Off to Porto!

Ola! I am going on a solo trip to Porto, Portugal... in just a few hours.







Flag and Coat of Arms of Porto.





The fiery flag of Portugal




Looking forward to spending my Easter there.

Bee-Happy

Though I have a surprisingly good track record of notcrashing my bike, that does not mean I haven't gotten hurt cycling. And for whatever strange reason, the main cause of that hurt has been bees. That's right, bees.



For the record, until 5 years ago I have never had a problem with the stripey, fuzzy, industrious, winged little creatures. They are handsome. They are useful. And they make delicious sweet honey. But no sooner had I put foot to pedal than our relationship soured.



In Spring I was cyclingalong the Danube Bike Path outside Vienna, when a whale of a bumble bee flew directly into my face. When our worlds collided, I was going 12mph on an upright bike and it was going full bumblebee speed. It didn't sting me. It sort of bounced off my eye, just beneath the right brow bone. But the impact had such force, that I walked around with a black eye for a week. This was back when I had a 9-5 job, with an office and Important Meetings and everything. Explaining this incident - in English and German and sometimes other languages too - never failed to delight, especially when I had to resort to pantomime. Pedal-pedal-pedal... bzzz... smack, I would gesture. My audience would positively beam with understanding. Aaaaaah, yes-yes, oop-pa!



I submit to you some statistics. Before I began cycling, I'd only been stung by a bee once, maybe twice in my life. Since I began cycling? At least half a dozen times. In fact the number might be closer to 10. The first time was a shock, the second time an annoyance. After that I began to take it in stride. Still, there are a few memorable stings. Like that beautiful spring day on which I first exposed my ankles, donning 3/4 shorts instead of full length tights, only to be stung in one of said ankles, causing a baseball sized swelling. Or that time I first rode to the Fruitlands with Pamela, and, just before reaching the top of the big climb, was stung in the fold between thigh and crotch. Or the time I was stung on the palm of my hand whilst holding the handlebars and wearing cycling gloves. I admit that continuing to hold the bars for the last 20 miles home caused some whimpering.



And then there was yesterday. Just 4 miles into a 40 mile ride, I am bombing (well, okay - proceeding cautiously) downhill, when smack! A bee flies directly into my sunglasses, bouncing off the lower edge of the right lens, then off my cheekbone, before falling to the ground. At first I don't even bother slowing down. But then I realise that the creature managed to actually sting me whilst performing its death throe acrobatics. The pain is sharp, then piercing, then downright unbearable. Finally I pull over and get off the bike. By this time the right side of my face feels like it's going numb. Of all the symptoms I know associated with bee stings, this one surprises me and I calmly wonder whether Something Bad is Happening. I pull out my phone and send a text message to my husband (who has ER experience and is great for quick unsentimental feedback). I try to be precise:"stung by bee below right eye. side face numb. keep riding or seek med help?"



Unfortunately this happens in a spot with poor cell phone reception and I am not able to send the text. Or search for "bee sting, numbness" on the internet. So I decide to keep riding until I find an establishment with a bathroom where I could clean the sting and get a better look at it. This does not take long, as the area is chock full of ice cream shops and lobster shacks placed every 2/3rd of a mile or so along the coastal roads.Despite the morning hour, the nearest lobster place is already open. They have not only a bathroom but also one of those first aid ice packs that doesn't become an ice pack until you activate it. The waitresses observe with interest, elbows on the sink, as I luxuriate in their cool bathroom, washing the sunscreen and sweat and grime off my face, then applying the ice pack to the now-swollen area.



At length the numbness wears off and now only the pain of the sting remains. I reason this means I'm okay and decide to keep riding. Maybe the pain of the sting and the pain of the cycling (I plan to practice standingagain - hoping to beat my 1/2 mile at a time record) would cancel each other out. This proves a good strategy and I proceed to have a lovely ride. Later in the day the swelling and pain subside and by the time I go to bed the incident is nearly forgotten.



Alas this morning I open my eyes and discover I cannot open the right one completely. The area beneath it looks like a misshapen tomato. Apparently this is pretty normal for a bee sting under the eye; it can take up to a week for the swelling to go down. Bees!



But you know how the song goes... "when the bee stings/ my favourite things" and all that? So I went on a squinty early morning bike ride and didn't feel so bad. The Advil probably helped too.

Mt. Maude Aurora

Grand Portage is sitting beneath a thick blanket of clouds right now, but I am optimistic that the clouds will part later this evening and we will get a glimpse of the Auroras that they say MAY be happening tonight. I definitely need an Aurora fix... the last really good ones I was able to photograph were in mid-July. I've seen a few since then, but they weren't anything to write home about. They also occurred during a full moon so they were difficult to see and even more difficult to photograph. Keeping my fingers crossed for a good opportunity tonight! In the meantime, today I was going through some more Aurora shots from last year and found several that I hadn't worked up yet. Here's one from the night of September 10, .

Bikes and Swedish Cinema: Choose Your Favourite Contest Submissions!

The deadline for the Pilen give-away contest was last night, and the entries are in! To recap, readers who fit the height criteria (this is a large bike) were invited to submitan image that depicts a person and a bicycle, and evokes some aspect of Swedish film. The winner will receive the beautiful Pilen Lyxthat I am test riding for the distributor, BoxCycles. I received 30 eligible submissions, and most of the pictures were so thoughtfully done, that it seemed only fair to feature them all.



To select the winner, I will first choose five finalists based solely on the pictures. Then I will have a closer look at those entries, read their submissions carefully, and possibly contact them via email with some questions.

If you are up for it, I would love to have your input regarding which images belong among the finalists. I have some tentative favourites in mind, but if popular opinion differs from mine I will reconsider. There are too many entries here to turn this into a poll, but please feel free to let me know in the comments which images appeal to you. Here they all are, numbered 1 through 30:

1. entry fromJenny

2. entry from Marisa

3. entry from Amy

4. entry fromKitty

5. entry from Amanda

6. entry from Lauren

7. entry fromJulie

8. entry fromDavid

9. entry fromCris

10. entry fromMaddie

11. entry from Stephanie

12. entry fromKara

13. entry fromMike White

14. entry fromLouisa and Bojana

15. entry from Anders

16. entry fromJanice

17. entry fromDavid and Kate

18. entry fromMarcella

19. entry from Paris

20. entry fromOlivia

21. entry fromBrooks and Marya

22. entry from Trevor and Melissa

23. entry fromTraci

24. entry fromKate

25. entry from Kimon and Rhonda Haramis

26. entry fromGretchen

27. entry from Audra

28. entry fromFieldofBluebells

29. entry fromCate Fitz

30. entry fromRiding Pretty

Thank you again for taking the time to create and submit these pictures. Regardless of who wins, this is a visual treat and I hope they were fun to make. Thank you also to BoxCycles for donating the beautiful Pilen! I hope to announce the winner next week.

The Big Chili

Meet the sponsors.The "Big Chili", Steve Foster, came out from the UK.Matt Adams came up from Sydney.And I took the day off work.



Photo: Lee CujesTeam ChiliWe talked shoes. We climbed. Matt crushed. I ate carbs for lunch for the first time in yonks.

What a perfect day!





Matt knocked off Screaming Insanity in no time at all.























How much do I want these little beauties? I got a special preview today. I love them. I want them.

So much rubber, so much style.

The new Matador lace, by Red Chili of course.

I can't wait to test drive them.

Click the photo to enlarge the image.





In the mean time I've got these sharp new Caronas.



What to wear, what to wear?







Thanks guys, I love them. jj

Lions, Tigers & Bears Animal Sanctuary Tour

We have been so fortunate to visit many animal refuges since we began our full time journey. What we did not know until recently is how many are located right near where we are this winter. Today we visited one that was another short drive from the campground. Like the Great Ape sanctuary, this one was very hidden and is not open to the public. You can only come with a group for a scheduled tour.



We had a group of ten or so people that headed out first thing this morning and visited this neat place.



The refuge is named Lions, Tigers & Bears and we saw all three of those animals in this beautiful country setting.



There were many other interesting animals living here also.





We did a tour with one of the dedicated owners and she shared many neat facts about the animals as a breed and their individual stories. One of the things I love about these tours is seeing the animals interact with the people who dedicate their lives to the cause of saving animals.





It is clear they know them well and it is also clear they know where their food source is.





I think we all enjoyed this tour, and some of us were really entertained by the animals.



Or maybe it was some of us were really entertaining to the animals.



Or maybe it was both! Either way, we enjoyed our time here and stopped and had lunch at the Pioneer Restaurant on the way home. I will try to share more pictures of the animals over the next few days.




Living the life in animal loving Florida!