an old city, especially when these developments change the dynamic of the landscape completely. The
Peace BridgeinDerry/Londonderryis so named for connecting different parts of the city that have historically been divided due to the religious and political conflicts that have plagued Northern Ireland in years past. And the fact that it is a car-free bridge for walking and cycling adds an additional layer of symbolism: Unlike motorists, the pedestrians and cyclists crossing are unshielded by anonymity. It is the ultimate gesture of mutual trust and connectedness.Along the river bank, a new bicycle path is being built that will link this bridge to another further down the river for an even greater sense of unity.




derrybridge1

I have never been to Derry prior to the construction of the new bridge. But as a first time visitor I cannot imagine it not being there.Not only do the modern shapes of the contemporary structure harmonise with the historical buildings in the background (from some vantage points, the bridge even appears to "hug" the old city center), but its usefulness and influence on local culture were apparent.




derrywall

People walking and riding their bikes, some in a hurry and others strolling with newspaper in hand while enjoying the view - the city feels alive and my impression is that this liveliness is recent.Walking through the city center early on a Sunday morning, my impression was that the city was waking up in more ways than one.



derrybridge3
Being in Derry, I truly felt it as a living organism in the process of transition. The city wants to be vibrant, it is on the verge of it. The air is electric with change and potential. It is an exciting place to be while this development is happening.




Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
As a funny contrast to the Peace Bridge in Derry, I had earlier visited theCarrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge on the Antrim coast. In decades past a precarious bridge built forfor local fishermen to crossfrom a tiny rocky island to the mainland, it is now a tourist attraction.For a fee of£5.60 you can cross the bridge, circle the island and come back.





Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
The tug of war between this being a tourist attraction for which an admission fee is charged, while still being part of nature and therefore inherently dangerous, is interesting to observe.





Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge
Not all who attempt to cross the bridge are able to, as it sways and feels rather unstable. And so in a sense it is also a test of courage - accentuating differences between those who attempt to cross it. Some grasp the rails in a panic, others dance across mockingly. I am told that once the coast guard had to be called because a tourist had a panic attack on the other side of the bridge and could not cross back.





Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge



Most visitors get to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge in a car. There is a huge car park by the road, next to it a tea house. From there a scenic path leads down to the bridge itself. The path is maybe a 15-20 minute walk, downhill, with beautiful views throughout. I had gone there in late afternoon and the last group of tourists was still about. Walking down the path, one woman said to her husband "My God, why couldn't they make this thing closer to the parking lot? This is ridiculous!"




That is my story of the two bridges.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Gumley circular

Led by Barry - with Gordon, Maureen and me. Fine and sunny, very wet underfoot in places. Very rolling - great views. 7.6 miles.



Covering some of the ground of this walk on 21 Nov , but this time we could see the views.

Some overlap with this walk on 8 October as well.









We set off from Gumley, and took the footpath opposite the telephone box. This path heads south-west. Just before Gumley Lodge we turned west crossing several fields before arriving at a small road close to Laughton. We crossed the road and followed the footpath into the village. A token sit on the bench - to check the map - and then through the village and past the church.




Laughton church and 'cob' wall




Crook House (cruck house?)

We followed the path to the west after the church, downhill towards Mowsley, over a brook, and up hill, across a lane and into the village by the church and the old school.




Mowsley church


At a bend in the road we took a path between buildings, and when it reached a field we took the right hand footpath. This led downhill, crossed another field and a stream. and headed north along field boundaries, clearly marked. We found a sheltered spot, with trees, where the ground was not too boggy and had our first break of the day.

The track led more or less north until we reached a junction near Saddington Lodge Farm. Here we turned right and headed north east towards Saddington village.



They took the longer route - I went direct. Luckily the boots proved fairly watertight.


In Saddington we went past the church, the riding school and the pub.



View of Saddington Reservoir from the pub


A little further along we turned right along the Leicestershire Round path - 1 and 3/4 miles to Gumley. Through the long thin field where there is usually one horse, then over the three bridges and up the hill where cows were grazing today.




At the top the views of the reservoir were excellent with no crops to block them.




Saddington Reservoir




Not the memorial seat . . .

The flat high level path is one of my favourites in the area. We continued to the memorial seat to Mary Hodgkin -the ideal spot for a second break.




Views to the north east - maybe Church Langton? And Charnwood hills in the distance.

From the seat at the high point of the path we carried on along the Leicestershire Round path, across Debdale Lane and into Gumley past the church.

A shortish walk, but quite hard going - hills and mud underfoot.





Wednesday, May 6, 2009

It's Not Over...

I was so looking forward to spending the rest of the year on the beaches of Padre Island in South Texas, soaking up the nice, warm sunshine! And traveling further west again to explore places that I missed the last time through... but sometimes, life throws you a curve ball, and "plans" change.

The Journey has made a U-turn and is on Indefinite Hold. After several very nice days in the Texarkana, Texas area (one day was in the mid-70s!!), I'm back in Indiana.

I'm fine – it's my Mother – she has some medical problems that are far more serious than we were originally told. She goes to the doctor on Wednesday for a scope to determine the size of a tumor in her colon and to take samples to send off to see if it is cancer. We probably won't know anything definite until after Christmas. Once we know what it is we will know what course of action needs to be taken. And we'll do what needs to be done. And hope and pray for a positive outcome.

In the meantime, I'll have the wonderful memories of the many fantastic places I've been these past 15 months and the dreams of the places yet to be seen... It's Not Over!


Big Lagoon State Park, Pensacola, FloridaNovember 18, ..

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Old Church Sign


This sign my the Old Town Church told about it's 200th Birthday. 1793 - 1993.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Happy Mother's Day!

Mom and Me - Summer of '49
If you'd like, please revisit my post from last year on Mothers and Grandmothers.