The Grim, the Grizz & Buck Meets Bike

I love running into nature during a run or bike route or even a swim. Over the years I've enjoyed meeting a fun assortment of basic animals: deer, fox, snakes, turtles, turkeys, rabbits, squirrels, voles, and all sorts of birds. We were obviously too late to meet this porcupine.

The only animal that freaks me out is ... the country dog. I love dogs and we have a lab named Sherpa, but the country dog terrifies me. I call them Grims (Harry Potter reference). Grims have chased and stalked me many times on long rides. I've been chased by dogs of all sizes and breeds. Once I had a country grim and her puppies go after me... puppies can be scary. The right dog could easily knock me over.

Thanks to YouTube we've seen all sorts of bike/foot/animal collisions. Most recently Evan van der Spuy of Team Jeep South Africa was biking through a South African nature reserve when an Antelope took him out! Team mate Travis Walker caught it on his GoPro Camera. These cameras are SOOO cool, I want one!

Fortunately, Evan survived with no long-term injuries, just a broken helmet. NBC interviewed Evan and Travis this morning, Evan doesn't remember anything after the crash until coming to in the hospital. http://youtu.be/VO1c6vphuZM

My husband is impressed with how easily the antelope turns its hips and body in mid-air to lessen the strike, amazing quickness.

My favorite animal encounter was with a Grizzly bear in Yellowstone two summers ago. We watched the bear work its way down a hillside, digging up roots. As it got closer to the road, most people got back in their cars--smart. The bear passed right in front of our minivan and then rooted around the hillside next to the road. It was incredible. Here's my short clip. http://youtu.be/Tvc6zNpTn_Y



Questions for You:
- What have you met?
- What are you hoping to meet?

photos by me.

Passion, Adventure & the Wild

I love reading. As a girl I especially loved adventure-experience books. Here's a few: The Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London, Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (*note this is not The Blue Lagoon...), My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, and of course the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

And as a married mom of three, I still love adventure-experience books: Shane by Jack Schaefer, The Endurance by Alfred Lansing, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and any Dirk Pitt adventure written by Clive Cussler.

Over the years I've had similar adventures, of a different scale, to those stories I loved in print: -While not a wolf pup, we do have a lab named Sherpa. - I swam with dolphins twice. - A hawk likes to visit my front yard (photo). - As kids my mom made us matching Little House dresses for Christmas. - I like cowboys, especially cowboys with rosy cheeks. - We survived the Storm of the Century while visiting the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. - We traveled the U.S. via Winnebago (see top photo). Though we didn't bring Rose of Sharon, or lose a grandma overnight, we squeezed in many relatives and friends for trips across the U.S., complete with break-downs and emergency repairs, similar to the Joads. - Dirk Pitt adventures are wild. My grandpa loved Clive Cussler and my dad, husband and I do too. We don't have much real-life in common, but I'll refer to wild situations as going all Dirk Pitt.

ON TOPIC - Check out 23 Feet, a documentary on simple living and outdoor passions. - Read about the Family on Bikes and their completed 20,000-mile trip along the Pan-American Highway. See this post to experience how windy the land of fire is. - Breathe Magazine looks interesting, it's geared for those who participate in adventure and endurance sports -- me! - And read my espnW.com feature about Kat and her adventures locally and globally through Impossible2Possible.

- I did rent Into the Wild, which combines Alaska, campers, adventure, busses and bears! I've been to Alaska & came very close to a Grizzly in Yellowstone (photo). My Youtube clip here. Questions for You: - What experience-adventure books do you love? - What books relate to your life? photos by me

March Melt & Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire)

photos: Of course he finds the last patch of snow to ride over! This is our oldest's snowman, made about a week ago.

The weather has turned in Wisconsin and we've lost most of our snow. It might reach 60 degrees tomorrow! We spent most of the afternoon playing in the yard and sitting in the sunshine.


Our middle child drew this great chalk picture on the driveway as I planned a TRX workout. If you didn't notice, he drew buds on the tree as a sign of Spring.

And my husband's test plants all came up. This year he put them in a mini-greenhouse in our office. I'm not sure when he'll start the gardens.

I'm also including an amazing video (below) from the Family on Bikes. I interviewed Nancy Sathre-Vogel last April about their 20,000-mile bike trip along the Pan-American Highway from Alaska to the southern tip of South America. Read that interview and learn more about the logistics of life on the road as a family of cyclists! And look how close they are to the finish!!!

MORE INFO

Follow @familyonbikes twitter
See this week's NBC New York Nightly News interview with Sathre-Vogel .
Family on Bikes on facebook

Family on Bikes blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWE6Ibi-BZo

Questions for You:

- What's your favorite sign of Spring?

- What's your experience with windy rides or dirt roads?

- Have you been to the Land of Fire (Tierra del Fuego)?

photos by me, video from Family on Bikes