48K for a 48th birthday

I decided, that in honor of my 48th Birthday, I would do some-thing that I had not done before.

For this special day, Thursday, June 10, 2010, I determined, as my challenge, to bike ride for 48 Kilometers.

And I did!

On a hill above Lörrach-Stetten on our way to Adlehausen. I am in Germany, the cows are in Switzerland.

I never tire of the wonder of being in two countries at once!

Taking a break in Adelhausen. We had just completed level 4 and 5 hills to get here. The water was a welcome addition as we had almost finished our own.

We made it down the hill to Schopfheim for a mid-morning refreshment and enjoyed some people watching. Hit a top speed of 57 kph coming down the hill ... I love speed, but I love my skin too, so I slowed down a bit ...,

Happy birthday to me ... I had fun!

now what shall I do next year?

on top, part II

Along a mountain path...

Stopping for a pose... future mountaineer...

SAM and Wils with Dana, our friend visiting from North Carolina.

A look down the valley over a Seeli...(Swiss for a little sea...which we would call a "pond") Beautiful by what ever you call it.

Mountain Laural?...

You can hear the cow bells echoing all over the mountains, and they never stop ringing or clanging.

Up and up....

..and now we rest....

but, I'm still taking pictures and going up.....

Watch out for mother Cows! the sign warns...and the yellow plastic tape somehow keeps them just like regular fencing.

A snowball someone brought down and left.....

Wow! speechless!

My friend, Xian and I enjoying the beautiful sights and time together.

Here we are at 1850 meters! getting ready to take the car back down the mountain, it had turn cool all of a sudden and the clouds started to roll in, so we were ready to go.

up the Alp at Engelberg, part I - Getting There

Last Sunday we took a trip to Engelberg, Switzerland to climb an Alp, and we were not disappointed! Below is a picture story of our trip up:

Our adventure began by an hour long warm up walk up the valley from Engelberg to Fürenalp.

The sound of cowbells fill the air!

Do you see that tip of rock...that is where we are going!

Thank Goodness it is 2009 or I don't think I'd be doing this.

Here comes our ride....

there goes the lift house...

..and more up....

Almost there....

.... this is what greets us! And who says we were not in church!?

Schluchseelauf May 9, 2009

The location of our 18K occurred about an hour north of us in the Black Forest. Good thing the surrounds are beautiful and flat and that I had a great walking buddy or it would have been an extremely long afternoon around the Schluchsee. However, I knew it was going to turn out to be a good day as we left Rümmingen with plenty of time. Time enough that we stopped at a Floemarkt for about thirty minutes; which was long enough for me to pick up a small wooden hand crank coffee grinder with Schwarzwald written on it plus the fifty or so years' worth of grease to add to its "antique" value. I also picked up a cold-war era gas mask for 5 euro's...don't ask, it was for Paul. And he was thrilled!

Group warm-ups 15 minutes before start time at 2 pm

Another walking buddy of our group, red shirt and back pack.

And we are off!

A look across the lake to where we will be in about an hour.

My walking buddy Susi. We made it to the end of the See. Now we need to turn the corner and head up the far side.

Walking the end of the See.

The American flag caught my eye from across the lake! and upon looking closer I saw drums, so I thought there must be fifes there as well. And sure enough after we turned the corner to walk up the far side of the See we heard the fifes and drums playing. I even knew the tunes and it help me walk alittle faster, as they were playing a quicker march tempo.

We made it to the other end of the Schluchsee, now for a break of bananas and Iso drink.

This is at the other end of the See...

and the view behind me...breathing taking. We have 10K more to walk.

At Aha, we are almost there..about 5K left..we are getting leg tired.

The last break at Aha, before the final push....

we could have taken a sail boat around the See, but we walked....

...and finished in THREE hours! Yahoo for us!

I must add that during the last 5K my thoughts were on a verse..."I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!" and I kept walking...So thanks Jesus!