Alone on Fantasy Island in Tucson

Everyone bailed on the ride this morning so I decided to brave the trail alone.

I’ve ridden some of the trails starting from Valencia, but today was an Irvington start. There was another solo woman who started before me and knowing she was ahead of me made me a little less scared. I was nervous running into wildlife or crashing but I finished the 6+ mile Lone Cactus trail in just under an hour seeing one roadrunner and no other riders except at the start/finish.

I loved going through the Half Pipe and getting practice with my bike skills on all the twists and turns.

I am getting to know this trail by doing it over and over. I’m getting over my fear of being alone in the desert.

I stopped a lot and took some pictures, and tried to get familiar with my surrounding, which I rarely do when biking with a group. I love the Fantasy Island Trail system. I love the challenging downhill and the short steep uphill. A great way to start a Sunday morning.

Now that I have my mountain biking legs back, maybe I will get brave and join a mountain bike Meetup in Tucson. I’m getting braver…..

Writing About Place, Landscape, and Personal History

I had the pleasure of writing a guest post on Kathy Pooler's blog about Memoir Writing.

I wrote about writing memoir and the journey to find your people. 
My book is not only a memoir. It is a travelogue. It is about how a place can shape you. It is about reflecting on what is important. 

Here is an excerpt of the post and the entire post can be read on Kathy Pooler's website:

Writing memoir helps me to work out the troubled relationships, honor my family and most of all, reminds me what is important. The beauty of writing memoir is making the commonplace memorable through life’s catastrophes, love loss, job loss, money problems, anguish, and confusion. How to tell that story is the crux of every writer in the history of mankind.
I live now in Tucson, Arizona; farther west than I’ve ever been. I can see what happened more clearly with the time and distance perspective. I realize I have a lot of experience with not knowing where I’m going, vulnerability, and living with uncertainty.
I write the stories of getting hurt, finding amazing friends, moving on and finding new places.

What an amazing journey it has been.

Fantasy Island Trails

This is my new favorite mountain biking trail in Tucson: Fantasy Island Trail.

Great riding despite several cholla in my leg that needed to be removed by my riding partners. Thanks for the save. 
This isn't my leg but this is what it looked like:

Here is the Garmin data:

Click to see larger photo

I can't wait to ride these trails again now that I have my mountain biking legs and am reading for the downhill. 

And a video about getting cholla off - never leave home without it - a 70s comb:

I Came To Bike

I moved to Tucson in 2012 to bike. Year Round.

The month of October I forgot that. 

And, most of September and November.  

Now that it is December and it warms up at lunch time, I bike. I bike on the weekends; every chance I get. 

I've been mountain biking:

Kentucky Camp near Tucson

Last year I biked the El Tour de Tucson. This year I didn’t. It was a rainy ride. I will do it again next year. 

Last year I ran the Tucson Marathon. This year I was a spectator and on the cheer squad.

In November I tried to plan my 2014 race calendar and while I had decided on a few races (triathlons and ultra races) I couldn’t click the submit button. I was really undecided – more than I’ve ever been. It used to be so easy to click submit on active.com and then just train. I almost signed up for a 50 mile trail run in Phoenix and I tried to get in to Ironman Arizona.

I like going long, but maybe I truly need to work on speed and do the shorter races. 

As of today, I’m signed up for Ironman 70.3 St. George, 24 Hours at the Old Pueblo mountain bike race, Colossal Duathlon at Colossal Cave Mountain Park, and the Arizona Distance Classic Half Marathon. 

This is a good start. 

Old Pueblo 24 Hour Course, looking south to the Tucson Mountains

Running From Moose: Sticking Close to Home

Running From Moose: Sticking Close to Home: Thanksgiving is coming up quick and it's got me thinking about the concept of home. We've packed up the gear, put the camper in st...

Writing about Place, An Interview

I was interviewed a few weeks ago by the Sonoran Arts Network editor, Shane. The Sonoran Arts Network is an art community in Tucson bringing together writers and artists.

Here is an excerpt from the interview;

SAN: What does the environmentalists’ phrase “sense of place” mean to you regarding the places you’ve lived?

KLodge: I believe there is a place on this earth that is perfect for everyone. When they find it, they will also find their voice. Whether it is becoming a writer or a community activist, in the right place you will find yourself. I think I found a part of my voice in each place I lived. I felt so alive walking the trails in Maine, Vermont and Colorado. I would hike these trails and think about my life and tell stories in my head.

View the entire interview here. 

Sonoran Art Network Interview

Here is an excerpt from my book, Continental Quotient that helps explain my answer above. 

From the chapter: Women Writing the West – An author talk in Denver.

This day in Denver is perfect. The Colorado blue sky that we discuss during the symposium starts to fade to evening as I drive back to the mountains over Berthoud Pass and the Continental Divide. Just after I cross the divide and the highest point on the pass, I see a full moon rise to the east.

As I continue to drive north to Granby I think about what it means to be a western writer and writing about place. I love every part of rural mountain living, even the cold, the wind, and less people. I hike and bike out my front door, I could never do that in the city. As I drive the last few miles up the mountain access road, I think of all stories around me; stories about these mountains, rivers, and the people who choose to live here. I know there are good stories; funny stories, well lived stories. I want to write them all.

I feel connected to Pam Houston’s writing at this moment. When she writes about her ranch in Creed, she tells her readers how she finally has “earned the right to be here.” I feel like I might have, too.

Fraser, Colorado 8,550 feet

Confessions of a Former Peak Bagger

One of my favorite chapters in my book, Continental Quotient is Confessions of a Former Peak Bagger.

I wrote this story while living in Colorado. 

One of the best aspects of being a writer is reliving all these stories as I write them. I was first introduced to hiking by my boyfriend in 1988. I had never hiked a mountain and I didn’t have hiking boots. I bought boots for the hike to Mount Lafayette.

I’ve always been goal driven and always had a need to look forward to something. When I started hiking in the White Mountains of NewHampshire I had a goal to finish all the 4,000 footers. When I moved to Colorado I only had two mountains left to hike to be a member of the club. 

I will hike these mountains. I will finish them by 2015. How’s that for a goal?! 

Here is an excerpt of one my favorite stories in my book, Continental Quotient:

That summer, I would read the White Mountain Guide, looked at the map, and planned my day or overnight trip, and bagged every peak I could. The best part was seeing all the checks next to the peaks in the back of the AMC Guide. I spent almost every weekend hiking and backpacking; it was my escape.

My high school friends were in college, and I climbed peaks on the weekend. Nothing in my life was going right, I checked of another peak. I took a college class and dropped out because I didn’t like the teacher or the subject matter and would drive north to climb Mount Jefferson and felt a sense of accomplishment. I spent almost every weekend in the mountains while living in southern New Hampshire; either going up for a day hike or overnight backpacking adventure. I hiked alone. I backpacked overnight alone. I wasn’t scared of anything I loved the solitude of being in the mountains.

Have a great day. Hope you are out hiking in the Whites.