How did I miss this?

Earlier this year the CDC released a Zombie Apocalypse Preparedness Guide.

And I'll never catch up

The month of September has been chaotic, to put it charitably. Just a week after floods ravaged my hometown, I headed out on the annual cycling vacation with my friend Stacey. We'd give serious thought to canceling, but the trip was non-refundable, so in the end we decided to go.

Being away and mostly out of touch for nine days was an odd experience. This year's destination was the Santa Fe & Taos area of New Mexico, an absolutely gorgeous place for bike rides, but internet and cell access were sporadic at best, so I quickly lost touch with the outside world. I could never quite shake the worry over what was happening at home--or what I would have to deal with when I came back--but despite that, we had a good time. The seven other cyclists and two guides were all great to spend time with, and we couldn't have asked for better weather.

One of the highlights of the trip was riding the Enchanted Circle, a 62 mile ride that including climbing three thousand feet up to Bobcat Pass, a whopping 9,820 feet above sea level. As someone not accustomed to those kind of altitudes, I spent most of the week feeling like I was moving in slow motion-- everything was just a bit harder and took just a bit longer than I expected. But despite my inability to do any training in the weeks just before the ride, I turned in a credible performance and earned my share of beer and ice cream treats.

We didn't get near Roswell, which explains the distinct lack of alien sightings. Though there was a road sign warning of potential cow / flyer saucer encounters, which alas I did not grab a picture of since it was on a steep downhill. Maybe next time. For now, I'm glad to be home, and digging my way out from under the piles of mail.

Patricia at Bobcat Pass (NM)