Friday, January 28, 2011
A post about longer days with a longer title than the post itself, I think. Hang on, let me check... Yep.
Here's Beth biking home yesterday. Notice that its still light outside - sweet!!!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
XC skiing stuff
Well, this is the time of the year for skiing, and Beth and I are in a cross-country ski class that meets Mondays and Wednesdays to fix our technique and get some exercise. Considering that my current technique can be best described as "wild flailing that somehow propels me in a generally forward direction," the class should be really beneficial. Having such miserable technique does make me awesome at the "getting exercise" part of the class, though. The other night one of our instructors pointed out that I was combining the inefficiency of the blah-blah-blah technique almost seamlessly with the lack of power of the blah-blah-blah technique. Having now uncombined and then recombined my styles, I'm now a bit better off, but I still have a long way to go.
Speaking of a long way to go, I signed myself up for the Tour of Anchorage, a 50K cross-country ski race that loops around a large portion of the city. The race is in early March, the weekend after our classes end, so I hope I'm ready by then. I know I can drop down a notch and do the 40K race instead (which not only is shorter, but avoids by far the largest hill on the course), but now that i'm signed up for the longer race that will seem like a failure (even though if I had just signed up for the 40K in the first place it would seem like a great accomplishment - guess I screwed that one up). Anyway, its definitely lighting a bit of a fire under my butt to get out there and train, which is kind of nice. It's been a long time since I've had a training goal like this to commit to (holy cow! was my half-ironman really almost a full decade ago?).
If you want to know anything about the race, you can check it out here. If you don't want to know anything, then don't click here.
Speaking of a long way to go, I signed myself up for the Tour of Anchorage, a 50K cross-country ski race that loops around a large portion of the city. The race is in early March, the weekend after our classes end, so I hope I'm ready by then. I know I can drop down a notch and do the 40K race instead (which not only is shorter, but avoids by far the largest hill on the course), but now that i'm signed up for the longer race that will seem like a failure (even though if I had just signed up for the 40K in the first place it would seem like a great accomplishment - guess I screwed that one up). Anyway, its definitely lighting a bit of a fire under my butt to get out there and train, which is kind of nice. It's been a long time since I've had a training goal like this to commit to (holy cow! was my half-ironman really almost a full decade ago?).
If you want to know anything about the race, you can check it out here. If you don't want to know anything, then don't click here.
Also, I'm pleased to report that Beth had a bit of a breakthrough on the "hills are our friends" front. I still wouldn't say she's thrilled about them, but she reports the discovery that by hurtling herself down one hill at breakneck speed, she will have extra momentum as she begins going up the next hill. Maybe it's not quite the same as loving hills, but it seems like a step in the right direction.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Back to Alaska
I got back to Alaska yesterday afternoon after an extended weekend in Detroit. First order of business: fix a washing machine that has stopped draining. Solution: pull a whole bunch of crap out of the drain pump filter. Final tally: 45 cents (one quarter, two dimes), one golf tee, tweezers, a necklace, old candy wrappers and a whole bunch of general muck, most of which was dog hair.
Did you make it past that gross first picture? If so, here are some awesome pictures from the flight back to Alaska. The water on the left side of the photo is College Fjord in Prince William Sound, with Harvard Glacier at the head of the fjord and numerous other collegiately-named glaciers all around. Unfortunately it's hard to make out in this picture, but Mount Marcus Baker (the highest point in the Chugach Mountains at over 13,000 feet) is almost directly above the toe of Harvard Glacier.
Hmmm.... Looks like it didn't quite show up in this picture, but Mt. Denali is on the horizon,
Did you make it past that gross first picture? If so, here are some awesome pictures from the flight back to Alaska. The water on the left side of the photo is College Fjord in Prince William Sound, with Harvard Glacier at the head of the fjord and numerous other collegiately-named glaciers all around. Unfortunately it's hard to make out in this picture, but Mount Marcus Baker (the highest point in the Chugach Mountains at over 13,000 feet) is almost directly above the toe of Harvard Glacier.
Hmmm.... Looks like it didn't quite show up in this picture, but Mt. Denali is on the horizon,
almost 200 miles away. The mountains in the foreground are just outside of Anchorage, 20 miles as the crow flies.
The Knik River Valley is in the center of this picture. During my second or third week of work I got to ride an ATV out to the point where the valley turns back to the left and disappears behind mountains in order to burn down an illegal cabin. Seriously. That was the best day of work ever.
The Knik River Valley is in the center of this picture. During my second or third week of work I got to ride an ATV out to the point where the valley turns back to the left and disappears behind mountains in order to burn down an illegal cabin. Seriously. That was the best day of work ever.
I think that the glacier in the top-center of these mountains is where my friend Louis is doing the fieldwork for his masters. I love the fact that this scene basically shows the backside of the mountains that I can see from my house and it couldn't be any more wild.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Bike Commuting
Well, I've been meaning to write a full post about bike commuting for awhile now, but haven't gotten around to it in part because I didn't have any good pictures to go along with it. Then when I did get one picture I put it up as a mini post with a promise to write more later. But lets face it, I'll probably never get a bunch of good bike commuting pictures because I'm rarely, if ever, going to take the time to stop riding, dig out a camera and take a picture before I go on my way. And neither is Beth, and no stranger is going to stop and take off his or her gloves to take photos for us on a cold dark morning. So no good pictures, but what I do have are questions, so I guess I'll use that as the basis for a post. Actually, it's pretty much the same question from everybody, so this should be pretty easy...
"why ride?"
Its always some version of this. Sometimes the implication is that I'm stupid, sometimes that I must be really hardcore, sometimes a super-environmentalist and sometimes just insane. But it boils down to the question of why a person with a perfectly good car in their driveway would leave that car in the driveway and set off over snow and ice in total darkness at temperatures down to a few degrees below zero. It's actually not any of the reasons people assume, and although its probably easiest to refute the idea that I'm super tough or that I do this because of strong environmental convictions, hopefully I can argue that I'm not stupid or crazy either.
First, the environmental aspect. It's 6 miles, roundtrip, by car to drive to work, so thats a maximum of 30 miles a week. I'm not saying thats an inconsequential distance, but for someone who is willing to drive 160 miles roundtrip to go snowboarding, or over 200 for a weekend getaway (this coming Friday), its tough to cite environmental concern as the justification for biking to work.
As far as being really tough, unfortunately I'd say that the discomforts of biking are pretty minor - comparable, actually, to the discomforts of driving. So far this week, I've had one ride where I was cold on my forehead because I didn't have my hat pulled down far enough, and other than that I was either just fine or even too warm while riding. By comparison, it would have been a lot colder to sit motionless in the car for 5 minutes waiting for the engine to warm up. I guess that this works as my argument for not being stupid or insane, too, in that biking in the winter is actually a whole lot easier than it would seem.
For example, it seems like slipping tires would be a big problem and sudden crashes a constant risk. But for the most part traction is just as good as any dirt trail in the summer. Of course, for the few icy patches there are 294 steel studs in each tire, which are a luxury I don't have in the car. All in all, its more than enough for a surefooted ride.
Then there's the question of being cold, but again it turns out to be easier than I expected to stay warm. Here's what I wore Monday morning when it was a couple degrees below zero:
Darkness is the other potential problem, but except for a couple hundred feet of trail at our local park the route is lit 24 hours a day. On top of that I have my Day-Glo jacket and 2 blinking lights on my bike plus a headlight bright enough to light my way on unlit trails. Beth's got three flashing lights and a headlight so bright that sometimes I think she's a car behind me. So every car, truck, skier, dog-walker and moose can see us coming from a mile away.
In the end, what it comes down to is the fact that biking to and from work is just a lot more pleasant than driving. I don't have to sit in a cold car waiting for it to warm up and I don't have to clear snow and ice off of the car in the pitch darkness. There's no traffic to worry about, and with their studded tires our bikes might even handle better in the winter conditions than our car does. By biking I get to stretch my legs out before I spend the day behind a desk. At the end of the day, biking gives me a chance to switch out of work mode as soon as I start pedaling, but when I drive I generally don't feel like I've left work behind until after I'm home. Seeing the occasional moose at the side of the trail is pretty cool, and yesterday on the way home I saw a fox sneaking across the frozen creek that runs alongside the trail (although apparently my sister saw a fox in DC the other day, which makes this a little less unique). At the end of the day I feel pretty good about having gotten some exercise and burning off some steam on the trails definitely seems to help me sleep better. All-in-all, I'd say I bike to work because I like the ride!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
turns out starting this post inspired me to try to get a couple pictures yesterday on the ride home:
a self-portrait while riding - if it were snowing my facemask wouldn't be so gross, but all that ice came from me
Beth (in front) and Bryn riding in front of me as we get close to home - the brightness of the reflective strips on Bryn's pants actually confused the camera and made the trail look a lot darker than it actually is
"why ride?"
Its always some version of this. Sometimes the implication is that I'm stupid, sometimes that I must be really hardcore, sometimes a super-environmentalist and sometimes just insane. But it boils down to the question of why a person with a perfectly good car in their driveway would leave that car in the driveway and set off over snow and ice in total darkness at temperatures down to a few degrees below zero. It's actually not any of the reasons people assume, and although its probably easiest to refute the idea that I'm super tough or that I do this because of strong environmental convictions, hopefully I can argue that I'm not stupid or crazy either.
First, the environmental aspect. It's 6 miles, roundtrip, by car to drive to work, so thats a maximum of 30 miles a week. I'm not saying thats an inconsequential distance, but for someone who is willing to drive 160 miles roundtrip to go snowboarding, or over 200 for a weekend getaway (this coming Friday), its tough to cite environmental concern as the justification for biking to work.
As far as being really tough, unfortunately I'd say that the discomforts of biking are pretty minor - comparable, actually, to the discomforts of driving. So far this week, I've had one ride where I was cold on my forehead because I didn't have my hat pulled down far enough, and other than that I was either just fine or even too warm while riding. By comparison, it would have been a lot colder to sit motionless in the car for 5 minutes waiting for the engine to warm up. I guess that this works as my argument for not being stupid or insane, too, in that biking in the winter is actually a whole lot easier than it would seem.
For example, it seems like slipping tires would be a big problem and sudden crashes a constant risk. But for the most part traction is just as good as any dirt trail in the summer. Of course, for the few icy patches there are 294 steel studs in each tire, which are a luxury I don't have in the car. All in all, its more than enough for a surefooted ride.
Then there's the question of being cold, but again it turns out to be easier than I expected to stay warm. Here's what I wore Monday morning when it was a couple degrees below zero:
- thin ankle-length socks
- bike shoes with neoprene covers
- bike shorts
- windproof, non-insulated pants
- t-shirt
- long-sleeved athletic shirt
- light fleece jacket
- paper-thin flourescent yellow jacket for visibility
- thin hat with ear flaps to fit under bike helmet
- neck gaiter
- cheap leather mittens
Darkness is the other potential problem, but except for a couple hundred feet of trail at our local park the route is lit 24 hours a day. On top of that I have my Day-Glo jacket and 2 blinking lights on my bike plus a headlight bright enough to light my way on unlit trails. Beth's got three flashing lights and a headlight so bright that sometimes I think she's a car behind me. So every car, truck, skier, dog-walker and moose can see us coming from a mile away.
In the end, what it comes down to is the fact that biking to and from work is just a lot more pleasant than driving. I don't have to sit in a cold car waiting for it to warm up and I don't have to clear snow and ice off of the car in the pitch darkness. There's no traffic to worry about, and with their studded tires our bikes might even handle better in the winter conditions than our car does. By biking I get to stretch my legs out before I spend the day behind a desk. At the end of the day, biking gives me a chance to switch out of work mode as soon as I start pedaling, but when I drive I generally don't feel like I've left work behind until after I'm home. Seeing the occasional moose at the side of the trail is pretty cool, and yesterday on the way home I saw a fox sneaking across the frozen creek that runs alongside the trail (although apparently my sister saw a fox in DC the other day, which makes this a little less unique). At the end of the day I feel pretty good about having gotten some exercise and burning off some steam on the trails definitely seems to help me sleep better. All-in-all, I'd say I bike to work because I like the ride!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
turns out starting this post inspired me to try to get a couple pictures yesterday on the ride home:
a self-portrait while riding - if it were snowing my facemask wouldn't be so gross, but all that ice came from me
Beth (in front) and Bryn riding in front of me as we get close to home - the brightness of the reflective strips on Bryn's pants actually confused the camera and made the trail look a lot darker than it actually is
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Backcountry Snowboarding - 12/23/2010
On Thursday Beth and I went out backcountry snowboarding with our friends Bryn and Louis. We were ready for some cold weather, but when we drove through a valley and the temperature suddenly dropped to -14 I was thinking of calling it quits. Fortunately, the temperature rose just as quickly as we climbed up the other side of the valley, and did so before I had the chance to give voice to my cowardice.
It was still right around zero when we left the cars, and I was more worried about Bella and Dash getting cold than I was about myself, mostly because Bella has been a sissy about having cold feet recently. But they were both fine all day until the very end, when I think they were so tired that keeping warm was more of a struggle. But thats getting ahead of myself. In the morning, it was easy to stay warm, since as soon as we left the car we started skinning our way straight uphill. In fact, we'd already stopped to take off some layers before we found ourselves bathed in sunshine, and it was probably for the best that the sun wasn't really adding any heat to the mix. This time of year its so great to get out in the sun, though, so we might as well have been on a beach somewhere.
With clear skies and bright sun, the highlight of the day was probably the amazing scenery. The snowboarding was a lot of fun, of course, but the surrounding mountains were just beautiful, and I kept stopping to snap more and more photos of the same peaks and ridges all day. Of course, all day is a pretty short time frame, so with the sun setting as we started back to the cars at the end of the day there was time for one last shot and then the camera had to get put away.
But I guess I shouldn't sell the snowboarding short. After reaching the top of our ridge around noon, we took a quick lunch break before making some turns down the back side of the ridge. Despite almost 3 weeks without snow there wasn't another ski or snowboard track in sight, although moose had made a mess of the powder at the very bottom of the run. We skinned back up to the top of the ridge and took our second run down the front side, where there were a good deal of tracks but the snow was probably still as good as anything in bounds after noon on a powder day. Of all things we ran into Beth's and Bryn's boss' boss at the top of the second run. Someone in his group was impressed with the fact that we'd made a run down the back side, but I think both of the ladies were a bit disappointed to have work catch up to them in the backcountry.
On a final note, it felt really good to get out and make some turns for the first time in a year and only the second time in 2 years. I had a ton of fun with the fact that I can go out and charge pretty hard right off the bat. I also loved the fact that my split board handled the chopped up snow on the last run like a champion. It brought back the feeling of riding my first Never Summer through that sort of snow for the first time - just great control and super steady underfoot.
Anyway, I can't wait to get back out again, even though I do hope its a bit warmer the next time. And a bit of fresh snow wouldn't hurt, either. Now here's the photos:
came really close to suggesting we turn around at 10:06, but seven
minutes later it wasn't so bad.
setting out from the car before the sun rises
above the surrounding peaks
the crew breaks into the sun for the first time of the day
happy to have some sunshine on our way up
Beth drops in at the top of run #1
heading back to the top for run #2
snow-covered mountains
beautiful scenery, all day
the sun was starting to set as we got back to the top
before our second run.
and a closing shot of Bella looking dignified...
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Arriving at work
This is what I looked like when I got to work this morning:
It may not look like it, but I'm sweating uncontrollably under all that frost. It was -5 at the house this morning and my eyelashes froze together at one point, but the only part of me that felt cold was the exposed part of my forehead, because I let my hat ride a little too high.
I've been meaning to do a full post about bike commuting in the winter, so I'll still do that sometime, but I thought I'd share this shot now.
It may not look like it, but I'm sweating uncontrollably under all that frost. It was -5 at the house this morning and my eyelashes froze together at one point, but the only part of me that felt cold was the exposed part of my forehead, because I let my hat ride a little too high.I've been meaning to do a full post about bike commuting in the winter, so I'll still do that sometime, but I thought I'd share this shot now.
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