Thursday, September 12, 2013
Boulder is Flooding
We have water in our two bedrooms, nothing too terrible, but we'll probably have to get the carpets replaced, there are definitely people way worse off than us.
I did have the most terrifying drive to work ever. It started out with just rain and some sand and rocks on Highway 36. Then I turned onto mcaslin blvd which turns into dillon road. At the light where you can get onto northwest parkway, there were a bunch of cop cars and a fire truck pulled up while I was at the red light. As we drove around, I saw a bridge washed out on the business access road and a car was in the river ( which is usually a dry ditch) with its headlights still on, and I freaked out. I called Caley and and started crying etc. I made it a couple more miles before getting 3 flash flood warnings on my phone and running in to standing water in a low spot across I 25 before finally calling it quits and deciding I didn't want to die today. It actually took me quite a long time to get home because I avoided the car in the river intersection, then south boulder road was closed near our house. I finally, made it home on baseline, which is now closed and probably should have been when I was driving through the 2-3 inches of moving water on the road...
Holy crap I don't want to do this again tomorrow. Why the hell our school district isn't canceling classes is beyond me. It's still raining.
Caley and I took a little walk during one of the lulls in the rain earlier...here's what we saw, our little creek...
Monday, July 1, 2013
French TV Has it Figured Out!
You heard me right, French TV knows what's up. They have dedicated a solid 3 or so hours on Saturday nights to showing us YouTube clip after YouTube clip after Vimeo clip etc. etc. ad naseum.
I may be guilty of having watched about 2 hours of this...anyone who has ever fallen down the rabbit hole of YouTube will know why. In this format, you don't even have to expend the energy needed to select what to watch next, it just keeps coming!
I may be guilty of having watched about 2 hours of this...anyone who has ever fallen down the rabbit hole of YouTube will know why. In this format, you don't even have to expend the energy needed to select what to watch next, it just keeps coming!
Monday, June 17, 2013
Mountain Cows are LOUD!
A little video for you:
Caley and I saw these awesome cows on a truly fairy tale magical ride that led us up and up and up into a mountain valley that only the cows and the humans that milk them ever go.
The road pretty much disintegrated before ending in dirt and signs that told hikers how long until the next pass or landmark etc.
On the way back we passed a marker that was in memory of a young frenchman who was brutally "massacred" by the Germans. You see those everywhere here. It makes "The War" seem very present in everyones daily lives. I wonder how people feel about Germany basically holding the purse strings of the EU at the moment.
Here are some more pics!
Caley and I saw these awesome cows on a truly fairy tale magical ride that led us up and up and up into a mountain valley that only the cows and the humans that milk them ever go.
The road pretty much disintegrated before ending in dirt and signs that told hikers how long until the next pass or landmark etc.
On the way back we passed a marker that was in memory of a young frenchman who was brutally "massacred" by the Germans. You see those everywhere here. It makes "The War" seem very present in everyones daily lives. I wonder how people feel about Germany basically holding the purse strings of the EU at the moment.
Here are some more pics!
Friday, June 14, 2013
Riding in Italy Courtesy of Bianchi
Caley's job is super awesome.
The beginning part of this week we spent in grand splendor at a gorgeous hotel in the hills surrounding Lake Iseo in northern Italy.
Caley had to attend informational presentations about the 2014 line of Bianchi bikes while Ramsay and I went for a ride and then luxuriated in our tower rooms. Lunch, dinner, coffee breaks, bubbly rosé, cheese, cured meats, the CEO of Bianchi, gelato, crisp white sheets, windows opening to rolling hills of grapes, I could go on and on.
I rode with all the journos on the second day we were there and had some fun beating up on the guys who don't get to ride very much :) I also discovered after uploading our ride to strava, that I was only about 6 minutes off the QOM (queen of the mountain) which is held by Carmen Small! She is the daughter of my very best ski coach from childhood, and is currently kicking some serious ass in races all over. I'll have to get in touch with her to ask what she was doing in Italy in March :)
Last night we had dinner with Caitlyn Vestal again, Zack was at a work thing, and they had moved to a house out in the country. It was so beautiful!! We brought steaks, quail eggs, beer, and bocce. Great fun was had out in the yard before the thunder rolled in with sheets of rain following close behind. I'm super sad they are leaving tomorrow!!! We have discussed plans to move into houses across the street from each other in the French countryside.
Ok, here are some pics for your viewing pleasure!
The beginning part of this week we spent in grand splendor at a gorgeous hotel in the hills surrounding Lake Iseo in northern Italy.
Caley had to attend informational presentations about the 2014 line of Bianchi bikes while Ramsay and I went for a ride and then luxuriated in our tower rooms. Lunch, dinner, coffee breaks, bubbly rosé, cheese, cured meats, the CEO of Bianchi, gelato, crisp white sheets, windows opening to rolling hills of grapes, I could go on and on.
I rode with all the journos on the second day we were there and had some fun beating up on the guys who don't get to ride very much :) I also discovered after uploading our ride to strava, that I was only about 6 minutes off the QOM (queen of the mountain) which is held by Carmen Small! She is the daughter of my very best ski coach from childhood, and is currently kicking some serious ass in races all over. I'll have to get in touch with her to ask what she was doing in Italy in March :)
Last night we had dinner with Caitlyn Vestal again, Zack was at a work thing, and they had moved to a house out in the country. It was so beautiful!! We brought steaks, quail eggs, beer, and bocce. Great fun was had out in the yard before the thunder rolled in with sheets of rain following close behind. I'm super sad they are leaving tomorrow!!! We have discussed plans to move into houses across the street from each other in the French countryside.
Ok, here are some pics for your viewing pleasure!
Monday, June 10, 2013
Summer Continues to Tease
I'm not convinced it will ever get warm in the Alpes this year. Today dawned with more rain on top of yesterdays downpours. Caley and Ramsay kicked me out of the house yesterday afternoon so they could clean in time for someone to come look at the apartment to rent it in September (thank you sincerely boys). So I got in a great run! I started out hiking up the hill behind our house to warm up, and as soon as I got onto the Col de Leschaux road I started running. At one point I considered trying to go all the way up and call someone to come get me, but then it started to sprinkle....and then downpour! I hid under some trees for about 10 minutes or so, but finally just gave up and headed back down the hill. The clouds were actually a bit thinner and I ran out of the main part of the storm. Ended up being about 5 miles in about an hour. I can understand why Caley is frustrated by the speed of running...
The past few days we've been trying to get on our bikes when the weather allows and Caley has been covering the Dauphine. I went with him down to the area near Alpe D'Huez on Saturday, fully intending to ride the climb, but we ended up napping in the car and coming straight home :) It was an early morning, the race was supposed to start at 9am! Usually they don't get rolling until at least 2pm or so. I think some of the riders were protesting...they hadn't even left the busses at about 5 till 9.
Someday last week, I can't even remember the day, Ramsay and I rode over Col du Leschaux to meet up with the race as it came through the little town of Cluse. We sort of raced each other. Let's just say a lot of trash talking was had....apparently Ramsay needs more of a warm up or something like that (excuses!!) We sat at our favorite patisserie and had coffees and ate sandwiches while we waiting for the racers. Here's when they finally came through:
Caley rode his bike home and I drove sag for him. Of course, he didn't just go home, had to make a detour to the top of Le Semnoz, the local gigantic climb. Ramsay and I had fun blasting the stereo in the car for him and of course doing a little heckling out the window. Caley is freaking fast on the bike, in case you weren't aware. I never get to really see how fast when we ride together because he rides at a speed that I can keep up with... There are some pics in the gallery at the bottom of the page from that ride.
Let's see...we spent a lovely evening in downtown Annecy last week, we hadn't been down there for awhile. Of course we ran into awesome live jazz on the canal...
Other than that we've been eating delicious food, watching a lot of the French Open on tv, trying to find internet, etc. I finally dug into some school stuff and I'm spending a lot of time thinking about the classroom flipping stuff, now to actually DO IT!
The past few days we've been trying to get on our bikes when the weather allows and Caley has been covering the Dauphine. I went with him down to the area near Alpe D'Huez on Saturday, fully intending to ride the climb, but we ended up napping in the car and coming straight home :) It was an early morning, the race was supposed to start at 9am! Usually they don't get rolling until at least 2pm or so. I think some of the riders were protesting...they hadn't even left the busses at about 5 till 9.
Someday last week, I can't even remember the day, Ramsay and I rode over Col du Leschaux to meet up with the race as it came through the little town of Cluse. We sort of raced each other. Let's just say a lot of trash talking was had....apparently Ramsay needs more of a warm up or something like that (excuses!!) We sat at our favorite patisserie and had coffees and ate sandwiches while we waiting for the racers. Here's when they finally came through:
Let's see...we spent a lovely evening in downtown Annecy last week, we hadn't been down there for awhile. Of course we ran into awesome live jazz on the canal...
Other than that we've been eating delicious food, watching a lot of the French Open on tv, trying to find internet, etc. I finally dug into some school stuff and I'm spending a lot of time thinking about the classroom flipping stuff, now to actually DO IT!
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Hanging Out and the Dauphine
We've definitely been packing in the fun the past few days; as it should be!
Saturday we had the Vestals over for dinner, funny how we have to come half way around the world to find time to hang out with our friends :) Zack works for Mavic, and Caitlyn got some vacation time away so they're here for about two weeks. Dinner was awesome, they are so much fun to hang out with! In fact, we're going over to their place tonight. I hope we get to do some riding with them as well, Caitlyn is super fast at the moment, which is not unusual in the slightest...she just got 4th in some big mtn bike race in Colorado. Hopefully they won't be too annoyed at waiting for me.
The Dauphine started this week as well. We went to the first stage in Champery Switzerland. It was fun to see a grand tour that isn't as insane as the Tour. Some video clips for your enjoyment:
Saturday we had the Vestals over for dinner, funny how we have to come half way around the world to find time to hang out with our friends :) Zack works for Mavic, and Caitlyn got some vacation time away so they're here for about two weeks. Dinner was awesome, they are so much fun to hang out with! In fact, we're going over to their place tonight. I hope we get to do some riding with them as well, Caitlyn is super fast at the moment, which is not unusual in the slightest...she just got 4th in some big mtn bike race in Colorado. Hopefully they won't be too annoyed at waiting for me.
The Dauphine started this week as well. We went to the first stage in Champery Switzerland. It was fun to see a grand tour that isn't as insane as the Tour. Some video clips for your enjoyment:
Today we caught up with the time trial, apparently Contador had a super bad race....I wasn't really paying attention :) Caley was a little disappointed, apparently there weren't really any new bikes being debuted. He thought there would be more new stuff to get pictures of. We did get to hang out with Simon and Tom from some British cycling company, don't remember the name. We had them over for dinner last night as well. It's so fun to know people in different countries, I invited them back for when the Tour passes through the area, we'll have to track down more chairs...
Other than that, we've been reading, riding, writing, bocce playing, cooking, sightseeing, and generally enjoying life!
Here are some pics, I will try to caption them as the internet allows..:)
Thursday, May 30, 2013
First Week Back in Euroland!!
We're back!!!!! And it is so cold and rainy!!!
I landed in Milan last Monday, Caley and Ramsay picked me up in the still Giro be-stickered (akin to bedazzled) Renault Megane wagon. That car has some serious pick up and some serious room. We had to fit my bike box, two small rollies, and a backpack (and a purse) into the car. They already had about two bags each, plus Caley's Mosaic. So yeah, the person in the back seat was nice and cozy. You could definitely tell that at least two, and at times three, bros had been living out of that car for about a month....
First stop was the Mediterranean We dipped our toes, scarfed some crappy tourist trap pizza, then checked in to a sweet Residensia hotel. We had a stove, dishwasher, clothes washer, table chairs and couch in the room. Perfect for Caley who has been eating out for a month. A quick trip to the store produced a chicken for roasting, potatoes, tomatoes, fresh salad and some insanely cheap Campari (according to Ramsay). We feasted and conversed late into the night.
Second day dawned with misty rain (oops, we left the laundry on the balcony). We headed west along the coast, then cut up into Provence headed for Le Coquillade. Seriously fancy. Wine tasting in the caves followed by dinner in a Michelin starred restaurant accompanied by the best and brightest of the cycling tech industry folks topped off an incredible 24 hours in Europe.
On Wednesday Caley headed off for a ride on the new BMC, the entire reason we were there in the first place. Ramsay and I took off to explore the vineyards, ruining our shoes tramping around in the woods and the mud, but the views and the fresh air were definitely worth it. By the time Caley was doen riding and eating lunch with the surprise "guest of honor" (Cadel Evans...) we were ready to head North to Annecy. The drive was pretty painless, just long. After checking in to the hotel, we headed in to one of our favorite restaurants in downtown Annecy, le Belle Excuse. Salads as big as your head! Bigger in fact!
And today! We moved in to our house!!!!!!! It is incredible!!!!!!!! I didn't take pictures in time to add them to this blog post, but I will update with some soon!
I seriously can't wait to get settled and start riding every day. It is still very early spring here, the mountains still have fresh snow on them from last nights epic rain, and it is chilly! We are in the Alps, so I guess it makes sense...Next week the weather is supposed to be in the mid 60's though, so hopefully we'll get out for some good rides.
Caley has the Dauphine this week, not sure if Ramsay and I will go with him to the race, but he gets to ride the train to the start, and come home to sleep in his own bed each night, that is a treat for sure.
I landed in Milan last Monday, Caley and Ramsay picked me up in the still Giro be-stickered (akin to bedazzled) Renault Megane wagon. That car has some serious pick up and some serious room. We had to fit my bike box, two small rollies, and a backpack (and a purse) into the car. They already had about two bags each, plus Caley's Mosaic. So yeah, the person in the back seat was nice and cozy. You could definitely tell that at least two, and at times three, bros had been living out of that car for about a month....
First stop was the Mediterranean We dipped our toes, scarfed some crappy tourist trap pizza, then checked in to a sweet Residensia hotel. We had a stove, dishwasher, clothes washer, table chairs and couch in the room. Perfect for Caley who has been eating out for a month. A quick trip to the store produced a chicken for roasting, potatoes, tomatoes, fresh salad and some insanely cheap Campari (according to Ramsay). We feasted and conversed late into the night.
Second day dawned with misty rain (oops, we left the laundry on the balcony). We headed west along the coast, then cut up into Provence headed for Le Coquillade. Seriously fancy. Wine tasting in the caves followed by dinner in a Michelin starred restaurant accompanied by the best and brightest of the cycling tech industry folks topped off an incredible 24 hours in Europe.
On Wednesday Caley headed off for a ride on the new BMC, the entire reason we were there in the first place. Ramsay and I took off to explore the vineyards, ruining our shoes tramping around in the woods and the mud, but the views and the fresh air were definitely worth it. By the time Caley was doen riding and eating lunch with the surprise "guest of honor" (Cadel Evans...) we were ready to head North to Annecy. The drive was pretty painless, just long. After checking in to the hotel, we headed in to one of our favorite restaurants in downtown Annecy, le Belle Excuse. Salads as big as your head! Bigger in fact!
And today! We moved in to our house!!!!!!! It is incredible!!!!!!!! I didn't take pictures in time to add them to this blog post, but I will update with some soon!
I seriously can't wait to get settled and start riding every day. It is still very early spring here, the mountains still have fresh snow on them from last nights epic rain, and it is chilly! We are in the Alps, so I guess it makes sense...Next week the weather is supposed to be in the mid 60's though, so hopefully we'll get out for some good rides.
Caley has the Dauphine this week, not sure if Ramsay and I will go with him to the race, but he gets to ride the train to the start, and come home to sleep in his own bed each night, that is a treat for sure.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
First Semester Reflections
My second year of teaching has been incomparable to the first in so many ways. I feel like I have found a community here at Horizon; I am not shoved into a back corner office that no one can find, I am not on my own to plan each day and muddle through the curriculum map "draft," we actually do labs and share in the set up and take down, and I'm not worried that my students will go sprinting from the room slamming the door and yelling obscenities as they exit. So yeah, completely different experience. And did I mention the commute has been cut it half?
First semester I had 3 sections of freshman general Biology and one section of upper class men Ecology. This semester I switched out Ecology for Astronomy and kept all my freshman. It's still a constant struggle for me to remember that the freshman are shock full of hormones and their craziness, mood swings, and total lack of regard for others really isn't there fault. Most times they are sweet and funny, and make my days interesting always.
Thanksgiving was spent in Steamboat this year with Caley's coworker Matt and his family. What a wonderful, loving, welcoming family! We spend many happy hours eating, talking, drinking good wine, and we even made a trip up to the Strawberry Hotsprings :)
We did not get a Fall break this year, so no amazing Euro adventure, but we did head down to Durango for Christmas. We skied a few times, got together with high school classmates, and had plenty of relaxation time just hanging at the house. Mom and Dad are doing well. Mom still working at the high school with the special ed kids, and Dad actually just quit his job....that was a bit of a surprise. I think it was a good move for him, he seems happier, less stressed out, and I think he is taking some time to figure out what he would be happy doing before jumping straight into the next thing. In other big home news, they have jumped in the the 21st century with an Ipad!! What??!! Now I hear they are thinking about getting a smartphone! Mind you, not two smart phones, just one...
Caley's brother came to visit after our Durango trip, and even though all three of us traded off being sick/injured over the week that he was here, we still managed to have a fantastic time! We made it up to Copper and Winter Park the last weekend of his stay, and got in some great turns. I'm still rockin' out on the tele set up, although I still don't have boots...so we have to rent, and I'm positive that buying my own boots would be a huuuge improvement. Despite the boots, I think I'm getting better; I can link more turns at a time before having to stop to huff and puff and rest my screaming thighs :)
Caley and I are enjoying our time here in Boulder, I think we've finally adjusted to "The Bubble." Caley definitely wants me to keep searching for a teaching position here, and I begrudgingly agree, mostly because I don't think it's guaranteed that I will be full time next year at my current school, and to keep the KSTF Fellowship, I will need to be full time next year.
Welllll, I guess that mostly brings us up to speed, here are some pictures from over Christmas break! Enjoy!
First semester I had 3 sections of freshman general Biology and one section of upper class men Ecology. This semester I switched out Ecology for Astronomy and kept all my freshman. It's still a constant struggle for me to remember that the freshman are shock full of hormones and their craziness, mood swings, and total lack of regard for others really isn't there fault. Most times they are sweet and funny, and make my days interesting always.
Thanksgiving was spent in Steamboat this year with Caley's coworker Matt and his family. What a wonderful, loving, welcoming family! We spend many happy hours eating, talking, drinking good wine, and we even made a trip up to the Strawberry Hotsprings :)
We did not get a Fall break this year, so no amazing Euro adventure, but we did head down to Durango for Christmas. We skied a few times, got together with high school classmates, and had plenty of relaxation time just hanging at the house. Mom and Dad are doing well. Mom still working at the high school with the special ed kids, and Dad actually just quit his job....that was a bit of a surprise. I think it was a good move for him, he seems happier, less stressed out, and I think he is taking some time to figure out what he would be happy doing before jumping straight into the next thing. In other big home news, they have jumped in the the 21st century with an Ipad!! What??!! Now I hear they are thinking about getting a smartphone! Mind you, not two smart phones, just one...
Caley's brother came to visit after our Durango trip, and even though all three of us traded off being sick/injured over the week that he was here, we still managed to have a fantastic time! We made it up to Copper and Winter Park the last weekend of his stay, and got in some great turns. I'm still rockin' out on the tele set up, although I still don't have boots...so we have to rent, and I'm positive that buying my own boots would be a huuuge improvement. Despite the boots, I think I'm getting better; I can link more turns at a time before having to stop to huff and puff and rest my screaming thighs :)
Caley and I are enjoying our time here in Boulder, I think we've finally adjusted to "The Bubble." Caley definitely wants me to keep searching for a teaching position here, and I begrudgingly agree, mostly because I don't think it's guaranteed that I will be full time next year at my current school, and to keep the KSTF Fellowship, I will need to be full time next year.
Welllll, I guess that mostly brings us up to speed, here are some pictures from over Christmas break! Enjoy!
Sunday, December 23, 2012
End of the Tour Recap
It's been awhile since I posted....French internet woes and then school started and there was no hope. But, now it is glorious Winter Break and I have time to breath, so I thought I'd go ahead and catch up on blogs!
The gallery below is of pics from the end of the Tour and my first few days in Paris. Seeing the final circuit on the Champs Elysee was incredible, the crowds were huge, and all the Brits went insane at the end when it became official that Wiggins had won. Crazy Brits :)
Enjoy!
The gallery below is of pics from the end of the Tour and my first few days in Paris. Seeing the final circuit on the Champs Elysee was incredible, the crowds were huge, and all the Brits went insane at the end when it became official that Wiggins had won. Crazy Brits :)
Enjoy!
Saturday, July 14, 2012
My First Day of the Tour!!!!
Caley and I took the train bright at early to the start town of....um....I forget....Anyway, we met up with the other Velo guys there. Caley took off to go take some pics, and I got to watch the caravan arrive! Talk about nuts, I took a bunch of pictures, so hopefully some of it was captured :)
We then hopped in the car and took off! It was soooo cool, we got to drive the course in front of the riders, so all the roads were closed, and the fans were awesome! Again, I took a bunch of pics and videos to try to capture it. The big climb that day was Col du la Grand Columbiere, and it was huge!
As soon as we landed in the finish town, I took off to the train station to get myself home in time to get to the grocery store because we had invited everyone over for dinner that night! Talk about go go go, as soon as I got home, I had to book it over to the store, did my most efficient shopping trip yet, and then back home where I am not kidding, cooked for a solid 3.5hrs until everyone arrived! The timing was perfect though, I was finishing grilling the last few pieces of baguette as they walked in the door, and the pork loin was ready right about 30 minutes after that! Whoooo hoooo!!!
The menu:
Romesco and whole roasted garlic bulbs (is this the right term?) with baguette
White bean salad
Pork loin with peach chutney
Unfortunately no time for dessert and I totally forgot to take pictures!
We then hopped in the car and took off! It was soooo cool, we got to drive the course in front of the riders, so all the roads were closed, and the fans were awesome! Again, I took a bunch of pics and videos to try to capture it. The big climb that day was Col du la Grand Columbiere, and it was huge!
As soon as we landed in the finish town, I took off to the train station to get myself home in time to get to the grocery store because we had invited everyone over for dinner that night! Talk about go go go, as soon as I got home, I had to book it over to the store, did my most efficient shopping trip yet, and then back home where I am not kidding, cooked for a solid 3.5hrs until everyone arrived! The timing was perfect though, I was finishing grilling the last few pieces of baguette as they walked in the door, and the pork loin was ready right about 30 minutes after that! Whoooo hoooo!!!
The menu:
Romesco and whole roasted garlic bulbs (is this the right term?) with baguette
White bean salad
Pork loin with peach chutney
Unfortunately no time for dessert and I totally forgot to take pictures!
One Day at Home!
After the Gran Fondo, we had one day at home, and we spent it preparing for the Tour!
Caley got a haircut, from Sebastian :)
And then we went shopping, whoa!
Caley's Gran Fondo
After our stay on the Mediterranean we headed north to a town just outside of Cuneo, Italy! We arrived two days before the actual race, so much less stressful that way. We found a neat little town to have dinner in, and ended up going back there all the nights we were there. The main square was hopping! Several bars were blasting music outside, it was like they were competing to drown each other out. Kind of funny since it was all weird techno house music.
The day before the race we went to Cuneo to pick up Caleys race stuff, and I got to meet the legendary Claudia who was running an incredible PR operation for the race, and who Caley has met several times at product launches. After that we got ourselves out for a short ride around our hotel, even though it was only an hour, it was lovely!
The day of the race we were up super early just in case we had trouble finding parking etc. There were roughly 2000 participants! I waited with Caley at the start line until it was time to go, then headed back to our hotel for a nap before coming to meet him at the finish line, at what I thought was going to be about 6 hrs.....Turns out, the race took him almost 8! Poor guy! Turns out he wasn't quite prepared nutritionally for how hard and fast it was :( I haven't found out where he ended up, but he definitely could have placed higher with better planning.
Thankfully we had the hotel for another night, it would have been brutal to drive home after that. The next morning we took our time, and had a glorious drive home over the Alpes! We opted to go over the mountains rather than through them. Before coming to Europe, I thought the Eisenhower Tunnel was long....not true at all! Last fall we went through a tunnel that took us about 20mins going 70kph, and the one we could have gone through to get home was even longer. Plus, they are often toll roads, I think you have to pay about 40euros for this one! I'm soooo glad we went over, the views were stunning! About halfway over one mountain we decided to get out and hiked up a little rise for a quick snack picnic and picture taking opportunities. I didn't get that many pics, Caley has most of them on his big camera, I'll try to steal some in the next few days to put up here. But in the meantime, here you go!
The day before the race we went to Cuneo to pick up Caleys race stuff, and I got to meet the legendary Claudia who was running an incredible PR operation for the race, and who Caley has met several times at product launches. After that we got ourselves out for a short ride around our hotel, even though it was only an hour, it was lovely!
The day of the race we were up super early just in case we had trouble finding parking etc. There were roughly 2000 participants! I waited with Caley at the start line until it was time to go, then headed back to our hotel for a nap before coming to meet him at the finish line, at what I thought was going to be about 6 hrs.....Turns out, the race took him almost 8! Poor guy! Turns out he wasn't quite prepared nutritionally for how hard and fast it was :( I haven't found out where he ended up, but he definitely could have placed higher with better planning.
Thankfully we had the hotel for another night, it would have been brutal to drive home after that. The next morning we took our time, and had a glorious drive home over the Alpes! We opted to go over the mountains rather than through them. Before coming to Europe, I thought the Eisenhower Tunnel was long....not true at all! Last fall we went through a tunnel that took us about 20mins going 70kph, and the one we could have gone through to get home was even longer. Plus, they are often toll roads, I think you have to pay about 40euros for this one! I'm soooo glad we went over, the views were stunning! About halfway over one mountain we decided to get out and hiked up a little rise for a quick snack picnic and picture taking opportunities. I didn't get that many pics, Caley has most of them on his big camera, I'll try to steal some in the next few days to put up here. But in the meantime, here you go!
Gotta Blog Before I Forget!
Sorry it's been so long for an update! We've been traveling, and my two online classes started last week, so I've been trying to focus on them. Speaking of which, I think their expectations of 4 SUBSTANTIVE posts are a little outrageous when they are asking level 1 thinking questions...it's hard to dig in to a question that just has a factual answer....
Anyway, I wanted this update to be about our trip to the Med! After climbing Alpe D'Huez, we headed pretty much straight south. The plan had been to stop and climb Mt Ventoux, but we woke up too late, and Caley had forgotten what day it was and had a column due...oops! So I drove, he wrote, and we aimed for the sea! It was really fun seeing some of the same places we did in October, but in their full summertime splendor! It was the week before all the kids got out for school, so still not as insanely crowded as things will be this weekend. Caley had the brilliant idea of trying to find the same beach that he visited with his family 10 years ago; it was so nice they stayed for a few more days than they had originally planned to. It took awhile to remember the name of the place, but we figured it out, and I'm sooo glad we did! We ended up staying too nights at a nice little campground about a 5 min walk from the beach. Camping in Europe is pretty hilarious. You get electricity, and our plot even had a refrigerator you could connect. They have sinks for washing dishes, and showers (with hot water at certain hours of the day). Some even have restaurants or bars that you can hang out at. Many have pools! You're not exactly roughing it...
We got out for a bike ride on the bike path that followed the coast. Our legs felt like total crap after Alpe D'Huez, so it was a good thing we got out....Caley's Gran Fondo was up next!
Here are some pics from that part of the trip!
And a video of a typical driving scene :)
Anyway, I wanted this update to be about our trip to the Med! After climbing Alpe D'Huez, we headed pretty much straight south. The plan had been to stop and climb Mt Ventoux, but we woke up too late, and Caley had forgotten what day it was and had a column due...oops! So I drove, he wrote, and we aimed for the sea! It was really fun seeing some of the same places we did in October, but in their full summertime splendor! It was the week before all the kids got out for school, so still not as insanely crowded as things will be this weekend. Caley had the brilliant idea of trying to find the same beach that he visited with his family 10 years ago; it was so nice they stayed for a few more days than they had originally planned to. It took awhile to remember the name of the place, but we figured it out, and I'm sooo glad we did! We ended up staying too nights at a nice little campground about a 5 min walk from the beach. Camping in Europe is pretty hilarious. You get electricity, and our plot even had a refrigerator you could connect. They have sinks for washing dishes, and showers (with hot water at certain hours of the day). Some even have restaurants or bars that you can hang out at. Many have pools! You're not exactly roughing it...
We got out for a bike ride on the bike path that followed the coast. Our legs felt like total crap after Alpe D'Huez, so it was a good thing we got out....Caley's Gran Fondo was up next!
Here are some pics from that part of the trip!
And a video of a typical driving scene :)
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Climbing Alpe D'Huez!
Oh. my. goodness. Today was absolutely awesome!!!!!!!!
Caley returned home after a week at the tour last night. Well, I guess it was a week away, not all at the Tour, he was doing some product launches etc etc...not really that sure. I met him down at the train station, and we grabbed some dinner downtown before taking the nocti bus home (love that nocti bus!!) This morning dawned bright and early at 9am, seriously milking the sleep-in time of summer...that is 4 whole hours more of sleeping than I get during the school year! We headed downtown, picked up our super awesome diesel Renault Clio rental car, packed it up and headed South! First stop, Alpe D'Huez!! !!!!!!
Caley decided he wanted to go a little faster than me (and by a little, I mean a lot) so we said goodbye at the bottom and I was on my own. Except I wasn't! There were hundreds of cyclists out riding! I haven't passed so many people in years! :) The first bit of the climb is super steep, even with the switchbacks. I was passed by a group of three gooney guys, tried to stick to them for awhile, but failed. Then a pretty in-shape girl passed me and I decided to stick with her, about two switchbacks later (they are labeled by number) she cracked! Whoo, go me! I also passed a guy and his girlfriend, and guess who couldn't take being passed by a girl....he caught up to me and we chatted for awhile, turns out he reads Caley's stuff online! I felt like a celebrity-by-proxy :) When Caley got to the top he turned around and came back to climb the rest with me. I was expecting to see him on about switchback 10 or 11 of 21 (remember, they are labeled...) but I didn't see him until switchback 4 to go! I felt pretty good the whole climb (and Caley admittedly felt terrible, but I'll take it).
Here are some pictures! Sorry for any repeats, or near repeats, I kind of just throw them all up here.
Caley returned home after a week at the tour last night. Well, I guess it was a week away, not all at the Tour, he was doing some product launches etc etc...not really that sure. I met him down at the train station, and we grabbed some dinner downtown before taking the nocti bus home (love that nocti bus!!) This morning dawned bright and early at 9am, seriously milking the sleep-in time of summer...that is 4 whole hours more of sleeping than I get during the school year! We headed downtown, picked up our super awesome diesel Renault Clio rental car, packed it up and headed South! First stop, Alpe D'Huez!! !!!!!!
Caley decided he wanted to go a little faster than me (and by a little, I mean a lot) so we said goodbye at the bottom and I was on my own. Except I wasn't! There were hundreds of cyclists out riding! I haven't passed so many people in years! :) The first bit of the climb is super steep, even with the switchbacks. I was passed by a group of three gooney guys, tried to stick to them for awhile, but failed. Then a pretty in-shape girl passed me and I decided to stick with her, about two switchbacks later (they are labeled by number) she cracked! Whoo, go me! I also passed a guy and his girlfriend, and guess who couldn't take being passed by a girl....he caught up to me and we chatted for awhile, turns out he reads Caley's stuff online! I felt like a celebrity-by-proxy :) When Caley got to the top he turned around and came back to climb the rest with me. I was expecting to see him on about switchback 10 or 11 of 21 (remember, they are labeled...) but I didn't see him until switchback 4 to go! I felt pretty good the whole climb (and Caley admittedly felt terrible, but I'll take it).
Here are some pictures! Sorry for any repeats, or near repeats, I kind of just throw them all up here.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Goodbye Lonesome George
I heard about this about a week ago, but it is still bugging me, so I thought I'd share.
The last living Pinta Island Galapagos giant tortoise, Lonesome George, passed away in captivity in Ecuador on 6/26/12. I've been studying so much about evolution and taught the evolution unit last in school, so this news hit particularly close to home. Caley can testify, I definitely cried. While other subspecies of the galapagos tortoises still exist, this subspecies is now extinct, and the other populations are classified as vulnerable. Hopefully I can find a way to impress upon my students the need to preserve and protect this earth and its inhabitants.
The last living Pinta Island Galapagos giant tortoise, Lonesome George, passed away in captivity in Ecuador on 6/26/12. I've been studying so much about evolution and taught the evolution unit last in school, so this news hit particularly close to home. Caley can testify, I definitely cried. While other subspecies of the galapagos tortoises still exist, this subspecies is now extinct, and the other populations are classified as vulnerable. Hopefully I can find a way to impress upon my students the need to preserve and protect this earth and its inhabitants.
Goodbye George
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Occupying Myself
The past few days, Caley has been out of town for pre Tour, and then le premier jour de la Tour de France au jour'dui!! Pardon any misspelled Franglish...that's how I get by :)
I've been trying to get out on my bike, and so far I've only taken two days off, I think...I'm not sure, the days kind of melt together, I'll probably be shocked when Caley walks through the door next week, thinking he was going to be gone longer or something.
My first big ride this past week took me up to awesome climbs, the first gave me stunning views of the lake and all the para sailors, the second was up one of our favorite roads with beautiful luscious switchbacks. My second big ride took me up to the top of Semnoz which we've ridden before, but came up the other way, it was suuuch a long climb and very hot in the sun, almost ran out of water! So I treated myself to some gelato and an espresso at the restaurant at the top.
One night I hiked up the hill by our house and stumbled upon a little jazz concert! Sooo cool, and a very pretty setting.
Other than that, I've been hanging out at the lake some, and there is always a ton going on :) So many people! Annecy is quite the tourist attraction, for good reason.
I've been trying to get out on my bike, and so far I've only taken two days off, I think...I'm not sure, the days kind of melt together, I'll probably be shocked when Caley walks through the door next week, thinking he was going to be gone longer or something.
My first big ride this past week took me up to awesome climbs, the first gave me stunning views of the lake and all the para sailors, the second was up one of our favorite roads with beautiful luscious switchbacks. My second big ride took me up to the top of Semnoz which we've ridden before, but came up the other way, it was suuuch a long climb and very hot in the sun, almost ran out of water! So I treated myself to some gelato and an espresso at the restaurant at the top.
One night I hiked up the hill by our house and stumbled upon a little jazz concert! Sooo cool, and a very pretty setting.
Other than that, I've been hanging out at the lake some, and there is always a ton going on :) So many people! Annecy is quite the tourist attraction, for good reason.
Monday, June 25, 2012
So Much Bike Riding!
I haven't ridden my bike this much in years! Seriously! It's awesome :) The legs are toast today after a 13 hr week (actually 3 days) and I feel like I've earned a day to sit in the coffee shop and get some work done for my fellowship and maybe even a little school stuff...or maybe I'll wait a little longer before diving back in...
Two days ago, Caley and I went on a totally epic 5+ hr day. Proof:
The only thing that got me through was the thought of a swim in the lake and a big juicy hamburger!! We filled both cravings, ending up a nice little cafe to watch the Euro 2012 France vs Spain game. We also discovered the Noctibus (late bus) which means we can stay downtown later than 9pm without having to walk home! Yay!
Photos and video from the ride up Glieres:
Yesterday Caley and I climbed up le Semnoz, a big hill right outside of Annecy. There is a little ski area at the top, and they have nordic in the winter as well! Talk about a stunning 360 degree view of the Alpes. I felt like we were somewhere near Aspen or Vail, it felt that alpine, and there was a delicious cold breeze at the top. Caley gave me a very misleading estimate of where the top of the climb was....a couple of times....as the videos show you, I was soooooo tired from the day before, and barely crawling up the hill :)
Tomorrow Caley heads to the Tour! It won't start until July, but he is going to a couple product launches before hand, and I will be here in Annecy. My plan is to keep riding enough so that when Caley gets back and we head down south for another adventure, I will kick his butt up Mt Ventoux! (hahahah, right, not in a million years)
Two days ago, Caley and I went on a totally epic 5+ hr day. Proof:
Photos and video from the ride up Glieres:
Yesterday Caley and I climbed up le Semnoz, a big hill right outside of Annecy. There is a little ski area at the top, and they have nordic in the winter as well! Talk about a stunning 360 degree view of the Alpes. I felt like we were somewhere near Aspen or Vail, it felt that alpine, and there was a delicious cold breeze at the top. Caley gave me a very misleading estimate of where the top of the climb was....a couple of times....as the videos show you, I was soooooo tired from the day before, and barely crawling up the hill :)
Tomorrow Caley heads to the Tour! It won't start until July, but he is going to a couple product launches before hand, and I will be here in Annecy. My plan is to keep riding enough so that when Caley gets back and we head down south for another adventure, I will kick his butt up Mt Ventoux! (hahahah, right, not in a million years)
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Click here for a little snippet of our day :) Or view below, I was on my phone and couldn't figure out how to imbed videos at the time
Friday, June 22, 2012
Back Home
I better be careful, or this place really will become home....
Our last day and a half in Venice was just as wonderful and magical as the first 1.5 were. Totally exhausted from our first full day of wanderings, we took it pretty slow, waking up just in time to get down to the breakfast part of our "bed and breakfast" hotel, hanging out at the hotel for a few hours so Caley could work,even taking naps during the hottest part of the afternoon. Our big event was a Vivaldi Concert performed in a beautiful old church. Another favorite sighting of the day was an incredible church we stumbled upon that was made entirely of different colored marble. I'll try to add captions to my photos, but I counted at LEAST 10 different colors of marble. We didn't go inside because you had to pay, and I don't think my skirt covered my knees = too scandalous to be allowed, Oh Catholics...
The Vivaldi concert was so amazing. They played the Four Seasons, then a few other brief pieces from other Venetian composers, but my favorites of the whole night were the three encore pieces! The soloist was soooo passionate, had greased back hair, eyelashes so dark it looked like he was wearing eyeliner, and as Caley put it, it looked like he was making love to that violin :) Hahaha, SO Italian! His last piece broke a bunch of strings on his bow, what an entertaining performance!
Now we are back in Annecy, and still don't have internet...we missed the phone call from the service provider to set up yet another appointment...and they haven't called back today. I'm so unbelievably frustrated by this complete ineptitude and ridiculousness! They make Comcast look like business of the Year! Caley says I just have to adjust my expectations...
We had a great ride up Col de la Forclaz, a former Tour de France climb! There were a bunch of names painted on the road from previous tours. Unfortunately they don't go up this year, but they do go up another one nearby that is a Hors Categorie! We are going to ride it at some point, but I think I need a few more rides in my legs before we try it. At the end of the ride we stopped to take a swim in the lake. I have never seen a lake that is so clear and clean as this one! Something about the rocks that the rivers flow through before getting here filters the water, and gives it this absolutely gorgeous turquoise color that reminds me of the Mediterranean, just surrounded by Alpes.
Ok, enough rambling, here's what you've all been waiting for, some pics!
Also, here is a taste of the Vivaldi Concert. Caley was recording a bit of the encore for some work live update test thingy, but I'm going to borrow it for here :)
Our last day and a half in Venice was just as wonderful and magical as the first 1.5 were. Totally exhausted from our first full day of wanderings, we took it pretty slow, waking up just in time to get down to the breakfast part of our "bed and breakfast" hotel, hanging out at the hotel for a few hours so Caley could work,even taking naps during the hottest part of the afternoon. Our big event was a Vivaldi Concert performed in a beautiful old church. Another favorite sighting of the day was an incredible church we stumbled upon that was made entirely of different colored marble. I'll try to add captions to my photos, but I counted at LEAST 10 different colors of marble. We didn't go inside because you had to pay, and I don't think my skirt covered my knees = too scandalous to be allowed, Oh Catholics...
The Vivaldi concert was so amazing. They played the Four Seasons, then a few other brief pieces from other Venetian composers, but my favorites of the whole night were the three encore pieces! The soloist was soooo passionate, had greased back hair, eyelashes so dark it looked like he was wearing eyeliner, and as Caley put it, it looked like he was making love to that violin :) Hahaha, SO Italian! His last piece broke a bunch of strings on his bow, what an entertaining performance!
Now we are back in Annecy, and still don't have internet...we missed the phone call from the service provider to set up yet another appointment...and they haven't called back today. I'm so unbelievably frustrated by this complete ineptitude and ridiculousness! They make Comcast look like business of the Year! Caley says I just have to adjust my expectations...
We had a great ride up Col de la Forclaz, a former Tour de France climb! There were a bunch of names painted on the road from previous tours. Unfortunately they don't go up this year, but they do go up another one nearby that is a Hors Categorie! We are going to ride it at some point, but I think I need a few more rides in my legs before we try it. At the end of the ride we stopped to take a swim in the lake. I have never seen a lake that is so clear and clean as this one! Something about the rocks that the rivers flow through before getting here filters the water, and gives it this absolutely gorgeous turquoise color that reminds me of the Mediterranean, just surrounded by Alpes.
Ok, enough rambling, here's what you've all been waiting for, some pics!
Also, here is a taste of the Vivaldi Concert. Caley was recording a bit of the encore for some work live update test thingy, but I'm going to borrow it for here :)
Monday, June 18, 2012
Make Your Decisions with Radness-Factor in Mind
Wise words from my love over an incredible dinner right on the water in Venice. After a day full of wandering, gelato, magical bridges, hidden palazzos and churches, I couldn't help but marvel at how far we've come in the last 2 years. I used to have a five year plan....needless to say, I had absolutely no idea we would be here, together, embarking on the most fantastic summer of our lives.
A gallery of our wanderings for your viewing pleasure:
We stopped on one bridge after hearing music echoing down the canyon of buildings
I took this video as we reached the water after getting endlessly lost in the multitude of tiny alley ways that snake all over the island
This next video was at dinner, how impossibly romantic! We were trying to be sneaky so we didn't have to pay the guy to keep playing just for us :)
A gallery of our wanderings for your viewing pleasure:
We stopped on one bridge after hearing music echoing down the canyon of buildings
I took this video as we reached the water after getting endlessly lost in the multitude of tiny alley ways that snake all over the island
This next video was at dinner, how impossibly romantic! We were trying to be sneaky so we didn't have to pay the guy to keep playing just for us :)
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