INDIAN SUMMER

September is usually my favorite month in Seattle, and this year is no different. The end of this month has been blessed with incredible weather. Today the high is forecast for 76 degrees, and we currently have crystal clear blue skies. I love it.

Yesterday was perfect, too. I went on a solo bike ride and attacked a ton of hills. My quads are pretty tired today.

For my route I chose to loop around the north end of Lake Washington, then cruise south through Juanita, Kirkland and Bellevue. Then, I headed east towards Issaquah, then came back to Bellevue by climbing over Cougar Mountain. I finished my journey by cycling across the I-90 floating bridge, then I rode up the steep northern side of Queen Anne hill:



My watch tells me I did the following:

Total Miles: 62.31
Total Ride Time: 4 hours, 31 minutes, six seconds
Average Speed: 13.8 mph (I didn't stop my watch the couple of times I stopped my bike)
Maximum Speed: 40.5 mph
Total Calories: 5396
Avg Heart Rate: 143 bpm
Total Ascent: 6982 feet
Total Descent: 6837 feet

I think yesterday might have been the final time I get to cycle with short sleeves on this year. We'll see.

Here's me resting at the Mercer Island lid park, right before crossing back over the lake.

NEWS FROM SPAIN

I am excited because my friends in Spain have received my email and replied! We are in contact once again. From an earlier post, you'll recall that I reached out to my former exchange student host family with whom I have not spoken in about 15 years. After waiting a few weeks, I began to suspect they don't actually read their email or maybe my email went into their SPAM filter or... perhaps they didn't want to talk to me. Fortunately, they were simply on vacation and responded when they got back -- with much excitement at hearing from me. I have dusted off my Spanish dictionary and wrote back. This is all very exciting.

While digging through digital photos in order to select a few and email them to the Spanish family, I stumbled across this wonderful picture that a stranger took of Lorinda and me at the top of Mt. Adams in the summer of 2006. What a spectacular day, and a spectacular view of Mt. Rainier behind us:

SNOW IN AUGUST

Lorinda and I are in the little mountain village of Canmore, located at the edge of Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. We decided to spend the bulk of our summer vacation here in the Canadian Rockies, thinking that we'd do some hiking, boating, running and wildlife viewing. Unfortunately, the weather has not cooperated. We woke up yesterday to snow falling! It was beautiful, but snow presents a significant problem when you are travelling by motorcycle. We were sort of trapped.

Today, the sun's out and the snow's gone and the temperature is up to about 40 degrees. Yeah! Time to go for a run through the forest. Then maybe Lake Louise: