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2020 Biking Summary

2020 ride summary: Look at that consistency!

Gosh, 2020 has been a year for riding (and everything). I started the year without biking at all: The first 18 days of January fell into the recovery window of my EIAE surgery. After the doctor cleared me to ride, I promptly quit running and delightedly resumed my regular bike commuting and weekend ride schedule. I felt out of shape, but thrilled with the apparent full functioning of my left leg.

I planned to spend the year pursuing my highest level of fitness since 2016, shooting for PRs and faster overall times. I could hardly wait to try Passport 2 Pain again with two fully functional legs! In a fit of optimism, I signed up for RAMROD, even though I’d likely ride it alone. This was my year! Continue Reading >>

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Dismal Ride With a Dash of the Delightful

I don’t often regret my bike rides. Many times it comes to the point where I have to change into biking gear and I really don’t feel like it, but I force myself to change and go out, and by the time I get home I’m glad I did. Today was not one of those days. (If that doesn’t cue you in, I’m going to complain about my ride today. Probably you want to skip this post since I’m venting.)

Today nothing went wrong — no accident, no mechanicals, no reasonable weather complaints (saying “it’s cold” in December seems excessively whiny), not even a flat tire. But before leaving, the kiddo and I spent several delightful hours at the dazzling Tolt-Macdonald Park and we didn’t get home until midafternoon. I inhaled a couple pieces of cold leftover pizza and salad and hit the road. Continue Reading >>

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Pandemic Movie Night

Before COVID times, we got together with a group of friends every month to watch a movie, share snacks, and just chat and connect.

Of course, pandemic restrictions have completely shut that down. We initially couldn’t figure out how to get together with people, and we put movie nights on hold along with nearly everything else. But at Christmas, we always watch A Muppet Christmas Carol on our movie night. It’s usually such a joyful evening, with kids joining us as we watch this excellent and familiar movie, sing along, even quote along. Continue Reading >>

Posted on by Katie

Christmas 2020

This year has taught me to expect very little. If it snows, expect a snowball thrown at the window to break the glass.

Even before the pandemic, I’d already accepted that I’m not that person who’s ready with a huge stack of Christmas cards, crispy sprinkle-covered cookies, seasonal decorations, or beautifully wrapped gifts. I’d describe myself as a functional Christmas person. I don’t send cards; I don’t bake cookies; I decorate minimally; and I wrap gifts, but never beautifully. We celebrate Christmas to commemorate the birth of Christ, and that doesn’t need a bunch of extra trappings. Which is good, because trappings aren’t happening. Continue Reading >>

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A True Work From Home Moment

Today I had the most epic “the chaos of working from home” moment of this entire pandemic.

Before you can appreciate the chaos of the experience, let’s take minute to envision my typical day working from home. I have office space in our spare bedroom, while Ian retreats to his own man-cave office for the workday. Benji interrupts me frequently, particularly during school days, but also I often get 30- to 90-minute stretches of uninterrupted time when I can focus.

During those stretches, I really appreciate the superiority of my home office compared with my cubicle at work. Most of all, when nobody interrupts me, I work in a fairly quiet environment, not hearing constant distracting background conversations nearly as much as in the office. I play music on speakers, sparing my ears the experience of eight hours of earbuds. Continue Reading >>

Posted on by Katie

Biking in Winter

Some days I agonize about whether or not to ride my bike outside. Even with the major improvement of a smart trainer and video game-like ride platform, I don’t get the mental health benefit of being unavailable and out of the house when I ride in the garage.

But some days I don’t agonize, because the weather is so abysmal that, even though I would commute in it, but I’d never voluntarily leave the house to ride in it. Think: 37 degrees, steady rain, in the pitch dark.

Today was one such day, or at least it was when I took the outside picture (right before sunset). Continue Reading >>

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A Different View

Yesterday morning I woke up to something astonishing: A different view.

Lopez Island View
A dry morning on Lopez Island in December — I had to take a picture.

Benji, my parents, and I have relocated to a house on Lopez Island for five days. Before we left, I felt extremely reluctant about the trip. Just the prospect of all the logistics overwhelmed me. But I came around to going for at least a few days, and so on Wednesday morning Benji and I embarked.

Our travel included just enough excitement to keep things interesting. We initially planned to catch the 10:20 sailing to Lopez, but arrived just in time to catch the 9:25 sailing. Surprise! And on the crossing, we witnessed something entirely new to me: emergency drills for the crew. They responded to a simulated car fire and to an abandon ship alarm. I’ve ridden ferries for my entire life and never witnessed that before. It was fascinating! Continue Reading >>