BICYCLES!

so...it's about time that someone else posted something on here! today was the third time that i commuted to work on my new bike. it's a specialized globe vienna 1:


i can actually ride it without going super slow and i've learned how to change gears (i know. it's pathetic that i've never been able to do that before). knowing how to change gears is super helpful on my ride to work (7.8 miles from riverside to butler) since i have a couple of steep hills. right now i'm riding with a regular backpack but it's really hard (especially on hills...i'm too scared to stand up with it on) since i have to put everything i need for work in it, so i'm thinking i might have to get a rack and some paniers or something like that. any suggestions?

my first commute was definitely the most eventful since i was yelled at two times. the first was by a really old man who apparently thought that bikers had the right to ride through red lights so i forgave him and was on my way. the second was by a guy who looked pretty much exactly like this:

he screamed "AMATEUR" as he was on his way past me, after almost hitting me...it made me a lot angrier than the old man did since you would think fellow bikers would be sympathetic. on the ride home, my water bottle fell out of the cage and i almost went over it, which was not so good, so i've invested in a water bottle that actually fits the cage. so far no problems.

last night, i dealt with 25mph gusts and some rain showers, but i made it home safely and without any nasty comments, so i felt very accomplished. i also rode in this morning and will have to deal with some pretty crazy wind on my way home, but i'm getting some pretty good exercise with all the pedaling i have to do in order to not get blown away or stuck at a standstill.

i also have a pretty sweet helmet with some little birds on it, which you can kind of see here on my 21 mile bikeride from a couple weekends ago:

or not...now that i actually uploaded it. but it's a giro skyla if you're interested in finding a better photo online.

amanda, javi, steve, my coworker jessie, and i biked to bristol and stopped at an awesome cafe, but i won't steal amanda's thunder. she's planning on posting about it on her own.

last thing: any suggestions for cyclocomputers with cadence? i wanted wireless, but i think it's too expensive.

last last thing: CONGRATULATIONS!

lookout engagement.

i haven't talked to anyone but meemaw about this, but...

dedre in the woods.

so dedre came to town recently. we tried to sight in the 22 i fixed up this winter, but we didn't have much success. we got a great mix of weather - snow, hailesque balls of snow, brilliant blinding sun. we were too excited to take photos during the sun. skeet didn't go too well with the cold. we had to heat up the thrower or get severe tennis elbow.



we went to a fire lookout with alfie. he didn't get much room in the back seat & was clearly not amused by this arrangement.



not much snow on the way to the lookout. which meant much more hiking and carrying things, much less sled hauling. poo. alfie didn't seem to mind his new boots too much, but he wasn't too interested in following us while wearing them. they probably weren't the most comfortable thing, so i eventually took them off & then he bounded all about like a maniac. he sure did look cute while he had 'em on, though.








geared up.



our first descent.



hood from the summit. mostly obscured, of course.



dedre and i debated the art of fire starting, but alfie didn't care. he just loved the woodstove.



so much so that he passed out on a rather poke-y ridge.



making dinner.



we forgot a corkscrew. dedre suggested forcing the cork in, a first for both of us. it worked, though not without some splashing.



clean up.



wake up. (and dedre called me a bed hog - look at that little man taking up a whole sleeping bag!)



it started snowing at some point & it was pretty windy.



king of the mountain.





sticky snow on the descent. we traded skis, which worked out well - helped bust up the snow collecting beneath our skis so we could glide again. i don't think dedre would have liked it too much if he'd been able to ski rather than ski/hike from the top though... might have been a little speedy.



the sun came out as we reached the trailhead. alfie couldn't get enough of it.



seriously.