Entries from February 2007

There is a reason why they call it Chilly Hilly.  And now I know why.  Because it is about as cold and miserable as a person can get before frostbite hits and you have to start discussing chopping off appendages due to lack of oxygen.  And it is hilly, not Alpe D'Huez hilly, but this is a ride around the perimeter of an island so where did all the hills come from?  Sigh...

We started the morning with a ride from Richard's apartment to the ferry terminal.  There was no line at packet pick up so we had an hour to kill before we were supposed to meet friends.  It was tempting to take an earlier ferry and get started (I'm a get in, get out, get it done kinda girl) but since we were meeting people we kept ourselves reasonably warm and entertained.  We found a few friends, but a phone call to Bill later, realized we had been ditched and most of the friends riding at our speed were warm and asleep in bed.  Grrr...

We got of the ferry in Bainbridge Island and started the ride.  The first few miles were some fun up and down and it was fun to be riding somewhere new with beautiful views of Puget Sounds.  About mile 14 we enjoyed a rest stop and a hot dog - yum!  A few miles later we hit a cider stop and ran into some of our other speedy friends (Jim, Glenn, Bert, etc.).  From there we hit a major hill but I just took it easy and was proud that I stayed in the saddle the whole way up.  I was counting down the miles and happy there were only 4 left when I saw Richard half way up the next hill.  Why did he stop half way up, I thought?  Then I realized he had a flat. 

Richard Fixing His Flat

Fortunately he had all the tools and knew how to fix it, but I was amazed at how many support vehicles came by and made sure we were ok.  After the flat we had just a few more miles (and HILLS) to the finish.  We skipped the chili feed to hop the next ferry home to a hot tub and warm showers.  The clam chowder and beer on the ferry were the best ever and my couch made a welcome place to crash before falling asleep to recover from the exhausting day.

The thing that I am most proud of is that despite the elements and even a stong desire and discussion around taking the shortcut to the ferry at 20 miles, we did it - all 33 miles of Chilly Hilly!  This was my first cycling event and at the end of it I was ready to post the road bike on eBay.  But even veteran bikers have told me that this is a tough ride and if you can make it through Chilly Hilly other biking events won't be nearly as tough.  So, a day later I am just trying to image the warm sunny days of summer and look forward to long rides with friends as we train for STP.

Saturday night, 2/24/06 was the end to my 6 week session of volunteering to teach sit skiing with Outdoors For All.  I am both saddened and relieved by the end of the season.  For some reason, it's been a really tough year to drag myself up to the mountain every Saturday night this year.  What gets me out the door each week is thinking about the people I work with when I get up there and realizing that while this is a significant time committment, I am so blessed to have had my health for the first 33 years of my life.  It is truly a gift that I have the option to spend my time this way on Saturday nights.  Not only that, but for our participants, Saturday night marked the end of ski season for most of them because they are dependent on the amazing work of Outdoors For All for the equipment and volunteers necessary for the them to ski. For me, it was the end of my volunteering but not quite the end of my season on the snow.  A few highlights from this season of instruction include: (1) spending much of my time working with a 20 year veteran of ski instruction and learning a ton from his experience in addition to a few laughs, (2) watching the progress of a student over 3 weeks who initially fell at every turn and we got at least half way down before the he fell on the last run of our last night and (3) the love, joy and support of an entire family that came out with a student who was supposed to be a 1 timer who ended up joining us for 3 times, even after he did a pirouette in the ski getting him off the lift the first time!  He was non verbal but you could see in his eyes that he loved being out there with us and his family was so amazing and supportive and fun (they would ski with us and race us down) that it made me smile and reminded me why I started working with this program initially and why I come back year to year.  So here's to another great season!

Richard and I woke up before the crack of dawn on Friday to catch a 6 am flight to Boise.  We made the flight by the skin of our teeth - I saw 5:55 am on the clock as we were rushing to the gate for the flight.  Luckily they hadn't close the door yet so we took our middle seats in separate rows (was this D boarding priority on Southwest, or what?) and I slept a little in between segments from This American Life on my ipod.  In the end the timing was nearly perfect, but who needs the stress we put ourselves through.  I have enough anxiety with flying that I don't need it to start out this way!  So lesson learned is that when traveling with another person (something I'm sadly not accustomed to doing) we need to make sure one of us is managing to the predetermined time schedule!

An egg mcmuffin and starbuck's later, we were on the road to Cambridge, Idaho with Richard's friend Mary.  Richard came to Idaho to see some friends and do some work for them in their family real estate business.  I came along so I could experience a part of Idaho with Richard that enjoys and to get some snowboarding in.  We spent the day in the Cambridge office where Richard worked with the Noah's and I kicked some butt working thorugh items on my work to-do list.  From Cambridge, we drove up to McCall to spend the weekend with Richard's friend Sadie+ her boyfriend and two dogs.

The weekend was a nice, laid back getaway from the buzz of the bug city.  McCall is an absolutely gorgeous small town nestled in the mountains and right on Lake Payette.  Usually when I visit small towns in the winter I am in love with the cozy ski town feel and don't get as excited about returning in the summer.  With McCall, I can't wait to check out the lake on a sunny day with a stop at the Yacht Club for cold beers.  Oh the Yacht Club... this is where I saw this cutie putting on his groove thing across the dance floor and realized that cutie was my boyfriend!  He swares I was so drunk I imagined the whole thing.  It was a fun end to a night that started off at a very cool, down to earth wine bar called Bistro 45.  Unfortunately, it also meant we were in no shape to snowboard on Sunday, but fortunately we got 1 good day in at Brundage, a small local moutain with some great pitch and trees.

Monday we lazed around Sadie's place where I got in a short run in the snow before we made the 2+ hour drive back to Boise for my flight out.  I still can't believe how much the city and the airport have changed since I worked there 10 years ago.  (Side note: Am I really old enough to have worked for 10 years?!)  The one thing that hasn't changed is that I still love getting away to Idaho - the people are friendly and there are some cool little places hidden in this state where the word hasn't gotten out to the masses yet.  

Yes, I have given in to peer pressure, because 'everyone is doing it'. If one is going to give in to peer pressure, I guess there is worse peer pressure to give in to. I select many of my running races because a conversation with running friends over dinner or a bike ride turns into a year's worth of scheduled races and yet another marathon on my calendar. I started road cycling last year because my running friends kept talking about their Sunday bike rides and it sounded like fun. (OK, I admit that part of me was persuaded with visions of biking to Red Hook to enjoy a cold beer.) Well, now here I am blogging. Where is the peer pressure coming from, you might ask? Here's where it started... A few months ago I was on my first and only podcast (confabshow.com) courtesy of my friend Rachele (adventuresofrachele.com) where I met the man who is now my boyfriend (richardhuff.com). As you can see, Richard and many in his circle of friends are blogging. It seemed like a cool thing to do and a good way to reflect on happenings in my own life and keep friends and family updated in the process. So, with many thanks to Richard for establishing and hosting my blog, I welcome you to Mel's Travel Blog! Here you can keep up on my travels to far off destinations, stateside weekend trips or simple day to day happenings in this journey we all share called LIFE.