All posts tagged: california

Mammoth Lakes Adventure: The Walk

Published by Anita

This picture pretty much sums up the challenge that lay ahead of us. The swim was done and I had survived the biking – it was now time for the final leg. A couple of days ago, on the way to Mammoth Lakes, we took Tioga Road that goes past Tuolomne Meadows and then reaches the top of Tioga Pass. From there, we descend towards Lee Vining. This is the same road that we’re going to be walking. Except in the opposite direction. So I’d already had a glimpse of what I’d signed up for. When I estimated the number of hours when I signed up for the event, I thought 4 hours. On day 3, I wasn’t so sure. I had survived the swim and the bike ride. And walking or running after biking is always the toughest for me. I was glad I wasn’t doing it all in the same day. (At least, not yet!). The Tioga Pass Run/Walk is advertised as 12.4 miles and “one hill”. The walk/run had 3,162 feet of …

Mammoth Lakes Adventure: The Swim

Published by Anita

To swim, bike and run on the same day is always a challenge. And though I enjoy all three sports, I’m still testing out the waters with shorter distances right now. Last year, I wrote about getting into triathlons and also doing my first triathlon – a sprint distance. This year, I did a slightly longer distance – called Olympic distance at the Auburn Triathlon. Longer distances though are still daunting at this stage. But when one of our coaches suggested we check out the Graniteman Challenge event that involves all the sports, but over three days, I began to think it might be more feasible. Impulsive decisions come quite naturally to me, so I decided to add another one to my list and sign up. The big event, which earns you the title of “Graniteman”, involves half Ironman distances (or nearly) – 2.4 mile swim, 100 mile ride and a 12.4 mile run/walk. However, they also had shorter distances in two categories – 1.2 mile swim, 71 mile ride, while the 3rd category (run/walk) …

Wine and sunshine

Wine and sunshine in California

Published by Anita

The roads stretched out in front of us, winding from one winery to another. There was a winery at every corner as we drove into Sonoma, our first stop on the wine tour. If you’re a wine aficionado visiting the valley area, you’ll probably be recommended a tour of the Californian wine country. It would be unwise to leave without a customary visit around this wine producing region, responsible for producing 90% of all US wine. The day actually began on a gloomy note. Our guide for the day, Vlad, a Russian settled in San Francisco, assured us that it would not be long before the weather cleared and the sun shone down on us. And he was right. As soon as we reached the outskirts of the city across the Golden Gate bridge, the skies cleared and magically the sun was out. We were quite cheerful already. To which Vlad added that we shouldn’t rejoice too early, as we would probably have trouble find our way back by the end of the tour. We …