Friday, July 16, 2010

Scooting Along

Well, it has been 5 days since returning from Austria; Lisa and I have done our best to make the most of it. We have planned a vacation for the end of July, taken in a few more of the sites in Girona center, explored a little bit of the close area for Lisa's running, and gone for a couple longer scooter rides.

My training is coming back. I have begun to ramp up the volume a little more again after I took it easy to recover from Austria. Yesterday I had a good ride and thought perhaps the legs were coming back around. Today however, I just couldn't get the legs going. Still did a pretty decent ride, but I was struggling to find a comfortable rhythm for a good portion of it. Nonetheless, it was still a nice day at work.

Post work today, Lisa and I took a big scooter adventure. We headed west into the mountains stopping in a small town just at the base. We intended to take a nice lunch break there, but our timing was off by a bit. Actually, we struggled to find a restaurant/cafe, but then the couple we did find had the kitchen closed for siesta time. We ended up going to the grocery store and getting the fixings for some delicious sandwiches, which we enjoyed on a shaded bench.

After lunch, it was off into the mountains. We wound our way up a beautiful canyon paralleled by a mountain river/stream for about 10km until we turned onto another road that climbed the opposite side of the valley from our previous. Actually, it basically went up the mountain side where we turned and then over into the next valley. From the top of that climb, we were able to take a beautiful look onto the other mountains, jagged rock outcroppings/formations, and a marvelous reservoir. I had discovered this reservoir one day on a ride and decided I really wanted to show Lisa how beautiful it was. Thankfully the weather today was nice and we were treated to some pretty good views.

We had a very sweet surprise on our trip, too. As we glided down a small mountain road that was part cement, part dirt, we happened upon some blackberry bushes! Of course we had to stop for a bit and sample the find. Although they were not quite as good as northern Wisconsin blackberries, they were a delectable treat for our adventure. We were able to pick a baggy full, too and bring them home for later topping for ice cream or cereal: yummmm!

All in total, we were gone for probably about 5 hours on the scooter exploring the mountains. It was really fun and we are loving our purchase. It has allowed us to have these opportunities we otherwise would have missed. Not sure the plans for the next few days, but stay tuned for possible adventure updates. Ciao!

Pic 1: Lunch, finally!
Pic 2: I think we look good enough for a magazine cover...
Pic 3: Driving up the mountain is rewarded with good views
Pic 4: We found treats!

5 comments:

Phil Cianciola said...

If you put pedals on that thing you could write everything off as a training expense!

--Hip in Tosa

Anonymous said...

You look good enough to be on the cover of "Scooter Times"

-g

Anonymous said...

Oh my god, I just found this...

http://www.scootmagazine.com/

-g

WCJ Pilgrim Wire said...

Matt
Its billy jones.
My 10 year old and I are coming over for san sebastian. Please drop me a line at wcjwire@aol.com so we can hook up

Unknown said...

The exploring never stops with you two. It must be great to go to work together and then explore the Spanish countryside. Stay safe and enjoy the ice cream with berries.