Author Archives: Kathryn
New Zealand National Road Championships
Hurray, the off season is over! And my first race of the year is the New Zealand road championships, meaning that Jack Bauer is racing! The atmosphere at the sign in was relaxed and casual. As is so often the case with cycling races, I had great access to the riders and many … Continue reading
Routeburn Track, New Zealand
The Routeburn Track is one of New Zealand's Great Walks, a series of popular multi-day hikes which require hut or campsite reservations booked well in advance. Several months ago, I booked my December dates to do the 3 day Routeburn hike but ultimately had to cancel when I realized I would have had to race … Continue reading
Fox Glacier, New Zealand
Just down the road from Franz Josef is the Fox Glacier where I spent a day walking on the glacier with my three travel buddies. Our first view of the glacier. Crampons! The walk wasn't strenuous but it was beautiful. There were lots of features in the glacier to check out. … Continue reading
Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
One of New Zealand’s big attractions is the south island’s Franz Josef Glacier. If you’ve got several hundred dollars, you can take a helicopter to the glacier and walk around on it. Or, if you’re like me and my three travelmates and on a budget, the alternative is to walk to the lookout about 500 … Continue reading
4 minute guide to Jordan
Click here to see all the highlights of Jordan in–you guessed it–4 minutes!
Surviving the cycling off season
My beloved peloton looks forward to the end of the year for the same reason I dread it: the off season. While my favorite riders are sleeping in, going on holiday, and allowing their body fat percentage to creep as high as 8%, I'm stuck looking for ways to pass the next 2 months. … Continue reading
Amman, Jordan
I usually try to get out of capital cities as soon as I can: they tend to be loud, busy, crowded, etc. Amman was all of these things but it definitely had its ups, starting with attending the farewell party of my friend's expat son and daughter-in-law (neither of whom I'd met before showing up … Continue reading
Aqaba & Jerash, Jordan
On my way back to Amman from Wadi Rum, I detoured to spend the morning on the country's minuscule coast. The coast line is so small that we were very nearly at the Saudi Arabian border before the taxi driver turned for the beach exit. I figured the best way to get the desert sand … Continue reading
Wadi Rum, Jordan
I love the desert. I always have. The desert holds mysteries and secrets. Some people think mountains do, but I don't. I think mountains are gorgeous and impressive and I respect them and love the peace I feel when I'm hiking, but there are no great secrets to be revealed in the mountains. I grew … Continue reading
Petra, Jordan: day 2
For our second and final day at Petra, Chris and I were joined by Amber, a Dutch backpacker we met at our hostel. There's only one way in so we passed the Treasury once more. Because we arrived just as Petra opened, we had the Impressive building all to ourselves. We investigated a few … Continue reading