Biking Weather

Diane and I did some yardwork in the morning. We planted 8 laurels, 2 roses, 1 daphne, 5 hydrangeas and one columnar beech. Compared to the work we did last year, this was a breeze. Sam then called and wanted to go on a bike ride so we met him at The Legacy Parkway bike trail and did an out and back of about 20 miles. I have a question. How can the wind blow into your body both going out and back? Did the earth reverse its spin on its axis. We topped the day off by eating a late lunch at the Red Iguana.

Tulip Festival

After our workout at the gym, Diane and I drove down to Lehi, Utah where the Tulip Festival was being held at Thanksgiving Point. They state, "Enjoy a quarter of a million tulip bulbs nestled amongst thousands of beautiful spring flowers" . This 55 acre Garden was a wonderful sight to behold. We lucked out with the weather. We were prepared for the worst but it was partly sunny for our entire time there. The tulips were magnificent. We are already planning a return trip when the roses are in full bloom.

No, I have never been rock climbing before. What difference would that make. I saw a movie once where they were rock climbing. Does that count? Well, no, I found out. I did do some rapelling once but that is going down. This time would be going up. Or trying to go up. Heck, I thought we were rock climbing when we were just hiking to route. Seemed like climbing to me. Well, it got steeper, way steeper. My friend Chris is instructing some folks from Rock Springs. They are trying to get ready to climb Devil's Tower in May. This route was a 5.7. I think I needed a 1.7. As they say, any climb you can walk away from is a good climb.

Vancouver/Victoria

Synopsis of the trip to Canada. We flew into Seattle on Tuesday and went to my brother Tom's house and then went to dinner. The next morning we drove to Vancouver headed right for Granville Island and spent a couple of hours there. Then we checked in and found we had a pretty luxurious hotel. We set out on a walking tour of downtown and hit Canada Place, Robson Street, Chinatown, and Gas Town. We ate great sushi at a little out of the way place that night. The next day we took the ferry to Victoria and went all around the Inner Harbor and had lunch downtown. Then it was off to Buchart Garden. It was a real highlight. The next day was Stanley Park and the Aquarium. We rented bikes and rode around the park. The weather was great . Saturday we went to the Anthropology Museum and toured Kits on foot. We had a great meal at the Boathouse on my birthday. Sunday we made our way back. We stopped in Fairhaven next to Bellingham and had lunch and then headed on to the airport. Great trip.To see some pictures click on Flickr photos.

I give up: It's still winter!

I put the bike away. For awhile, anyway. I have accepted winter and found it is not so bad. Especially now that I have passed the three month mark on my hip surgery. I am free as a bird. I can become one with the wilderness. Diane and I drove up Millcreek Canyon on Saturday to where they stop plowing the road. We upgraded our snowshoes to near Top of the Line. We put them on at the Terraces picnic area and head up the hill. It was a pretty good grunt and we soon warmed up and began shedding clothes. There was a good amount of snow and we went uphill for about an hour and then stopped for some lunch. The trip down was faster(imagine that). We had a good workout and a great start to the weekend.

Just when you thought...

Just when you thought winter might be fading! Yesterday it almost hit 50 degrees. Sam called and said we should go for a bike ride. I took my bike off my trainer in the basement and changed the flat back tire and put on the water bottle cage I bought and pronounced myself ready to ride. I picked up Sam and we went to the Legacy Parkway bike path. It seemed a little colder that when Diane and I did this ride last Memorial Day. The clouds set in and it was foggy and misting in the mid 30's. It was cold so we went about 5 miles and turned around and headed back. By the time I got to the car, I could not feel my ears. We stopped for hot chocolate to get our body temperatures back up to normal. Maybe we should have gone snow shoeing.

2010(Twenty ten)

That is how I am going to say it, "Twenty Ten" Christmas is come and gone and today is New Years Day. Jamie, Diane and I took the walk to Sunrise Point at Dimple Dell Park. It was overcast but not as cold as it has been in the last few days. We took Cub and Chloe and they were happy to get out. My hip felt pretty good after this 3 miler.