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A couple of weeks ago, I did 60 miles in 33 degrees. Two days later, I did 50 miles in 80 degrees. (In the desert.) Last weekend, 48 more miles in 34 drizzly, wet degrees. If nothing else, I'm adapting to all kinds of weather conditions.
Obsessive Compulsive behavior kicks in when I see the odometer at 58.9 miles, or any easy-to-round number. So 48 miles bit me like a well-trained squadron of mosquitoes on my soggy ride. I'd have done the two extra miles, if I had known. Unfortunately, the degree of wetness (or was it the degree of temperature?!?) caused the odo to malfunction. I didn't know I needed two more miles until I'd already dried off the bike. (The Lizard graciously calculated my miles on his topo software.) (And then cleaned my bike. Because, "A clean bike is a happy bike.")
I've also done my first consecutive back-to-back big mile days of the year. I now officially declare myself ready for this year's MS-150, with 39 days to go. Now I just have to get my body ready for the 7,000-foot climb of Pikes Peak in August.
On my last bicycle commute, I decided to pretend I was on Pikes Peak, where two miles remain unpaved this year. I took a dirt road to get home, adding four miles to my commute and a level of difficulty that does not match high elevation but which will help me get comfortable riding the road bike off pavement. I walked the bike on the dirt section of the road last year. I did so well on the dirt road (with some significant climbs) near my home, I'm going to continue to practice so I don't have to dismount on Pikes Peak. That alone should be enough time saved to allow me to reach the summit in 7.5 hours.
Spring is slowly coming, even though riding weather isn't always favorable. The Lizard gave me something very special for a holiday I choose not to celebrate. I wholeheartedly approve!
I made this for the day the The Lizard hit the half century mark. He wasted no time whatsoever arranging his fledgling pin collection just so.
The Lizard finished his new 29er Black Pearl and IMMEDIATELY had to check the fit, ignoring work bench clothes and delaying long enough only to grab his camera and slip into cycling shoes.
Pierce is back. With full-grown babies in tow.
I pulled the tomatoes and peppers back inside before we headed for warmer riding to protect them from the snowy forecast. I didn't put them back outside when we returned because white stuff was in the forecast again.
I was worried my plants would become spoiled and expect to stay indoors all the time. Then I saw this.
Okay, you can stay inside. All summer long if you want. I don't mind at all.
No matter how deep I dug, I could not find why Huron Peak was named after the Indian tribe that sided with the British during the War of 1812. So I guess I don't have to have a reason for naming this flake after Huron Peak.
Huron Peak is the second shortest 14er in Colorado, just three feet over the magic 14,000-foot mark. It is one of 15 14ers in the Sawatch Range, and from the summit is one of the best views of the Three Apostles, a rugged 13er threesome including Ice Mountain, which already has a snowflake named after it.
I climbed Huron in 2006, one of only two 14ers I got up that year. Because my back was healing much slower than I expected and hoped, I was beginning to give up my dream of one day climbing all the 14ers and had resorted to just shooting as many as I could. Huron, which is not easily seen from any roadway, provided not only the magnificent view of the Apostles, but also my first glimpses of nearby 14ers Missouri, Oxford and Belford.
While The Lizard ran the ridge and collected five summits, I slowly made my way back down the mountain and took the Gunnison Spur to try to capture the Apostles reflecting in beaver ponds near the ghost town of Hamilton. The crisp blue sky and early September green that day reminded me a little of the bright blue and green in this snowflake. So perhaps I had a good reason for naming this snowflake after all!
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: 7.25 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 8 crochet hook, empty pizza box, wax paper or plastic wrap, cellophane tape, glue, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line
Huron Peak Snowflake Instructions
Make magic ring.
Round 1: Ch 9 (counts as 1 dc and ch 6), 1 dc in ring, *ch 6, 1 dc in ring; repeat from *3 times; ch 3, 1 dc in 3rd ch of starting ch 9 (ch 3 and dc counts as final ch 6, and you will be working over the dc post in Round 2). Pull magic circle tight, but leave opening big enough to allow stitches inside it to lay flat.
Round 2: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 2 dc over post of final dc worked in Round 1, 1 hdc around same post, 1 sc around same post, *1 sc in next ch 6 sp, 1 hdc in same sp, 3 dc in same sp, ch 3, 3 dc in same sp, 1 hdc in same sp, 1 sc in same sp; repeat from * around 4 times; 1 sc in next ch 6 sp, 1 hdc in same sp, 3 dc in same sp, ch 1, 1 dc in 3rd ch of starting ch 3 (ch 1 and 1 dc count as final ch 3).
Round 3: 1 sc around post of dc just worked, *ch 10, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp; repeat from * around 4 times; ch 5, 1 dtr in starting sc (ch 1 and 1 dtr count as final ch 10, and you will be working over dtr post in Round 4).
Round 4: Ch 3 (counts as 1 dc) 2 dc over dtr post just worked, 3 hdc over same post, 3 sc over same post, *3 sc in next ch 10 sp, 3 hdc in same sp, 3 dc in same sp, ch 3, 3 dc in same sp, 3 hdc in same sp, 3 sc in same sp; repeat from * around 4 times; 3 sc in next ch 10 sp, 3 hdc in same sp, 3 dc in same sp, ch 1, 1 dc in 3rd ch of starting ch 3.
Round 5: 1 sc around post of dc just worked, *ch 16, 1 sc in next ch 3 sp; repeat from * around 4 times; ch 16, sl st in starting sc.
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 6: *3 sc in next ch 16 sp, 3 hdc in same sp, 6 dc in same sp, ch 3, 1 dc in 3rd ch from hook, ch 5, 1 sc in 5th ch from hook, ch 6, sl st in sc, ch 4, sl st in sc, ch 3, s1 dc in 3rd ch from hook, 6 dc in same ch 16 sp, 3 hdc in same sp, 3 sc in same sp; repeat from * around 5 times; sl st in starting sc; 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.
Mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture. 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 the snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.
Blogger burped worldwide this week, and no one was too happy about it. The biggest thing for me was posts being removed while attempts were made to fix whatever caused the problem. (Blogger staffers repeatedly assured they were working to restore "temporarily" removed content.)
It bugs me - A LOT - that someone might come here looking for a specific pattern, and the pattern may appear to not exist or be missing. So I'm looking into self-hosting, which, honestly, I should have done a long time ago, but it's another of those things I just didn't get around to until disaster loomed.
I still don't know all the details, but there exists the possibility followers and regular visitors may have to rebookmark this site. I'll spread the news loud and clear if I find that is the case.
Blogger has been a very good home for me, my photography, my ramblings and my snowflakes. But it might possibly be time for me to grow up and move out on my own. I already have my own webspace, mostly unused, so moving can't hurt TOO much. I hope.
Aaaah, what's life without a new adventure in exploration every once in a while?
NOTE: I'm still trying to get all my old trip reports from my prehistoric Geocities website back online, and I've been trying to go chronologically. I recently found this gem that somehow got skipped. Maybe that's a good thing, because this was motivational when it happened, and it's inspiration for trying to repeat the feat this year in preparation for Pikes Peak.
7 August 2004
Ferenc met us in the Forest Service parking lot before the sun came up. He and The Lizard took off for the summit of Mount Evans on their bikes from there. I drove up to Echo Lake, the wimpy distance, not knowing for sure if I can make it up this monster. In the car, I passed a guy on a bike on his way up to Evans. He had one leg. It looked very uncomfortable to maintain balance on the bike in that condition, but he was pushing onward. How could I not be inspired???
When I arrived at Echo Lake, the wind was pummeling my car. I worried again I might not make it to the top. I opted out of my Camelbak due to the wind, and I borrowed the two filled water bottles The Lizard had left in my car because he opted to take his Camelbak to make sure he didn't run out of water.
I headed up the mountain on my road bike in what wasn't as cold or quite as windy as normal with a fraction less weight than I normally carry. It may have made a difference. That, and my dropping into the granny gears several times.
I don't normally drop out of the middle ring. I've been trying to build leg strength. Being in granny gears doesn't even sound fun because I would have to be aerobic instead of strong. The Lizard has been trying very hard to teach me there's nothing wrong with spinning.
Maybe the leg strengthening helped, because I didn’t do too bad. I hovered around 5.4 and 5.3 miles per hour most of the ride, although I dropped to 3.9 twice and had great difficulty keeping the bike upright in a serious headwind. But I needed only about 11 lung breaks this trip. I started at 10,400 and made it to about 14,000 in 2 hours and 56 minutes. My first successful trip up Mount Evans on the road bike. The highest elevation I've ever been with the road bike. My fifth 14er of the year. Nearly 45 minutes better than the same trip on the mountain bike. I feel pretty darned good about the effort.
Ferenc was a tad over three hours for his total trip, which shows you just how slow I go. Both guys passed me on the summit switchbacks, The Lizard closer to Summit Lake. They both pedaled 13 miles more than me getting to the top, and they did it in just a few minutes over my total time.
The Lizard broke three hours. He said he was really losing steam toward the top. So was I. I was losing motivation because I thought there were three more switchbacks, then two, and kept finding out, oops, two more... oops, two more... NO! NOT TWO MORE!!!
I didn't have a headache on the way up. But boy did it hit me hard on the way down. I felt as if my head was being pounded with a hammer. And then my face got pelted with hail. I also realized why I like the mountain bike so much on this road. I wanted the mountain bike to hold my speed down on descents, which it did wonderfully. Plus, it has front suspension.
Coming down the mountain on the road bike was fast. The road is really awful when you have no suspension and your head is aching. The freeze cracks were miserable and reverberated throughout my frame. Both my bike and my body! I am not sure my rims are intact after that ride!
I decided if I ever do that ride again, I want to be taken down the mountain. I don't want to ride down again. Too hard on my body. I felt beat up at the end.
But it was a good ride! Don't get me wrong! I had fun. The one-legged guy passed me on the final switchback and beat me to the summit. He was downright inspirational. As was the guy on the mountain bike with knobbies who passed me. He did exactly what I did last year. Only he kicked my butt. As did everyone else riding up the mountain. I was no doubt the very slowest. I would have been disqualified if I'd been riding the Mount Evans Hillclimb!
But I did it. I climbed Evans again. On a road bike. In a time I'm happy with. In demoralizing gears. But without headaches (on the ascent) and without knee pain. That's close to 15 miles of sustained climb. At what I've always sworn is 37.6 percent grade. :) (I've been assured the grade is never more than 11%. But I think whoever came up with that number has never been up Mount Evans on a bicycle!)
I entered the bottom of the stairwell the same time as the man who limps. Our paths have crossed many times, and he always greets me, always seems happy.
I've never seen him not limping. One foot seems to turn in a bit. Yet still, he walks.
Greetings were exchanged, and he began his slow ascent immediately. I stayed behind to stretch. And contemplate whether I could do this.
I run up two flights at the train stop nearly every morning in an attempt to elevate my heartbeat. Just two days earlier, in a long dress, the little voice inside my head had warned, "Pull up your skirt." First softly, then a little louder. But still I did not listen.
I'd been up those concrete stairs a million times, and nothing had ever gone wrong. At the top of the steps, the dress got tangled, and down I went. It hurt, but the worst part was being seen by about 200 people, many of whom asked if I was okay. I didn't even check to see if I'd ripped my dress until I boarded the train and was out of view of all those who had seen me go down.
The dress survived, thankfully. My knee didn't fare as well. It looked like raw hamburger, and it was swelling and turning blue. Ugh.
Now I was at the foot of 60 flights, wondering if I should torture that still healing knee. I'd deliberately walked a mile the morning I bashed it to keep it from getting stiff. But I stayed off my bike, and I'd avoided stairs. Until now.
I heard the man on the metal, vibrating and popping stairs stop one flight above. I continued to stretch, still mentally trying to talk myself out of climbing. The man began ascending again, one flight, and then stopped again.
I realized he was going to do more than one or two flights. He could just as easily take the elevator, but he chose to work whatever was causing his discomfort. I looked down at my knee one more time.
The man above began slowly climbing again, the metal platforms audibly snapping as weight distribution changed.
Blueberry knee or not, if he could do it, so could I.
The man climbed only five or six flights. But he climbed. He did not take the easy way up.
I went all the way to the top. My knee throbbed, and it bothered me off and on the rest of the day. Actually, a couple more days passed before it finally stopped screaming at me every time I bent it.
My mantra this year is, "Go further than you think you can."
But sometimes, the mantra is overpowered by inspirational people like the man on the stairs. Those who keep trying with even more to work through than me.
A few weeks ago, I published my favorite ten snowflakes so far. I was shocked to discover one had no pattern! Yikes!
I immediately set out to reverse engineer the flake I had created back in September 2009 and write a pattern. Now that poor little snowflake has a name and a pattern!
Colorado is full of treasures, mines and minerals. The locations of nearly 30 ore, gold or silver mines throughout the state, initially discovered in the 1800s, remain unknown to this day, and some of those lost mines have great names, such as Lost Crazy Swede Mine, Lost Golden Ledge and Lost Sheepherder Lode. I am SO tempted to make a flake to represent each of them! This snowflake easily could have taken the name of a lost mine, being as it was a lost treasure until I traveled back in time through my snowflake archives.
However, the first name that came to my mind when I realized this toddler snowflake had escaped my pattern collection was Lost Creek Wilderness. The flake will take the moniker of the namesake creek.
Lost Creek Wildnerness is one of the easiest somewhat isolated yet recreational destinations to get to from the Denver metro area, just 60 miles away. Because 14ers and now even 13ers are such popular tourist attractions, ranges such as the Wilderness' Tarryalls and Kenosha Mountains with less elevation see far fewer humans. This wilderness area is prone to mild winters, making the southern access trails seem like fall or spring in December, January and February.
The 119,790-acre wilderness gets its name from Lost Creek, which spends much of its journey beneath ground, or lost, before trickling into Goose Creek, which then dumps into the South Platte River and Cheeseman Reservoir, a major watershed in the South Platte Basin. (Exactly how this drainage maintains watershed status tickles me because the climate here is so arid.)
The Lost Creek Wilderness is home to stunning rock formations, including natural arches. More than 130 miles of trails, including a portion of the Colorado Trail, make for great recreation opportunities year round. No mountain biking, but rock climbing, hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing possibilities are endless. Well, except when there's no snow...
Natural arches are a huge photographic draw for The Lizard and me. We are equally drawn to unusual rock formations as well. Lost Creek Wilderness holds a very special place in my heart, however, thanks to a pair of mountains named Payne and No Payne, no kidding. I climbed both on the third anniversary of my emergency back surgery, and it was not my first attempt. I've had assorted adventures in the Lost Creek Wilderness, including a stint as camp director for teen girls, but there is still much to be seen, and I anxiously await my next visit.
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: 5.5 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 7 crochet hook, empty pizza box, wax paper or plastic wrap, cellophane tape, glue, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line
Lost Creek Snowflake Instructions
Make magic ring.
Round 1: Ch 6 (counts as 1 dc and ch 4), *2 dc in ring, ch 4; repeat from * around 4 times for a total of 6 petals; 1 dc in ring, sl st in 2nd ch of starting ch 2. Do not pull magic circle too tight.
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 2: *1 sc in next ch 4 sp, ch 2, 1 hdc in same sp, ch 2, 1 dc in same sp, ch 2, 1 dc in same sp, ch 2, 1 hdc in same sp, ch 2, 1 sc in same sp, 1 sc between next 2 dc; repeat from * around 5 times; sl st in starting sc. (NOTE: Binding off here makes an attractive small flake or flower.)
Round 3: *1 sc in next ch 2 sp, ch 2, 1 hdc in next ch 2 sp, ch 2, 1 dc in next ch 2 sp, ch 10, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in each of next 5 ch, ch 7, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in each of next 4 ch, ch 6, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in each of next 3 ch, ch 5, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in each of next 3 ch (top of tree made), ch 5, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in each of next 3 ch, working back down "tree", sl st in next ch between "branches," ch 6, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in each of next 4 ch, sl st in ch between branches, ch 7, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, sl st in each of next 5 ch, 1 sc in ch next ch below final branch, sl st in next ch, ch 1, 1 dc in same ch 2 sp, ch 2, 1 hdc in next ch 2 sp, ch 2, 1 sc in next ch 2 sp, ch 9, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook (1st picot made), ch 3, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 3, 1 sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 1, sk 1 ch after 1st picot, 1 dc in each of next 2 ch, 1 hdc in each of next 2 ch, 1 sc in each of next 2 ch; repeat from * around 5 times; sl st in starting sc; 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.
Mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture. 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 the snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.
My jaw was dropping and my eyeballs were popping as I walked the aisles of the Denver National Quilt Festival last weekend. Then suddenly my sight rested upon a a black curtain of teal.
I immediately recognized the predominant fabric as the 2010 Hoffman Challenge, but that's not where my heart went.
Teal is the ribbon color for ovarian cancer, and my dear friend Shonna completed her brave battle against that mean-spirited and unforgiving disease in January. I wished I had thought to create a Hoffman Challenge entry to honor her last year when I first saw the teal-themed challenge fabric. My entry could have traveled the US in her memory, and upon its return, I could have donated it to an appropriate charity in her name.
I've made many breast cancer quilts, and I make tied quilts for the Red Cross through my church every time there is a disaster, such as the tornado that just ravaged Tuscaloosa.
So I can't feel too bad for not catching the teal spirit in 2010. I'm not particularly inspired by this year's challenge fabric. Children of families who lost everything are in need of quilts they can cherish forever, and my heart is pounding in that direction.
There are so many charitable quilting causes, I will never, ever run out of ways to serve those in need. Just check out the amazing list of organizations and drives here.
Nevertheless, these teal challenge entries touched something very deep inside me. Particularly the dolls, because Shonna made the most beautiful porcelain dolls. I think she would have loved these.
