Getting There - The Post 101 Journey West Begins...

Killer and I had an animated discussion riding back from the 101 post-race. We all had bonded training for this race. And we all were proud to have finished strong! I got to sleep that evening after midnight.

Left: a sweaty disgusting me at the finish in Coburn! Look mom no lights!
Right: Rolling out of aid station 4 to tackle Stillhouse - the last long rocky climb of the day. Pep Talk from Jim G and Mike + bike love from Justin and Jake. Gummy snake necklace - by jess. Awesome.

The next day I had to be up, pack and to the airport by lunchtime to get on my 1pm flight to detroit. (thank you Amber for the ride out!!) ;)

The following two days would be exhausting.

The flight to Detroit was quick. I arrived, ate, and stretched tight arms and legs in the terminal waiting for my cali flight. This airport is a favorite of mine (see picture). To ease the pain of a 5 hour flight post-101 miles on a mountain bike, I purchased a super gourmet snack (sugar-coated jelly peach rings). yum!. They obviously were gourmet at the going airport rate of 5 dollars! dang.


Above: Detroit airport is one of my favorite layover stops for this reason!! (all pictures in this blog are camera phone... so excuse the fuzz...)

All was good for the first hour of the flight. however, shortly thereafter the legs and shoulders began to cramp. it was then that I began popping the peaches. Oh yes. And advil. And water. And lemonade. I would shift in my seat from side to side attempting to stretch out my legs. Then came a cramp. I'd grab my hamstring, rub it out. Rub my shoulders. Shift some more. Pop more candy.

I felt the discomfort of the dude next to me - sitting next to the chic with bruises and scrapes all over her legs, a scar on her face, restless, rubbing out muscles and popping candy and advil.
I mean, it's not like this behavior is totally normal for a heroine addict going through withdrawel ... or anything...hmmm.

I arrived in san fran around 730 pm pacific time. My body screamed for sleep but I had to continue on to the park. A 2+ hour drive in the rental car guided by my trusty GPS got me to Oakdale around 10:30 just in time to grab dinner and get to bed before midnight. I was spent.


I slept in a bed Sunday Night.

Monday morning I awoke, grabbed some food to eat for the week, dressed and packed my bag for field work to be started around 10am and hit the road. Still deliriously tired, I was excited to get to the park.





There is a certain beauty in traveling alone. For one, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. The drive in was incredible. I made it to Yosemite around 11. Last year, I came to know this place only days after a painful break up. The soul of the sierra's lifted me from low.
Now, it's a piece of heart-felt home. I miss it already.


Classic Yosemite Valley Shots (YES taken WHILE DRIVING... shhhh) but I, unlike the rest of the Yosemite "Tourists" DO NOT STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD WHILE DRIVING. I just hit the trigger and hope something decent is captured from my camera phone). El Cap, Half Dome, North Dome and Yosemite Falls.

Around noon I met up with the animated Yosemite Fire Effects crew to scope out sample sites. Thankfully they were sympathetic to extreme fatigue and lack of mental clarity. At the end of the day, I was confronted with three last tasks:
1) setup camp 2) eat 3) sleep.

Camp prep went something like this

Lay down the footprint.
Sit on picnic bench. Stare blankly. Envision tent in which a nap could occur sitting on said footprint. contemplate said nap and food.
get up, pull out polls. contemplate them providing structure same nap-worthy tent (see above). Reposition ass on picnic bench. Proceed with nap contemplation and food. And so it went...

This process continued for a good 45 minutes (yes, a normal person would have it up in 10) as I put things up both upside down and backwards due to a state of fatigue and hunger-induced delirium. Totally normal behavior. really.

Finally, a tent arose. And into it went my sleeping pad, bag and stuff pillow.
Next: to eat or to sleep.

I slept. 2 hours in I awoke, ate and went back to sleep. This sleep - eat pattern marked the rest of my 101/ travel recovery evening. I arose at 6am the next morning to the grating call of Ravens scouring my space for crumbs. Somewhat refreshed. Still a bit sore. Ready to work.

I was there. And so the week began... to be continued...