Amy's Wedding

My good friend Amy Smith got married in Steamboat, CO on Sept. 6. Best excuse for another trip that I could think of! As luck had it, I was participating in Cycle Oregon a week later and ended up planning 2+ weeks out West.

This was my second trip to CO but first to Steamboat. With all the events planned throughout the weekend, I was on the go from the instant the plane landed. Tom came with me and several of my VA/DC friends were in attendance which made the weekend all that much more fun.

First up, about an hour after arriving in Steamboat, was Girl's Night Out. The next morning there was a group hike, followed by a trip to the Hot Springs in the evening. Saturday was the group mountain bike ride, followed by a barbeque complete with slide show of pictures of Amy and Matt throughout their lives. I've now traveled enough with Amy (and her mom) that I even made a few of the pictures. Amidst all the activities, Tom even managed to squeeze in some fishing.

Amy's husband Matt is from England. I'd never met him until this weekend, but had heard all about him, starting shortly after they had first started dating. I was traveling with Amy in Australia and New Zealand and we spent many hours trying to find pay phones so that she could call England.

Wedding day started off (in true Amy fashion) with a 5k or 10k run, and oh yeah, it was at 10,000 ft. of altitude. For some unknown reason, the fact that I hadn't really run since Ironman Switzerland, July 2008 and that I live at sea level didn't dissuade me. Spurred on by Tom, also not dissuaded even after a summer of kidney surgery, we both signed up for the 5k. We may be crazy, but not crazy enough to do the 10k. Much to our astonishment, we both ran more of the race than we thought, and despite getting beaten soundly by a couple of kids who couldn't have been over 10 yrs. old, we finished in a respectable 27 minutes. Not bad for a couple of sea-bees who hadn't trained. Our lungs were ready to explode, but that was just a minor annoyance. :-)

Later that afternoon the wedding ceremony and reception took place. It was a gorgeous outdoor setting, we got a few brief sprinkles, but that just meant a pretty rainbow at the end of the ceremony. My favorite part, aside from the singing of John Denver's "Annie's Song" (I love John Denver), was when Amy & Matt's cycling friends formed an arch of bike wheels (similar to what service men do with swords at military weddings) for Amy and Matt to walk under at the end of the ceremony. This is apparently an old English cycling tradition.

Amy, my friend who makes it her personal mission to test out the Mexican food in every country she visits (she has quite a long list) arranged for a buffet Mexican food at the reception. Easily the best food I've ever had at a wedding. You just can't go wrong with guacamole!!

The highlight of the evening was when Matt gave a 40+ minute speech. In addition to thanking every one who had traveled from near and far, often at great expense, and thanking his family and friends in England for understanding his move the U.S., he offered endless jokes, often at his new brother-in-law's expense and had the whole room laughing. It was priceless.

After the festivities were over, we drove to Boulder to see my good friend Janeen, taking the scenic route through Rocky Mountain National Park. The scenery was stunning, and I got my first ever glimpse of elk.

A Visit to Deep Creek

I love love love Deep Creek!! Such a great place to get away and relax! Ok, so I suppose not everyone would find biking the hardest hills around relaxing, but I love it. The more hills the better!!


My friend Rodrigo organized a great weekend of riding and found us a very nice house to rent for the weekend. Master chef Tom arrived with enough food to feed an army - and good thing too because we had a house full of hungry cyclists who devoured the grilled pork loin, grilled chicken, grilled zucchini, fresh (picked that day) corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes w/mozarella and basil, and the list goes on. We topped it off with a flourless chocolate cake (my contribution) and some Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Yum yum yum!!

The pictures below are our various attempts at the "Westernport Wall." Three strikes and I was out, deciding to walk up it instead.

My only regret is that I didn't plan to stay longer. Two days is just not enough time to fully take advantage of everything there is to do (nor does it allow for repeat visits to the Lakeside Creamery!). Next year I'm staying for a week at least!

ITU World Championship Series - Washington, DC - June 21, 2009

Wow - talk about some athletic women! All the Olympians turned out for a draft legal pro triathlon on the streets of DC and in the muddy waters of the Potomac (yuck!). It was fun to watch. With few spectators, I had front row viewing of the entire race and I'm inspired!

(The winner, Aussie Emma Moffatt.)

(Sarah Haskins, the top USA finisher, 4th place.)

Another Gluten Free Flop

I have been craving chocolate chip cookies lately, and the only good chocolate chip cookie recipe I once had called for this instant pancake mix that is not readily available and that I ran out of years ago. So I decided to experiment tonight. I used the GF Pantry French Bread Mix (I know what you're thinking, but really, you can substitute it for all purpose flour in nearly every recipe and it works!) and followed the directions on the bag of Nestle chocolate chips (like I used to do in my pre-GF days). Well, you can see the result.

They taste good, but are flat and crumbly. But no worries, I'll still eat them. Crumbled over ice cream if nothing else!

Memorial Day the Freeland, PA Way!

Tom invited me to visit his mother in Freeland, PA for memorial day. Freeland goes all out in observance of the holiday and it was really nice to see.

The day kicks off with the guys from the American Legion and VFW doing readings, rifle firings, and playing Taps at each of the cemeteries in town.


Next we were off to breakfast and mass where I met several of Tom's cousins. The town is very close knit and everybody seems to be a cousin. In fact one of his cousins asked him if I was another cousin. His response "Gee, I sure hope not!" The sermon focused on the meaning behind each of the folds in the U.S. flag, which I had never heard before. If only I could remember what they all mean now!

Following the mass, there was a parade through town with every available fire engine, the boy scouts, and my favorite - the marching band. This is no ordinary marching band, this marching band rides through the parade in the back of a flat bed truck!

The parade ends at the park in town where there are memorials those who died in service during each of our country's wars. Local elected officials and selected students do additional readings, including the order establishing Memorial Day and wreaths are put in front of each memorial.

At the end of the festivities it was back to Tom's mom's house for burgers, potato salad, etc. Yum! It was so nice to be included in all the town's festivities and to meet Tom's mother and brother. They made me feel right at home.

I got to ride around in the back of Tom's jeep (sitting on the floor) throughout the day which was also quite entertaining!

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

To get to the other side of course!

Gettysburg - What happened there again?

Tom and I decided to meet in Gettysburg for the weekend. Little did I know what I was in for when I agreed to go! No sooner did I get out of the car and I was met with a manila folder marked "Gettysburg" with maps of each day of the 3 day battle. It was a 3 day battle? This math and physics major last studied the civil war in 11th grade and has a brain that lives by the motto "use it or lose it!"
Tom is quite the history buff, and the civil war, and Gettysburg buff in particular. He was a fantastic tour guide explaining each stage of the battle and where the union and confederate troops were positioned and how his favorite General - Gen. Joshua Chamberlain of the 20th Maine - won the battle for Union. (His bio was included in my folder.)

All in all, it was a fun day re-learning a little history while driving around the battlefield looking at all the memorials.