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Thirsty Thursday: Iowa Games Time Trial
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Trader Joe's Sleepy Time tea (its late, but its also Thursday!)
Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. This week is more of a shout out to someone else's weekend plans--my parents! The day before the three of us departed for RAGBRAI back in July, they did the Iowa Games time trial. Because clearly the 450 miles ahead of them that week were not enough. They are actually regular TTers and a few weeks after this event, they each won a state championship!
Thirsty Thursday: RAGBRAI Bound
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Ginger Ale...its what I drink on all domestic flights, no idea why
Hey hey hey, Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. I am pretty excited for my weekend plans; plans that will continue all the way through next weekend.
Being from Iowa, and having grown up in a family that was into cycling, RAGBRAI was a summer fixture in our house before our family summers were devoted to driving my sister and I to soccer tournaments and camps all over the Midwest. I'm headed back to do the week-long party across the state of Iowa on a bicycle with my parents, but under slightly different circumstances than RAGBRAI's past.
Two years ago, my dad had a freak thing happen and he is now paralyzed from the waist down. My parents used to spend a lot of time together on their tandem, but once my dad was paralyzed, that wasn't an option anymore. As part of his recovery he started handcycling and mom would ride along with him on her road bike. Differences in speed made staying together difficult, but they still wanted to experience cycling together. Enter Utah Trikes.
Utah Trikes built a super awesome handcrank tandem tricycle for my parents...mom sits in the front and pedals while dad sits on the back and handcranks. Pretty amazing. I was able to visit Utah Trikes a few weeks ago when they picked up the custom built rig and was thoroughly impressed. Ashley and his team at Utah Trikes are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet, and they are incredibly talented engineers and fabricators. I captured these images of the team hard at work to finish up the tandem for my parents.
And here's what the first spin looked like (still a work-in-progress in this image, but you get the idea).
On Saturday we'll head off to start RAGBRAI XLI, which I think is my parent's tenth and my third. They are doing the ride on their new tandem with support from Adaptive Sports Iowa. I'll be along to document their experience and help out the Adaptive Sports Iowa crew (ASI has roughly 60 riders they are supporting throughout the ride). I'll be using the hashtag #RAGBRAIstroz on Instagram and Twitter as I capture their experience. Should be fun!
Thirsty Thursday: The Morning After
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Trader Joe's Cinnamon Blossom Tea...served hot!
Thirsty Thursday here again...time to pour something yummy (or something warm) and make those weekend plans. And since the photos below have an icy feel to them, I highly recommend that TJ's tea to keep you warm.
These photos are from our trip to Iowa. The morning after our arrival, which was a day late due to the raging blizzard. The day after a cancelled flight, a delayed flight, an aborted landing, an actual landing, a bag stuck in airline bag jail, a crazy drive home past the truck grandpa put in the ditch, and a generator-powered evening catching up with my parents, I woke up early, bundled up, and wandered around the farm at sunrise. The 50 mph winds and driving ground blizzard were gone. All that was left was a brilliant sky and clean, white snow.
There is something magically beautiful on the first clear morning after a Midwestern blizzard. I'm just glad I don't have to deal with them too often anymore. Get out there and find your own beautiful morning this weekend!
UPDATE: If you'd like to purchase any of these photographs, they are available on our store under the Iowa Gallery.
Two Word Tuesday: Fresh Start
Happy New Year! Enjoy a fresh sunrise over freshly fallen snow as you celebrate the New Year.
Thirsty Thursday: Frozen
Rambler: Terry
Drink in Hand: Hot Tea with Cinnamon
I don't know where you are today or this weekend, but in Iowa it is freezing. Temperatures are in the single digits. In addition, the power is out here on the farm and we are on generator. Thus, this post is from an iPhone as there's no Internet on the MacBooks. So, here's to the cold weather and hoping that where you are is warmer than here! Still it's good to see family. Happy Holidays!!
Two Word Tuesday: Iowa Corn
Thirsty Thursday: Summer in Iowa
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: 2010 Ancient Peaks Renegade
Thirsty Thursday is here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans! We spent last week in Iowa. It was an unexpected trip home but its always good to see the family.
You might remember a few of these scenes from this post shortly after Christmas. The seasonal shift of landscapes in the Midwest is certainly something I miss...the 100+ degree temperatures I do not.
Get out there and find a landscape you like this weekend!
Two Word Tuesday: Rural Mailboxes
Two Word Tuesday: Gravel Road
Thirsty Thursday: Winter Trees
Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: 2010 Tolosa Grenache Rosé
Thirsty Thursday here again! Time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. I dug into the archives for this week's edition, focusing on a subject that is so easy to overlook.
We were lucky enough to go home to Iowa for this past Christmas. Despite the freezing temperatures, yes, I did say lucky to go. I don't often get home to visit the family, so its always nice to see everyone. Besides visiting family, however, Iowa does have some beautiful scenes. That's right, I said Iowa is beautiful. Maybe its not the obvious beauty of wildflower-filled meadows with snow-capped mountains in the background or a frenetic scene of crashing waves and rugged rocks of an ocean shoreline, but still beautiful. I think since I don't get back that often I appreciate the beauty of the rural landscape more now than I did growing up.
While living in the mild coastal climate here in California is great, I do miss seasons. One of the things I miss most from the Midwest is the amazing dawn and dusk color gradient of the sky during winter. The lack of humidity brings out an amazing palate of pinks and purples and indigo at sunrise and sunset. The colors are so intensely vibrant on a crystal clear morning or evening. Frigidly cold, but vibrantly beautiful. I don't see those colors here at home. I also love the shape of the naked trees during winter. The trees look so different in winter, stripped of leaves, twigs twitching in the lightest breezes.
Enjoy some images snapped on a very cold day at my parent's house. My fingers may have suffered some minor frostbite, but I didn't mind. I couldn't resist the stark skeletons and brilliant colors.
Get out there and find something beautiful this weekend!
