Blue Planet Journey

  Caroline at the start of the LoToJa race.  At 200+ miles, LoToJa is the longest one-day USAC-sanctioned bicycle race in the country.   [Originally written for the Herald Journal, September, 2012.] Bicycling is a great form of exercise. It has cardiovascular benefits and helps burn excess calories. Your bicycle also works as a form of transportation, getting you from here to there. You’ll save money by using your bike instead of your car to get to school, work, church, and play. And the money you save can then be used to buy delicious seasonal peaches and raspberries. I had to repair three flat tires in the past three weeks. Argh! And during the recent LOTOJA bicycle event from Logan to Jackson Hole, more than a hundred cyclists suffered flat tires during the first leg of the race. That was a lot of spandex waiting by the side of the road for new tubes! (It was really fortunate that people weren’t hurt as a result.) In most cases, the cause was a demonical plant,...

Caroline stretching after a bike ride to Great Falls Park, Maryland. Before we left Utah to travel back to the District of Columbia for Thanksgiving, we continued to enjoy the fall weather. Except, of course, the rain that lasted ALL DAY during the Logan Marathon . Like a lot of racing events, the finisher medals in 2020 reflected the novel coronavirus pandemic. Note the mask on the moose head on this medal! My training partner, Wesley, was still in DC, so he ran a solo marathon the day after my race (his first). Below, he takes his first step on his 26.2 mile journey, mostly run in Rock Creek Park to the Maryland border and back. Katelin presented him with a finisher medal, and then she drove him to a country brewery for some relaxation time. Congratulations, Wes! Then our last race of the year was the annual Halloween Run in Logan, with our neighbors. We all performed well! From left, neighbors Jana, Caroline, me, Andrea, Onya, and Brent showing our place ribbons. In October, be...

If you want to start a heated and vigorous debate in a cruising chat room or a ship's lounge, just bring up the issue of formal dress.  A recent article in the Washington Post noted how a query about relaxed dre ss codes on Facebook "...struck a nerve and sparked more than a few squabbles, differences of opinion and downright insults." I reposted the article on a Facebook group for Celebrity Captain's Club members (frequent travelers), and received similar reactions. So, I thought I would clarify the issue, so we could all be on the same page. Right... All of my cruises have been on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean (RC).  In January, I was on both the Celebrity  Edge and the RC  Allure of the Seas . The Edge is considered a "high end" ship (you can interpret this in many ways... more Captain's Club (like RC's Diamond) members, more expensive, many experienced cruisers, and an older/wealthier crowd).  The Allure clearly is a family-oriented ...

This is the third year I've participated in the Cache Gran Fondo ride, and the first time I biked it without Caroline.  I was part of Team Utah Public Radio , which meant that I rode with other UPR supporters.  Actually, I rode by myself for the first 30 miles, then joined team members Jason Leiker, Julie Gast, Barbara Farris, and Allen Hoffman for a push to the finish (53 miles total).  A few other team members rode the longer 112 miles.  As you can tell from the photos, we finished looking as good as we started (after 3.75-ish hours)! At the start of the Cache Gran Fondo, with the addition of Brian Evans, who left us in the dust. Finished! I was worried about the weather, which was forecast to have temperatures in the mid-90s.  But the clouds cooperated in keeping us cool, and the 3 rest stops provided plenty of water, donut holes, bananas, and pickle juice to keep us going. I don't have a lot of experience with distance cycling....