This has been one of the best summers for cycling in a LONG time!

I have been doing daily workout, but not at home on the trainer. 5 days a week I commute the 10 mile round trip to and from work. It is a nice ride even if it is along one of the busiest roads in Anchorage.

In the beginning I heard the noise but during the winter and then the early spring it has become less annoying. This is probably due to me being inside my own head instead of outside in the real world. At first I was so aware of every sound that it was such a distraction to my ride. The route I take is along a bike path and the sidewalk on the south side of Tudor Road. There are trees on the south side of the path, sometime very dense, in other places sparse. But the trees are there. There is a lot of grass growing along the path; there are Fireweed flowers, lupine and other flowering plants I don't have names for. The ravens sit in the trees and yell at one another. And there are moose. Big Bullwinkle moose with large antlers frequent the trees; young Bullwinkle moose with nubby antlers roam the area. Then there are the female moose, the mom's with babies, new and slightly older. The new mom's with this year's baby or kids that will be moving on to the solitude of being a full grown adult on their own roam the trees and the grass.

During the summer there is enough light (we have very long days and very, very short night) to see these beautiful creatures. But during the LONG winters with little daylight there are problems with visibility because moose can disappear right before your eyes by walking into the shadows of the tiniest tree! It is amazing to watch a moose the size of a pickup truck walk into a stand of small saplings and just disappear! That ability is what makes it so hard to see and so dangerous if you get too close to them.

I have encountered moose all summer. At times if I would reach out my hand as I pedaled by them I could have scratched their butts or their noses. I have been close enough to the new babies that I could have rubbed their noses. Thankfully, though, I have not been chased or threatened by any of them, yet. It is really scary to come too close to a moose. They move like lightening and their anger fuse is so short you might say they don't have one. They have no tolerance for humans, less for dogs, especially if they are barking. I am lucky that my bike is quiet enough that they usually don't hear me until after I blast past them, so far…

I ride down the hill for 5 miles to work, then, after 8 hours of running around the hospital fixing computers I climb back on the bike and pedal UP the same hill. It takes about 20 minutes to get to work, and about 30 minutes to get home. I try to vary the route but it isn't a route that has many choices. But I like it and I enjoy the ride. It makes me happy to get on the bike in the morning and arrive at work fully awake and alert and ready for the day. At the end of the work day it makes me even happier to climb back on the bike and head for home.

 

I put a basket on the back of my mountain bike and now I am taking Zoe, the little dog at home, for rides around the neighborhood. She still isn't sure she likes it but she hasn't made a fuss and she hasn't run away from the opportunity.

So goes my workout. I think they are the best kinds. I have done 2 - 150-200 mile events this summer, they were fun. I always like doing the Fireweed400, this year was the 2 day 200 mile/300 K Tour and I had a ball. The Ride for Life Alaska was windy and wet but lots of fun. My team solicited over $10,000 for the cause and we are going to celebrate with a pizza party next week with the gift card we earned for raising the most money.

So goes the summer and my workout. Winter is not too far away and I will continue to ride to work, snow and all!