Southeast Alaska is AWESOME!

So I last wrote in the little town of Chistochina about roadside hospitality. Now as I sit at my new friend Justin's place in Juneau (how's that for alliteration?) I am reinspired. Cycling down from Tok had it's fun, hills and spills. It was absolutely beautiful, and I guarantee that the real Yukon is much more beautiful than the one you picture in your head. We saw a couple bears, a giant moose, some terrifying voles, and some very, very cute porcupines. As we came into Haines we even saw bald eagles. In fact, don't even get me started on eagles, we're eagled out.

At the top of the pass coming into the town of Haines, we slept in a mansion of a shack called the Nadahini shack. It was our first indoors sleeping experience in a little over a month, and it was well enjoyed. The shack had a shelf for our sleeping bag and a wood burning stove which pretty much cooked us all night. The next day we cycled downhill over 60 miles into the town of Haines. Haines is amazing - picture the rocky mountains with an ocean within walking distance. Oh, and all the people are really really nice and fun and smart. And you can watch a bear with three cubs and then watch a bald eagle fly overhead. Needless to say, we stayed in our seaside campground for a few nights.

Haines was great, but the road called to us. Not a real road, per se, for Alaska's definitions of many things are a little skewed, but actually a watery road. We would be boarding southeast Alaska's version of a bus - the ferry. Finally! Moving without pumping our legs! After a full day of ferry delays we finally were able to board the ship and, wow. Ferries are a blast! Stepping out onto the deck, the ship surrounded by tall mountains covered in trees enclosing the small strip of seawater that carried our vessel, watching for small islands sporting only a lone lighthouse, it was like a dream.

After being regaled by stories by the bartender of the boat about the scenery and wildlife encounters he had experienced while living in the Southeast passage, Rusti and I looked at each other and knew that we would return to this place to try our luck in the great Alaskan wilderness. There's no telling when, but we will most definitely make it back up to the great North both for the people and the scenery. We are having an awesome time!

Things I Would Like To Do, But Can't Seem to Find the Time

Hello Kids! I know it's been too long, welcome to cycling through the Yukon/"Northern" Alaska (really, it's barely 1/2 way to the northernmost part). In this part of the world, wi-fi shows up in the strangest places, but it is like a trickling stream when everybody needs big gulps of water. Bandwidth in the lower 48 is given out like candy, but up here it's guarded protectively. All of this is very frustrating in light of the fact that actually I have lots of ideas of where I would like this blog to go. It also doesn't help that all of our pictures are trapped on old fashioned film, far away from the interwebs, and that for some reason putting things onto blogs takes gobs of time. All of that time is time we're borrowing from businesses who would mostly rather us move on so that the next guy can saddle up to the stream. I guess all I can say is thank you for your patience, and give you a list of things that will hopefully be forthcoming at some point some time.

1) FAQ Page While sitting on the side of the old AlCan in our tent in a rainstorm, I wrote most of an FAQ page. Rusti still has to add the specs on his bike, though. Perhaps I will do a whole page just for gear reviews. Lord knows we're opinionated enough between the two of us.

2) Pictures. I know, you've all be waiting for them. I blame Rusti for leaving the camera charger at a campsite 4 days out from Anchorage. But that is neither here nor there. And truthfully we really haven't found a great place where we could upload them anyway. But we have been funsaving with our disposable funsavers and i'm sure there will be some mediocre pictures to post when we figure out a way to put them into digital format. Just as a warning they are mostly of mountains (95%) or signs that Rusti finds to be funny (Fuch lake). They will probably all look remarkably similar to one another. I guess you'll just have to take your own cycling trip through Alaska and the Yukon and see for yourself. I highly, highly recommend it.

3) Energy Balls. They're everywhere. Sometimes you feel them just flying back and forth between your ears at night. They become most apparent through acts of generosity from perfect strangers to travelers. We have already experienced many of these, from funsavers being donated to cash being given. These people deserve recognition although they are most certainly not seeking it. Energy balls bolster our morale and give us the impetus to continue our adventure. They're part of the reason we are on this adventure to begin with.

4) Donations. This refers back to energy balls, but gives people who are not in physical contact with us a chance to donate to our cause. $10 buys us a beer, $30 a meal, $50 buys us a whole day on the road! I would like to install a paypal button on our page that allows people to donate money to us if they would like to. If you would prefer your money not going toward food, drugs and rock and roll, we are very passionate about World Bicyle Relief as a means to give people in developing countries a sustainable way to improve their lives through bicycles. I would like to make it easy for people to link to our donations page through this blog. Also, I would like to be more proactive about furthering our commitment to this cause.

5) Mission statement. I know, it sounds pretty square, but every team needs some sort of stated goal about what they're working toward or else you're just thrashing about. And I dislike thrashing. It's very dangerous for someone as clumsy as me.

6) Miscellaneous Goodies. A map showing where we've been and where we are, a box showing our longest mileage day, a place where we tell people what books we are reading, and as mentioned above a gear review page. Also perhaps an ad or two would help to generate a small amount of moola for the cause.

So, hopefully, with time and perserverance, these tasks will get checked off one by one and our blog will evolve from a random collection of thoughts that pour from my scattered brain to a place with information and entertainment for others who are interested in our plight. Please comment with other suggestions for pages you would like.

A Little Note on Roadside Love

It takes a very long time to travel between places in Alaska. It used to take even longer, and so a multitude of roadhouses existed between the few and far between stopping points. These were places intended just for weary travelers, and the some of the ones that haven't burned down still are. They offer a hot beverage and a place to rest, some have a shower and a camping spot. They are perfect for cyclists. Spaced about 40 miles apart, it is the perfect end to a day to arrive at one of these stopping spots for some real, live Alaskan hospitality. When it's good, there's nothing like it. We stopped at a cafe in Sourdough for our first experience. After being kicked out of the cafe, we realized Sourdough may not be the best place to rest. We moved on, and quickly this one lukewarm experience was rectified by two over the top lovely experiences.

The first was the Gakona historic lodge, about 5 miles past the Gakona junction that starts the long road to Tok. The first thing to realize is that in this region of Alaska there are not towns, there are Census Designated Places. These CDPs have maybe 30-100 people living around them, and are supported by perhaps a gas station and if you're really lucky a bar/restaurant. The Gakona Lodge has just that, and the man who runs it, Greg, is one you would be lucky to meet. Upon seeing us he introduced himself and welcomed us to wait around until he got over to open the bar. We did just that, and after enjoying some delicious cheese sticks and a burger, Greg invited us to pop our tent, free of charge, next to the river. We followed him up on his offer and spent a very pleasant evening sipping from a 6-pack and listening to the Gakona river rush by.

The next day we hit the road after hearing that the next town about 30 miles down the road had a small grocery and a fun to say name - Chistochina (also a CDP). We were also flagged down by a man in a red pick-up who offered us camping at his lodge. When we arrived at the lodge to the delicious news of showers, laundry and a $5 breakfast, we were sold. We were invited to attend this nice man, Richard, to the grocery in his pickup after we set our bikes next to a table in the lawn. The grocery wasn't large, but it wasn't overpriced (everything is relative, remember) and it was clean and friendly. We returned to clean up and cook a large pasta dinner for ourselves. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...Red Eagle Lodge receives the current first prize for showers in Alaska. The bath house is unequaled in its size and beauty. We went to sleep clean and full, two things that can be rare to an adventure cyclist.

The next morning we tromped in for breakfast and ate, drank cup after cup of coffee, and stayed way past when we really should have left. If any of you have any desire to travel to Alaska, please consider staying in one of the completely reasonably priced cabins at Red Eagle Lodge, they are real cabins that have been redecorated in the most beautiful, cabiny way. Well, we have already stayed too long, so I must be off to search for more roadside love...

How I Learned to Climb Hills

I have a confession. Until about a week ago I had never climbed a major hill on my bicycle. I have another confession. Since I was very young I have been afraid of exercising. It sounds ridiculous, and I'm not sure of the cause, but it may have been linked to a slight case of asthma and a severe case of clumsiness, both of which persist up to this day. I guess I've always linked exercising with that horrible feeling of gasping for breath, lungs feeling as though they have been chopped up with a very small knife, and coughing fits lasting for hours after exertion. It wasn't until I was in college that I realized this was not how everyone felt about exercise. These days I'm in much better shape than I've ever been in and I can't remember the last time I felt like I was effected by my asthma, but the fear remains.

The fear haunts me daily on our trip. Every day as I think of mounting old Betty Blue (aka my bike), I feel a panicky sense in my core that says "What if you can't do it today? What if you get hurt, out of breath, overly fatigued?" The first day of the trip I did feel that way at the end of the day. The second day I felt better, etc. until today, when I feel great! I have had my aches and pains of course, but they usually go away throughout the day, not get worse. My confidence was up.

Some people are afraid of the bears in Denali. I was afraid of the hills. The elevation map looked like a very, very bad day in the stock market, the lowest point at 1500" and the highest at almost 4000" with about four large, steep looking bumps in between. Add to that the fact that it was a dirt road (also something I hadn't ridden on very much), and that road started making appearances in my nightmares and daymares. As the day we would get into the park loomed closer and closer I started to feel myself dragging my feet. Thoughts like "Is this just the dumbest thing to do?" entered my mind. Then the girl at the reservation desk informed me that instead of riding the road in the 20-35 mile days I had imagined, we would have two days to cover the 85 miles of park road. One day we would cycle 35 miles, leaving 50 miles filled with those terrifying passes for the following day. Then we would arrive at Wonder lake, hopefully in one piece, and with both legs still attached. It was do or die, or do and die, so we did it.

The park road was fabulous, and even that first really ugly looking hill didn't finish me off although I snapped at Rusti at one point, "STOP TALKING TO ME, I AM TRYING TO CONCENTRATE ON THIS HILL!" I'm pretty sure that people on foot would have easily passed me trudging up some of those hills, especially when my back tire was spinning out on the gravel, but what I realized is something I already knew: what you put in, you get back out. Every hill has another side - a down side if you will. This down side isn't a downer at all, it's the best part of riding a bike! The views at the tops of the hills were payoff enough - Alaska's rugged landscape laid out before us in every direction like we had our own personal landscape painter - plus we got to coast down the other side of those babies without a care in the world!

I have to say Thank You to Denali for teaching me this valuable lesson, and showing me what I can do. We pulled into Wonder Lake at about 3 am to a perfect view of Denali sporting the pink alpenglow that it is renowned for. Only about 30% of park visitors see the view that we saw, and we saw it as we went down that nice long hill at the end. Previous to that wonderful sight, I was concentrating so hard on pulling up a hill that I almost hit a bear, before I heard Rusti's yells "STOP! KRISTIN! BEAR! STOP!!!!". He didn't even notice us, and neither did the other grizzly we saw foraging outside of the visitor center long after all the other visitors had left. We had the company of a fox up one of the less steep hills, carring a small rodent to her kits. We saw a perfect outline of a bull moose against a pink lake during the everlasting sunset. Sights that visitors riding the 13 hour shuttle buses in and out of the park don't get to see.

So next time you feel intimidated by a seemingly daunting task, remember to take it as it comes. And when you're going up a hill, take your eyes off the road every once in awhile, or else you may run into something large and grizzly!

I am an Adventure Cyclist

It took about four days, but then it clicked. I am an adventure cyclist. Not an athlete, not a traveler, certainly not a tourist or a vacationer, I am an adventure cyclist. I ride my bike on adventures. And Team Krusti does adventure differently than anyone else. We ride our bikes sometimes, but we also do what we always do - eat, drink coffee, tea and beer, watch movies, read, knit, shoot the shit, sleep. We take every moment one at a time and refuse to rush. We talk to people and get the feel of places, and yes, we will have one more cup of coffee or another beer before we hit the road.

That's how we made it to Cantwell, 26 miles outside of Denali. Riding our bikes sometimes and eating cheese fries to fuel us on our way. Now we're headed into the park, so if a bear is interested in us, this may be our last post. We love you all and miss you dearly. Time to adventure on!

Welcome to Rage City!

The thing is that you can't sleep on an plane. It's not part of the deal. You can just sit and squirm with you face pressed against the little plastic window and maybe you'll at least get to see something. I was staring out of the window into the ocean when I noticed the the islands weren't islands at all. And the ocean from which they arose was an ocean of trees. There's a lot of trees in Alaska.

And that's how we found ourselves in the city of Rage, Anchorage that is. Our bikes are in boxes, our panniers are empty. Our stuff is everywhere. The building and packing commences. It never did get dark between the hours of 2 am and 6 am, but only went from twilight to dawn as we contemplated bike parts and clothing. Starving, we stopped at the soonest breakfast restaurant, the City Diner. We tasted our first reindeer sausage and chatted with the first Anchorageites (Anchoragians?) we met.

We found a hostel that allowed camping, and no sooner had we puffed up our sleeping mats and stuffed them into our bag, we fell into a deep, deep sleep for many hours. Awakening to yet more daylight we headed out to explore Anchorage. A friend of a cousin lives in Anchorage and we had met several years back when she visited Colorado. She called as we were heading into town and even though she was planning a wedding, she bought us a round of beers and excitedly informed us of the attractions to be found in Anchorage. Without a second thought she informed us of the time and date of the wedding, and so it was a date!

We had a couple of days to hang out in Anchorage before the wedding, so we stashed our gear and turned our bikes toward the coastal trail that runs about 10 miles around Anchorage. The day was clear and sunny and the biking was perfect. The trail ended at Kincaid park, where we met our first adventure-friend, Matt.

Conversation began because Matt had the same bike as Rusti - all the way down to the Brooks saddle. He was a firefighter, and his wife and kids had been out of town for a month-long camping trip. He invited us to stay at his house on the outskirts of Anchorage. We took his information and continued our ride, picking up some things at REI before stopping at an "authentic Alaskan restaurant" (meaning more reindeer sausage). Around 8:00 Matt called, asking us where we were, he had picked up dinner. Well, he came and picked us up at the restaurant, stashed our bikes on the back of the car, and took us to his nice, cabiny type house outside of Anchorage. After eating second dinner at 11 o'clock at night and chatting for awhile, we hit the sheets. Little did we know Matt had let us sleep in his bed as he slept on the couch. The next day we were treated to lunch in Girdwood after seeing zero belugas at beluga point (the lack of wildlife will turn into a theme of our trip). We beelined it to the church, only to find out the day was Thursday and the wedding was Friday. So we chilled at Matt's - took a hot tub and watched a documentary. (Note: we missed the wedding anyway - we thought it was at 6, it was at 4. We made the reception and had a grand old time). Overall, THANKS MATT!!! What a great introduction to Alaska!

Pre-Adventure Warm-Up

We don't remember whose idea it was to go to the sand dunes. It was one of those half-baked schemes that seem like a good idea at the time, and then the closer it comes the less that good idea seems so good. Other people who had promised, even sworn to come, realized this fact and cancelled their plans, but the bummer about being the person who plans the half-baked scheme is that once you have committed to your plan, you have to follow it to its completion. So, Team Krusti, with 3 days left before the Grand Adventure departed to go camping together before going camping together for the next four months. We called our friends and they were pondering showing up, so we packed up the Miata (remember this, it's important later) for our 5 hour trek down to the dunes. About 3 hours in to our trip, after temperatures hit about 100, we called our dear friends who had left slightly after we did to ask for directions to the dunes.

We should have known to ask someone else when they sent us down highway 69. After driving through the quaint town of Gardner (3 bars, 2 churches, 1 school, no gas), and being informed by the gas station attendant that there was no gas there, but if we were heading over the pass (**sizes up car**" it's a dirt road, you could make it in that") we should find some gas, or at least the dunes, in about 40 miles. I figured we had about 75 left on the tank, so I wasn't too concerned. And that's when our pre-adventure began.

First we took a wrong turn down the wrong, very very rough dirt road that dead-ended at a hiking trail we had taken the year before at the dunes. Choices: hike down to the dunes or turn around and try again. We took the second option because it would have been difficult to carry both the tent and the beer down that trail. So back down the dirt road we went. Another 15 miles down the road was another dirt road, complete with lots of signs about staying off of property and the dangers of bison hunting on private land. We turned on that one. A rougher dirt road. With less gas. In a Mazda Miata. But, thankfully, a tough Mazda Miata. So we roughed it up that road until we saw a sign. The sign had pictures of vehicles that were allowed on the road - an ATV, a dune buggy, something else with large tires and four wheel drive. None of the pictures were of zippy sports cars. So, after a close-to-full-on mental breakdown, we headed back down the dirt road. With less gas. In a Miata. At this point we had not seen a gas station in about 60 miles, we were in the absolute middle of nowhere, and without a clue. Thankfully that's when we met Eldon. Eldon had a big old jalopy truck, a Busch, and a tank of chainsaw gas (she'll smoke a lot, but it won't hurtchyer engine!). Thanks Eldon! We were able to make it another 20-30 miles down the road to the only gas station with gas on that side of the mountains.

As we found out at that gas station, unfortunately the sand dunes were on the other side of those mountains. We had two options. We could backtrack 60 miles the way we came, or we could take the long way there. We opted to backtrack after sipping a beer and eating a sandwich and watching a gorgeous sunset over the mountains, and imagining how beautiful it would be if it was over the dunes. Then we climbed back in the car and backtracked 60 miles before finding the road that actually leads to the Sand Dunes.

Rusti gets behind the wheel to pull her in for the last long haul. It's dark, it's late, we've been driving for 10 hours now. He's cruising along at 65 mph, going over the pass on the other side of the dunes, when all of a sudden the windshield fills with green eyes and a giant head. An elk, felled by a semi in the middle of the road in front of us. Split decision: try to swerve or hit it dead on and hope to catch some air. Rusti went with option 2. And all of a sudden we are airborn over this dead elk. And then we smell it. Eau de Dead Elk all over the bottom of my poor, poor car. But, it seems to be driving alright and we don't seem to be dragging anything, so we pull her on in. Granted, I was in what I would call a terrible mood at that point, and not cheered up by the sight of a giant piece of plastic hanging off underneath my car and every surface covered in elk fur. But, Jenny and Rachel had made it safely, finding different directions since theirs were less than accurate for people not in four-wheelers, and we cracked some beers and made up.

The next day it was really really hot, we went to the dunes for about 2 hours, tried to sleep, it rained in the afternoon, I freaked out because I had wasted 2 of my last days in Colorado far away from my family and kitties, we went to bed early, woke up early, and left the dunes.

So, next time you have an idea, remember to fully bake it. Use a toothpick to make sure it's done. Half baked ideas will waste your time and leave you wondering: why were we acting like such retards?

Soul Searching

This is a shout out to those who shamelessly pursue their dreams and goals and cool ideas. No compromises! The band Ok Go (http://www.okgo.net/media/videos/) has been in my peripheral vision for years, and today I was reintroduced to them and their truly awesome, artistic, uncompromising videos. All in the name of art and entertainment and fun and energy and excitement, man! When your heart is feeling all chewed up and spit out and gray and lumpy from this boring, mean world, I recommend looking these videos up and taking a gander, because they illustrate a sheer disregard for the man. You know, that old white guy who keeps us all down with his "money" and "taxes" and "work ethic."

A year ago I made a pact with Rusti. We would put our heads down and work for a year, we would save everything we made and we would legitimately go on this bike trip with our own moola not begged borrowed or stolen but honestly earned. I have to give credit where credit is due - we have saved almost exactly our rent every month since my father graciously let us stay in a house he owns rent free. Thank heaven for parents. I also have to be thankful for my job as a Lucile's waitress - most likely the best paid waitresses in town. Every 30% tip I've gotten from kind folks who are full and happy off of legitimately delicious, homemade food has gotten us a little closer to our goal, and I am very thankful for that.

Ultimately, however, Team Krusti was not made to work for others. And certainly working 40-60 hours/week for others is WAY too much for us. So, now, we will find our way with our hard-earned cash, spend it frugally and make it last until it runs out so we don't have to do that again!

WE ARE, and so can you!

I must admit that I've been shamefully half-assed with this blog, but that is in the past. I promise...(cough).

I suppose I didn't realize that a blog would be anything complicated, though it turns out nothing comes without effort. If there's something I've learned in the couple years that I've been back in the saddle, it's exactly that. You have to work to get someplace. The world is not flat, its very dynamic, and it will make no concessions to my comfort or well being. When you realize that sometimes it being cold outside, means that you have to be cold and that being tired means that you have endured then it becomes not about the destination, but rather the journey. You have to be present, and you have to keep moving forward.

People of "developing" parts of our Earth are always moving forward, and they have to because they feel the true weight of their disadvantages in a way that you or I seldom do. Poor people have things they need to take care of,  and they can't GET THAT SHIT DONE  if they're walking everywhere. It's a huge problem with a super simple two wheeled solution. It's simple, sustainable, and provides the mechanical advantage that will allow someone access to the resources they need in a timely manner. Let's not kid ourselves, TIME IS MONEY!  Give someone a cookie, they'll eat it, but if you give a person a BICYCLE , they'll just use it to access food, water, medical care, and have the ability to transport goods and provide servies.

It's an immediate quality of life change. People can make money, take care of their families, and be able to obtain an education that they otherwise could not have. Getting this? Bicycles empower people, communities, and economies to GO!

This is where the folks at World Bicycle Relief come into the picture.




Think about it man. We're stuck on this rock together, and from cosmic perspective, if people like Tendai or Rhoda or these lovely gals aren't our brothers and sisters; then who the hell is?

Peace and love

Thankfully, the Wind Will Always Change Directions

The sunshine bike and I are beginning to be acquainted after the first few rides together. There are still some tweaks before we are melded as one, but that's to be expected from any new relationship. After riding a racing specific road bike for the past two years it feels incredibly strange to be in this new, upright position on these huge knobby tires. However, this bike works much better than that bike ever did. The shifting is smoother, the braking more reliable, the seat more comfortable, the tires more versatile. It really is a killer ride.

I am also beginning to realize the weight of this undertaking. Things running through my mind: you've never been on any sort of bicycle tour before, aren't you crazy to do the first one on this large of a scale? What if you aren't in shape enough? You have trouble sometimes riding your bike unloaded, what's going to happen when it's loaded up? You drove to work yesterday instead of riding because it was cold! It's going to be cold a lot of the time on the trip! What if you don't like riding your bike unless it's perfect weather? What will you do then? Huh?!?!

Not exactly productive thoughts, I suppose. I'm trying to keep in mind our 10 day, 70 mile backpacking trip in Chile last year. We weren't in shape, I had never backpacked before, and yet we did it. And we did it pretty well. Yes, I was crying from blister pain for the last few miles, and there were days when we definitely bonked out, but for the most part it was an absolutely beautiful trip that I will never forget. Rusti and I are pretty good at taking things a day at a time and being smart about traveling. He's also very encouraging and not competitive or show offish, which meshes well with my own laid back attitude when it comes to physical prowess.

Another thought I had today: After only 8 more short weeks, I will no longer have to work for at least 3 or 4 months!!!! Since work periodically shifts from bad to worse, that's great news. I will be so happy to be on a bicycle, in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of miles from the nearest idiot. I mean person. Idiots are people too. Or at least I have to act like that for the next 8 weeks. Then you're all on your own!

Sorry for the scattered post, the wind has picked up my thoughts and flung them far.

Sunshine Bike!

(Sorry for the awful picture quality. It's a long, sad, boring story.)

The Sunshine Bike is a cheerful kind of bike, because, really, why oh why would a bike want to look serious? A lot of thought and energy went into the creation and selection of each and every component, from the hand built wheels to the leather saddle. In the future there will be a gear page with all the specs, but for the moment it's enough to say that they all ROCK! Whoever thought a geek like me would own a truly, unequivocally cool bicycle? Too bad Rusti had to go to his "corporate gig" today before he could finish tweaking so I have to wait to ride it until tomorrow, but I have waited long enough and one more day will not kill me. I don't think. I also have some pretty kickass green handlebar tape to throw on there, and will probably employ some yellow water bottle cages to brighten things up a bit. There are fenders to think about as well as panniers, but those will come to us in time.

In other news, how many of you have heard of Team Wonderbike? It's a team that team Krusti is all about - sponsored by New Belgium of beer and bikes fame, Team Wonderbike is working to get more people on their bikes and out of their cars. I emailed them to ask about a badge for the blog and they got back to me right away about supporting our trip. Cool, huh? I'll keep you updated on more about us and them, but in the meantime go and sign up! You get great updates on events they're involved in and you can track the number of miles you ride monthly instead of driving. The address is http://www.newbelgium.com/team-wonderbike. New Belgium has really paved the way for a lot of microbreweries in their approach to community support and a wider cause than simply the delicious, bubbly stuff. Check out their website to learn more, they do new cool stuff every day. www.newbelgium.com.

Well, I guess I'll put my new seat on my old bike and enjoy the rest of this lovely day the best way possible - on two wheels.

Insomniatic Passions

Insomnia isn't what I would call a passion, but it can be very inspirational. While laying (lying? I never learned that grammar rule) in bed, mind racing for no known reason, I began to think of what it means to have passions. Life seems to be a constant search for those little experiences that wake up your enthusiasm. It's impossible to tell what yours may be until you actually take part in it. Every passion is unique to its host, and just because others are passionate about, say, marathon running or snail collecting, does not mean that those activities will speak to anyone else. There is nothing like the thrill that comes from finding and practicing your passions.

For me there is nothing like the distinct euphoric high that good company, wonderful food, and delicious beer conspire to create. Sometimes I feel like this combination could actually be a substitute for morphine, and perhaps I will become addicted to dinner parties. My bicycle is another source of addictive euphoria leading to a dangerously delicious sense of joie de vivre. The smell of fresh air and the thrill of absolute freedom on my bicycle make me beam. The only downside of this smile-inducing thrill is getting bugs stuck in my teeth.

The key with passions, I suppose, is letting them be. It is so tempting to overthink our passions, to complicate them on a constant quest for an even better, more enjoyable experience. Instead, it is important to simply enjoy the enjoyment of the thing that resonates in your soul. Don't try to complicate matters because that euphoria can be a slippery thing that wriggles away when there is too much pressure. So here is to finding and then enjoying our passions, and also to trying new things. Who knows? Maybe your passion is collecting snails, too!

The Weather Outside is Delightful...should that be frightful?

Springtime is finally here. Spring is great because, unlike fall, there is no feeling of dread concerning the upcoming winter, only anticipation for even brighter, longer, warmer days ahead. It's a time to drag your dreary, winterized self out of hibernation and into that blinding, harsh sunlight. That's the idea, at least. This transition is notoriously difficult for me. It seems that every year just as I'm starting to accept the fact that I will never see the sun again and my couch is starting to really break in to that nice ass-shaped dugout that we all strive for, the sun comes out and starts to mock me for staying indoors. Part of me would love to be outside frolicking, but the part that is sort of lazy and likes having an excuse to sit inside and stare blankly at my computer screen is uncomfortable. At least this year we have a very good reason to get outside and show our pasty skin to the world - Alaska!

That's why we have to remember: no excuses, no compromises! We cannot let our moods prevail- we must remember a larger goal! The worst thing would be to get to Alaska and not feel prepared. The training will commence full time this Wednesday when our wheels are done being built! I ended up getting bright yellow disc-only wheels. I didn't really want to commit to disc-only but in the end it was a decision made based on timing and the fact that, really, who wants to go from disc brakes to rim brakes anyway? I've been riding my new Brooks saddle and it is very, very nice. Still a loooooooong way from broken in, but there's nothing like the feel of leather underneath your toosh. Now it's just a matter of getting the wheels, putting it all together, and crossing our fingers for some of that guilt-inducing beautiful spring weather.

It's about time.

Let's get things rolling.