Sunrise at Sleeping Bear Dunes

sunrise over north manitou island, sleeping bear dunes, MI

I drove Up North last weekend, leaving Saturday after work and taking advantage of my nice new Monday-Tuesday-off work schedule.

It was so nice, I could feel the tension leaving my shoulders the further north I drove. My roommate just laughed at me when I said that, but I swear– the minute I drove over the Washtenaw County line on my way home, my shoulders went all tense again.

On Monday, I got up shortly before sunrise and went for a hike in Sleeping Bear Dunes… the path I always take with my mom and the dogs.

And so I brought my camera, which has not been out of its case since Guatemala (or… well… since i took pictures of the new bike the night before!). I wasn’t sure how these would turn out, because I haven’t been feeling particularly creative lately. But these shots make me happy:

looking over the dunes, towards glen lake

dunegrass

ripples near the petrified forest

I had spent the night before out on the dock (until I woke up shivering violently at 1 am! Fleece blankets aren’t nearly as warm as my -5 degree down sleeping bag. duly noted.). I sadly learned that the max time for shutter speed on my DSLR is 60″. one minute. not long enough to capture the night sky so effectively… wah. I would love to find a darkroom to use so I can switch back to my grandpa’s full-manual Canon. Or perhaps I shall set up my own darkroom…

here is the result, moon over glen lake

and so i bought another bike

ooooOOOOOOooooo

i bought a singlespeed! hoo-ray!

am i crazy?! perhaps…

i’ve wanted a singlespeed since my sophomore year, which is the year after i bought my first real geared mountain bike. i started looking up parts to build my own, and searching ebay periodically for something ‘affordable’ (cue hysterical laughter), but i could never get the price to where i felt comfortable buying. and then i started working at a bike shop.

specs (’cause i don’t feel like re-typing them): Redline Monocog Flight 29er

she’s completely stock right now (except i peeled the headbadge off. it was ugly. and my roommate put on some jumbo kendas. and bolt-on grips.) we’ll see what little upgrades i make… i’m thinking some pink accessories (headset, saddle, grips, hubs?). she looks like a boy’s bike with the avocado green and the black trimmings. that just won’t do.

i was a bit tempted to build up a frame myself, but decided that if i really wanted to do that, i should buy the stock bike and sell off the parts i didn’t want to be more economical.

i think her name is either Limona (ie: Lime in Spanish, but with a girly twist) or Paltita (ie: little avocado in “Chilean”).

she will get ridden tomorrow. island lake. not too technical, not too hilly, not too scary. perhaps i’ll ride poto next week… heh.