Weekend Update

[jianantonic]

My brief jaunt to Wyoming was pretty rad, but there were some letdowns.

I was upgraded to first class the whole way there, which was awesome, though I felt a bit out of place.  Even though I'm a travel writer, it was my first time ever on first class -- I usually fly Southwest, which is only coach, and I only just made medallion status on Delta.  So I felt like a bit of a dunce, but it was fun.  The flight attendants were super nice -- not that they're not nice in coach, it's just that they weren't dealing with travel dopes, and were in better spirits than you find in the back of the plane.  So that was awesome.

When I sat down on my second flight, I noticed that the area around my seat had some bright red stains -- it looked like wet paint, actually.  I shrugged it off, but then about twenty minutes later, I realized that the stains were multiplying.  I went to wipe a spot off my arm and only then did I notice that my finger was gushing blood.  I cut the cuticle somehow, and hadn't felt a thing until I noticed the booboo.  As soon as I saw it, it started hurting like a motherfucker.  I had a bandaid in my bag, so I  patched myself up, but two days later it's still painful.  And I know it's all in my head because if it were actually painful, I would have felt it before I noticed it with my eyes.  Anyway.  

It was just getting dark on the way to the resort from the airport, but it was still light enough that I saw the moose and baby moose that were grazing by the roadside!  Moose was the only major native wild animal that I hadn't seen on my previous trip, so I declared bingo and felt very good about the sighting, except that my camera was in the trunk with my bags, so the only picture I got was on my phone -- there's an abstract brown blob that's barely distinguishable in that photo.

I checked into my condo and went to bed, because the next morning, we were supposed to be at the paragliding launch at 7am.  This was the big letdown, though -- it was too windy on the mountain to go.  HUGE bummer.  I mean that's basically the whole reason I flew out there.  We went to a fancy breakfast instead, and then the resort gave us mountain bikes and guides to check out the new mountain biking trails they'd just opened.  They also had us suit up in full body armor, basically.  We had a few minutes of lessons on how to use the bikes, and I felt really comfortable on mine, so then we set out for the trails.  You ride a ski lift up (every third lift is for bikes), and the trail designations are the same as ski slopes -- green for easy, blue for intermediate, and black for expert.  Since we were all new, we started off on the beginner trails.  Immediately, I knew I was in trouble.  Those trails are NOT easy.  My bike wanted to go far faster than I was comfortable with, and the trails were super curvy, so it wasn't safe to be using the brakes very much.  I made it down one run without crashing, but I had several close calls, and I was already sore in my abs from the tension.  I didn't want to go again, but I decided I'd give it one more shot.  Turns out my instincts were right about quitting early -- I lost control on a sharp curve, flipped over my handlebars, and rolled a good way down the mountain.  Thanks to the full body armor, I didn't feel a thing, but I did have a mouthful of dirt.  I was pretty shaky the rest of the way down, and decided then that I definitely was done.  

I rode the tram up to the top of the mountain with one of the other girls in our group who hadn't gone biking, and we got waffles and took awesome pictures of the Tetons at the top.  When the others were done biking, we went for a hike on a new trail in the national park.  (We were in Grand Teton NP the whole time).  The hike was gorgeous and I had a great time, but by the end of it, I was starting to feel sore.  I wasn't sure if it was from the way I'd worked my muscles on the mountain bike trails or just from being up and active all day on a short sleep the night before.  But I was starting to feel the burn.

We split up and showered before reconvening for dinner at a Thai restaurant on the resort, which was the place to be that night -- everyone else at the restaurant was also involved in the big bike park opening.  North Face reps were there (they sponsored it) as well as a lot of pro bikers and other journalists and publicists.  I did some networking, ate some yummy Thai, and then started feeling really, really shitty.   We ate on the patio, and something set off a horrible allergy attack.  But the others were having a good time and I didn't want to break up the party, so I toughed it out until we left the restaurant some four hours later.  I was feeling really nasty until I finally got on a plane and out of the Wyoming air -- apparently the pollen count is astronomical right now, and I guess it just caught up with me after the first 24 hours.  I got to ride first class home, too, and I'm betting I'm the only person who rode first class, then took the train/walked home from the airport.   One of the other journos I hung out with this weekend called me a woman of contradiction because of all the random shit I do that just doesn't fit with the other random shit I do, I guess.   I suppose this would support his claim ;)

Anyway.  I'm home now.  I was just starting to feel a little sore last night.   Today, my arms and back are in total rebellion.  It's as if I'm paralyzed from the waist up.  I think it's probably just the knocks of my fall sinking into my body.  I  was active yesterday, but not active enough to be this kind of sore today.   This has to be from the fall.  I have a massage on Tuesday, so hopefully if I'm still sore then, it'll all be better after that :)

Tomorrow I'm going to another press event in downtown Portland, this time for Hawaii.  I'd love to secure another press trip to the islands, but given my work situation, who knows.  I should know more about that tomorrow...