serviceguy
Well-Known Member
Sorry for your loss, he was a lucky cat to be with you two for sure.
The Joy of Mountain Biking
- Thread starter MissJR
- Start date
mwlikesbikes
Well-Known Member
Sorry about Franklin, he was definitely one of a kind. Isn’t it crazy how these silly little creatures steal our hearts and become family? 😢
I am still having a hard time with Franklin's passing. I have good days and then sad moments. I forgot Chewy sends you flowers or a gift when your pet passes and the delivery of 12 beautiful rainbow roses threw me for a loop a week ago. (I'm pretty sure the UPS driver had driven off before I started to cry, but he might also think I'm a crazy emotional wreck.) Yesterday, I got a pet portrait from one of my sisters and the vet office sent me a card everyone signed (there's more messages on the back).
iman29
Well-Known Member
Such nice tributes especially from the vets office. Just takes some time for sure.
serviceguy
Well-Known Member
Wow, that is so above and beyond, very nice of them.
teabagger11
Well-Known Member
I think I posted this some where before on here and I don't know if it will help I had a pup that passed and the operator of the kennel where we boarded them occasionally knew how much we(and everyone) loved our pets(family members) said to me "if love could save them they would live forever"
We all try to give them their best lives and I'm sure you did
We all try to give them their best lives and I'm sure you did
I thought I'd post a few updates.
First: I want to thank everyone for all the messages sent when we said good-bye to Franklin... here, text messages, FB, IG, etc etc... I read them all and I am so very appreciative of all the love and support.
Second: Also thank you for all the birthday wishes... 2025 has not been the easiest year to say the least.
All the other stuff:
Work sucks... we can move on.
Vacation: We are still heading to the Grand Canyon for a long weekend in October. I was hoping the north side stuff would open or at least Phantom Ranch at the bottom after all the fire stuff calmed down but, we're less than 2 weeks away and it doesn't look like that's happening... So our plan is to do about 20 miles on the south side.
S. Kaibab to Tipoff... Tonto to Bright Angel... Bright Angel down to the river and then back up. If Plateau Point is open, hit that up on the way back up.
We've done a few 20 mile hikes in Pisgah which I think are way harder than these trails at the GC so I think we're in good shape and well prepared for this. The fewer miles will also give us some time to chill and take more pictures and really enjoy ourselves... no time crunch worries. I think food and nutrition are all dialed in and the only question is what to wear which will be a last minute call to see what the weather will be like. We have about a dozen people going... some will be running/hiking and some (including myself) will just be hiking so we'll all be in good company.
We also had @2Julianas and @MurderBort come down and stay with us this past weekend and it was soooo good to see them... We took them on a few hikes and tried to show them the best restaurants in Brevard. Unfortunately, we didn't get to hit them all up and they didn't bring their bikes so they're just going to have to come down and visit us again. 🙂
First: I want to thank everyone for all the messages sent when we said good-bye to Franklin... here, text messages, FB, IG, etc etc... I read them all and I am so very appreciative of all the love and support.
Second: Also thank you for all the birthday wishes... 2025 has not been the easiest year to say the least.
All the other stuff:
Work sucks... we can move on.
Vacation: We are still heading to the Grand Canyon for a long weekend in October. I was hoping the north side stuff would open or at least Phantom Ranch at the bottom after all the fire stuff calmed down but, we're less than 2 weeks away and it doesn't look like that's happening... So our plan is to do about 20 miles on the south side.
S. Kaibab to Tipoff... Tonto to Bright Angel... Bright Angel down to the river and then back up. If Plateau Point is open, hit that up on the way back up.
We've done a few 20 mile hikes in Pisgah which I think are way harder than these trails at the GC so I think we're in good shape and well prepared for this. The fewer miles will also give us some time to chill and take more pictures and really enjoy ourselves... no time crunch worries. I think food and nutrition are all dialed in and the only question is what to wear which will be a last minute call to see what the weather will be like. We have about a dozen people going... some will be running/hiking and some (including myself) will just be hiking so we'll all be in good company.
We also had @2Julianas and @MurderBort come down and stay with us this past weekend and it was soooo good to see them... We took them on a few hikes and tried to show them the best restaurants in Brevard. Unfortunately, we didn't get to hit them all up and they didn't bring their bikes so they're just going to have to come down and visit us again. 🙂
Just got back from Grand Canyon. Pics and details to come when I get all settled back in this week.
Check out my hike on Strava: https://strava.app.link/hLxSgy9KhXb
Check out my hike on Strava: https://strava.app.link/hLxSgy9KhXb
So I never got the chance to go into much detail about the GC trip. Not sure how interested everyone is now about it... but I'll quickly summarize:
The wild fire issues, construction and then government shutdown made things interesting... but we were able to get into the park for free and we were able to do the loop we planned so it all worked out. Also bathrooms were opened and fully stocked with TP because you know things would get disgusting fast.
Mistakes were made. They always are. Felt pretty well prepared but when I got there, there were a few "I shoulda done this or that" issues. The bottoms of my feet were pretty sore at the end and I was worried I may have pulled a muscle but I was totally fine the next morning... I even ran alongside our friends rental car as they were leaving. I was concerned about how some of our friends were going to do. We did have 2 people get sick prior to the hike, one person was definitely dehydrated and another got a blister on their foot (all in addition to the usual aches and pains associated with a hike like this)... but I can report everyone made it back to NC alive.
I'm not sure if any of our friends who went want to eventually go back and do R2R2R but I think Steve and I are both hoping to still attempt it. I might have to rethink the all hiking strategy and maybe jog a little here and there to move my feet and legs differently so we'll see how I plan that out.
The wild fire issues, construction and then government shutdown made things interesting... but we were able to get into the park for free and we were able to do the loop we planned so it all worked out. Also bathrooms were opened and fully stocked with TP because you know things would get disgusting fast.
Mistakes were made. They always are. Felt pretty well prepared but when I got there, there were a few "I shoulda done this or that" issues. The bottoms of my feet were pretty sore at the end and I was worried I may have pulled a muscle but I was totally fine the next morning... I even ran alongside our friends rental car as they were leaving. I was concerned about how some of our friends were going to do. We did have 2 people get sick prior to the hike, one person was definitely dehydrated and another got a blister on their foot (all in addition to the usual aches and pains associated with a hike like this)... but I can report everyone made it back to NC alive.
I'm not sure if any of our friends who went want to eventually go back and do R2R2R but I think Steve and I are both hoping to still attempt it. I might have to rethink the all hiking strategy and maybe jog a little here and there to move my feet and legs differently so we'll see how I plan that out.
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Gonna throw in my addition here...
Joy killed it. 11 of us total. Due to different abilities and some health issues we split into a few groups on the big day.
8 of us waited for the shuttle that never came. So we watched the sunrise over the canyon, jogged the 2 miles to the trail start and then 7 of us did the big loop. The other 4 ended up all doing 18 miles down to the river and back so they had big-ish days too.
2nd hardest hike I've done all year.
Joy killed it. 11 of us total. Due to different abilities and some health issues we split into a few groups on the big day.
8 of us waited for the shuttle that never came. So we watched the sunrise over the canyon, jogged the 2 miles to the trail start and then 7 of us did the big loop. The other 4 ended up all doing 18 miles down to the river and back so they had big-ish days too.
2nd hardest hike I've done all year.
So I thought I'd do a little "year in review" kind of thing. Unfortunately, I don't have a Strava subscription so I have to do this in a roundabout way... but here it goes:
Biking:
Hiking:
Running*:
2025 activities**:
I'm actually a little surprised at the numbers. Way more hiking than I was expecting, but, as Steve pointed out to me, in addition to some long hikes for prepping for the Grand Canyon, I did A LOT of smaller but very consistent weekly hikes which added up to quite a bit of mileage.
* Some of the running was on a treadmill at the gym and I'm not really sure if checking the stats on Strava this way includes those treadmill miles or if they are in a separate category.
** If you add up the numbers between what Strava says (the 3 screenshots at the top) and what's totaled at the bottom of the calendar (Garmin Connect), there's a 16.46 mile difference... that might just be a "walk" or two that wasn't changed over to hiking or something since my watch won't let me record hikes and I have to change them to hikes afterwards. Or it could be the treadmill running stuff. It's also interesting to note some of the larger gaps in the calendar which are probably me traveling or I was sick.
Biking:
Hiking:
Running*:
2025 activities**:
I'm actually a little surprised at the numbers. Way more hiking than I was expecting, but, as Steve pointed out to me, in addition to some long hikes for prepping for the Grand Canyon, I did A LOT of smaller but very consistent weekly hikes which added up to quite a bit of mileage.
* Some of the running was on a treadmill at the gym and I'm not really sure if checking the stats on Strava this way includes those treadmill miles or if they are in a separate category.
** If you add up the numbers between what Strava says (the 3 screenshots at the top) and what's totaled at the bottom of the calendar (Garmin Connect), there's a 16.46 mile difference... that might just be a "walk" or two that wasn't changed over to hiking or something since my watch won't let me record hikes and I have to change them to hikes afterwards. Or it could be the treadmill running stuff. It's also interesting to note some of the larger gaps in the calendar which are probably me traveling or I was sick.
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qclabrat
Well-Known Member
Great summary Joy, I just caught your big hike at GC. Can you post the stats? I'd love to do a trip like this but probably not with MrsQ. She more like this...
"national lampoon's vacation grand canyon" https://share.google/u4x2oF2OjWz5n3xya
Obviously, a hike like this isn't for most people but I think that if you go and can at least do Bright Angel down to 1.5 mile or 3 mile rest house and back, you'll have an incredible hike with some amazing views and fewer tourists. When it does open back up, the fitter, more adventurous people should get down to Plateau Point. But, obviously, you should train and do hikes before something like this to rein in water and food needs and train your feet for the mileage, etc etc
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Turbotrix
Well-Known Member
Nice work! One of the most amazing places in the world. My wife and I just locked in our travel for October of next year.
Setting the mood for 2026:
Today:
Tomorrow:
Today:
- Poop: so I don't carry 2025 shit into 2026 😛
- Do laundry, wash dishes, pay bills: so I don't carry dirt or debt into the new year
- Clean sheets on the bed: for a good night's sleep and a fresh start
Tomorrow:
- Bike ride: for more physical and outdoor activities and fun stuff with friends in 2026
- House stuff (currently painting): which seems like it would usher in endless house work but I want 2026 to be the year we get this shit done. Don't have painting a bedroom hanging over our heads. Get the patio done so we can have a better space to have friends come over and hang out, etc etc.
- Deposit check: I have a random check I need to deposit and I want to encourage money coming in... saving for trips and retirement and good stuff.
- Do not purchase anything: Do not encourage debt so early in 2026. Be more aware of what I do buy.
- Time with Steve: Last but not least and probably the most important. I think 2025 has been especially hard with Franklin being so sick and his eventual death that I feel like I was just mentally "elsewhere" a lot. Never mad at Steve (sometimes frustrated but the feeling is mutual) just sometimes not totally in the here and now and I want to change that for 2026.