So that's what riding with bare legs feels like!

The weather wizard created a stellar day today. It was gray and damp in the morning, but once the sun peeked out from behind the clouds everything changed. I'd been watching the forecast all week, and it really looked like today would be the prize day. The forecast kept saying "pay attention Denise - you need to plan to leave work early on Friday". So I did. Two o'clock, and I was out the door!

It was close to 70 degrees out when I got home, so this early spring day turned into my first ride in summer cycling togs. Now that felt really good! I'll probably be back to covered legs for the rest of the weekend since the temperature will be below the magic 60 degree mark (protect those knees!), but today's 20-mile ride gave me a much more cheerful outlook. I really needed that!

A sign of what's to come

Home from work, I walked into the dining room, and there he was - my first robin of the season. See, the birds know that spring is one the way!

Vacation dreaming, no decision yet...

Let's see, a few weeks ago I thought I had decided on this year's bike tour. Then I experienced three seasons in three days during my escape to Sedona, and I started rethinking my trip. Why? I was concerned about spending a week (or a day or 2 less) on Vancouver Island, which I thought was a rain forest. As it turns out, the west side of the island is rain forest, and the east site - where I would be cycling - is not. It could still rain, but in late July the odds are about the best that they could be. I started to get excited about the trip again, but then as the days went by the indecision set in again. I still think it would be a very cool trip - cycle up the east coast of Vancouver Island, take a ferry up the Inside Passage to Prince Rupert, take the train to Jasper, and cycle from Jasper down Icefield Parkway to Banff and then on to Calgary. It still sounds interesting.

So what's my problem?
Is it that I wanted to do a credit card tour and this one will require some camping since the northern half of Vancouver Island is very sparsely populated and has a large stretch with no towns? Probably not, because many of the other options I'm looking into now will also be part camping.

Is it that to do this trip I'll need to take all of my vacation time at once? I think I'd rather take two trips and spread the time out a bit, but some of the other trips I'm thinking of will need all of the time too.

The geographic area fascinates me, and I think I want to take that ferry trip and the train ride. But - the ferry is 15 hours, and the train ride is two full days. That's 3 days in a row with no activity, and I have a feeling that I could be stark raving mad by the end of those three days. Oh. Maybe I should rethink this.

I don't know why none of the areas that currently are high on my list for this trip are good candidates for credit card tours. Maybe it is time to buy that camping gear! (Lighter is better, right?) The Vancouver Island / Canadian Rockies two trips in one is still a potential. What else? I'm still seriously looking at visiting British Columbia and Alberta. First I thought about taking a shorter trip and focusing on Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast. Then I started thinking about flying to Vancouver and biking to Calgary - but maybe that's too far. Maybe flying to Vancouver, taking the train to Kamloops, and biking from Kamloops to Calgary, maybe via Revelstoke and Glacier, two Canadian National Parks that I want to see. Maybe I'll fly to Edmonton, take the train to Jasper, and ride from there to Calgary.

And as long as I'm rethinking this, how about Australia? Or maybe... well, there is no end to the ideas. One of these days I'll have to make a decision, but for now I'm still having fun dreaming.

This is a good type of problem to have!

It's spring, it's spring, but...

The weather wizard clearly hasn't figured this out yet, but yesterday was officially the first day of spring. It was still chilly yesterday, a little warmer today, but it is warm enough to keep melting that snow from last week. The brightly colored weather map was a storm blown out of proportion - about 6 to 8 inches of snow - enough to mess up the roads, and enough to keep snow melt on the sides of the roads. Yesterday I was a big baby - I didn't feel like coming home with a bike covered in grit, so I rode on the trainer in the dining room. Today was a different story. I had to get outside, and my bike was screaming to hit the road. It was a short ride, and I stayed on major roads that were dry instead of riding through puddles on the smaller roads. Another good early season ride... Now I just hope that the weather wizard fulfills the current forecast for next weekend. I won't tell you what it is because I don't want to jinx myself!

The world of the ultralight...

I'm still trip-dreaming, and realizing that my desired credit-card tour seems to be morphing into a partial camping trip, I've started looking into ultralight gear. I took a wander down to REI in Boston to check out a lightweight one-woman tent. (OK, it's billed as a 1-person or solo tent, but I'll call it a one-woman tent.)

When I was on my cross-country adventure I spent some time talking to Gerald at Yellowstone National Park, and he started filling me in on the world of ultra-lightweight hiking. When I was younger and more foolish I thought that I could buy one of everything and that would be enough. Well, the backpacking tent I bought back in the late 70's probably weighted 7 pounds. It was state-of-the-art back then, but no more. I replaced it before my first solo bike tour with a Sierra Designs Clip-Flashlight 2-person tent. It's still a good tent, it's easy to pitch, and it's a comfy home. The current version of the tent is listed with a minimum weight of 3 pounds 15 ounces and an average packed weight of 4 pounds 8 ounces. What's the difference? I think the minium weight it someone's idea of a joke - and the average packed weight is probably more realistic. It's good for comparison purposes if nothing else... So the tent I wanted to check out is the Mountain Hardware Waypoint 1. It's a solo tent, with a minimum weight of 2 pounds 2 ounces and an average packed weight of 2 pounds 8 ounces. Wow! It surprisingly didn't feel claustrophobic at all. My one big concern is condensation since it's a single-walled tent. I've seen some reviews on the web complaining of condensation, but then I ran across a mention of the tent in a backpacker's journal. I signed his guestbook and asked what he thought, and his response was that he hadn't had any condensation problems - his thought was that the mesh along the bottom of the tent wall along with vent holes on the peak took care of the condensation issues. The other option is to go with a tarp, or more correctly a tarptent. They have more mesh and less privacy, but weigh a whole lot less.

Then there's the sleeping bag. My current bag - a North Face Blue Kazoo is rated to 20 degrees and weighs 3 pounds. For the summer trip I'm planning I think a 32 degree bag is good enough - and I've found 2 that weigh 1 pound 5 ounces. I know that some of you probably think I'm nuts - but all of the weight adds up when you're hauling it aroung on your bike!

Hmmm... I have more thinking to do.

Hey - who colored in the weather map again?

The National Weather Service Boston page shows a map that is just covered with colors. Winter storm warning, winter storm watch, winter weather statement, special weather statement... What I want to know is who let the weatherperson loose with a set of colored markers? That map is supposed to be clear of color, all ready for spring. Oh, OK, no one told the weather wizard that I have a very very bad case of spring fever.... I guess I'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings. In the meantime I'm sending messages to the weather wizard that I think are getting ignored.

Yes, I know I've been doing too much complaining about the weather. But I've had enough! Is it time for me to seriously think about moving?

I hear that Brandy is picking up some of Caesar's old habits...

It seems that Brandy is showing us how he misses Caesar by claiming some of Caesar's habits as his own. On the food hound front, Brandy usually just tagged on to Caesar's requests for food. He knew that if Caesar got a treat that he would too. Well, while Caesar was still in the hospital, Brandy asked Dad for his morning bananas. And now, he's picked up the bark while looking for a good "whiz" spot. Brandy used to go outside, find his spot, and go. Caesar used to bark while he was inspecting all of the possible spots. And now? Brandy has started barking while looking. Caesar, are you watching and laughing? Don't worry, I've never seen him twirl like you - that's all yours!

Ah, my bike says it had a good ride today...

It was a little cool, only in the high 30s, but the wind was behaving today so it seemed like a good time for a ride. It felt really good to be out on the road again - even though I still needed to ride wearing a lot of layers. I can see that I've got a bit of training to do to get into good riding shape. I've been exercising all winter, but for some reason it's been harder to stick with riding my bike in the dining room... boring! Well, now I think I have a reason to focus - spring must be just around the corner! The equinox - the first day of spring - is next week. How long will we have to wait for the weather to catch up with the calendar? I'm dreaming of riding in shorts!

And speaking of dreaming, I'm still noodling on my 2004 vacation. My thoughts today turned back to Hawaii. Hmm... should I make another circuit around the Big Island this year? It's awfully tempting...

Escape to the west, but not from the weather

Three days, three seasons... you can see photos from my February trip to Sedona in my smugmug photo gallery. I think there are enough photos to give you a good feeling for the place, red rocks, rain, snow, and event a shot of my crazy red dog Rover sitting on a snowman's shoulder!

A river of tears...

Today was the day that Caesar said goodbye to all of us. It was a day full of tears, and conversations, and memories. Caesar & Brandy - brothers, a pair of very funny miniature dachshunds, joined our family 13 and a half years ago - more than enough time to reserve a space in everyone's heart. Brandy, you're just going to have to fill the empty spot for everyone, even though we know you miss him too.

Pets are very special people. They give love, they make you know that you are needed, they make you laugh. They become part of your life, and it hurts when they leave you - but the joy that they bring overpowers the hurt of their loss.

I remember some funny things about Caesar... he was truly a food hound, which makes it particularly sad that his last days were plagued by problems keeping food down. He just loved to eat. It started with twirling for his food. And no, it wasn't a game or a trick that someone taught him. He twirled from when he was just a puppy. Prepare his food, and as the dish is picked up and is headed for his spot on the floor, he just started twirling. Can I describe it? Well, he wasn't chasing his tail - he was dancing, almost as if he were mounted on a merry-go-round pole, spinning around that pole, and twirling with joy. Funny. He always made me laugh! That was breakfast. Then he liked to share our dad's morning banana. Sliced banana, hand fed to him... yum. Then there were the evening snacks. It was almost as if he had an internal clock - at the same time every evening, he told his people very clearly that he wanted a biscuit. It was very funny to watch him actually lead someone into the kitchen, and to the area of the kitchen where he knew his biscuits were kept. Like I said, a true food hound!

He learned from Coco Loco - Suze's cat - that he could walk on the back of a sofa. No Caesar, you're a dog, not a cat. The back of the sofa is really not a stable place to stand. Watch out - you're going to fall and hurt yourself! Oh, OK, you're safe now, back on the cushion....

Then there was the day he practically levitated onto my lap... at least it seemed that way. Remember - he was a miniature dachshund, not very tall at all - it's amazing how he could leap through the air with no apparent effort. I was sitting on the sofa in the living room with a cup of coffee in my hand, and the next thing I knew Caesar flew out of absolutely no where and landed on my lap with his nose in the coffee cup. He did like coffee, and herbal tea too. Brandy turns his nose up at these drinks, but Caesar thought they were great. And every year at Thanksgiving, he somehow managed to leap from the floor over the dining room chair arm, and into someone's lap. After all, there were always good food smells at the table!

Oh, and there was the mad escape day. Caesar was out on the (enclosed) deck. He figured out how to open the latch to the gate, and he escaped! Brandy - the little tattletale - went to inform our mom that Caesar had escaped. She was beside herself, very worried, and she thought she lost him then. It was a long hunt, but she did find him, and he came home to spread his special form of joy for many more years.

He loved to have his chest rubbed, and he let you know about his desire by rolling on his back on the floor. Makes sense, right? But it really didn't, because Caesar would look around the room and pick one of the people lounging on the sofa. He would then start toward that person, stop just far enough away that he couldn't be reached without the person getting up from their comfortable seat, and then he'd roll on his back and look at that person - seeming to say "come on, be nice to me"! Come on Caesar, can't you come a little closer? Nope, I came partway, now you have to come to meet me. He would always bring a smile to my face when he did this. It's true - he knew how to make us laugh.

Caesar, it sounds like you're in a better place for you now. You've joined grandmother Bella, who died many many years ago on this date. She used to share fudgesicles with "old Caesar", one of your predecessors - in the days before we knew that chocolate was bad for dogs. Just think, you can eat anything you want now - no more special diet! And you've joined Etta too. You never met Bella, but you did meet Etta. She wasn't a dog person then, but she put up with you because you were her sister's baby. And I'd bet that she'll feed you treats too.

Caesar - thank you. Everyone misses you, we're sad, but we're glad we knew you. You brightened the lives of many people.

Memories of Brandy can be found in my February 4, 2005 It's time to say goodbye blog entry.

More pictures of Brandy & Caesar at my photo gallery titled The ‘guys’ - hey, are we really dogs? We think we're people...

How very sad...

Caesar came home today, but he's very, very sick. I think the vet really called my folks - who are also Caesar's people - to come and say goodbye. He'd had a bad weekend, and was in the same shape he was in before his surgery. Not cancer, but inflammatory bowel disease that so far hasn't been controlled. My folks went to the dog hospital, and Caesar perked up. After a while his doc came in, surprised at his reaction. So, thinking Caesar might improve with Mom and Dad and Brandy (his brother) around him, the decision was made to send him home. And I really don't think the vet would have sent him home if he didn't see Caesar perk up this morning. I talked to our Mom tonight (yup, we're sharing), and things sound pretty grim. My sister and I both think that Caesar wanted to go home to say goodbye...

Dreaming of biking in sunshine...

Ah, a decent riding day today. My bike and I took a spin in the sunshine. It was in the low 40s - so I was still dressed layers - but it was sunny, and the roads were dry. It was a treat to get home after my ride with a clean bike and no crud on my clothes!

I thought I had decided on my bike tour for this year, but I'm rethinking it. My almost tour was to be a ride up the east coast of Vancouver Island, followed by ferry & train trips to Jasper, followed by biking from Jasper to Calgary - a two in one trip. But let's see, I'd probably spend around a week on Vancouver Island, which is supposed to be absolutely beautiful but is also situated in a rain forest. I'm not acquainted with the right weather wizard (is there one?), so with no weather guarantees, the big question in my mind is if I want to risk a week of potentially riding in the rain. (OK, OK, I'm a baby - but riding in the rain is not my favorite!) The trip still tugs at me, so it still could win. But before I make definite plans I'm going to dream of a sunny place to visit. Then I'll decide!

March musings - it's still winter!

Let's see now, why do I think it's supposed to be spring and biking weather when it's just early March? Technically it's still winter! Just time for a bad case of spring fever.

Someone needs to straighten out the weather wizard - today is supposed to be in the low 60s and raining, tomorrow in the low 40s and sunny. Can't I have a switch in the days? I want a warm sunny day, and I'll accept a cold rainy day as the alternate weekend day. Yes, I know, my bike and I are not going to get our wish - I guess it's just too early in the year. Where's springtime?