Roman Ruins... in England

Good friend Radhika came to town and so we spent a gorgeous day exploring the Great Park.



At the back of the park are a set of Roman ruins. It's quite interesting to come around the lake and see them sitting there.

The ruins have a little bit more significance in the next post. You'll see why soon.

Rumor has it they filled parts of Harry Potter here...

Lastly, I tried to get Tucker to pose for a Christmas photo with me. He was having none of it. Oh well, we had a nice time running through the park, exploring the ruins and then stopping for a pint. More photos soon - I have lots from a quick weekend trip with Radhika. Whoop! Whoop!



Alpe d'Huez.. after the race

The weather has turned cooler here in jolly old England and autumn has finally arrived. Since our record heat wave is over, I thought I'd finally post the other summer time photos from my camera. Here are some of the post race photos and although it only looks like we spent all our time on bicycles, I can assure you, we spent plenty of time eating and drinking too. :o)

After our post race celebrations and then being spectators for Gervase's race, we head out for a gentle ride out of town and through the valley. A nice wide bike lane (not that one of these exists anywhere in England) has John doing his Sound of Music impression.



 We even convinced Paul to get back on his bike again. Although he was a bit grumpy, I think the beers and the descending cheered him up in the end. Here the gang climb out of the tunnel and up, up, up....

 .. and away.  Paul and Gervase are chugging along.

 Working our way up the valley.

 At our first rest stop - this one for coffee - I decide to step in front of the camera for a change and pose by the dam. Please ignore my helmet hair. Thank you.

The view from the coffee shop. It's lovely, but would be nicer if we were water side and didn't have the parking lot in the way. Oh well, at least you can see through it!

 John and Beth did some shopping while we were out there and show off their new look. I think they still thought they were in Italy....

 Sadly, you can't see the tiny mountain village in the background. If I ever find some time to re-do the blog, I promise MUCH larger photos. Maybe when I take some time off at Christmas?

 The lunch/beer stop is at the top of Deux Alpes ski resort.

 I couldn't resist the view from my chair. Love the blue sky and white puffy clouds. Now, this might be old hat for the Americans, but we don't get this view in England very much.

At the end of lunch, the group checks in with the electronic age. As Beth indicates, now that we have climbed, eaten and quelched our thirst, it is time for a nap.

Lastly, we weren't the only people enjoying Les Deux Alpes.... apparently the slopes were open too!

In France.. Alpe d'Huez - before the race

Yes.. here it is October now and I'm finally sharing some July photos. I'll get there eventually..... I'm using my lunch hour to try and get a post out rather than get some work done. I'll pay for it tonight but at least y'all know I am still alive.



As mentioned previously, I went back to France to race in the Alpe d'Huez triathlon. I'm trying to get some photos of the race so you can see that I really finished. It only took me 9 hours, but I finished. However, before the race, we enjoyed the scenery and scouting out the course. This year, we stayed at the base of Alpe d'Huez and looked up to the climb. 

There was plenty of parking and lots of bikes.

These boys are just in front of our house, about 1/4 mile from the start of the climb. Thus no helmets. Now, I would never ride without a helmet but I can understand why they don't have one on. I think I averaged about 9 mph for the whole climb. If you crash, you are going very slow. But I'm still never riding without my helmet.

The top of the second climb during the race. Of course, it is brilliantly sunny on the day we rode it for pleasure. On race day, it was peeing down with rain. Notice the traffic? You can barely get your bike on the road....

Now that Beth and I are at the top, we need to pose for a photo before going down. I think I only pedaled for about 50 ft once I got going. Just brilliant.

I stole this photo from someone else. Thought you'd like to see photos from the third climb in the race. This is from one of the bends on Alpe d'Huez. We scouted this climb as well. Even though it started out sunny.......

... by the time we got to the top it was wet and windy. Therefore, arms and rain gear go on, and the we hide in the pub. You've got to have some reward for riding your bike for over an hour up a hill. Next up: post race and possibly race photos. I bet you are on the edge of your seat. ;o)

Kate's Wedding

My brother left me a voicemail message last night saying he hadn't seen an email update in a while. I decided to check the blog today and am appalled that I haven't updated it in ages. It is so sad that I have been working way too much and even out of work can't seem to find the time. So - I am re-inspired and vow to get caught back up. 

 Recently, I went to another British wedding. Kate (from the tri club - as usual) got married. Here Louise and I are all dressed up in front of the church. How cool is it that we got to walk there from our houses. S-w-e-e-t.

 Even better, no driving or taxi needed. The Wedding Special bus took us to the reception.

 Whoop! Whoop! A trip on the big, red bus.

 The bride and groom arrived at the country house/hotel in a little better style than we did.

 Lovely Kate gives us the low down on why the ceremony started so late. Answer: Her hair took too long.

 Once we tell her how beautiful she looks, we head across the courtyard to the reception.

 I believe you used to park your carriage here....

 The setting was lovely and we started with drinks on the grounds.

 It even had it's own hedge maze. You can just see it behind the dark green hedge row.

 Pretty pretty....

Did I mention the groom has a Scottish heritage? If it ain't Scottish, it's crawp!

Dijon. And No, It Isn't Mustard.

During my recent road trip through France, I stopped for the evening in Dijon. It's actually a lovely old town with plenty of cool architecture and lots of options for eating and drinking. 

The buildings were very classic with neat archways for both windows and doors. I liked how this corner shop brought some greenery to downtown Dijon.

 

Also in Dijon is a little art/touristy walk. These plaques on the ground give you a starting point and you follow the little owl around town.

Follow the yellow brick road. Follow the yellow brick road. Follow, follow, follow, follow, follow the yellow brick road........

 

Liked the narrow streets and old school buildings. If it wasn't for the tourists you could picture someone from Lord of the Rings riding their horses through town.

 

Interesting enough, even Dijon has their own Notre Dame. It's a gorgeous cathedral in the middle of town.

With all the stone in this town, Mrs O'Leary's cow would have a hard time setting it on fire.

 

This street is flying the flags off all the original Barons from the area. Then again, it's been over a month now so I'm not sure if I remember that or just made that up.

 

Trying to figure out what the statues guarding this entrance way represent.

 

I still couldn't figure it out. It was as if it was a man's bust but no face on either side. Very strange.

 

Loved the post office. This is where you go to use the telephone.

 

This church is a little bit freaky. At first I thought it was neat to see all these statues/gargoyles jutting out from the building.

Upon closer examination, some of the statues are normal, and some are just a little weird.  A bit disconcerting actually.

 

I did try and get a close up of the mommy dog holding the puppy. It is sitting in between a ram and a funky monk.

 

Lastly, I thought the contrast of the classic stone + hundreds of year old buildings versus the neon snail advertising the escargot restaurant was too good to pass up. I highly recommend Dijon if you ever find yourself in that part of France. Lovely!