Saturday, December 13, 2008

12 hours in photos, part 2

Date: Dec. 12
Mileage: 85.1
December mileage: 349.3

So I rode my bike for seven hours today. The time was actually on the long side, about 7.5 hours, but I felt great. So much better than I felt all day yesterday, when I was fresh. Riding back-to-back long days is something I plan to continue to do this winter whenever I can make the time for it, and the plan is that they're only going to get longer. But today's ride was helped by the fact that it was one of the most beautiful days, well, ever. A brilliantly sunny day followed by a full-moon night. One of those days where I was out for seven hours and hardly felt the effort, because I was so busy looking around and saying things out loud like, "Wow" and "Fer reals? Reals." I also stopped to take a few photos. Today just happened to be the latest installment of this other blog I contribute to, "12 Hours in Photos." The idea was that on Friday, Dec. 12, all of us would document 12 hours of our day, one photo for each hour. This was my day. It was a good one:

9 a.m. The view at breakfast. Yawn.

10 a.m. The trip to the post office is becoming a daily chore for me. I don't mind at all. :-)

11 a.m. Riding into the Mendenhall Valley on the Dredge Lake trails, mouth agape.

12 p.m., heading back toward the highway on some nondescript road. Mouth still agape.

1 p.m.: Life's good between Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.

2 p.m.: An interpretive photo of the Hard North Wind. It brought in a blast of frigid air from Canada, gusting right in my face. The temperature was probably about 25 degrees. The windchill couldn't have been warmer than 5.

3 p.m.: Alpenglow on the distant mountains.

4 p.m.: The last bit of daylight and a really bright planet over Auke Rec. I'm not sure which planet it was - a bright one.

5 p.m.: The self-portrait I took after my sad attempts to take a photo of the moon. I don't have a proper camera for night shots, so you'll just have to take my word that it was the most amazing full moon I have ever seen. The Hard North Wind was tearing clouds of snow off the mountains. As the moon rose, it illuminated the ridgelines with this soft, intense glow, almost as bright as daylight. I couldn't take my eyes off the moon, which was rough because I was back in the traffic of Juneau proper and it was rush hour.

6 p.m.: Having dinner with Geoff, our friend Christina and a couple of our parasitic cats.

7 p.m.: Trying to figure out what's going on in my friends' children's play. At this point, my head was nearly as fuzzy as this picture.

8 p.m.: For seven-hour rides in the freezer, there's no better recovery food than a huge spread of Christmas cookies.

17 comments:

  1. The interpretive photo is brilliant. One I'd blow up and frame.

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  2. I'd have to agree with Marla on the photo - also, one thing I'm SO envious of...........your ability to eat peanut butter cups and cookies with abandon, and NEVER having to worry about putting on weight. Maybe I should take up bike riding ?

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  3. I'll back you up, even from here in NC, that the moon was huge last night. In fact, it was the largest and brightest of 2008. Here's a site that explains it:

    http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081212-full-moon-biggest.html

    So it wasn't your imagination!

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  4. This is cool. A nice way to figure out what you do every day. Thinking of doing something similar on my blog.

    take care jill.

    J

    http://adventuresinvoluntarysimplicity.blogspot.com/

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  5. I don't see how anyone else can compete with those pictures. That's a pretty neat way to share one day! Doug

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  6. The pictures are beautiful! Love the one in front of the post office.

    I'm posting about your book tomorrow!

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  7. you don't really go anywhere. you just ride around inside my computer.

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  8. That's the closest the moon will be to earth for the next 15 years. Glad you got to enjoy it.

    Keep up the good work!

    http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/12/fullest-moon-in.html

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  9. Your endurance is so inspiring! I love your pictures too. Thanks for sharing the beauty and sometimes harsh realities of your world with us.

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  10. Seeing your picture of the Douglas post office gave me the perfect little guilt trip this morning! I'm supposed to have a package on its way there right now... apparently it's time to get my butt out of bed.

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  11. 2:00 p.m. is outstanding, Jill.

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  12. I agree with mgr. 2pm is such a beautiful photo. Great concept, this 12 hour of a day in photos.

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  13. Glad to see I'm not the only person who lives in a house ruled by cats and dogs.

    -B

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  14. This might explain why you were so awed by the moon:

    http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap081212.html

    It was the biggest of the year! Love your blog, been following for a few years!

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  15. The planet is Venus, which has just become visible as the Evening Star in the past few weeks. If you also saw another, about half as bright as Venus and closer to the Sun, that was Jupiter.

    Love the blog -you're a source of much inspiration. Keep it up!

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  16. Jill, the picture of your bike and the tree is THE BEST!
    Monika

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  17. Nice headband at 5pm.

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Feedback is always appreciated!