Detour through Switzerland

As we left Bourg D'Oisans, we saw them doing a triathlon - 2k swim,
115k bike, 22k run. There was a short one and a long one, and lots of
foreign athletes were there for it. We've had some pretty steep climbs
over passes and have passed our highest point of the trip! 2770m - so
I guess it's all downhill from there! Although we might have wasted it
in the 50km of downhill we had to our next campsite, Bourg St Maurice.
We had 2 unlaoded climbs planned there, but it stormed so Matt and I went to an internet cafe in the morning and joined Dave for the 2nd climb. Of course it still poured on us. But other than that, we've had pretty good weather!

Here's where we've been since the last post:

on the way to Charmonix

Switzerland!

• Bourg d'Oisans
• Le Rivier-d'Allemont
• Col du Glandon
• Col de la Croix de Fer - we watched the Tour de France go over this
• when we were in a cafe on our way to Paris the first day!
• St Jean-de-Maurienne
• Modane
• Bramans
• Sollières-Sardières
• Lanslebourg
• Bessans
• Bonneval-sur-Arc
• Col de L'Iserans - our highest climb! 14km, up to 10% grade for the
• last couple km. We got to the top, and the temperature dropped 25° and
• it started pouring, so we put on our rain gear and made our way down
• Val-d'Isère
• Bourg St Maurice
• Les Arcs (unloaded climb)
• Cormet de Roselend (19km climb)
• Beaufort
• Les Saisies
• Col de Saisies (15km climb)
• Notre Dame de Bellecombe
• Praz-sur-Arly
• Megève
• Servoz - We met an Italian man named Joseph who lives here who showed us the way to get to Chamonix by bicycle, and then he made us spaghetti and let us use his internet and left us alone in his house while he went to the dentist!
• Saint Gervais les Bains
• Les Houches
• Chomonix Mont Blanc - we spent 2 nights here and hiked up to the Glacier and some ice caves with our day off
• Col des Montets
• and then we crossed into Switzerland!
• Col de Forclaz
• Martigny - we met 2 Americans who we happened to camp net to who were going from Amsterdam to Nice, and one of them graduated from Colby! The other one was 16, and they were both named Brian. We ate Swiss chocolate with them and watched all the fireworks going off for the Fête Nationale de Suisse. Then it turned into a real thunderstorm
• Èvian les Bains - where the original spring for Evian water is
• Excenevex
• Yvoire - we ate Raclette in the old medieval city
• Geneva

And now we're right outside Geneva, back in France, stayin with Dave and Judy's friend Veronique for the night! I'm not gonna lie, I'm excited to sleep inside for a night. We're going to go see some modern yodeling in a few minutes!

Its hard to believe we only have 2 weeks left!

We're in the Alps!

We've been riding for a little over a week, and we made it from the Cote d'Azur to the high Alps. I was a little surprised on the first day when we had, in Dave's words, a "monstous but relatively short" climb to get out of Opio, where Matt lived and I visited him in 1996. Little did I know that relatively short meant 45 minutes. But by now I've gotten used to the long, slow, several hours long climbs. I almost enjoy them? don't tell anyone.

l'Alpe d'Huez

At the top of l'Alpe d'Huez!

Today we climbed l'Alpe d'Huez, with 21 switchbacks. Then we decided it wasn't time for lunch yet, so we dropped down and climbed even more over a pass, before a 15% grade drop down on a narrow gravelly road. Matt and Dave climbed les 2 Alpes, but I came back.

Intense M&M's and Intense cidre. the beginning of an intense trip

Here's our route so far. The places in bold are where we camped, and everywhere else we stopped in or I just remembered going through.

Nice
Le Pylone Camping
Biot
Sophia Antipolise
Valbonne
Opio
Bar sur Loup (Gorge sur Loup)
Gréolières
Saint Auban ( and la clue de St Auban - it was really cool!)
Brian çonnet
Val du Roure
le Col de St. Raphael
Puget Théniers
Entrevaux
Camping du Brec
Annot
Le Col de la Colle de St Michel
La Colle de St Michel - we stayed on a farm with a beautiful view! By far my favorite place we've camped
Colmars des Alpes
Allos
La Foux d'Allos
Le Col d'Allos - our highest climb so far! 20 km, and the last 6 were steep. The ride down was amazing too!

Matt and I hiked up above the Col d'Allos - our first glimpse of the real Alps!

Barcelonette
around the Lac de Serre-Ponçon
le Sauze du Lac
Savines
Chorges
Col de Manse
St Bonnet
Corps
Les Egats
Valbonnais

and now we're in Bourg D'Oisans! We're spending 2 nights here so we could do the climbs unloaded, but tomorrow we're continuing on! The Alps are really beautiful. There are lots of flowers and waterfalls, little towns and villages, cows, sheep, goats, beautiful gardens, and mountains of course. And it's not 100° anymore.

riding beyond l'Alpe d'Huez

I'm in France! Days 1-5?

Things really haven't turned out the way we expected them to. We hadn't really been in contact, and didn't even know each others' flight iteneraries. I was worried no one would find me so my dad and I figured out everyones' flights. I arrived last in a different terminal. Luckily, my cousin Matt called us right before I went through security (because he didn't even know what airline he was flying...) and we told him where I'd be and when everyone was arriving. Luckily we all found each other easily. After finally finding the rental car and taking 2 trips to the campground that involved getting lost, we set up the bikes in the off and on rain. And then everything started going wrong.

What we expected to happen:

• Set up the bikes and tents, get groceries and have a relaxing first day.*
• Get a 2 day museum pass and spend the next 2 days exploring Paris, and then see what Paris has to offer on bike on the 3rd day since we'd have all our stuff
• Get on the night train Saturday night from Paris to Nice.

What actually happened:

•  We got to the campsite with the 2nd load of bikes and realized one tent had been stolen. There was hardly anyone there. The campground had a 2 person tent someone had left there that Matt and I shared with all our stuff, with a broken fly that was perfect for the pouring rain. It meant we could postpone buying a new one though.
• We decided not to get the museum pass because of the tent and we had to stop at a bike shop on the way to Paris because my headset was loose on my bike. That was a pretty quick fix. But Paris was supposed to be 20km away, and it took us over 2 hours - that's how long it takes me to run that far, so I'm not sure that was right. We did have a nice coffee break when it was raining. We saw the town hall and Notre Dame, walked around in the rain and saw where my aunt, Judy had studied abroad in college.
• We ate dinner at a restaurant and decided to go see the Eiffel Tower even though it was still raining. By the time we took the metro there and back and got on our bikes, it was midnight. Not to mention it was freezing cold, dark and pouring rain, and 3 of us were wearing jeans. When we were finally almost home, we were going down a hill that went around a curve and Judy's tire slipped into a dip in the road. She hit here hip and her head. A car stopped and helped us call an ambulance, and she went to the hospital. Matt and I got back to the campsite at 3am, showered, and went to sleep, hoping it wasn't too serious. In the morning we found out she had broken her pelvis in 2 places.
• We spent the day visiting her, buying a new tent, and then rushing to an opera, L'Amour des Trois Oranges. Even though we took thetrain we got there 3 minutes late, so we missed the first half but we got pretty good seats for the second half. Then we took the metro, raced up the steps of the Sacre Couer, then raced back. Oh yeah, it was still cold and raining. There were fireworks starting for Bastille Day though!
• Saturday we packed up, loaded our bikes and made our way to Paris. The sun managed to show its face for a few minutes, although there was still some rain too. We made it to the train station and then got on our overnight train to Nice.

Austin sunsets, you never fail me

Banana Brownies

It all started with a little banana. I don't really eat bananas much, especially since I went to India and ate real bananas. They just don't taste good here. Plus, there's a lot I don't agree with in the banana industry. But somehow, one day a couple weeks ago I decided it would be a good idea to take one from the dining hall. After all, smoothies taste so much better with bananas. But, alas, this poor little banana got forgotten on my counter. So tonight, I decided to do something about that. Naturally, my mind went straight to banana bread, but I don't have a bread pan (still - how have I survived??).  So of course I went straight to brownies. They were good, and completely satisfied my chocolate cravings, but definitely tasted "healthy." Here's the recipe I (very) loosely based mine off of, if you want actual brownies instead of brownies you can pretend are good for you.

and here's mine:

Banana Brownies

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (or butter, softened)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 banana, mashed
• ~1/4 cup pumpkin puree (depending on how big the banana is)
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (I added unsweetened coconut instead since I ate the last of my chocolate chips plain earlier today - oops)
• I also added a couple scoops of this chocolate flavored green 'superfood' powder I have, since I don't really like it on its own.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine flours, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.

Beat oil and sugar. Add mashed banana, pumpkin, and vanilla. Beat until combined.

Add flour mixture and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips, or whatever add-ins you desire.  My badder was a little dry, so I added a few tablespoons of vanilla soymilk.

Press into a lightly greased 8x8 baking pan.  It probably won't fill the whole pan, but it stays together so just spread it about 1 1/2 inches thick. A bread pan would also be about the right size (but then you might as well just make banana bread).

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out semi-clean. Cool before cutting into 8 pieces. Enjoy!

Molasses Oatmeal Bread

I've conveniently forgotten about this blog for a long time!
At my school, everyone has to be on a meal plan for 3 years. But since I'm a senior, I'm off the meal plan. So hopefully, that means I 'll have more recipes to share on this blog!

Classes don't actually start until tomorrow, but I've been back for a week.  A couple days ago, I was pretty bored so instead of working on job applications (don't remind me...) I decided to make some bread. My mom used to make this at home sometimes, and it's one of my favorites! I actually don't have a bread pan, so I just formed it in an oval before letting it rise the second time.

Molasses Oatmeal Bread

2 pkgs dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water
2 c. rolled oats
2T shortening
2 c. boiling water
1/4 c. molasses
4 t. salt
5 1/2-6 c. flour

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water, set aside.  In a large bowl place oats & shortening and pour in boiling water;stir.  When lukewarm, stir in dissolved yeast and molasses.  Stir in enough flour to make dough firm.  Knead on a floured surface 5-8 minutes.  Place in greased bowl turning to grease top.  Cover, let rise about 1 hour.

Punch down dough, divide into 2 parts. Shape into rectangles.  Place in greased 9x5 bread pans, cover.  Let rise in warm place about 1 hour.  Optional: brush tops with one eggwhite that has been mixed with 1 t. water.  Sprinkle with 2 T oats. Bake at 400 F for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.  Remove from pans and cool.

It's really good with honey! But I also broiled some chipotle cheddar cheese on top of a slice, and that was good too. Enjoy!

Cookies!!!

I have no creative name for this post. I've sort of kind of forgotten about this blog for a few weeks. It's been hectic. Last week, I pulled my first real all-nighter in college.  I've come close before, but this time I did it. Between 2 papers in a less than 2 days (plus classes and everything), I spent 17 hours writing.  I've stayed up all night before, but the whole using my brain thing made a big difference for me.  I was a little delirious, and then I got a big rush of energy and felt really jittery, even without caffeine! I hadn't really eaten either. I felt a little crazy!!

Enough about how I may or may not be mentally unstable. I haven't been posting recipes, so I'm just going to show you the last one I made, this past Friday.  I wasn't really sure what ingredients we had, since I forgot to check (of course). I was hoping someone had bought oats, because we were out before! I decided to go with basic oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. These are the only chocolate chip cookies that ever get made in my house - do not even think about making cookies without oats around my mother!

I didn't ask her for the recipe we always use, but I found a similar one. And then, I was we still had lots of carrots and a few apples.  One of my favorite restaurants in Heidelberg, Cafe Rossi, used to make apple carrot and ginger juice. It was our favorite thing to sip on in the summer.  And then, lo and behold, I looked in the butter dish and there was fresh ginger!! I made a double batch of the cookies and made half regualr chocolate chip and half apple carrot ginger.
I doubled the recipe, and it made A LOT. So I froze the chocolate chip cookies for next week.

chocolate chip dough

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips - I didn't measure the grated apples and carrots I used, but it was about 2 cups. I also added about 1T grated fresh ginger and 1t cinnamon. We didn't have any ground ginger or I would have added some for more flavor!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl cream shortening, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add eggs and mix thoroughly.
3. Combine the baking soda, salt and flour and stir into creamed mixture
4. Add oatmeal and chocolate chips and stir until well blended.
5. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

carrot dough

The chocolate chip cookies turned out a lot flatter than the carrot ones - I think the extra moisture made a difference. They also baked weird, but I think that was just the pans and oven I was using.  Everyone loved the carrot cookies, so hopefully the other ones will be as good!