~ Table Rock loop ~
Monday came too soon this week. Josh returned from Kansas yesterday evening and I didn't sleep well last night, so we decided to postpone our semi-successful morning gym experience until tomorrow. Oh, incidentally, we've started a new morning gym experience. Last week, I went three mornings and did intervals on the bike and upper body weights. Of the two remaining mornings, I only woosed out once, as the other morning I had to go to work at 5am.
Later this evening we did a loop around Table Rock. I always forget about riding these trails, but I think I'll be pedaling over them more frequently from now on. I was pleasantly surprised by how nice they were - - despite a few ruts, they were in good condition and not very many people.
Well, today there were a number of people who were hanging out trail-side, watching the Indigo Girls concert at the Botanical Gardens below. That was sorta neat - - mountain biking with a live concert in the background.
Once we got to the top of Table Rock, we parked the bikes and enjoyed the view. Josh has a new bike, by the way.
We also enjoyed a silly moment. With the popularity of the 'jumping shots' not quite out of style, we employed the automatic timer on the camera to shoot our own version. From this photo shoot, I have about ten photos (that will never be displayed on the internets) of us not quite timing the jump right, and they are very funny. I'm a little peeved that Josh managed to jump so that his head was out of the frame, as I'm the one left looking weird. ...Whatever.
As the sun was setting, we made our way down the hill. I was leading the way, and at some point, Josh decided that he was going to speed down a short cut and come out ahead of me as a surprise. Unbeknownst to him, however, I had taken the wrong turn at an intersection. He was stopped at the place where he was going to surprise me for a while, wondering where I was, until he heard my chain rattling off in the distance and had to try and locate me. Meanwhile, I had been riding along, thinking that I didn't recognize where I was. I came upon an intersection and stopped because I had no clue which way to go. Josh found me there, feeling puzzled. We ended up going up this one trail for a bit and then plopped down on the ground to listen to the Indigo Girls. We enjoyed a few songs and then rode down in the dark.
~ sometimes ~
I've been in a really good mood these days. There has been the perfect mix of exercise and relaxation, hanging out with friends and alone time.
This afternoon, I took myself out on a bike ride and did a Trail 5, Fat Tire, Sidewinder loop. It was a good ride - - though, way too hot. I checked the temperature before going out, and it read at a mere 95 degrees. Considering it's been over 100 for a week and that we've been breaking heat records, I thought that 95 seemed cool in comparison and perfect for a ride. As I was grunting up Trail 5, however, that 95 degrees seemed much hotter and I had several moments where I thought I was going to pass out. I had two big water bottles full of water that I used to pour all over myself, but the heat was almost unbearable. The sun felt like it was beating down and reflecting off of the sand on the trail, making it doubly piercing. There are a few trails in the foothills which I have found to be more oven-like in the summer; trails that capture and reflect the heat more -- and I think Trail 5 is one of these. There were several times I thought about turning around, and possibly just doing a Shanes loop or something, but I had set out with the intention to do this particular ride and I didn't want to give up over a little heat. So I kept at it.
The aggravating part is that this is actually a fairly short ride, with some decent climbing and a couple steep pitches, coming in at 11 miles. But with the heat, it was much harder. Once I got to the top of Trail 5, I found some shade under a brambleweed bush and tried to cool off for a bit. It doesn't show in the photo, because of the shade, but my face was almost as red as my jersey. Though, you can kinda see the veins popping out on my temple.
Once I hit Fat Tire, I was home free and felt so good about myself for persevering through the heat. I was kinda wobbly on the descent because my muscles were quivering from the mild case of heat exhaustion. But it was still fun.
I did not see another person on the trails while I was out, probably because it was so hot. This made the ride seem like more of an adventure - - as though I was farther away from civilization. While I was sitting under the brambleweed bush, I stared out over the familiar hills trying to see if there was anyone else on the trails. It was weird being all alone out there, in a neat way.
On another note, does anyone know what the plant is in the below photo??? I believe it may be the source of a horrible itchy welty rash I've suffered from for a few weeks.
Here's a peak at something I'm designing, a stranded jacket. As you can see, increases are worked into the color pattern that build upon the existing motif. The process of developing the colorwork was fun, given that I enjoy tinkering around in spreadsheets.
~ Lavandae ~
Pattern: Drops Cardigan in Alpaca
Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Treasure, 8.5 skeins
Needles: US3
Hook: 2.25mm
Mods: twisted stitch ribbing, waist shaping, faux side seams, cropped sleeves
On a happiness scale, this finished project rests confidently at the upper echelons of "very very happy." Just look at it! Doesn't it make you happy?!? It fits well, it's soft and comfy, and is happy-making.
This project goes down in my history as being the least modified project from a pattern. The pattern itself has this knit up seamlessly from the bottom. I worked twisted stitch ribbing to be more decorative than standard ribbing (and to compliment some of the decorative crochet work along the yoke), waist shaping, and faux side seams to help counteract any sag-effect of the alpaca.
I haven't used any Drops patterns before and it took me a while to figure out where to find the English translation for the chart. But the yoke is fun to work and was my favorite part of this project. I also was able to spruce up my crochet skillz with the decorative edging around the yoke. When I got to this part, I felt a bit intimidated by the crochet-factor and thought about leaving it out (on Ravelry, there's many projects that have omitted the crochet edging and the cardigan looks nice) but I decided that I wanted that little frill on my cardigan, so I held my breath and took the plunge. It came out rather nice, eh?
The buttons I picked up at an antique store. Green and purple go pretty well together, right??? I had been planning on using some mother of pearl buttons, but I couldn't find any as small as I envisioned - - I didn't think that big buttons on a dainty cardigan would be appropriate so I rummaged through my button stash and located these greenies.
The yarn is lovely. It is incredibly soft to knit with and feels nice and wooly when worn. Also, very warm and snuggly.
~ some foothills joy ~
Spending several days in San Francisco has left me with a renewed appreciation for living in Boise. Don't get me wrong, I loved San Fran - - but it's wonderful to be home.
I've ridden in the foothills almost everyday since being home. It's easy to take it for granted, but the immediate access to outdoor recreation is something I would hate to give up. In addition, the network of trails continues to be developed - - just this past week, a brand new trail was carved linking trail 5 to Sidewinder (I believe it's trail 42/"fat tire" on the map). Josh and I did a trail 5, fat tire, sidewinder loop on Friday and it was fun.
On Saturday, the plan was to do a big foothills ride. Because we got a late start and that it was hotter than expected, we turned around sooner than planned. We did a 20 miler from the Reserve area, took the connecter trail up to Freeway, up Trail 4, up Corrals, and up Scott's. The plan was to continue from the top of Scott's up 8th Street to Ridge Road and down Hard Guy, but 8th Street was scorching when we got there. I had a water bottle that I used to squirt water onto my arms, legs, and head to keep myself cool, which I had also refilled in a creek, and I used the last of that water getting to the top of Scott's. Josh refilled that water bottle with some of his drinking water, but the possibility of overheating was very real at that point.
I've recently decided that my ancestors must have been royalty who never had to do anything physically exerting - - because I don't sweat hardly at all and I overheat very easily. Which is unfortunate.
Anyway, the downhill was awesome fun! I had particularly good flow for most of it and got some thrilling jumps in. Corrals was also in better shape since I last rode it, which made the flow better. The only time when my flow sucked was when I was going down that connecter trail to the Reserve area and I hit a sandy patch the wrong way and did a Superman nose dive into the ground. At the time, I was upset that I hit my knees (evidenced by the blood running out of one knee and the other knee quickly swelling up) because injured knees haven't been my favorite things in life. However, except that my one knee is oozing puss and the other is really swollen and bruised, they're fine and I even went on a small hike today without any problems. The worst part about the crash was cleaning the wound in the shower and trying to scrub the dirt out - - ouch! Below is a picture of me after the ride, note the blood running down my leg.
Oh, and in case you're wondering, that IS my garden that I'm standing next to! There's a tomato plant, pepper, beans, and squash. In the background is my weed garden, which I haven't been able to conquer despite HOURS of work.
~ training and experience ~
I finished this sweater the morning before catching the plane to San Francisco. It's a seamless garter stitch kimono-style sweater with the climbing vines motif from the Interweave winter 2008 pattern. The vines were interesting and fun to knit. It was a surprise for me to learn that the vines are achieved by increases and decreases rather than cables.
I knit the body in one piece up to the arms, at which point I cast on stitches for the length of the arms and continued working it in one piece. I also worked short rows along the outer edge of the arms so that they could fold over nicely. I worked the front 'longer' than the back and folded the fronts of the arms over to the back and finished it off with a three needle bind off.
The yarn is a cotton/wool blend from a recycled thrift store sweater. I thought that the cotton in the yarn would yield a summer-appropriate garment. The sweater is a bit more cropped than I normally would go for, a result of not having enough yarn to make it longer (always a challenge when recycling thrift store sweaters), but it works as a summer warmer. I was also impressed to find in my button stash a red butten to match the yarn - - if memory serves, I found the button somewhere along the sidewalk and I picked it up because I thought I might one day have a use for a big red button. One person's road-side trash is another's treasure, eh.
~ San Francisco ~
Josh and I took a long weekend to spend time in San Francisco. We had been due for a vacation and had San Francisco on the brain, remembering what a wonderful time we had when we went there three years ago. In addition, we've been talking about moving to California and San Francisco was near to the top of the list. The idea of moving to San Francisco began after we saw Klunkerz a documentary about the origins of mountain biking, which started outside of San Francisco in Marin County. This prompted us to consider that mountain biking in San Francisco might be comparable in terms of accessibility as in Boise. As such, in preparation for our trip, we packed mountain biking gear.
The other reason we did this trip was that we were able to get a really really good deal on the flight and hotel. Such a good deal, in fact, that we would have been fools not to go. That said, we picked the hotel because it was the cheapest one on the list. Because it was the cheapest one on the list, I was prepared for not-luxury accommodation. Josh and I normally stay at one or two star hotels anyway, so we're used to not-luxury accommodations. In spite of this, we were surprised by HOW SMALL the room was - - it was actually only slightly larger than the full size bed. And then there was the shared bathroom and shower facilities, which we shared with 20 other people on our floor, which were also very very small. Other than that, the bed was comfortable and the rooms were quiet.
The best feature of our hotel was its location half a block from a major bus and train station. San Francisco has a great public transit system, which Josh and I used extensively. It was also very easy for us to use - - I've visited other cities where the transit system was confusing or difficult in some way, but in SF it was straightforward and seamless. Also, the locals had no trouble telling us which bus to take to get to a certain part of the city - - I remember in New York, no one was able to give us directions about which bus to take because either they didn't take the bus/subway or it was too confusing to have memorized.
Day 1, Thursday July 2nd
We arrived about 10:00 in the morning on Thursday. We took the train from the airport right to our hotel and then proceeded to get some lunch. Upon David's recommendation, we had lunch at Tu Lan, a Vietnamese restaurant at 6th and Market in the Tenderloin. It was DELICIOUS. David had indicated that the restaurant was a hole-in-the-wall sort of place in a not very nice part of town and that it was very very small, but that the food was DELICIOUS. And it was. I had a chicken curry dish and Josh enjoyed a sweet and sour pork. mmm... Afterwards, we walked all around the Tenderloin and got to know it pretty well.
That afternoon, we took the bus out to a bike shop to rent some mountain bikes. The people at the shop were helpful and friendly, and we rented a pair of Gary Fisher Ferrous, steel hardtails. From there we navigated several miles through the city and along the Bay... during which time the spicy curry I had enjoyed for lunch was having a bad reaction in my tummy and fortune came our way in the form of a clean public restroom. There was a visitor's center on the city side of the Bridge for the Golden Gate State Park where we took a moment to purchase some calorie packed pumpkin bread with chocolate chips and got some treats to go. From there, we rode across the Bridge.
Three years ago, we rode a tandem mountain bike over the Bridge and it was great. Apparently San Francisco has been really windy this year. Riding across the Bridge this time was somewhat terrifying because the wind was so strong that it was whipping me from side to side. There are a few corners to ride around and the wind brought me to a complete stop on my bike and I had to dismount and push myself through the wind. Also, it is generally known that the Golden Gate Bridge is kinda high, and wind plus high above the water is scary. A couple weeks ago, wow morbid, Josh and I watched The Bridge a documentary about people who commit suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Josh and I stopped a few times to gaze all the way down to the water and contemplate our mortality - - I'm sure we were both remembering the footage of the people jumping and imagining what it might be like to fall and hit the water.
Once on the other side, we rode up Panorama Highway and stopped at the Battery, an old fortress thing, to look at the view and explore.
From there we continued riding up Panorama Highway, which was likewise really really really windy until we came to Rodeo Trail at the start of the Marin Headlands. The Marin Headlands were what we had thought might be comparable to Boise's foothills. By the time that we arrived at the trail, however, we realized that they were not nearly as accessible as the foothills. Riding through the city, over the Bridge, and up Panorama Highway took quite a bit of time and effort. Nothing compared to the 5 minutes it takes us to get to the foothills from where we live in Boise.
We rode Rodeo Trail and Bobcat Trail in the Headlands. They were not quite what I had expected - - much more hardpack than Boise's foothills, and they were fireroads, not singletrack. We were also surprised by how few people were on the trails - - Boise's foothills are usually packed, but we only saw two or three bikers and a couple of runners. Also, it was a sunny day, but it was pretty cold. I was so glad that I brought my arm warmers and wind breaker, both of which I wore for most of the ride. I did forget my gloves and my hands were freezing.
The scenery was pretty. The trails took us up some pretty good climbs to a ridge, with valleys on either side.
It was after 8:00 by the time that we got back to the bike shop to return our bikes. We took the bus back to our hotel, showered (tiny though the shower room was, it had plenty of hot water), and then got dinner at another Vietnamese restaurant. I enjoyed garlic noodles with lemongrass chicken - - and at one point, I accidentally slurped a noodle in such a way that it flipped up and slapped me on the face and the spice of the noodle burned my eye for a time.
Day 2, Friday July 3rd
On Friday, we got up early and had coffee and a morning treat at the Starbucks across from our hotel. We then took the bus to Golden Gate Park. Our original intent was to go to the de Young Museum which is in the park and see the King Tut exhibit, but it was sold out. We purchased advance tickets for Saturday and then wandered around the park. There was even a carousel that we rode.
We then wandered the Haight area. That was an area we missed the first time. We had lunch at the Blue Front Cafe on Haight Street (potato and pesto pasta salads). We went into all of the thrift stores and Josh found several clothing articles to buy. I found none. Also, Josh remembered that the Tour de France was to start the next day and so we located a bike shop to ask about where one might watch it. They directed us to a bar just down from Haight on Stanyon, the Kezar. We walked to the bar where Josh had a discussion with the person on duty, learning that this bar opens at 5:00 in the morning and that it would be possible to watch the first stage of the Tour live (which I think was 6:30am SF time).
From there, we got on a random bus and rode its full circuit. The random bus was actually the bus that would eventually take us back to 4th and Market, where we met up with my friend Aimee and had dinner at a sushi restaurant.
Spending time with Aimee was very nice. She used to live in Boise and was my best friend for a while. Like all of my long distance friendships, we haven't kept in contact over the years but whenever we see each other it's "like old times." There weren't any awkward moments, we had loads to talk about, and it was very pleasant and comfortable. We still get each other's sense of humor. We also had some good conversations about heavy topics - - in the past year, we've both had some deaths near to us and could relate about that.
Anyway, after dinner we got drinks at a few different bars. One was a lounge place and the other was the Tunnel Top, a bar that is over the tunnel that leads into Chinatown. We sat upstairs on some rusted chairs and enjoyed some pale ales. It was here that we talked about death and stuff.
After our beers, we crossed to the other side of the Tunnel and explored Chinatown at dusk. I was mildly intoxicated and it was a surreal experience.
Day 3, Saturday July 4th
On Saturday, Josh got up at 6:00 a.m. and went to the bar to watch the timetrial prologue of the Tour de France. I stayed in bed until about 7:30, at which point I got a coffee and a treat and took the bus out to the Haight area to meet him. I had something of an unpleasant bus experience. As we were travelling through the Tenderloin, a number of homeless people kept getting on the bus without paying and the bus driver kept having altercations with them about how they need to pay or get off. I felt it was too early in the morning for so much yelling. At one point, a noticeably drunk homeless man gets on, open beer in hand, and sits near me. He and the bus driver yell at each other for several blocks (the homeless man was yelling very obscene racist things at the bus driver) and finally bus driver stomps back and throws the guy off the bus. It was a lot of hostility right next to me, and I was disturbed and uncomfortable.
Once in the Haight, I made my way to the bar and found Josh enjoying a bloody mary at 8 o'clock in the morning. To my surprise, the bar served breakfast, and so I ordered some eggs and toast and watched the Tour with Josh. I also learned that when Josh arrived at the bar (at 6:30 a.m.), it was packed with people drinking beer and watching a rugby game. I found this amusing. And as much as I enjoy beer, I stuck to coffee for my morning beverage.
Then we returned to the de Young Museum and went through the King Tut exhibit. The exibit was disappointing in that (1) there were WAY TOO MANY people and (2) it had a poor bang-to-buck ratio. For $30 and a specific time slot, I was expecting a quality experience. Instead, I was herded around like cattle, could barley see the exhibits over everyone's heads, was pushed around, and felt very claustrophobic in the rooms filled to capacity with people. And in spite of the slow pace at which we moved, we finished the exhibit in under an hour - - for $30, I was expecting something more substantial. Other than that, however, I found it very interesting.
After that, we took the bus over to the Sunset area of town and had lunch at an overpriced pasta restaurant. I had some butternut squash ravioli, which was good, but paled in comparison to the cheap Vietnamese food in the Tenderloin.
We then took the train to the Castro district. On the previous trip to SF, I was not impressed with this district. Looking back, however, that time we only walked up and down Market. This time, we really explored Castro and it became one of my favorite areas. Josh and I watched Milk a few months ago, and from that film I had decided to give the Castro another look-see. We wandered up and down many of the side streets, saw a brass band play on Castro and Market, and smelled the flowers at Harvey Milk Plaza. On 18th, we had strawberry nutella crepes and Orangina at Queen Malika's and played chess. It was a very nice afternoon.
Aimee met us at Queen Malika's. "The Plan" was to make our way to the Mission District for burritos, but Josh's wandering instinct kicked in and we ended up spending the time very differently.
Tangent: one of our major discussions during the tip was the gender/personality difference (no consensus on whether it's gender or personality) in which some people feel this instinctual urge to explore. Me, I don't have this. Yes, I enjoy exploring and I like adventure, but I can also be perfectly happy going to the same places day in and day out. Josh, on the other hand, reminds me of a blood hound in the way that he is compelled to sniff out new places - - he points his nose in a certain direction and says "Let's go that way!". I enjoy exploring if it takes me to areas that I will otherwise enjoy (ie, if they are scenic or pleasant to be in) but Josh derives enjoyment from the pure act of exploration, regardless of whether the place is scenic or pleasant. I kinda wrote about this when Josh took us up this trail where we got all of the thorns in our bike tires - - for me, it wasn't a great trail to ride and then I got sour about all of the thorns, but Josh was excited about being somewhere he had never been before. So for me, if a place is unscenic AND unpleasant, then I don't get a kick out of exploration, but if it is scenic OR pleasant, than I will enjoy the exploration. /end tangent.
Anyway, so while Aimee and I were under the impression that The Plan was get some burritos, Josh convinced us to check out this park that was in the opposite direction of the Mission. By "check out this park," I incorrectly assumed that we would go there, "check it out", turn around, and go get some burritos in the Mission. So I consented to "check it out" - - and I was glad I did. The park was tucked away in the Castro neighborhoods and featured a cool cement slide. It took us a moment to figure out why there were so many scraps of cardboard at the base of the slide - - that they were necessary to silde down the cement. We each took turns and it was fun. Josh's exploration instinct definitely pays off - - it was both scenic and pleasant!
Instead of turning around and heading towards the Mission to get burritos, Josh then convinced us to "check out" this garden area above where the slide was. It was a small plot of garden that made great use of the land along the slope of the hill - - it was nice looking at all of the sweet little plants and HUGE succulents.
From there, Josh decided that he wanted to "check out" a hill off in the distance, a desert-like hill featuring singletrack that got us farther away from the burritos. We hiked up the singletrack and were rewarded with a stunning view of the city. Again, Josh's exploration instinct served us well. Above us, a much larger hill, Twin Peaks. Not wanting to miss an even better view of the city, Josh convinced us that we should make our way to the top of that hill... you know, just to "check it out." To do this, we navigated the steep hillside streets, using these very steep and long stairways connecting the neighborhoods. My fear of steepness kicked in and I held onto the railings for dear life, trying to motivate my legs to continue climbing even though my knees were feeling wobbly. At the top of the neighborhood area, we had one final ascent up Twin Peaks, along some narrow and steep singletrack and it took my last bit of courage and willpower to make it to the top. Burritos were suddenly far from my thoughts. I might also mention that, whereas both Aimee and Josh were wearing hiking-appropriate footwear, I was wearing flipflops. At times, it was a bit precarious... There were a lot of other people enjoying the top of the Peaks. When we got to the top, Josh announced that he had to pee, and even though Aimee and I recommended that he find a bush, he insisted on using the public lavatory that had a long line. Aimee and I stood along the overlook, enjoyed the view, and talked for a very long time while Josh stood in line for the bathroom. He waited for well over half and hour and when he finally joined us, said that he should have just found a bush.
Having thoroughly enjoyed the view, we made our descent back to Castro. Josh was kind enough to hold my hand down the steep singletrack and staircases. Once in the Castro, we were so hungry that we decided to get burritos there instead of the Mission. Actually, only Aimee got a burrito - - I got chicken mole which was so good I almost died from satisfaction. We took the bus back downtown and Josh and I watched an action film in our shoebox of a hotel room.
Day 4, Sunday July 5th
Having missed the Mission district on the previous day, Josh and I decided to get our morning coffee there on Sunday. The Mission is apparently known as a place in SF worth visiting. On the previous trip to SF, we walked a long way on an unpleasant strip to the Mission for sushi, and my memory recalls a particularly dirty area with nothing of interest for me. This time was not much different. We took a bus most of the way and then walked several vomit covered blocks to a coffee shop. During our walk, it occurred to me that the Mission is probably a lot of fun at night, what with all of the cool bars. During the day, however, the barf and pee smell along the sidewalk take away some of the charm. But maybe that's just me, me and my not enjoying areas that are unscenic and unpleasant.
We went to Ritual Coffee shop where I had a hardened scone and a strange-tasting coffee. Josh was unable to get his vanilla latte because they don't subscribe to flavoring. Rolls eyes.
We then walked over to Noe Valley where we perused some shops and had lunch at Joe's. This area of town was 'nicer' but it seemed like the sort of place where rich middle aged people would hang. I went into several clothing stores, for example, and promptly exited because the fashion was not in accordance with my age group.
We took the train back downtown and went our seperate ways. I walked around for a bit, went into some of the stores, but ended up going to a coffee shop to hang out until it was time to catch the train back to the airport. For some reason, I felt really groggy and drowsy that day. Josh went down by the Yerba Buena area and eventually met me at the coffee shop. Then we got the train to the airport and made our way back to Boise. Overall, it was a really good trip. We have ruled it out as a place to move, however, because of the weather and because mountain biking is not as accessible as we had hoped. We had heard that SF has the most consistent nice weather year round, but I had to wear a wool sweater and windbreaker for almost the entire trip and still felt chilly. The fog I can handle, the wind isn't a total deal breaker, but wearing a wool sweater and windbreaker in July and still feeling cold would not work for me. And from what I was able to tell, the mountain biking outside of Boise is FAR SUPERIOR. All in all, it was a wonderful trip and I am glad to be home.
Here's the link to my photoset
