A great Tuesday ride with L

Lucky first long group off the Vashon ferry

My 3rd Major Taylor

Never warmed as hoped and the cold downpour 1 mile from end was trying. But I did it

So pretty

Headed downhill for 7.5 miles

Mountain Loop to Barlow Pass is open

Grouse enjoying the quiet parking lot at Sun Mountain

Early dinner at Sun Mountain Lodge

Speak, memory.
A glorious sunny drive on opening day for Hwy 20. Decided to listen to myself and stay overnight in Winthrop (ca. 200 miles driving is enough.) I will be rested for the return to Seattle over Steven's Pass tomorrow. Plus I can treat myself to solitude and do some thinking/planning for a May trip to Scotland.
If not now, when?

Spring spin on lower lake

Laconia cafe at Snoqualmie Pass

As the ski season winds down. Some good skier cut nice curves on the slope. I look forward to seeing this hillside covered in weeds and flowers in a few months.

Lunch 10 minutes from the TH

A long drive to Umtaneum Falls to check bloom status (minimal) so enjoyed a scenic lunch spot with trout and birds. Some bluebirds flitting around. I think I'm still fatigued from yesterday's ride, so accepting it. Durr road in my future but road conditions very rutted. I'm just happy it's sunny and warming up.

End of tulip time in the production fields near Roozengaarde

A first ride with Skagit valley bike club

A promise of quinces

The downtown Bellevue Light rail stop

Carved by the same artist who did the ones in Columbia City.

A ride to string together all the new light rail stations on the Eastside

$6 a bunch

One of the most enjoyable parts of a tulip time ride

Version 2.0

Skagit Valley April 10

Never disappoints.

1:53pm Monday April 8 in Hardy, AR

Off to the zone of totality

Flights a bit bumpy and middle seats x2 but no matter. A chance to visit an unfamiliar part of the country.

Somebody splinterfingers from a ride on Wednesday

It's a bit creepy

Wednesday HIIT riding and coffee at Nordic museum

Catching up on Week 5 of my bike conditioning plan

Early leaf out on the P2C

A single yellow violet and some small spring beauties. Pity the flat tire halted my ride. But a good lesson in trailside repair.

April Fool!

First a bush whack that was character building, then barely 2 miles on the P2C and a flat I couldn't fix as the bead on my tire is very tight. So had a walk in the pretty forest and a chat with all the passing cyclists. Apparently the snow starts around Carter Creek.

$12 from the La Conner Rotary club roadside stand

Spring is sprung!

So pretty but so raw

Thursday bike ride not worth it

Weather forecast was "rain ending". Nope

Week 4 Day 1 min 30% effort

Clockwise Magnolia constitutional bike on an improving spring day. Cherries in full flower on 33rd Ave NW detour.

Day 2!

Day 1 of beginning woodworking at CWB

A good start on a dreary spring Saturday.

I-90 bridge on Thursday

Thursday March 21 to Mercer Island

520 to Kirkland on last(?) sunny day of this extraordinary hot spell

Corned beef and cabbage

Made from scratch after a 7-day marinade.

Hawthorn on the Cedar River trail

One way Cedar River trail on fabulous Sun

Outbound to Columbia city to de-jet lag

Sleet! Gahhh!

Bah humbug

An unwelcome gift from Auckland airport. Goes along with the broken bottle of rose.

Seat 45F

Perhaps not as streamlined as I'm used to,and no time to get any real food as the nonrevs are held back until stupidly last minute, given TSA but I had good intelligence about the express sticker. I'm on the 2:50 pm departure.
Haere Mai

Indeed

In Paeora on Wednesday

Polynesian Spa

The reflexology walk is new. Paid $40 but it was worth it for old times sake.

Mud pool at Wai-o-tapu

Skipped the commercial development. I don't remember paying $45 last time I was here. The commercialization of Rotorua is too much for me these days.

Tuesday February 27 Napier to Rotorua

Along the thermal explorer highway from the coast. So much roadwork. Clearcuts and pastoral hills devoid of trees. It's difficult to imagine what this looked like before the Europeans arrived.

Te Mata Peak on Monday February 26

I'm totally uninterested in re-riding and of the Hawkes Bay trail. Too easy, too urban, not cheap. Alas, you can't go home again.
But I bought excellent wine at Te Mata winery (you can go home again), and a drive then hike up this impressive mountain.
Hawkes Bay is triggering bittersweetness, so I'm going with the flow and keeping melancholy at arm's length.
It's all good. I know who I am and what I've accomplished.

Sunday February 25 in Napier

Art Deco, and plenty of it, in a strange kiwi town.

Home for the night in Greytown

Certainly not a fan of hobbit-ism, but it was quiet, comfortable and private, a nice change from the Haka House in Wellington.

Saturday February 25 Cape Palliser lighthouse

At the end of a long, rugged, eroded road after a short visit to Martinborough. Today's drive from Wellington, via a quick look at a trailhead for the Remutaka Rail trail was full of contrasts.

Blue penguins nest here apparently