One Day More

Tomorrow is the day I ride in the 'Rid Without Limits' event here in NC. I even was able to promote the ride on TV:

I want to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to my ride. So far I have raised exactly $3,000. Still haven't donated? There is still time! To help you gauge how much you should donate I'll chronicle my logged rides thus far in 2012 (thank you Garmin!). You can see how much work I put in to training for this ride and then you can try to match my effort, monetarily speaking of course.

Count:	63 Activities
Distance:	1,442.04 miles
Time:	88:01:01 h:m:s
Average Speed:	16.4 mph
Average Heart Rate:	162 bpm
Average Cadence:	81 rpm
Calories:	93,963 Calories

For example, you can donate the following: $1 for every training ride ($63),  $1 for every 100 miles ridden ($14), $1 for every minute I've spent in the saddle ($5,280) or every second ($316,800). You get the idea :). In all seriousness, whatever you can contribute would be great! Here is why you should donate:

Thank you all so much! United Cerebral Palsy could not do the inspiring work that they do.

Hanging Rock NC '12

This weekend I had plans with friends to hike Mt. Rogers, the highest point in the state of Virginia, all 5,729 feet of it.  A friend, who was head-spearing the adventure, parents live in a Tennessee town a mere hour and half from the trailhead. Thus the plans were to spend the night in Tennessee and then hike the mountain the next day. However, an hour before we were to depart everything fell apart. Long story short, we did not go. As such, my roommate, Matt, and I came up with a contingency plan. We would wake up early and go to Hanging Rock State Park, near Danbury NC. And so it was.

I had been to this park before but this time I went on a different trails. We went to four different small falls and the summit of Hanging Rock. This will be more of a picture post. One thing I will say is if you go to this park and want to miss the crowds GO EARLY!!!

 Lower Cascade Falls, this was the largest and most spectacular fall. I am guessing ~25 feet cascade.

Upper Cascade Falls.

This was a hole in rock, or a window, at Window Falls.

Window Falls, the location of  this was really cool, it had a huge rock hanging over it.

Hidden Falls.

All of these falls were very easy and very short hikes, the longest was 0.6 miles I bellieve. Non were huge but charming nonetheless. This wound definitely be a great park for the kids who otherwise my lose interest on longer hikes.

Hanging Rock, approaching the summit.

The Geological Survey marker on top of Hanging Rock.

Looking out from the top of Hanging Rock.

The many falls were great destinations but for physicality purposes this was my favorite hike of the day. It was a mere 1.8 miles to the top but we noticeably gained elevation on this one, my heart rate was definitely higher as I climbed to the top. Gaining elevation is one of my favorite aspects of hiking in Utah. Ever since I moved here I've missed that component and to get a taste, no matter how small, was truly great. All in all it was a great day!!

Dirve for fun.

I have had two weekends to tell of. They were full of fun and driving long distances to have that fun. First, two weeks ago I drove up to northern Virginia where my mother was visiting from Utah. Due to the brevity of the trip, my mother was convinced that she would not be able to see me; and I encouraged her in that mentation. On Wednesday, immediately following my class, I started the long drive up to my brother’s abode in Virginia. I arrived at approximate 10 PM and thoroughly surprised my mother; it was quite amusing. Sadly, we only could spend one day together. It was a very special day as my niece was turning 14 years old. I said good-bye when we went to bed. When I awoke she was gone.

The next afternoon we all drove down to Virginia Beach. At this time, we were experiencing 85 degree weather; of course, the beach sounded fun. When we got there, fog hid the ocean from view and the temperature was a lot closer to 45 than 85. The next morning we scouted out Atlantic Avenue surveying the shops as well as the beach. While we waited for the temperature to rise we visited the aquarium in town. It was actually a pretty cool aquarium with different exhibits and a large variety of very interesting aquatic creatures. After spending a few hours there we went back to the beach where the water was slightly warmer than the mountain lakes I’ve become accustom to. Subsequently, most of our fun was had in the sand. Mike and I were buried, into the same hole, up to our necks’. It was a blast! Later that night we went to the priesthood conference, during which the Easter bunny visited. After watching Duke demolish West Virginia we went to bed, woke up, and drove to our respective homes.

I watched the NCAA final at my friend, Zach’s house. We had a few people over including Zach’s parents. What an exhilarating finish, it could have gone either way. God shed his grace and Duke won. Pandemonium followed on campus complete with a huge bonfire. Naturally, I elected to stay off campus as I am clearly above such silliness. I believe that is why one word explains the feeling I had after the game, anticlimactic. It was, however, fun the next day whe we welcomed the tam back.

This weekend I went to a YSA (Young Single Adult) conference put on by the LDS church at property the church owns in the middle of North Carolina; it was approximately two hours away. Being in North Carolina, the property had a plethora of trees. The property included a large mess hall, several cabins, and a small lake. My friend and I left early Saturday morning arriving just in time for the service project; landscaping. We improved the entrance to the camp by raising flowerbeds, weeding, laying sod, and planting a good number of perennials. We then had ‘spiritual training’ where we participated in two different workshops and heard the area seventy speak. The messages were well thought out and very good; the Spirit was definitely there. We then had 'physical training’ where we participated in a variety of events, the highlight of which was an obstacle course in the woods. We had a dance that night following dinner. The next day (today) we had an awesome Sacrament/testimony service. It was a spiritual uplifting weekend. My favorite part was connecting with a friend and meeting new people.

That’s all.

"It is impossible to live without failure. Unless you live so cautiously that you avoid life - in which case you fail by default."
--J.K. Rowling