MistahSinclair - Less Fatter, Mo’ Faster!

After a day to reassess and reorganize I was happy with the loading and weather was actually permitting!

We headed out on the 6:30am ferry off Whidbey Island into, what turned out to be, the worst road conditions of the day.  Those that know Mukilteo and the ferry know that the ferry traffic comes up Mukilteo Speedway and onto the I-5 or I-405 in Lynnwood.

As we were coming up the Speedway we hit some ice at a traffic light and had a bit of a sliding spell (then turned the 4 wheel drive on)…further on as we crossed over 99 towards the freeway a mini-van came flying (literally) over the central reservation and was hit in flight by an SUV just in front of us.  Clearly the guy in the mini-van was carrying a lot of paperwork with him as it look like a bomb going off in a filing cabinet.

The mini-van was hit, spun fully a couple of times end for end scattering paper everywhere and landed on its wheels pointing the same direction as us.  The SUV stopped about 100 yards further up the road.  My wife and I stopped and got out to check on people (all were fine by some miracle…not even a scratch…I’m now a believer in airbags) then handed over to a paramedic who happened to be going home after the end of night shift.

Ok, less than 20 miles in and more excitement than I needed.

After that Snoqualmie Pass in the Cascades was snow packed, but easy enough driving in 4-wheel drive.  About 40mph and a steady climb over it.

After that the rest of the day was pretty uneventful (excepted being stalked by a hawk for a couple of hundred miles - long story).  An evening with the in-laws was ok too!

This morning we headed out at 6:15am from eastern Oregon aiming for Colorado.

We hit Idaho and had a long, straight, flat drive through the state..ok there were a couple of hills and a lot of scenery that looked like something post-apocolyptic with snow blowing across the plains and over the road.  No sign of road markings or anything like that.

From there is was through Utah which was entertaining.

The best part of Utah was the fact it’s where my wife grew up.  Her reactions to the amount the place has changed since she was last there were fun.  Huge areas had been filled in with housing and businesses that were previously farmland.

Beyond that the weather was a bit disappointing.  There was a lot of fog and low cloud so we couldn’t see the mountains, or the Great Salt Lake.  We did see a lot of Mormon churches though…actually a crazy number of similar churches!

Once through Slat Lake City we took our only major jaunt away from major interstates with a short cut along route 6 over Soldier Summit.  Now that was “exciting” driving.  There was a stretch of about 30 miles done in blizzard conditions with drifting snow, no road signs/markers visible going over the summit at around 7000ft above sea level…then back down again.

Once we got clear of the town of Price we had a pretty quick run to where we are now, Fruita Colorado.

Tomorrow we tackle the Rockies and Vail Pass (10666ft above sea level).

Below are a few pics of the fun so far:

 At the in-laws, Ontario, OR

 Gassing up in Caldwell, ID

 Scenic Idaho.  A rest stop near Bliss (only a name)

 Driving through Salt Lake City

 Mucky Truck after Soldier Summit

Ok, today was a bit of a bust.

Everyone was up and at ‘em in time to pull out at 4:15am…only for me to decide that the weight distribution in the trailer was not good (a lot of lurching and unpleasant feeling when driving), so we did a quick lap of the block and back home for the day to redistribute weight.

We went back to bed and got a few hours sleep before unpacking the trailer and reloading.

We also took the decision to ship some boxes of books via media mail and I offloaded my free weights (gave them away) which reduced the weight in the trailer by a good 800lbs.

Anyway, everything is reloaded, redistributed and feels good driving so we’ll be at it proper first thing tomorrow morning.

As it turns out it was lucky that we decided not to go as a couple of stretches of the interstate in Oregon were closed due to “severe weather”.  Roads are now clear an the forecast is decent for the next day or two.

Here’s a picture of the reloaded circus wagon…

Well, so far as exercise go I’ve done nothing recently!  My eating habits have gone out the window too…all because we’re getting ready to make a cross-country move.

I would guess I’m up 2-4 lbs over the last 3 weeks..not good, but in the greater scheme of things I think this will all be a good thing  (not the weight, the move!).

This Friday we’re heading out the door to catch the 4:40 ferry off Whidbey Island and not looking back.  Day 1 will be a short one, about 450 miles to the in-laws place in Oregon…overnight stay there then pressing on.

The plan is:

Day 1:  Washington to Oregon

Day 2:  Oregon to Colorado (might end up being Utah if the weather is rough)

Day 3:  Colorado to Kansas

Day 4:  Kansas to Illinois (Happy New Year in IL)

Day 5:  Illinois to Pennsylvania

Day 6:  Pennsylvania to Connecticut (and the end of the journey).

That will work out to be around 3,300 miles…driving…with 2 kids, 4 cats, 1 dog, 1 rat and 1 parrot!!  Can you say fun?

I was talking to my dad about the drive yesterday…he lives in the UK where this kind of distance does not compute!  To put it into perspective I decided to look up Google Earth and see what 3,300 miles in a straight line from the UK - my dads house in northern England - does for you (I realize we’re not doing 3,300 in a straight line, but it has more impact that way).

3,300 miles in a straight line…Moscow and back….Kuwait…Baghdad with 700 miles to spare…Nigeria…Connecticut (!!!)…almost to Bermuda (60 miles short).  In other words it’s a long, long way!

Once we’re on the other side life should get back into some kind of a normal routine…going to work, coming home, eating better, getting to the gym (or out on the bike if the weather is ok - bit more snow there though)…I’m looking forward to it!!

My plan is to give a day by day log of the trip.  Sadly I don’t think Day 1 will get a blog, but all the others will when we’re in hotels with internet access.

Merry Christmas all!

Colder than the witch’s proverbial mammary gland though!

With a break in the weather, or maybe just a general improvement, I took the opportunity to get out on the bike.  I rode the same route that I did last week but managed to do it a little over a minute quicker.

I’m not sure why today was any quicker than last time.  Very similar conditions…maybe a little less wind.

It’s difficult to get out on the bike these days.  There’s less daylight, worse weather and I’m trying to get myself geared up to move!

It looks like we’ll be making the big move (3,000 miles) in early January…driving from WA to CT.

Road trip across the northern states in the middle of winter with 2 kids, 3 cats, a dog, a rat and the parrot.  Sounds like more fun than actually will be!

…more to follow on this later…

Workout:

• Type: Cycle
• Date: 12/06/2007
• Time: 15:00:00
• Total Time: 1:02:23.00
• Calories: 795
• Distance: 17.8 miles
• Average Speed: 17.12 mph
• Max Speed: 35 mph
• Ascent: 1,500 ft

After days of snow, wind, rain, etc and no real way to go out for a ride I went for one indoors again.

I also had a cold for several days there too, so I have all the excuses covered!

Anyway, just 45mins in my target zone with the 4 year old firing his Buzz Lightyear missiles at me…not a great workout, but better than nothing!

Workout:

• Type: General Cardio
• Date: 12/04/2007
• Time: 20:00:00
• Total Time: 00:48:00.00
• Average Heart rate: 129
• Max Heart rate: 134