Fall Produce

We've been in fresh produce heaven since we arrived in Holley. I can walk across the street to the above produce stand and that's just one of many in this area. I'm taking advantage of the bounty and trying to do some batch cooking to make some home cooked goodness that we can eat now and freeze some for later.



Normally I take time each morning to have some quiet time. I do many different things during this time. It doesn't matter so much what I do, just that I have some quiet time that is good for me and gets me to be a bit more centered before I face the day. The part that is consistent is that I take this time to stop and be mindful of things I am grateful for so I call it my Gratitude Walk, even if I'm not walking while doing it.



With all the prepping I've been doing for the cooking, I've used this as my quiet time. Interestingly enough, it has also been easy for me to do some pondering of things I'm grateful for too while handling all the fresh fruits and veggies. While cooking is not one of my favorite things to do, I do find that I like it so much more when I am using whole foods. It is something that I am in awe of each time I do handle them. I can't help but be aware of the fact that the earth gives us these precious gifts and that whole process is just spectacular in its own way. I think of all of the parts that go into the process in order for food to grow from seed to maturity. Food that nourishes us with its life giving properties and tastes so wonderful to boot. Yesterday I was chopping tomatoes and realized it just feels as if each time I do come in contact with this kind of food in this way, I am literally pulling up a chair to God's table to eat.



So what goodies have I managed to cook up this week? Two batches of bolognese sauce, (Mira gave me her recipe for the Bolognese Sauce which is similar to Pastor Ryan's), two batches of marinara sauce, two batches of chunky vegetable spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, a huge batch of chili, fried apples like Cracker Barrel makes, apple dumplings, apple crisp, apple butter, applesauce and coleslaw. Nathan has made his oh so good salsa and still wants to make another huge batch. I still have butternut squash and pumpkins to use. I'm guessing we'll get some extras to take with us before we leave. I'm going to miss it when we do leave, but we'll soon be back in Florida where we can get year round fresh produce again.



Now if I could just find a way to get someone else to clean up the mess after I cook, I might not mind this cooking stuff at all!



Living the life in New York!

Bardon Hill and Beacon Hill

Led by me, with Barry and Gordon. Hilly, mostly good underfoot - some mud in woodland areas. Great views from Beacon Hill of course. Fine, warm, sunny afternoon. 1,161 ft of climbing. Around 13 miles including add-ons. Moving pace much better than over all pace - we did stop quite a lot, but - no way do I ever walk at 31 mph!




We - well, I, - suggested that we should try Shiela Dixon's Leicestershire’s three peaks challenge. In the event we managed two. According to our magic machines it was a twelve and a half mile walk, involving over 1 000 feet of
climbing – not huge by Yorkshire, Lake District or even Derbyshire standards,
but enough of a challenge for today.











The fact that it’s a good hour’s drive from home doesn’t help, and then I have to walk back to the car to park it in a much safer
looking layby - the one Shiela recommends in her blog - at SK458120 on the A511 between Bardon and the M1.So it was 10.20 before
we started.












Walking alongside the A 511 isn’t a bundle
of laughs, but there is at least a footway of sorts. Back towards Bardon for 200 yds or so, our footpath leaves to the right, almost opposite Forest House. With all the leaf growth this year it is not
exactly obvious. Once we find it, it’s
overgrown in places, but clearly marked – those lovely Leicestershire yellow
posts.

moat and bridge reflections

On as far as Brook farm, where we walk past
the regimentedly reverse parked cars, and then the moated Old Hall and turn left to walk close behind the house.

Love Leicestershire footpaths.

Our
path goes north east, and we turn left along the Ivanhoe Way when we meet it in
less than half a mile. We’ve been
climbing gently from the farm, and continue to do so towards Bardon Hill
Wood.

Chicken of the woods, I'm told, but
I'm not brave enough to try it

We cross a quarry road and now
climb more steeply through rocky scrub, up to the radio mast near the
summit. But where is the top?

View - avoiding the large industrial estate to our right.

We don’t find the trig point, in spite of
using a magic machine to show our altitude – we must be almost at the summit –
I don’t realize until later that there is a trig point and rocks. I’ll have to go back another time. Will Barry and Gordon accompany me??

Barry checks out the accommodation

The way down is simple – follow the road
behind the mast until we meet the quarry road,
then turn just after Kelhams Farm – there’s a diverted path clearly
marked which more or less follows the power lines. The OS map has a path marked going further to
the left, but this has been discontinued. No matter, we arrive at the road at Upper
Greenhill Farm by a slightly roundabout route.




We cross over and take the bridle way past
Charley Mill farm. Just before entering
Burrow Wood is a nature reserve with a bench – do we want to have a break? You betcha.

Well-earned break

We walk through Burrow Wood, and then take the right hand path when it forks off. This joins a small road to go past Woodleys, Charley Hall and Rock Farm. At the T-junction we turn right and go under the M1. We follow the road for almost a mile
alongside woodland, and over the crossroads at Bawdon Lodge – this was
surprisingly busy!



A little further along and at a house marked on the map as
Bawdon Cottage Farm, and on the house as Charley Chapel, a footpath goes off to the left. This leads down a little way then we begin our long gentle climb to Beacon Hill. We meet the road from Shepshed - and turn right. What a delight!

Lovely quiet road!

The road is closed to traffic for resurfacing - this is much better for us!





After a couple of hundred yards we turn left along an avenue of trees planted in memory of one of the early members of the Leicestershire Footpath Association.





The path climbs very gently - and about halfway along is a platform with a view.






We admire it briefly, then continue to the end of the avenue where we turn right. The approach to Beacon Hill from this side is impressively craggy.













None of the climbing is too severe and we are soon close to the summit.

The Old Man of the Beacon.

There's an info board about the formation of these hills - volcanic activity from around 600 million years ago and folding about 400 million years ago, then erosion.

Bardon Hill on the skyline

You got something good to eat??

After bagging the summit, we have another snack break. Is it all downhill from here?

We go down past the toilet block in the car park, then follow the path past the charcoal burner to the cross roads.



Easy walking again - no traffic today. Is this what royalty feel like? The road straight on is clear and quiet, and we turn off along the drive towards Black Hill Farm. A quick wave at the security camera, as we take the proper footpath along the drive a bit, then to the right towards Ulverscroft Lodge Farm.

We have a little difficulty finding the correct footpath here, as the signs disagree with the map. When we eventually find it we discover that it has been diverted - a sign at the start of the diversion would have been mighty helpful.

We carry on over the footbridge then up through woodland and alongside Poultney Wood, climbing steadily up to Copt Oak. It's only later that I discover this is the highest point of the M1, and a famously excellent spot for Radio Leicester's transmission mast. Almost as high as Beacon Hill. Perhaps we can count this as our third peak?







The church is an attractive building, and there are a few gravestones made of the local stone.

After this we walk through part of the village, past the former Youth Hostel, and the Copt Oak pub, then turn left and walk along a busier road over the motorway. After a short distance our path is to the right - almost hidden by vegetation again, but clearly signposted afterwards. We meet the tarmac road to some houses, and take this rather than the overgrown path, but have to negotiate a barrier to return to this when the roadway finishes. After a couple of fields a path goes off to our right and we follow it to Brook Farm and Old Hall Farm - with the moat.



Now it's just a case of retracing this morning's route for three quarters of a mile, and we're back at the car.

Home Alone, with Bicycle

In the weeks without me, the Co-Habitant has not been idle: He has transformed his already handsome Motobecane Super Mirage into a mean, lean, sport-touring machine... and then some. For your entertainment, I post his mobile phone pictures of Myles.



Can you spot some of the, erm... unusual updates?



First, there is the bell mounted on the top tube. Yes, the top tube. An eccentric choice, but I think it looks distinguished!



Then there is the computer on the handlebars. The juxtaposition of the computer and the twine makes me giggle. In return, he threatens to put one on his Pashley as well.



And, Oh God, what's this? He installed clipless pedals (SPD 520) and bought clipless cycling shoes to go with them. Madness!



Of course, you've probably noticed these. Yes, they are twin, fully twined water flasks - with sports sprouts, or whatever those things are called. Spectacular, no?



And finally, behold the pump under the top tube. Myles is officially ready for anything - though I don't know about those clipless pedals. The Co-Habitant insists that he likes them, and I guess I should accept that. Maybe with time, he will twine them...

Pickleball and Line Dancing

It is very rare for us to not do quite a bit of sight seeing, but this past few weeks it has been so cold we have not even wanted to do that. I am beginning to get a bit stir crazy from it but there has been a nice upside. It has given me more time to spend getting to know our fellow pickle ball players. I have really enjoyed that!



After pickleball, I came back to the RV just long enough to take a shower and start some laundry. Then it was back to Torrey Oaks for line dancing. This was my first try at line dancing and I had a blast. It was much more fun than I even expected it to be. It was really nice to have time with other women. I have really missed having another female around since Auburn has moved out, so it is nice for me when I can hang out with other women. Donna, Sherry, Tracy and her daughter and I went. Faye and Sally were already there since they are at Torrey Oakes and there were other Torey Oakes members there.



Thank you, Donna, for sending me your pictures! I did not take any at either event, so I'd have been pictureless without you.





Living the life in way too cold Florida!

Alaska Highway :: Mile 0

I'm at the beginning of the Alaska Highway at Dawson Creek (aka Mile 0), British Columbia, Canada! Only 1523 miles to Fairbanks...


As you can see, it is a beautiful day. After three days of cloudy, overcast, gloomy skies it is nice to see some blue up there! Today is a National Holiday for Canada – Heritage Day. Maybe the shops just haven't opened yet but there is very little traffic and it is quiet here in the downtown area where there is free wifi, for which I am grateful.

Photos taken a few minutes after 10am this morning (Monday August 2nd).

Moving on down the road...

Panniers on Bikes with Short Chainstays

Since receiving the woven pineFastrider pannierlast summer, I have been using it as my main transportation bag. On the up side, it is enormous, waterproof, classic looking, easy to attach and detach, and secure. On the downside, it was designed for appropriately enormous Dutch bikes with long chainstays, and not for bicycles with road geometry. The pannier looks like it's ready to swallow the mixte whole, and ideally I would like something smaller. But for a bicycle with short chainstays finding the right pannier can be tricky.

The chainstays on a bike are the skinny horizontal tubes between the crankset and the dropouts. In the picture above, it's the one with the strip of leather stuck to it. Different types of bikes have chainstays of different lengths. The more racy and aggressive the bicycle, the shorter the chainstays. The more relaxed and transport-oriented the bicycle, the longer the chainstays. For reference, the chainstays on myBianchi roadbike are 410mm. The chainstays on my Rivendell touring bike are 445mm. And the chainstays on my Gazelle Dutch bike are 485mm. When chainstays are long, the rear wheel of the bicycle sits further away from the crankset, which means that whatever bag you've got mounted on the rear rack is a safe distance away from your heels while you pedal. That is why transport bicycles are designed with long chainstays: You can attach enormous shopper panniers to the rear rack and not worry about heel strike.



Now, my Royal H. mixte was not designed as a transportation bicycle. It was designed for light touring (not too much luggage), and it was designed to be ridden upright in hilly areas. The chainstays are 430mm, which is somewhere in between classic road and classic touring geometry and appropriate for what this bike was meant for. So in theory, all is as it should be. However, in practice I've been riding it for transportationmore than I had anticipated - just because it's such a fun bike, and the dynamo lighting is so excellent.



If it were just the aesthetics alone, I'd keep using the Fastrider pannier on this bicycle and not bother looking for alternatives. I actually don't think it's that bad, though my helpful readers have suggested that it looksmeh-ish on the mixte. But the real problem is that I do get borderline heel-strike with this set-up. Not enough for it to be dangerous, but once in a while my heel and the bag will not so much make contact as sense each other's presence. If the bag were just a tad further back or smaller, I'd feel more comfortable.



With this in mind, I ordered two panniers from the D'Azur line by Basil, in hopes that one of them would fit and I'd return the other. The Basil shopper pannier (above) is nearly 2" narrower than the Fastrider equivalent, which in theory should have been more than enough to eliminate any hint of heel strike. Unfortunately, the opposite was the case. Because of how the Basilattachment hooks are positioned, this bag actually sits further forward and lower than the Fastrider - resulting in an unridable degree of heel strike. If you scroll up and down between this and the previous picture, you can see how much closer the Basil bag is to the pedal, despite its slightly smaller size.



Themessengerpannier did not work either. This bag is the same width as my Fastrider, but considerably shorter, so I was hoping it would sit higher up and my heel would not reach it. But again, the placement of the attachment hooks positioned it quite a bit lower than the Fastrider, as well as further forward, making the heel strike worse rather than better.And so, I will be returning both of the Basil panniers. They are well made and attractive, but I need a pannier small enough to work on this bike+rack combination. And I mention the rack, because I could solve this problem by replacing the existing VO Constructeur rack with a super long rack that would allow me to push the panniers further back... but I don't want to. I like how compact, light and elegant this bicycle is with the current rack, and after all it was not intended for commuting. There has to be a nice pannier out there somewhere that will fit a bike with 430mm chainstays and a constructeur rack, and I am determined to find it.



Well, technically I did find it: The OYB Swiss Army pannier is a perfect fit for theconstructeur rack, and it goes nowhere near my heels when I pedal. Alas, it is about 1/2" too narrow to fit my laptop. I've tried stretching it, but it's just not sufficient, so I use it as a camera bag. I also tried (and returned) the Linus single Office pannier. While it did fit my laptop, the attachment system was difficult to use and did not feel secure: leather straps with snap closures.



It seems that the trick to designing panniers for bicycles with short chainstays, is to make the pannier vertical rather than horizontal, to mount the hooks lower on the bag (so that the bag itself will sit higher), and to keep the size as small as possible. But while some touring panniers are designed in this manner, I have not been able to find a suitable one for commuting - by which I mean a single pannier that attaches and detaches easily via strong and secure hooks, is large enough to fit a laptop, and looks classic, ideally made of canvas or leather in a grayish/greenish/brownish colour scheme. If you are an artisan who would like to give this a go, get in touch! And if you commute on a bicycle with short chainstays, what is your pannier solution?

Echo Ridge Nordic ..

We had some time to get away and decided on trying out Echo Ridge. A Living Social coupon sealed the deal for accommodations and we were off. Our drive out was planned so we would stop in Leavenworth for lunch and then Mirabelle would nap between there and Manson. Arriving in Leavenworth to our favorite lunch spot, the Munchen Haus, closed had us spending more time there then we wanted. And as hard as Mirabelle tried, she didn't fall asleep until we were near Knapps tunnel which had us driving around before we arrived at the hotel. So we didn't end up getting any skiing in the first day, but due to the daily fee of the location that may have been for the better.



The next day started well with breakfast baked goods from the Red Apple before making the 30 minute drive up to Echo Ridge. I hadn't seen the grooming report for two days and wasn't sure what to expect. They were clearly getting close to the end of season, but it was difficult to determine how close. And they were still grooming almost all of the runs, so it had to be good...right? The drive up involves leaving town and heading through orchards until reaching the Echo Valley downhill ski area, which seems like a nice little family place to ski. Then the road turns to dirt and continues up switchbacks with some snow drifts and steep drop offs thrown in. We arrived to bluebird skies and parked in the lower parking lot expecting perhaps to only ski the green runs out of the lower lot. The goal was to ski those runs in the morning and return to the van for lunch and head out again in the afternoon. But we would see what Mirabelle might want from the day.



After bundling up Mirabelle in the Chariot and handing her a churro, we were ready to go. It appeared the trails were groomed the previous day and there was about a centimeter of fresh snow on top as well. Conditions in the track were a touch icy going uphill. And pulling the extra forty pounds or so behind me kept me out of the track all morning. The trails were pretty mellow and we were having a good time so when we completed the trails out of the lower lot I asked Mirabelle if she wanted to keep going and she said "yes!"





We headed up the connecting trail to the upper lot which was the only blue we would do for the day and then did all but one of the green trails out of the upper lot. At some point Mirabelle had fallen asleep which allowed us to get in about eight miles of skiing for the day. The conditions we found on the upper trails were equal if not better to the lower trails and we really had a good time. The upper trails offered more views including down to Lake Chelan and over to the Stuart Range.

We skied back down the steeper blue trail to the car and had lunch.







After lunch we donned snowshoes and walked away from the parking lot thirty meters or so to build a snowman. Mirabelle at first enjoyed snowshoes, but as the terrain became more uneven she had difficulty not stepping on her own feet and was starting to lose patience with them. The end result is her memory of snowshoeing is positive. After snowman construction Mirabelle did a lap of the parking lot on her skis before we opted to head back to town.





The next morning it was raining in town, but I had hopes of snow level occurring before the ski lot and I was right. This time we headed up to the upper lot to get on some blue runs. Snow was coming down steady, but not very heavy as we geared up and left the parking lot. Since we weren't sure on conditions we started out on the only green we had not yet done and if we found it to be too icy we would turn around and repeat some of the trails from the previous day. While the grooming done the previous afternoon had hardened up overnight, the fresh snow falling on top made conditions pretty good in most places with some more sun soaked parts being more icy than treed sections. This trail would have offered some nice views, but due to the snowfall, there was limited visibility. An interesting thing this trail did offer was what I'd call the magic white carpet. Some areas where there was no snow around except for the eight foot wide (16" deep) swath in which we were skiing on. The surrounding hillsides looked almost like summer. Turn the corner on the ridge, and you were back in winter wonderland complete with better trail conditions.





We arrived at the end of our green trail and opted to take blues back. These were pretty fun and not nearly as steep as the lot to lot trail and were not significantly more difficult than the green we had been on. I feel like they did offer more terrain variation though. Somewhere on our way back Mirabelle said she was done, so we headed back to the car sticking to blue runs and finishing our morning with about 3.5 miles under our feet. The snow was still coming down, but it was around the time we wanted to leave for home. We thought about staying another night, but opted not to and started heading down the mountain for home.



This was a really fun outing and reminded both of us why we like Nordic skiing so much. Mirabelle had a great time too! We had a lot of fun and so no one else on the trails while we were out. (We saw some people in the lot, and the groomer about to go to work, but we had the trails to ourselves.) It was really fun and a great location. We are thinking of making this into an annual trip.