Countdown to Malaysia

I learned that I would be traveling to Malaysia last Friday and now 8 days later I’m on my first flight with over 24hrs of travel still in my future.  I land in Kuala Lumpur on Halloween afternoon and a new adventure begins.

Halloween holds a special place for us, but not for the costumes and trick-or-treaters.  Terry proposed on Halloween weekend in Italy so each year we celebrate by going out for Italian and remembering our engagement vacation across Italia.  I couldn’t have dreamed of a better husband and best friend.  Long trips are hard since we do so much together, so after a busy week for both of us, we splurged for 2 nights of Italian dinners and a mountain bike to burn off some of the calories.


The difference from our ride on Sunday and today was close to 30F.  Last Sunday, I rode Flying Dog in shorts and short-sleeves and was sweating in the sun.  Today, we were up high on the Deer Valley system and I had tights, warm gloves, and Smartwool socks and hat.  If it wasn’t my last chance to ride, I may have stayed home but am so glad we went and it was a great time as always.  I’ve already started thinking about next year’s rides and improving my technical skills.

Bundled up for a Great Ride

Group Photo - Tights and Coats

Due to the cold weather and work, I only got out for one trail run which was also probably my last for 2011.  I didn’t even realize I dropped my lucky “October” orange long sleeve (haven’t been shot by a hunter yet), but it showed back up at the house a few days later.  It is now even luckier and I’m glad it found its way home!

Neighborhood Trail

In addition to a busy work week with visitors from Australia for a couple days, I tried to read up on Asian business culture, start the packing process, and knock out several errands.  I also had my follow-up allergy appointment since the celery incident.  We will review the blood work in a few weeks, but it appears there is a link between celery, mugwort pollen, and sagebrush.  My skin tests were positive so we’ve at least got somewhere to start. 

Backyard Moose

I have a few Mailbox Monday pics waiting in the wings, so I’ll continue to post updates from the road.  I imagine I’ll have lots of material for my blog the next few weeks, stay tuned as Giro d’Jenny takes on Malaysia.

Next Stop Malaysia