falling behind

Okay it's been awhile since I last posted and a lot has happened. The stock market has gone through major fluctuations since the bail out plan was announced. Palin continues to be a national disgrace. She is much better off playing the role of the Pit Bull Hockey mom, especially since it looks like she likes her lipstick. I think someone should seal those lips together. McCain looks like he is in pain when he had to walk around during the "town hall debate" I think the networks or debate organizers need to look up the word debate in the dictionary.

I managed to squeeze in some autumn riding during the week when I teach up in Ned. And some road riding went up to Ward to visit my favorite friend Amber and get cookie to get me up to Brainard Lake and back down to B-town. I miss the mountains, I do miss living up there, the cozy warm fires, the aspens changing, great mtb right out the door, but that WIND and the driving I did. I drive far less these days and commute by bike when I can.

I also miss having a doggy, I miss Nikita. I miss having dog pal to go on backcountry tours during the winter, runs in the summer, fishing in the fall. I am determined to get one at some point and it will be such a good dog I know.

Did some rides on the Picture Rock trail during the week knowing my weekend would be booked up with Open Studios . That was probably the last year I participate in the event. Looking for a larger studio space to get ready for some big shows in 2009. The Dairy Center for the Arts in February and Houston Art League sometime in 2009. It was great to see some folks who showed up, such as Cynthia and her rippin' mountain bike girl posse, I hope I get to ride with them before the snow falls or perhaps ski on the snow. I am starting to think about ski season, although not quite ready for the warm weather and long days to be over quite yet.

heavy dark times

The weekend was productive. Got a long trail run in and a long road bike ride up to Brainard Lake and back down around the flats. I would have ridden the mtb, but feeling a bit overwhelmed with art that needs to get done and also wanting to go away next weekend prevented me from heading up to the hills for some real biking, PLUS Will's bike was in the shop, well it still is. We had plans to head down to NM, he was going to ride the DBT for the second time and I was going to ride the South Boundry. Next year, if I get a GPS, or a buddy who rides at my pace, I'd like to give it a go.

Feelin' heavvvvyyyyy! Winter is coming on, we did go to the Italian Festival Saturday night. Perhaps, I ate too many sausages and cannoli, but it sure was tasty. Added to the Italian food is the lack of sunlight, I can already feel it. The days are shorter, less time to ride after work, and now, I start to become a runner again, until ski season of course. I would love to get a cyclocross bike. I have been debating putting down a bunch of cash for a nice new carbon fiber road bike and converting my old steel Italian road bike to a commuter. For commuter bikes I currently have a 1970 something blue Schwinn (which now has 2 flats) and a 1943 Schwinn (looks just like the Fat Tire Beer bike). But damn when you get a flat, those tires are a pain in the ass to change, no quick release, I suppose I could convert them, need to venture on over to Community Cycles (my used inner tube supplier).

Well the shorter days and more pressure to get ready for Open Studios makes me feel like I have less time for my real passion, biking. I mean, I love art and making it is incredibly meditative. Selling your creations is also a wonderful feeling. But, and it's a big but, I love to be outside and abhor indoor work especially when the sky is so blue and inviting, maybe we should move to Vancouver? I could get more art done there for sure. But I have lived in Eugene, and the lack of sunlight did put a damper on my mood. So it's a battle or I better put, a balance of work-art-biking/skiing(outside time). I find the older I get the less time there is, I suppose it is because a given length of time becomes smaller and smaller in relation to your whole life as you age.

The Flying Marmot: commuting home

The Flying Marmot: commuting home

commuting home

Work is getting hectic at least my Boulder school is. Too many negative vibes from that place sending me into a downward spiral. I really appreciate my Ned school and the kids there. However, today I wished for a different job or not to have one at all. It is frustrating dealing with people who live in the rumor mill. I feel like I am dealing with the same type of mentality as the folks who believe Obama is a Muslim terrorist. The rumor mill is an ugly dark place where poor souls get trapped and they can't seem to think outside the box. Enough about that crap.

The clouds rolled in over the divide later in the afternoon up in Ned. I left my car at the bus stop after work and road some single track back home. Fall is beginning to arrive, the colors are incredible right now. I managed to get a few shots on the commute home. Hopefully I'll have more time next week to link up the single track better.

"plants and animals disappear to make room for your fat a**,"

just to quote a bumper sticker. Feeling like an true single speed outlaw up in the land near the kill kare inn. A beautiful early fall day. We headed out and not too far into the ride ran into Jen and Josh. I had not seen Jen since the Backcountry Magazine ski test out in Powder Mountain, which was more like coral reef mountain. Unfortunately we hit that resort at their absolute worst conditions. Jen just returned form a South American adventure of sorts.

Will just got his new GPS so now we know how many miles we have ridden, elevation gain, speed, cadence, price of tea in China, etc. , etc. We linked up some great single track that I had forgotten about. Ended the day with some China Gourmet!

4 decades

Hard to believe another birthday past. Fun was had. Will and I took the bikes to Crested Butte for a rather short (now that I am back to work) vacation. We left Friday night after work, stopped to water the garden, which has provided us with a bounties of migit tomatoes (oh so yummy). Cannot wait to pick the purple potatoes and eat the broccoli.


Saturday, the 23rd, the big birthday! We woke to breakfast served downstairs, fresh eggs, and BUTTER toast, camp 4 coffee buffet style, basically all you can eat. Which is always way too much. I brought the SS and the full suspension, debated between the 2 for a while, decided on the FS, which I was thankful for good ol' granny gear.


We road the single track from town started on the woodland to upper loop trail up to Slate River Rd. up to 403 down to Gothic Rd. up to Scholfield Pass to 401 back to Gothic Rd. back to town. A couple beers, showers and then to the Ginger Cafe, my favorite restaurant in CB. We had incredible weather and I had an amazing birthday! Thanks to William!!!

Everyone Poops!

Back to school, back to the grind. Summer is officially over for us teachers and it has been a brutal awakening akin to the giant terd found in Switzerland.

Managed to get a nice morning mountain ride in, majority of wild flowers still in full bloom, the air crisp, and the solitary bike ride refreshing. Nice to get on the full suspension geared set up, felt so easy after riding the single speed most of the summer. Traveled along singletrack I haven't been on in years. Tried to link up a few trails but managed to get lost for a bit. Would have LOVED to get lost but I needed to get back to town for a meeting. A stellar way to start the day.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed with the new teaching position or schedule. Difficult spending the afternoon indoors sitting on uncomfortable kid sized chairs and listening to someone talk ad nauseam about data. Looking forward to next weekend and spending the big 40 with my man in CB riding all day OUTSIDE!

Exactly 2 years ago today

back to blogging

It's been a couple years since I last blogged. My trip to Peru was my main inspiration for starting a blog. Now it's procrastination that has pushed me back to blogging. I should be in the studio, I should be riding my bike, but instead I'm in front of the lap top typing.

William and I just returned home from a fantastic trip to Salida for some more mt. bike summer riding adventures. No photos were taken as I was really trying to keep up with the crew from Santa Fe, no time to pull out the camera on Saturday. The ride on Sunday was an easier pace but unfortunately my camera battery died when I decided to snap some photos. However William has a good trip report and photos. Been on the bike a fair bit this year. Preregistering to ride single speed in a few mountain bike races like the Firecracker 50 & Laramie Enduro has pushed me to ride my new bike more than the cushy gears, although I think my back might be missing the comfort. Not sure what the next event will be.

Getting ready for a few art shows this year, more on that later, so stay tuned. Time to get to the studio or maybe go for a ride....

Back to the ceramic studio

Needed to go back to Urumbamba to pick up some ceramic pieces from Henry Morales and say final goodbyes. Henry hopes to make it to the USA to sell his work and teach.

Back to Cusco

Made it back to Cusco last night from the tourist mecca of the world Machu Picchu. Cusco was once the foremost city of the Inca Empire and now is known as the archaeological capital of the Americas as well as the continent's oldest continuously inhabited city. Massive Inca built walls line the city's central streets and form the foundations of both colonial and modern buildings. The Incas conceived their city of Cusco in the shape of a puma.

Legend tells that in the 12th century, the first Inca, Manco Capac the son of the sun, was charged by Inti the sun god to find 'qosq'o' or the naval of the earth, a spot where he could plunge a golden rod into the ground until it disappeared. When Manco finally located the spot, he founded the city that was to become the thriving capital of the Americas' greatest empire. The area Manco founded was also occupied by other cultures for several centuries before the rise of the Incas.

I have a couple of days in Cusco before heading back to Lima. Spent the day with Edwin's family at their school. Independence happens here on July 28-29 and is celebrated nationwide. They start celebrating early here with a school program. Children dressed up in the traditional clothing of various Peruvian regions and performed the local dances.

Machu Picchu

I had another day here in Aguas Calientes and Machu Picchu. To avoid feeling like cow lost in the herd I decided to wake up early and start hiking from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu at 4:00 am instead of taking the bus. The bus ride from Aguas Calientes to Machu Picchu takes about 20 minutes meandering through numberous switchbacks. The hike in the morning was spectacular, I wasn't alone though, which isn't surprising given the number of humans tromping through this area. As I approached the entrance to Machu Picchu the sun crested over the ridgetops its rays shining onto the ruins of Machu Picchu (MP). Aguas Calinetes is at 6561 feet much lower than Cusco (12,000 feet), making the hiking and breathing easy, it only took 50 minutes to reach Machu Picchu. Once at the top I decided to hike up Huayna Picchu at the back of the ruins. Huayna Picchu translates as 'young peak,' but 'picchu' with the correct pronunciation, refers to the wad in the cheek of a coca-chewer.

Some basic facts on Machu Picchu:
Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. Since 1983 the site has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has been the subject of concern about damage caused by tourism. It is thought that the city was built by the Sapa Inca Pachacuti, starting in about 1440, and was inhabited until the Spanish conquest of Peru in 1532. Archaeological evidence (together with recent work on early colonial documents) shows that Machu Picchu was not a conventional city, but a country retreat town for Inca nobility (similar to the Roman villas). The site has a large palace and temples to Inca deities around a courtyard, with other buildings for support staff. It is estimated that a maximum of only about 750 people resided in Machu Picchu at any one time, and probably only a small fraction of that number lived in the town during the rainy season and when none of the nobility were visiting. It is thought that the site was chosen for its unique location and geological features. It is said that the silhouette of the mountain range behind Machu Picchu represents the face of the Inca looking upward towards the sky, with the largest peak, Huayna Picchu (meaning Young Peak), representing his nose. The peak is also known as the "hitching post of the sun." In 1913, the site received significant publicity after the National Geographic Society devoted their entire April 1913 issue to Machu Picchu.

Feeling like a Cow

Left Cusco early this morning on a bus to Ollanytambo and then a 2 hour train ride to Aguas Callientes, a town nestled in the deep valley below Machu Picchu, enclosed by towering walls of stone and cloud forest. There is a train that runs from Cusco to Aguas Callientes but it was booked months in advanced. I had read that approximately 1,500 to 2,000 tourists visit Machu Picchu daily, so I was a bit hesitant to come here but it is the best-known and allegedly the most spectacular archaeological site on the continent. Definitley happy with the decision to avoid hiking the Inca Trail which faces significant environmental threats due to the vast numbers of tourists using the trail. UNESCO warned that the site could not support more than 200 to 500 visitors per day without sustaining damage.

I took Edwin's recommendation and had him book the Machu Picchu tour for me, but I felt somewhat like a cow today, being herded from one place to the next during the tour. Definitely not use to the organizied tours, a bit of culture shock after living with weavers up in the Andes and only speaking Spanish.

Shaman Ceremonies

In the Andes, 1st August represents the Andean New Year. During the month of August, many Peruvian families make “pagos” or payments to Pachamama, or Mother Earth. These pagos are done in the family home and a Shaman, Paco or Brujo (witch) is invited to assist with the ceremony. The Pagos are usually done by the parents and adult members of the family. For the pago, coca leaves, sweets, incense, dried fetuses of animals, cigarettes and wine are collected. During the pago, the Paco will drink wine, then give an offering to Pachamama, he will also, smoke, and often a cigarette will be left burning for the Apus or Gods. Sometimes, after the ceremony, all the items are burnt and then offered to the Pachamama, being buried either in the house or outside. During my time up in Mucmoca Remigio conducted a similar ceremony.

Adios Mucmoca

I felt a bit melancholy leaving Mucmoca, partly because I knew I would probably never see these people again. We packed up early and headed down the valley back to the school to pick up the disposable cameras and drawing the students created to do the exchange with my school.

The students were very excited when I arrived and asked when they would get their developed photos. I spent some time in the classroom explaining how school is not in session right now because it is summer up in the northern hemisphere. While the teachers were organizing the drawings and trying to find the cameras the kids asked me questions about where I live and what we eat. They asked if we eat cuy (guinea pig) and I tried to explain that we have them as pets. The students displayed some of their handicrafts and I purchased a few items to take home and share with my students. Outside the school workers were busy making adobe bricks as they are building an addition to the school. Last week we had made arrangements with the driver who took us from Pitumarca to the school to pick us up today. He showed up promplty and I said my goodbyes. Ideally I would like to set up some sort of art/penpal exchange between the Larcomarca school and my school.

The drive back to Cusco was a bit frightening, somewhat like being in a video game dodging traffic, dogs and people. Arrived safely back to Edwin's and started planning for the next segment of my trip.

Warp and Weft

Today I tried to weave using the back strap loom. Quite challenging. I have developed a new appreciation for this art form.

Remigion and his mother Bascillia use a backstrap loom, a series of shaped sticks and ties on which a continuous warp and string heddles are used to produce a cloth with four finished edges. Weavers in this area attach the loom to a belt they wear, and tie the other end to an immovable object. They also use a four-staked loom. Backstrap weaving using a variety of techniques and designs can produce detailed and complex patterned cloth.

Most ancient fabrics in Central and South America were woven on a simple backstrap loom, of a type still in use throughout these areas. Other looms used in Peru are the vertical frame loom, and the horizontal loom fixed to the ground with stakes.
The width of the fabric woven on the backstrap loom does not exceed the distance across which the weaver could pass a shuttle from hand to hand. Two pieces of this uncut width with four selvedges could be sewn together to produce a larger cloth. Beginning at one end of the loom, the fabric is woven a short distance, then the loom is turned and the weaving started at the other end. As the warp was filled, the shed rod and heddles became ineffective, and the final weft insertion had to be done with a needle.