An inspiring trip...

After a week and a half of amazing riding and beautiful scenery, we rolled back into Long Beach yesterday afternoon. I'm trying to not let the culture shock get the best of me... but what an enormous difference Long Beach is from where we've been! I have a lot to digest about this trip... and I think it will take me awhile to find the words to describe the immensity of it... 'epic' comes to mind... so for now, I thought I'd share some photos of small moments that inspired me...

Middle of Nowhere... Here I Come!

And... we're off again!

I have been waiting, not very patiently, until we finally get to leave for our next bike touring adventure. I've been so excited for at least the last month that it's been hard to sit still (kinda like that feeling you get as a kid those last few days before Christmas!).

We're taking the train to San Luis Obispo and then riding up to Paso Robles (via a campout in Morro Bay) for the Great Western Bicycle Rally. We'll be in Paso Robles for a few days, riding around the hills and hobnobbing with other geeky cyclists. And then, from Paso Robles, we'll be riding back through a lot of nothingness, along the San Andres Fault to Ventura (where we'll hop a train back). And this time, it'll be more than just Russ and I! We have a whole big group of people coming along (for various parts of the trip). Can you see why I'm so excited?!


And as I mentioned earlier, I'm really hoping that being out in the middle of nowhere will help me make sense of the jumble of half-formed ideas in my head. Even though I have no idea what this trip will end up looking like, I know that I'll be surrounded by inspiration the entire time - and I'm so thrilled!

I'm leaving my etsy shop open, although I won't be sending out orders until I get back. See you all in June!

In town again

Got back today from our trip to the desert. Has it really only been six days? It feels more like three weeks...

Cycling through the desert is an amazingly intense experience. You're in the middle of absolutely nowhere, surrounded by a vast landscape that changes very slowly over all those many miles. It's incredibly beautiful (especially at this time of year, when everything is surprisingly green and the wildflowers are in bloom), and it's incredibly challenging. I came back stronger, nicely tanned, and eight pounds lighter, with a brain full of stunning memories.

A few highlights...

.. Standing at the edge of a windy hill just off I-10, surrounded by hundreds of windmills

.. Soaring 10 miles downhill into the valley of the desert at Joshua Tree

.. Making the somewhat risky decision to follow a 20-mile-long road through BLM land with no facilities instead of hopping on the freeway and being rewarded with a long, slow descent through a beautiful canyon I never would have thought even existed

.. Listening to music under the stars on my surprisingly good $10 speakers





And, like always, Russ shot many more photos than I did... check them out on his flickr.

That sweet siren song...

And we're off... again... Leaving Thursday for a long six-day loop out to Pioneertown, Joshua Tree, the Salton Sea and back. Should be close to 300 miles, sunny and dry, and probably a bit surreal. I'm really excited. My brain needs something new to look at for awhile.

But the past few days haven't been solely dedicated to packing and getting maps and making that last trip to REI... I've been working in my studio too. I created myself a small charm pendant to take on our trip...


I've been thinking that I need to make myself my very own necklace to wear on our trips (and anywhere else that I go), so that I can easily show people what I do when asked. But, truth be told, most of what I make, I'd be a bit nervous to take on the road (I can be a bit rough with my things when camping). After much brainstorming, I hit on this lovely little design. It's only about .75" wide, which makes it pretty hard to get at those leaves in the middle (it made it pretty hard to get the leaves in there in the first place!). I'm excited to road-test it and see how it holds up. If it does well, I think I might make a bunch of these.

Back next week!