Surreality

So apparently, surreality is a word. I thought I made it up to describe surreal reality. But apparently it actually means the state of surrealness. Huh. Well, I guess either works.

One week ago tonight, I was sweating bullets in anticipation of getting up at 4 a.m. to hike from the south rim of the Grand Canyon, down to - and across - the Colorado River, and back up. (Also, the people in the hotel room above me were super noisy, which didn't help.) A 19.2-mile hike with a change in altitude of over 5,000 feet in each direction. I whittled down the photos in a way that I hope tells the story. There aren't as many photos of the journey back up to the rim. By then you're more tired, and you kind of don't want to think about the fact that you're just going up and up and the top doesn't really seem to be getting much closer.

The captions in the photos address many common questions, except the following: 

1. How did I feel at the end? Remarkably good, considering I'm in the worst shape I've been in for several years and that my training was minimal (e.g., lots of long walks and some runs with the dog, when not sitting for way too long working lots of extra hours). 

2. Would I do it again? Yes.

3. How long did it take? We went slow and steady, with decent breaks (including about an hour at the bottom of the canyon, drinking lemonade from the little store at the campground that is serviced by mules - I mean restocked by mules, not staffed by mules), and it took us 11 hours. We could have done it in 10 if pressed. But we had plenty of daylight.

Without further adieu (okay, I know, I know - - ado): 

I had never been to the GC before. I've been to Colca Canyon
in Peru. Colca is deeper. The GC is so vast! I loved looking
at all the different layers and types of rocks as we hiked
through the different elevations.

If you zoom in, you can see a little white line.
That is the South Kaibab trail that we took down.
Gulp. Yes, it is on the edge the whole way down.
On the way up, we got a little bit of a break from cliff edges. 
I took this the night before, thus the nervous energy all night.

Waiting for the shuttle to the trailhead at 6 a.m.
It was just above freezing, with 40 mph winds.
Kim and I flew from MN to AZ, where Matt (aka the
best guide/companion) lives.

At the trailhead. It was cold and my lips got
stuck on my braces, it seems. Also, I was
trying not to freak out. I'm really scared of heights.

That's the trail behind us, it kind of goes... down.

A different angle of the trail.

Switchback down, if you look, you can see a person
three levels down from us. This is how a lot of the
trail was on the way down.

Zoom in - the little zig zag ladder looking things
is the trail, broken up by little tiers of rocks
and timber to help make it more like slanty steps
than a ramp you could slip down. Although I did
slip a few times and let out a yelp.

We had to go to the right and loop around to get on that trail
over yonder.

Here is where we got the first glimpse of the Colorado River.
We were about halfway down and had much more to do
before we got to the river.

It doesn't really look like it, but this is the trail,
on the edge of the cliff. If you zoom in and look in the lower left corner,
that helps show it.

Mules carrying trash and other things from the store down by the
river. I would never ride a mule on those trails. 
This was a wide part of the trail. The trails 
weren't a whole lot wider than the mules' packs.

That little thing just below/left of center
is a big suspension bridge across the river, which we hiked to.

It was really stable.

Crossing the suspension bridge.

We took S. Kaibab down and Bright Angel up. All the
literature says not to do it in one day. You can if you're in decent
shape and you have the right gear/weather. I highly recommend
hiking poles. It would have been much more painful and slow
without them. And more scary.

Gonna head up. It was nearly 90 degrees
at the bottom. And dusty, dusty, dusty! 

A nice break on the way up.

Three miles to the end. I didn't
see a phone.

Not a flattering photo, but 
it is proof that I was there.

The last 4.5 miles are pretty much a steady slog up steep switchbacks. Once we got within a half mile of the top it started getting windy again and as soon as we got to the rim it was super cold and windy. We just went straight to the car and hit the showers. I'm so glad I did this, and very lucky to have the means, the physical ability, and the time to do things like it. Even though I was there and it was very real at the moment, it was also very surreal. 

I came back to Minnesota, where it's been snowing some pretty much each day. But it looks like good weather is coming soon, which means you'll be seeing biking posts from me soon as I train for my July BikeMS ride.

Tell him that you're always gonna leave him, tell him that you're never gonna love him

When we were kids, my parents loaded up the 5 of us kids into a Ford Econoline for a steamy and soggy road trip to Florida. The Big Chill soundtrack (on cassette) was in back-to-back rotation, and my sisters and I altered the words to The Exciters' "Tell Him" in a way that still makes us giggle.

This weekend, my sister Molly, Beth (my stepmom), and I went to the LA area to visit my sister Lori and her husband, Shane.

It was a glorious weekend of chocolate, cheese, sunshine, laughter, games, walks, paddle boating a big swan boat, a run, a dip in the cold pool, goofy singing and dancing, and laughing. And more chocolate. And laughs.

(I don't think this symbol I saw on my run was drawn by a Surly beer lover.)

Oh! And fresh grapefruit from their tree. And visiting the ocean and seeing their spectacular new house.

Lori recently had surgery, and Shane is gearing up for some, so Molly and I ventured off the beaten path a tiny bit more than the others. We took Lori and Shane's cruiseryish bikes for a spin on a trail that cuts through Reseda and VanNuys. My first outdoor bike ride of 2022! (The Blogger phone app won't let me load up the video. Maybe that is a good thing.)

Anyhow, technically, I am gonna count that as a BikeMS training ride! I was wearing my BikeMS gear, after all...

https://mssociety.donordrive.com/participant/GoMaggieGo-2022

Fact: Your presence here just shimmers, now let's dance.

Those of you who are on Facebook (and are connected to me there) know that I recently posted this photo of a pep talk generator. I really want to make better use of it. I decided there's no time like the present!

Anyhow, I haven't posted anything here for three months because there hasn't been a whole lot to say. I have no outdoor biking stories to tell because I've been using my indoor bike. (Really glad I got that since it was essentially below zero for the bulk of the past 5 weeks!) Things are still COVIDlicious. I've been working a lot. I laid pretty low over the holidays, but got to see some family members here and there, which was good.

So, as I sit here, drinking a yummy Belgian beer while incongruously wearing my Leinenkugel's leiderhosen sweatsuit for the first time since Halloween (makes for great pjs!), I thought there are a few things that may interest you fine reader(s).

As much as possible, I've been getting out with the dog for adventurous hikes. (We also had an epic 8+ mile hike with my friend Marcy, which was fantastic.) She is more limited by the cold than I am, since I don't know where to find ear muffs or a snout-warmer for Haley. A few times, I've realized, once we've started, that it is chillier than I thought it was, due to the wind. So, I've ended up doing a fair amount of jogging in nature parks wearing snowboots and a winter coat. Apologies that some of these dog photos may not be new to some of you, given my "Haley Daily" posts on Facebook (it's a bit of a misnomer, but "Haley Semiweekly" just doesn't have the same alliterative effect. (Is that the right word?)

From Nov, when it was just getting cold.

Late Dec, at Lake Elmo Park. It was icy and windy and
we ran much of the 6-mile trail. She is quite the hunter!

Late Dec, Minnehaha Falls. My cousins from 
St. Louis unfortunately visited - to attend an 
outdoor hockey game - when it was below zero.
The falls were pretty tho'.

Haley and Pierre, in January, when
Dan and I were in... Mexico!

So, in January 2020, Dan and I went to Mexico for a Wilco-focused music festival. Even though we thought it was kind of ridiculous when we booked it, it turned out to be a great thing because (1) it was great, (2) we had the shittiest end to 2019 with my Dad dying and my mom's cancer, and (3) a big surprise was waiting for us in March 2020. In May 2021, after getting booster shots, we though, let's do it again in January 2022! After much hemming and hawing due to Omicron, realizing that I did not actually get the cancel-for-any-reason travel insurance and instead got really expensive insurance that would cover adventurous deaths (e.g., skydiving with sharks) and the repatriation of our remains, and a lot of emails and back and forth to the festival organizers about how exactly things would work if we got sick in Mexico, we went to Mexico. 

That's me. :-)  It was pants weather at night, which was fine!

It was not quite the same, but it was really, really good. It was warm, sunny most of the time, and not our house. We got to see good music. Our flights were not delayed. We have TSA precheck AND global entry. We just had to wear masks for many hours for two days and I was annoyed by jackasses that refuse to just follow the rules. So, you know, less annoying than a typical workday for anyone who has worked in the service industry in the past two years. 

A bit warmer in Mexico than at home.

The main stage. People were pretty spaced out this year.
Geographically, I mean. Only a few people are actually
really drunk, which is good for an all-inclusive resort.
They wisely have food all over the place.

 

This shady overlook thing where you can watch
the afternoon bands in a comfy chair.

They have a lot of activities. Like in 2020, my priority
was the mezcal tasting event with Nels Cline and 
John Stirrat. I didn't want to be too close to people,
so we sat in the back, which was nice.

The mezcals. One was definitely not my style.

Side stage where Nels Cline talked about playing 
guitars. Dan was very happy.

I started every day with a short run (monkeys and lizards were seen),
and then we usually had breakfast in a spot like this.
Not too shabby.

After breakfast, before the mid-afternoon music
started, we just read. And I swam and looked
at cute little hermit crabs and other creatures.

After Mexico, I had a couple-three, as they say here in Minnesota, COVID tests and then went to visit my mom and stepdad. I bought a harness for this year-old, muscular pup - and a waist leash - and took him snowshoeing. I became his new BFF.

Haley, with her keen nose, was not thrilled about the scent of Alvin all over my clothes. So, I tried to win back her affection...

So, what's on deck in the upcoming months? Well, we have an Irish dance performance for St. Patrick's day, I'm going hiking in the Grand Canyon in the spring. I've got a couple other trips sprinkled in that hopefully will happen, and then a beercycling trip in Belgium (knock on wood - rescheduled from 2020) and.... the Bike MS Ride Across Minnesota in July - - - which will be on the North Shore of MN, a truly lovely place. (You can donate here! https://mssociety.donordrive.com/participant/GoMaggieGo-2022)

I'm a little out of shape due to working too much, and spending a good chunk of December eating pastries/cookies and drinking beer (not a ton, but too much for me). Although I've been healthier these past couple of weeks, I did still eat the requisite post-platelet-donation Oreos today. I actually had skipped them but then was feeling a little shaky, so decided it was necessary from a public safety standpoint if I was going to drive home. 

It is supposed to be warm and melty later this week. I may have missed my window for fat biking this year, and think we still need more snow after last year's drought. I normally am able to be out riding around St. Patrick's Day. We'll see how this year pans out...

A full fall

Well, the days are definitely getting shorter and it is getting colder. After an amazingly nice day on Saturday and a "great for November" Sunday, I see some snow in the forecast. Which means that I hopefully will be ramping up my visits to the fancy new bike I bought and put in the decidedly not-fancy, nearly 100-year old basement. It (the bike, not the basement) has a screen and whatnot, and a variety of biking and non-biking classes, nearly all of which are really quite good. I should have visited the bike today after a long day at work, but instead decided to do some bona fide cooking for dinner, which was restorative in its own way.

What follows isn't a full report of what I have been doing since I last posted, but here are some highlights.

In early October, we went to NYC with our friends Kristin and Steve, while Haley had her first-ever (and successful!) slumber party over at Pierre's house. It really is noteworthy because we've worked really hard to make her less reactive around other dogs and, while she'll never be a dog park kind of dog, she can apparently stay in at least one house with another dog when we're out of town and peacefully co-exist. Many thanks to Susan and Eric for being amenable to that. Oh, NYC! It was a great trip, with really effective COVID precautions. The weather was great and we did a full-day bike tour of Brooklyn. Riding in NYC is pretty different than riding in MSP.

Little dog on the big bed,
big dog on the little bed. It never fails.

I did several rides with my friend Matt, did a western suburb ride with a guy I met through the Twin Cities Bicycling Club (TCBC) named Adams, sadly stopped doing weeknight rides with TCBC and the Major Taylor Bicycling Club, started taking Irish dance classes again, and had a fun trip with my friend Marcy (we don't get to see each other enough) to see Beth (my stepmom) and got to do a big nature hike and watch lots of Ted Lasso. That was a big sentence. I also took Haley for lots of walks at the state park after work.

For Halloween, I pulled out the lederhosen sweatsuit that I ordered during the fall of 2020 to make me laugh on dark COVID days, and ordered a hat. I got to wear my costume to Irish dance, on the TCBC Halloween bike ride that Matt and I did (he won third prize for his costume!), and when I handed out candy to trick-or-treaters. It was pretty chilly on Halloween, so I pulled the fire ring thing out front, sat by the fire with lots of clothes on under my lederhosen, and pointed kids toward a big bowl and said, "take 3 pieces." It was so fun to have a costume, and a decent one at that!

Matt's costume garnered lots of comments on the bike trails
from people coming from the other direction.

I am still laughing.

Jess is a TCBC rider and was the
most welcoming person when I first
started riding with the club in the spring.

Stacy always has her feet
lined up better than I do. 

Last week and this past weekend, I spent a lot of time consulting with Stephen from the Angry Catfish about new biking shoes and the bizarre placement of my old cleats. I rode about 60 miles with Matt on Saturday (beautiful weather!) on a really fun route he put together with lots of zigzagging and backtracking throughout the city. And then, on Sunday, I rode about 55 miles with Adams to show him the route to Grey Cloud Island. It was a colder day, which always makes my muscles more sore. It was also the first day I wore my new biking shoes, and with cleats in more normal spots. My back hardly hurt. I am wondering if half of my back pain was self-induced by not noticing that my left cleat was really far forward in my shoe. In a way, I hope so (even though that is annoying), because maybe that means my back will feel better down the road - provided I do all the core stuff I'm supposed to be doing. 

Matt's Saturday route. I made myself a cue sheet.
Thankfully, there was nothing resembling snow.
It was sunny and perfect. 

Grey Cloud Island on Sunday. It was chilly,
but still nice for November. Lots of birds.

Generally cleats (especially for a shorter person)
should be toward the heel of the foot (like on the right).
Regardless, they generally should be in the same place
on each foot. For some reason, I feel like this
was purposeful placement four years ago,
but Stephen says that seems pretty unlikely and
likely was something that was loose, shifted,
and undetected by me. Who knows?

And so we'll see what the conditions are like for the remainder of the year. Last year I rode pretty solidly into mid-December, but I'm glad to have an indoor option this year to supplement whatever I might do outside. October was a full month. I was packing it in, in anticipation of the change of seasons, and am grateful that I was so lucky to do so much.