So excited about seeing this movie. Even if it is banked track roller derby.
Last weekend I convinced N that I was mentally ready to tackle a longer mountain bike ride, one that he'd done a few times in the past, and one that I really wanted to try. For someone of my fitness level, this sort of ride requires the comfort of a geared, full-suspension bike, so I traded up from my single-speed for the day.
Our route started at the Tahoe Rim Trail Kingsbury - Big Meadow segment at the Stagecoach Lodge parking lot, and ended up at our house. In between we rode 41 miles, with 5,100 feet of climbing and 6,200 feet of descent. For the statisticians out there, the ride can be broken down into the following summary:
- Number of wildflowers seen = a bazillion
- Number of llamas seen = 2
- Number of calories burned = over 3,000
- Number of rounds of applause I received = 1 (by a group towards the last descent who learned how far we'd ridden)
Overall it was a spectacular day, and was made much more pleasant by the moderate temps and blooming wildflowers. While it's likely not going to be a weekly ride for me, I'm definitely planning on doing more 30+ mile rides in the future. With or without the llama sightings.
We get a lot of questions about Soleil's breed, and despite having been genetically tested to determine her background, she is still a mystery, one admittedly with a trace of Yorkshire terrier. Our neighbors have two labradoodles, those supposedly non-allergic 'boutique' breeds. By dint of their furlessness (they have hair, which supposedly means less shedding and allergies...) they are higher class mutts than our dog, even if they don't come across as any more intelligent than Soleil.
So I'm now calling her our little stupid-doodle, the well meaning (if not most intelligent) dog who still sheds like a fiend and has a pretty strong case of ADHD and stick envy.
So it wasn't much - just the trail I've been riding regularly on the SS, but yesterday's climbing and pedal stroke felt right, and I aggressed the short hill climbs before they bit me in the arse. Talking about technique (yes, there is some with one-gear riding) with N helped as well, and while I'm not yet ready to take on the 2,000 foot climb of Armstrong pass, I am thinking I might be ready to try one of the lower trails in the same area.
I figure if I keep this up and work real hard, at some point I'll be able to pass somebody, even if it's only the wacky old lady in the sunhat I occasionally see riding her cruiser on the trails.
When a friend asked me to bring dessert to a July 4th BBQ this weekend, I immediately thought of brownies. They're a great match for grilled food, and are eminently portable, which was key since we were planning on riding our bikes over. Pies and fancy cakes couldn't handle the Tahoe bike paths (and my penchant for hitting potholes).
I have an enormous collection of brownie recipes, but there was one that I'd been wanting to try for awhile, a recipe from Dorie Greenspan for her chipster brownies. Essentially these are cookie-topped brownies, because chocolate brownies aren't enough on their own.
I stayed pretty true to the recipe, though I did have to use butterscotch chips in the cookie batter as I ran out of chocolate chips, and omitted the cup of walnuts in deference to a friend's allergies. That and there was a smidgen of whole wheat flour in the brownies in lieu of white flour. They still turned out pretty damn well though, if I say so myself
My friends were sufficiently awed by the dessert. I was too. They're definitely a make-again recipe, though I'll likely cut them into smaller pieces, as they are very rich.
