Random Thoughts From a Concrete Sequential

Duelling Cameras

2012-02-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

8:31 sunrise
17:57 sunset

Another sunny, warm Sunday meant that it was another day for a snow bike ride. I still have my friend's fancy-pants camera and I thought I'd try taking it with me to see if there is any chance I would ever carry a DSLR on a bike ride. Worked well today but I think I'd worry too much about breaking it to carry it regularly.

Sierra brought her camera too - not quite a DSLR but a compact camera that allows you to change lenses and generally takes high quality images without feeling like you are carrying a child around in your backpack.

When all was said and done we enjoyed a fast lap around Quickie and took around 100 images between the two of us. I downloaded Sierra's photos and she grabbed mine and then came her idea for a blog post: we each choose our favourite five images from the day and our reasons why.

I easily whittled mine down to a top 13. But 13 isn't five, even in my math world. So then came the hard part - what is it that makes me love a particular photograph more than another? Why do I like some of these and not others? Aside from basic things like an image (usually) being in focus, what makes one photo 'better' than another? Let me show you what I picked.

Taken by me: I like that both Julie and Kris appear in this one. I also like the colour of the trees around and behind them.

Taken by Sierra: Again, Julie and Kris. There were a few similar to this to choose from but this was my favourite. I like it for the landscape orientation, the fact that you can see Guinness (Paula's dog), and the clear view of the trail.

Taken by me: This is a bit of a weird choice but I like it because it makes me smile. I take a lot of self-portraits and this is an example of how sometimes they can be bad but sorta good. I didn't crop my face out, I just didn't get it in the frame in the first place. I chose it because it is still bike-themed but looks different from the others. And by the way, I rode off with my sunglasses still on my helmet after this. Nearly lost 'em.

Taken by Sierra: This and the next photo are my top two favourites. I love the trees in this and the light (sooooo pretty!) and I like where I am positioned in the shot. (Can you see where Sierra propped her bike up?)

Taken by me: I've been a bit obsessed with lens flares since spending time in Arizona. I like that the dogs are visible and so to is Julie's face but mostly, it's the sun in this one that does it for me.

I take photographs not only because I like pretty pictures but also because I like to document things. A little voice inside my head often tells me that less is more and that I don't need to post 10 photographs of one particular bike ride. In fact, if there are no especially stellar images from that ride, I probably don't need to post the photographs at all. But I can't help it. I want to capture the feel of the day, all participants who were there, the landscape as well as the more detailed shot. I'm not saying I succeed today (neither Sierra not Paula appear in any of the above shots, which bothers me) but that sentiment does guide how I choose what to keep and what to delete. The technically "better" photo is not always my favourite.

Wanna see what the bike-wife chose? Me too. I'm curious to see if we picked any of the same images. Head on over to Mrs North 60 and let her know what you think.

Lots of Light in the Copper State

2012-02-12T17:30:00.000-08:00

8:51 sunrise
17:38 sunset

When I woke up this morning there was no doubt: we weren't in Arizona anymore, Toto. The light coming in through our bedroom window had a distinctly white/blue/grey tone. For the last ten days I had been seeing nothing but light of a yellow/orange variety. It's amazing to me that, while the quality of the light is something that appeals to me in a huge way in both the Yukon and Arizona, the nature of it can be so different.

I took more than 200 photographs on our trip, partly because a friend loaned me her digital SLR and I wanted to play around with it. I'm no artiste but it's fun to see how different cameras "see" things and of course having the camera perform better in lower light conditions is a bonus - especially because I'm lazy and often use the ol' auto settings.

Here are a few of my favourite light, sun and shadow images from our trip:

In Organ Pipe National Monument:

In Prescott:

On the Apache Trail in the Superstition Mountains near Phoenix:

Driving towards Tucson on highway 79:

Phoenix at dusk:

And this is what the light looked like back at home today. Pretty, but definitely not southwestern.

That's okay. I'm ready to be back. I am so thankful that I have the means to travel but I am even more grateful that I have a happy home.

I can see Mexico from here

2012-02-03T11:58:00.000-08:00

No really, I can see Mexico from my campsite. We're at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument which shares a 50km stretch of border with Mexico. The campground in which we spent our first night was a mere 6.5km from the town of Sonoyta.

It's beautiful here - spectacular morning and evening light and enough sunshine during the day to worry about getting a sunburn. It's isolated, too, which surprises me given that Tucson is only 200km away and Phoenix about the same distance. I've borrowed a friend's camera and Ben seems to be committed to taking photos of me taking photos. Le sigh.

Last night I was woken up by what I can only assume was the hoot-hooting of a great horned owl. After all the warnings by park staff and our guidebook I half expected to be woken up by a thirsty Mexican migrant crossing through the park. But no, it was just a bird.

The area south of Interstate 10 in Arizona is an odd place. The border patrol drives up and down the highway and we drove through checkstops where I was asked for my passport. Add to this the aid stations scattered through the desert and I felt like I was in another country. Not the USA, not Canada, somewhere.... else. That said, it is beautiful and I'm looking forward to more camping among the cactus. But first - a few days up north with friends in Prescott.

Weekend in Atlin

2012-01-22T16:31:00.001-08:00

9:38 sunrise

16:42 sunset

I’m not training for anything specific, but I like to pay some attention to my workouts. So I am aware that my resting heart rate is 54 beats per minute and my max heart rate is 186. I get a kick out of wearing Ben’s Garmin 500 and downloading spin sessions and bike rides. One of the first times I used the device was during our Coal Lake ride back in July.

I intended to wear the Garmin on Saturday when Julie, Paula and I went for a snow bike ride in Atlin. I wanted to track our route, the outside temperature and my heart rate. However, in the rush to get out the door, I forgot to put it on. Bummer, as I wanted to blog about the trails in Atlin and how my outdoor exercise compares to indoor.

The view from Paula's front door

Instead, I am blogging about heart rate maximums while playing an Amish card game. The evening's crazy antics were Dutch Blitz and tea drinking while wearing a heart rate monitor. It was my heart vs Ben's (aka the loser vs the winner of the game).

I peaked somewhere around 101 bpm with the pressure of trying to get rid of my blitz pile and dig myself out of a negative score. I'm not sure Ben ever cracked 70bpm but he claims he was feeling the stress.

We really did have a fun outdoor ride on Saturday but this is the only photographic proof I have to show for my weekend out of town. I promise to do better next week when we head out to Arizona. Ten days back in the state that I called home in 2004-05. I'm looking forward to it. Maybe I can monitor what sipping a margarita in the sun does to my max heart rate. Stay tuned.

Dressing for the weather

2012-01-16T21:23:00.000-08:00

9:53 sunrise

16:27 sunset

It's been a fairly mild winter so far but that came to an end this weekend. Yesterday's high was -31C and today's is set to be -36C. When I left for work this morning it was -40: the temperature at which both Americans and Canadians can agree - it's cold.

When I woke up on Sunday morning, I knew it was cold before I crawled out of bed. I don't think the furnace turned off once all night and the light peeking through my bedroom blinds had a certain edge to it that is hard to describe. When I did finally get up, this is what the world looked like:

Beautiful, yes, but all that condensation in the air tells me that furnaces and wood stoves in my neighbourhood were running full tilt.

I am not as nutty as my bike-wife who went out on Sunday. You can read what it's like to ride a bicycle at -40 on her blog. I instead chose to sit inside by the fire with the Mr and my in-laws. But this morning I had to return to work and venture outside for more than five minutes.

I contemplated my -40 work attire carefully. I usually like to try and look halfway decent while at my place of employment and in cold weather that often means a dress. It's amazing just how much clothing one can layer underneath this practical women's garment.

I begin with tights, long underwear, and knee-high wool socks on the bottom.

Then it's a tank top, a long-sleeved wool shirt and a sweater dress on top:

And finally, winter dress boots and a chunky wool cardigan sweater as the last of the inside layers.

Ta-dah!

Top it off with a long down jacket and a second-hand fur hat (yes, I am conflicted about fur but damn it is warm) and you too would survive outside on a Yukon winter's day.

First Fat Bike Ride of 2012

2012-01-08T22:30:00.001-08:00

10:04 sunrise
16:11 sunset

Given that we still only have slightly more than 6 hours of daylight, you would think that the average Whitehorse winter cyclist would be excited to get out for a group ride on a warm Sunday in January. But Monika is not average.

Stronger, faster and fitter than most, Monika doesn't get enthused about a ride before noon; she has to be dragged kicking and screaming from her bed to get on her bike in the morning. And it doesn't matter if it's summer or winter, at home or on vacation. Force her to exercise before noon and she looks like she's having as much fun as Liz Lemon at a strip club.

All the same we managed to convince Monika to come out for an 11am ride on one of the Grey Mountain trails - even after a very late night at Whitehorse's Pecha Kucha event.

It didn't begin well. Fifteen minutes up Grey Mountain Road and the bonk had to be averted - breakfast in the form of Pepsi, a powergel and some water.

And was it one of the best snow bike rides ever? Nah. The trails were kinda soft and the day was sort of grey. But it was still wicked fun and laughter filled. Any Sunday spent on a fat bikes with these kick-ass women is better than sleeping in.

We slipped and slid and youpie'd our way down the mountain, leap-frogging each other when one of us would spin out or veer off trail. By the time we popped back out on the road, an hour and a half later, we were all smiles.

Even Monika.

Northern Lights for the New Year

2012-01-03T22:21:00.000-08:00

10:09 sunrise
16:01 sunset

The northern lights came out yesterday on my mom's last night here. They weren't spectacular but they were visible so it was a cool way to send her off.

This was was taken from my driveway:

And these were taken in a darker area just down the street and into some of the neighbourhood trails. I tried a flash and a long exposure for the one of just my mom. It's a bit weird but you get an idea of how the aurora, when it isn't very strong, sort of glows in the sky like an internally lit, greenish-yellow cloud. I'd say it almost looks like smog (which is kind of weird considering smog is gross and northern lights are awesome).

Remember that if you click on this or any of the photos you'll see a larger version (which I think helps with shots like these). I am fond of this one since we're both in it.

Thanks, precipitating energetic particles, you little protons and electrons, for making our night.

Best of 2011

2011-12-31T14:53:00.000-08:00

Like others before me (most notably, Jill) I decided to post a Best of 2011 in photos. These aren't necessarily the most technically awesome images (and let's be honest - I use a point and shoot underwater camera - artiste is not what I am after) but they represent for me either a positive memory from 2011 or more accurately, a feeling of being in a place - most often at home in Whitehorse.

No surprise, most of the images feature bicycles in some way. Next year I'll have to try and have memorable adventures in dresses so I can post a few of those too.

January - Me and Mingus on Lake Laberge, new year's day

February - Out in my neighbourhood trails with my new snow bike and my awesome Fat Tire Ballerina jersey.

March - My first ride out at Fish Lake with Tony and Sierra.

April - Maui. Surfing. I love that island. Is it weird to love two such different places (the Yukon and Hawaii) so much?

May - Early season ride with friends. This one I love because Monika's smile expresses how I usually feel hanging out with these women.

June - 24 Hours of Light Mountain Bike Festival at midnight.

July - Whitehorse's first DH race from the top of Grey Mountain. My dog, my man. Good things.

August - Leg 3 at the Soggy Bottom 100. Kind of a horrible ride, to be honest, but still an experience to learn from. And probably an event to go back to.

Sept - Mountain Hero in the fall. Most epic, beautiful ride in the Yukon.

October - View on my way to work. I am trying to commute by bike more often.

November - View at sunrise in Vancouver. I just love the light in this one.

December - Sierra at noon. Bike, friend, a successful fat tire event. Not bad.

Happy new year, everyone.

Day & Dress #31

2011-12-31T14:07:00.000-08:00

10:10 sunrise

15:57 sunset

today's high: -15C

tonight's low: -21C

The end of Dressember!

Setting up the camera and forgetting to set the 10 second timer. Bonus fabric close up shot!

And yes, it really is a dress.

Boots - Hush Puppies

Jeans - American Eagle

Dress - Thrifted for me by maven

Sweater - Two of Hearts, Vancouver

It didn't seem that difficult this year, although I am looking forward to wearing jeans tomorrow - without a dress over top. I think next year I will try and impose some stricter rules on myself (limit the number of dresses, perhaps or insist that I wear a dress for all activities - including bike rides) and see if I can do it as a fundraiser for a local charity. I've got 11 more months to sort that out.

We are off to Atlin to ring in the new year. Karaoke at the Rec Centre. Should be good times.

Day & Dress #30

2011-12-30T12:25:00.001-08:00

10:10 sunrise

15:55 sunset

today's high: -12C

tonight's low: -18C

Like the dress, not crazy about the fit. It's comfy though.

Shoes - Franco Sarto

Dress - Whitehorse secondhand (purchased in early December)

Shirt - Regional Assembly of Text (the octopus is covered up!)

Day & Dress #29

2011-12-29T22:45:00.000-08:00

10:11 sunrise

15:54 sunset

today's high: -9C

tonight's low: -19C

I think today is the day where my dressember posts outnumber my posts about bikes. I'm sure that will be rectified in 2012 but for now, dresses for the win!

It was beautiful out today - not the kind of day to stay inside and work. But that's what I did. My mom came for a tour of the Archives this afternoon and I got Ben to snap some photos of me in the parking lot. Check out the glorious sun flare.

Boots - Hush Puppies

Tights - Hue

Dress - Thrifted

Belt - Have had it for ages, possibly thrift in Vancouver

Earrings - Argentina, a gift from my mom

I took a couple of selfies outside the Archives as well. I wanted to get a better angle on my polka-dotted tights.

Not super successful so I broke down and took these at my (messy) desk:

This is another dress that doesn't belong to me. My friend Margi picked it up at a Value Village in Vancouver. It's homemade and has these super interesting pleats around the neck, wrists and at the bottom of the skirt. I have to say, when I finally chose the black belt to wear with it, I felt a little like I was channeling Sandra. Maybe not quite so funky, but the belt did make me think of her awesome collection. (I was thinking of belts such as this one or this one.)

I'm glad this was a short week. I can hardly imagine five work days in a row at this point and, happily enough, there's another holiday on Monday.

Day & Dress #28

2011-12-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

10:11 sunrise

15:53 sunset

today's high: -8C

tonight's low: -11C

Back to work. Blergh. Another loading bay photo. Gawd I need a haircut.

Close up in my office so you can see the awesome dress details:

Shoes - 4th Avenue Vancouver ages ago

Tights - Superstore

Dress - Gifted to me by Heather who bought it for herself and then shrank it

Sweater - Ann Taylor

Day & Dress #27

2011-12-27T20:21:00.000-08:00

10:11 sunrise

15:52 sunset

today's high: -6C

tonight's low: -9C

Mom and I went to the Canada Games Centre for a swim today - that's why I am still wearing this hat. Crazy wet hair.

Boots - Hush Puppies

Socks - ? can't remember

Long underwear - Icebreaker (it has occurred to me that no one actually cares whether my tights are wool, polypro, Icebreaker, Smartwool or MEC but I care. So there)

Dress - Frecklewonder!

Long sleeved thermal - Icebreaker

Scarf - Somewhere in Las Vegas

Hat - Sauce Headwear

Do you ever wonder what I am looking at when I stand here, outside my door, for wardrobe photos? Voila - my backyard, neighbours' houses and the in far distance the community ice rink. Pretty sky today isn't it?

I do not want to return to work tomorrow.

Day & Dress #26

2011-12-26T20:43:00.000-08:00

10:11 sunrise

15:51 sunset

today's high: -8C

tonight's low: -11C

Lazy, lazy boxing day today. My mom and I went for a walk with the dog and did a few short errands downtown. That, and we ate leftovers. It was a big day :)

Boots - Kids Bogs

Skirt - Winner's

Long-sleeved thermal - Icebreaker

Dress - Thrifted for me by maven

Necklace - Made for me by Paula (how cool is this use of a bike chain?!)

Day & Dress #25

2011-12-25T23:13:00.000-08:00

10:11 sunrise
15:50 sunset

today's high: -3C

tonight's low: -8C

I don't have seven siblings but work with me. Creative license.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love gave to me
Twelve sugar cookies,
Eleven winos whining,

Ten lemons baking,

Nine ladies spinning,
Eight skirts to choose from*,

Seven siblings a-skyping,
Six dinner dishes,
Five golden toques,
Four folks at supper,
Three dogs napping,

Two great friends,

And a bike ride in the fir trees!

Dressember was brief today (as I did not wear a dress while cycling) and features a dress I wore earlier in the month with wool long undies and an awesome hand-me-down icebreaker wool shirt from Paula.

Dress - Whitehorse thrift

Cardigan - Icebreaker hand-me-down

* I got a skhoop skirt - which one should I choose?

Day & Dress #24

2011-12-24T23:52:00.000-08:00

10:11 sunrise
15:49 sunset

today's high: -2C

tonight's low: -5C

For a person who doesn't really care about Christmas, is an avowed atheist and a pretty lame cook, it's odd that tonight is one of my favourite nights of the year. But since we moved to Whitehorse in 2007 we have been cared for by our good friends Sierra and Tony every Christmas Eve. Sierra cooks up an amazing traditional Norweigan dinner and Ben and I stuff ourselves full of lefse, aquavit, pinnekjott, lutefisk, and rommegrot. I love traditions and it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside to be included in this one.

Photo: Anthony Delorenzo

Nothing too fancy for dinner dress and nothing too fitted. That delicious meal needed room to expand.

Shoes - locale

Tights - Superstore

Sweater - Whitehorse thrift

Dress - Narcisste Designs, Vancouver

Pin - Gift from Claire, Hollywood thrift store

Day & Dress #23

2011-12-23T14:00:00.000-08:00

10:10 sunrise

15:49 sunset

today's high: 0C

tonight's low: -3C

Apparently I got dressed as an elf today. That wasn't actually my intention but I can see the resemblance...

Shoes - Clark's

Tights - American Apparel

Dress - Ann Taylor

Tunic - Vero Moda

Scarf - Yukon College bookstore

Out of work early and now to run around picking up food, booze and other necessary items for the weekend. Hope everyone is having a super Friday!

Day & Dress #22

2011-12-22T15:58:00.001-08:00

10:10 sunrise

15:48 sunset

today's high: 0C

tonight's low: -3C

Uh oh - Environment Canada says *today* is the solstice according to my little sunrise and sunset calculator! I guess we have a couple of days where the sun pauses in the sky so really, it's not just one but several of the darkest days of the year.

It's an oldie today. I think I bought this dress sometime between 1996 and 1998 from a Cotton Ginny store in the Pacific Centre mall in Vancouver. I remember being so enamoured of the pattern. I hardly ever wear it anymore but I can't bear, for some reason, to let this dress go.

Shoes - locale

Dress - Cotton Ginny

Cardigan - Zara

Necklace - birthday gift from my mom a couple of years ago

Day & Dress #21

2011-12-21T23:39:00.000-08:00

10:09 sunrise

15:48 sunset

today's high: 0C

tonight's low: -4C

Happy Solstice! Five hours and 39 minutes of light today. This is what 12:45pm looked like.

We went out and cut a Christmas tree today. It's a ~~spruce~~ sub-alpine fir, apparently. Someone on CBC today was going on and on about how spruce trees were the "grinch" trees of Christmas. WTF?

And yes, under that parka there was a dress! But there was also hat head.

Jeans - Gap

Dress - thrifted for me by maven

Cardigan - handed down to me by my friend Ursula

Day & Dress #20

2011-12-20T21:26:00.000-08:00

10:09 sunrise

15:47 sunset

today's high: -2C

tonight's low: -18C

My mom arrived from Ontario today! I insisted on a dressember/wardrobe remix photo as soon as she got here (since the sun was about to go down).

My parka - Yukon Parka from Salvation Army thrift store

Mom's parka - LL Bean

And Mingus is thinking about whether he'll get to sleep on a human bed tonight. My mom's a softie.

Boots - Hush Puppies

Dress - Ports, wool, an etsy purchase

Cardigan - Whitehorse thrift

Day & Dress #19

2011-12-19T23:07:00.000-08:00

10:08 sunrise

15:47 sunset

today's high: 0C

tonight's low: -16C

Dressember the 19th! I'm wearing another one of Julie's dresses today. Got lots of compliments on it too. I've had a headache since I woke up and I can only assume it's because my head connected with the ground when I crashed at yesterday's fat tire festival. Nothing serious but I do feel a bit beaten up today (head sore, body bruised, a neck that stubbornly refuses to turn).

And my mom arrives tomorrow! She has been to Whitehorse twice but both times were in the summer and she hasn't yet been to this house. Weather tomorrow is supposed to be mild so I am sure she will survive but two weeks of 'real' winter may do her in. I know she bought a new parka just for the trip. I'll try and feature her in my dressember photo tomorrow.

Shoes - locale

Tights - Superstore

Dress - belongs to my friend Julie, label says Made in Australia for Target

Cardigan - thrifted by my mother-in-law, Banana Republic

Necklace - was my grandmother's

A successful winter solstice bike race

2011-12-19T19:26:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning with a throbbing headache and a body that did not want to get out of bed. I could blame it on the encroaching darkness (solstice is only 2 days away) but the truth is that my head hurts because at yesterday's 5+ Hours of Light Fat Tire Festival I landed on it.

I like to think that biking on snow is actually gentler than summer dirt, but the truth is that I fall off my mukluk more often and at weirder angles than I do on my mountain bike. At least, most of the time, I'm moving more slowly in the winter. Yesterday though, that wasn't the case. The course included a short, steep downhill that ended in a big sloppy mess of snow. Riding the hill wasn't too bad but, if you hit the mush pile at the bottom at the wrong angle and were going too fast, you were hooped. Lots of people crashed in this spot.

Although I took more than 50 photographs yesterday, I do not have one of me wiping out on this hill. I did, however, capture this series of Jonah taking a spill shortly after mine.

These photographs are remarkable primarily because Jonah is more often seen blowing past past other riders with his mad skillz and his huge heart than he is crashing his bike. In fact, he started the race 15 minutes after I did and still caught up to me before the end of my 38 minute lap. Not surprisingly, Jonah won the event by riding 7 laps (approximately 46km). The team category went to the Pearson boys (and one girl) who also completed 7 laps.

Photo : Guillaume Levesque

At the end of the day 26 people participated in Whitehorse's 1st annual solstice fat bike race. Biathlon Yukon allowed us to use their facilities so we were able to stay warm even as the wind gusted up to 65km/hour. The weather wasn't perfect (it was a little bit too warm so the snow was quite soft) but it certainly could have been worse had temperatures dipped into the -30s or if it had actually rained as originally forecast.

There were fatbacks, pugsleys and mukluks at the race, but no one tried a regular mountain bike. Given the softness of the trails, I think this was a wise decision.

There were men, women, and kids at the race, but no one cried.

And yes, there were tricks and crashes and endos, but no one was hurt. Some of us are just sore.

We are at that time of the year when the sun shines for only a few hours, but those of us in the north know how to make the most of what we've got. It was a fun day.

There's a certain slant of light,

on winter afternoons,

~ Emily Dickinson

Day & Dress #18

2011-12-18T18:37:00.000-08:00

10:07 sunrise

15:47 sunset

today's high: -1C

tonight's low: -8C

Oh man I am tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiired. I'll write another post about the super fun first annual 5+ Hours of Light Fat Tire Festival. This one is just to say - yeah, I made dressember (barely). And yes, I am wearing ski pants underneath today's dress. Deal with it. I just threw the dress on top of what I wore biking today.

Boots - Bogs (kids)

Pants - Salomon

Dress - Banana Republic

Shirt - Icebreaker

Scarf - Yukon College bookstore

Hat - MEC

Day & Dress #17

2011-12-17T15:01:00.000-08:00

10:06 sunrise

15:47 sunset

today's high: -1C

tonight's low: -13C

The sun was out for a few hours today and I love the winter light. It makes kinda crazy shadows on my wardrobe photos but it's still beautiful.

Ben says it looks like I am wearing a sea urchin on my head. Thanks, dear.

And Mingus still really likes to crash my dressember photos.

Boots - pleather from Vancouver years ago

Pants - Banana Republic, thrifted here in Whitehorse 2 weeks ago

Dress - Ann Taylor

Necklace - same one as yesterday, Superstore

Hat - Delux, from the Yukon College bookstore

Tomorrow is another full day with the first annual 5+ Hours of Light Fat Tire Festival taking place. Same rules as other 24 hour races but this one being sunrise to sunset. I think it's going to be a really fun event so I hope lots of locals come out. I'm not sure when the dress wearing is going to happen but I'll deal with that tomorrow. Maybe it's time to combine my bike and dress love.

Day & Dress #16

2011-12-16T22:26:00.001-08:00

10:05 sunrise

15:47 sunset

today's high: -1C

tonight's low: -5C

The solstice is almost here! Took this just down the street from my house today at 11:30am.

Honest, this is a dress. But holy crap it's short and really, unless your name is Twiggy, I'm pretty sure you shouldn't sport this without a pair of pants underneath. I am actually wearing jeggings, which is kinda terrifying since, like so many other items in my closet and the second thing I have worn this week, I bought these as part of a costume. But that's me - half serious about my wardrobe, half just seeing what I can get away with.

At work this afternoon. A selfie from my desk.

Boots - Nine West

Jeggings - Wal-mart ?

Dress - Thrifted by a friend, I think in Skagway

Necklace - Superstore

Day & Dress #15

2011-12-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

10:04 sunrise

15:47 sunset

today's high: -5C

tonight's low: -8C

Wore a dress today - woot. I even think it's cute. Busy planning this weekend's cycling event as well as some crafty activities including printing our usual Christmas/New Year's/Choose Your Own Holiday cards. Spat out a stitch from my tongue today - I am feeling much better. Lots going on!

Shoes - Franco Sarto

Tights - Hue

Dress - Ann Taylor

Sweater - Whitehorse consignment

Squash blossom necklace - Purchased in Prescott, AZ (Marked Fred and Elsie ZUNI NM inside)

Day & Dress #14

2011-12-14T17:46:00.000-08:00

10:03 sunrise

15:47 sunset

today's high: -8C

tonight's low: -18C

Post and run today as I am heading out after work for a little re-con of the planned race loop for this year's first annual 5+ hours of light snow bike festival. If you are going to be in the Whitehorse metropolitan area this weekend (ha!) come check it out.

As for dressember - it was a summer dress today covered by a giant woolly sweater.

Shoes - thrifted in Whitehorse

Jeans - American Eagle

Dress - thrifted in Vancouver

Sweater - purchased in Tokyo last January

Day & Dress #13

2011-12-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

10:02 sunrise

15:48 sunset

today's high: -3C

tonight's low: -15C

Not only is today Dressember the 13th but it is also Everybody, Everywhere's monthly challenge: sequins & sparkles.

There is very little in my closet that fits this bill but I did pick up this kinda cool 80s sweater for our pond hockey team costume last November...

So I figured what the hell. I'd wear it today for the challenge but I'd nix the 80s make up. I nabbed these photos on my lunch break. Trying to take self-portraits away from the eyes of one's co-workers is a bit of a challenge. I did get "caught" today but just owned up to it: yes, I am outside the loading bay taking photos of myself. I know it's weird.

Snow and ballet flats don't really go together.

Shoes - locale

Socks - Hue

Tights - Joe fresh

Dress - Value Village (Vancouver)

Sweater - Salvation Army (Whitehorse)

Day & Dress #12

2011-12-12T22:13:00.000-08:00

10:00 sunrise

15:48 sunset

today's high: 0C

tonight's low: -5C

I tried to liven up today's dress with a little jumping action.

Maybe not.

Then I skulked around my workplace to try and find somewhere to take my dressember photo.

Finally - photo success:

Shoes - locale

Tights - had them forever, no idea where I got them

Dress - from a store in Whitehorse (I can't remember the name)

Thermal - wool, Costco, from my mother-in-law

Day & Dress #11

2011-12-11T16:31:00.000-08:00

9:59 sunrise

15:48 sunset

today's high: -6C

tonight's low: -10C

So lazy and tired today. Went tobogganing with our guests and then sent them off on the 3pm flight back to Vancouver. Now in a dress, I am so lazy that I have no plans to leave the house. This is why I am not wearing any shoes. I do, however, feel so much better today. My mouth is still tender, but I can eat solid food. Yay!

Dressember by natural light:

Dressember by flash:

White socks (oops - you can see those!) - Smartwool

Leg warmers - formerly socks from Sock Dreams

Dress - borrowed from Margi

Wool undershirt - gift from my mother-in-law

Day & Dress #10

2011-12-10T23:19:00.000-08:00

9:57 sunrise

15:49 sunset

today's high: -4C

tonight's low: -13C

Today's outing was to Skagway for the Santa Train with our friends from Vancouver, Hugh and Wendy and their kids Simon and Owen. Our friend Paula came too. A 9am departure meant that the 2 hour drive included some lovely morning light.

Every year, the White Pass & Yukon Route railway offers a free train ride with Santa for anyone who gets themselves to Skagway Alaska in December. It's a pretty cool thing. There is not only no charge for the ride, photos with Santa or the little gift bag for the kiddies, but all of the employees there are also volunteering their time for the event. At 11am we hung around the train station waiting for Mr. Claus.

I think Paula and I were the only who adults who sat with Santa.

Then it was off for a 16 mile round trip excursion into the Pass aboard the train.

I had to google what the heck this "On to Alaska With Buchanan" sign was all about. This is a sign visible from the train, about 7 miles up the tracks from Skagway. Apparently George Buchanan was a Detroit coal merchant who brought kids to Alaska for adventure trips in the 1920s. The full (but fairly short) background explanation can be read here.

After our ride we warmed up with yummy Alaskan beer at pretty much the only restaurant in town that was open (Pizza Station). Simon and I hammed it up for the camera.

Since Alaska is one time zone behind us, the sun set at 3pm. The snow topped mountains looked amazing as they glowed white against the darkening blue sky. That's Wendy pointing her camera at me.

But oh yes- dressember!! Here's dress #10 - one I picked up at a second hand store last weekend. I'm standing in front of a WP&YR rotary snow plow.

Boots - Hush Puppies

Tights- One yellow pair (American Apparel) and one green pair (Hue)

Dress - Whitehorse secondhand

Cardigan - RW&Co

Necklace - Yukon College bookstore

Day & Dress #9

2011-12-09T16:39:00.000-08:00

9:56 sunrise

15:50 sunset

today's high: 1C

tonight's low: -7C

I made it to work this morning but have come home at lunch. Not feeling up to it yet. And my tongue is feeling weirdly fat in my mouth. Might have to go and see if I've got an infection starting to rage in there. Grr. At least I have an excuse for weird photo face.

But behold! One of my favourite skirts (over a dress, of course).

Not quite 100% thrifted today. The shoes and long underwear were purchased new. The purple dress (H&M), however, was from a swap, the skirt was purchased at a Whitehorse consignment store and the cardigan was thrifted on my behalf by mavenhaven. Even the necklace was a swap item back in my flickr clothing swapping heyday.

This weekend we are off to Skagway, Alaska for the "Santa Train" with some friends (and their kids - that part is obvious, right?). Hoping for sunny weather and maybe some northern lights!

Some etsy love before the weekend

2011-12-08T23:11:00.000-08:00

Since I spent all that time surfing etsy today, I though I would share with you the fruits of my labour. Here are some things that I am digging right now.

Silver and topaz ring by onegarnetgirl

Chalkboard skull by iamhome

Knotted silk necklace by coumon

80s sweater dress from singlefilevintage

Awesome bunny lamps by ARTificalLights that Ben would never

allow into our house so go crazy and buy them for yourself

40s taffeta dress from coralvintage

Day & Dress #8

2011-12-08T14:26:00.000-08:00

9:54 sunrise

15:51 sunset

today's high: 0C

tonight's low: -11C

Today is recovery day. Everything went well with the surgery yesterday as far as I can tell. A 1.5 cm lump was removed from underneath my tongue and I woke up feeling pretty decent. My mouth is sore and from my ear to my chin is tender but, for the most part, it all went according to plan. Biopsy results should be back in 10 days or so but the surgeon called me today to say that when he removed the lump it "looked" benign.

I do remember waking up in the recovery room and being exceedingly chatty. That was probably embarrassing. I remember asking a bunch of questions about blood pressure. The poor nurses who have to listen to that every time a patient wakes up.

So here's what I have been doing since 9am today:

I started and finished my first graphic novel - Essex County by Jeff Lemire. LOVED it.

I have also been spending quality time on the interwebs - much surfing of etsy goodness and browsing my friends' flickr streams.

And, I have been doing all this while cozied up in a wool dress and comfy poncho.

Booties - MEC

Long underwear - Elita

Dress - Etsy (Center Stage Vintage)

Poncho - Etsy (Knitwit4ever)

Happy Dressember the 8th!

Day & Dress #7

2011-12-07T10:09:00.000-08:00

9:52 sunrise

15:51 sunset

today's high: -14C

tonight's low: -19C

They told me to wear "loose, comfortable clothes" to the surgical unit. I don't know why it matters since I have to get half-nekkid and into a gown anyway. But here I am - dressember the 7th. Looks like Mingus is tired this morning.

Boots - Hush Puppies

Socks - Hue

Dress - H&M (swapped)

Cardigan - Banana Republic, thrifted for me by my mother-in-law

The only thing left to do is to get Ben to help me remove this earring. It's been there for a looooooong time and I hope that post-surgery I can get it back in.

Anyhow, I'll see you tomorrow - off to the hospital now.

Day & Dress #6

2011-12-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

9:50 sunrise

15:52 sunset

today's high: -12C

tonight's low: -26C

With yesterday's omygawdihavetohavesurgery news being kinda overwhelming for me, I forgot to mention an awesome thing: I won $25 to be used at one of my favourite etsy stores, frecklewonder. So tell me, few but fine blog readers, what item in her shop would you put the funds towards? (Hint: I am leaning heavily towards this dress as long as it fits).

Other than that, we seem to be back to winter and I am wearing long undies again.

Helllooooooooo - is this thing on?

Boots - Hush Puppies

Skirt - Roots

Dress - Thrifted, Value Village Vancouver Hastings

Cardigan - Zara

Day & Dress #5

2011-12-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

9:49 sunrise

15:53 sunset

today's high: +6C

tonight's low: -13C

It's day 5

I know I talk about the weather a lot but man today has been whack. It started out 5C and raining. Raining in the Yukon in December. Then we progressed into crazy snowstormy, windy and white-out conditions. Even the dog didn't want to go outside. Check this out - 10 second timer photographs #1 and #4 in the same series. Holy blowing snow!

Shoes - locale

Tights - Superstore

Dress - Narcissist Designs

Cardigan - Thrifted yesterday

Belt - From a shirt a colleague gave away at work a couple of years ago

I have spent much of today running around. Remember last December when I mentioned a weird lump under my tongue? No? Well, I didn't say much about it because there wasn't (isn't) much to say. But it hasn't gone away and instead now of thinking that it is a ranula the otolaryngologist (and we wonder why we call them ENTs) I saw today thinks it's a growth worthy of extraction.

If all goes well, I will have surgery to remove the lump, my mouth will hurt for a couple of days and the pathology on the growth will come back negative. If the surgery doesn't go all that well, I may lose feeling in my tongue. This would, well, suck. There's a lot of blood flow in there, glands, lymph ducts, and nerves. But the bad version would be if the growth comes back from being tested and turns out to be an oral cancer. That would really suck. However, I don't smoke, I am not male and I am still (just) under 40. These all make me less likely to have a cancerous lump under my tongue. Also, it's been there awhile and hasn't gotten significantly larger. So hopefully it's just a weird, benign growth. It's sort of a strange thing to talk about here, so publicly, but hey - this is what has been on my mind today. I go under the knife Wednesday. First time. Fingers crossed that waking up from under anesthetic isn't as awful as I think it's going to be.

Day & Dress #4

2011-12-04T22:15:00.000-08:00

9:47 sunrise
15:54 sunset

today's high: +3C

tonight's low: -4C

Blergh - why do weekends have to go by so quickly?! This one was filled with outdoor activity of the ski and bike variety, eating well (at home and at friends') and a bit of secondhand shopping. Overall a lovely 2 days but not enough!!

The weather has stayed unseasonably warm and between now and tomorrow morning it is supposed to go up to 9C. NINE degrees above zero. It's insanity and I hope it doesn't happen. Normal range for this time of year is -9C to -18C. I hate when the streets get all slushy - to say nothing of the trails.

So again, not too many layers required for Dressember but a cozy dress nonetheless.

Shoes - Converse, thrifted in Vancouver

Jeans - Gap, Sweetheart style

Dress - Banana Republic

Arm Warmers - Smartwool

Hat - The chill toque, Sauce Headwear

Mingus makes his first, but probably not last, Dressember appearance.

Maybe next time I'll make him wear the hat.

Day & Dress #3

2011-12-03T16:44:00.000-08:00

9:45 sunrise
15:56 sunset

today's high: +2C

tonight's low: -6C

Dressember today features my friend Julie's sparkly brown dress.

Sweater - wool and thrifted

Dress - Julie's

Long underwear - Elita

Boots - Hush Puppies

And yes - it really is a dress, look!

Have had a lovely Saturday so far. I went thrifting with two friends in the morning (and I even found a few cute items of clothing) and then we went for a cross-country ski in the afternoon - my first of the season. Tonight Ben and I are going to make something yummy for dinner, stay in, drink wine and catch up on important tv episodes (we've just started Hell on Wheels - not sure what I think. Anyone else watching it?).

Day & Dress #2

2011-12-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

9:43 sunrise
15:57 sunset

today's high: +2C

tonight's low: -4C

I swear that the wind was so gusty today that it was trying to blow my glasses off my face.

The necklace was my grandmother's and this lovely scarf (which isn't very easy to see in the head to toe photos) was made for me by my friend Paula.

Boots - Bogs (kids)

Tights - Superstore

Dress - Thrifted

Shirt - Joe Fresh (Superstore)

Scarf - made for me

I wish these photos weren't quite so dark but today was overcast. This is a somewhat better photo of the dress, taken at the end of summer 2010. The dress was a score from a thrifting spree that a flickr friend (mavenhaven) made on my behalf. I'm actually thinking that I should try and arrange exchanges like that more often. An I thrift stuff for you, you thrift stuff for me sort of arrangement. The problem is that up here there isn't much to find in secondhand shops and what there is ain't cheap. Maybe I can exchange something else... if you've got a brilliant idea, let me know.

Otherwise, I'm just glad it's Friday.

Night Riding

2011-12-01T23:54:00.000-08:00

9:41 sunrise
15:58 sunset

The warmer temperatures may be good for dressember but they aren't great for the trails.

I missed our Fat Tire Ballerina group ride tonight 'cause I stayed late at work but Wendy and I got out for a little Quickie on our own.

Yes, that red light is the clue that my light was about to expire. Le suck.

It was fun but I have to say.... I'm hoping it stays below freezing for the next week. This trails were soooooft tonight. I will sleep well. Goodnight all!

Day & Dress #1

2011-12-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

9:41 sunrise

15:58 sunset

today's high: 2C

tonight's low: -4C

So here we go again!

The rules of Dressember are simple: wear dresses all month. We are allowed to repeat dresses. We're not allowed to wear skirts. I may have to break that rule, but I am going to try not to. Then the deal is to take a photograph of myself in my dress each day and post the images here. Blythe says that the spirit of Dressember is to reclaim/embrace/celebrate femininity and to not take life so seriously all the time. I'm not so sure about being feminine per se but I'm into fun and I like a challenge.

So for the next 30 days I will attire myself in nothing but dresses. Well, I'll be wearing other clothes when I sleep or exercise. Snow biking in a frock would be a bit of a challenge (but maybe one I am up for....).

I am not 100% sure why I felt like taking the challenge again this year since I am not overly creative with my outfits (I pretty much just put a dress on and go - accessories aren't my thing). And it's not like I have a whole host of new dresses in my closet. I guess it comes down to my almost obsessive desire to document the mundane and the fact that I like a challenge. The weather here in the Yukon adds that extra challenge. Putting on a dress when it's -40 isn't usually my first choice. For this month I am going to post the day's high and low temperatures along with the sunrise and sunset times. That way you can send me some extra encouragement when the weather is frigid. Check the beginning of my posts for this info.

But today we begin with a fabulous +2C when I took this photo. Kind of a weird pose but that's what you get when I try to do this over lunch.

Dress - Etsy (Tiny Girl Vintage) - it's homemade!

A post about clothing to get you ready for next month

2011-11-28T15:44:00.000-08:00

9:34 sunrise

16:03 sunset

In addition to Christmas decorations I also bought this sweater in Vancouver. I think it's rather sharp AND I think I look pretty awesome for an 8am bathroom photo too. Take that self-esteem jar!! The sweater is from a cute little shop on Main Street called Two of Hearts. It's owned by two Vancouver women who design the clothes and make them locally (well, in Canada). Their online shop doesn't make the clothes look super fantastic (in my opinion) but I really liked the fit and attention to little design features - like the neck on my sweater.

Anyhow, most of this post is just to give me an excuse to talk about my closet and to say that I will again be challenging myself to Dressember in 2011.

Started by blogger Blythe and introduced to me last year by Sandra, the idea is to wear a dress each and every day in December. The official rules say that skirts don't count, but I wore them last year anyhow. I haven't decided what the plan is this year but I am hoping to borrow a few dresses from friends, just to make it interesting for myself. The good news is that the weather forecast for the upcoming week is for warmer weather so I won't be obsessed about how to stay warm without looking like the Michelin woman.

So if anyone out there is into the challenge - join me! I'd love to follow your Dressember adventure.

Night Photos

2011-11-23T22:47:00.001-08:00

9:22 sunrise
16:11 sunset

It warmed up a bit today - and by a bit I mean up to -17C (2F) - and so I took Mingus for a longer walk after work. He's been suuuuuuuper wimpy about the cold so far this year so his outings have been limited this week. His super blinky collar is now on full time so that we can find him in the dark on bike rides, ski outings and so that cars see him if he dashes into the road. On our walk I experimented a bit with our camera's limited long exposure features. They look (moderately) better bigger - just click on the photo.

Mingus - mostly still but some head movement, 3 second exposure:

Mingus veeeery still, 3 second exposure:

Mingus on the move:

Both of us with the added benefit of street lights, exposure time about 1.5 seconds:

Not perfect, but something to work on and to entertain myself with on long winter nights.

Back from the big city

2011-11-22T18:01:00.000-08:00

9:21 sunrise

16:11 sunset

Visiting Vancouver is sort of like going home for me. Except I don't live there anymore and, to be honest, I don't actually miss it much. Well, I miss the food and I miss the shopping. I can't believe I have just typed that: I miss the shopping. Ew. To buy just for the sake of buying things - the epitome of why our society is going to hell. But if I am honest with myself, I love digging around in second hand stores to find some polyester dress that no one else could love and I enjoy trying to find that one item of clothing that will make me look even marginally stylish on the streets of Whitehorse.

Don't worry, this hat isn't it. Although I did think it was rather cute. Not practical enough, however, for a Yukon winter. And besides, I already have a frog hat.

I was working with a small budget on this trip and I was determined to stick to it. I'm happy to report that I was successful in that plan and I still managed to eat well, drink well, and I acquired a few little treats for myself. We ate Vietnamese for lunch on Friday and you can see the very cute bag I'm carrying which I picked up at the Salvation Army thrift store for $2.99.

My big splurge ($22.50) came at Baker's Dozen Antiques on Main Street. They seem to specialize in old toys and I confess that a cabinet full of teddy bears and other animals did distract me for awhile. But oddly enough, it was all the stuff they had on display for Christmas that really caught my attention. This is weird since I haven't really celebrated or paid much attention to the holiday for years. Last December was the first time we had a tree since we lived in Arizona. However, I am all about nostalgia these days. And even though I have quite the hate-on for celebrating a religious holiday when I am an aethiest, I guess still have positive memories, traditions and feelings associated with Christmas. That, or I just like old stuff (which is a distinct possibility).

Anyhow, there were boxes and boxes of old Christmas ornaments in the back of the shop and I dug through them all. Most were in their original packaging and I am sure that the shop's proprietor picked them up for a song. The resale price wasn't quite so cheap so I pawed through the boxes and selected 6 ornaments to bring home.

I guess this means we'll be getting a tree this year.

Bed Hog, My Dog

2011-11-17T11:17:00.000-08:00

9:07 sunrise
16:24 sunset

It's getting ridiculous. We used to let Mingus up on the bed occasionally, especially for a morning snuggle. But he's got us dialed in now and he sneaks up on the bed sometime during the middle of the night. He creeps in to our room, pads quietly to Ben's side of the bed (I am so sure it's Ben's side, not mine) and then he jumps up and nestles down between us. I usually don't notice he's there until the morning.

But check this out:

This is what my bed looked like after I crawled out of it this morning. It's getting ridiculous - my dog is getting more bed space than I am. And my sleeping is suffering because of it. But how do you deter a pet who makes his move while you are asleep?!

At any rate, Mingus will have half the bed to spread out on for the next few days. I'm off to a grrls weekend in Vancouver to celebrate the bike-wife's birthday. See you next week!

Electric Bicycle Light Fantastic!

2011-11-14T22:21:00.000-08:00

8:59 sunrise

16:30 sunset

My $50 "bicycle bike light lamp" purchased directly from China is working just awesome, thanks. I even left the battery out in the car overnight and there was still lots of power left to guide me to and from work today.

The best part is that when I came in to work this morning (Tuesday) one of my colleagues asked if that was me on my bike leaving work last night. She said the light was so bright she thought it was a snowmobile. Awesome.

Hazy Shade of Winter

2011-11-13T22:02:00.000-08:00

8:57 sunrise
16:33 sunset

I took my bike out for a walk today.

It wasn't really my plan (the walking, that is). It has been snowing since Thursday and we have LOTS of fluffy, pretty white stuff on the ground. I reeeeaaaallly wanted to go out and play in it and even though waxing my skis would have been the more logical choice, I grabbed my snow bike, borrowed one for Ben and out we went.

Epic fail.

That's Ben barely managing to stay upright en route to Quickie. And he fared better than I did.

Mingus had a grand time, however, and I guess that's worth something.

And, since I walked my bike nearly as much as I rode it, there were lots of photo opportunities. I think El Guapo looks quite handsome in his natural, snowy environment. I'm looking forward to a great winter bike season (which is good news considering it's only November...).

Bathroom paint job

2011-10-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

9:06 sunrise
18:23 sunset

When we bought our house in 2009 we knew we would undertake a number of renovations and we have. But the upstairs bathroom was redone just before we bought the place. And, for the most part, I like the things that were chosen: white subway tile around the tub, mosaic tile on the floor, a white vanity cabinet, sink and toilet.

But the paint. It was this awful baby yellow and it was everywhere. Even the ceiling. Who paints the ceiling yellow?! Sorry if I am offending any lovers of yellow paint out there but it's one of my least favourite shades.

Anyhow, so my project this week was to get rid of it. But what colour to choose? I love all the aquamarines and teal shades that make me think of Miami. Colours like this:

But (a) Ben isn't crazy about them and (b) I'm not actually convinced that this shades suit the house I live in and it's location (ie: Whitehorse). So instead I am going with white. Yup, plain old boring Cloud White:

This is what it looks like so far (one coat on, one more to go). And while I think it looks a TON better, I am not 100% sold on the white everywhere idea for my bathroom. We'll see how it looks after the towels and shower curtain get put back and once I hang some things on the walls but..... I dunno.

Anyone else out there love or hate the all white idea? Love to hear from you! (And yes, I appreciate the irony that while I say I hate yellow I am wearing a giant goldenrod knit dress. Whatever. Who says I can't be fickle?).

Awesome 80s jacket

2011-10-20T21:39:00.000-07:00

8:53 sunrise
18:37 sunset

It's not a vintage dress, but it's still fabulous.

I bought this jacket in Ontario this summer. Strangely, my hometown of 1500 people has this really fantastic secondhand/thrift store. During my visit in June, the store had dozens of really great blazers/jackets. I only came away with this one. It's 100% wool, made in Canada (which you don't see that often anymore), with this for a label:

I'm assuming this came out of Montreal (given the "création" part of the label and the fact that more than 1/2 of Canada's garment industry is in Quebec).

The jacket has a pretty serious 80s vibe. The leather piping and shape of the shoulders makes me think Michael Jackson in the Thriller video:

Granted, his jacket sold for 1.8 million bucks and mine cost $20, but hey - the 80s are back.

New Protein Source

2011-10-18T21:28:00.000-07:00

8:48 sunrise
18:43 sunset

I have perfected the hard-boiled egg.

I know. Stop the presses. Look out foodies - I have combined boiling water with an egg and have come up with delicious.

The secret, apparently, is in how one cooks them. No need to boil the egg for the entire cooking time. Bring to a boil, remove from heat for 13 minutes, rinse with cold water and voilà - no greyish-yellow yolk, no sulphur smell. Who knew I could like these so much? Word, to the all-knowing interwebs.

My morning commute

2011-10-17T21:09:00.000-07:00

8:45 sunrise
18:46 sunset

I have promised myself to try and ride my bike to work more often. This is what my commute looked like at 8:30 this morning.

I am not delusional. I am not likely to manage to bike to work every day. I am far too lazy for that and I like my sleep. But, I am going to try and do it more often. Views like this help.

Just about snow bike season

2011-10-15T23:03:00.000-07:00

8:40 sunrise
18:52 sunset

This week I put Bea, my mountain bike, away for the winter. I gave her a super good clean up and she has been placed into winter storage for the next few months. I know I could probably get a few more rides in this season but I would rather do a bang up job of cleaning my bike up for the winter and than ride her a few more times and leave her dirty and unloved in my basement for 6 months.

Anyhow, I am now in full possession of El Guapo (my snow bike). Last year, my friend Niki and I shared the purchase cost of the bike so that we could both enjoy a bit of ride time at a reduced cost. This year, we bought a second bike, again sharing the cost, and last year's ride has become mine full-time.

This afternoon I took the "new to me" bike out for a tour of the trails in Hillcrest. I haven't been out much, on foot or on bike, the last couple of weeks, and today was an awesome reminder of just how happy being on a bicycle makes me feel. The snow bike felt weird on the trails - and damn, so heavy - but just being outside made me (and Mingus) happy.

I ♥ bikes. Really.

Photobooth from Julie & Paul's wedding

2011-10-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

8:35 sunrise

18:58 sunset

My lovely friends Paul and Julie got married this summer. When they came back to the Yukon, they had a party here to celebrate. Paul is a great photographer and set up his camera in a little room off the main reception area and allowed guests to take photos of themselves. The results are fabulous! Here are some of my faves.

Congratulations Paul and Julie! And thanks for the fun! (Aren't they cute!?)

Yukon's Territorial Election

2011-10-12T06:45:00.000-07:00

8:33 sunrise
19:01 sunset

I woke up this morning with a 7:30am meeting to attend. That didn't help my mood, but really it's the election results that have me so bummed today. The Yukon Party won a third term last night and a majority. Sucks ass. I don't really have the energy to be depressed about it but I am sad to see what I consider to be a general wave of conservatism creep across the country. I'm referring not necessarily to the parties in power (although that's part of it) but more to my sense that the very nature of Canadian society is poised to change. I am afraid that we are becoming a society that is more concerned about the individual and a lot less about the greater good.

There is one good news story out of last night's election, however. My friend and all-around hard-working awesome person Kate White was elected as a first time MLA for the riding of Takhini-Kopper King. She is an honest and genuinely caring individual and I think she will be a force for good in the Leg for her constituents. Way to go Kate! You're awesome!

Campaigning with Kate (middle) a couple of weeks ago

A long weekend, thankfully

2011-10-10T19:21:00.000-07:00

8:28 sunrise
19:07 sunset

It's been a good weekend. We had our lovely friends Hugh and Wendy here for a visit from Vancouver and we made a yummy Thanksgiving dinner. We ate it on my grandma's china and used Ben's parents' silver. I made wild rice and mushrooms (a recipe of my grandma's) and Ben cooked up a turkey. It was all very delicious. Strangely, I took no photographs.

Our pals Liz and Ian had an exciting Thanksgiving weekend too. Liz gave birth to a very cute little boy on Sunday night and we were able to visit them in the hospital today. Whether you like kids or not, the whole process of people becoming parents, especially the first time, is really cool. I'm sure the experience of giving birth is, as Liz said, surreal, but for those of us just watching from the outside it's still pretty exciting.

We also had out first snow of the season on Sunday. Thankfully, it has melted (as it usually does this time of year) but the temperatures are staying low - daytime highs of only 4C or so. I think I might put my mountain bike away for the year and pull out my winter Mukluk snow bike. I'm sure I can still get some xc rides in this month but I want to clean Bea up before I put her away for the season and, to be honest, I think I am ready for winter. I wouldn't say excited about winter, but prepared for it.

So, on this holiday Monday I am thankful for what seems sometimes like little things but really, they are the great big things. I have warm, fun, and loyal friends, a husband who really loves me even when he sometimes doesn't like himself, a dog who has pretty much stopped biting humans and is awfully cute, a job that I not only like but also pays me well, and a cute, warm house in a perfect neighborhood in the city I love.

Photobooth at Julie & Paul's wedding (more of these to come!)

Ben & Mingus

At work with my boss, looking at a trapline map from the 1930s

Home

I don't know why it worked out that way for me, but I am thankful it did.

Kanellos, protest dog

2011-10-05T22:53:00.000-07:00

8:15 sunrise
19:22 sunset

How awesomely cute is this little pup?

Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

I may have to call my next dog Kanellos.

Cranberry Chutney

2011-10-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

8:05 sunrise
19:35 sunset

First we picked, and then we canned (although I want to say "jarred").

Thanks to Margi and her "I'm Polish I can can anything" approach to life, we made some amazing cranberry chutney this week. We used the recipe from The Boreal Gourmet cookbook. I was going to post the recipe but I don't see it online anywhere and I'd hate to cut in on any book sales for Mich Genest. I'll just say - pick up a copy of the book for yourself. It's full of all sorts of northern deliciousness (and this from a vegetarian...).

Cut and Dyed

2011-09-27T23:04:00.001-07:00

7:55 sunrise
19:47 sunset

Got my hairs did tonight.

Nothing radical. A little more blonde and I seem to be letting it grow long enough so that I can put it in a ponytail when I get up in the morning when I go to work. I tend to shower before bed so that I can (a) sleep in more in the mornings and (b) not have my hair freeze in the winter. Unfortunately, the result is often total chaos-head. See this for proof.

I did briefly toy with the idea of cutting it short and dying it red.... when I told my stylist to push for change that's what she came up with. Sneaky Julie (who kindly came with me to satisfy my desire to hear all about her wedding and honeymoon to Spain) even seemed to be encouraging me. But I just can't, for whatever reason, commit to having short hair again. For now we have put off the "big change" for the new year. Maybe I'll be ready for exotic and wildly different in 2012.

Canuck reads a Limey on Yankees

2011-09-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

7:48 sunrise
19:67 sunset

I like Americans.

I like them and it's not just because my husband was born in New York City. It's easy to bash the land of the free, home of the brave and I find myself eye-rolling at most of their politicians and a lot of their policies at state and federal levels. (How can people like Michelle Bachmann even be considered a person you would want to run your country?! I mean, Harper's not great but he's not that much of a nut job). But at a personal level - the folks you meet on the street - Americans are pretty darn awesome people.

Have you read Geoff Dyer (the Brit) on Americans? I don't think my take on the U S of A is quite the same as his, but one of the things I have always loved about travelling to the States is the service industry. (I also love the US Postal Service, booze in Costco, and a whole whack of their geography).

Here's what Dyer says about American service:

Service culture
Americans are friendly. It's not just friendliness, it is some sort of daily manifestation of American democratic principles. The first time I heard the expression "You're welcome" was in America. I really noticed the transaction being wrapped up in a nice social exchange. You can't help but notice the way that social ripples––friendly, American ripples––extend way beyond the immediate interaction that created them. I'd go for that “have a nice day” superficial friendliness over deep-seated English hostility any day of the week.

I would go even further than Dyer to say that I don't even find the American "have a nice day" friendliness to be superficial. Most of the time - it's real. And if the English offer up "deep seated hostility" I'd say that Canadians present a politeness that couches smug self-righteousness.

I think Canadians possess all sorts of other fab national qualities, but the service industry and friendliness just aren't one of them.

Snow in the mountains

2011-09-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

7:43 sunrise
20:03 sunset

First snow on Golden Horn this morning. Took this as I left the house for work. You can see the snow a bit better if you click on the photo and make it bigger.

How long until the first flakes land down at our house level?

Berry butt

2011-09-20T08:13:00.000-07:00

7:38 sunrise
20:09 sunset

The hazards of berry picking. Well, hazards if you sit on the cranberry patch while picking.

The crop is plentiful this year. (Can you call it a crop if it wasn't cultivated?) I was out picking on Sunday and I'm hoping to get out again this week if the rain holds off.

Annual Mountain Hero Ride

2011-09-18T22:27:00.000-07:00

7:34 sunrise
20:15 sunset

If you think that summer is short in the Yukon, fall is downright temporary. You really have to pay attention or it can pass you by. So when the Klondike Road Relay came and went and I hadn't yet ridden Mountain Hero, I figured it wouldn't happen this year. But, the weather gods were kind and yesterday dawned reasonably bright and acceptably warm. A small group of us headed off to Carcross to ride up and over Montana Mountain.

It was, as always, gorgeous.

And we were treated to an abundance of animal life. And no, I am not talking about those in our group who over-dressed for the climb (for once it wasn't me!!) and had to ride shirtless for awhile.

On the way to Carcross we saw a mama black bear and two cubs.

During the ride we saw pika, ptarmigan, and caribou!

Sorry, no caribou photo. They were too far away for a decent snapshot. And on the way home we watched a grizzly bear stomp up and down beside the road.

All in all a great day. Here are some of my favourite photos:

The only negative was at the very end of the ride - less than a kilometer to go - Paula took a huge wipeout and scared the bejeesus out of those of us behind her. Her front wheel veered off the trail and she flew off her bike. She says she remembers very little of it aside from her face scraping the ground. When we came upon her she was non-verbal and was wrapped around a tree. Flashback to my first time on this trail when our friend Tony shattered his elbow and I was afraid this was even worse. Fortunately, Paula is okay (bruised and very sore) but it reminded me just how much damage can be done when you hurtle down a mountain at 45km/kr. Mental note.

Online Habits

2011-09-16T17:50:00.000-07:00

7:29 sunrise
20:22 sunset

This really great article kinda sums up how I feel about my online life. It's a good read - really worth the time, in my opinion. Very little of what it says is new (the idea that on the interwebs we are always mere seconds away from gratification and that our patience is being eroded in real life situations) but I really like how it is said. I also appreciate that the article doesn't entirely dismiss "digital life." After all, I certainly find plenty of entertainment in my blogging, facebooking, tweeting and flickering. It's just that I hate feeling like I sometimes have too much of an online life. That I can't tear myself away from it. And this is coming from a person who spends a lot of time outside and who doesn't have a cellphone/mobile device of any sort. I am more than capable of turning my online world off when I go on vacation, for example. As the author says, "An inability to log off is hardly the most destructive habit you could acquire, but it seems unlikely there is any more widespread compulsion among the professional middle-class and their children than lingering online."

UGH.

Anyhow, the whole article is good, but I also chuckled at this section, Lee Siegel's statement about online habits and bloggers:

1. Not everyone has something valuable to say.
2. Few people have anything original to say.
3. Only a handful of people know how to write well.
4. Most people will do almost anything to be liked.
5. “Customers” are always right, but “people” aren’t.

Bloggers on the whole write carelessly, their ideas are commonplace, they curry favor with readers and one another, and their popularity is no index of their worthiness. Siegel quotes Spinoza: “All things excellent are both difficult and rare.”

So thanks for reading, peeps :) Have a great weekend.

My newest winter dress

2011-09-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

7:24 sunrise
20:28 sunset

While I have been trying to restrain myself from necessary purchases, I could not resist this amazing fleur de lis dress from my favourite etsy seller Small Earth Vintage. Karen's got a great eye for funky vintage dresses and this is the fourth one I have purchased from her.

While it's not wool (that would have made it truly perfect) I figure the 100% polyester double knit will still keep me pretty warm during a Yukon winter. My question to you, any blog readers, is what colour tights would you pair this with? There's the obvious black but I'm interested in another option. Maybe mustard yellow?

I'm hoping it might arrive next week!

Building Trail

2011-09-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

7:21 sunrise
20:31 sunset

Until last night, I had never worked on building or maintaining a mountain bike trail. I dunno how that happened but it just did. But I do think that since I use the trails so much, it only makes sense to spend some time, when I can, trying to build them. So when Tony and Alex set up a night to take a group out to the still-under-development Starbuck's Revenge, I was in.

It was a gorgeous night - warm, sunny, and the colours on Mt Mac were spectacular.

The hike in was a couple of kilometres. The trail's namesake, Starbuck the dog, is out in front.

Do you have any idea how effective loppers are?! I didn't have a clue. In fact, I didn't even know these were called loppers. Now I know. You can wreck havoc on overgrown willows with these things!

I don't think that we managed to clear any more than a few hundred metres since the sun is now setting so much earlier and it took us awhile to get to the actual trail, but I'm hoping that it was worth the effort. I don't know if the whole thing will be finished before the snow flies, but if it is, I am going to try my best to get one ride in.

View from the roof

2011-09-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

7:17 sunrise
20:37 sunset

My legs are killing me! No, really - I think something died in there. I had to lift my legs out of bed this morning and descending stairs is practically impossible. Who knew that running 20km for the first time since, oh the 2009 Klondike Road Relay, would result in such massive amounts of pain and disability? (*surely it never occurred to me*)

So my hobbling around kept us close to home today. It was gorgeous out though - lots of sunshine. We climbed up on to our roof to enjoy the view (well, and because Ben swept the chimney). Here's what my neighbourhood looks like from the rooftop.

And one of us perched up there.

I don't want finter to end. I'm not ready for snow.

Klondike Road Relay #5 in the books

2011-09-10T20:18:00.000-07:00

7:14 sunrise
20:40 sunset

Well, another Klondike Road Relay completed. Phew! I'm still of the mind the running does not deserve my time or attention but I am insanely thankful that my 20k leg 8 went better than expected this morning. I was super worried that if my knee (IT band/hamstring/fibula?) acted up I would have to walk and I could take as long as 2:40 to finish. Now, we are anything but a competitive team but still, it sucks to feel you can't even run because your body hurts.

So I managed a consistent pace and while it hurt (I could feel my hip flexors shouting at me early, around km 7) it wasn't unmanagemable. I trudged along and, surprisingly, crossed the line in my hunting-themed tshirt (our team was named the "Long-gun Registry Memorial Runners") in 2:03. Seriously - that was way better than I had hoped. I'm not claiming to be some stellar running athlete (no, those folks sprinted past me on a pretty regular basis) but I can genuinely say I was pleased with my time - especially given my lack of focused preparation.

Now that I have stopped moving, however, there has been time to let my hip flexors really stiffen up and my knee is throbbing. I also have a ginormous blister on one of my big toes that is giving me some grief. Lesson learned: running can be fun but it's a lot gentler on your body if you actually practice.

It was a gorgeous day to be out on the South Klondike Highway (sun! so much sun!) and apparently the night-time runners were treated to a glorious display of northern lights.

Here's our team at 6:15 am in Carcross.

Views along the highway as the sun came up:

Carrie near the end of leg 7.

And suddenly - it was daylight!

I think I'm at around the 10km mark here. I had to give up on the hat as the day warmed up. Sierra sports it well though.

And now, I am off to the after party for a beer and, legs permitting, some dancing.

BC Bike Rides in the Sun

2011-09-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

7:07 sunrise
20:50 sunset

Gah. Sunrise is already past 7am now. Winter's coming.

But, we just spent a weekend of FABULOUS weather in Vancouver. Yes, that's right, the city of rain turned into the city of sunshine for four fabulous days.

We didn't get up to too much but I wanted to share this awesome series of photos that we took on a bike ride. Ben and I shared the photography duties.

Look how clear and blue that sky is!

Plus one gratuitous flower shot from the gardens next door to our friends' house, where we stayed. Oh Vancouver, I miss your lovely Septembers. I don't miss a whole lot else (friends aside, natch) but the gardens - beautiful!

Food, Not Running and Bike Rides

2011-09-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

6:52 sunrise
21:08 sunset

Today I have eaten:

2 bowls of cereal (one was granola) with milk
1 bagel with cheese and tomato
1 apple
1 apricot
a handful of almonds
couple of chunks of Oka cheese
2 hard boiled eggs
1 Reeces peanut butter cup
1 cup of coffee
1/2 a glass of red wine

I'm thinking this is not exactly a well-rounded diet. Just wanted to mention it. See what it looked like when I wrote it down. On twitter, Jill Homer mentioned writing a "How to Eat Without Cooking" book. Looks like I could be a target customer. But I did boil those eggs. Or at least, Ben did.

In other breaking news, I've given up on running. I mean, I still have to suffer through the KRR next weekend but after that, running and I are breaking up. Not that we were ever that close, mind you, but it's over. I ran 15km last weekend and my left knee was killing me after about 7km. Looks like it's probably my IT band (and the fact that I never stretch and then go from jogging the occasional 5km into experimenting with distances 3 times as far). My plan now is to stretch regularly, get a massage tomorrow, and rest until next Saturday. Thanks so very much to all of you for running music ideas! I have downloaded several of your suggestions and I always like to hear what other peeps are into.

So since running and I have split up, I went for a bike ride.

Spectacularly beautiful tonight!!

And this weekend we are off to Vancouver to visit with friends. I am hoping for warm temperatures, a little bit of city dining, and cocktails on a patio. See you next week.

I need running tunes

2011-08-26T22:29:00.000-07:00

6:38 sunrise

21:37 sunset

In two weeks I have to run a half marathon. Actually, it’s only 20km but that’s far enough as far as I am concerned. It will be my 5^th appearance in the Klondike Road Relay from Skagway, AK to Whitehorse.

I used to sort of like running. I got a sense of accomplishment out of it and I often felt good after a run. These things do sometimes still happen but I spend more time not wanting to run than I do actually enjoying the after-effects.

I have been saying that this is my last year for the KRR. I’m guessing that my friend Julie will try and hold me to that.

In the meantime, I have rediscovered running with music and it seems to help. I need to put together 2 hours and 15 minutes of awesome running tunes together. Can you help? I’ve got a few core tunes I’d like to include and yeah, they’re of the pop variety. I’m definitely not into mellow yoga music while running (Ben is – isn’t that cah-rayzee?!). So a couple of Lady Gaga’s tunes (Bad Romance is my fave), some Jay-Z (Empire State of Mind) and Jessie J (Price Tag). Don’t Judge! Music along the lines of The Be Good Tanyas (Light Enough to Travel) or The Killers (All These Things that I've Done) might also do the trick. Can you help me come up with more. Please?

A 60s Wedding

2011-08-24T08:21:00.001-07:00

6:33 sunrise

21:33 sunset

On August 24, 1968 my parents got married in a Lutheran church in Kitchener, Ontario. While it's true that they got divorced some 15ish years later, today would have been their 43rd anniversary. And divorce or no divorce, I adore the photos of their wedding. I suppose in some weird way looking at photos that commemorate a failed marriage is a bit odd but I can't help loving the professional photography and all the details in everyone's outfits. I love an occasion to get dressed up!

Here my grandpa is walking my mom in to the chapel. I think he looks so dapper in his suit and slim grey tie. My mom's dress hung, for years, in the closet of a downstairs bedroom at my grandparents' house. When I was a little girl I used to try it on from time to time. I didn't have any grand visions of my own wedding or any desire to be princess-like or anything. I just liked checking out my mom's "old stuff." The dress was plain - very much my mom's style then and now - with a bow at the empire waist. Sometime between being a teenager and an adult, my mom's dress disappeared from the closet and that has always kinda bummed me out. I don't know if I would have worn it to my own wedding (is that bad luck?) but it would have been a neat option.

Here are my both my parents. They look so cute (and so young!).

This shot to me is like a still from Mad Men. This was taken at the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary building which was built, in 1963, on the campus of what is now Wilfred Laurier University. They were married in the chapel which is the glassed in area behind them.

This shot appeals to me because we get to look at the back of these women's dresses which is a bit of a unique angle on things. Check out the bow in the hair of the woman talking to my mom. And I guess mustard yellow was in that year?

So happy un-anniversay mom and dad? Thanks for letting me keep your wedding album.

Beach Nostalgia

2011-08-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

6:23 sunrise
21:45 sunset

The weather so far in August has been craptacular. Autumn is very much around the corner but rather than just cooler temperatures and some yellow leaves, we have had lots of rain. Makes me cranky.

So I thought I would cheer myself up with a little post on summer. When I was a kid I spent a lot of time in Southampton, Ontario at my grandparents' place. When my mom was growing up she spent all her summers there too.

This is my mom, age 10, on what I swear is the same swing set I played on. At the very least, I played on this same beach.

Then there's this awesome 60s photo of my mom and aunt outside their cottage. The cottage was sold by the time I was born but my grandparents bought another, year-round house, that was still close to the beach.

I can't actually see much of my current self in this 2 year old version of me. This beach looked the same throughout my childhood but I haven't been there in more than a decade.

Ah - another classic Jenn shot. The beach and an Archie comic. If I was lucky, I might get to have a can of coke too! My grandfather died in 1994 and my grandmother two years later. Eek - that's not a decade ago, that's nearly 20 years! My mom went through Southampton this summer and took my nephew to the beach. She said it made her nostalgic. Old photographs like this certainly do the same for me.

Edited to add: As I posted this, I noticed the date: August 20th. It would have been my grandma's 96th birthday today. So this post seems rather fitting. Perhaps I am thinking of the beach and her house and my summers with my grandparents all because it's her birthday today.

Happy Wedding Portraits

2011-08-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

6:13 sunrise
21:56 sunset

You've probably already seen these shots - or ones like them - since it has already been a couple of months since the New York Senate passed a bill to legalize gay marriage. But I still love this series. Look at the smiles!

So if you haven't seen them - go check out the rest of the photos.

It's my sister's birthday today

2011-08-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

Today is my sister Andrea’s birthday. She is 5 years, 3 months and 3 days younger than I am which makes her 33 years old today.

Having a sister is complicated business. At least, in my family it is. Andy and I aren’t particularly good friends. Actually, if I am being totally honest, we aren’t friends at all. We don’t particularly like each other and I'd even go so far as to say that there isn't much respect between us either. The best I can come up with is that I think there is a sense of loyalty to each other underneath our disinterest. Like I said, it’s complicated.

However, I want to share a few photos of us throughout the years. Call it a bit of birthday nostalgia for my sister and a wish for us to perhaps one day figure things out. Remember that if you click on any of the photos you will get an embiggened version to look at.

Here we are with my mom in Florida, Christmas 1978. I am wearing a red Snoopy watch that was a gift that year. I remember Woodstock being on the on the second hand, which I thought was cool. Andrea is almost 6 months old here and I'm 5 and half.

I actually quite love this next photo. It was taken on my grandparents' back deck and I'm guessing it's the summer of 1980 which makes us 2 and 7 years old. I can only laugh at our matching bowl cuts. I think I went through a protective phase with Andrea and I am told that, for a little while when I was around 8 years old, I actually liked playing with her. And there's Snoopy again. I think my grandparents liked that comic strip because the creator's last name was the same as theirs.

Fast forward a few years and here we are as teens! Well, Andrea's 12 and I'm 17 but close enough. I remember thinking those flowers looked so cute in her hair and I was vaguely jealous.

This photo was taken at Peggy's Cove, less than 24 hours before Swiss Air flight 111 crashed into the ocean mere kilometres from here. That's a horrible memory, but I have good ones from this trip. Andrea was starting her second year at Dalhousie University and I drove her out to Halifax from Ontario. She was moving into a great big lovely house with several other women. I remember thinking she was attending school in a super cool place.

And this is the most recent one I can find. It was taken in April 2010 in Nassau where Andrea currently lives. We don't see each other much - due partly to our disinterest in each other but also due to the ridiculous geographic distance between us. I managed to make this trip because I was in Ottawa for work and the flight from Ottawa to Nassau is considerably more reasonably priced than is the flight from Whitehorse to Nassau.

So Andy, I wish you a very happy birthday. May your next year be filled with adventure (and I think it will - considering that you are contemplating a teaching contract in Hong Kong!) and happiness.

Soggy Report

2011-08-08T23:26:00.000-07:00

5:53 sunrise
22:19 sunset

Well, I'm back.

The Soggy Bottom 100 is one crazy race. And I only rode a third of it: 56km from the Devil's Pass trailhead back to the town of Hope. It took me considerably longer than I ever would have guessed and, even though I expected rain and mud and cold, it was rainier and colder than I imagined it would be. One of these years I am going to be learn how to be comfortable in cold and wet conditions when on a bike.

Many riders DNF'd and a few smart folks didn't start. While the day started out with decent looking weather, the passes were windy and, after about 4pm, the rain began and the temperatures dropped down to 5C. I'll say that the mud wasn't as soul-sucking as the mud in last summer's TransRockies, but it splashed everywhere and this event is clearly appropriately named.

At 9am Carlos, the event organizer, counted down the start and they were off! Thirty-eight solo riders (I think) and 6 relay teams headed out towards Resurrection Pass.

Ben, Monika, Dan, and I headed over to Cooper Landing - the first checkpoint.

We had high expectations for Jonah. He's a strong rider and we figured he would be among the first few in to Cooper Landing. Indeed, he arrived in about 4 hours. He wasn't feeling great and he debated dropping out but, after a sandwich and a 10 minute rest, he turned around and went back on course.

Tristan came in to the checkpoint 10 or so minutes after Jonah. Having skipped his morning coffee, he downed the one we brought for him pretty quickly.
With our two solo riders in and out of the checkpoint we had more than an hour to wait for our teammates to come in. Paula and April had a great ride, but they said the pass was really windy and they just barely missed hitting a bear cub on the last kilometer of the trail!

Once Dan and Monika headed out for leg 2, it was on to the next checkpoint at Devil's Creek.

Jonah and Tristan both contemplated abandoning the race when they came in but, after a rest, some food and warmer clothing, they also both decided to plug on.

The sweeps were scheduled to head out at 6:30pm and so as 6pm approached, Ben and I got dressed and prepared to head out. It looked like the organizers were going to allow us to start before our teammates came in. At around ten to 6pm, Dan arrived and Ben got on his bike. I waited until about 6:10pm and then decided to get going. It was raining and I was already chilly just sitting around the checkpoint.

I met Monika about 5 minutes out and while she nearly didn't see me coming up the trail, she actually seemed chipper (although tired). I was in a good mood.

The first hour of riding went well. In places, I was cruising through wildflowers that grew above my head. It was wet, but beautiful. I couldn't wait to get into the pass and see what it looked like there. I warmed up considerably and, while I knew I was climbing, I was actually waiting for it to get worse. The good news is that it never did. I found the climb quite gentle and (thank gawd) I didn't have to get off and push at any point. I had to re-arrange my clothing choices early on and I snapped this photo before coming out into the alpine.

As I left the trees, however, the wind and the rain picked up. I was incredibly grateful for the pvc jacket that I bought specifically for this race. Once again I stopped to add more clothing and grab a snack. Oh - and to take a selfie as well, of course. It immediately became clear to me that stopping was not a good idea. This would not be the photo-filled ride I had hoped for. I was not climbing enough to keep warm and even adding clothes and eating food did not compensate for my lack of movement. I tossed a peanut butter cup into my jersey, chugged the accelerade I brought and hoped that I could get through the pass and back down the other side before I would need to eat again.

Although the rain was bad and I was cold, I was feeling pretty good when I got to Devil's Pass cabin. I changed into dry gloves, took this photo of the volunteers, and got ready to climb the last few switchbacks to the top.

Then, as I began to descend, things started to go badly. The wind was whipping around and the extra breeze from going downhill did not help. It took less than 20 minutes for me to have feet that felt like blocks of ice and fingers that couldn't pull on my brake levers. I was using my wrists to pull the levers back. This was not good. My teeth were chattering and I didn't know how to get warmer. The cold saps one's energy in the most horrid of ways. I just kept going.... but slowly. I remembered Paula saying to me "Jenn, you are going to love the descent" because the first part of her leg was the last part of mine.

There was no love for the descent. There was a lot of really, really cold and unhappy and distressed Jenn. But of course you keep moving because what else is there to do?

Then I was passed by a solo rider: Kevin. We chatted briefly and I let him by. Perhaps 15 minutes later I saw his bike on the side of the trail and, partly worried, partly curious, I stopped. Immediately I saw why he had dismounted. Two hikers were setting up camp for the night and they had started a fire. Kevin was warming his hands. I joined him.

We both stayed there in the rain and chatted with (Jeff?) an elementary school teacher from Moose Pass. Jeff was *awesome* and if anyone in the magic interweb universe has any idea who he is, please please pass on my eternal thanks to him for saving me from hypothermia. Kevin and I stayed for perhaps 40 minutes - until our fingers could bend again.

Soon after, I descended into the trees and, while it was still cold, it became a tolerable, deep-set cold. There were occasional short climbs, which helped increase my core temperature. I must say, I have never been so thrilled to see uphills as I was during this race.

However, I was not able to push myself to ride quickly. I was just too damn cold and the wind generated by my own movement seemed worse than the slow pace at which I chose to labour. That was probably a mistake and in retrospect I should have tried harder to hurry up and finish because I ended up having to ride the last 10+ miles in the dark. Ben completed the same leg in 2 hours less than I did. I'm slower than he is, yes, but not that much slower. I knew I had to keep moving to stay warm but I wish I had pressed on with more focus.

The last 10 or so miles seemed interminably long. The narrow, overgrown trail was a challenge to navigate. Riding in the dark, in bear territory, through muck and bushes, sucks. It was slow, I was scared and, despite the awesome lights borrowed from Sierra and Tony, visibility was a challenge. I thought every stump was an animal. My heart was pounding.
Finally, I decided to wait for a rider to catch up to me so that I wouldn't be alone. His brakes were toast and he wasn't able to ride downhill but I didn't care. I was happy to have someone with me. We alternately rode and walked our bikes out to the road, yelling "woah bear," "youpie," or "hey hey" at the regular intervals.

Just before we came to the road we were caught by the sweeps, Tim and Oscar. I was so happy to see them. Tim asked if we had seen the bear as they were following fresh tracks in front of them (which meant the bear was between us...). No, we had not seen any bears but I had seen lots of scat. *Shudder* - that freaked me out even more. But at least there were four of us together now and once we got to the road I knew we were home.

Dan actually came out to see if I wanted a ride back to town. It was very sweet of him but a ride?! At that point?! No way in hell was I getting into a car. A gravel road with no bushes or mud to contend with was like sleeping in your own bed after weeks away. I was just so happy to be there.

So Bo (the last solo rider - did I get his name right?), Tim, Oscar and I rolled into Hope around 1am. There were people there cheering for us which was super awesome. My teammates were there too - yay - and Carlos made sure that we went inside the social hall where the fire was on in the wood stove. Monika stripped my wet clothes off of me and I stood for some time warming up by the stove. I had some water. I had some beer. Bo and I shared the halibut burger that I asked my team to buy for me if I didn't get in before midnight. I thought about the whole experience.

It's a crazy thing, this wilderness mountain bike endurance racing routine. And I didn't even ride the full course! Those 100 mile guys and gals are truly amazing. Jonah finished 6th, Tristan ended his race by running out (he was cold) and all of our relay racers completed their legs. It was a successful trip for the Yukon contingent.

Would I try it again? Strangely, yes. In order to solo successfully I would not only need to be dedicated about training (I know I can do that) but I would also need the weather to cooperate. I honestly don't know how the racers who came in to the second checkpoint managed to HTFU and go back out. But I'd like to try it again. I'd like to get into that head space where you are alone with just your personal experiences and wherewithal. I found myself using Jill Homer's surefire way of figuring out how things are going. Ask yourself: "Am I about to die? No? Then press on." It's remarkably effective. So Soggy Bottom 100, I might be back to see you again next year.

Alaska Bound

2011-08-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

5:43 sunrise

22:30 sunset

In a few hours we are off to Hope, Alaska for the Soggy Bottom 100. I thought I'd post a wardrobe remix style photo of me and some of the stuff I was packing last night.

Shoes - Specialized. More or less destroyed in Trans Rockies last year but they're really comfy

Socks - Pearl Izumi. Cute but not wool so likely to be replaced with a different pair.

Bag - Vaude 14+3 (referring to litre size of bag and bladder). Full of treats like jelly-bellies and almonds plus some first aid stuff, a multi-tool, tube, pump and of course my camera.

Helmet - Giro.

Knickers - Louis Garneau. New and purchased based on a recommendation for comfy women's bike shorts in Outside magazine. I'll letcha know.

Shirt - MEC. Wool

Gloves - Kona. Worn but still my comfiest pair.

Glasses - Oakley. Not all that stylish but great lenses and they vent well.

What you don't see in this photos is my new PVC rain coat which I am hoping will save me from the rain that (right now) is being forecast at 50% likely.

It has been raining in Hope all week and as Tim Woody so eloquently put it, "looks like this year's Soggy Bottom 100 will have bottomless sogginess." I am fully preparing myself for a rainy, wet, slow ride on Saturday but I am hoping, hoping, HOPING that it might not rain and that I might get to check out some of the beautiful terrain in this part of Alaska. Wish me luck and I'll be back with a report (or at least lots of photos) next week.

Just another awesome vintage dress

2011-08-01T17:55:00.000-07:00

5:35 sunrise

22:38 sunset

Well, it's August. Here in Whitehorse, it's the first month of fall. Or at least of "finter." Right now the weather is still fine (not great, just fine) but I am so aware that soon the fall colours will be out and our overnight temperatures will be down around 0C.

It is partly because our summer is so short and partly because I am trying to be a good girl and save my pennies for a kitchen renovation, that I haven't snapped up this awesome rainbow dress from Small Earth Vintage. But, I can share it with you.

Cyclist's Mantra

2011-07-31T10:44:00.000-07:00

5:34 sunrise

22:38 sunset

Originally posted over at the Surly blog, I love this Cyclist's Mantra that was re-posted on our bike club's facebook page a few days ago. Go and read the whole thing, but here are some excerpts that I especially like:

If you think your bike looks good, it does.

If you like the way your bike rides, it’s an awesome bike.

You don’t need to spend a million dollars to have a great bike, but if you do spend a million dollars and know what you want you’ll probably also have a great bike.

...

Being shuttled up a downhill run does not make you a weak person, nor does choosing not to fly off of a 10 foot drop.

Bike frames made overseas can be super cool. Bike frames made in the USA can be super cool.

Hey, tattooed and pierced long shorts wearin flat brim hat red bull drinkin white Oakley sportin rad person on your full suspension big hit bike – nice work out there.

Hey, little round glasses pocket protector collared shirt skid lid rear view mirror sandal wearing schwalbe marathon running pletscher two-leg kickstand tourist – good job.

Hey, shaved leg skinny as hell super duper tan line hear rate monitor checking power tap train in the basement all winter super loud lycra kit million dollar wheels racer – keep it up.

The more you ride your bike, the less your ass will hurt.

...

No bike does everything perfectly. In fact, no bike does anything until someone gets on it to ride.

...

Really fast people are frustrating, but they make you faster. When you get faster, you might frustrate someone else.

My dear deer

2011-07-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

5:21 sunrise

22:53 sunset

It only took 2.5 months (due to the first shipment getting lost in the mail and then a Canada Post strike) but look what finally arrived in the mail today - my resin deer head!

We still have to paint one more layer of "Carrot Stick" on the wall but then the deer will be mounted above the fireplace.

Isn't it awesome? She might need a name. I'll take suggestions if you've got 'em.

Coal Lake Road

2011-07-25T17:34:00.000-07:00

5:21 sunrise

22:53 sunset

So on Saturday I wanted to go for a long-ish ride in order to remind myself what 4+ hours on a bike actually feels like. I wouldn't call it training for the Soggy Bottom per se; something more along the lines of a practice run. One doesn't exactly start a training regime 2 weeks before an event. But I wanted to put in a long day just to remind myself that I can do it and it's not that bad.

Good news is that I am still perfectly happy to be on a bike after 6 hours and I could have kept going. I didn't go anywhere quickly, mind you, but I really am pleased that I know how to settle into being on my bike for several hours. I eat decently, I drink lots of liquids and I have learned how to be patient. I think that's actually what is important - learn how to just keep moving without really focusing on how far you still have to go. Be persistent but not necessarily rushed. Believe that you will eventually get to the end... as long as you keep turning those pedals.

Last year Sierra, Julie and I tried to complete the Coal Lake to Mt Mac ride but we were foiled by bad weather and some confusion with our (faster) cycling partners who we sent on ahead of us and who then promptly missed a crucial turn. We didn't complete the ride. This year I was hopeful as it was sunny and warm as the five of us gathered in Monika's front yard.

But as we set off from her place we heard the rumble of distant thunder. We continued on and as we approached Mt Sima it looked like we were heading right for the one area of darkness.

We stopped at Sima to survey the sky and, well, it didn't look great. I really didn't want to be climbing the Coal Lake Road in the rain (just like last year) but it was too late to turn around and we figured that maybe we'd be lucky and miss the rain.

We were wrong.

It rained, quite hard at times, as we climbed up the steep and loose gravel road. I was not very happy. Thankfully, I was not freezing. We all put on an extra layer and continued towards the marker signifying the turn off towards Mt Mac. At this point, the rain had eased off and there were glimpses of sunshine.

So the weather improved, which was awesome, but the terrain continued to be challenging. I'm not sure I would call Coal Lake Road a "ride" as much I would call it a "hike a bike" but heck, it's still good exercise and good practice for the Soggy Bottom. A lot of the trail that we pushed up was probably ride-able but when your legs are tired sometimes it seems easier to give them a break by walking.

At any rate, we reached the last harsh push up to the Mt Mac towers in less than 4 hours and we sat together to enjoy the gorgeous views of Fish Lake for a few minutes.

Then it was reward time - down the Mt Mac road (which felt like a paved highway after Coal Lake) and over to Goat Trail for a bit of fun and a sunny view of Whitehorse.
I don't love that trail but I don't mind the challenge and it was good to do something other than climb for a change. Then suddenly we were back on the Copper Haul Road and it was a quick tour of Quickie and back home.

We rode 53.5km and gained 1308m of elevation. It took us 6.5 hours to complete (although just over 5 hours of pedalling). Translate that into American and you get 33 miles and 4290'. Let's call it a slightly shorter, climbier, version of a leg of the Soggy Bottom. Here's the ride. I couldn't figure out how to upload the data from Ben's GPS unit, but I grabbed an image of the map showing our route.

Summer

2011-07-23T10:02:00.001-07:00

5:14 sunrise

23:00 sunset

We planted our garden a little on the late side this year but look - the first veggie has grown!

It's been a mixed week weather-wise. Three days of icky rain (I got soaked on a bike ride Tuesday night) but the last couple of days have been sunny and beautiful. I may not look all that happy but I do enjoy having a post-work beer on our back deck.

Today I am going to tackle the only ride that Sierra and I didn't complete last year: Coal Lake Road over to Mt Mac. Sierra's at a race in Idaho but I will be joined by Julie today and possibly some others. So far it's sunny and gorgeous out - let's hope it stays that way.

A couple of sporty notes

2011-07-19T07:41:00.000-07:00

5:05 sunrise

23:08 sunset

Went on a hash run again last night. Thankfully, it was only 6km and flat because it was just the boys (who actually run) and me (the girl who lollygags). I wish I had carried my camera on the run as I usually do because our beer check was overlooking the Takhini river in the most gorgeous spot. You'll just have to imagine it.

And in other sporty news, I finally signed up for the Soggy Bottom 100 last week. It's a 100 mile mountain bike race in the Chugah National Forest of Alaska. Check out where the race starts, in Hope. I think it's going to be a crazy beautiful ride. Way back in April I toyed with the idea of riding all 100 miles of the race solo but I look back at that idea now and laugh. Not a chance in hell I would (could?) complete 100 miles on a mountain bike. However, I have convinced two other awesome Whitehorse women to join me on the trek and we have put in an entry as a relay team. I think I will be riding the last leg, so probably partially in the dark. I'm still kind of nervous about 35-40 miles but it's an achievable goal and I am hoping that we get beautiful weather and interesting terrain. I'm also hoping for Alaskan beer and a glimpse into what Anchorage is like. I'm sad that neither Tony (who told me about this race in the first place) nor my bike-wife Sierra will be making the journey with me, but there's always next year.

Bike Biathlon

2011-07-11T23:11:00.001-07:00

4:40 sunrise

23:23 sunset

How can you make biking even more fun? Add rifles!

Tonight I tried out the sport of biathlon. Yes, this is usually done on skis but the local club offered it up as a biking event. Super fun. I had never before touched a gun. They are kinda scary. But then you get more used to them (this is probably a negative thing overall for society but I digress...).

First, we practiced shooting:

Then we were ready to go!

After having a bit of an orientation, we raced off to do a 2km lap, shoot at 5 targets from a prone position, race another 2km, shoot at another 5 targets, then race the last 2km. Every time you missed one of your targets you had to do a penalty lap. Thankfully this penalty lap was only about 100m although, had it been the full 2km over again, I might have won the race. I actually hit all 10 of my targets so I was very impressed with myself. It allowed me to finish ahead of a whole bunch of people who all ride bikes faster than I do. But, when you make fast people ride extra distance, it's amazing how the end can turn out!

At any rate, LOTS of fun. I highly recommend checking out the sport of biathlon. Not sure how I would feel about it on skis in the winter but on bikes in the summer?! Fabbo.

Sunday

2011-07-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

4:48 sunrise

23:23 sunset

A pretty mellow day.

Tea in bed, cuddling with Ben and Mingus and watching stage 9 of the Tour de France (well, the highlights anyway. We weren't up to watch live).

Yard work and laundry.

And that was Sunday.

Tramps Like Us...

2011-07-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

4:37 sunrise

23:33 sunset

I'm late to jump on the Born to Run bandwagon but I found the book surprisingly inspiring.

I kept folding over pages in various places that I wanted to come back to and think about. They may sound contrived, when reproduced out of context like this, but the more I think about them, the more I pause on these statements, the more I think they are really important.

Ask nothing from your running, in other words, and you'll get more than you ever imagined.

Instead of cringing from fatigue, you embrace it. You refuse to let it go. You get to know it so well you're not afraid of it anymore.

Make friends with pain and you will never be alone.

It's a great book. Even if you don't run, I think you'll find it a solid read. And yes, I am going for a run tonight.