Mike and Rebecca

To give a brief review, Rebecca and I had planned to fly to Phoenix with our bikes to spend our vacation riding the Fool’s Loop, a route published by our friend Miles Arbour. The next day we set off riding with plans to meet up with our friend Clark at some point down the trail. As the sun was setting, high on a plateau overlooking the city of Phoenix, we reached a decision point: do we stop there at the last really nice camping spot or do we push on in the dark, making way for Clark’s house. It was close to a two-hour nighttime ride from that trailhead to Clark’s house on paved roads (it would have been double that through the desert) but as Clark suggested, we did make it.

When we weren’t out seeing the sights with my sister and brother-in-law, Rebecca and I made time to reconnect with some old friends and family members. Through the miracle of Facebook, I was also able to reconnect with my best friend from my elementary school days, someone who I hadn’t seen for close to 40 years! Even though I think we were traveling fairly light on our last big bike journey, since we’ll only be out for a week or so this time around, we’re going to try to travel with even less stuff. We enjoyed some beautiful weather during our trip to Vancouver Island Again proving that some good things can come from social media, a fellow cyclist, Clark, who we connected with on Facebook, has offered to pick us up at the Phoenix airport and have us stay with him at his house before we set out on our ride.

Here’s something of interest for our cruising friends: I just found out that our sailing friend, Drew Frye, has a new book on the market called Rigging Modern Anchors. While I have yet to hold a copy in my hands, I know the depth of research that Drew puts into his work (he has written several other books and is frequently published trade magazines such as Practical Sailor) Through years of systematic testing, Drew Frye has produced a new benchmark of understanding based on empirical data instead of anecdotal wisdom, passed down from one sailor to the next without proof or deep understanding of the fundamental concepts involved. There are anchor-specific observations, discussions of tandem anchors and rigging methods, plus an extensive appendix containing test data, open source designs for bridle plates and anchor turners, strength and toughness for various chain types, anchor connector recommendations, anchor sizing guides and more.

On Labor Day weekend, shortly after 9:00 AM, she donned a borrowed wetsuit and with me and two of our friends watching over her from a nearby ski boat, waded into the water at the north end of Wood Lake. Although we didn’t let on, each time she paused to raise her hands out of the water, trying to regain some feeling in them, the concern from us spectators increased. When she ultimately made her way onto the beach at the south end of the lake, some 3:40 minutes later, she was borderline hypothermic! Given how long it took her to warm up after the ordeal, I think it’ll be some time before she attempts another long-distance cold-water swim.