"Route of the Hiawatha"

A few weekends ago, we went for a family bike ride on the "Route of the Hiawatha." It's a 'rails to trails' ride in northern Idaho along the Montana border, just over Lookout Pass off of I-90. We've ridden it before, the first summer we lived here in Spokane. That time we towed the girls in our Burley and did about half the trail down and then back up. Not surprisingly, the girls don't remember a bit of it--they were 18 months and 3 1/2 then.

This time we did the main 15 mile section in a downhill direction that is serviced by shuttle busses which bring riders back up to the top (I didn't ride the shuttle bus--is it a railbed after all, only a 1-1.5% grade). This time the girls each proudly rode their own bikes and Sal did trailer duty (which means asking lots of questions and shining flashlights in the tunnels).

Once a scenic train ride, it is now a great leisurely downhill bike cruise through old train tunnels and trusses (restored and safe). The ride starts with a long, 1.8 mile tunnel that is dark and cool. Going from afternoon sunshine to pitch black of the tunnel is a little disorienting. Luckily, I recently got a new powerful LED mountain biking light that I use for commuting at night, which amply lit up the dark so the girls didn't hesitate to enter the tunnel. However, we didn't bring jackets, and after pedaling for twenty minutes in the dark, we were all a little numb and chilly.

We hauled a nice picnic in the trailer and stopped along the way to eat. Temps in the mid 80s were ideal and we only stopped for photos, a potty break, and a few times when the girls hands started hurting. Near the end the kids were getting a little weary, but didn't complain. I was more than pleased with how well they did.

Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

The first tunnel.

The crew.

Veep and Sal. My full suspension bike won't hook up to the trailer--bummer.

Lunchtime. Sal is liking PB&J these days, especially on his face.

Schmoopie digs turkey sandwiches.

Family photo op.

Schmoopie on the biggest truss.

Don't look down.

North Idaho is greener than Southern Idaho.

Boofis is intense about her biking.

Sal isn't.

Man down.

More scenery.

The end.

Downtown Commute

This is my downtown commute.

I get up at 6:45, roll out of bed, brush my teeth, grab my pannier and head to the garage.

I put together some cabinets and wall bike racks to try and organize a little "bike shop."

Then I go outside and get ready to ride.

Ride up the driveway. . .

and out onto the highway.

7 miles later I park in a nice fenced bike rack at the hospital.

There's a workout room in the basement with a decent shower.

I walk by the hospital.

Then walk smugly through a large parking structure.

To the imaging center.

Then I stare at this and talk into a microphone for 9 hours.

Fortunately, after those nine hours I get back on my bike and ride up and over the hill, through our old neighborhood.

And home.

Frog Blog

I loathe Utah.

Every summer Veep and the kids abandon the Northwest and make a pilgrimage to Salt Lake and sundry parts of Utah Valley. It is a real vacation for the kids as they get to go crazy with their heaps of Utah cousins and Veep finds a little time to visit with many of her many sisters. Meanwhile I stay home to work, feed the fish, and water the plants. Yes I know, boo hoo for me. But isn’t it better that I don’t like to see them go?

So, having faced many lonely hours in a silent house over the years, I’ve gotten better at planning ahead and making a list of mini projects and tasks to keep me occupied. Posting a long overdue blog entry is one of those tasks. So check that one off my list.

One thing I’ve done to keep my mind busy is tallying what I’ve been doing. This goes along with my impression that my more successful/interesting posts usually involve lists (at least the posts that generate the most comments--the currency of the blogosphere). So here is an incomplete list of some of the things I’ve accomplished over the last 5 days.

1. I’ve worked 63 hours, reading various x-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and even a few Ultrasounds (I like ultrasound about as much as I like Utah). This was part of my plan--work a lot to avoid the large empty house.

2. I’ve biked about 63 miles. I was hoping to have a much higher figure than that by now, but the figure in number one above has limited my efforts. That figure may double soon because tomorrow I have the day off. I really need to start bike commuting again.

The Hoo ko e koo commuter

3. I’ve eaten 4 Qdoba grilled chicken burritos with black beans, corn salsa, cheese, sour cream, and extra pico de gallo (it is right next to the hospital) and one large King Arthur’s supreme pizza (hold the olives) from Round Table Pizza (that’s right Dean, Round Table. It smells exactly the same as the one in T.O. although there is no pasty bald guy named Manny.)

4. I’ve drank/drunk? 17 cans of Diet Coke. Wow. I didn’t realize I was such a Coke fiend. Maybe it’s because Veep’s not here to drink it all before I do. Maybe drying out from my Coke habit should be one of my projects.

5. I’ve fed Schmoopie’s gold fish Kettle 5 times (once a day).

6. I’ve only watered Veep’s and the girls’ flower gardens twice, and it has been sunny and hot. I’ll water them extra tomorrow since I have the day off.

7. I’ve watched 6 stages of the Tour de France, about 17 hours in total. Of course it’s on the DVR and I do other work while watching (like blogging).

Those are the home statistics thus far. In thinking about this list I began to think about other little events I could share from the past month and a half since I posted last. Here are various unrelated points of interest:

I got new wheels for my road bike. Ksyrium helim ES (special edition). Super stiff. Amazing what a difference good wheels make.

I also installed some new speedplay stainless steel pedals on my road bike. When my old pedals were put on the threads were crossed so I had to take my bike to a local coffee shop/bike repair shop (yes, I know it is an unexpected combination, but a cool thing to have nearby) where I had the mechanic, a former racer in Europe, destroy my old pedal in order to remove it. I’m not sure yet how I feel about the pedals. They let your feet turn 15 degrees while clipped in, which some people like for knee discomfort, but I’m not used to it. It makes me feel sloppy.

I rode from Lake Louise to Banff on the trans Canadian highway. Not a long ride, but a very scenic ride. I regret staying in the car then next day while we drove north from Lake Louise to the Columbia ice field. I knew I would regret it, but I stayed in the car all the same. Since coming back I’ve been seriously looking at touring bikes in hopes of riding a good stretch up there in the next few years (specifically a Co-Motion Americano or a Koga Miyata World Traveller).

With Schmoopie learning to ride a bicycle, and quickly reclaiming her Schwinn that Boofis had ridden last summer as the sole two wheeling child, Boofis begged for a bike of her own. Certainly this was a request I couldn’t deny. So after burning a Saturday morning cruising yard sales and finding nothing but rusty and rickety flat tired cruisers too large for an 8 year old, we found ourselves at the bike shop. Boofis walked out with a sweet Specialized Hot Rock. A worthy steed. We spent several hours up our hill on the cul de sac riding endless loops--Schmoopie and Boofis on their bikes and Sal in the trailer. At the girls’ request we went out to the Fish Lake trail a few days after returning from Canada--a 4 mile paved railbed trail. Suprisingly, the girls were sad we couldn’t do a second lap with dusk settling in.

I’ve made friends with a tree frog that has been living in our garage. After returning from Banff I was in the garage unloading gear when I noticed the little guy while reaching for the hose. I was worried he had been trapped in there so I set him out in the front yard. The next morning he was back, sitting on the top of the seat of a folding chair by the door from the house to the garage. I look for him every time I come home and he is always in the same spot, on the end of the seat of the folding chair. I didn’t see him for a few days late last week and was worried the heat got to him despite a bowl of water that had been set out for him. Much to my relief, he was back last night when I got home.

I already shared this story with CJ3. WILCO is actually coming to Spokane this August. In anticipation, I was able to score some pre-sale tickets--5th row center--for their show at the Opera House. I don’t know that they have ever come to Spokane, at least not while I’ve been a fan. So ironically, not three days after buying the tickets, I got my work schedule. Of course I’m scheduled to work in Seattle the week of the show. So, begrudgingly, I sold the sweet pair of tickets to some friends for face value. I’m a good person, capable of sacrifice. Yes it is true.

We now have a final blueprint for our hardscape plan for the yard. We are still in the process of firming up which landscaper we’re going to have do it this fall (have to save up some dough). We are planning on having all the stone work and grading done this fall, and then putting the sprinklers and paver patio in next spring along with hydroseed for a good sized lawn in the backyard. Then we’ll work on the plantings and putting in a fenced vegetable garden (deer precautions required--they will eat anything. Despite the deer being so plentiful, Veep still flips with excitement every time she spots one).

Here’s another tally. On road rides through the spring and early summer I have seen a whole menagerie of road kill. I’ve seen three deer, two raccoons, four snakes, a skunk, countless birds, and one little black kitten (it is a brutal car world). I’ve seen living wildlife as well but, for some reason, I haven’t been counting them. I’m starting to feel like rain man.

Well, that should cover most of the interesting events. If you’ve made it this far in the post, you might as well burn another minute and leave a comment. You don’t have to even say anything relevant to the post, just say anything so my little tally at the bottom looks respectable.

Life in the Inland NW

Now that we are back in Spokane, in our new house, life has settled down a bit and we are getting a good glimpse at what life will be like long term. School for me is over, residency is over, and fellowship is over. The first few years of practice will be busy, but I personally have tried to settle into life as I'm hoping it will be long term. This means getting a few more ski days each winter and spending more time outdoors and on my bike in the warm months. So far I've done pretty well. An "epic" winter (and I use the word "epic" very carefully, since it tends to be thrown around too much by some dudes) helped me get some great powder days in and really get my tele turn down--until I was sidelined for a while with a rib injury. There were a few solo ski days where conditions were so good I could hardly stand the wait in the chairlift, and a few rides down that were so exhilarating I could hardly keep the expletives in my head. I meant to write about some of these great days on my blog earlier but never got to it. Several days I had the clear impression that in order to move from here I'd have to be literally dragged by my ankles while clawing at the ponderosa bark and basalt.

Now that it is Spring, and one of the great things about living here is that there are actually four distinct seasons, I'm spending more time biking than I have in past years. And, like with skiing, I've had a few distinct moments while biking where I've had the overwhelming feeling that I'm in the right place and I'm not going to leave. That said, I've made a point of taking some occasional photos while riding to capture the great local scenery I get to see every ride. Another great thing about where we live is the open spaces. I can set off in any direction from my house and ride through wooded valleys or along rolling fields.

This is along Hangman Valley Road, with Latah creek along the right side, below the road. This is my regular daily ride route along the main road by our house. Up the road a few miles is a 2 mile hill where I measure my progress (how fast, how high a cadence, how high a gear I can ride up it). The road eventually hits a highway that is the entry point to an endless combination of quiet farm roads for nearly traffic free riding.

This is along Valley Chapel Road, a classic local ride off Palouse Highway. This photo is at the top of a challenging, sustained draw that exits from a nice wooded valley to the fields of the Palouse. I should have gotten some photos of the valley as well, since it is quite picturesque, but sometimes I don't want to stop riding just for photos.

This is further down Valley Chapel, an attempt to show tower mountain in the distance. Tower mountain is sort of the highest point along the south side of Spokane. The ride, as I like to do it, winds back around closer to this mountain. You'll just have to take my word for it that with the wide open sky and clouds, the scene was very striking in real life. Hard to capture on a cell phone camera.

This final photo was from my ride today, where I skirted the south hill neighborhood. A light rain kept the first half of the ride nice and cool. And as the rain moved on, the same rain graced me with a rainbow. Not a bad day.

So anyway, I just thought I'd share a few good moments that I think are the essence of a good life. I really don't have much to complain about.

Genius Lists

Throughout the day random thoughts come to me. Whether it is in the wee morning hours when I'm barely awake, or when I'm driving to work, barely awake, there are occasional ideas that zip through my head that I could swear were pure genius. This has been happening for years. Unfortunately, many of these ideas and thoughts are forgotten as quickly as they are realized. Until recently.

A few weeks ago while driving to work I had a really funny thought, or at least it left an impression on me that it was funny because I couldn't remember specifically what it was. I tried several times to remember what it was so that I could tell Veep, because I knew she would think it was funny too. So in my frustration to remember what my really funny thought was, I decided to write down a few passing ideas I have had lately. These took the form of two lists, which are in no way complete. They are, however, somewhat telling as to who I am or at least my sense of humor. So here they are. I hope you find them as amusing as I think I thought they were (I can't remember for sure how amusing I really thought they were but oh well).

Things I like

snow

cereal

bicycles

shelves

laptop computers

legos

college basketball

driving video games

skate videos

backpacks

pepperoni pizza

getting comments on my sad little blog

Things I don't like

rain

the expressions "you go girl", "da bomb", "my bad", and "don't go there"

billboards

flies

fannypacks

NBA players

SUVs with shiny chrome wheels that spin backward

tattoos

NPR pledge drives

people who make microwave popcorn at work (especially before lunch)

committee meetings

babies with faux-hawks

people who sign emails with "cheers"

Again, these are partial lists that I plan to add to as the seasonal winds of genius come and go. Stay tuned.

Since moving into our new house, I've spent some time going through boxes of stuff from childhood, college, and med school. It has been fun to look at things I'd forgotten about and be reminded of little gadgets and gizmos that I treasured as a kid. While I can remember many things that I no longer have, it was interesting to see things that somehow made it from Rosewood Court to Hangman lane (our new address--scary I know).

So, in the spirit of things that I treasure, and in the setting of a new house, I thought I'd share the parts of the house that so far speak the most to me. Indulge me if you will.

The first thing I want to mention is that I'm actually writing this post on my laptop while I lounge on my half of the bed with Sal sleeping soundly next to me. What's really cool is that I don't have all the photos that I'm posting on my computer's hard drive, but am accessing them through a wireless hard drive (Time Capsule for all you Mac faithful). So that's the first thing I'm really excited about--a wireless external hard drive that all the computers in the house can access (including the clunky PC in Schmoopie's room).

So, in short, this is the first part of the house that I like.

My half of the bed is near the door to the deck, as you can see. I've got plenty of room for stuff and can fit my nightstand next to the bed. This was not the case in our rental house where I was wedged into the corner of the room next to a louvered closet door with no room for a lamp or clock radio let alone a night stand.

The next thing that I'm enjoying is my own closet. Not much to say about this except that I can put whatever I want in it, including ski boots.

Another part of the house that I'm starting to enjoy is the basement. Though it is unfinished, it is heated and cooled so it is usable space, perfect for an exercise room. I just recently set up our old TV and got a cheap DVD player so that I can watch training videos (for biking) and Veep can watch whatever while we pedal.

Along those same lines, I have quickly come to appreciate the garage. This is something I knew I'd like, especially during this past winter. It is great having room for both of our cars plus plenty of room for camping stuff, skis, and bicycles. Oh yeah, and garden tools somewhere.

So there you have it, some of the treasured highlights of the new house. There are other things I appreciate about the place of course, but these are the things that probably make the most difference in my little world.

Elementary School Carnival Melodrama

If I keep waiting to post until I have photos or multimedia, it may be months. So pardon me for posting again without any photos etc., at least I'm posting.

Friday night was the annual school carnival. It seems that most parents dread the carnival with all the little homemade carnival games, cheap little prizes, and hordes of grade schoolers running wild. Usually I don't look forward to it either, but for some reason I really liked it this year. I think maybe it was because while Veep manned the "magic postcard" booth, I got to run around with Sal and help him play some games. And he was so excited to play them all. He won a two liter bottle of soda on his first try at the ring toss, did a good job digging through a metric yard of cooked spaghetti to find a little yellow happyface superball, and waited so patiently in line for twenty minutes to get his face painted with two big bumblebees (one on each cheek). Fortunately he didn't win a gold fish at the ping pong ball toss, taking home two small plastic fishes as a consolation prize instead (despite getting to stand closer to the table with the fish bowls because he was smaller than the other kids).

Unfortunately, however, both Schmoopie and Boofis, unbeknownst to their parents, kept playing the ping pong game until they each won a gold fish. They spent the night at their friends house where they transferred their fish to small bowls, after treating the water with some "de-chlorination" drops. Schmoopie's fish, now named Kettle, was a little larger and made the transition just fine, constantly swimming into the wall of the bowl and exploring her new surroundings. Boofis' fish, named Dizzy, made the transition as well, but without as much vitality and, alas, died this evening.

Now anyone who knows Boofis very well, knows that she is definitely our sensitive child. Every time Veep heads home from a Utah visit, the drive is peppered with episodes of sobbing and crying hiccups. So, when I broke the news to her about Dizzy's passing, I was prepared for at least a half hour of crying. It was sad. Dizzy was a cute little gold fish. But then that was his problem, he was probably a little too small. I think it was good for Boofis to gain an understanding of death in nature, as cliche as the situation was. But also cruel because she is the one child who has really wanted a pet.

I'm kind of happy she is sensitive. I think I was a sensitive child (others may not, but I kind of think I was) and am kind of sad to see kids lose their sensitivity. I guess it is kind of a yearning for the kids to stay young. Life will be difficult, confusing, and complex soon enough. Let her cry for a little fish she only knew for a matter of hours and retain her innocence. Anyway, that was one of the highlights of my day, holding my eight year old daughter while she mourned for her goldfish. It was a good day.