Bears Are No Joke

This is why we now carry a gun when we ride. This is right in Anchorage, a few miles from my parents home, right behind the high school I graduated from. I pray for the girl and her family.

http://www.adn.com/bearattacks/story/450061.html

Things I haven't done this Summer while biking

1) Worn shorts

2) Worn short sleeves

3) gone without gloves

4) Mountain biked more than 1 time

6) Road on a nice, clean bikepath that isn't full of sand, gravel, glass, garbage, feces

7) Had much positive to say about State of AK Dept of Transportation (still fighting, going to the

newspapers with photos, going to take my snow shovel this weekend and shovel paths

myself - grrr)

8) Gone without a helmet liner in the morning

9) Been able to avoid almost get splattered by little old ladies who can't make up their mind if they are turning or not

10) last but not least...Crashed.

Check out the Quike

Those Aussies are on a mission

I wish them best of luck

http://www.steppebysteppe.com.au/

Success and Tragedy on the Path this Week

I'm starting this post off with a beautiful, calming photo of the lake I pass on my ride to work.

I'm still fighting the State of Ak and City of Wasilla about sweeping off the bike paths. I have been passing out the local State of AK maintenance phone # to anyone who will say they will call to complain about the road sand and gravel and I have continued to email the guy in Anchorage, also asking them to do SOMETHING about the corner of Parks on-ramp and Seward Meridian where the bike path and road join right at the corner at the bottom of a long, large hill - putting me in a head on trajectory with vehicles cutting the corner and driving into the bike path. I told all of them I was taking pictures and would start emailing whoever I could about the conditions as well as writing letter to the editor and talking with the local radio station.

All last week there were little improvements here and there. Part of the worst of the bike path was swept off, but not all - they would just stop right in the middle-living a 6 inch berm of sand leading into the remaining 100 feet of 3 inches of sand...go figure. They slowly got the hill and corner swept off. Then I was riding home yesterday and they actually put down a stripe of paint to show the edge of the road, giving vehicles an indicator of the shoulder of the road and the bike path. I also was ready to put up a boycott of the coffee shop who kept putting their sign in the middle of the bike path. I asked them to move it and finally the State TOLD them to move it off the path. Here are before and after photos.

The berm left behind

The sign in the path

View coming down the hill to the corner of my complaints. This is after they swept off the path..sort of.

At the bottom, where did the path go and how do I continue on the the left, where the path is supposed to be? This truck and all other vehicles cut the corner into the bike path. The road sand made control and stopping pretty difficult before it was swept off.

Now, after the paint! Vehicles still cut the corner but at least there is some sort of indicator where the lane ends/shoulder begins

I'm still fighting with the City of Wasilla and the State of AK over this next section on the bridge over Cottonwood Creek. Neither Wasilla nor the State will take responsibility for this section, which I almost wipe out on every day, the sand is really bad. This is the tragedy which happened on my way home Tuesday. Notice how much sand is on the path.

1st I flatted so I was running about a half an hour late out of Wasilla. Got that fixed and then came upon this scene. The baby is brand new and was hit. The mom was pretty upset, lots of sirens blaring, people honking. Moose kill by kicking and stomping, they can be very dangerous, especially mother moose protecting babies. The baby did not survive. The troopers carry fireworks and shot them near the mom to get her away then they drug the baby off the edge of the road, only about 15 ft from the bike path. I wasn't too sure about riding past with the mom moose still there so the troopers kept the traffic stopped and had me ride up the shoulder of the road against on-coming traffic until I was past the bridge and back on the path. It was very, very sad.

Later Fish and Game moved the baby.

Not the best week of commuting. But today, the weather is actually sunny..things are looking up.

Ahhhh...Weekends, Camping, Canoes, Bikes, Beer

Yes, it is safe to say I live for weekends. I work to support my playing on the weekends.

Capt'n Balance, the dog and I went camping last weekend. The 1st mountain biking ride of he year. I'm out of shape and worn out. I think the stress of the new job is sucking some of the energy and motivation out of me. But I am confident I will adjust and it will all become the norm. We also rented a canoe and went paddling around the lakes. There is a canoe trail from lake to lake. It's a nice activity, but wore out my shoulders and arms, which effect the mountain bike ride the next day. But I was outside, in the daylight if not sunlight...the plus with the wind is it blows away all the bugs. I need a vacation...I sure wish I could somehow figure out how to take an entire summer off work.

My new Fishing hat, I should catch some whoppers with this baby.

The weather is still cold. The temps barely creep up into the 60's but the wind sucks any warmth right out. And it has been blowing, hard, just about every single day.

The bike paths are still in very bad condition. I called the Dept of Transportation maintenance and was blown off, like every year. I emailed Jack Fullerton (jack_fullerton@dot.state.ak.us), the Chief of Maintenance and Operations for the State of Ak Central Region, as I have in the past when the local guys blew me off. Normally Jack gets the job done very quickly. But this year, nothing has happened nor have I had any response from ANYONE from my phone calls.

I'm getting pretty annoyed. Due to the gas prices ($4.16 gallon reg gasoline), there are more riders than ever...and the path conditions are worse than ever. And we don't have a very good public transportation system here. One little bus line which struggles and is too underfunded to have good coverage.

If there are any other local Valley people who read this blog, please email Mr. Fullerton and nicely request the paths along the Parks Hwy frontage road from the Trunk Road Park and Ride all the way into Wasilla, ending at the Palmer-Wasilla Hwy, to be swept off. I actually think it will take a plow to get all the road sand and gravel off.

Yesterday, while riding past Sears at Seward Meridian, the guy who runs the espresso shop was getting his portable sign to put away for the evening. He has decided to put it right in the middle of the bike path....which looks just like the ditch because it's so covered with road sand and gravel. He couldn't tell where the ditch was and where the path was so he just picked the flattest spot. Yep, it's that bad. I'm going to take my camera and start emailing pictures, maybe even write a letter to the Editor or maybe Tim (Bicycles and Icicles) can get a Daily New plug in for the sad state of the bike paths in the Valley.

I'm going to do another plug for my Mr. Beer. I have been sampling the honey amber ale and it is REALLY good. Definitely one to do again. I have a name for it, in honor of a Mr. Beer guy named Law Dawg. This batch is christened "Law Dawg Amber Ale". I will work on a label this weekend. The Mr. Beer guys are pretty cool. I'm glad to be part of their group (http://www.mrbeerfans.com/).

Lots of stuff going on this weekend so I won't be posting and I am really praying for good weather...please, we need some warmth and no wind. Have a great weekend everyone.

It's Still Cold

The weather is cold...COLD! My morning commutes are cold...mid 30's, not counting wind chill. I am still wearing my cold weather clothing, gloves and helmet liner, which still haven't been warm enough some mornings.

The afternoons sort of reach up to 60, add the wind chill and it drops back down to 40 degrees. Some brave leaves have come out of the trees but some are still waiting for warmth before they make their appearance.

It snowed on the mountains this weekend. Here is a sunset shot taken at 11:30 pm last night.

I finally filled up my gas tank and was shocked that gas is now $4.06. It's still climbing, I'm told.

The state maintained bike path I ride on is covered with an inch or more of road sand. State maintained means it not maintained at all. I called the Dept of Transportation last week, only to be blown off, just like every year. So tomorrow, it's it's not swept off, I will send off my annual email to the director, just like I have done for the last 3 years. Every time I email the director, the path is cleaned off the very next day. I just wish the state would figure it out, especially with the high gas prices, there are a lot more people riding bikes.

Highlights of last week's commute: The mailman squirted me with a lawn sprinkler as I was riding past, he was moving it and didn't know I was riding on the path right next to him. Wet legs on a cold morning...but it was sort of funny, gave me a chuckle. After a few years of no corners on the sidewalks/bike paths the City of Wasilla is FINALLY putting in the corners! They were ripped out awhile back in order to put up new street lights and never replaced until now. It's really nice that the sidewalk/path doesn't just end with a 4 inch drop offs anymore. I see 2 elderly gentlemen walking their dog every morning...but I don't think they have ever seen me even one time. They are always looking down at the dog...as if waiting for it to do it's thing.

I bought my daughter a bike and a kid trailer for the baby. I'm fixing up her old bike for her husband so they will all be ready to ride. Anchorage has a lot of nice (maintained) paths they are close to. I think they can put the baby in her car seat and put it in the trailer. It would be great if they got into riding.

I'm not digging my new job right now.

Capt'n Balance surprised me with a way early birthday present - bicycle bathrobe and pj's. He says it's an early gift but I really think it is related to a motorcycle that is just sitting in the barn.

I have started a new batch of beer today, a red ale. I'm still drinking the Whiter Shade of Pale Ale (REALLY GOOD), slowly, so it will last. I have a honey pale ale lagering and the red ale fermenting. I have a smack pack of wheat yeast growing and will start a bath of german Hef in a day or 2 when the smack pack is ready.

We have been watching "The Alaska Experiment" occasionally. It sort of pisses me off. Especially when these fools decided to hike 40 miles through the wilderness in 4 days, in the winter. They run out of food, barely make it and now will rely of the others to feed them and supply them with enough food to get back to their own cabin. We are just astounded that some will not go outside to relieve themselves, or figure out how to store food when it's 30 something degrees outside, or even how to get water. Oh well. Put me in a desert situation and I would be in major trouble.

I hope everyone had a great Memorial holiday - send warm thoughts my way!

The new Bike

I have finally gotten a picture of my new road bike, the replacement of the Kona Zing. It's not on the same level as the Zing but I am starting to bond with it. Being a women's specific model, it fits me better than the Zing did, much to my surprise. My wrist don't hurt near as much and I feel more secure because I can reach and grip the hoods and brake levers better, the Zing's levers were really just too big for my smaller hands. I sort of poopawed the whole women's specific sizing thing but now I'm a believer. And no, the computer will not stay there on the top tube, it's there only because the bike has been on the trainer, the sensor is on the rear tire.

It has lower end components but they are working just fine, smooth and snappy. The brakes suck, however, I will be upgrading them, maybe also the wheels. For now, I have replaced the brake shoes and that made a big difference. I will be replacing the seatpost.

The bike is much pinker in true color. The first comment my mom made when she saw it was "Wow, that's a PINK bike!" I've come to like the pink. Some of the women's cycling forums really put pink down. My new philosophy is that only real women can ride a pink bike with lower end components. Women can throw more smack than men. Yep, it's true.

The wind has been blowing hard and I hate riding in wind more than any other weather condition, so this last week I did not ride to work. Work has also been extra stressful and lots of overtime, plus I will have to start working in Eagle River and Anchorage. Ahhhggg. That is 2 lost hours of my day due to driving time. My external family appears to have lost their marbles so they are all fired until they can find them again.

Anyone want to buy a motorcycle? Capt'n Balance was looking to buy a motorcycle a few weeks ago to zip back and forth to work, but it sold before he got to look at it. I checked Craigslist last week and found this nice yahama, street legal, that I though would be perfect. I bought it, got a good deal (I think..I don't know anything about motorcycles) and brought it home as a surprise for the Capt'n. Well, turns out he doesn't want a motorcycle anymore. So he is fired also.

Now I have this motorcycle. I have no interest in riding it, I don't know how to anyway. The funny part of it all is Bikeboy. He has spotted an opportunity to maybe score a motorcycle. I can see he is just quivering inside, his eyes wide and hopeful, a dreamy smile on his face, when he asks me what I'm going to do with it. He doesn't have much bargining power at this point, due to less than steller grades and a high cell phone bill.

I let him ride it this afternoon. Maybe I can use the motorcycle as an object of motivation. As long as he can also show me he is responsible enough to ride a motorcycle on the roads and not get hurt. If not, he's fired too.

So enough bitching. I really need a bike ride to burn out all the bad juju and sunshine, beer and music to sooth the soul. I'm hoping to go for a long, long ride this weekend.

It's finally starting to green up and sort of looks like Spring. When spring comes, it's almost like I breath a mental sigh of relief, even though I love winter. It's good to have a break from icy roads, chopping wood, keeping the wood stove burning, huge heating bills.

I started riding to work last week. The mornings are still very cold, averaging around 35 degrees. There is still ice on the lake that I ride past and the wind is usually blowing icy air off of it. The bike paths are in crappy shape and haven't been swept off, inches of road sand and rocks in some places. But it's really nice to be riding again.

I have only had one encounter so far with drivers knowing right-of-way rules of the road, I wasn't sure if the lady was going to suddenly gun her big SUV and run me over or if she was actually going to stop. Since I'm typing this, it's obvious that she stopped.

I have noticed that when people do this, they usually pretend like it didn't happen; avoid eye contact, no friendly or apologetic or "oops" type of signals, just sitting there looking off with a scowl on their faces. When I screw up, I always try to make eye contact and offer a "sorry" type of signal. Manners. But that's just me.

We were in Anchorage over the weekend. This moose was in no hurry to cross the street. Traffic was backed up as the moose mosied along.

Flocks of Canadian geese are everywhere. So are the eagles, preying on the geese. The other day the sky was filled with hundreds and hundreds of freaked out geese, 3 Bald eagles were on the hunt. It was quite a sight.

Winter...again

I have a winner for the name of my latest batch of beer: Old Man wins with his entry of "A Whiter Shade of Pale Ale". Fitting for this snowy spring day. We opened a bottle at the cabin and took a taste test, it got a double thumbs up rating from 4 out of 5 drinkers (the Lost Boys). Capt'n Balance gave it a 1 thumbs up because he is not a hops head. It's nicely carbinated and in my garage clarifiying/lagering. I am going to open up another bottle tonight. The offical "ready to drink" date is 3 to 5 more weeks but it may be all gone by then!

I made a mad dash trip to the cabin last weekend, got it closed up for the summer, hopefully no bears will break in. The Weather was spectacular, sunny, warm, fresh snow. So bright outside it was painful to go out without sunglasses.

Golfing

Relaxing in the Tree Chair

I made this Crown Royal hat for one of the Lost Boys

Snowshoe Rabbit: The same bunny we saw in March, loosing it's winter coat

Fox Tracks
Post Ride Banana Daiquiri

Stuck in Deep Snow

We went for a nice, long snowmachine ride with the Lost boys. I got a slight sunburned face with white around the eyes (sunglasses). Days like that are high on the "It's Great to Be Alive" list.

I was going to ride my bike to work yesterday. I was getting everything ready but Bike Boy stopped me and told me it was supposed to snow...not just a little but inches. So I drove to work instead. By 10 am the snow was dumping down in big, heavy flakes. Now we have about 5 inches of snow....at the end of April....it's supposed to be Spring....but it's not. Maybe tomorrow Spring will come, but not today. I'm thinking of heading to Hawaii...

The Zing is gone from my Life

Well, I sold the Zing...I bought a different, much more relaxed geometry road bike, lower end components and overall a much wimpier bike....but with the more upright positioning I should be able to keep riding it. And it is PINK! By PINK, I mean BRIGHT PINK. Brighter than I thougt it was going to be. I got quite a few complements on the color in the few minutes it took me to go out to my truck - from both guys and girls - it is definitely an eye-catching pink. I will post a picture of it later, I'm still in moarning over the loss of the Zing and feeling a little resentful towards this new bike...

Selling the Zing on Craigslist was an experience. I got a few emails from interested people and uninterested people...the latter telling me it was way overpriced...which told me they didn't know much about bikes. The 1st lady who came to look at it really lost a bargin, She offered a price lower than I was selling it for plus wanted the Terry titanium butterfly seat thrown in ($145 for the seat alone) and for some stupid reason I agreed on the price including the seat. She then took it for a very short ride, said she wanted it but wouldn't have the money for a few weeks. I told her I would sell it if someone else came along. After I got it back on the trainer, I noticed she had fowled up the chain....it was obvious she didn't know how to shift correctly or about trimming the front derailleur. Another lady was VERY interested and wanted to buy it right away but she had to suddenly leave town due to a family problem so she missed out also. She emailed me when she got back but the bike was already gone. The buyer was very excited when she saw the bike, she didn't even try to negotiate over the price....she knew she was getting a good deal...and I kept my Terry seat to put on my new bike. I hope she enjoys it.

We are in the midst of an Indian Winter...just when we thought Spring was here, Winter gives us a smack.

This is an email going around...These are different neighborhoods in and around Anchorage. I used to be a upper Hillside girl once upon a time, when it was still inhabited mostly by hippies and Gucci bags were the choice back then. The town I live in is not represented here. And I think Hummers are EVIL. Anyone easily offended, stop reading now - go get a drink and loosen up, it's just a joke.

Mattel recently announced the release of the improved limited-edition Barbie Dolls for Greater Anchorage

'Hillside Barbie'This princess Barbie is sold only on the upper Hillside . She comes with an assortment of Kate Spade Handbags, a Lexus SUV and long-haired foreign dog named Honey. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Workaholic Ken sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.

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' Eagle River Barbie' The modern day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Windstar Minivan and matching gym outfit. She gets lost easily and has no full-time occupation. Traffic-jamming cell phone sold separately.
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' Mountain View Barbie ' This recently parolled Barbie comes with a 9 mm handgun, a Ray Lewis knife, a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a Meth Lab Kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills) unless you are a cop, then we don't know what you are talking about.
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'Bootlegger's Cove Barbie' This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of BMW convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own Starbucks cup, credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. You won't be able to afford any of them.

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' Wasilla Barbie' This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans two sizes too small, a NASCAR t-shirt and Tweety-Bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Bud light and a Hank Williams Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Ken's ass when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.

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'Spenard Barbie' (aka Hey-Bra Barbie)This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out of Muldoon Barbie's house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter-top. Also available with a mobile home or 1980 Camaro.
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'Girdwood Barbie' This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow . She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Girdwood Barbies and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.
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'Muldoon Barbie' This Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include a GED and bus pass. Gangsta Ken and his 1979 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find since the addition of the infant.

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'Fourth Avenue Barbie/Ken' This versatile doll can be easily converted from Barbie to Ken by simply adding or subtracting the multiple snap-on parts.

Yep, I'm still here.

Just feeling a bit negative.

Selling my Zing...

I don't want to...

But the wrist issues are making it impossible to ride the Zing.
I'm ready to trade this defective 40 yr old body in for 2 twenties.

Check out
Tim's Bicycles and Icicles "Bent"
post.

Go ahead and accuse me of bragging, but I'm the inspiration for his post....last time I was someone's "muse" I ended up in court getting a protective order...I don't think I will need to go that route with Tim, but I now have this secret fear that I may end up a recumbent poster child.

Which means I may have to dress like this. .. yeah, this is real, found it while doing an image search on recumbents. Tron anyone?

This poor, poor child. Can it get worse than a recumbent and camo crocks?

While I don't think I will be sentenced to a recumbent anytime soon, Tim's post did cheer me up. Thank's Tim, I owe you a beer.

Night sled ride

Test run on the sled Easter Bunny, can you find it?

I'm back from the cabin - 8 days of serenity, amazing starry skys (I only see the stars in the winter, so it's special). I lost a lot of pictures and video, somehow got deleted while tranferring them to my computer.

We built up banking corners on the trail up to the cabin, then strung lights down the trail, lighted by a generator. We then had night bobsled rides on the custom make sleds that Capt'n Balance created, very fast, feet strapped in, bottom coated with P-tex, some sort of teflon coating - very, very slick. Not a ride for the faint-of-heart but damn fun! I went off the trail once, almost impaled my neck on a tree. built up the banks higher but didn't so everything is OK!

Now back to work, over-time, school, regular life.

Bad news - arthritis in both wrists, causing lots of problems with riding my road bike.

FINALLY...The Cabin

I FINALLY will be going out to the cabin!!!

I have been working tons of overtime at the new job. No time for anything but eating, sleeping
(barely - too much thinking about the job), working and then doing it all over again.

A week off work is going to be really, really nice.

Being at the Cabin with family and friends will be the icing on the cake!

I snuck a taste of my pale ale that is fermenting....ohh, it is going to be AWESOME! Much better than the basic Hot Kiss Hef. Again, I'm taking suggestions on the name.

I will post beautiful cabin pictures when I get back!

I hope everyone is well. I haven't had any time to check out the blogs and feel out of the loop.

I've been left behind again, the boys are off playing at the cabin, I'm here working overtime.

I learned something about myself: Don't watch infommercials in the middle of the night after drinking margaritas and a credit card sitting right next to me... I'm expecting some packages pretty soon. But I did set up a differed comp plan so the money saving will balance out the money spent, right??? Yeah, that works. And the people on TV PROMISE I will be more beautifully toned and have a flawless complexion and life will be exciting and I will look and feel younger and the world will be in harmony and everyone will love me and I will love myself and my dog won't shed anymore or it just won't matter if he sheds and ....call it a retail therapy session. It's all good. But it won't happen again...as long as I'm not left behind, don't drink tequila, don't watch tv, don't stay up late, don't have a credit card or recurrence of any combination of one or more of the preceding causative factors. It good to be aware of "triggers".

I needed a laugh instead of spending money. I found these.

What makes these funnier to me is that I used to be a photographer at Sears Portrait Studio when I was a teen and early 20's so I contributed to pictures like these in once upon a time. One of my favorites from my glory days was when a chubby happy baby projectile vomited, while smiling and laughing and I caught the spew in a PERFECT arc in a timeless photo - I still laugh remembering that. When we would get bored, we would start taking pictures of each other goofing off. A few other favorites are the arrow-through-the-head portraits (Chevy Chase Sat Night Live "better put some butter on that" days) and the "R" ears ala Rainer Beer commercials. Maybe I will dig some of them out of my dusty archives and post them.
This dude wore a tie for nothing

Nothing says "Classy" like Faces in a Wine Glass and Roses

Olan Mills backdrop #4: Bucolic Meadow with Split Rail Fence.
Is that an animal carcass behind her?

I got a $20 that says he drives a Camaro

It's SOO CUTE when couples have matching haircuts!

No time to ride lately :(

We are are seriously understaffed at work, anyone want a job?? Uhhh..... disregard the Government warning on the Hot Kiss label.