I did indeed opt to go with Natalie’s beautiful bike made to my size specifications with a few other tweaks – bars as prescribed by my fitter, half and half pedals as desired by me, and sram rather than shimano components because sram hoods fit my hands better.

The most difficult part for me to decide on? The paint colour! For weeks I toiled over the possibilities and just couldn’t decide. Finally I decided that I really liked the green of my sister’s old find and went with what I thought was the closest – limetime pearl.

I was a bit worried about how the colour would look in person but it was wasted energy. I think it’s beautiful and it seems many other cyclists out there do to. I’ve received compliments throughout Portland, Seattle and Vancouver as well as remarks about how much it looks likes a Schwinn Varsity. I saw a couple when I was sans camera and I have to agree.

I’ve spent the past two weeks exploring new terrain and getting to know my solstice bike…

… and on the last day of our trip I finished making a cozy for her lock. I mean I have a cozy for my apple, so of course I need some of that cuteness to carry along with my bike, right?

In Junior High I finally got a “real” bike for my birthday (a black and pink Norco bush pilot ladies) and started making the 8.5 km uphill ride to school because it was so much more fun than riding the bus. There were also some pretty good dirt bike trails my guys friends and I used to ride on the other side of the tracks. By high school my Norco was too small but it took until university before I upgraded to my most used bike thus far – my Specialized Rockhopper A1 Comp FS.

It was the first bike I paid for myself and I bought it from the LBS where a high school friend worked. My parents couldn’t understand how I could part with $1500 for a bike or what the appeal of clipless pedals was but I’m so glad I followed M’s advice and bought the best bike I could afford. It has stood the test of time and has taken me beyond commuting to cycle camping, mountain bike racing, and more recently road riding with slick tires.

I should mention that I had a brief stint with another bike too – a Dahon folding bike that I mentioned here. It was good for it’s initial purpose (bike/bus commuting from the suburbs) but is utterly useless now that we live at the top of a hill.

Back in February I really started to get itchy about finding another bike. You see the Dahon had shown me how quickly and easily I could really move on pavement and my rockhopper just wasn’t up to the task. It was built for dirt after all. In addition to speed I was also looking for a more comfortable ride and an excuse to leave my knobbies on the rockhopper. Thus began my renewed search.

I scoped out bike shop after bike shop but I kept hearing the same thing… pick the bike you like and we’ll make it fit. That approach had been used to make the rockhopper suit me better as my body changed but with comfort in one place came annoying things like twitchy handling and aches and pains in new places. There was no way I was going to go that route again. I also knew that I wanted a mixte and the option to haul stuff. The choices are slim and not at all tailored to short in the arm/long in the leg me.

Just as I was about to give up my quest for yet another year I came across this: the Sweetpea JJ Fantastic. I was at my in-laws place and there was no getting me off their computer that night. I looked at the fully custom options and while the 3 year waiting list was a bit much I was seriously considering taking the leap. This woman understood just what I was looking for. Then I learned that the mixte Sweetpea A-Line was customizable and advertised the dual ability to haul stuff and haul ass. Plus my favourite cut of skirt had the same name. Could this be true?

Before I’d even spoken with Natalie, I’d found a Serotta bike fitter in the city and had my appointment. That was easily some of the best $250 I’ve ever spent. New bike or not, the tips and tricks my fitter gave me were the best cycle coaching I’d ever received. That, and after the appointment I was also equipped with new knowledge of what kind of bike geometry to look for. Sweet!

Back in my university days I loved to ride and even after breaking my wrist, it was hard to keep me off the trails. Back then, mountain biking was the only thing for me and I even raced for a season. It was such an adrenaline rush and so Much FUN!

As I got more serious about cycling I started thinking about getting a road bike so I could train more. I had such a hard time finding anything that would fit and then a whole bunch of other things changed. I moved around, was introduced to new sports and re-introduced to backpacking, climbing and hockey 5 nights per week. And I started breaking bones…

Mountain biking was still part of my regular routine (albeit at a lighter pace) until 6 years ago when my crunched up wrist stopped being able to handle my aggressive position on the mountain bike. It was a painful number of years before I could even handle a couple of km’s of riding. Thankfully those days are over and for the past 2 summers and this spring I’ve been steadily increasing my riding. I’ve also had some help to make my trusty old mountain bike fit better and equipped it with slicks.

It’s been so much fun to be able to get away from school stuff and ride with new friends nearly every week. Bring on summer!

Kevin and I have spent our weekends together and sharing activities ranging from creating a Nanaimo Bar facsimile that’s free of eggs and dairy to living outside on the beach to bike shopping. Oh, and so many heartfelt conversations too. It’s been such good medicine for my soul!

Here are a few of the highlights in picture form.

This, my first year of teaching has been nothing less than a roller coaster ride thus far. Wow, I never knew it was possible for so much drama or to work so hard and yet still feel like I can’t win.

Right now I’m in the midst of a change that includes me giving up many of the duties I had held since the fall. Before I started down this path I recognized that the life of a Waldorf class teacher wasn’t likely to mesh with my ideals of balance and sustainability. Somehow I thought it would be different for me but this year at least, that has not proven to be true.

After months of trying to make things work and struggling to get mentoring I found myself out of energy and short on nerves – far from an ideal situation for the children or for me.

After taking a week to recollect and recenter I returned to school today, donned an apron and began my new routine. Now instead of stressing about parent communication and lesson plans I get to sit back a bit, observe, and put more focus on handwork. It also means I get some time for myself and can look into getting involved with more community events – both for the school and the community at large.

Fresh air never smelled so good!

In the days before school began I was busy readying the room and worrying about being able to meet the class. Now two weeks later I find I know what I need to do and can be delighted by the simplest of surprises: a child who tested my patience all day waving madly when we crossed paths in town or the light unconscious humming of a song we learned earlier in the morning. It’s been two weeks and I can honestly say there is only one other time where I still enjoyed the job this far in. Yes!

Yesterday evening and today have found Kevin and I out enjoying the beach and then when I settled into work this afternoon birthday verses somehow streamed their way through me and onto the page. It’s so nice when that flow just happens without the pressure of a deadline. In any case I thought it might be nice for me to share some of the verses. Note that I did not go into the depth that some teachers do – crafting a verse with an anapest, iambic, trochee or dactyl foot to meet the temperament of the child. I am thankful for the wisdom a colleague offered – that it’s more important to create something that speaks to me about the child and meets him or her. That, and that a bit of rhyme can go a long way.

Here goes:

1. Far off the jagged shore
On the high open seas,
The greatest of creatures
Kindly watches o’er me.

In struggles and triumphs
I know to be me
And trust in my kind heart
That beats with the sea.

2. Bright-eyed and wakeful
I greet the light
That shines on me
With all its might
Reminding me before the night
That I must do what’s true and right.

3. Steadfast I stand
Like a tree on the land.
What my heart knows is true,
Like the sun, does shine through.

4. Lightly on my nimble feet,
Through the rocks and twigs I sneak,
Until I find my home at last
Among the trees and wild grass.

5. Not fearing vengeful pain or wrath
My feet stick firmly to the path;
From mountains high to valleys deep,
My spirit roams spreading love and peace.

And now we’re off for a night of music playing with friends while the song funky town plays to remind us of why we chose to live here. Oh how I’m loving this new life today!

Today I even took out my camera for the first time in a while. It got me thinking that back when I modified my case at Christmas I had expected that this would be a summer of hiking. I was soooo wrong. Today we went hiking for the FIRST time since I started school back in September. Don’t get me wrong, I like my hiking and backpacking but we’ve just had so much more to do this summer.

Earlier this week I became inspired to do some decluttering. We both knew we had way too much stuff in our old 3 bed, 3 bath, 1600+ sf home but when we moved into our current little place (which is a much more modest 520 sf, rather than the 650 sf we first thought) it was immediately obvious that we had WAY too much stuff. The great weather meant that we were more inclined to go out and enjoy it rather than unpack and that was starting to drag me down. Then I went to visit with friends and on two occasions was met with simple, tidy, clutter free homes. I was sold and the very next day started the purge. It lasted a day and a half and in a few hours is likely to resume again.

So far we have a living room, dining area, hallway, hallway closet, bedroom and a bathroom that are in good shape. The spare room is a bit of a gong show being that it’s an office for each of us and our storage room. The kitchen is going to take a lot of work because it simply is too small for all the things we use and I’m not willing to part with heirloom stuff that got used everyday before we moved. We’re making progress though and we’ve probably taken care of the most important things – heavy boxes of old books, excess clothes and surplus furniture. It feels so great!

Earlier this week we set foot in our new place… a modest 650 sq ft suite. It has meant reducing our collection of stuff but we’re happy to be physically closer together and not have to deal with stairs or cleaning 3 bathrooms and a whole lot of underutilized space. We’re also just minutes away from great mountain biking, hiking and climbing.

Unpacking is going a bit more slowly than I might have expected but with such amazing weather we’ve had little interest in staying indoors. Our adventures haven’t been extravagant but we’ve been able to make time for 3 climbing sessions so far and tomorrow we’ll pull the rope out again.

Yay for sunshine! Yay for climbing! Yay for togetherness! And yay for being in BC again!

I hope you’re having a great summer too!

Kevin and I started this piece of the journey with a few days of packing and followed it with a slow 2 days of driving with our truck fully loaded and the E carrying the more delicate and precious cargo. His folks joined us in packing and driving and when we got to our new stomping grounds we took a good couple of hours arranging our storage space. Everything fit and most everything we’ve needed since has been accessible.

We camped for a few days and then Kevin went back to AB to wrap up work while I joined my class for the last few days of their school year. It was so good to be able to meet everyone and the social calendar has meant that I’ve been able to work at getting to know people from the school and the broader community. It’s been so great that not being able to find a house or rental suite is hardly stressful right now. We knew this piece would be difficult but it’s still a surprise to me that it’s such a non-issue.

I am really happy to be where we are but in wanting to maintain some privacy I’m really reluctant to give too much of my location and my work away just yet. Suffice it to say that we’re where we need to be and we’re looking forward to getting to know our neighbours and all the local recreation hot spots.

As I spend the summer traveling and sinking myself into this new community I expect the opportunities to blog will dwindle… much like in my last semester of schools. I wish it weren’t so but if it means I’m spending less time on-line (as it has these past few weeks) then I think I’m good!

Have a great summer and happy solstice!

I started off overtired in Ontario and am ending it with a brief stop at home in Alberta. Within the week there have been so many goodbyes!

At the beginning of the week I learned that a friend, classmate and neighbour from my elementary school years had died in a tragic plane crash. Exhaustion meant I wasn’t in a very good place to deal with the news. Add the parallel’s of his death to those of other friends, not being able to reach my folks, and not having anyone to speak of shared experiences with, and it was an extra challenging start to the week.

While many of my classmates were looking forward to grad, I was nowhere close. I never really saw it as being that significant and then I had grief and nervousness about the future to distract me.

Our graduation actually went very well and I was able to live in it and forget about everything else for a little while. We sang songs, showcased our eurythmy and dancing, had beautiful words spoken about us, and recited Rudyard Kipling’s poem If. We did this latter piece in a rather unorthodox fashion using a combination of 5 languages. It was so appropriate for our group though and the words ring so much truth too!

It’s funny… my university grad was 10 years ago, in another “0″ year and Rudyard Kipling played a roll in it too. In truth, it’s the iron ring ceremony that Rudyard Kipling’s work was featured in, but having my cousin give me my iron ring was so much more significant than the cap and gown thing for me.

With this year’s grad there were so many poem’s we could have used and since I had nothing to do with the selection I’m finding this coincidence quite remarkable.

Our crew has not been very connected during the year but in the day after grad, through preparing a meal for our regular faculty and reflecting on our graduation and the year behind us, it felt like we came together. All that, just in time to be saying goodbye the next day and heading out in our different directions so soon after.

Yes, it was a tearful and exhausting week. Thank goodness there’s a bright future ahead!