Mountain Magenta

Usually when the sun sets around here we get a strong eastern glow of magenta in the sky. This picture shows some of that. This is a picture from the Hasselblad, taken last fall while hiking above Rock Springs. Yep, life is good.

We went for a bit of a ride this morning. Actually, Lori went for a 2 mile swim and then took me for a ride around the coast. Here is a picture from the coast.



One of the goals of the shot was to get the bike in the picture while riding. Not an easy task. I shot about 10 shots before I got a decent one -- all without riding over the cliff into the ocean. Or...crashing and tearing my shoulder up. Maybe next time! ;-)

It was 62 degrees today and sunny. We are having a warm stretch for sure. And a dry spell. Hopefully it will start to rain again soon (maybe while I am traveling), but for the moment it sure is nice.

How About an Insight?

Contrary to the title, I don't have much to offer tonight. I finished a brush/bowl set (shown above), had the wheels rebalanced on the Jeep, went to work, went to Costco (low on cheese and greens...), roasted some coffee, and rode the 7 sisters on Eddy. It was nice and warm today, so the riding was super fine.

I finally acquired some neatesfoot oil for the Brooks saddle on Eddy. Two applications, and the seat still feels fine. And, it is a little less slick. I think it just needs miles now.

The 7 sisters ride is only 15 miles, but it does include a couple of thousand feet of climbing. During the ride, I saw the new Honda Insight being filmed for a commercial. We usually see at least a couple of commercials a year up there on Ridgecrest; this time it was a Honda. I took a not-very-good picture of it. It looks like a Prius, so now you don't need to see my photo. The CHP officer controlling traffic said it was a hybrid/electric kind of car. Very new world. Nice. Some day I will be able to get a Jeep like that I'm sure.

So that's it. Oh yeah, tri-tip steak for dinner. Very good off the ol' grill.

Home on the Mountain

I made it home! It was a long day. 14 hours of travel just to get to my jeep. Plus, I had to put up with this view as we flew into town:

I wrote the rest of the blog while flying in. Here it is...




My day started this morning at 4:55 a.m. so that I could make my 6:50 a.m. flight to Chicago and then SFO. Flying through Denver would have cost $350 more, so I figured leaving a bit early and arriving a bit later was probably okay.

Here is a picture of the gate (from my seat) before we took off. Oh yeah, it was still 30 below.



We took off almost on time, and it seemed like all was well until the pilot informed us that the flaps wouldn’t go up. You can’t fly very fast that way, so we had to go back to Winnipeg. Shortly after arriving, our flight was cancelled. Time to scramble.

First I booked a backup through Denver by calling United. New arrival time would be about 5:20 p.m. 4.5 hours later than I had hoped, but at least it was not too late.

Under Rule 240, United was obligated to rebook us on other airlines. They managed to get me on a flight to Calgary on Air Canada, with an expected arrival time in SFO of 3:12 p.m. – about 2.5 hours later than I had hoped, but better than 4.5 hours.

Here is a picture of the Calgary sprawl. Lots of McMansions down there. And the temperature was about 32F. Very nice!



For some reason Air Canada couldn’t issue me a boarding pass (back on a United Express/Air Canada codeshare flight out of Calgary) for me to go all the way to San Francisco, so I had to go to the ticket counter. Fortunately, the line was short, but unfortunately, the agent couldn’t find my ticket number (even though I had given her the United documentation). She asked “you don’t want to use your Chicago-SFO ticket?” Kind of confusing for me, since I was in Calgary and had asked for my Calgary-SFO boarding pass. Eventually, she figured it out and I re-checked myself in through U.S. Customs.

Arriving at the gate, the flight was delayed due to a late arriving aircraft. Okay, fine, just 15 minutes. Then the pilots did their walk-around and found a damaged tire. Here’s a picture of the pilot making his bad-tire discovery.



They told us they didn’t think they would be able to find a spare tire very quickly and they may have to cancel the flight. Time to scramble again.

I booked another backup through Denver, this time arriving at 7:30 p.m. Not good, but better than waiting for the next flight to SFO from Calgary at 7:15 p.m. and arriving at 9:30 p.m.

And then they found a spare wheel. Whew! I think it was in the trunk, actually. So, we are now flying to SFO and should arrive around 4:30 p.m. 3.25 hours late. I’m always amazed how many mountains there are in Montana and Idaho. Here’s a look:



Well, that’s the story. It could have been worse. Still, no time for a workout in the daylight. I guess I’ll probably take a rest day. Tomorrow will be a new, and hopefully, productive day.

Happy Birthday Daddo!

Today is my dad's birthday. He is 68, so still pretty young -- don't forget, he has signed on for the OKFree with my brother and me. That, by definition, is an indicator of youth.

So, Dad, this post is for you. Happy Birthday! I love you, and hope you had a great day (and got some training in :-)).

Minty Fresh in Winnipeg

Today started early. On the way into the plant at 5:40 a.m., and after covering the 100 yards into the wind, I was almost to the door when I realized that I had forgotten my coffee in the car. Normally this is not a big deal. Pick it up later. Don't worry about it. Pick some up in the cafeteria. Whatever.

This morning, at -40C and -40F, (and -50C or -58F wind chill) I couldn't do that. If I did, my coffee would freeze and my very excellent Nissan mug would have been destroyed by the expanding ice. So, I went back. It wasn't too bad with the wind, but on my return to the door (against the wind) my eyes started to tear up. And the tears started to freeze to my face. My vision blurred. I stumbled into a snow bank. All I could think about was sleep.... oh, wait, no. All that part after my tears freezing was what I was I was afraid was going to happen.

Actually, I made it back to the door, called security, and they let me in. And my day began. Here is a picture of the plant from the "Observation" floor. Making money for the World, 24x5. In this case, 5:46 a.m. on a Wednesday morning.

It's a Dry Cold

...and that doesn't help. Right now it is another very cold night in Winnipeg. -26C (-15F) right now and expected to go down to at least -29C (-20F). And there is a breeze. I don't know the wind chill but it is cold.

In fact, it was so cold this morning that school was cancelled for many of the kids riding buses. You don't want the kids standing at the end of the driveway waiting for a late bus. Frostbite is only a few minutes away at -50F wind chill.

I just went out to Safeway to buy some food. First step: Unplug the car. Then, my square little tires on my RIO made it out and back. Fortunately, when I got back I found another parking spot with a plug in. So, I plugged back in and scurried back up to my room. Here is a picture of the parking lot at the plant today:



You don't see parking lots like this in the U.S. that is for sure. Everyone plugs in, all winter, when they go to work, when they get home. when the go to Tim Horton's. Not really, at TH they sit in their cars and go through he drive-thru. It's a national problem for Canada. No kidding, national news.

Anyway, two more photos. Here is a shot of the ice in the sky while walking (brrr!) to Subway to get lunch.



And a shot out my hotel room window of the building next door. How's that for scenery.

What does -55F feel like?

I'm back from dinner. The temperature is bouncing between -34 and -35C. Wind chill is -48C, which is -55F. I understand it is 70 degrees at home...

It's a Travel Day

Off to Winnipeg.



It is -30C with a wind chill of -40C (same as -40F) as I sit in my hotel room posting this. Now to walk down the street for a quick bite. I promise not to lick an parking meters tonight.

Living in Paradise

Today we rode from home, through Muir Woods/Beach, Stinson Beach, and back up over the mountain. 29 miles of Brooks break-in time (and it's getting less slick, so that is progress). Here's a picture from the ride between Muir Beach and Stinson Beach. Truly one of the most beautiful paradises ever. Oh yeah, and it was about 62 degrees on the coast and 70 degrees on the mountain. The high at the Duck Shack was 71.8F at 4:21 p.m. January, it's not so bad!

Tomorrow I go back to Winnipeg. It will be good to get out of this perfect weather and back to the below zero temperatures. Just looked at the forecast. -27F tomorrow night. Perfect!