i have all of this time on my hands being on vacation and all, yet i seem to be posting less frequently. the past week or so has gone by pretty quickly. my youngest brother and his fiancee arrived with their dog. it was great to hang out with them though it was only for a few days. they brought their dog with them, and it was just nice to have a dog around again.
i picked up my other brother at the airport at midnight on christmas day, which means my whole (immediate) family was actually together for christmas this year--for the first time in about three years. my mom had been discussing pre-making part of the traditional christmas morning apple strudel. my brother and i wanted none of that and promptly told my mother so...and then we went on to kick her out of the kitchen the next morning so we could make it. evidently she trained us well because the strudel turned out perfectly. the rest of the day was pretty low key, which was nice.
the day after christmas, i pulled out my skis in preparation for the tahoe trip. now, the last time i went skiing was my senior year in college when john and i got season passes to a couple resorts in new hampshire and would just go on the weekends. since then my skis have just been sitting unused in the garages in ohio and (after my parents moved) in california while i have been off galavanting in the tropics. i had been debating just renting skis, but after doing some homework realized that that could be expensive...so i decided to risk it. i took my skis to a local ski shop, silently praying that the people who worked there wouldn't laugh at me and tell me to throw them out and rent. much to my delight, the guy at the shop looked at them and said the base wax layer was in great condition and that the skis only needed a minor tuneup. yes! so it cost me $35 to fix my skis. i have to pick them up on monday.
this brings me up to today. today, i woke up with sun coming through my window, so i laced up my shoes and went out for a quick 4-miler to assess the weather. it was gorgeous--a little cold, but otherwise clear skies and nothing but sun. i decided it was time for another cycling adventure. i have been wanting to explore the routes to ride over the mountains from my parents house into oakland and berkeley. in studying maps recently i found a redwood park at the top of the mountain above oakland...and that there was a road from the east side of the mountains going up it. so i made it my ride.
the first 10 miles or so were relatively uneventful. i avoided the streets for the most part by jumping on the regional bikepaths. when the bike path ended i think i made a wrong turn, but fortunately a very nice young man about my age rode up next to me on a very nice carbon bike. i decided to pick his brain. he pointed me in the right direction and then we stood there talking for a bit about good routes in the area, so now i have a few more ideas up my sleeve! i got back on the road and it wasn't too much further until i was out of town and heading uphill.
after wandering through a couple different hills and past the redwood park entrance, i found myself on skyline blvd in oakland. skyline, as the name would suggest, runs along (near) the top of the mountains, so as soon as i got on the road, i had a fantastic view of the bay area. i continued along skyline until it turned joaquim miller (?) and it started heading downhill. after a nice 11% grade downhill, i found myself in front of the lds oakland temple (if you've ever flown into oakland, you can see this when you're landing...its near the top of the hill/mountain), so i stopped to check it out. from there it was about six miles or so to berkeley and mostly downhill. i met my parents and one of my brothers for lunch at jupiter and then drove back to danville with them. in total i think i rode about 30 miles (maybe more?) with some nice long hills.
when i have not been running or riding my bike this vacation, i've been doing a lot of reading. lately i have received several good book recommendations. several days ago, i finished the china study. if you haven't read that and are interested in the science of nutrition, i'd highly recommend it. be aware, however, that it will make you think twice about the food guide pyramid and how much animal product you're consuming (regardless of whether or not you're a vegetarian). yesterday i finished kitchen confidential by anthony bourdain, and i'd recommend it. it will definitely make you think twice about opening you're own restaurant, ordering the fish special on monday or asking for anything "well done." i'm currently working on another one of bourdain's books and another book by terry tempest williams--she wrote refuge, which i mentioned on my blog several months ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment