Two Wheeling Through California

Bicycle road racing is a vicarious two-wheel journey.


For three weeks every summer, my husband and I take a bicycle tour of France. Thanks to the magic of television, we cruise past fields, vineyards, castles, villages and cities. We struggle up impossibly steep mountain roads in the Alps and the Pyrenees and race down the other sides. We mingle with an international cadre of riders. In the world of sports, it's the Tour de France. In our world, it's a road vicarious road trip through France. This year, we'll be in France from July 5 though July 27, again, thanks to the magic of television.



Like the racers themselves, we've started training for the Tour de France by watching the just-concluded Amgen Tour of California. We covered 650 miles in eight days -- through vineyards and redwoods along the stunning California coast We encountered sun, rain and wind. We rooted for the young Boulder rider, Tom Zirbel, who led the stage alone for miles until the last lap -- and who blogs as well as rides very fast. Hats off to him, to race winner Levi Leipheimer and winner of the final stage, George Hincapie. And thanks, guys, for letting us ride along.

A Glorious Ski Day at Keystone

Colorado's epic snow season made for still another great ski day -- and something for the suggestion box.


Two friends and I took yesterday off and drove to Keystone for the day. A worthy destination resort in its own right and more so in conjunction with neighboring Breckenridge and Arapahoe Basin (and a bonus of interchangeable lift tickets), Keystone is less than two hours from my door. We arrived before 10:00 and luckily found a close-in space in a very full parking lot.

Keystone just had received four inches of snow -- significant some years but just a dusting during this epic season, when the resort has already . The snow was silky, and not until the end of the day did we encounter any scraped-off spots -- and even then, only on a few vulnerable parts of busy runs and at that, they weren't bad. Places were cover is usually thin or even bare wore a mantle of snow. Temperatures were mild, and there was no wind. Despite the full day lot and the vacationers, we mostly skied Dercum Mountain and a bit on North Peak (above) and never encountered much of a liftline (but then, we didn't head to The Outback either).

Two of use are really enthusiastic season-upon-season skiers, but our friend had only been on skis once in the last 20 years, so we stayed on easy cruisers. She's strong, and she has more endurance and speed than most people who have been off the boards for that long, so we kept going at a pretty good clip. It was a great day to get back into skiing.

As a.m. turned to p.m. and the minute hand kept circling, we realized that we were hungry, so we rode the Outpost Gondola to from the top of Dercum Mountain to North Peak. The liftie told us to take our skis into the gondola car with us, which was a surprised and also awkward. The reason? The old external ski holders on these elegant forest-green cars are too narrow for the flared tails of modern skis, but people try to jam them in anyway. Skis slipped into the wider snowboard slot often fall out. Therefore, the gear gets to ride inside. Here's suggestion #1: a minor retrofitting of the gondola cars with new equipment racks. Considering that Keystone has announced plans to replace the existing six-passenger River Run Gondola (the second on on that line) with a longer, faster state-of-the-art eight-passenger model next year, this fix of the Outpost Gondola is small-potatoes indeed.

At the end of the day, we wanted to make sure that we ended at River Run and not at the Mountain House. Many lower-mountain runs meander, and at a couple of crucial intersections, we weren't quite sure how far down we had come and couldn't tell whether we were on Last Chance or Jackstraw or Schoolmarm or Dercum's Dash or Bear Tree. Suggestion #2: A little more signage near the bottom would be welcome.

I wish that I could take the entire winter off and do nothing but ski. A look at Colorado ski conditions explains why: Mid-mountain base depths range from "only" 31 inches at Echo Mountain, a snow park in exurban Denver, to an astonishing 147 inches at Wolf Creek in southern Colorado -- and that's packed, settled snow. Conditions elsewhere in the ski world have also been outstanding.

Color-Coded Airport Security Lines Tested

Salt Lake City and Denver are test sites for new system to speed up lines.

Skiers and snowboarders are familiar with symbols signifying relative slope difficulty: green circle for easiest (aka, beginner) runs, blue square for more difficult (aka, intermediate) and black diamond for most difficult (aka, expert). The Transportation Security Agency is now testing a system that it is calling the Black Diamond.

The idea is for travelers to select the level of security line that they believe is suitable for their level of travel experience. The TSA hopes that green will be chosen by families with children, stollers and infant seats; people with special needs, and infrequent flyers who are confused by the system and need some assistance. The agency also hopes that the blue line will be used by semi-experienced travelers, perhaps with multiple carry-on items, and that black will be used by experienced travelers who know the drill and arrive at the checkpoint with laptops out of cases; toiletries in appropriately small quantities in the regulation one-quart zip bag keys, coins and cell phones out of pockets, and shoes, jackets and belts off.

TSA is launching the Black Diamond test program at Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) and Denver International Airport (DEN), where presumably a fair number of passengers are familiar with the color coding. which makes the skiing references appropriate — if not readily understandable to nonskiers. Of course, as every skier knows, many people over-estimate their competence on the mountain, and there are always terrified beginners picking their way down intermediate slopes and over-confident intermediates stalled on black-diamond terrain. There is no reason to believe that people will be similarly optimistic at an airport security checkpoint.

Get A Horse? DIA Finally Did

Epically delayed mustang sculpture finally installed at Denver International Airport.

Flight delays are not unfamiliar scenarios at airports, but the 16-year delay in installing a monumental fiberglass sculpture of a rearing mustang has got to be a record-setter. When Denver International Airport was under construction, Luis Jimenez, a sculptor from Hondo, NM, was commissioned to make a 32-foot sculpture for the Peña Boulevard approach to the terminal. While it was a work in progress, a section came loose from a hoist, pinning Jimenez against a steel support beam. He died in June 2006, leaving a widow, two sons and a largely unfinished, very large fiberglass horse. Susan Jimenez and her sons, Orion and Adan who were children when their late father began the work, completed it, and New Mexico painters Richard Lobato and Camillo Nuñez painted it using Jimenez's color scheme. The mustang has finally been installed at DIA -- 16 years after the airport opened. The photo shows it with its "receiving blanket" still draped over its hindquarters.

US Airways Devalues Frequent-Flyer Program

US Airways is changing its frequent-flyer in ways that aren't especially good for its loyal customers. If you are a member, I draw your attention to Mark Ashley's piece called "Death By A Thousand Cuts: US Airways Edition" on his Upgrade: Travel Better site. The so-called loyalty program is called Divided Miles. Maybe they need to change it to Fewer Dividend Miles. Just yesterday I posted an item urging travelers to cast their ballots for the Freddie Awards honoring frequent traveler programs. I'm guessing that anyone who voted for Dividend Miles and gets the latest news will want to retract his or her vote.

Ready to Vote for Freddie?

Cast your vote for the Feddie Awards, honoring frequent-flyer and frequent-guest programs.

Have a favorite airline affinity program? Cast your vote to honor it with a Freddie Award. The Freddie's, named after the late Sir Freddie Laker, founder of Laker Airways. Join other frequent travelers in determining who in the 20th Annual Freddie Awards that recognized excellence among frequent travel programs in the airline, hotel and credit card industries.

Freddie voting is weighted to reflect quality, quantity. Winners are not determined by how many votes a program receives, but by the overall merits of each program which are rated between 1 and 10 for. The program receiving the highest average vote in its category with at least 1 percent of the overall popular vote wins.

Voting ends on February 28, 2008. Winners will be announced on April 24, 2008 during a tade conference. Last year, a record 439,000 frequent flyers cast ballots in hotel, airline and credit card programs in nine categories: Program of the Year, Best Award, Best Bonus Promotion, Best Affinity Credit Card, Best Member Communications, Best Award Redemption, Best Elite-Level Program, Best Customer Service and Best Web Site.

Valentine's Day Began in Ancient Rome

Rome and Dublin hold St. Valetine's relics.

Among those chronicling the history of the holiday we celebrate today, Dr. Elinor Garley wrote "How It All Began: The Origin of St. Valentine's Day," It started in old Rome in the time of Emperor Claudius, not in romantic Venice or Paris, or even to the Poconos known for their honeymoon hotels with heart-shaped beds and bathtubs.

Dr. Garley wrote that February 14 was originally a holiday honoring Juno, queen in pantheon of the Roman Gods and Goddesses, and also the goddess of women and marriage. She wrote, "Emperor Claudius II (268 – 270), also known as Claudius the Cruel, was fond of starting bloody and unpopular wars for which he needed lots of men. His recruitment attempts were unsuccessful war, for the men wanted to stay with their families and loved ones. To get them to 'man up' he cancelled all engagements and marriages." An emperor fond of starting bloody wars? How familiar in modern times.

In any event, she credits Valentine, a Roman priest (this was, after all, early in the Christian era) for marrying couples secretly, regardless of the Emperor's decree. This, to put it crudely, pissed off the emporor who had Valentine imprisoned and sentenced to death. The method of execution was to be clubbed to death and then beheaded, a martyrdom that was his eventual path to sainthood. How familiar in modern times when stonings and beheadings still make headlines.

The punishment was to be meted out on February 14. Dr. Garley continued, "During his incarceration, St. Valentine tried to stay cheerful and the young people he had married came to visit him in jail, showering him with flowers and notes. One of his visitors was the daughter of the prison guard who was allowed to visit Valentine in his cell. Sitting and talking for hours, this young woman encouraged St. Valentine to continue to perform marriages in secret. On the day he was scheduled to be beheaded, he left his friend a note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty, and it was signed, 'Love from your Valentine.' The date was February 14, 269 AD. Now every year on this day, people remember and exchange love messages on Valentine’s Day; Emperor Claudius is remembered as having tried to stand in the way of love."

Another essay put additional spin on the story: "At that time it was the custom in Rome, a very ancient custom, indeed, to celebrate in the month of February the Lupercalia, feasts in honour of a heathen god. On these occasions, amidst a variety of pagan ceremonies, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed.
The pastors of the early Christian Church in Rome endeavoured to do away with the pagan element in these feasts by substituting the names of saints for those of maidens. And as the Lupercalia began about the middle of February, the pastors appear to have chosen Saint Valentine's Day for the celebration of this new feast. So it seems that the custom of young men choosing maidens for valentines, or saints as patrons for the coming year, arose in this way."

Since this is a travel blog, I feel obligated add a link to places where visitors can pay homage to the original Valentine. You can see an image of the relic of St. Valentine, a grisly flower-bedecked skull in a glass reliquary, in the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome -- or you can visit the church. The Shrine of St Valentine in Dublin's Whitefriar Street Church is the site where the remainder of St. Valentine's remains, so to speak, are now interred. In addition to these ancient holy bones, a prettier object of veneration is St. Valentine's statue, carved by one Irene Broe, that depicts the saint in the red vestments of a martyr and holding a crocus in his hands.