Wordless Wednesday

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Deer Creek, 14; Snowcatcher, 9

I was nervous about my first ride up Deer Creek Canyon since... Wow! March 12 the last time up! I was dreading our first official training ride since being drawn for Ride the Rockies.

I thought I'd have to pull over a million times to catch my breath. I thought I'd barely make it the first four miles. I thought I'd be so dead (and cold) at the end of the ride, I wouldn't be able to ride again the next day.

My goal for that first official training ride of the year was 6.5 miles because that's how far I pedal to the top of Waterton Canyon on a regular basis. Deer Creek Canyon is steeper, and in Waterton Canyon, I don't have cars speeding alongside me.

I hadn't anticipated how different it is to clip into the pedals on my road bike from what I've been accustomed to by riding mostly the mountain bike for the last year. I didn't anticipate how different the saddle of the road bike would feel. And I wasn't sure what to wear because I knew it could be cold however far up Deer Creek Canyon I got, but it could be pretty warm in the sunny spots on the way up.

I also forgot to grab my camera before I headed out the door. Darn it.

So no fresh photos. The one above is from 2015. We don't have as much snow this year. It wasn't as cold. I did okay in shorts, but I had two layers of jerseys, and one was long-sleeved. I carried full-finger gloves but did not wear them. I wore two pairs of wool socks.

I was plenty warm enough the whole entire climb. I got cold two or three times on the descent in the shadows, thanks to the wind. The wind was so bad, all the riders who passed me (of which there were MANY) commented on how difficult it was making the climb. Three times, the wind nearly knocked me off my bike.

But wind makes us tough. Wind makes us tough. Wind makes us tough. I didn't get discouraged. Can't say I liked the wind playing havoc with my bike, but I suppose that will make me stronger too, if it keeps up. (That is NOT an invitation!!!)

When I hit 6.5 miles, I thought I could go half a mile further. At 7 miles, I thought I could make 8. At 8 miles, I decided to try for 9.

I turned around at 9 miles. I had energy to keep going, but I was concerned about the potential chill in the descent. As the sun crept behind the hills, the temperature was going to drop. I also didn't want to be dead at the end. I wanted to be able to finish a quilt when I got back home. And plant the spent tulips my husband gave me for my birthday. And write my next snowflake pattern. And make healthy chocolate chunk cookies.

When I finished the ride, I was hungry but warm, and excited that I'd chiseled off all but the last five miles of the climb on my first try in nearly a year. Without stopping!

I had been worried this year's Ride the Rockies would really get the best of me because I haven't been training as much in the last year. Now I have high hopes that the "good base" my husband and cycling friends tell me I've built really is a good starting point. I have work to do; I had trouble keeping my bike straight on the steepest portions of the climb because I just couldn't get above 3.8 mph. As I recall, I was pushing for 5 mph on the steepest grades two years ago. I'm going to have to climb a lot to get back into that shape.

But I'm optimistic now that I can do it.

Deer Creek Canyon had me in miles this time around, but it did not beat me!

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Snowflake Monday

I designed this snowflake the day before we learned we'd been drawn for this year's Ride the Rockies. We'll be circling the San Juan Mountains and the Weminuche Wilderness. We've pedaled most of this route before, doing all but the final two days of the ride in the opposite direction of this year's route. We'll be riding through our favorite parts of the state from a different point of view!

I am one happy camper!!!

The Weminuche Wilderness is the largest wilderness area in Colorado. It spans the Continental Divide, which means its headwaters flow to both the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It is home to 14ers Mount Eolus, Sunlight Peak and Windom Peak.






I think I should make new bears and take them hiking. Or at least pack one in my backpack during Ride the Rockies. Don't you agree?

You may do whatever you'd like with snowflakes you make from this pattern, but you may not sell or republish the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!


Finished Size: 5 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 7 crochet hook, empty pizza box, wax paper or plastic wrap, cellophane tape, water soluble school glue or desired stiffener, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line

Weminuche Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 4 dc in ring, take loop off hook, insert hook through 2nd ch of starting ch 2 and replace loop on hook, pull loop through ch (popcorn stitch made), * ch 3, 5 dc in ring, take loop off hook, insert hook through top loop of 1st dc and replace loop on hook, pull loop through top of 1st dc (popcorn stitch made); repeat from * 4 times; ch 1, 1 dc in top of starting popcorn st to form 6th ch 3 sp of Round. Pull magic circle tight.

Round 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 4 dc over post of dc directly below, take loop off hook, insert hook through 2nd ch of starting ch 2 and replace loop on hook, pull loop through ch (popcorn stitch made), * sk next ch 3 sp, ch 6, 1 popcorn stitch in next ch 3 sp, ch 6, 1 popcorn stitch in same ch 3 sp; repeat from * 1 time; 1 popcorn stitch in same sp as starting popcorn stitch, ch 3, 1 tr in top of starting popcorn st to form 6th ch 6 sp of Round.

Round 3: Ch 6 (counts as 1 tr and ch 3), 1 dc over post of tr directly below, * 1 dc in next ch 6 sp, ch 3, 1 tr in same sp, ch 5, 1 tr in same sp, ch 3, 1 dc in same sp; repeat from * around 4 times; 1 dc in next ch 6 sp, ch 3, 1 tr in same sp, ch 2, 1 tr in 3rd ch of starting ch 6 to form 6th ch 5 tip of Round.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 4: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc over post of tr directly below * [ch 8, sl st in 6th ch from hook] 3 times, ch 2, 3 dc in next ch 5 tip, ch 3, 3 dc in same tip; repeat from * around 5 times, omitting last 3 dc and last ch 3 of final repeat; ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.

Round 5: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), * 1 dc in next ch 5 loop, ch 3, 1 dc in same loop, 1 dc in next ch 5 loop, ch 3, 1 tr in same loop, ch 5, 1 tr in same loop, ch 3, 1 dc in same loop, 1 dc in next ch 3 loop, ch 3, 1 dc in same loop, 1 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 3, 1 dc in same tip; repeat from * around 5 times, omitting last dc of final repeat; sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: Tape wax paper or plastic wrap to top of empty pizza box. Pin snowflake to box on top of wax paper or plastic wrap.

If using glue, mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture or desired stiffener. Sprinkle lightly with glitter. Wash paintbrush and container thoroughly. Allow snowflake to dry at least 24 hours. Remove pins. Gently peel snowflake from wax paper or plastic wrap. Attach 10-inch clear thread to one spoke, weaving in end. Wrap fishing line around tree branch (or tape to ceiling or any overhead surface) and watch snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.

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We Got Drawn!

2015 RtR Finish Line
More happy Ride the Rockies memories in the making! We got...


This will be my seventh time and The Lizard's sixth!!!


Lizard Head Pass conquered in 2003!


2005 Training


miracle alongside the road in 2005


Day 1, 2010 Ride the Rockies


2010 Matcheypoo!


me with Olympian Alison Dunlap near the top of Molas Pass in 2010


King for the Day in 2012


Think he's tired??? (2012)


Olympians Davis Phinney and Connie Carpenter in 2012


2012 Matcheypoo!


2012 RtR Finish


Pro and Olympian George Hincapie and then Ride the Rockies director Chandler Smith in 2013


Lizard on Lizard Head in 2013


2013 Day 4 Commentary


2013 Yum


2013 Cypher in the Soot


2015 We Got Drawn!


2015 above Canon City


2015 Westcliffe Welcome


2015 Impromptu Rest Stop

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Permanent Change

I didn't donate blood in January or February because I was fighting a head cold. I have a standing appointment now at the mobile donation station near where I work during my lunch hour. I had to keep rescheduling for six weeks, thanks to the lingering cold.

In the meantime, I had four suspicious moles removed. The tests came back showing one was a bad boy.

When I was finally cleared for blood donation again, I asked, after filling out the typical questionnaire, if it mattered that I'd just had four moles removed. The phlebotomist asked about my test results. I explained one of the moles had been basal cell carcinoma, but they got it all, so I don't have to go back, and I don't have to do chemo or radiation.

I learned something new.

Lower-risk cancers. including basal cell cancers of the skin that have been completely removed, do not require a 12-month waiting period.

From now on when filling out those pre-screening questionnaires, I have to say, yes, I have had cancer. Wow. I then must go through an interview process to determine it was not leukemia or other blood-threatening cancers. I will still be able to donate.

But that one question has a different answer now for the rest of my life.

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Wordless Wednesday

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