Date: Jan. 1Mileage: 18.2
January mileage: 18.2
Temperature upon departure: 32
Happy New Year to everyone! My celebration took a turn for the worse at the Edible Arts extravaganza when an all-too-tempting sushi dress (pictured) turned my night into an Edible Arts-born illness. I still sucked it up and waited out midnight while hunched over a table at Duggan's Pub, watching The Whipsaws and writhing in pain. Let this be a lesson - never eat perishable art; and don't sit in a smoky pub with sharp pains tearing at your intestines just because it's New Year's Eve. Once I got all of the sushi out of my system, though, I felt a lot better. I did a fairly relaxed ride along East End Road today and went home and took a nap.
I read a couple of year-end reviews in other blogs and enjoyed them. It inspired me to do one of my own. Here are Jill's memorable moments of 2005:
January: I learn to airboard ... a fancy sort of inflatable tobaggan with hard plastic edges to give its rider the illusion of control while she's careening down a narrow, tree-lined slope head first.
February: I discover Body Pump, and gain muscle definition in my arms for the first time in ... ever (and it's gone now.)
March: Nothing rings a bell. But early in April, I learned to draft off a herd of bison while bicycling in Yellowstone National Park.
April: I canoe down the Dirty Devil River, inspiring the best article I wrote for the Idaho Falls Post Register.
May: I go headlong over the handlebars during a mud ride in the Oquirrh Mountains, tearing some vital muscles in my left leg and walking like a rusty robot for the next four weeks. (I also earned the nickname "Gimpy McStiff," which followed me through the day I left town.)
June: I go on a crazy fun trip down the San Juan River with the Roberts family, full of stimulating conversations that led me to read three Jared Diamond books over the summer.
July: I discover the wonders of Lava Hot Springs, where I learned some real swim strokes and over the course of several weekends became a decent beach volleyball player.
August: I spend the month of my 26th birthday doing at least one thing that scares me each week: jumping off the 15-meter platform at Lava Hot Springs; hiking to the top of Mt. Borah; rock climbing in Little Cottonwood Canyon; rafting down the Snake River; applying for a job in Alaska.
September: I accept a job and move to Alaska.
October: I fly to Utah and hike across the Grand Canyon with my Dad and friends. Then I fly home to get my first real taste of Alaska winter, with a pre-Halloween snowstorm that dumped nearly a foot of powder.
November: I start this blog, thereby avoiding the necessity of buying a better TV for the long winter ahead.
December: I buy studded mountain bike tires, discover the wonders of winter cycling and register for the Susitna 100 race. Crazy training ensues.
That's my 2005. How was your year?
I like the picture for March... with the herd of bison... but there's something at the bottom right hand corner that I can't seem to figure out what it is ;)
ReplyDeleteLet's see, how was my year? Only one word comes to mind! TRIUMPHANT! I lost 321 pounds, went from a wheelchair to a mountainbike, and had my butt handed to me by you for December miles!::GRIN:: Looks like you had a good ride, by the way, and I'd have loved to be there drafting the Bison as well! Let's hope our 2006 is a fantastic as 2005!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and thanks for the blog. I had to wait for a herd of bison on a ride across Oklahoma nearly 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteEdible art -- I'll keep your tip about that in mind the next time I see a sushi dress.
Happy New Year! I like the retrospective!
ReplyDeleteYou really are a terrific photographer.
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ReplyDeleteAhh Lava Hot Springs, oh what a town, I won a MTB race there this year, it was muddy and a week after i did not come in last at the National Championships. Yellowstone, several of us rode the lower loop in July. 119 miles in one day the day after we all raced at Teton Village. I outran a Bison and my friend Blake just missed getting killed by an RV. Good times.
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed by your resolve. Riding through an Alaska winter is impressive. I used to ride through winter in New Jersey, and even that was hard. Best of luck to you. I'll think of you when I'm riding through the winter here in Southern California...
ReplyDeleteOh, come on. You actually ate the dress? Sashimi I could understand, but sushi? I won't say serve you right--nobody deserves to have intestinal nasties because they couldn't resist a good piece of art, but still--that seaweed stuff tastes icky even when it's fresh!
ReplyDeleteBut then, I like raw fish, so who am I to judge?
Let me know if you do freelance.
Do I have the coolest sister, or what? Jill, I love you! Honestly you inspire me to try crazy things like ice biking...is that what it's called?! I may have not done something that extreme yet, but I did get a gym membership, and man would I love to lose thirty pounds without realizing it. :) Missing you in Salt Lake City... Sara
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